Germany

22 May 2019; DW: Parts of Germany have come to a standstill after storms and torrential rain, especially in the south. One person died and daily life has been disrupted. The worst weather appears to be over, for now.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms, mainly in southern and central Germany, have left rivers overflowing and streets flooded. A man was reported to have died in the Bavarian town of Aurach on Tuesday after his car skidded off the highway.

21 May 2019; DW: Seven men accused of forming a "Shariah Police" brigade in western Germany have gone on trial. The group allegedly patrolled the streets of Wuppertal in orange vests, telling people to abstain from music and alcohol.

The retrial of seven alleged members of a self-proclaimed "Shariah Police" vigilante group began in the western city of Wuppertal on Monday.

BERLIN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Two high schools in southern German city of Munich were evacuated due to unspecified threat, German media Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Tuesday.

The two schools, Staatl. Dante-Gymnasium and Klenze-Gymnasium, are next to each other. One of the schools already announced that it would cancel all lessons, the report said.

Local radio said that one school received a mail package and the content must be evaluated.

A police spokesperson in Munich said the threat situation is "still a bit unclear," but must be taken seriously.

MUNSTER, Germany, May 20 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday assured Germany's help for Ukraine to solve the conflicts in its Donbas region.

Merkel made the statement during her visit to a rapid reaction force of NATO in Germany's Munster.

The army unit, consists of soldiers of Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, was founded in 2014 after an escalation of clashes in Ukraine's east.

19 May 2019; DW: The resignation of Austria's vice chancellor led German politicians to warn against alliances with populists. Chancellor Merkel spoke out against right-wing populism as many are now demanding new Austrian elections.

Even before Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for new elections on Saturday, German politicians lined up to say their neighbors to the south should go back to the polls following the resignation of Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.

17 May 2019; DW: Germany, France and the Netherlands have said they will not block Huawei from participating in the expansion of national 5G networks. The US fears that China could use Huawei equipment for spying.

The leaders of Germany, France and the Netherlands said Thursday that their governments do not plan to follow the lead of the US and ban Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from involvement in their national 5G high-speed mobile networks.

BERLIN, May 16. /TASS/: Russia’s Energy Ministry opposes the idea of selling Russian gas to Ukraine on the eastern border, so that later the Ukrainian side itself could sell it to the EU countries, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky, told reporters on the sidelines of the international conference Prospects for Russia-EU Energy Cooperation: Gas Aspects."

BERLIN, May 16. /TASS/: The trilateral consultations between Russia, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine on gas transit are delayed due to political uncertainty in Ukraine, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said on Thursday, adding that the Russian and EU sides are ready for the talks and the exact date will depend on the Ukrainian side.

"The date of Russian-EU-Ukrainian trilateral consultations on gas transit is delayed due to political uncertainty in Ukraine. It will depend on Ukraine’s decision. Russia and the European Commission are ready for the talks," he said.

16 May 2019; DW: Inhabitants of Fürstenfeldbruck, a refugee processing center near Munich, told DW of overcrowding, filth and bureaucratic limbo, leading to at least one suicide attempt. Bavarian officials say conditions are adequate.

Asylum-seekers at one of Germany's refugee processing centers are spending months living in what they claim are inhumane conditions, struggling to get access to adequate health care while in bureaucratic limbo as they wait for their applications to be processed.

16 May 2019; DW: Populism, Russian election-meddling, Chinese economic power: the list of challenges facing the EU is long, says the German chancellor. In a wide-ranging interview, she set out what Europe needs to do to survive.

The European Union urgently and "without a doubt, needs to reposition itself in a changing world," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview with daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.