Germany
England beats Germany in extra time to win Euro 2022
Just when it seemed England might again be weighed down by expectations and history, Chloe Kelly made the breakthrough.
Kelly's goal in the second half of extra time — the first time she had ever scored in a competitive international game — propelled England to its first major women's soccer title on Sunday, beating Germany 2-1.
By the time Kelly scored, England looked to be tiring, even with the boost of the home crowd, and struggling to deal with Germany's fresh substitute players. The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium with Lina Magull for Germany canceling out Ella Toone's goal for England.
Then Kelly prodded in a loose ball at the second attempt in the 110th minute after Germany failed to clear a corner. Cue the celebrations, chants on Trafalgar Square, and congratulations from the queen.
“I always believed I’d be here, but to be here and score the winner, wow. These girls are amazing,” said Kelly, who returned from a serious knee injury in April. “This is amazing, I just want to celebrate now.”
Kelly took her shirt off to celebrate her goal, earning a yellow card but also a shout-out from Brandi Chastain, who celebrated in similar style when her penalty kick won the World Cup for the U.S. in 1999. “Enjoy the free rounds of pints and dinners for the rest of your life from all of England. Cheers!” Chastain wrote on Twitter.
After the final whistle, the England players danced and the crowd sang their anthem “Sweet Caroline.” The good-natured atmosphere inside the stadium Sunday drew contrasts with the violent scenes when the England men’s team lost its European Championship final to Italy at the same stadium a year ago.
The tournament-record crowd of more than 87,000 underlined the growth of women’s soccer in Europe since the last time England and Germany played for a continental title 13 years ago.
On that occasion, Germany surged to a 6-2 win over an England team which still relied on part-time players. Two years later, England launched its Women’s Super League, which has professionalized the game and grown into one of the main competitions worldwide.
That has meant increasing competition for Germany, which was a pioneering nation in European women’s soccer and increasingly faces well-funded rivals like England, Spain and France.
England's title comes 56 years after the nation's only major men's title which was also an extra-time win at Wembley over Germany at the 1966 World Cup. Queen Elizabeth II's congratulatory message called the England team an “inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations."
The players, too, are conscious of how their success has important consequences.
Read:Messi, Neymar score in 4-0 win as PSG wins Champions Trophy
“We talked and talked and finally we did it," England captain Leah Williamson said. "It’s the proudest moment of my life so I’m going to lap it up and take every single second in. The legacy of this tournament and this team is a change in society. We’ve brought everyone together.”
On Sunday, Germany was without captain Alexandra Popp — the team’s leading scorer with six goals — after she reported a muscle problem in the warmup. She was replaced in the lineup by Schüller while Svenja Huth took over as captain.
The game was goalless after a physical first half in which Ellen White shot narrowly over the bar for England, while Marina Hegering nearly forced the ball in for Germany at a corner before Williamson and Earps intervened.
Either team could have had a penalty in the opening half, first when the ball seemed to touch Williamson’s arm as she cleared, and later when Hegering dived to clear the ball and collided with Lucy Bronze.
Ella Toone latched onto a long pass from Keira Walsh to get in behind the German defense in the 62nd minute and cleverly sent a lobbed shot over goalkeeper Merle Frohms and into the net for the opening goal.
Toone's goal, six minutes after she entered the game from the bench, sparked celebrations as England manager Sarina Wiegman — the winning coach with the Netherlands in 2017 — raised both arms in joy.
Facing its first defeat in nine European finals, Germany came close when Lea Schüller hit the post and then leveled the score in the 79th when Lina Magull knocked a low cross past England goalkeeper Mary Earps, taking the game to extra time.
When the game went to extra time there were echoes of another European Championship final at the same venue the year before, when the England men’s team had a 1-0 lead but lost on penalties to Italy, but Kelly's goal changed all that. England took control of the game in the final minutes, denying Germany chances for a second equalizer.
After the final whistle, Popp joined her teammates on the field and, with midfielder Lena Oberdorf, was comforted by England's Georgia Stanway.
England’s jubilant players entered Wiegman’s post-match news conference singing “It’s Coming Home” as they celebrated their dramatic win.
Wiegman was in the middle of the news conference when her squad burst into the room, singing and dancing around the top table.
Goalkeeper Earps even climbed on top of the table to continue dancing as the celebrations looked set to continue late into the evening.
Wiegman remains unbeaten in 12 games as coach at the European Championships after winning the tournament first with the Netherlands and now with England. One of her first moves after England won was to share a hug with 35-year-old midfielder Jill Scott, the only remaining player on either team from England's 2009 loss to Germany.
