In order to avoid high heating costs in old churches, the evangelical church is apparently considering unconventional measures. Significantly more congregations than before will be moving their services to the parish halls this winter, said the Bavarian Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “Smart space planning will also help – use a few heated spaces intensively, leaving others unheated,” he added. However, it remains to be seen what the corona situation will actually allow in winter. Energy saving and climate protection have been important issues in the church for years. “The ecological transformation of our church is now becoming even more important,” said Bedford-Strohm in view of the energy crisis.
+++ 04:59 No more gas flows through Nord Stream 1 – as announced +++
As announced, the gas supply via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 was stopped early Wednesday morning. According to the Nord Stream AG website, no significant amount flowed in the hour from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. The amount had already dropped in the hour before. The state-owned company Gazprom had announced that deliveries via the last most important route to Germany for Russian gas would be temporarily suspended due to maintenance work. Deliveries are expected to resume early Saturday morning.
+++ 04:11 CDU MPs call for the purchase of new fuel rods and a special levy for energy companies +++
Several CDU members of the Bundestag are calling for the purchase of new fuel rods and a special levy for energy companies. As the “Rheinische Post” reports, this emerges from a position paper by the NRW state group, which the newspaper has available. It must be checked whether the three nuclear power plants Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C, which were taken off the grid at the end of 2021, could be restarted for a transitional period. “The necessary fuel rods are available on the world market, but now have to be ordered very quickly,” the paper says. In addition, MEPs consider a special levy within the energy sector to be necessary. At the same time, many larger energy companies would have made high additional profits due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The special levy is therefore more effective “than the state passing on the costs to private and medium-sized end consumers” through a gas surcharge, according to the regional group.
+++ 03:17 Union wants an energy flat rate of 1000 euros per child +++
The leaders of the Union faction in the Bundestag are demanding an annual energy allowance for families of 1,000 euros per child. The newspapers of the Bayern media group report that the energy lump sum is to be paid out this year and next, citing a paper by the executive committee of the CDU and CSU. The document says: “We want to introduce a surcharge of 1,000 euros for each child for the years 2022 and 2023 per household for incomes below 30,000/60,000 euros (single/married).” According to the Union, the surcharges for children should be a lump sum in the sense of a one-off payment and not a tax exemption.
+++ 02:14 Habeck offers Uniper further state aid +++
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck wants to make a quick decision on expanding state aid for Uniper. “The federal government will examine the facts and decide on the application at short notice,” said Habeck’s spokesman for the “Rheinische Post”. “We confirm that Uniper SE has applied to KfW to expand the existing EUR 9 billion credit facility by an additional EUR 4 billion. According to the company, this expansion is necessary to provide additional collateral in natural gas and electricity trading and to take into account the further increase in procurement costs for natural gas.”
+++ 01:41 diplomats prepare possible Zelenskyj trip to the UN General Assembly +++
Diplomats are preparing for a possible visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in mid-September to the general debate at the UN General Assembly in New York – it would be his first known trip abroad since the beginning of the war. “We are prepared for the visit of any representative, including the President,” said spokesman for Ukraine’s mission to the United Nations Anatoly Slenko. Zelenskyj is listed as a speaker on the previous list of the largest UN event in mid-September – but Slenko emphasized that this could change. It is “still unclear” whether the trip will actually take place.
+++ 01:15 “Sheer existential fear”: Calls for energy price caps for smaller companies are loud +++
Bremen’s Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte is calling for a cap on energy prices for small and medium-sized companies. “Many small companies, such as bakeries, simply don’t know how to proceed because of the high energy prices,” said the SPD politician of the Funke media group. “These companies have sheer existential fear.” So far, only the large corporations have been the focus of aid, but not the small and medium-sized companies.
