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German engineers under pressure from China Stefan Bachmeier still recalls the golden times of German machine builders in China. He works for a company called Kaeser Kompressoren, a medium-sized enterprise from Coburg, Germany. The firm has a workforce of 5,000 and specializes in compressed air technology. "I remember the times when you could simply say ʼlook, this is a German machine,ʼ" he said. "Clients would pay, there was little haggling over the price — but those times are gone," adds Bachmeier, who oversees the companyʼs Asia business from Singapore. Although the "Made in Germany" label is still highly valued, itʼs no longer a unique selling point. "The Chinese have become very selfconfident and nationalist at times," Bachmeier told DW, "andtheyʼre very serious about their "Made in China" campaign."
EU takes legal action against Poland to protect judges The European Commission said Wednesday that it had issued a letter of formal notice — the first step in legal action — to Poland over new disciplinary measures that can be taken against judges. Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the system of oversight, introduced in 2017, appeared to "systematically subject judges to the political control of the executive." Polish judges who have engaged in public debates or made comments about the reforms have been targeted by disciplinary officers from the governmentappointed National Council of Judiciary, Timmermans said. Judges who asked for rulings from the European Court of Justice had also had investigations launched against them. "All this has an obvious chilling effect on the activities of judges, and this is incompatible with the requirements of judicial independence as detailed by the European Court of Justice," Timmermans said.
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Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak faces trial over 1MDB scandal The 65-year-old pleaded not guilty to seven charges of corruption and money-laundering
The former prime minister and his associates are accused of pilfering hundreds of millions of dollars from the state sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
Mobility services for the elderly: Looking beyond the private car Owning a car still means a lot to Germans, especially older people in rural areas. But what if the elderly are no longer able to drive? A village near Berlin is pondering alternatives, as Hardy Graupner reports. The village ofPetershagen-Eggersdorf in the largely rural Eastern German state of Brandenburghas experienced a massive population boom for many years now. It now has more than 15,000 inhabitants, up from just 8,000 in the early 1990s. A logical side effect of the increased influx has been more traffic, with a higher number of privately owned cars per family, according to the mayor of the twin village, Marco Rut-
ter. Thatʼs causing a bit of a problem, especially for the growing number of elderly people living here. "Despite some younger folks moving here, the number of senior citizens has been rising disproportionately," Rutter tells DW,noting that the trend will become even more pronounced in the years ahead. "Up to 4,000 inhabitants are now between 55 and 65 years old, meaning that over the next decade weʼll have a lot more people past the age of 65, plus a lot of people who statistically live a lot longer." More traffic, more problems Rutter points out that increased traffic flows in the village have created a sense of insecurity among the elderly driving their own cars.
Brazilian artist Helio Fervenza on censorship and responsibility Visual artist Helio Fervenza teaches at the art institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Art in Porto Alegre. His works have been presented at the Venice Biennale art shows, in Sao Paulo and Amsterdam. Like so many artists in Brazil, Fervenza is worried about political developments in his native country. He told DW about the significance of art, widening censorship and artʼs responsibility in society. He and his political cronies are not interested in art. But even before that there was little support from the ministry. For
me, art equals access to knowledge about the world, because through the eyes of art you see the world from new perspectives. You become more aware and you see things differently. This kind of art has not been recognized in society, it was a process that took time. Not every type of art gets an immediate reaction, but in the long run, it triggers a new way of thinking in society. So whatʼs happening in Brazil at the moment — the governmentʼs inconsiderate way of dealing with art — is very bad.
Germany approves stripping dual national terrorist fighters of citizenship Germans with dual nationality who join foreign terrorist militias will lose their citizenship in the future, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. "Someone who goes abroad and actually participates in combat operations for a terrorist militia shows that they have turned their back on Germany and its basic values and turned to another foreign power in the form of a terrorist militia," the federal government said in a statement. Read more: Revoking citizenship: How it works across the EU The change to the citizenship law will apply only to adults who have a second nationality. Minors are unaffected. It would also not be applied retroactively, which would violate German case law.
Mercedes-Benz Moscovia car plant opened by Altmaier and Putin in Russia German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier (above right) said on Wednesday that he saw great potential for future cooperation with Russia despite "political differences." "The Russian automotive market continues to be a key market for German car manufacturers. The opening of the first plant of Mercedes-Benz Cars in Russia is a landmark for the commitment of Mercedes-Benz in Russia, but also that of German ventures in Russia overall," Altmaier said. "A successful Russia is also in the interest of a successful Germany," he added.
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