While Germany's economy is stalling, Italy is experiencing continued growth. But this has little to do with PM Giorgia Meloni's economic policies and everything to do with subsidies and new debt. Mauro Congedo has been finding and renovating small architectural treasures with his brother and father for 25 years in Salento — a peninsula in the southeast of Italy that makes up the "heel" of the country. The apartments and houses that Congedo restores in this rather remote region are now suddenly finding buyers from Germany and England. "Things are going well again," said the 50-year-old architect. During the coronavirus pandemic, business almost came to a standstill. But what happened afterward in Italy in the industry was "crazy" he says, dragging out the "a" for a long time. But look deeper and Congedo isn't the only one enthusiastic about the economic recovery in Italy.  Italy goes from problem child to head of the class While governments in Rome were used to announcing depressing growth forecasts and poor debt rankings in the years before the pandemic, the country is now quickly becoming Europe's growth engine. In the last quarter, the Italian economy grew by 0.6%, while the German economy shrunk by 0.3% in the same period. Beyond this short three-month snapshot, other figures for Europe's third-largest economy are impressive. "The Italian economy has grown by 3.8% since 2019," said Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank. That is "twice as much as the French economy and five times more than the German economy," he told DW. In Germany, the prospects are indeed looking bleak. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts growth of 0.3% this year for Germany. Leading German experts are only expecting growth of 0.1%. Italy, on the other hand, is expected to grow by 0.7% this year, according to the OECD. The Italian stock market is also benefiting from the optimistic mood. The FTSE MIB benchmark index, which is made up of 40 big companies, rose by around 28% last year, more than any other European stock market indices. Italy is on track for more growth. Trust in the Italian government is returning It didn't always look so encouraging. Economists initially reacted very cautiously when Giorgia Meloni became prime minister in October 2022. During the election campaign, Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party announced a nationalist "Made in Italy" economic course, agitated against migrants and did not clearly distance herself from Russia. After her election, the German weekly Stern described her as the "most dangerous woman in Europe." But in terms of economic policy, Meloni has so far largely remained on the same course as her predecessor Mario Draghi. This course is paying off for Italy, at least on the bond market. The interest rate at which the county borrows money is back to the level before she took office. At a press conference earlier this year, Meloni tried to take credit for the economic upswing. Above all, the lack of political stability in the past had slowed the economy she said, speaking from a position firmly in the saddle. But how much of the growth is down to Meloni's success? "Not much," said Krämer from Commerzbank. "The strong growth can be explained by Italy's loose fiscal policy." That means Italy's growth is based primarily on new debt. While the Italian state's new debt before COVID-19 was 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), it has shot up in recent years and was 8.3% of GDP in the first half of 2023. The country's overall mountain of debt is growing, too. In January, the EU Commission estimated that it would exceed 140% of GDP this year and continue to rise in 2025. For comparison, in Germany the debt ratio is 66%, in France it is almost 100%. Huge construction subsidies inject the economy To help the economy, the Italian state has been funding various home renovation measures since the end of 2020. For some measures they pay around 50% of the cost, others get even more. The most popular is called the "Superbonus 110" for energy-efficient renovations. Through this program anyone who renovates their house or apartment to make it more energy-efficient will get the entire expenses plus a 10% refund on top through a tax reduction scheme. "You can imagine that construction investments have skyrocketed," said economist and Italy expert Krämer. "This effect explains two-thirds of the strong growth we are seeing." The architect Mauro Congedo is not overly enthusiastic about the Superbonus 110 program. Everything has become more expensive. On top of inflation, the program drove up the costs of materials and workers. "If the state pays for everything, then people don't care how much it costs," said Congedo. In addition, no one controls the prices. Construction companies from Naples, Bari and the provincial capital Lecce asked him several times to adjust his costs upward. "They wanted me to charge twice as much. I didn't do it. It feels like stealing," he said. He thinks a bonus for the energy-efficient renovation of buildings is a good thing in general. However, owners should have to contribute to the costs and not just get it all from the government. Congedo doesn't think much about Giorgia Meloni either. The only good thing she did was get the Superbonus 110 program under control, he says. Money from the European Union In fact, the ultra-right head of government has slowed down the Superbonus program introduced by the left-wing Five Star Movement. In 2023, it covered a maximum 70% of costs and this year up to 65% of the renovation costs. Nevertheless, the tax credits resulting from the program will significantly reduce government revenue in the next few years. For the government in Rome it is probably very convenient that billions are still flowing — primarily from Brussels. Italy is one of the biggest recipients of the EU's COVID recovery fund. By 2026, almost €200 billion ($216 billion) will be paid out to Italy in the form of subsidies and loans. "The Italian state must reduce its very high budget deficit by this time at the latest," ​​said Krämer. "If they only start saving then, then this Italian growth miracle will probably end because they didn't use the time for structural reforms." Mauro Congedo is worried that remnants of the Superbonus 110 program will remain for a long time. "The prices are very high, and we have incurred a lot of debt." Luckily, he won't run out of work anytime soon. He's currently working on eight projects at the same time.  

