Hamburg will become the first city to ban older diesel vehicles from some of its highly polluted roads. (Photo: AFP/Odd Andersen) A 1,600-metre stretch of highway and a 580-metre section of another major road will be closed to older diesels. The port city is the first to act on a court ruling that found such bans were a legitimate way for local authorities to reduce air pollution below European Union health thresholds. Judges at the Federal Administrative Court found in February that cities could "gradually" eliminate diesel vehicles, starting with the oldest, while allowing exceptions including for emergency services, local residents and businesses. "Germany has to do something" to improve air quality, said 37-year-old Sabine, who works on the Max-Brauer Allee, one of the roads hit by the ban. "We should abolish diesels," she added. Diesel was long seen by Germans as a proudly homegrown technology that could help battle climate change, with lower emissions of greenhouse gas carbon … [Read more...] about Germany clings to diesel, even as first driving bans hit
Germany
Germany coaching staff rallies behind hapless Karius
Germany's coaching staff sent a message of support to Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius after his costly errors in the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid, goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke said on Tuesday (May 29). Liverpool's German goalkeeper Loris Karius (left) walks past the trophy after losing the UEFA Champions League final football match against Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 26, 2018. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP) "We have tried to help him pick himself him up and we wrote to him telling him to keep his head up," said Koepke, the former Germany international. Head coach Joachim Loew, team manager Oliver Bierhoff and Koepke, all currently in northern Italy for a World Cup training camp, sent Karius a text message following Saturday's final in Kiev. Koepke, a World Cup winner and European champion with Germany in the 1990s, slammed certain extremely critical remarks of the 24-year-old Karius in the wake of his two glaring mistakes. "It's very … [Read more...] about Germany coaching staff rallies behind hapless Karius
Germany gives Daimler 2 weeks to submit diesel van fix
Associated Press Published 9:16 p.m. UTC May 29, 2018 Berlin – German authorities are giving automaker Daimler until mid-June to submit a plan for how it will fix diesel-powered vans that don’t meet emissions requirements. The announcement came after Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche was summoned to the transport ministry on Monday, the latest instance of a German auto executive being grilled over excessive emissions in diesel vehicles. Daimler was ordered to recall over 6,000 Mercedes-Benz Vito delivery vans last week after Germany’s motor vehicle authority concluded the vans used a so-called defeat device to skirt emissions limits. The company said it disagreed with authorities’ assessment, but would prepare software updates for the vehicles’ engine control systems and carry out the updates at no cost to vehicle owners. Andreas Scheuer, Germany’s transport minister, said he plans to have another meeting with Zetsche in two weeks. The motor … [Read more...] about Germany gives Daimler 2 weeks to submit diesel van fix
It’s not that hard: the beginner’s guide to buying a home in Germany
This article is available to Members of The Local. Read more Membership Exclusives here. In Germany, nearly 50 percent of people rent a home rather than buy one, much higher than the EU average of 70 percent, according to Günter Fischer, the Managing director of Engel & Völkers, a Berlin-based real estate consultancy. In Berlin, it’s an even higher number: 70 percent of residents rent a home versus 30 percent who buy one. This is attributed largely to strong legal protections for renters, rent control laws in many German cities, and the lack of special benefits for buyers. Unlike in some European countries such as Spain, one cannot deduct the cost of one's mortgage payments from taxes in Germany. It’s also due to available new units: home-building boomed in the 1950s and 1960s due to a post-war tax which subsidized their construction. But new building of homes significantly slowed down in the years that followed, despite the fact that Germany has far … [Read more...] about It’s not that hard: the beginner’s guide to buying a home in Germany
The Latest: Germany: Rejected asylum-seeker sets self ablaze
Updated 10:00 am, Tuesday, May 29, 2018 window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-4', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 4', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Petr David Josek, AP Image 1of/4 CaptionClose Image 1 of 4 FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2015 file photo hungarian soldiers work on a fence that is being built at the border with Croatia, near the village of Beremend, Hungary. The Hungarian government has submitted to parliament Constitutional amendments and a new draft law further tightening the country’s laws on refugees and asylum-seekers. The legislation submitted Tuesday, which complements draft bills presented earlier this year by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Cabinet, seeks to prevent Hungary “from becoming an immigrant country.” less … [Read more...] about The Latest: Germany: Rejected asylum-seeker sets self ablaze