Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Record weekend temperatures logged, crimes at highest level in eight years, and more news from around Germany on Monday.
Germany logs record high weekend temperatures
According to preliminary data from the German Weather Service (DWR), there has never been a hot day so early in the year since regular weather recording began in Germany.
In Ohlsbach in the Rhine Valley, a sweltering 30.1C was measured on Saturday, according to the DWS, who considers it to be officially a heatwave day when temperatures reach 30C.
Previously, the German record for the period between April 1st and 10th was 27.7C, measured in 2011.
Large parts of the other German measuring stations also registered new highs for their region on the day, especially in the central and southern states, according to a DWD spokesperson.
However, the record values are only preliminary figures. The data will be checked again in the coming days.
READ ALSO: Germany to see temperatures up to 30C following stormy week
Crimes at highest level since 2016
The number of crimes reported to the police in Germany rose by 5.5 percent to 5.94 million, reported the Welt am Sonntag, quoting from crime statistics that Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to present on Tuesday. The last time there were this many cases was in 2016.
According to the report, 58.4 percent of all recorded crimes were solved, slightly more than in the previous year while violent crime was its highest level in 15 years with 214,099 offences.
The number of crimes involving grievous and actual bodily harm rose by 6.8 percent to 154,541 cases.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the paper that society's mood had changed: "Conflicts are solved more readily with fists instead of words. The fuse has become shorter.”
Archive photo shows a police siren in Saxony. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Jens Wolf
Germany faces Gaza genocide case from top UN court
Germany faces charges from Nicaragua at the top UN court on Monday that it is "facilitating the commission of genocide" against Palestinians with its military and political support for Israel.
Nicaragua has hauled Germany before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.
Germany has hit back at the allegations, with Sebastian Fischer, spokesman for the German foreign ministry, telling reporters ahead of the hearings: "We reject the allegations from Nicaragua."
"Germany has violated neither the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law and we will demonstrate this in full before the International Court of Justice," added Fischer.
Nicaragua will set out its case on Monday, with Germany due to respond the following day, reported AFP. In a 43-page submission to the court, Nicaragua argues that Germany is in breach of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, set up in the wake of the Holocaust.
"By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA (UN agency for Palestinian refugees)... Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide," says the submission.
Almost half of AfD's funding comes from state resources
Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as a right-wing extremist party. Despite that, the party's largest source of income comes from the state.
No other party represented in the Bundestag is financed as heavily from state funds as the AfD.
Its share of public funds in total revenue is almost 45 percent, while the SPD's is just under 30 percent, according to the parties' annual reports for 2022 published by the Bundestag. More recent figures are not yet available. The reports also show that the SPD generates by far the highest income from membership fees of all parties.
In absolute terms, with €10.4 million, the AfD received the lowest state funding of all parties in 2022. But mainly due to the very low income it generated from membership fees (around €3.8 million), this represented a share of 44.9 percent of their total income.
For comparison: the SPD received around €47.7 million in state money. However, this only accounted for 29.8 percent of their total income with membership fees of €54.5 million contributing 34 percent of the SPD's income.
For the CDU, the share of state money in total revenue was 32.6 percent. For the FDP it was 36.9, for the Left 36.1, for the Greens 35.4 and for the CSU 32.7 percent.
Balcony solar panels boom in Germany
More and more balconies in Germany are being fitted with solar panels. In recent years, 'balcony power plants' have been experiencing a boom, as they are a relatively simple and affordable way even for tenants to participate in the Energiewende (energy transition) or simply save on electricity costs.
More than 400,000 of the plug-in solar systems are now in operation, according to the Federal Network Agency's market master data register as of early April.
In the first quarter alone, more than 50,000 systems were added to the register.
For comparison: nine months ago, in mid-2023, the number of installations registered as being in operation was around 230,000.
'Tatort' star Peter Sodann dies
Known across Germany for his role as Commissioner Ehrlicher in popular TV show Tatort, actor Peter Sodann died on Friday in Halle an der Saale, his family said on Sunday. He was 87.