The game was refereed by Ukrainian Kateryna Monzul, who fled her home country after Russia invaded. One of Europe’s leading referees, Monzul left her home in Kharkiv -- a major city which has been heavily bombarded by Russian forces -- and spent five days living in a basement at her parents’ house before leaving the country and eventually living and working in Italy.
Wildfires in Germany, Czechia threatening tourist region
A large wildfire on the German-Czech border is spreading and threatening to destroy a forested national park popular with tourists.
The fire in the region called Bohemian Switzerland on the Czech side and the Saxon Switzerland national park on the German side, which started on the weekend, had seemed to be under control, but spread again early Thursday, German news agency dpa reported.
Hundreds of firefighters on both sides of the border and with help from neighboring Poland and Slovakia were battling the flames, while local authorities warned tourists to stay away.
About 250 hectares of forest are currently burning and eight firefighting helicopters were helping to douse the flames, dpa reported.
Read: What Causes Wildfire? How to Prevent Forest Fire?
Another large forest fire in the Elbe-Elster district in the eastern German state of Brandenburg also flared up again on Wednesday evening, local authorities said.
Germany's minister for agriculture said Wednesday night the government would help battle the fires and praised those already working to extinguish them. Germany's army has sent several military helicopters to both fires to support local units.
“The emergency forces are already doing a great job here,” Cem Ozdemir said.
The fight against the fire in Brandenburg has been further complicated because some areas are contaminated with World War II ammunition and can only be extinguished from the air by helicopters. It is too dangerous for firefighters to enter these areas as old ammunition triggered by the heat or by people stepping on it can explode at any time.
Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes in Germany, Czechia
Hundreds of firefighters were battling wildfires in eastern Germany and neighboring Czechia on Tuesday as tourist regions and residential areas were being evacuated.
A large wildfire was spreading quickly in the eastern German state of Brandenburg in a region with lots of bone-dry pine forests where firefighters have to be especially careful because of old World War II ammunition that’s still buried there, German news agency dpa reported.
The large fire in the Elbe-Elster district has already destroyed an area of about 850 hectares and continued to spread quickly because of gusty winds blowing from changing directions.
Seven firefighters were injured, four of whom had to be treated in a hospital for smoke inhalation. No residents were injured, but a pig breeding farm burned down and several animals died.
The state’s explosive ordnance disposal service has designated a small area near the village of Rehfeld as a site where old ammunition could be buried, deputy forest fire protection officer Philipp Haase told dpa. Two German military firefighting helicopters were on site trying to extinguish the flames from the air because firefighters were not allowed to access the area for fear that the ammunition could explode.
Authorities said it was not clear when the fire could be brought under control. More than 350 firefighters were battling the flames and around 300 people from various villages had to be evacuated.
“The situation is still serious. We still have pockets of fire,” local district fire chief Steffen Ludewig told dpa.
Read: Governor declares emergency over wildfire near Yosemite
Further southeast, firefighters from several countries have joined forces to battle a fire in a national park in northern Czech Republic that has spread to the state of Saxony in neighboring Germany.
The fire in the Bohemian Switzerland park broke out on Sunday and was mostly contained before windy weather caused it to spread again on Monday afternoon and overnight. Firefighters said some 30 hectares have been affected in the park and more across the border in Germany.
No injuries have been reported.
Some 80 people have been evacuated from the border town of Hrensko, and more from the village of Mezna, where the flames have destroyed or damaged several homes, firefighters spokesman Lukas Marvan said.
Dozens of German children were evacuated from a summer camp on the Czech side of the border and transported back to Germany.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan were visiting the area on Tuesday.
Rakusan said some 400 firefighters have been in action and the blaze was not under control by midday Tuesday.
"The situation is very serious,” Rakusan said adding that several neighboring countries had responded to the Czech Republic's call for help to extinguish the fire.
Poland and Slovakia said they were sending helicopters while Italy offered special Canadair planes designed for firefighting.
The German military announced it would send four helicopters to the border region to help fight the flames, dpa reported.
The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said the smoke has spread 100 or more kilometers (60 miles or more) from the fire.
Nord Stream 1 resumes gas deliveries to Germany after maintenance
Gas deliveries through the German-Russian pipeline Nord Stream 1 resumed on Thursday morning after 10 days of maintenance, the German news agency dpa reported.
Gas is flowing again and the gas transport level via Nord Stream 1 has resumed at the pre-maintenance level, around 40 percent of the pipeline's transport capacity, a spokesman for Nord Stream AG was quoted as saying.
However, he added that the registered volumes could also change in the course of a day, and it would take some time before full transport capacity is reached.
Read: Economics of war: Pain for Europe now, later for Russia
Meanwhile, Klaus Mueller, chief of the federal network agency Bundesnetzagentur, said on Wednesday evening that 30 percent of the maximum transport capacity was to flow through the pipeline.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which went into operation in 2011, transports gas from Vyborg in Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany. From there, gas is further transported to other European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, according to the operator.
