Strike in Munich: No subways, only four trams – Munich

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No subways, only four tram lines and significantly fewer buses than normal: Because of a major warning strike, public transport in Munich is severely affected this Tuesday. Since 3:30 a.m., all drivers of the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) have been asked not to show up for work. Many have obviously followed this. The strike lasts until 6 p.m. – and by then not a single subway will run. Traffic is significantly restricted on buses and trams. The Munich S-Bahn is not affected by the strike.

Subway

The fear of the MVG is: Should they send individual subways onto the track, many people might be tempted to go to one of the subway stations – in the hope of catching a train there. And then there would be a dangerous crowd on the platforms. These therefore remain closed until 6 p.m.

Bus

Those who want to take a bus have the best chance this Tuesday. Since around eight in the morning, there has been at least a 20-minute cycle on all lines. A spokesman said about half of all buses are in use. Because private bus companies also drive through Munich on behalf of the MVG, and their drivers are not called for a warning strike.

Tram

With the trams, on the other hand, the offer is much thinner throughout Tuesday: Since, according to the MVG, only about a fifth of the trains that are otherwise available can be used, they only run on four routes. First in the morning line 19 between Pasing and Berg am Laim went into operation. This was followed by lines 16 and 17, which run between Neuhausen and Bogenhausen, and line 27 from Petuelring to Sendlinger Tor until around 8 a.m. All of these tram lines are only served every 20 minutes. All other lines are canceled until about 6 p.m., as the MVG announced.

Train

The S-Bahn, which is operated by Deutsche Bahn, is not affected by the strike. A spokeswoman reported that the trains were “punctually” more crowded in the morning than usual. Overall, however, there were no major abnormalities. Your impression: The passengers had “adjusted well” to the local transport strike, and many probably stayed at home. Just a signal disruption on the main S-Bahn line towards Ostbahnhof caused temporary annoyance in the morning: As a result, many trains were delayed.

The situation on the streets

As a police spokesman said that “of course more Munich residents were driving in the morning”, there was a lot more going on on the streets during rush hour. Especially on the major roads into Munich and on the Mittlerer Ring. The traffic there was also jammed because of a technical breakdown: One of the stationary speed cameras on Landshuter Allee broke down shortly after six in the morning, as the spokesman reported, and flashed every car that drove past it – regardless of its speed. The result: many drivers braked, which made the traffic flow even slower. The machine should be repaired in the morning.

There is a lot going on on Tuesday morning on Munich’s streets like here on Rotkreuzplatz.

(Photo: Robert Haas)

Why the strike is so big this time

“Those who can should avoid the MVG means of transport today,” warned the transport company to its customers. You should plan more time and, if possible, switch to the S-Bahn that is not on strike. But there, too, one would have to reckon with “significantly increased passenger numbers”. This time, the warning strike goes further than comparable work stoppages in the past. Because the drivers in Munich have so far been paid according to two different collective agreements. Earlier arguments were about only one person, so only part of the staff could go on strike at any given time. The rest drove so that the MVG could always maintain a large part of the offer. This time it’s different.

The background of the warning strike

There is a company collective agreement for the drivers of the MVG. Some of the Munich drivers are still employed by Stadtwerke, the parent company of MVG; for them the (generally better) Bavaria-wide collective agreement for local public transport applies. Both contracts expired at the end of June and are currently being renegotiated. The unions, especially Verdi, are demanding more money than employers – including the MVG – are willing to pay. Because of the high loss of income as a result of the Corona crisis, there is hardly any leeway, argues the MVG.

In addition, the strike involves a third collective agreement that does not yet exist: the unions are trying to conclude a nationwide framework collective agreement for local transport. With this request they have failed so far, the Germany-wide warning strikes on this Tuesday should be a means of pressure. At MVG, on the other hand, this is considered disproportionate, since everything that Verdi is demanding for a nationwide contract has long been agreed in Bavaria and Munich.

additional Information

The current operating situation can also be found on the MVG website, in the MVG Fahrinfo app Twitter or on the Facebook page of the MVG.

Where there is still a strike

In Bavaria Verdi wants to strike the local transport in a total of eleven cities today. In addition to Munich, these are Nuremberg, Augsburg, Regensburg, Landshut, Fürth, Coburg, Bamberg, Aschaffenburg, Würzburg and Schweinfurt. “In Augsburg there is next to nothing,” said a spokesman for the local utility company in the morning. In Regensburg, the bus traffic is completely paralyzed, according to the municipal utilities. In Nuremberg, instead of trams and underground trains, buses run along the night line network.

