Inflation rate eases slightly in June, severe storms hit south of Germany, security service warns of extremist and foreign power threats and more news on Wednesday July 1st.
Today’s top story: Inflation rate eases
Inflation in Germany is slowing down, according to the latest estimate from the Federal Statistical Office.
Experts said consumer prices were 2.3 percent higher than in the same month a year ago – down from 2.6 percent in May.
The decline was largely driven by lower oil prices and the temporary fuel discount introduced by the German government for May and June.
Energy prices rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier, a sharp drop from 6.6 percent in May, while food prices increased 0.4 percent and service prices remained steady at 3.1 percent. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, stayed the same at 2.5 per cent.
Economists said the less volatile situation in the Middle East was helping the situation.
“The easing of tensions in the Iran conflict has recently caused global oil prices to fall to pre-crisis levels,” said Felix Schmidt, an economist at Berenberg Bank. “This development is also reflected in the German inflation figures.”
READ ALSO: Germany’s fuel discount will not be extended beyond July
German shooting suspect accused of shaking baby: reports
A custody dispute that investigators suspect prompted a gunman to shoot dead six child welfare workers in Germany was linked to allegations he had shaken his three-month-old daughter, German media reported on Tuesday.
Four women and two men were killed in the shooting on Monday at a shelter for mothers and their children in the northern town of Stade, in one of the deadliest such incidents in Germany in recent times.
Police said the suspect, a Turkish national born in Germany, had an appointment at the centre to discuss future care arrangements for his daughter.
Forensic Police officers enter the house, where six people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany. (Photo by Ibrahim OT / AFP)
According to a statement from local prosecutors the suspect came to the appointment and then “suddenly fired at the staff with the firearm he had brought with him, intending to kill them.”
READ ALSO: Shooter in custody dispute kills six at German family shelter
He will be kept in custody on suspicion of six counts of murder.
Five of the victims died at the scene with the sixth dying later in hospital.
Both the child and her mother were present at the location but were not injured.
Citing unnamed sources, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Tuesday that the suspect had been accused of shaking the three-month-old baby and doctors had identified injuries consistent with this.
Der Spiegel named the suspect as 45-year-old Fatih Khan G. and said the mother, 34, was being housed with her child at the centre in Stade before the incident.
Heavy rain and storms across southern Germany
Following intense heat across the country, parts of Germany are seeing major storms, hailstones and rainfall.
On Tuesday, thunderstorms hit the southeastern half of the country, bringing heavy rain, hail and gusty winds.
The situation became more intense overnight with heavy downpours and continued storms.
In Bavaria, several trees fell, roads were flooded and storm damage reported. Upper Franconia, Lower Franconia and Upper Bavaria were hardest hit.
In Aschaffenburg, roads were flooded because the sewer system could not handle the heavy rainfall.
According to DB Regio, rail traffic in the Aschaffenburg area was temporarily shutdown early in the morning due to lightning strikes at a signal box and a switch malfunction.
This significantly disrupted train services between Gemünden, Aschaffenburg and Frankfurt am Main.
On Wednesday, more heavy rain and storms are expected. An orange level 2 weather warning was in place in the morning for the southeast, including Thuringia. A red level 3 red alert was issued for some spots, with warnings of severe rain and hailstones.
Screenshot from Germany’s Weather Service (DWD) shows the extreme weather warnings in place on Wednesday morning.
Germany under thereat from extremists and foreign powers: security service
Germany faces mounting threats from hostile foreign powers, particularly Russia, and polarised domestic politics on both the far right and left, security officials asserted on Tuesday.
The BfV domestic security agency warned in its annual report of a growing risk from, among others, Moscow-recruited saboteurs, Chinese spies, Iran-backed Islamist militants and violent neo-Nazis.
“The adversaries of our free democratic basic order come from both outside and within,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said while presenting the report in Berlin.
Dobrindt urged “very quick” government action on proposals to give Germany’s intelligence agencies expanded powers and lift some strict limits on covert operations.
“Given the situation, we are convinced that we must further strengthen our capabilities,” he said.
The greatest external threat “currently comes from Russia”, Dobrindt asserted, pointing to suspected cases of low-level or “disposable” agents recruited by Moscow to carry out espionage and sabotage acts.
German rail regulator backs Italian firm in competition dispute
Germany’s rail regulator has backed Italian train firm Italo in a case it brought arguing it had been unfairly excluded from the market, paving the way for foreign companies to compete with the crisis-wracked German state operator Deutsche Bahn.
The rail network in Germany is in poor condition, with passengers frequently complaining of late trains, cancelled services and ageing infrastructure.
Its woes hit a nadir last week when a radio communications system malfunctioned, crippling nationwide for several hours and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in trains.
READ ALSO: Deutsche Bahn passengers livid at nationwide train shutdown
On Tuesday, the Federal Network Agency regulator sided with Italo in a case it brought against Deutsche Bahn for obstructing competition.
Italo wants to expand into Germany, where Deutsche Bahn accounts for more than 90 percent of long-distance rail transport.
In a draft decision, the agency said it wanted to ensure “a minimum level of access in long-distance transport for competitors” of Deutsche Bahn.
Until now, these operators “could not be sure of obtaining sufficient network usage rights”, it added.
If the decision is formally adopted, DB InfraGO, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary responsible for rail infrastructure, would no longer be allowed to allocate more than 60 to 75 percent of rail slots to the same company.
This would apply to heavily used lines – not to regional or freight traffic – and only if there is a dispute between operators.
With reporting from AFP
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
