Germany

30 July 2021; MEMO: German NGO Sea-Watch said on Friday it had rescued nearly 100 migrants in the Mediterranean overnight, many of whom were injured, some with severe "fuel burns" – chemical burns caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with seawater, Reuters reported.

Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months with better weather.

31 July 2021; MEMO: A German court sentenced a neo-Nazi woman to six years in prison on Friday for planning terror attacks against politicians, mosques, and pro-refugee NGOs in the country, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Higher Regional Court in Munich found Susanne G. guilty of attempting to disturb public peace and making preparations for serious acts of violence in the country by acquiring material to build bombs.

DUESSELDORF, July 30 (Reuters) - The fallout from Tuesday's fatal blast at an industrial estate in western Germany did not contain any toxic substances, an official from the regional environmental protection agency said on Friday.

Analysis of particles that fell on a residential area near the Chempark industrial estate in Leverkusen contained no dioxins or polychlorinated biphenyls, environmental protection official Ulrich Quass told a news briefing.

FRANKFURT, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Shuttling between stations in an assembly hall of a manufacturing base located in the Sino-France Ecology Park in Chengdu, several automated electric trucks carry materials in an orderly and efficient manner, enabling a brand-new car to roll off the production line in less than 20 hours.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European plane maker Airbus posted 1.87 billion euros ($2.2 billion) net profit for the second quarter and raised its outlook for plane deliveries as the airlines sector steadied itself amid the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Airbus figures out Thursday compared to a loss of 1.44 billion euros in the same period last year, when the first major wave of pandemic restrictions disrupted travel and business.

BERLIN (AP) — Swiss prosecutors said Tuesday they have closed a decade-long investigation into suspected Russian money laundering linked to a fraud scandal in which late lawyer Sergei Magnitsky played a leading role.

The Swiss investigation against persons unknown centered on money laundering alleged to have been committed in Switzerland between 2008 and 2010. It was launched in 2011, in part because of a report alleging criminal activity by Hermitage Capital Management, the company of Magnitsky’s one-time client, London-based investor William Browder.

BERLIN (AP) — An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany killed at least one person Tuesday, with 16 injured and four still missing. Fire officials who tested the air said there did not appear to be a danger to nearby residents after authorities initially urged people to shelter inside.

The explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site in the city of Leverkusen, near Cologne, sent a large black cloud into the air. It took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish the fire that took hold after the explosion.

BERLIN, July 25 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor apologised on Sunday for laughing on a visit to a flood-stricken town last week, a gaffe that has hit his ratings two months before a federal election.

Armin Laschet's conservative bloc is around 10 points ahead of the Greens in most polls, but his lapse last weekend at Erftstadt, when he was caught on camera laughing at a joke while the country's president was giving a sombre speech, has cost him.

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff has warned that restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if case numbers reach new heights in the coming months.

But Helge Braun said in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he doesn’t expect another coronavirus-related lockdown in Germany.

Braun said that unvaccinated people may be barred from entering venues like restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums “because the residual risk is too high.”

23 July 2021; MEMO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday reiterated her opposition to Turkey's full membership in the European Union but voiced support for closer ties with Ankara by updating the EU-Turkey Customs Union and a key refugee agreement, Anadolu Agency reports.