Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
New strikes announced in air and rail travel, Tesla protests continue as factory looks to restore power supply and more news from around Germany on Monday.
New strikes announced for this week
The GDL train drivers' union said the latest strike affecting passenger services would start at 2 am on Tuesday and last until 2 am Wednesday.
For cargo services the strike would start a few hours earlier, the union said in a statement, blaming deadlocked talks with rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
The walkout will be the union's sixth since November and comes less than a week after a 35-hour stoppage by its train drivers caused travel misery for thousands of rail passengers.
Adding to the chaos, Lufthansa cabin crew are set to walk off the job at Frankfurt airport on Tuesday, and at Munich airport on Wednesday.
The German airline group was already hit by a two-day strike by ground staff last week, as workers press demands for higher pay.
READ ALSO: Germany braces for new week of strikes in air and rail travel
Activists protest Tesla plant expansion in Germany ahead of its reopening
Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday against plans by Tesla to expand its electric car factory near Berlin, citing environmental concerns.
The protest came days after Tesla's Grünheide site was forced to halt production after a nearby electricity pylon was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, causing a power outage at the plant.
The act of sabotage last Tuesday has been claimed by far-left activists from the "Vulkangruppe" (Volcano Group), and federal prosecutors have taken charge of the investigation.
Sunday's protest was organised by a coalition of environmental protection groups including Extinction Rebellion, Nabu and Robin Hood.
Organisers said more than a thousand demonstrators joined the protest, with local media putting the number at around 800 people.
Production at the plant is set to start earlier than recently announced, according to Brandenburg's Minister of Economic Affairs Jörg Steinbach (SPD).
"It now looks like it won't take until the end of the week, but that the power supply can be restored earlier," Steinbach said on RBB-Inforadio on Monday morning.
READ ALSO: Far-left group claims 'sabotage' at Tesla's German factory
Tesla's factory near Berlin, as photographed in January 2024. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christophe Gateau
Bayer working to replace controversial chemical in weed killer
Bayer is hoping to introduce a substitute for glyphosate -- the active ingredient in controversial weed killer Roundup -- within four years, Bill Anderson, chief executive of the German chemical company said.
"We are testing this new substance on real plants. It's the first revolutionary innovation in this area in 30 years. Our objective is to have it on the market in 2028," he told German Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Bayer has faced numerous court cases in the United States linked to the suspected cancerous effects of Roundup produced by Monsanto, a US company
Bayer acquired in 2018 for $60 billion.
At the end of January, 54,000 claims were still outstanding out of 167,000 initially registered.
New Archbishop criticises AfD for saying it espouses Christian views
The new Archbishop of Paderborn, Udo Bentz, has accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of wrongly invoking the Christian view of humanity.
"If this is done in order to distance themselves from certain groups and minorities and deny them their rights, then we must make it clear that this is not what the Christian faith stands for," said Bentz, who was inaugurated in Paderborn on Sunday. "And I believe that we can claim greater interpretative competence here than the AfD."
Bentz said that he was very pleased with the clear declaration adopted by all Catholic bishops in Germany at the spring plenary assembly in Augsburg, which denounces ethnic nationalism as incompatible with the Christian faith.
"We may disagree on some things, but when it comes to the essential things, the embers of Christianity, as the declaration says, we all pull together," said Bentz.
German foreign minister criticises pope on Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has sharply criticised Pope Francis's call for Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, saying she didn't "understand" his stance.
The pope sparked a furore at the weekend after saying in an interview on Swiss television that one should "have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate", two years into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"I don't understand it," Baerbock said in a talk show on public broadcaster ARD late Sunday.
"I think some things you can only understand if you see them for yourself," added Baerbock, who has travelled to Kyiv several times since the start of the war.
With reporting by AFP.
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New strikes announced for this week
The GDL train drivers' union said the latest strike affecting passenger services would start at 2 am on Tuesday and last until 2 am Wednesday.
For cargo services the strike would start a few hours earlier, the union said in a statement, blaming deadlocked talks with rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
The walkout will be the union's sixth since November and comes less than a week after a 35-hour stoppage by its train drivers caused travel misery for thousands of rail passengers.
Adding to the chaos, Lufthansa cabin crew are set to walk off the job at Frankfurt airport on Tuesday, and at Munich airport on Wednesday.
The German airline group was already hit by a two-day strike by ground staff last week, as workers press demands for higher pay.
READ ALSO: Germany braces for new week of strikes in air and rail travel
Activists protest Tesla plant expansion in Germany ahead of its reopening
Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday against plans by Tesla to expand its electric car factory near Berlin, citing environmental concerns.
The protest came days after Tesla's Grünheide site was forced to halt production after a nearby electricity pylon was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, causing a power outage at the plant.
The act of sabotage last Tuesday has been claimed by far-left activists from the "Vulkangruppe" (Volcano Group), and federal prosecutors have taken charge of the investigation.
Sunday's protest was organised by a coalition of environmental protection groups including Extinction Rebellion, Nabu and Robin Hood.
Organisers said more than a thousand demonstrators joined the protest, with local media putting the number at around 800 people.
Production at the plant is set to start earlier than recently announced, according to Brandenburg's Minister of Economic Affairs Jörg Steinbach (SPD).
"It now looks like it won't take until the end of the week, but that the power supply can be restored earlier," Steinbach said on RBB-Inforadio on Monday morning.
READ ALSO: Far-left group claims 'sabotage' at Tesla's German factory
Bayer working to replace controversial chemical in weed killer
Bayer is hoping to introduce a substitute for glyphosate -- the active ingredient in controversial weed killer Roundup -- within four years, Bill Anderson, chief executive of the German chemical company said.
"We are testing this new substance on real plants. It's the first revolutionary innovation in this area in 30 years. Our objective is to have it on the market in 2028," he told German Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Bayer has faced numerous court cases in the United States linked to the suspected cancerous effects of Roundup produced by Monsanto, a US company
Bayer acquired in 2018 for $60 billion.
At the end of January, 54,000 claims were still outstanding out of 167,000 initially registered.
New Archbishop criticises AfD for saying it espouses Christian views
The new Archbishop of Paderborn, Udo Bentz, has accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of wrongly invoking the Christian view of humanity.
"If this is done in order to distance themselves from certain groups and minorities and deny them their rights, then we must make it clear that this is not what the Christian faith stands for," said Bentz, who was inaugurated in Paderborn on Sunday. "And I believe that we can claim greater interpretative competence here than the AfD."
Bentz said that he was very pleased with the clear declaration adopted by all Catholic bishops in Germany at the spring plenary assembly in Augsburg, which denounces ethnic nationalism as incompatible with the Christian faith.
"We may disagree on some things, but when it comes to the essential things, the embers of Christianity, as the declaration says, we all pull together," said Bentz.
German foreign minister criticises pope on Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has sharply criticised Pope Francis's call for Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, saying she didn't "understand" his stance.
The pope sparked a furore at the weekend after saying in an interview on Swiss television that one should "have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate", two years into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"I don't understand it," Baerbock said in a talk show on public broadcaster ARD late Sunday.
"I think some things you can only understand if you see them for yourself," added Baerbock, who has travelled to Kyiv several times since the start of the war.
With reporting by AFP.
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