A decade before he rose to power with the Nazis, Adolf Hitler failed to overthrow Germany's Weimar Republic in 1923. What became known as the "Beer Hall Putsch" put Hitler on the political map. The Beer Hall Putsch was a major turning point in the rise of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The events that took place in Munich on November 8 and 9, 1923, while unsuccessful in the immediate sense, went on to shape German history — and, with it, the course of the 20th century.  April 1 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the subsequent trial in 1924, when Hitler's co-conspirator, General Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff, was acquitted. At the time, Hitler was just one of several extremist leaders in Germany, or the Weimar Republic as it was known then. Few could foresee that, within a decade, he and the Nazi party he led would take over the country. They would lead Europe into another world war that included Germany's extermination of millions of Jews and members of other groups in the Holocaust. A fateful day in Munich Hitler had at least some of those ambitions in mind in 1923. On the evening of November 8, he led around 2,000 supporters to the Bürgerbräukeller, a beer hall in central Munich. Members of the Bavarian government and other prominent public figures had gathered there to mark the anniversary of the 1918 revolution, which ended the German empire under the Kaiser and led to the Weimar Republic. Hitler hoped to pressure the leaders there into fulfilling their own coup desires. Bavaria was already at odds with national authorities. A state of emergency was in place and the state leader, Gustav Ritter von Kahr, acted with absolute power. If Hitler succeeded, he could have mustered the support to march on Berlin and replace the fledgling parliamentary democracy with a far-right dictatorship. His would-be co-conspirators, however, started to back out and "nothing went as planned," Wolfgang Niess, a historian and author of a new book about the events, told German public broadcaster DLF. Following the overnight occupation of the beer hall, Hitler led the putschists to the Feldherrnhalle, an 18th-century memorial honoring the Bavarian army, but they "didn't have concrete goals," Niess said. As they moved through central Munich, they met Bavarian police and military forces. An exchange of gunfire led to the deaths of at least 14 Nazis and four police officers. The coup was over. Hitler was lightly injured and arrested a few days later. Though sentenced to five years in prison for high treason, he was released on probation barely more than a year after the coup attempt. The former General Ludendorff had a history of challenging Weimar's fragile rule of law and spreading the antisemitic lie that Jews and Marxists were responsible for Germany's defeat in World War I. Perfect conditions for Hitler's putsch Hitler did not take over Germany that day, but the failure succeeded in emboldening him. During his short time in prison, he began writing "Mein Kampf," an autobiography that laid out his fascist vision. The book became a rallying cry for his burgeoning party, which shifted tactics from trying to seize power illegally to taking it legitimately from within. In the years following the putsch effort, the Nazis gained support at the ballot box across the country. The coup attempt came at a time of crushing instability in Germany. The central Weimar government was weak. Officials were assassinated and state authority was threatened by violent forces on the left and right. Hyperinflation ravaged the economy and unemployment was widespread, especially among war veterans who knew how to fight. Germany's capitulation to Allied forces in World War I was a fresh memory and a national humiliation. The Treaty of Versailles, which compelled Germany to pay war reparations, was salt in that wound and added pressure on the country's prospects. It was a powder keg that Hitler and his Nazis were able to light. Though hardly the only domestic threat that Weimar faced, their coup attempt and subsequent rise to power was no accident of history. "Without the 'helping hands' of numerous monarchists, reactionary veterans, influential nationalist voices and political terrorists in the Bavarian metropolis, Hitler's rise through 1923 would have been impossible," Daniel Siemens, a historian, wrote in the FAZ, a German newspaper, reviewing Niess' book. Though the Nazi party was banned immediately following the coup attempt, a like-minded party popped up in its place. It won 30% of the vote in Bavarian state elections the following year, and it wouldn't be long before the Nazis themselves were back with Hitler at the helm. Lessons for today from Germany's Nazi past  The putsch, and the broader Nazi experience it is part of, strongly impacts the country, its laws and its institutions until today. Yet dangers remain. The right-wing populist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), is enjoying record support in polls. It placed a distant second in last month's state elections in Hesse, in western Germany, and may do even better when eastern states hold elections next year. In Bavaria, which Hitler called home (he was born in what was then Austria-Hungary) and used as a staging ground for his eventual rise to national power, more than 30% of voters last month went for the AfD or the Free Voters — another populist, right-wing party. While the former remains a political pariah that other parties say they refuse to work with, the latter supports the ruling conservative Christian Social Union in the Bavarian state government. For some historians and political observers, that kind of cooperation carries echoes of the past, and with them a dispiriting sense of deja vu. "If you know what led Germany to ruin a hundred years ago, then you can strengthen Europe and prevent new disasters," Jutta Hoffritz, a journalist who has also written about Hitler's coup attempt, told DLF. "That's why it pays to take a closer look at 1923."  

Military ties between India and Germany have been minimal, but Russia's war against Ukraine and China's growing assertiveness are causing New Delhi and Berlin to rethink their defense partnership. In a significant strategic change, Germany is signalling an interest in boosting military relations with India.  Earlier this month, the German ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, said in an interview that there is now a "clear political will" in Berlin to improve defense ties with New Delhi, calling it a "huge paradigm shift." "We have earlier been very hesitant. Now, there is clear political will in Germany to increase defense cooperation with India through military visits, exercises, co-production and other areas, including new ones like cyber," Ackermann told The Times of India on March 4. The defense minister of both countries held talks in Berlin at the end of February over developing defense cooperation, the security situation in the Indo-Pacific and possible joint exercises in the region. The German air force is now slated to take part in multilateral drills hosted by the Indian air force in August, along with France, the US and other countries. In October, a German naval frigate and a combat support ship are scheduled to visit India's western state of Goa. What's driving the change? Germany is beginning to see India as a natural partner in the region, said observers, pointing out that the shift in Berlin's attitude toward New Delhi is driven by Russia's war in Ukraine and China's rising assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. For India, it's about reducing a decadeslong dependence on Russian arms and diversifying defense procurement. Defense ties between Berlin and New Delhi have so far been minimal as "there was very little commonality" and both were "looking elsewhere rather than at each other," Arun Prakash, a former chief of the Indian navy, told DW. "Germany was focused on the EU and India's main defense relationship was with Russia, France and Israel. So, to put it in a nutshell, so far the relations have been quite distant, except for one instance where we acquired four submarines in the late 1980s, the HDW," he said. "That program also, unfortunately, went into terminal decline." German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius' visit to India last year provided a renewed thrust to the bilateral defense partnership. The first German defense minister to visit the South Asian country since 2015, Pistorius is in favor of making defense cooperation and weapons deals with India easier by treating the country as a strategic partner like Australia or Japan. Defense experts in India have said New Delhi would welcome such a change. "German engineering and German technology have always been superior but we knew that Germany was focused towards the EU, plus legal restrictions prevented exports, so we didn't receive too many offers from Germany," said Prakash.  "They are now changing their laws and are being more open about military hardware being made available to us. We'll be happy with that." During the defense minister's trip to India, German and Indian companies signed an agreement envisioning the possible construction of six advanced stealth diesel-electric submarines. Prakash noted that the Indian navy would welcome having German equipment in its inventory, provided there was also an agreement on support and spare parts. Defense cooperation in 'mutual interest of both nations' Deependra Singh Hooda, a retired lieutenant general and former commander of the Indian army's northern command, sees closer military relations as a win-win for both India and Germany. "India needs to modernize," he said. "It needs to diversify its weapons procurement. It's looking for additional technology and Germany has a very strong and robust defense industry. There is a huge scope for cooperation to grow, which is going to help both sides." Prakash shares a similar view. "At this current moment, it happens to be in the mutual interest of both nations to establish relationships with each other and see how they turn out," he said. While India is the world's largest importer of military gear, Germany is one of its biggest exporters. Hooda said New Delhi's weapons needs are extensive. "If you look at India's defense imports, they cut across everywhere. India's defense industry is not well-developed. I think the scope is very vast considering that India's requirements are huge. There is a great deal of capacity and opportunity on both sides," he said. German, Indian air force to focus on joint drills Joint drills form another element of the cooperation. The multilateral air force exercises in August are expected to see participation by dozens of German aircraft, including the Tornado jets, Eurofighters, midair refueling tankers and military transport planes. "When the German air force contingent flies into India for the exercises, the formation is going to be led by their chief himself. He is going to fly in with the Eurofighters. I have not seen this happening before," Anil Golani, a retired air vice marshal and the additional director general of New Delhi-based Centre for Air Power Studies, told DW. He said many air forces worldwide are increasingly wanting to take part in drills with the Indian air force. "One of the reasons is that we operate both the Russian as well as Western fleets of aircraft — the Sukhoi, the Rafale and the Mirage, among others. Nowhere else do the other air forces get to pitch their aircraft against the Russian-made fleet." What does the future hold? As India and Germany embark on a path to forge closer defense relations, observers have said there is also a need for the two nations to understand each other's strategic concerns. "Germany has been looking with suspicion at why India has not come out openly on one side in the Russia-Ukraine war. But it has its own strategic concerns. We should look at areas where there's convergence and wherever there are differences, sit and discuss and get greater clarity on both sides," said Hooda. "Frankly, if you look, that's how the India-US relationship has matured over the years." While Golani said the future of Indo-German defense relations is "good and robust," former navy chief Prakash stressed that "it is hard to predict the future and how the relations will turn out." He said India and Germany should first make a start and carry out a project to its successful conclusion. "That will lead the way to future relations," he said.

