Germany

BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Britain should respect post-Brexit trade rules or else face consequences, a German official said on Thursday as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was "crazy" to have checks on goods heading from Britain only to Northern Ireland.

Tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol, signed as part of Britain's exit from the European Union, flared again after Belfast ordered an immediate halt on Wednesday on checks on agri-foods, earning a rebuke from Brussels.

BERLIN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- To offset the effect of rising energy prices, the German government decided on Wednesday to provide a one-time heating allowance to around 2.1 million people in the country.

Support would be provided in particular to housing benefit recipients and students receiving financial support, it said.

Housing benefit recipients who live alone would receive 135 euros (153 U.S. dollars), two-person households would get 175 euros, while students are to receive 115 euros, according to the government.

BERLIN, January 30. /TASS/: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline’s operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, is unlikely to be certified before late June, despite the fact that it has a subsidiary in Germany, President of the Federal Network Agency Jochen Homann said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which came out on Sunday.

BERLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Germany's Greens on Saturday elected their youngest ever leader, building on their success in a national election last year that revealed their popularity among young voters.

Ricarda Lang, a 28-year-old lawmaker, will co-lead the party with her parliamentary colleague and foreign affairs expert, Omid Nouripour. They replace Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck who have led the party since 2018 but have both taken ministerial posts in Germany's new government.

Jan 27 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet U.S. President Joe Biden on Feb. 7 at the White House to discuss tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Washington said on Thursday.

The leaders would "discuss their shared commitment to both ongoing diplomacy and joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

BERLIN, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 100 of the 390 planned trade fairs in Germany have already been postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) said on Wednesday.

The economic damage to the German trade fair industry already amounted to around 5 billion euros (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to AUMA.

"COVID-19 regulations of the federal states, which are valid for four weeks or less, are no basis for business," said Joern Holtmeier, managing director of AUMA.

BERLIN, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 100 of the 390 planned trade fairs in Germany have already been postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) said on Wednesday.

The economic damage to the German trade fair industry already amounted to around 5 billion euros (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to AUMA.

"COVID-19 regulations of the federal states, which are valid for four weeks or less, are no basis for business," said Joern Holtmeier, managing director of AUMA.

26 Jan 2022; MEMO: A German federal court has described as "unconstitutional" the city of Munich's refusal to allow a public venue to be used for a debate on its 2017 anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions resolution, The Electronic Intifada has reported. The court ruled that the resolution "violates the fundamental right to freedom of expression."

BERLIN, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A German woman who travelled to Syria as a 15-year-old to join the Daesh group goes on trial on Tuesday accused of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity.

Leonora Messing, now aged 21, is in the dock in the eastern German city of Halle on suspicion that she and her Daesh husband enslaved a Yazidi woman in Syria in 2015.

During the course of the trial scheduled to last until at least mid-May and being held behind closed doors, Messing will also face charges of membership of a terrorist organisation and weapons law violations.

BERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said he would seek clarification over Russia's intentions towards Ukraine in a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Friday amid rising fears of an attack by the Kremlin on its former Soviet republic.

Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed their support for Ukraine in a joint news conference on Tuesday in Berlin and reiterated their position that Russia would pay a high price if it attacked its smaller neighbour.