Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Several strikes taking place, Ukrainian President to travel to Germany for key meetings, Berlinale film festival opens and more news from around Germany.
Ukrainian president Zelensky to visit Germany on Friday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Germany and France on Friday for key meetings with leaders Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, his office announced.
The visits to Ukraine's key European backers come at a critical time.
With the war approaching the two-year mark, Kyiv is seeking to unlock billions of dollars in Western aid to help its troops on the battlefield.
"On February 16th, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Germany and France for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron," Zelensky's office said in a statement.
Zelensky will also address the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, where he will hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Kyiv said.
While there, he will also hold meetings with the leaders of the Czech Republic, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Postbank strike starts Friday
Ten days after the start of wage negotiations at Postbank, the trade union Verdi has begun its first warning strikes.
The nationwide actions are to start in Hamburg on Friday and be extended to other states in the following days, as Verdi announced on Thursday. All branches will be affected.
The union justified the warning strikes with what it sees as disappointing wage negotiations. "The bank's business figures, which have only just been published, show the financial scope for good pay rises is there," said Verdi negotiator Jan Duscheck.
On Friday, several Edeka supermarkets will also close amid retail strikes which are also led by Verdi.
Lufthansa daughter airline Discover to strike Saturday
The next pilots' strike at Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines is due to start on Saturday. The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union has called on its members to take part in a three-day strike, which is due to end on Monday at 11:59 pm.
The pilots have organised a five-hour warning strike and two regular strikes since December in order to try and force a first collective agreement at the company, which was founded two and a half years ago.
The pilots are calling for an agreement on a structured salary scale and fixed conditions for flights and rest times.
With an initial 24 aircraft and around 420 pilots, Lufthansa is trying to compete with holiday airline Condor, among others.
Cillian Murphy opens Berlin film fest with Irish scandal
Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy opened Berlin's international film festival Thursday with the world premiere of a drama about Ireland's notorious laundries used as prison camps for "fallen" young women.
"Small Things Like These", based on the bestselling novel by Claire Keegan and co-starring Michelle Fairley ("Game of Thrones") and Emily Watson ("Chernobyl"), is one of 20 pictures vying for the festival's Golden Bear top prize.
READ ALSO: What to see at this year's Berlinale
Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong'o is serving as the first black jury president at the event known as the Berlinale, which is now in its 74th year.
With the plight of Iran's women, the Gaza war and the resurgent far right expected to touch off debate and possiblly protests during the event, Nyong'o said she was looking forward to a challenging festival.
"I think what we're here to do is to see how artists are responding to the world we are living in right now," she told reporters. "I'm curious to see what they're making of it."
The 11-day cinema showcase has the strongest political bent of Europe's big three festivals and serves as a key launchpad for films from around the world.
Cillian Murphy was asked if he preferred to receive a Golden Bear at the #Berlinale2024 (for Small Things Like These) or an #Oscar2024 (for Oppenheimer). His answer was “Can I have both?” 💫😍 pic.twitter.com/DRf6aYRjsD
— Elsa Keslassy (@ElsaKeslassy) February 15, 2024
DAX hits record high
The DAX hit a record high on Thursday. The leading German index reached another record high of 17,089 points in early trading. It ended trading at 17,046.69 points, or 0.6 per cent higher. The MDax mid-cap index did not keep pace: it closed up 0.03 per cent at 26,057.19 points.
Concerns about the recent unexpectedly high inflation in the US were quickly shaken off. Analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from the broker CMC Markets told DPA that, with regard to the record high in the DAX in the face of a weak economy in Germany, it is not domestic business that is making companies increasingly valuable on the stock market: The majority of their sales and profits are generated abroad.
"In addition, interest rates have peaked, even if inflation in the US may not come back quite as quickly as initially expected," said Oldenburger.
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Ukrainian president Zelensky to visit Germany on Friday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Germany and France on Friday for key meetings with leaders Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, his office announced.
The visits to Ukraine's key European backers come at a critical time.
With the war approaching the two-year mark, Kyiv is seeking to unlock billions of dollars in Western aid to help its troops on the battlefield.
"On February 16th, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Germany and France for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron," Zelensky's office said in a statement.
Zelensky will also address the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, where he will hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Kyiv said.
While there, he will also hold meetings with the leaders of the Czech Republic, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Postbank strike starts Friday
Ten days after the start of wage negotiations at Postbank, the trade union Verdi has begun its first warning strikes.
The nationwide actions are to start in Hamburg on Friday and be extended to other states in the following days, as Verdi announced on Thursday. All branches will be affected.
The union justified the warning strikes with what it sees as disappointing wage negotiations. "The bank's business figures, which have only just been published, show the financial scope for good pay rises is there," said Verdi negotiator Jan Duscheck.
On Friday, several Edeka supermarkets will also close amid retail strikes which are also led by Verdi.
Lufthansa daughter airline Discover to strike Saturday
The next pilots' strike at Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines is due to start on Saturday. The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union has called on its members to take part in a three-day strike, which is due to end on Monday at 11:59 pm.
The pilots have organised a five-hour warning strike and two regular strikes since December in order to try and force a first collective agreement at the company, which was founded two and a half years ago.
The pilots are calling for an agreement on a structured salary scale and fixed conditions for flights and rest times.
With an initial 24 aircraft and around 420 pilots, Lufthansa is trying to compete with holiday airline Condor, among others.
Cillian Murphy opens Berlin film fest with Irish scandal
Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy opened Berlin's international film festival Thursday with the world premiere of a drama about Ireland's notorious laundries used as prison camps for "fallen" young women.
"Small Things Like These", based on the bestselling novel by Claire Keegan and co-starring Michelle Fairley ("Game of Thrones") and Emily Watson ("Chernobyl"), is one of 20 pictures vying for the festival's Golden Bear top prize.
READ ALSO: What to see at this year's Berlinale
Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong'o is serving as the first black jury president at the event known as the Berlinale, which is now in its 74th year.
With the plight of Iran's women, the Gaza war and the resurgent far right expected to touch off debate and possiblly protests during the event, Nyong'o said she was looking forward to a challenging festival.
"I think what we're here to do is to see how artists are responding to the world we are living in right now," she told reporters. "I'm curious to see what they're making of it."
The 11-day cinema showcase has the strongest political bent of Europe's big three festivals and serves as a key launchpad for films from around the world.
Cillian Murphy was asked if he preferred to receive a Golden Bear at the #Berlinale2024 (for Small Things Like These) or an #Oscar2024 (for Oppenheimer). His answer was “Can I have both?” 💫😍 pic.twitter.com/DRf6aYRjsD
— Elsa Keslassy (@ElsaKeslassy) February 15, 2024
DAX hits record high
The DAX hit a record high on Thursday. The leading German index reached another record high of 17,089 points in early trading. It ended trading at 17,046.69 points, or 0.6 per cent higher. The MDax mid-cap index did not keep pace: it closed up 0.03 per cent at 26,057.19 points.
Concerns about the recent unexpectedly high inflation in the US were quickly shaken off. Analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from the broker CMC Markets told DPA that, with regard to the record high in the DAX in the face of a weak economy in Germany, it is not domestic business that is making companies increasingly valuable on the stock market: The majority of their sales and profits are generated abroad.
"In addition, interest rates have peaked, even if inflation in the US may not come back quite as quickly as initially expected," said Oldenburger.
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