The space junk, which reportedly weighs as much as an SUV, is expected to enter the Earth's atmosphere on Friday. German authorities say the "object is being closely monitored" but it's likely not a threat. Germany is on the lookout for debris coming off the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday after reports that some of it could land in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinateor other parts of the country.  What do we know about the space junk?  The debris belongs to a battery pack which was detached from the ISS three years ago. The space junk weighs 2.6 tons (2600 kilograms), or the size of an SUV. The space junk might enter the atmosphere above North America, according to the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The debris is expected to burn up as it approaches the Earth's surface.  There's a high probability that it will plunge into the ocean. The DLR said the debris poses a "unlikely" risk to Germany.    The German Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry (BMWK) said the "object is being closely monitored" and that crisis measures are in place in case the debris lands in Germany.  The German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance earlier sent out text messages on warning apps on Thursday, saying there is a low risk of debris landing in Germany. It told users, however, that they would receive new info on the app should the situation change.  

Nicaragua has filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Germany for financial and military support it provides to Israel. A hearing could take place within weeks. Nicaragua has accused Germany of facilitating "genocide" in Gaza in a case filed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday. The Nicaraguan government said Germany provided financial and military aid to Israel and halted funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). It said because of these measures, "Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide." There was no immediate comment from Berlin about the case. What is the case about? Germany is one of the largest arms exporters to Israel along with the United States. Nicaragua asked the ICJ to issue emergency measures that would require Berlin to suspend its military aid to Israel. This is in order to avoid "participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip." Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide and human rights violations. Germany was also among 16 countries that temporarily halted funding to UNRWA following Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency's employees were involved in the October 7 terror attacks in southern Israel, in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 more hostage. But Nicaragua said UNRWA provides "essential support to the civilian population." "Germany is acutely aware of the deadly consequences for the Palestinians, particularly those at present in Gaza, that will result from the suspension of funds to UNRWA," Nicaragua said in its filing. What's next? When emergency measures are requested, the ICJ usually sets a date for a hearing within weeks of a case being filed. Nicaragua's case builds upon a separate case filed by South Africa in December, which accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The court ruled that Israel needs to take all possible measures to prevent genocide but did not force the country to end its military operation against Hamas militants in the enclave. ICJ rulings are legally binding but the court has no power to enforce them.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck says Berlin will need to allow sub-seabed storage of CO2 produced in certain industries in order to reach its goal to be carbon neutral by 2045. Germany plans to allow carbon capture and sub-seabed storage technology in certain industries, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. Such systems capture carbon dioxide at the point of emission, remove it from the atmosphere, and store it underground. What are the plans? "The technology is safe," Habeck said at a news conference on the German government's carbon management strategy. Germany aims to become carbon neutral by 2045. It is currently Europe's largest emitter of CO2. Habeck, who is also responsible for climate change policy, said that certain industrial sectors, such as cement production, will need to use carbon capture technology for Berlin to reach its climate goals. Overground C02 storage will remain prohibited, according to Habeck. A law passed in 2012 gave Germany's states the power to veto the use of carbon capture technology. The minister said that the law will also need to be changed to allow the transport of CO2 captured from industrial processes. He said that the needed changes will continue to be discussed over the coming months. Germany will also make use of carbon capture and utilization technology, where captured C02 will be used for other products rather than being stored underground.