France, Germany reiterate importance of promoting HR worldwide
France and Germany have reiterated their attachment to freedom of opinion and expression and to the promotion and protection of all human rights throughout the world.
The French Embassy quoting a Facebook post on their verified page on Tuesday said, “We are concerned by the situation of the NGO Odhikar, which was temporarily denied the renewal of its registration.”
READ: Hasina greets France’s new prime minister
The two countries “salute the important work of this NGO” to which the Franco-German Human Rights Prize was awarded in December 2017 by the French and German Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the post reads.
Spain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heat wave
Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year.
The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora, where over 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents of three villages near Berlin were ordered to leave their homes because of an approaching wildfire Sunday.
Also read: Northern Arizona watches winds as Western wildfires blaze
Spanish authorities said that after three days of high temperatures, high winds and low humidity, some respite came with dropping temperatures Sunday morning. That allowed for about 650 firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft to establish a perimeter around the fire that started in Zamora’s Sierra de la Culebra. Authorities warned there was still danger that an unfavorable shift in weather could revive the blaze that caused the evacuation of 18 villages.
Spain has been on alert for an outbreak of intense wildfires as the country swelters under record temperatures at many points in the country for June. Experts link the abnormally hot period for Europe to climate change. Thermometers have risen above 40 C (104 F) in many Spanish cities throughout the week — temperatures usually expected in August.
A lack of rainfall this year combined with gusting winds have produced the conditions for the fires.
Authorities said that gusting winds of up 70 kph (43 mph) that changed course erratically, combined with temperatures near 40 C, made it very tough for crews.
“The fire was able to cross a reservoir some 500 meters wide and reach the other side, to give you an idea of the difficulties we faced,” Juan Suárez-Quiñones, an official for Castilla y León region, told Spanish state television TVE.
The fire in Zamora was started by a strike from an electrical storm on Wednesday, authorities said. The spreading fire caused the high-speed train service from Madrid to Spain’s northwest to be cut on Saturday. It was reestablished on Sunday morning.
Military firefighting units have been deployed in Zamora, Navarra and Lleida.
There have been no reports of lives lost, but the flames reached the outskirts of some villages both in Zamora and in Navarra. Videos shot by passengers in cars showed flames licking the sides of roads. In other villages, residents looked on in despair as black plumes rose from nearby hills.
In central-north Navarra, authorities have evacuated some 15 small villages as a precaution, as the high temperatures in the area are not expected to drop until Wednesday.
Also read: Tundra wildfire creeps closer toward Alaska Native community
They also asked farmers to stop using heavy machinery that could unintentionally spark a fire.
“The situation remains delicate. We have various active fires due to the extremely high temperatures and high winds,” Navarra regional vice-president Javier Remírez told TVE.
Remírez said that some villages had seen some buildings damaged on their outskirts.
Some wild animals had to be evacuated from an animal park in Navarra and taken to a bull ring for safe keeping, authorities said.
Wildfires were also active in three parts of northeast Catalonia: in Lleida, in Tarragona and in a nature park in Garaf, just south of Barcelona.
Firefighters said that 2,700 hectares (6,600 acres) were scorched in Lleida. They added that they have responded to over 200 different wildfires just in Catalonia over the past week.
Germany has also seen numerous wildfires in recent days following a period of intense heat and little rain. The country’s national weather agency said the mercury reached 39.2 C (102.6 F) in the eastern cities of Dresden and Cottbus on Sunday.
Strong winds have been fanning a blaze near the town of Treuenbrietzen, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Berlin, prompting officials to order three villages evacuated Sunday.
About 600 people in Frohnsdorf, Tiefenbrunnen and Klausdorf were told to immediately seek shelter at a community center.
“This is not a drill,” town officials tweeted.
More than 1,400 firefighters, soldiers and civil defense experts were deployed to tackle the blaze, which also affected a former military training area known to be contaminated with ammunition.
Officials expressed hope late Sunday that thunderstorms moving in from the west would help put out the fires.
US and Germany agree to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine
The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east.
Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition.
The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory.
The Kremlin accused the U.S. of “pouring fuel on the fire.”
Western arms have been critical to Ukraine’s success in stymieing Russia’s much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east.
But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, hailed the new Western weapons.
“I’m sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win,” he said.
Read: High prices, Asian markets could blunt EU ban on Russian oil
The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations.
“The NATO countries — the European nations and the Americans — have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraine’s disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits,” he said. “Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry.”
Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight.
The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more.
The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers).
Also read:'Now I am a beggar': Fleeing the Russian advance in Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. “We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire,” he said.
Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldn’t be independently confirmed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine’s push for more weapons is a “direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting.” He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict.
