Germany

To help ease the cost-of-living crisis, the Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has joined consumer groups in calling for temporarily scrapping VAT on fruits and vegetables

One of the largest health insurance companies, BKK, analyzed the records of 10,9 million policyholders and found that up to 3 million people potentially suffered side effects from the Covid-19 vaccine

Francesco Friederich entered history of the Winter Olympics as the first person to win the gold medal in bobsleigh in two consecutive editions; the country also scored a record-extending eighth sliding gold for the German team and won all three medals

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been confirmed as President of the Republic for another 5 years, with 2/3 of the Federal Assembly having chosen him; while declaring himself 'super partes', he stressed that he will stand by those who fight for democracy

Director Heike Düseler of the Lüneburg Museum of Natural History decided to compensate for the lack of daytime ticket sales by offering a combined cultural and hotel night programme for the immunized public

A storm hit coastal areas in the north, disrupting rail services and prompting flood warnings even in the port city of Hamburg, with the port inundated as water levels in the Elbe River, which flows into the North Sea, rose 5,2 metres above normal levels

Sven Lehmann has been appointed as the country's first LGBTQ+ commissioner, a role created as part of the new coalition government's cultural modernisation plans

Three nuclear power plants will be shut down, as part of the country's phase-out of nuclear energy; the decommissioning process will take two decades and cost €1.1 billion per plant

The country's arms exports have reached a record level this year, thanks to the approval of almost €5 billion by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration in the last nine days of power