Page 25 - Germany

German law on forced labour to have little impact on India's trade: GTRI

The German law to prohibit forced labour and protect human rights in global business supply chains will have little impact on India's trade with the European country as India already has comprehensive rules to deal with these issues, according to a report by think-tank GTRI. Germany has banned forced labour and other labour law violations in its supply chains extending within and outside Germany. The law called the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA), came into effect on January 1 this year. It applies to firms with more than 3,000 employees. These include German firms and foreign firms doing business with Germany. This means that it covers a significant number of companies in Germany, and it will likely have a considerable impact on how these companies do business. Smaller firms will be covered under the law from January 2024. The SCDDA may have little impact as India already has comprehensive labour laws prohibiting child labour, forced labour, and workplace discrimination,

Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solution bags $100 mn contract from IOC Panipat

Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solution India, a unit of the German engineering major, on Wednesday said it bagged a USD 100-million order from Indian Oil Corporation to build a polybutadiene rubber plant at Panipat refinery complex in Haryana. Polybutadiene rubber is manufactured from the polymerization of butadiene and has applications in manufacturing tyres and additives. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions will execute this project, with 60 kilo tonne per annum capacity, based on technology from a reputed licensor, the company said. The lump-sum EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) scope includes residual process engineering, detail engineering, project management, procurement, construction & commissioning of the plant, Rajesh Kamath, chief executive of Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions' chemical plant business said. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions is into petrochemical and refinery, fertilizers, chlor-alkali, green chemicals, cryogenic storages etc. and has executed ...

Meta loses EU court fight over German antitrust crackdown on data

The EU's Court of Justice ruled that Germany's Federal Cartel Office didn't overstep its powers in 2019 when it ordered Facebook to overhaul how it tracks its users' internet browsing

Want to see expansion of UNSC permanent seats to include India, Brazil: UK

The UK has called for the expansion of the UN Security Council's permanent seats to include India, Brazil, Germany and Japan as well as African representation, underlining that it is high time the powerful UN body entered the 2020s. Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of July Ambassador Barbara Woodward's comments came as she briefed UN correspondents on the programme of work of the Security Council for the month. On reform of the UN Security Council, we want to see the expansion of the Council's permanent seats to include India, Brazil, Germany and Japan and African representation. It's high time the Council entered the 2020s, Woodward told reporters here on Monday. Woodward referred to remarks by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly last week in which he announced the UK's ambition to drive forward reform of the multilateral system. Woodward said the UK's presidency of the Security Council in

Macron scraps trip amid rioting across France, as loved ones bury teen

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday scrapped an official trip to Germany after a fourth straight night of rioting and looting across France in defiance of a massive police deployment. Hundreds turned out for the burial of the 17-year-old whose killing by police triggered the unrest. France's Interior Ministry announced that in the latest night of violence, 1,311 people had been arrested around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to restore order. In the violence sparked by the teen's death on Tuesday, some 2,400 persons have been arrested overall. The protesters and rioters turned out on the streets of cities and towns, clashing with police, despite Macron's appeal to parents to keep their children at home. About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities. The violence in France was taking a toll on Macron's diplomatic profile. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office said that Macron phoned on .

Germany's 5.5 mn Muslims exposed to everyday, structural racism: Report

Racism, hatred and sometimes violence against Muslims in Germany are widespread and often part of their everyday experience, according to a new report presented at the interior ministry in Berlin on Thursday. The Independent Group of Experts on Muslim Hostility worked for three years on the comprehensive report about racism and hostility toward the country's 5.5 million Muslims. The group analysed scientific studies, police crime statistics and documentation of anti-Muslim incidents by anti-discrimination agencies, counselling centers and nongovernmental organisations. The report concludes that at least one third of Muslims in Germany have experienced hostility due to their religion. However, the experts pointed out that the real numbers are likely vastly higher since only 10 per cent of Muslims appear to report hostility and hate crimes against them. Muslim life belongs to Germany as a matter of course, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. This makes the findings of

Inflation in Germany reaches 6.8%, while Spanish CPI hits 1.6% YoY in June

Inflation is pushing in different directions in Europe, rising in Germany and falling again in Spain, official figures said Thursday. German consumer prices jumped 6.8 per cent in June from a year earlier, up from May's 6.3 per cent, the state statistics office Destatis said. The figure was boosted in part by a widely used offer of cheap transport tickets last summer, analysts said. The increase in Europe's largest economy comes a day before the release of inflation figures for the entire 20-country area that uses the euro currency. Inflation in the eurozone has been falling from its peak of 10.6 per cent in October, coming in at 6.1 per cent in May. But that is still far above the target of 2 per cent set by the European Central Bank. ECB chief Christine Lagarde has warned inflation is persistent enough to warrant at least one more interest rate hike at the bank's July 27 meeting. Higher interest rates are central banks' chief tool against inflation. Meanwhile, lower food and ene

