NEWS FROM BERLIN
Largest refugee shelter in Berlin to be closed by 2026
A refugee distribution center, known as HUB, has been set up on part of the former Berlin Tegel Airport. Currently, only 1,500 places in that central refugee shelter are occupied with people from Ukraine, according to “DW”. The state wants to clear the site on the former airport grounds in the coming months anyway, and it wants to build a new neighborhood there in the future. Meanwhile, Berlin’s government emphasizes the advantages of smaller-scale and decentralized accommodation. “Decentralized accommodation means distributing the burden among many participants and creating good neighborly relations,” affirmed Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD), Berlin Senator for Labor, Social Affairs, Equality, and Integration. Source: welt
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Warken announces average additional contribution for health insurance funds
Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has announced that she will set the average additional contribution covering expenses for health insurance funds at 2.9%. “Our task is to work together withthe health insurance funds and other experts in the so-called estimation group to determine how high the average additional contribution covering expenses isexpected to be,” Warken told the “Rheinische Post” newspaper. The health minister also expressed the possibility of introducing a new patient fee if citizens do not adhere to the proposed primary care system. “We are planning to introduce a primary care system in which people will not be able to go directly to a specialist without referal,“ she added. Source: n-tv
Not only criminals deported to Syria
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s (CDU) trip to Damascus has sparked a debate about the repatriation of Syrians. CDU Secretary General Linnemann has another opinion, though. He has spoken out in favor of the return of Syrian refugees, even those who are not criminals or dangerous individuals. Given the end of the civil war in the country, he affirmed on the ARD program “Bericht aus Berlin” that there is “no longer any reason for asylum in Germany.” Linnemann added that talks with the Syrian interim president would take place in the coming weeks, with the aim of creating a legal basis for repatriation. Source: n-tv
Germans broadly support democracy, oppose far right
The German study “Mitte Studie” (“Center Study”), conducted annually since 2006 by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, aims to serve as an early warning system for anti-democratic developments. For this report, 2,000 people were interviewed. The sample represents a cross-section of German society in terms of voting behavior, education, income, and origin. There, almost 80% of respondents said they are staunchly committed to democracy, up 6% from four years ago. Support for overt right-wing extremism in Germany is on the decline: only 3% of respondents have a firmly right-wing extremist world view. However, the study also shows that right-wing extremism tends to be more prevalent among youth. Source: dw
Magdeburg: trial for suspect of deadly market attack begins
A trial begun on November 10 for aman accused of carrying out an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg last December. There, six people were killed and more than 300 others wounded. The suspect, Taleb A., is also charged with attempted murder in relation to another 338 people. Taleb A. has been in custody since the day of the crime. If he is found guilty, he faces life imprisonment for murder. At the time of the attack, officials said Taleb A., was an “untypical” attacker. They said he planned and prepared the crime in detail over several weeks without the help of accomplices. Source: bbc
Man held after cars in Hanau found smeared with swastikas in blood
A man is being held by police after about 50 vehicles were smeared in human blood in Hanau. Cars, walls and postboxes were defaced sometimes with swastikas. A 31-year-old Romanian man was detained at his home and a breathalyser test showed he had a high blood alcohol level. Investigators said their initial findings suggested the man had reacted to an incident at work and would be referred to a psychiatric clinic. Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour (Greens) said the attack had left him speechless and needed to be solved quickly. Source: bbc
Three issues still unresolved regarding the new military service
Thomas Röwekamp (CDU), chairman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, is raising some issues regarding the plans for military service. For instance, he made it clear that the CDU no longer insists on a lottery system for selecting young men for conscription. His party also claims about the need for a ‘growth path’ for the active forces in the law, in cases where “you need an additional 10,000 men and women per year,” as he affirmed. Röwekamp referred also to the issue of whether all of those doing military service should be considered temporary soldiers, as Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) wants. Source: handelsblatt
