Latest news with #Spiegel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukrainian Embassy denies that Zelenskyy's visit to Germany was shortened
The Ukrainian Embassy in Germany has called reports in the German media that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cancelled his participation in the Charlemagne Prize award ceremony in Aachen due to the threat of a new Russian offensive "not true". Source: European Pravda with reference to a statement by the embassy Quote: "Reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cancelled his participation in tomorrow's Charlemagne Prize award ceremony in Aachen due to the threat of a Russian offensive are not true." Background: Earlier, Spiegel reported that President Zelenskyy supposedly would not be able to attend the event in Aachen on 29 May due to the escalation of the situation on the front lines and the threat of a large-scale Russian offensive in Sumy Oblast. On 28 May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held meetings in Berlin with Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bundestag President Julia Klöckner. During the visit, Germany promised new military aid to Ukraine worth €5 billion. Among other things, a contract was signed with Diehl Defence for the production of IRIS-T systems and missiles for them. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said that the total value of the contract is €2.2 billion. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Axios
4 days ago
- General
- Axios
Detroit's parks rating rises in annual ranking
Detroit's parks system climbed in a national ranking this year, but greater investment in our green spaces and better amenities are needed to compete with higher-ranking cities. Why it matters: Detroit has more than 300 parks that serve as community meetup spots, offer space for exercise, and can attract new residents. The city is investing more into its parks now, but there's still work to do. Driving the news: We're No. 58 on the Trust for Public Land's 2025 ParkScore index of park systems in the 100 most populous cities in the country, up from No. 65 last year. The ranking is based on five categories: acreage, access, amenities, investment and equity. The analysis includes data from public and private organizations that manage or support publicly accessible parks. Zoom in: Detroit received high marks this year for park access, with 84% of Detroiters living within a 10-minute walk of a park. The parks scored well for amenities like basketball courts and sports fields, but a dearth of permanent restrooms and dog parks hurt the ranking. Per person, $118 was spent on the city's parks system — more than last year's $80 average but below the national average of $133. Zoom out: Washington, D.C., had the country's best park system this year, followed by Irvine, California. What they're saying: Detroit's parks have improved significantly in recent years, Sigal Hemy Spiegel, executive director of the Detroit Parks Coalition, tells Axios. "If you go out on a summer day to any of our regional parks, they're slammed with people. It's awesome," Spiegel says. Context: The city has 14 regional parks of at least 50 acres, including Belle Isle, Balduck and Palmer parks. Yes, but: Spiegel says the city's parks could improve with more regular trash pickups at all 300-plus parks. She also suggested starting regular park maintenance well before Memorial Day because many people use the parks in April. The coalition partners with the city, philanthropic organizations and community groups to support the city's parks. Flashback: Detroit's ParkScore ranked 88th in 2018. The city contemplated closing 77 parks in 2010 when it was on a path to bankruptcy. Between the lines: Detroit's sheer size — nearly 140 square miles — hinders its acreage score, which measures the percentage of the city's overall area that's dedicated to parkland.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy to visit Germany on 28 May
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to visit Germany this Wednesday, 28 May. Source: Spiegel, as reported by European Pravda Details: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to have a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss possible steps for further technical negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Further military support for Ukraine is also likely to be on the agenda. Merz also intends to brief the Ukrainian president on plans for a new package of EU sanctions against Russia to increase pressure on Moscow to engage in serious negotiations. Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin. Background: On Saturday 11 May, the leaders of the coalition of the willing met in Kyiv, where they announced plans to ramp up sanctions against Russia if a truce is not implemented. While in Kyiv, Merz promised to continue providing military support for Ukraine, stressing that there would be close coordination with European partners and the United States. On 26 May, he said that Germany, France, the UK and the US have lifted all restrictions on Ukraine regarding the range of strikes inside Russia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Davenport city leaders testify in Scott County lawsuit about 3 settlements