+++ 00:05 Selenskyj: “Don’t stay near Russian positions” +++
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urges Crimeans to stay away from Russian military installations. “Don’t stay near Russian bases and air bases,” he says in his nightly video speech. However, he asks that the Ukrainian secret service be provided with all possible information about the occupying forces. “In this way, the liberation of Crimea can proceed more quickly,” Zelenskyj said. In recent weeks, explosions have rocked a military airfield and other Russian facilities in Crimea. Ukraine is also apparently using drones to test Russian air defenses on the peninsula. However, no more incidents have been reported from the past few nights.
+++ 23:34 Russian airlines are allowed to use closed airspace again +++
Russian airlines are allowed to use limited airspace over southern Russia, which has been closed since the beginning of the war. The state airline said flights to Sochi on the Black Sea, like Turkey, would be 20 to 30 minutes shorter. When Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, it closed most of its airspace to the neighboring country for civilian flights. Ten airports in the region such as Rostov-on-Don or Krasnodar and Simferopol on the annexed Crimean Peninsula have been closed. Only the Sochi hub remained open, to which the planes had to fly a long detour. The TASS agency reported that a corridor ten kilometers wide would be set up for the shortcut flights through the otherwise closed airspace. In each direction, up to 15 civilian airplanes are allowed to pass by per hour.
+++ 10:29 p.m. Pussy Riot activists briefly arrested in Bern +++
Three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were briefly arrested in Switzerland for spray-painting a message against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As reported by the Bern police, they were called to the village of Wabern near the Swiss capital just before midnight the day before. “On the spot, we arrested three women who had spray cans with them.” The three women are said to be released later that night. Whether a formal investigation is launched against them depends on whether the owner of the sprayed wall files a lawsuit.
+++ 22:17 Pope defends himself: Statements about the war are not political messages +++
Pope Francis defends himself against criticism that evaluates his statements on the war in Ukraine as political messages. At the same time, the Vatican for the first time named Russia directly as the initiator of the war, which has now been going on for more than six months, according to a statement by the Holy See. “Regarding the large-scale war in Ukraine started by the Russian Federation, the statements of the Holy Father Francis are clear and unequivocal,” the statement said. The war was “to be condemned as morally unjust, unacceptable, barbaric, senseless, repugnant and blasphemous”. The head of the Catholic Church wanted to promote peace with his comments. “The words of the Holy Father on this dramatic issue are to be understood as a voice raised in defense of human life and the values associated with it, and not as a political statement.”
+++ 10:03 p.m. Despite the danger: Selenskyj is planning a trip to the UN General Assembly in New York +++
Diplomats are preparing for a possible visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in mid-September to the general debate at the UN General Assembly in New York – it would be his first known trip abroad since the beginning of the war. “We are prepared for the visit of any representative, including the president,” said spokesman for Ukraine’s mission to the United Nations, Anatoly Slenko. Zelenskyj is listed as a speaker on the previous list of the largest UN event in mid-September – but Slenko emphasizes that this could change. It is “still unclear” whether the trip will actually take place. Security Council circles confirm that Ukrainians plan to visit Zelenskyy at the annual meeting of dozens of heads of state and government. However, the diplomats also made it clear that any trip by the President could pose grave dangers to his life.
+++ 21:49 According to Russia, nuclear energy experts should only stay one day in Zaporizhia +++
According to the Russian crew, the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia should last only one day. The experts should “see how the plant works in one day,” says Yevgeny Balizki, the head of the Russian administration in the power plant town of Enerhodar. “The items you name will be available to view as you progress.” According to the agency Interfax, Balizki criticized the declared aim of the 14 experts to look at the work of the nuclear power plant. The group, led by IAEA Director Rafael Grossi, is scheduled to begin its journey to southern Ukraine on Wednesday.
+++ 21:33 Gas saved by a fifth – BDI boss sees no success, but a problem +++
BDI President Siegfried Russwurm warns against seeing the drop in gas consumption as just a good sign. “In July, gas consumption by industry was 21 percent below consumption in the same month last year, but beware of wrong conclusions,” he says. “The reason for this is often not efficiency gains, but a dramatic drop in production. That is not a success, but an expression of a massive problem.”
You can read earlier developments relating to the Ukraine war here.