Germany

BERLIN (AP) — A spokeswoman for Olaf Scholz says the German Chancellor doesn’t feel the need to apologize to a reporter for curtly dismissing her question at the end of the Group of Seven summit he hosted this week, prompting widespread criticism.

Rosalia Romaniec, a Polish-born journalist for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, had asked Scholz on Tuesday whether he “could elaborate” on the security guarantees for Ukraine discussed by G-7 leaders during their summit.

“Yes, I could,” Scholz replied. After a moment’s pause, he added: “That’s it.”

BERLIN, June 28 (Xinhua) -- After a brief recovery, consumer sentiment in Germany was "continuing its downward spiral" and fell to a new record low, according to a monthly study published by the market research institute GfK on Tuesday.

The forward-looking index for July decreased by 1.2 points to minus 27.4 points compared to the previous month. The GfK study is based on interviews of around 2,000 consumers in Germany.

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — Leaders of the world’s biggest developed economies said Tuesday they would explore far-reaching steps to cap Russia’s income from oil sales that are financing its invasion of Ukraine and struck a united stance to support Kyiv for “as long as it takes” as the war grinds on.

The final statement from the Group of Seven summit in Germany underlined their intent to impose “severe and immediate economic costs” on Russia.

BERLIN (AP) — A 101-year-old man was convicted in Germany of more than 3,500 counts of accessory to murder on Tuesday for serving at the Nazis’ Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

The Neuruppin Regional Court sentenced him to five years in prison.

The man, who was identified by local media as Josef S., had denied working as an SS guard at the camp and aiding and abetting the murder of thousands of prisoners.

BERLIN (AP) — A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday it documented more than 2,700 incidents in the country last year, including 63 attacks and six cases of extreme violence.

In a report, the Department for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism, or RIAS, said the coronavirus pandemic with its anti-Jewish conspiracy narratives and the Middle East conflict with antisemitic criticism of Israel were the main drivers of the 2,738 incidents it documented.

The incidents include both criminal and non-criminal incidents, the group said.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHE, Germany, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The three-day G7 summit opened here Sunday amid protests as hundreds of people took to the streets in the southern German town.

Thousands of other protesters also held demonstrations in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, a day before the summit.

They demanded that the G7 countries fulfill their responsibilities and become more active in tackling climate change and global hunger, among other issues.

BERLIN (AP) — A knife-wielding attacker stabbed several people in a shelter for asylum-seekers in southern Germany, killing one man and wounding at least five people, German news agency dpa reported Monday.

The attacker, reportedly a resident of the shelter, is said to have knocked on the doors of the rooms of the building in Kressbronn, on Lake Constance, on Sunday evening. When residents opened, he stabbed them, dpa reported.

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — Leading economic powers conferred by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday as they underscored their commitment to Ukraine for the long haul with plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions.

Berlin, Jun 26 (AP-PTI) President Joe Biden and his Group of Seven allies will huddle Sunday on strategies to secure energy supplies and tackle inflation, aiming to keep the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine from splintering the global coalition working to punish Moscow.

Biden arrived in Germany's picturesque Bavarian alps early Sunday morning for the annual meeting of the leading democratic economies, where the reverberations from the brutal war in Ukraine will be front and centre in the discussion.

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 26 (Reuters) - All leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies are concerned about a looming economic crisis as growth slows and inflation soars, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after a working session on the global economy at this year's annual G7 summit.

"All members are concerned about the crisis we are confronting – falling growth rates in some countries, rising inflation, raw materials shortages, disrupted supply changes – these aren't small challenges," Scholz said in a televised statement.