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Brandenburg: How my swimming trip turned into a safari at the lake

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Germany Brandenburg

How the bathing trip became a safari on the lake

In Brandenburg, our author wanted to take a morning swim in the lake. But she was unlucky: other guests were already sunbathing on the jetty by the water. And so she had no choice but to cautiously retreat.

| Reading time: 3 minutes

From Kira Hanser

editor in charge of travel / style / engine

Brandenburg: grass snakes sun themselves on the bathing jetty on the lake near Templin Brandenburg: grass snakes sun themselves on the bathing jetty on the lake near Templin

Not at all shy: grass snakes sunbathe on the bathing jetty on the lake near Templin

Source: private

Bit sets. Bad luck. Other guests are sunbathing on the bathing jetty by the lake, early in the morning. They loll on the planks, then raise their heads in irritation and watch the troublemaker hissing. There are seven in number that have strategically positioned themselves precisely. Left, right, and in the middle, so that no more space remains free on the wooden planks – and the way to the bathing ladder would be like a prancing zigzag course over the body.

Even beach holidaymakers who are only too happy to reserve their favorite spot by the water with towels could learn a lot from this team effort and takeover tactics. The early sun worshipers at a Brandenburg lake near Templin didn’t think anything of it: instinct led them to the jetty. There are seven large grass snakes. One of them is almost four feet long. But they are completely harmless.

The planned bathing excursion turns into a surprising safari. Adventure wilderness, on the way in Brandenburg. You expect that somewhere in the African savannah, but not on a boardwalk of a lake between holiday homes. Almost every square meter in this country has been dug up or built on. But Germany can also be really wild.

also read

Brandenburg: If you want to explore the Spreewald by paddling, you can rent a boat in various places

World tour through Germany

Gently retreat, step by step, so as not to disturb the snake siesta. The animals flicker, then doze off again, rolled up like garden hoses. As if they knew exactly that they shouldn’t be frightened. They are a particularly protected species under the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Anyone who even destroys their quiet zone can expect a fine of up to 65,000 euros in Brandenburg.

Grass snakes warm up in the sun by the lake

Vacation home owner Monika Klemm from Berlin says: “Grass snakes like to sunbathe on footbridges.” As cold-blooded animals, the snakes absorb the temperature of their surroundings. At night their bodies cool down so much that they want to lie on wooden planks for a while in the morning sun to warm up.

One of the last bathing jetties in the reed belt is very popular, but there are only a few left. Many are forcibly removed from the lakes. This is called renaturation for nature conservation reasons. Grass snakes love bathing jetties – the animals don’t care that they were built and are therefore artificial.

kingfisher

A kingfisher sits on a branch hanging over the water with a captured fish in its beak

Source: pa / ZB / Patrick Pleul

Grass snakes are not the only rare wild animals that live on the jetty. The big five at the lake could still be counted: kingfisher, sea eagle, pond turtle and horseshoe damselfly. “I have already swum with rays in New Zealand, but here I swim with rudd. That is no less exciting than a trip into distant nature, ”says Monika Klemm.

These rudd fish like Asian Garra Rufa fish like to pluck at the toes of bathers. A kind of doctor fish pedicure in Lake Brandenburg, but that’s not for everyone. In the meadow, cranes trumpet, as impressive as their wintering conspecifics in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.

Around noon the jetty is empty and the grass snakes have crawled into the reeds. The next animal surprise awaits on the lowest rung of the bathing ladder: Dozens of pond clams are lined up like oysters here. Places where nature can really be nature are not that rare in Germany. Even if it’s just a jetty on the lake.

“A radical fight against wild boars is imperative”

In Brandenburg there is the first case of African swine fever in Germany. Udo Hemmerling from the farmers’ association sees the risk that the virus will establish itself. He therefore calls for a radical fight against wild boars.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.

Source: Welt am Sonntag

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Wind power in Le Havre wants to appeal to women

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In the port of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), work on the future Siemens-Gamesa factory, launched in the middle of the year, is in full swing. The foundations of the 80,000 m 2 building are being laid. From 2022, it should produce on the same site the blades and nacelles of the wind turbines of 5 of the 6 offshore parks of the first call for tenders of the French State. “For the moment, in terms of employment, we are still on the same trajectory. But beware, the health crisis is not yet behind us, ”says Arnaud Gomel, the HRD France of the international group. It will eventually have to hire 750 people to run the huge infrastructure.