City of Davenport leaders testified Wednesday in a Scott County Court trial after allegations that the City of Davenport violated state law. Mayor Mike Matson and other city leaders, including Alderperson Marion Meginnis, took the stand Wednesday. Scott County Court records show that, although deputies tried to make contact with retired assistant city attorney Brian Heyer, attempts to serve him a subpoena have been unsuccessful. In January 2024, Dr. Allen L. Diercks, who lives in Bettendorf and owns property in Davenport, filed a petition about the open meetings act and settlements of nearly $2 million with three city employees. In the civil suit, he is represented by attorneys Michael J. Meloy, and John T. Flynn, Scott County Court documents show, A judge is presiding over the trial, which began Tuesday and is scheduled to continue for four days. (In a bench trial, the judge makes the decisions, whereas jurors make the decisions in a jury trial.) Read the lawsuit below: Dierks-lawsuitDownload Details of the lawsuit The lawsuit names as defendants the City of Davenport, the Davenport City Council, and City Attorney Tom Warner. The suit challenges the execution of three 'settlement' contracts by Warner of about $2 million with three city employees, and says the contracts were signed without prior city council approval in violation of the Iowa Code. Warner was the corporation counsel for the City of Davenport and was a full-time in-house legal employee of the city, the suit says. The suit says Corrin Spiegel was the city administrator in 2023 and was hired in 2016 as city administrator, and that Spiegel was Warner's immediate job and operational supervisor. Tiffany Thorndike and Samantha Torres were at-will employees who were supervised by Spiegel and who both worked as executive assistants for the office of the mayor and the city council, according to the suit. On Sept. 8, 2023, 'without prior council approval voted upon by the Council in an open meeting,' Warner signed two separate settlement agreements with Thorndike and Torres for $157,000 and $140,500 dollars, respectively, the suit claims, saying the council did not vote to approve nor was provided the actual Thorndike and Torres agreements 'prior to its execution on September 8, 2023.' On Oct. 2023, 'without prior Council approval voted upon by the Council in an open meeting,' the suit accuses Warner of signing a third settlement agreement with Spiegel, for $1,600,000, including $600,000 dollars for lost wages and $1 million for emotional pain and suffering. The Council did not vote to approve and was not provided the actual Spiegel settlement agreement prior to its execution on Oct. 6, 2023, the suit says. Each of these three settlement agreements was a Chapter 22 public record upon the dates of their execution, according to the suit. The lawsuit claims each of the three executed settlement agreements constitutes a void contract between the parties signing the agreements. The council did not approve any of these three settlement agreements, by a recorded vote in an open meeting, with Thorndike, Torres and Spiegel, prior to the date Warner signed said agreements with the three employees, the suit says. On Nov. 10, 2023, according to the suit, the city disbursed settlement funds to Thorndike and Torres for $157,000 and $140,500. On or about Nov. 20, 2023, the suit says, the city announced that Warner was retiring effective Jan. 2, 2024. On Nov. 22, 2023, the city first publicly disclosed the settlement agreement executed with Spiegel, 'keeping the contract, which was a public record, secret from public knowledge and inspection' for a period of 47 days, after the date Warner executed the settlement agreement with Spiegel on Oct. 6, 2023. On Nov. 29, 2023, the city first publicly disclosed the Thorndike and Torres settlements, 'keeping these contracts, which were public records, secret from public knowledge and inspection for 83 days' after Warner executed the agreements on Sept. 8, 2023, the suit says. On or about Dec. 4, 2023, Warner was placed on administrative leave by the city, 'without the City disclosing the reason for Warner's administrative leave,' the suit says, adding the three large monetary settlements 'were purposely kept secret, by Warner and Mayor Matson, from the public until after the November 7, 2023 municipal election for Mayor, to protect the incumbent Mayor from public criticism and potential loss of electoral office, in his re-election bid for a third term in office.' The suit alleges the settlement agreements were 'purposely kept secret' by Warner and the council from the public until after the municipal elections for alderpersons 'to protect incumbent alderpersons from public criticism and potential loss of electoral office, in their reelection bids.' On Dec. 13, 2023, the council held an executive session 'to discuss strategy with counsel in matters involving litigation,' according to the lawsuit, which says a 'a secret (executive) session' was held after the mayor adjourned the regular council meeting in a session 'involving litigation.' According to the suit, 'At the conclusion of the secret (executive) session' held on Dec. 13, 