The third wave of heat is looming

An hour-long police operation is underway in Berlin, where a man has taken a woman hostage in a supermarket. The man reportedly “pulled out” a large knife before the supermarket closed on Friday evening.

Find out the latest information on the mortgage situation in Berlin in our report.

Many representatives of business, trade unions and politics say Germany should push back its goal of achieving climate neutrality by five years, a media report said on Saturday.

Sunday edition of World The newspaper cited Markus Kreber, CEO of energy giant RWE, as saying that postponing the 2045 target to align with the EU’s 2050 target date could ease pressure on German industry.

Krebbers told the newspaper that Germany’s current goal of becoming climate-neutral has made it more expensive to do business in the bloc than it was five years ago, without providing any benefits to the climate.

Michael Vassiliadis, head of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industries Association (IGBCE), said: World The target should be pushed back to give industry more time to reduce its CO2 emissions and thus maintain its competitiveness.

Gita Könemann, head of the small and medium-sized business (SME) group of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU), also spoke in favor of a “more realistic” timetable.

“We want less CO2, not less industry, so emissions trading must be consistent with reality,” he said.

His comments echo those made earlier this year by Merz, who said climate-protection measures should not put undue pressure on the economy.

According to the German Weather Service (DWD), temperatures in Germany will rise steadily over the weekend and reach a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south-west of the country early next week.

On Saturday, the mercury is already expected to climb to 35 degrees Celsius in the south and west of the country, while the northern and eastern regions will be slightly cooler, around 30 degrees Celsius.

The weather is expected to turn cold again by the end of next week.

The third wave of heat, in late June, is not expected to bring record temperatures of more than 41 degrees Celsius in some areas, and lower humidity this time will make the heat more bearable.

At least 5,100 people died from heat-related causes last month, according to the Robert Koch Institute, a public health agency.

Despite the low temperatures, the Federal Institute of Public Health (BIÖG) still issued a warning, stating that rooms should be kept as cool as possible and physical activities should be limited to early morning and evening hours.

good day From the DW newsroom in Bonn, where the air conditioners will be on full blast as another heatwave hits Germany.

Although temperatures are not projected to rise to the record levels seen late last month, experts say the warmer weather will significantly increase the risk of wildfires and pose a serious threat to people’s health.

But despite unprecedented heat events in Europe, partly driven by human-induced climate change, business leaders and politicians are calling on Germany to delay its goal of becoming carbon neutral to maintain industrial competitiveness.

In political news, the far-right Alternative for Germany party will outline its preliminary planned actions if it succeeds in taking power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September elections.

The party is being monitored by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for alleged right-wing extremist tendencies, with many fearing it could pose a threat to democracy in the country.

And police in Berlin are dealing with a dramatic hostage taking incident at a supermarket.

Read on to know more about the latest happenings in and around Germany.