“Recruitment has already started to expand our management team with arrivals every month,” he explains. But the bulk of hiring will take place in 2021 and 2022, in three waves. The first is to form teams who will in turn have to train newcomers to start production. And the last wave will come when the activity of the plant is ramping up ”.

Local workforce

The Covid-19 epidemic has hardly slowed down the hiring dynamic. “We took the time to reflect, especially for our maintenance teams, by closing our facilities for a while to adapt our intervention procedures. But the wind industry, all sectors combined, continues to recruit, ”says Arnaud Gomel.

“In 2018, our company in France had around a hundred employees. In 2023, we should be more than 1000, he continues. Even during lockdown, using telecommuting and remote interviews, we continued to hire new staff. “

It is still too early to know the compensation levels of future Norman employees. The company is studying the salary scale which will then be discussed with the social partners. The HR Director wants above all to make the Le Havre basin benefit from the new wind turbine plant: “Our objective is to find the workforce locally by relying on our partnership with Pôle emploi”.

“These positions are not reserved for men”

Two targets have priority: people furthest from the world of work and the female public. “On the one hand, we have around 600 positions open to job seekers who do not necessarily have qualifications, since the training of workers and technicians will be provided internally. This makes it possible to recruit a wide variety of profiles ”.

On the second point, it is above all a communication effort that will be undertaken to attract female candidates, often fewer in the industry. “We want to show that these positions are not reserved for men. Elsewhere in Europe, as we can see, it works. “

Finally, a place will be reserved for apprenticeship, an area in which the Normandy region has invested by creating a “wind campus” in Fécamp within the Descartes-Maupassant high schools. “It’s a long-term reflection. Not only for the Le Havre plant, but to have resources when it comes to setting up maintenance teams and maintaining future offshore parks.

Roland-Garros: Alizé Cornet at the rendezvous

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Alizé Cornet did not miss his debut at the Roland-Garros Central. The world No. 52, who shares her impressions for Le Parisien during this fortnight, dominated her compatriot Chloé Paquet (6-3, 6-2) in less than an hour and a half. Despite the tension, the Niçoise managed to control her nerves. And forget the special context of this special Covid Roland Garros.

“We’re starting to get used to it,” she breathes. At the US Open (Editor’s note: where she reached the 8th), playing on an empty Arthur-Ashe court is a shock, because it’s even bigger than here. Besides, there were a few people scattered here and there. In fact, I was so focused on my game that I didn’t even notice the stands. It was only my clan that mattered. “

With her experience, the young woman knows the Parisian public well. And knows he can be a double-edged sword. “There were times when the crowd would go crazy and carry me,” she recalls, and other times when it put so much pressure on me. The French public is demanding and difficult to conquer. They can be tough if you don’t play at your best. “

In any case, Cornet appreciates the two major innovations of the year in Paris: the roof and the lighting. “It’s still super comfortable to know that when we enter the Philippe-Chatrier, we are sure to finish our match,” she says. When you have to stop at a set everywhere, go back to sleep in the middle of a match and come back to play a round the next day, it’s unbearable. There we have less uncertainty. “

The Azurean, who will face the Chinese Zhang (seeded No. 12 Madison Keys) in the second round, will be a light sleeper… until her next PCR test. “It’s okay, here I’m quiet for three days,” she smiles. But I can’t wait for it to end because it’s super anxiety-provoking. Already we are all stretched like crossbows … “

Washington decided to strangle China’s semiconductor industry

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Posted on Sep 28, 2020 at 1:02 PMUpdated Sep 29, 2020 8:09 AM

Another stock market crash for Minimum wage (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp). Shares of the largest Chinese chipmaker fell 3.9% in Hong Kong after Washington’s decision to impose export restrictions that could cut the company off from critical US hardware and software and, in turn, strangle the entire Chinese semiconductor industry.

The US Department of Commerce on Friday sent a letter to American companies telling them that selling their products to SMIC presented unacceptable national security risks since they could potentially be diverted for a “Military end use”. As a result, all US companies would now be required to obtain export licenses before they can sell products to the Chinese group, several Anglo-Saxon media reported after reading the letter.

Die Espen (Young World newspaper)

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All the wind in Germany, but as is well known, it arises

Through the aspens. Those eternally frightened trees

Raise the air with their leaves. In the case of special

Fear until the hurricane, so they tremble. So in love

Adversity is mostly caused by fear of adversity, so

Beloved, do not lean forward. Not differently furthermore in some.

If it weren’t for the aspens, there would be silence and serene peace.

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Ociny

As you know, aspen creates any German wind.

Always trembling with fear, the air is stirred by the foliage,

And if they are horrified, they will raise a worldwide hurricane.

