- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
Thousands protest in German town threatened by mine expansion
Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in a northwest German village slated to disappear because of a coal mine expansion, as the country looks to decrease its reliance on Russian gas.
Organisers said around 3,500 people demonstrated at Lutzerath in the Rhine mining basin, only a few hundred metres from the gigantic Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine, one of the largest in the world.
About a hundred activists decided to protest directly at the edge of the mine, which can be "extremely dangerous", regional police said in a tweet.
The village, like some others, has long been condemned to disappear to allow the mine to expand further.
Germany is planning to abandon coal by 2030, as part of the fight for cleaner energy sources. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, however, the energy debate has been revived in the country, which is heavily dependent on Russian hydrocarbons, particularly for gas, which accounts for some 55 percent of its energy imports.
To ensure sufficient electricity production while reducing dependence on Russian imports, the German government gave itself the option last month of "suspending" the closure of certain coal-fired power stations, while standing by the objective of phasing out coal by 2030.
"How can we trust the government's ability to contribute to peace in Ukraine if it is destroying homes and villages in its own country for fossil fuels?" said Ilyess El Kortbi, an activist from the Fridays For Future movement.
Lutzerath has become the new rallying point of the German environmental movement. Activists have built huts and are preparing for a confrontation with police.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg visited the area last September.
The coal that lies under the ground in these municipalities will be "necessary from 2024" to supply power stations, while other mines in the region are closing, according to the operator, the RWE group.
Y.Ibrahim--CPN