Comments
See Also
Germany logs record high weekend temperatures
According to preliminary data from the German Weather Service (DWR), there has never been a hot day so early in the year since regular weather recording began in Germany.
In Ohlsbach in the Rhine Valley, a sweltering 30.1C was measured on Saturday, according to the DWS, who considers it to be officially a heatwave day when temperatures reach 30C.
Previously, the German record for the period between April 1st and 10th was 27.7C, measured in 2011.
Large parts of the other German measuring stations also registered new highs for their region on the day, especially in the central and southern states, according to a DWD spokesperson.
However, the record values are only preliminary figures. The data will be checked again in the coming days.
READ ALSO: Germany to see temperatures up to 30C following stormy week
Crimes at highest level since 2016
The number of crimes reported to the police in Germany rose by 5.5 percent to 5.94 million, reported the Welt am Sonntag, quoting from crime statistics that Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to present on Tuesday. The last time there were this many cases was in 2016.
According to the report, 58.4 percent of all recorded crimes were solved, slightly more than in the previous year while violent crime was its highest level in 15 years with 214,099 offences.
The number of crimes involving grievous and actual bodily harm rose by 6.8 percent to 154,541 cases.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the paper that society's mood had changed: "Conflicts are solved more readily with fists instead of words. The fuse has become shorter.”
Germany faces Gaza genocide case from top UN court
Germany faces charges from Nicaragua at the top UN court on Monday that it is "facilitating the commission of genocide" against Palestinians with its military and political support for Israel.
Nicaragua has hauled Germany before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.
Germany has hit back at the allegations, with Sebastian Fischer, spokesman for the German foreign ministry, telling reporters ahead of the hearings: "We reject the allegations from Nicaragua."
"Germany has violated neither the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law and we will demonstrate this in full before the International Court of Justice," added Fischer.
Nicaragua will set out its case on Monday, with Germany due to respond the following day, reported AFP. In a 43-page submission to the court, Nicaragua argues that Germany is in breach of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, set up in the wake of the Holocaust.
"By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA (UN agency for Palestinian refugees)... Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide," says the submission.
Almost half of AfD's funding comes from state resources
Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as a right-wing extremist party. Despite that, the party's largest source of income comes from the state.
No other party represented in the Bundestag is financed as heavily from state funds as the AfD.
Its share of public funds in total revenue is almost 45 percent, while the SPD's is just under 30 percent, according to the parties' annual reports for 2022 published by the Bundestag. More recent figures are not yet available. The reports also show that the SPD generates by far the highest income from membership fees of all parties.
In absolute terms, with €10.4 million, the AfD received the lowest state funding of all parties in 2022. But mainly due to the very low income it generated from membership fees (around €3.8 million), this represented a share of 44.9 percent of their total income.
For comparison: the SPD received around €47.7 million in state money. However, this only accounted for 29.8 percent of their total income with membership fees of €54.5 million contributing 34 percent of the SPD's income.
For the CDU, the share of state money in total revenue was 32.6 percent. For the FDP it was 36.9, for the Left 36.1, for the Greens 35.4 and for the CSU 32.7 percent.
Balcony solar panels boom in Germany
More and more balconies in Germany are being fitted with solar panels. In recent years, 'balcony power plants' have been experiencing a boom, as they are a relatively simple and affordable way even for tenants to participate in the Energiewende (energy transition) or simply save on electricity costs.
More than 400,000 of the plug-in solar systems are now in operation, according to the Federal Network Agency's market master data register as of early April.
In the first quarter alone, more than 50,000 systems were added to the register.
For comparison: nine months ago, in mid-2023, the number of installations registered as being in operation was around 230,000.
'Tatort' star Peter Sodann dies
Known across Germany for his role as Commissioner Ehrlicher in popular TV show Tatort, actor Peter Sodann died on Friday in Halle an der Saale, his family said on Sunday. He was 87.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.