2023, the council, by vote of 6 to 1 (3 council persons not voting), voted to 'ratify' the three settlements. In the suit, Diercks requests that the court: Declare these three employee settlement agreements were void and could not be ratified by the council on Dec. 13, 2023, after they were executed. Schedule an oral hearing on this matter before the court and, after the hearing, 'declare that the Council's December 13, 2023 'ratification' was erroneous, illegal, arbitrary and capricious and was void.' Schedule a trial on the Declaratory Judgment action, the Open Meetings count and the Certiorari count. Declare that Warner's actions in signing the three contracts and the Council's actions to 'ratify' these three contracts on Dec. 13, 2023 were each 'illegal, … erroneous and void.' Find that Warner, the City of Davenport and the Council failed to follow statutes. Find that Warner, the City of Davenport and the Council violated the Iowa Code. Find that the City of Davenport and Warner violated the Davenport City Code on the stipulated settlement amounts that are allowed by Warner to sign. Find that Warner is personally liable for unlawfully signing the three contracts and causing the 'three extravagant monetary payments' made to Spiegel, Thorndike and Torres. 'Declare that the City shall take legal action to clawback all monetary payments made to Spiegel, Thorndike and Torres.' (A 'clawback' is a contractual provision by which money already paid to an employee must be returned to an employer, sometimes with a penalty.) Award Dr. Allen L. Diercks attorney fees for the council's violations of the Iowa Open Meetings Act. Enter other relief to Diercks that is just and equitable, including court costs and attorney fees. The suit refers to Chapter 21 of the Official Meetings Open to the Public (see the Iowa Code here) that regulates public meetings. Read Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code here. Read Chapter 22 about open records here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Local Germany
20-05-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
How a Netflix customer in Germany won back money after price hikes
A Netflix customer in Germany has successfully defended himself against price increases from the media streaming giant, and will get his money back for several years of subscriptions plus interest. The plaintiff's lawyer, Christian Solmecke, said that the Cologne Regional Court ruled that several price increases made by Netflix were done so unlawfully. The ruling doesn't guarantee that millions of other Netflix customers in Germany would be entitled to a similar claim, but consumer advocates see the ruling as a positive signal in that direction. What were the details of the case? The man had signed up for a Netflix subscription in 2017, originally for the monthly price of €11.99. Following three incremental price increases, he was paying €17.99 per month for the same service by May 2022. Claiming he never agreed to the price increases, the man brought a lawsuit and ultimately the Cologne Regional Court agreed that the company had failed to meet its legal requirements to inform him about the contractual change. According to a report by Spiegel, Netflix has been ordered to pay the man €191.60 plus interest. The man had clicked a button which read, "Agree to price increase" but the court found that the simple agree/cancel option was not sufficient. "A click on an 'agree' button is not sufficient if the user does not recognize that it represents a contract offer," said Solmecke. A spokeswoman for the Cologne Regional Court confirmed the verdict to the DPA. A spokesperson for Netflix called the decision "out of the ordinary," adding that "other courts have ruled the recognized our previous price increases in Germany as effective..." Does this mean Netflix owes you money back? For now, it's unclear to what extent other Netflix customers can successfully invoke the Cologne ruling. Advertisement The lawsuit was filed in 2022, and in its ruling the court invoked the three-year standard limitation period, thereby rejecting the plaintiffs claims from 2017 and 2018. According to this standard, only claims from 2022 onwards could be re-enforced. Also, in it's last price increase in 2024, Netflix had modified the wording in it's approval process. Still consumer advocates have said the ruling has a "strong signal effect" for customers of streaming services who were affected by similar price increases. "The court found that the price increase, informed through a pop-up window within the platform, does not automatically lead to an effective change in contractual prices. Rather, it depends there is an effective offer for an amendment agreement," said Erol Burak Tergek of the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Centre. Tergek stressed that the ruling doesn't only apply to Netflix: "Those affected by a similar situation can therefore independently reclaim overpaid premiums after an ineffective price increase and, if necessary, sue for them." Following the ruling, Stiftung Warentest, a German consumer organisation created a sample letter that Netflix subscribers in Germany can use to try and refute recent price increases.
