Warnings in place for severe heat

The German Weather Service (DWD) has issued heat warnings for parts of Germany.

An official warning of extreme heat was issued on Tuesday and is in place until Wednesday evening in some areas. 

Among the places worst affected are parts of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Bavaria.

Maximum temperatures of up to 34C are expected with little cloud cover and lots of sun. 

People are urged to avoid spending time in direct sunlight and to wear sun protection if outside.

It is likely to cool down a little on Wednesday night and on Thursday, localised storms will follow the heat. Maximum temperatures will fall slightly to 25 to 28C.

Germany sees changeable weather in July

Very wet, humid and sunny – it’s fair to say the weather in Germany this July has been a mixed bag. 

The average temperature at the end of the month was 18.9C, 2C above the international reference period of 1961 to 1990, according to the German Weather Service (DWD) following initial analyses of the results from its 2,000 measuring stations.

The warmest weather was recorded in Bad Muskau (Saxony), where 34.8C was logged on July 10th. The DWD also recorded the coolest value to date in Saxony. At the end of the month, temperatures plummeted again at night and the nationwide low of 3.8C was measured in Deutschneudorf-Brüderwiese on the border with the Czech Republic on July 30th.

But the month was also characterised by frequent heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms.

At 88 litres per square metre, it was wetter than the period from 1961 to 1990 (78 litres per square metre). Compared to the more recent period of 1991 to 2020, which saw 87 litres per square metre fall, July 2024 was average. 

Meanwhile, there were 237 hours of sunshine on average in July – significantly more than in the period from 1961 to 1990 (211 hours). If we look at the more recent comparison period from 1991 to 2020 (226 hours), the figure is only slightly above average. The south-eastern half of the country was clearly favoured, with 230 to 260 hours of sunshine. In the north-west, there were 200 to 230 hours of sunshine.

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck files ‘more than 700 reports of hate speech’

Economics Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has filed more than 700 complaints of hate speech since April last year, German newspaper Welt reported. 

The reports were filed via his ministry and the Green politician’s parliamentary office, according to Welt. 

Some messages he received reportedly included threats of violence.

According to Welt sources, the Vice-Chancellor’s security level was raised due to the threat situation. 

Habeck is reportedly working with specialist law firms and the organisation HateAid to deal with the incidents. 

The ministry said it would not comment on security. 

Habeck told the newspaper that hate is poisoning the political discourse.

“It is intended to intimidate and creates an atmosphere of fear,” the 54-year-old said.

German economy unexpectedly shrinks in second quarter

The German economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter, preliminary data showed Tuesday, falling further behind as a recovery takes hold elsewhere across the Eurozone.

Output in Europe’s biggest economy contracted by 0.1 percent compared with the previous three months, federal statistics office Destatis said, after expanding by 0.2 percent in the first quarter.

The second-quarter data surprised analysts surveyed by FactSet who had forecast a 0.1-percent increase.

The April-to-June period noticeably saw declining investment in equipment and construction, Destatis said.

Meanwhile, inflation edged up slightly in July to 2.3 percent from a year ago, up from 2.2 percent in June.

READ ALSO: German inflation unexpectedly edges up in July 

Belarus pardons German man facing execution

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided to pardon a German man facing the death penalty, his office said Tuesday.

Rico Krieger, 30, had been shown on Belarusian public television last week, saying “I really hope that President (Alexander) Lukashenko will forgive me and pardon me”, according to a statement quoted by the Russian news agency TASS.

He was convicted under six articles of Belarus’s criminal code in a secretive trial held at the end of June, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reported.

Krieger said on Belarusian television that he had been asked by Ukraine to photograph military sites in Belarus in October 2023 and that he had placed an explosive device on a railway line near Minsk under their orders.

Lukashenko held a meeting Tuesday with the investigator in the case and Krieger’s defence lawyer to discuss whether to apply the death penalty, his press service said.

“I’ve already said before that the hardest thing in the life of a president is such cases related to the death penalty,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying at the meeting.

A German foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that Krieger “has been pardoned”, describing the news “a relief”.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who lives in exile, said she was “relieved” that Krieger had been pardoned.

“Every life is invaluable and we must use every tool to fight for it. But we must also fight for every hostage of the regime. More than 1,300 political prisoners are still held in Belarus,” she said in a post on X.

Belarus is reported to have executed as many as 400 people since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, according to Amnesty International, but executions of foreign citizens are rare.

German tennis champion surprises fans with performance in Paris

Less than a week ago, German tennis champion Angelique Kerber announced that she would quit after the Paris 2024 Summer Games.

Since then she’s played more grandiosely than ever.

As of Wednesday morning, she is still two victories short of a metal in the tennis singles tournament.

“It’s fun. And of course I’ll try to get as many matches as I can,” said the 36-year-old champion.

The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner has also appeared in the Olympic quarter finals more than any other German tennis player since tennis was reintroduced to the Olympics in 1988. She had also played the quarter finals in 2012 and 2016.

Kerber’s return to the Olympic stage follows her return to the sport since becoming a mother.

With reporting from Rachel Loxton