Riots and sexual assaults overshadow a folk festival in Swabia. Women are harassed, have been pelted with bottles, the police. Police temporarily loses control of the situation – and draws parallels to the New Year’s Eve in Cologne. At a festival in Baden-Württemberg Schorndorf weekend violence has escalated: Up to 1,000 teenagers and young adults were throwing bottles at the police and festival participants. According to police, it was for many to migrants. Source Panorama
French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday said a block on household gas prices would be extended until end-2022 and that low- and middle-income earners would receive an “inflation premium” of 100 euros to help mitigate the impact of rising energy prices. Source France24
Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia said their EU-wide initiative to expand the bloc’s military units was inspired by recent events in Afghanistan. Germany and four members of the European Union have launched an initiative to establish a bloc-wide rapid reaction force for future military crises, the German news agency dpa reported on Thursday. Source DW
The head of Scottish Power has said Britain’s gas crisis will keep driving energy bills higher until 2023, and could leave only five or six of the strongest suppliers standing.
Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, said the UK’s record energy prices could mean households faced another 18 months of rising bills and that even well-run energy suppliers could go bust. Source The Guardian