Deutsche Bank plans to cut 10% of 17k German retail jobs to curb expenses

The plans at Germany's largest bank come as Claudio de Sanctis prepares to take over the retail unit, known as the private bank division, on July 1

About 40% of SAP's R&D innovations come from India: India COO Rahul Baheti

In a Q&A, Baheti dwells on why his company is bullish on cloud in India and on the firm's expansion plans in the country

Germany, Intel strike $33 bn chip plant deal; $11 bn subsidy on offer

The agreement includes what Intel said was increased government support including incentives, reflecting the expanded scope of the project since it was first announced in March 2022

Germany's net-zero plan for old vehicles

Carbon-neutral synthetic fuels for existing internal combustion vehicles can revolutionise the future of transportation

Road to COP28: Bonn climate talks end without resolving finance differences

The two-week mid-year UN climate talks held in Germany's Bonn ended on Thursday without a resolution to the dispute between developed and developing countries over finance. The developed nations emphasised the urgent need for mitigation measures, while the developing countries demanded adequate financial support to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These mid-year talks set the stage for political discussions at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change later in the year. Due to a stalemate on the issues of finance for mitigation, the governments could agree on the meeting's agenda only on the second-to-last day (Wednesday) of the conference. The developed countries wanted that the "Mitigation Work Programme", which calls for urgently scaling up emission reduction efforts in this crucial decade to fight climate change, be included in the agenda. The developing countries, however, strongly opposed this

Road to COP28: Climate talks end without resolving differences over finance

The two-week mid-year UN climate talks held in Germany's Bonn ended on Thursday without finding a resolution to the dispute between developed and developing countries over finance. The developed nations emphasised the urgent need for mitigation measures, while the developing countries demanded adequate financial support to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These mid-year talks set the stage for political discussions at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change later in the year. Due to a stalemate on the issues of finance and mitigation, the governments could agree on the meeting's agenda only on the second-to-last day (Wednesday) of the conference. The developed countries wanted that the "Mitigation Work Programme", which calls for urgently scaling up emission reduction efforts in this crucial decade to fight climate change, be included in the agenda. The developing countries, however, strongly ...

Germany to give $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors globally in 2024

The organisation that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis said Thursday that Germany has agreed to extend another USD 1.4 billion (1.29 billion euros) overall for Holocaust survivors around the globe for the coming year. The compensation was negotiated with Germany's finance ministry and includes USD 888.9 million to provide home care and supportive services for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivors. Additionally, increases of USD 175 million to symbolic payments of the Hardship Fund Supplemental programme have been achieved, impacting more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors globally, according to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also referred to as the Claims Conference. Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase," said Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference's executive vice president. "Being able to ensure direct payments t

Climate measures will not fully close emissions gap by 2030: Germany

German officials said on Wednesday that an array of climate measures being introduced by the government will bring the country closer but not all the way toward meeting its national goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Germany's Climate Ministry said measures already in place or soon to become law will reduce emissions by about 900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide for the period from 2022 to 2030. An emissions gap of about 200 million tons of CO2 will remain and needs to be closed through additional steps over the coming years, largely because of persistent high emissions in the transportation sector. Germany aims to reduce its emissions of planet-warming gases by 65 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030. The target for 2040 is an 88 per cent reduction on the path to net zero" emissions by 2045. A sharp increase in wind and solar power, energy efficiency improvements and subsidies for industry to reduce fossil fuel use are among the measures taken or planned by ...

Germany unveils 1st national security strategy to address growing threats

The German government said Russia is the greatest security threat for the foreseeable future and advocated a balanced approach to China as it unveiled its first comprehensive national security strategy on Wednesday. The strategy was part of an effort to address what Germany views as growing military, economic and social risks to the country. Germany's biggest opposition party criticised the government's position as anemic. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the new strategy, which his three-party governing coalition pledged to draw up when it took office at the end of 2021, had gained added importance since Russia attacked Ukraine almost 16 months ago. The war in Ukraine has heightened anxiety in Germany about the preparedness of its own armed forces, prompting Scholz to announce a turning point on military spending. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Feburary 2022 demonstrated what many of our neighbours in Eastern Europe have warned us about that Europe is vulnerable, German Foreign Mini

NATO begins biggest ever air exercise amid fears of flight delays

Some 10,000 soldiers and 250 aircraft, including 70 from Germany and more than 100 from the US, take part in the maneouver until June 23

Vivo becomes third brand to exit Germany after Oppo, OnePlus; here's why

The suspensions come after Nokia filed a patent dispute in the region over broadband technology

BioNTech faces several lawsuits in Germany over Covid vaccine side effects

German drug company BioNTech is facing hundreds of lawsuits, worth one million euros, in country for alleged health damage due to its Covid-19 vaccine, co-developed with American pharma giant Pfizer

Germany cuts plastic waste exports by 51% in a decade due to restrictions

The volume of German plastic waste exports decreased by 9 per cent between 2021 and 2022