Latest news with #Morgenmagazin
Local Germany
6 days ago
- General
- Local Germany
Cologne sees largest evacuation for bomb defusal since 1945
The largest evacuation for a bomb defusal since 1945 began in Cologne on Wednesday morning. A large part of the city centre was closed off so that three American World War II bombs could be defused. According to reporting by the German Press Agency (DPA), more than 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes -- including all residents within a 1,000-meter radius around the site in the Deutz district. The city of Cologne announced on its website, "The evacuation is the largest measure after the end of the Second World War. All those involved hope that the defusal can be completed in the course of the day on Wednesday." A city spokeswoman told DPA that it's not yet possible to say when the defusal will begin. City officials must first check that all people have been evacuated, which could take several hours. Kai Kulschewski, head of the department for explosive ordnance disposal at the Düsseldorf district government, told WDR that the duration of the operation "depends on how successful the evacuation is, and whether the population adheres to the when there is no one left in the radius, then we can start working." Roadblocks have been erected around the containment area since 8 am on Wednesday morning. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1,500 to 2,000 bombs from the Second World War are found per year, of which around 200 are as large as those that are set to be defused in Cologne. Cologne has the most densely populated city centre in all of Europe, said Ralf Mayer, head of the Cologne public order office, in ARD's Morgenmagazin . EXPLAINED: How many WWII bombs are still being found in Germany? Advertisement Disruptions in Cologne and in regional railway traffic The potential blast zone in this case includes a hospital, two retirement and nursing homes, museums and the television station RTL as well as the Hohenzollern Bridge, which is the busiest German railway bridge. Deutsche Bahn expects "considerable restrictions in local and long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia", especially since the Cologne-Messe/Deutz station is also closed. Passenger trains were initially allowed to continue over the Hohenzollern Bridge after 8 am, but did not stop at Cologne Messe/Deutz station, the railway announced. From the start of the defusal, the Hohenzollern Bridge is to be temporarily closed to passing traffic. Some trains may have to be diverted, and individual train cancellations are also possible. From this point on, Cologne Central Station can no longer be approached from the direction of Deutz. Shipping on the Rhine is also set to pause temporarily, and the airspace overhead will be closed for a short time. With reporting by DPA.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Merz Rules Out Tax Increases If Conservatives Win Sunday's Vote
(Bloomberg) -- German conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz pledged that a government under his leadership wouldn't raise taxes to fund the hundreds of billions of euros of investment needed in areas like defense and infrastructure, saying it would be 'poison' for Europe's biggest economy. Trump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating Approval Airbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire Victims Sorry, Kids: Disney's New York Headquarters Is for Grown-Ups Trump Targets $128 Billion California High-Speed Rail Project Child Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE Cuts In one of his final public appearances before Sunday's national ballot, Merz told viewers of ZDF TV's 'Morgenmagazin' breakfast show that if he captures the chancellery as expected, he'd instead focus on cutting spending on social benefits and financial support for refugees. Loosening restrictions on government borrowing — enshrined in the so-called constitutional 'debt brake' — isn't a priority, he added. 'The most important bet on the future is that we marshal our strength to get this economy growing again,' Merz said. 'For companies and households, we'll rather have to ease the tax burden,' he added. 'But this is a task for the whole of the next parliament, it doesn't happen overnight by hitting a button.' Voter support for Merz's CDU/CSU bloc has held steady at around 30% throughout the three-month election campaign since Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismantled his ruling coalition in November and triggered the national ballot. The far-right Alternative for Germany is in second place at about 20%, with Scholz's SPD trailing in third at around 15% and the Greens fourth at 13%. Merz will need at least one coalition partner to secure a majority in parliament and the SPD and the Greens are his most likely options. Depending on the number of smaller parties that clear the 5% threshold for getting seats in the Bundestag, he may be forced into an unwieldy three-party alliance. The other three main candidates — Scholz, Robert Habeck of the Greens and AfD Co-leader Alice Weidel — are all appearing separately on 'Morgenmagazin' on Friday. This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. --With assistance from Chris Reiter. Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? How Med Spas Conquered America The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival Elon Musk's DOGE Is a Force Americans Can't Afford to Ignore ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
21-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Merz Rules Out Tax Increases If Conservatives Win Sunday's Vote
German conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz pledged that a government under his leadership wouldn't raise taxes to fund the hundreds of billions of euros of investment needed in areas like defense and infrastructure, saying it would be 'poison' for Europe's biggest economy. In one of his final public appearances before Sunday's national ballot, Merz told viewers of ZDF TV's 'Morgenmagazin' breakfast show that if he captures the chancellery as expected, he'd instead focus on cutting spending on social benefits and financial support for refugees.