So the fear of failure threatens to fail in love.

So, do not be afraid of her, do not tremble like an aspen leaf.

In love, as in many other things, success depends on aspens.

If it were not for the trembling of the aspens, peace and quiet would reign.

After 22 years, a man is on trial – and denies the act

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Maastricht
Murdered 11-year-old: after 22 years a man is on trial – and denies the act

Defendant Jos B’s defense lawyer speaks to journalists before the Maastricht trial

© Marcel Van Hoorn / AFP

Summer 1998: a boy is found dead. He was abused. Now the alleged perpetrator is on trial. But he doesn’t want it to be – despite traces of DNA. He has his own explanation for this.

It’s a terrible crime, but also a case like something out of a thriller: In 1998, the eleven-year-old Nicky Verstappen was kidnapped, sexually abused and killed from a tent camp in Brunssummerheide between Aachen and Maastricht. The police have been in the dark for a long time, and it looks like the murder will never be solved. But then, thanks to the latest technology, DNA traces from the corpse are suddenly assigned to a man who was once the focus of the investigators shortly after the crime. This now 57-year-old Jos B. has been on trial in the Dutch city of Maastricht since Monday.

The interest in the trial is huge – it is one of the most sensational criminal cases in recent Dutch history. But the boy’s murder had also shocked many people in Germany.

The defendant claims to have found the boy dead

Klaus Püschel in the large section hall of the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Hamburg

//Expertengespräch

Search for clues

Right at the beginning of the trial, the defendant broke his silence on Monday. So far, he had only denied being responsible for the crime. Now the court was shown a video that he had recorded in advance in his cell. His statement: He found Nicky lifeless in a wooded area in the heather the day after the crime.

“He died,” he said. Because he had checked whether the boy was still breathing and whether you could still feel his pulse, he turned him over and touched him. When he realized that he was dead, he ran away. He couldn’t have gone to the police because: “Who would believe me? I had a past.” In 1985 he had been persecuted for molesting two boys, but not convicted.

According to Dutch media reports, a total of 27 DNA traces were found on Nicky’s corpse, which match the DNA of Jos B. – including those from the boy’s underpants. The defense tries, however, to refute this finding. It is not about sperm or blood traces, says the lawyer. Jos B.’s DNA could also have got onto the body in other ways. It is conceivable, for example, that the man – who often cycled around in the heather that summer – went to the toilet at the campsite, dried his hands there, and then Nicky happened next to come in and use the towel.

Condemnation is not certain

Jos B. was arrested in Spain two years ago and extradited to the Netherlands. Since then he has been in custody. Shortly after the crime, he was in the focus of the investigators because he was walking near where the body was found in the middle of the night. He returned there last year accompanied by the police: Together with the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers and Nicky’s parents, he took part in an inspection of the crime scene.

A complicated circumstantial process is expected in Maastricht over the next three weeks. It is about the question of whether the judges consider the DNA traces to be sufficient to convict the accused against his assertions. According to experts, this is nowhere near as certain as it may appear to the layperson. For example, the forensic psychologist Peter van Koppen told the newspaper “De Volkskrant” that an alternative scenario for the boy’s death could possibly not be ruled out. It is conceivable, for example, that B. abused Nicky together with another man and the other man then took the boy with him and killed him. In that case, B. would have to be acquitted because the abuse is statute-barred.

tis / Christoph Driessen
DPA
#Subjects

Almost deserted stands and Parisian greyness: sad spectacle at Roland-Garros

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No miracle. Global warming of the tennis world is not for the next fortnight. The 119th edition of Roland-Garros opened this Sunday in the wind, the rain and especially the cold. A trio of favorites who do not intend to get out by the end of the tournament.

Almost deserted and soggy stands, players bundled up in their winter outfits, players in long-sleeved T-shirts and pretty branded umbrellas that open up to chilled competitors at each change of side… Sad spectacle. Far from the glamorous image we have of the tournament.