“Sane Western politicians understand those risks well,” he said.
As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday’s strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed.
Germany’s promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian military’s ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didn’t give it enough range to challenge Russia’s air superiority.
Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isn’t doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T’s surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has.
“With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks,” he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery.
A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion.
Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back.
The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river.
“If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively,” Haidai said.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting.
He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesn’t have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation.
Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: “The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return.”
In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them.
“They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army,” Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Germany wants stronger partnership with Bangladesh to scale up renewables; efficiency
Germany’s State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Morgan on Saturday said they are keen to have stronger partnership with Bangladesh to scale up Bangladesh’s renewables and energy efficiency, accelerating the transition efforts.
“We’ve a long history of cooperation with Bangladesh. I’ve come here to listen and learn; and to see what we can do together. I think we’ve much to learn from each other,” she said, noting that multiple benefits clearly come from renewables and efficiency.
At a press conference held in a city hotel together with German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Troster, Germany’s first climate envoy said they are running out of time and it is crystal clear that impacts are happening.
“We wish to work with the government of Bangladesh on energy efficiency and to look at how to scale up renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts,” said the German climate envoy.
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published on April 4 shows growth in global emissions has slowed over the past decade, but much more needs to be done, including halving global emissions by 2030, to keep the goal of 1.5C in reach and avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
The IPCC’s independent report highlights the need for urgent action in decarbonising energy, industry, transport and making homes more energy efficient, to achieve the Paris Agreement’s central goal of keeping a global temperature rise this century to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5C.
Morgan, who has lived in Berlin for many years and obtains German citizenship, said she has been “incredibly impressed” by the work of civil societies and NGOs here in Bangladesh and their diversity of approaches, especially those working with the women on the local level. “I think they’re clearly working to help people every single day.”
She said a vibrant civil society is “absolutely essential” for sustainable development and their local knowledge and deep training is just “very impressive.”
Seminar held to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations with Germany
The German ambassador to Bangladesh, Achim Tröster, has stated that Germany is creating a special kind of climate development partnership with Bangladesh to assist in mitigating the looming threat of climate change.
He made this statement while giving a speech at a seminar titled “Celebrating 50 Years of German – Bangladesh Diplomatic Relations”.
The seminar was hosted by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) and took place on 28 March at the Six Season Hotel, Dhaka. On this day, 50 years ago, East Germany recognised the independence of Bangladesh, becoming the first European nation to recognise Bangladesh as an independent nation.
To commemorate the occasion, CGS, in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh, organised the event where the ambassador was a guest of honour.
The other guest of honour was Lt. Col. Muhammad Faruk Khan (Retd.) MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and former Minister. He made a brief statement emphasising the need for further collaboration between Bangladesh and Germany.
Felix Kolbitz, Resident Representative, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bangladesh, and Dr Manjur A Chowdhury, Chairman, Centre for Governance Studies (CGS), gave their opening remarks in the program.
The keynote speech for the event was presented by Md Touhid Hossain, former Foreign Secretary of the Government of Bangladesh. The Keynote paper was titled “Prospects and Challenges in Bangladesh’s Relationship with Germany and the European Union on its 50th Anniversary of Independence.”
Bangladesh requests Germany to expedite student visa processing
Bangladesh has requested Germany to expedite the visa processing for its students going to the country for under-graduate and post-graduate studies. Bangladesh has also sought Germany’s support in developing skill sets for creating job opportunities for the hard working people of Bangladesh.State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam made the request when Ambassador of Germany to Bangladesh Achim Tröster met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
Also read: Bangladesh to open first official visa application centre in KolkataBoth the countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations this year. The state minister urged the ambassador for enhanced German investment to take advantage of the facilities being created in Special Economic Zones and Hi-Tech parks in Bangladesh. He requested the envoy to explore ways to increase the volume and content of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Germany. Shahriar briefed the German ambassador of the situation arising out of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals currently sheltered in Bangladesh and sought continued cooperation and support of Germany for an early resolution of the crisis.
Also read: Visa Free Country List for Bangladeshi Passport Holders in 2021The envoy appreciated Bangladesh’s proactive role in providing shelters as well as humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas. He assured of standing by Bangladesh to help find a durable solution for the Rohingya crisis. He also mentioned about his recent visit to Bhashan Char and expressed his satisfaction about the infrastructural development as well as all other facilities that are being put in place by the Government of Bangladesh. During the meeting, different aspects of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Germany were discussed including trade and investment, technical cooperation, technology transfer, private sector development, new economic opportunities in Bangladesh, maritime connectivity and cooperation in vocational education. They also exchanged views on the regional and multilateral cooperation between the two countries.Secretary (West), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mr. Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury was present at the meeting.