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Hanover, Germany, is trying out cold showers. It’s part of an all-out effort to conserve depleted energy supplies ahead of the winter. On Wednesday, the city of more than 500,000 people became the first major European metro area to turn off hot water in public buildings in a bid to stave off an energy crisis. But it’s also going further than that: Hanover is cutting hot water to swimming pools, letting public fountains run dry, and turning off exterior lights for museums and other public buildings.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the EU to own its data destiny by reducing its reliance on Silicon Valley cloud services, the FT reported.

Negative interest rates = The bizarro market... And it's happening right now in most of Europe. The federal government of Germany just did something nearly unheard of: It issued a 30-year bond with a negative interest rate. Here's why that's weird: How a 30-yr bond normally works: An investor gives $900 today, in return for $1,000 in 30 years. Investors make money by lending. How Germany's 30-yr bonds work right now: Investors gave Germany $1,149 today, in return for just $1,000 in 30 years. Investors pay money to lend. The asparagus is white... and you have to pay to keep money in a bank. These are both truths about Germany right now, and it's thanks to the European Central Bank — Europe's equivalent to the Fed. It's using a negative interest rate to force you to take cash from your savings account and invest it instead. It's like opposite day for European bank accounts: In Germany, banks won't pay you interest — they charge you interest. Banks have to pay money for holding your money in an account, so they probably pass that charge on to you. THE TAKEAWAY This is punishing you for not investing... European economies didn't recover from the financial crisis as well or fast as America's did. Policymakers there are still desperate to stimulate growth, which requires investment. So negative interest rates hurt people who don't invest. You're more likely to buy things or invest in stocks if the alternative is your money shrinking in a bank account.

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historicaltimes: Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 1989. via reddit World News

Both Chile and Germany qualified to the finals of the Confederations Cup 2017 finals by defeating Portugal and Mexico respectively. Chile vs Germany final match will kick-start at 7 PM BST or 11:30 PM IST at Stadion Krestovskyi. Based on the Cover365 predictions, Germany will win the finals of FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup by defeating Chile in Russia. Chile entered into the finals by defeating Portugal in the Penalty shots in the last week Semi-final game. The Chile vs Germany live streaming will be telecasted on the following TV Channels, the United States – Fox Sports GO, Fox Sports 1 USA, the United Kingdom – ITV 1 UK, India – TEN 1 and TEN 2 channels, Germany – ORF 1, ZDF, Chile – TVN, Canal 13 channels. Playing 11 of Chile vs Germany has been announced already. Read more: http://www.cover365.in/2017/07/chile-vs-germany-fifa-confederations-cup-2017-finals/

Friday's parliamentary vote in Berlin to recognize the right of same-sex couples to wed was a long-awaited victory for German liberals. But the vote was a defeat for the woman who seemed to have emerged as one of the country's most popular icons of liberalism: German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She welcomed over 1 million refugees, abandoned nuclear energy over safety fears and has urged President Trump to respect human rights. On Friday, however, Merkel voted against same-sex marriage, despite having paved the way to its recognition only days earlier. The anti-marriage-equality party line of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had long prevented the law from being passed. But on Monday, the German chancellor cleared the way for the issue to win approval in the German Parliament by allowing lawmakers to choose according to their personal convictions after being pressured into a vote by the Social Democratic Party. “I would like to steer the discussion more toward the situation that it will be a question of conscience instead of me forcing something through by means of a majority vote,” Merkel said earlier this week. Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/30/why-angela-merkel-known-for-embracing-liberal-values-voted-against-same-sex-marriage/?utm_term=.b6ce6745071c

Adam Berry/Getty Images By Anthony Faiola and Stephanie Kirchner April 5 at 4:55 PM BERLIN — Germany officially unveiled a landmark social-media bill Wednesday that could quickly turn this nation into a test case in the effort to combat the spread of fake news and hate speech in the West. The highly anticipated draft bill is also highly contentious, with critics denouncing it as a curb on free speech. If passed, as now appears likely, the measure would compel large outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to rapidly remove fake news that incites hate, as well as other “criminal” content, or face fines as high as 50 million euros ($53 million). Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet agreed on the draft bill Wednesday, giving it a high chance of approval in the German Parliament before national elections in September. In effect, the move is Germany’s response to a barrage of fake news during last year’s elections in the United States, with officials seeking to prevent a similar onslaught here. Already, a few fake news reports have emerged in Germany. One falsely alleged that a German girl of Russian descent was raped last year by asylum seekers. Repeated by high-level Russian officials, the reports seemed aimed at Merkel’s open-door policy for refugees. Merkel is now involved in a strenuous campaign for a fourth term in office. “The providers of social networks are responsible when their platforms are misused to spread hate crime or illegal false news,” German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement. The proposed law would apply only within German borders. But Maas said Wednesday he would press for similar measures across the European Union. A number of European countries have also sought to counter the fake-news scourge. The Czech Republic recently inaugurated a special unit charged with denouncing false reports. Should the German measure become law, however, experts say it would amount to the boldest step yet by a major Western nation to control social-media content. Depending on how obviously false or illegal a post is, companies would have as little as 24 hours to remove it. In addition to fake news and hate speech, the draft bill would target posts seen as inciting terrorism or spreading child pornography. Officials have cited a surge of hate speech across the Internet as a major factor behind the rise of far-right violence in Germany, including arson attacks at refugee centers and assaults on police officers. “Germany considers itself a pioneer,” said Markus Beckedahl, a prominent German Internet activist and blogger. “It’s a solo effort . . . but the European Commission will certainly watch closely what Germany is doing.” Yet the broad nature of the bill prompted critics to call it an overreach that risks becoming de facto censorship. Stephan Scherzer, chairman of the Association of German Magazine Publishers, said the measure could turn big social-media companies into “private opinion police.” Green Party politician Renate Künast told public broadcaster ARD that the bill could lead to “a sharp limitation of freedom of speech, because there will only be deleting, deleting, deleting.” One of the companies most affected by the bill is Facebook, which has sought to sidestep such laws by taking voluntary measures to curb the spread of fake news. The company echoed concerns that the bill would wrongly foist upon corporations a level of decision-making on the legality of content that should instead reside with German courts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/how-do-you-stop-fake-news-in-germany-with-a-law/2017/04/05/e6834ad6-1a08-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html?utm_term=.416ac5a58cc1

German authorities are set to introduce a new state defense plan that would make citizens stockpile food and water, enough to last for at least ten days, in the event of a major disaster or an armed attack, local media revealed.

Greece is demanding billions of euros in reparation payments from Germany for atrocities committed by the Nazis during the Second World War. Athens is threatening to take legal action to make the Germans pay.

Over a dozen people have been injured after a man armed with an axe and a knife attacked people on board a train traveling between Wurzburg-Heidingsfeld and Ochsenfurt, in central Germany.

The migrant problem is a major issue in Germany which is preparing for key local elections, which will take place this Sunday. The regional elections involve three key German states and has already been dubbed 'Super Sunday'. The vote is also seen as a litmus test for Merkel and her refugee policies as it takes place amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment.