Berlin orchestra relaxes dress code amid summer heat

Companies in Germany plan further job cuts, according to think tank IFO said on Friday, Its employment barometer fell to 92.3 in June, from 93.9 in May.

June’s reading is one of the worst since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The labor market remains weak,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, IFO’s survey chief. “Germany is still a long way from a sustained recovery in employment.”

The labor market in manufacturing continues to struggle, with job cuts increasing in wholesale and retail.

The barometer saw a significant decline among service providers, with the tourism sector also struggling.

However, the IFO said construction activity remained largely intact due to the recession.

German carmakers are offering higher discounts on combustion cars than electric cars for the first time in a year, according to a market study by private research organization Center Automotive Research (CAR).

Their research shows an average discount of 17.8% off the list price on the 20 best-selling electric vehicles. This represents a significant decline from 19.5% in January.

In contrast, the average discount for combustion engine vehicles was 18.4%.

This makes combustion engine vehicles an average of €1,997 (about $2,277) cheaper than electric models, at least in terms of purchase price. In December, the price difference was just over €1,300.

Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Mayer of the Social Democrats (SPD) has called for a new effort to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

“In my view, the time has now come to take concrete steps towards initiating proceedings to ban the party,” Mair told the financial daily. Handelsblatt, It warned that any further delay would be contrary to the principles of a strong democracy.”

Mair’s call comes after an expert report suggested that proceedings to ban the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court would have a good chance of success. The report was presented by the non-profit Society for Civil Liberties (GFF).

“The report provides well-documented and legally solid evidence of violations, for example, of human dignity guaranteed by the Basic Law,” he said.

Firefighters in Stuttgart have managed to rescue four young birds trapped behind a metal cover on a chimney.

Emergency services were called to the scene by the environment agency in the capital of Germany’s southern state of Baden-Wurttemberg. The temperature of the cladding had reached around 65 degrees Celsius.

They arrived there and found that one of the young kestrels had already fallen onto an umbrella, where it was rescued. By gently bending the metal, three other birds were freed.

The four eagles were handed over to the Municipal Corporation Animal Rescue Service.

The Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin will perform its famous end-of-season concert on Saturday evening in a comfortable dress code due to the scorching heat, a spokesman for the orchestra has announced.

The speaker said, “The men will perform without jackets, but will wear a black shirt as their top.” He also said that they may also have something up their sleeves.

For women, their tops do not have to be long sleeved as long as they reach the elbow.

Despite the ongoing heat wave, with temperatures forecast to reach 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) in the German capital on Saturday, the speaker stressed that the stage at the Waldbuhn will be in the shade in the evening.

“We’re used to playing outside,” she said.

The Magdeburg Regional Court on Friday sentenced a Saudi man to life in prison for carrying out an attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market in 2024 that killed six people.

Taleb A, a 51-year-old psychiatrist, drove a rental car at high speed into the market, killing several people, including a nine-year-old boy and five women aged between 45 and 75.

Many others were injured.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has stated that the defendant acted out of personal motives.

Taleb A. arrived in Germany in 2006. He previously accused German authorities of failing to adequately protect Saudis fleeing their country for religious or political reasons.

During the trial, he admitted to planning the attack and driving the car, yet denied that he intentionally ran over the people, a claim the prosecution found implausible.

Good morning to another scorching heat and potentially record-breaking day from our DW newsroom in Bonn.

If you see the Berlin Orchestra playing this weekend, don’t be surprised if they’re not in their usual self – they’ve been allowed to relax their outfits while performing.

Additionally, the country’s rail service Deutsche Bahn offered full refunds to people who canceled their weekend train trips.

Meanwhile, a German court found a psychiatrist guilty of murdering six people in an attack on a Magdeburg Christmas market in 2024.

We’ll bring you all this and more on our blog on all things Germany! Stay tuned!