In what may come as another setback in the already strained relationship between Canada and China, the Canadian government has published a list of 85 Chinese research institutions that “may pose” a threat to sensitive research and national security. Besides the 85 Chinese institutions, the list also includes six Russian and twelve Iranian organizations alleged to have some connections to “military, national defense or state security entities.” Global News reported that the list was published on the afternoon of January 17.  According to the Ottawa administration, the listing is part of an effort to protect Canadian research and development against economic espionage and theft in critical industrial sectors, such as advanced weapons, aerospace and space technology, and quantum science and technology.     François-Philippe Champagne, the federal industry minister, in a statement that “While its excellence and collaborative nature defines Canadian-led research, its openness can make it a target for foreign influence, increasing the potential risks for research and development efforts to be misappropriated to the detriment of national security.” The Federal government, however, stopped short of giving more specific information. Intriguingly, the federal authorities claimed during a technical briefing the same day that they were unsure of the extent to which Canadian research involved participants from overseas institutions. Speaking anonymously, one source informed reporters that “in defining the list, there would be an understanding of risk factors and how they relate to Canadian institutions but also to international institutions.” Additionally, officials could not estimate the cost of the new regulations for Canadian research institutes. But they did point out that there was a price for sensitive research being “exfiltrated” by outside parties without making a specific reference to China.   Champagne stated to a House of Commons committee in November last year that the government would not target any particular nation or business regarding the listing. However, it is evident from the list’s high concentration of Chinese groups that Canadian intelligence services regard to be the biggest threat. For instance, many organizations, such as the National University of Defence Technology, People’s Public Security University of China, and Rocket Force Command College, are directly affiliated with the Chinese military.     The development came when the bilateral relationship between the two countries spiraled, with sporadic incidents of military confrontations in the Indo-Pacific. Most of 2023 saw diplomatic tussles exacerbated by Canada’s accusations that China was meddling with its elections. The list was published just days after the two sides affirmed that they wished to maintain consistent communication to support what Beijing referred to as the “current difficult situation” in their bilateral relations.    China’s foreign ministry quoted Wang Yi last week saying, “The fundamental reason why China-Canada relations have fallen to a low point in recent years is that there has been a serious deviation in Canada’s perception of China.” Wang Yi was reportedly speaking to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.    Several Countries In The West Are Wary Of China Given the widening rift between China and its rivals in the west led by the United States, such instances are hardly uncommon. Last June, when the Dutch government announced that it was contemplating screening foreign students planning to study in technical fields for possible security risks, it was seen as an attempt at restricting Chinese students.   At the time, the Dutch government clarified that the measure would apply to all students in the European Union and not just Chinese academics. However, the decision followed a Dutch intelligence assessment that Dutch universities had become an “attractive target” for spying, with China being the most significant threat. In a more recent incident, a report in the German publication Der Spiegel noted that security officials in Bavaria were advised to be wary of the large influx of Chinese students. The officials were most concerned about the grants from the China Scholarship Council (CSC), a state-run organization. Under the initiative, over 5,000 Chinese undergraduate and graduate students have been sent to Germany. Last year, the education minister of Germany demanded that student exchange policies with China be revised, noting the heightened risk of scientific espionage posed by Chinese students receiving full state scholarships and coming to study in Germany.   “China is becoming more and more competitive and is a systemic rival in the domain of science and research,” Bettina Stark-Watzinger said in an interview at the time. Western officials and analysts have frequently mentioned a secret service statute implemented in China in 2017 as a cause of concern. The statute allegedly mandated that “any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work, according to the law.”   It gives the Chinese government the power to order any citizen or company operating in China to cooperate with the intelligence services. Essentially, it is an unrestrained license to spy. Western officials have maintained that several Chinese expats, visiting scholars, students, and businesses contribute to the Chinese espionage network by transmitting information back to their country of origin. China’s principal adversary and rival, the United States, was among the first to address these concerns. In September 2020, more than 1,000 Chinese citizens had their visas revoked by the US under a presidential order that barred admission to researchers and students judged security threats.   The acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, said that Washington was blocking visas “for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research.” On every such occasion that has occurred over the last few years, China has decried these decisions as an unwarranted targeting of its citizens and a violation of their human rights. The Canadian list, thus, could intensify the already escalating tensions between Beijing and Ottawa.  

Severe snowfall in parts of the country has brought road transport to a halt and crippled air traffic. Many cars and lorries have got stuck on icy roads. A severe winter snow storm that hit western and southern Germany on Wednesday has caused major traffic disruptions, including kilometers-long traffic jams on the nation's highways. The icy and slippery roads have led to many accidents. Many cars and trucks have also been trapped in the deep snow. In some cases, salt and gravel-spreading vehicles could no longer get past the stranded vehicles, making it difficult to clear the blockages. Towing services were called in to push or tow away the lorries. But it proved difficult for them to get to the affected areas, as the snow made it tough for other drivers to form rescue lanes. Emergency services provided those stranded in their vehicles with blankets and hot drinks.   What's the impact on flight services? The German Weather Service says heavy snowfall is likely to continue in parts of the country, expecting some places to be hit with as much as 30 centimeters of snow over the next 24 hours. The weather conditions have also crippled air traffic. At Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, ,ore than 300 of about 1,000 scheduled flights for Thursday at have been cancelled. The airport cited a danger of de-iced aircraft icing up again as they taxied toward the runway. The airport said on its website that passengers should check their flight status before going to the airport. "If your flight is canceled, please do not come to the airport."   How is train traffic affected? Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany's national train operator, also canceled several long-distance and regional trains on Wednesday. Furthermore, it limited the maximum speed of its ICE high-speed trains to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) for the day as a precaution. DB warned that the weather conditions will also impact its operations on Thursday. The train connections between Stuttgart and Paris and between Frankfurt and Paris will be particularly affected, it said.     What's the situation in Scandinavia? Heavy snowfall also brought traffic to a standstill in large parts of Scandinavia. Police in several parts of Denmark urged people to stay home. The airport in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, was closed temporarily on Wednesday as the challenging weather conditions reduced visibility for pilots. Shipping company Maersk also said that weather-related disruption at ports in northern Europe, in addition to the volatile security situation in the Red Sea, is causing logistical problems.  "Winter weather conditions as well as the Red Sea contingencies are expected to affect operations across Europe and Hub terminals," Maersk said. "This is leading to increased yard density across terminals and customers are kindly asked to pick up their units as soon as possible after discharge to support fluidity," it said.  