“These are really not the best conditions to play, slips Victoria Azarenka, finalist of the last US Open, who did not appreciate her brief morning outing on the Suzanne-Lenglen against Montenegrin Kovinic (6-1, 6-2 ). Should they have canceled the tournament altogether? Difficult to answer yes or no. But the organizers make the decisions without consultation with the players. There is no communication. I hope that will change in the future… ”

The former world No. 1 fears above all for his physical integrity. “When the water collects on the field, it becomes very complicated and it was practically impossible to play correctly,” she continues. I think there is a great risk of getting injured. “At the other end of the site, Elise Mertens also had to manage slips and interruptions on the Simonne-Mathieu court. “I don’t know if we can play our best level in these conditions, blows the Belgian. It’s hard to do something. It’s a bit hard mentally… ”

“Playing on the Chatrier is clearly an advantage”

Used to the often more spartan circuit of the Challengers, Benjamin Bonzi, qualified for the second round, prefers to smile. “Perfect, isn’t it?” laughs the Frenchman, who enjoyed beating the Finnish Ruusuvuori (6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4) without public pressure. When you start to sweat, you take in air. It’s hard to keep the pace between the points. With the rain, we were soaked, the racket and the overgrip too… The balls take water and are very heavy. But you have to take it upon yourself. It’s the fight. “

And the Central in all this? Even if it clearly protects against certain inconveniences, the roof does not solve everything. The new Central cover remained drawn until 5:30 p.m. But its design deliberately leaves room for drafts. Even water for the highest stands. “It is really not easy because of the wind,” sums up the Belgian David Goffin who took a hell of a game against the Italian hope Sinner (7-5, 6-0, 6-3) for the inaugural match. But at least people will be able to see tennis. “

For Caroline Garcia, Kontaveit killer (6-4, 3-6, 6-4), there will clearly be two weights, two measures. “I hope to play on the Chatrier all the time this year,” says the Lyonnaise. This is clearly an advantage. “

Students defy Orbán (new-deutschland.de)

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Red barrier tape flutters in front of the entrance to the Budapest University of Film and Theater (SZFE), and banners hang under the windows. Students keep watch in front of the entrance and only grant access to fellow students and lecturers. The student protest is not directed against the increasingly authoritarian regime of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but specifically against his efforts to abolish the autonomy of the university.

The university has been occupied by students since September 1st. Both the occupation and the teaching are organized by a new “teaching republic” (Tanköztársaság), which in Hungarian sounds like a Soviet republic (Tanácsköztársaság). Its students and lecturers belong as “citizens”. The highest decision-making body is the general assembly of all citizens.

Dóra Gálosi is a citizen of the teaching republic and a member of the communication team. She sees the autonomy of the SZFE endangered by the transfer to a foundation, the direction of which was appointed by the Minister for Innovation and Technology, László Palkovics. This was done without consulting lecturers and students at the university, a step that the students do not want to accept, she criticizes “nd”. Up to now the university was state-run and was run with the participation of a senate, in which lecturers and students had the opportunity to participate.

The foundation has already appointed the new head of the university: Attila Vidnyánszky. Under Orbán, he moved from a small provincial theater to the head of the “National Theater” in Budapest and is now to take over the SZFE. As is the case with all those appointed by the Orbán government in the cultural field, he is considered a staunch nationalist. Occupier Dóra Gálosi holds back criticizing Vidnyánszky’s political direction. The students did not resist change either, as Vidnyánszky had publicly claimed. The only complaint is that everything was decided over their heads.

The new teaching republic is seen by many for a democratic island in an authoritarian swamp. That shows the great solidarity. Even the entrance control is used to show solidarity when prominent Hungarian artists stand guard here. Dóra Gálosi is touched by the great solidarity on site and around the world: »Not a day goes by when people don’t come by and help us with words, food or donations. Words or photos of solidarity reach us from all corners of the world. «Dóra Gálosi explicitly does not answer the question of whether her movement can lead to a system change in Hungary and repeatedly emphasizes that the protest movement is not about politics, but about autonomy go to her university. It is questionable that their sympathizers also see it that way, because many Hungarians long for democratic changes.

In Orbán’s illiberal regime there is no room for independent universities or free media. One critical medium after another has been eliminated in recent years – be it newspapers, online portals or radio stations. In Orbán’s sense, the universities are also being cleaned up. Two years ago, the parliamentary majority of the governing parties passed a special law that banned the private US Central European University (CEU) from operating in Hungary. The right-wing populist government saw it as a breeding ground for liberal and left-wing opposition. In contrast, the establishment of new universities fit into the illiberal orientation of the Orbán regime. A few days ago it was announced that the Shanghai University of Fudan will open a campus in Budapest in 2024. Orbán will hardly have to fear criticism from seconded Chinese lecturers.

The redemocratization of Hungary and the universities are inextricably linked. In the government-affiliated newspaper Magyar Nemzet, a commentator even puts the students in line with the revolutionaries of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Only the students at SZFE don’t seem to have noticed this yet. They concentrate on the democratic island that they have conquered for the time being and defend with red police tape.

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