After weeks of rain and flooding, a dry spell and frost are welcome, but the problems are not over yet. And it seems unlikely that the already squeezed government budget will be able to help. The German Weather Service (DWD) announced the arrival of frost in the north of the country on Saturday as large areas of land remain covered in flood water. While the below-freezing temperatures are expected to help the overloaded dykes hold back the water, experts have warned of the long-term impacts. For already-flooded houses, in particular, standing water freezing and expanding can seriously exacerbate damage. Frost to protect the dykes Whether the frost has a positive or negative effect depends on the individual case, Anne Rickmeyer, director of the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN), told the German press agency DPA. Frost can firm up the dyke, making it more stable and impermeable to water accumulation. However, in many places, the water level is still too high and water is pressing against the dykes. "If relatively warm water is already behind the dyke, then the part of the dyke under the water level won't be able to freeze" meaning that the frost will have no positive effect, Rickmeyer said.   Longer-term problems A further problem, especially for the farmers who have already been battling weeks of high water, is that the flooding prevents the frost from reaching the ground. "Frost is normally a blessing for the ground," Christoph Tebbe from the Thünen Institute for Biodiversity in Brunswick told DPA. The frost normally loosens up the soil, but not if it's underwater. "The ground can't regenerate over winter is too tight" meaning that it cannot take in any more water in the spring which can in turn have a negative impact on crops. Of course, flooding can also damage buildings, but the frost adds an extra danger. "When water freezes, it expands by 10%," Norbert Gebbeken, an expert in structural analysis at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, told DPA. "And this expansion can create such a high pressure that material or building parts can really be destroyed," he explained. Why has the flooding been so devastating? The cause of the intense flooding seen throughout Lower Saxony and other parts of northern Germany goes back to the draining of the floodplains along the rivers, according to Christian Wolter from the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin. "More than 70% of the wetlands along the rivers practically don't exist anymore," he told German public broadcaster Tagesschau. "That of course also means that more than 70% of the historical retention areas, which the water had been able to flow into, are no longer there." Besides the disappearance of the wetlands, Wolter also pointed to the straightening of waterways, especially the upper reaches of rivers that were straightened to carry rainfall away from the mountains as quickly as possible. "The straighter the small tributary streams, the faster the water flow downstream," Wolter said. "And when it's very fast, those downstream don't really have a chance to react."   How to stop future flooding Wolter suggests that instead of building ever bigger and stronger dykes to control the water, instead, it would be preferable to let the rivers and wetlands revitalize and focus on protecting the human infrastructure. One problem here is that environmental protection and adaption requires money, but Germany's coalition government — which includes the Green Party — recently cut funding for climate protection from €5 billion ($5.48 billion) to €3.5 billion in an attempt to plug the holes in its reduced budget.   This money was earmarked for the protection of ecosystems in forests, moors and wetlands which are also able to store large amounts of CO2, the main driver of man-made climate change which itself is responsible for the more frequent and extreme weather such as wildfires, flooding and drought seen over the past few years.    Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, from the pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) has also ruled out lifting Germany's infamous "debt brake" to free up funds for those farmers hit by the recent flooding. This can be done if the government declares an emergency situation, as it did following major flooding in the Ahr Valley in particular in 2021 — although Buschmann cited a recent constitutional court ruling and said he was no longer certain whether that decision had been justified based on the court's findings.   "The requirements set by the Federal Constitutional Court are strict. We must not take any legal risks here," he told German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag. "It's not about being stingy, it's about intergenerational justice."  

Germany's weather service issued warnings for six states, adding that heavy rain will continue until Christmas Day. 100-150 liters per square meter could come down in a period of 48 to 96 hours in some areas. Recent heavy rainfall across Germany has increased the risk of flooding in several states, authorities said on Sunday. The German weather service (DWD) issued warnings for Saxony in the east and Lower Saxony in the northwest, as well as Bavaria in the southeast and Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west. It said that the persistent rain will continue until Christmas Day. The DWD added that 100-150 liters of rain per square meter could come down in a period of 48 to 96 hours in some areas. Germany was also struck by major flooding in June. Where were flooding alerts issued? The third-highest of four warning levels was reached at 30 measuring stations early on Sunday in Lower Saxony. The threshold was exceeded in several rivers, including the Weser, Aller, Leine and Oker. Emergency services secured transformer stations in the Rodenberg district east of Hanover, Germany's DPA news agency reported. Rodenberg mayor Thomas Wolf said that water was flowing over an anti-flooding barrier and that the municipality had not seen comparable flooding in 25 years. The eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt's flood forecasting center issued warnings for the Mulde, Aller and Havel rivers. Alert 3 was reached in parts of the southeastern state of Saxony, including in the city of Chemnitz. In the Ruhr Valley area, which includes the cities of Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, and Bochum, heavy rain caused disruption on rail lines. On Saturday, in a flooded suburb of Münster in North-Rhine Westphalia, firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped in her car.