Point at 14.12 o’clock it started. Herzogenaurach’s mayor german hacker (SPD) gives the starting signal for the more than 360 people waiting to get into the sports club herzogenaurach nord.

Running and cycling for "mother earth, an idea that appeals to the participants. And an idea that appeals to more and more participants. Last year there were 120 participants, so this year there is almost a threefold increase in the number of participants. These started neither for money nor recorded or victory-drunk ehr’ on the 6.1 kilometer long round respectively 3.6 kilometer loop. Those who had made their way past the reuthersweiher pond or over the birkenbuhl forest trail were fronted by idealism and a good idea.

Natascha, a trainee at puma, thinks winning is not decisive. "I like to demonstrate that I think earth day is good. We think far too seldom about the consequences of our actions, today is the opportunity." Birke from adidas agrees with her: "that’s why we were willing to pay a ten euro participation fee."

The starting fee of ten euros, however, did not remain in the hands of the organizers. Money donated for planting a meadow orchard. Birke and natascha agreed: "we see immediately what happens with our money." Because directly after the run, about 20 fruit trees, under the expert guidance of the city’s gardeners, were planted on the plot of the old game preserve. This area had been lying fallow for some time and was threatening to go to seed; now a colorful flowering orchard is to be created that will not only provide a habitat for plants and animals, but will also invite walkers to linger.

But admittedly: besides the good feeling there was of course a little something for the cycling and running participants. An "earth day t-shirt, the day and the tour remembered, pretzels to taste and drinks to regain strength. Of course from a bakery in herzogenaurach and a brewery in herzogenaurach to demonstrate that the choice of regionally produced food also contributes to climate protection.

What remains of sustainability? In any case, the meadow orchard and with one or the other a little sore muscles, but worth it. After all, it’s about mother earth. And it is expected to continue for a long time!

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A dozen or so neighbors gathered on tuesday morning in the okosiedlung at cherbonhof. They are united by the desire for more safety in nearby caspersmeyerstrasse, where the speed limit is actually 30 km/h. "I have been overtaken here while driving exactly the speed limit", inge buhl complains. And friederike neundorfer describes dicey situations when her children want to cross the street: "when someone arrives at 60, they can no longer make it across the street and have to stop in the middle." Hiltrud huhn and her 80-year-old husband feel the same way.

Residents paint posters

They all want to take part in an action day in caspersmeyerstrabe, which is to take place on the initiative of ralf neundorfer on saturday from 10 a.M. Onwards. "We will stand at the edge of the road with posters that read, for example: "be diligent, drive three times as fast as possible."

This is intended to sensitize motorists. And those who still step on the gas will be asked to pay more often. Accordingly, residents are calling for more speed checks. "We have an enforcement deficit here", says christian irmisch. The chairman of the "bewahrt die bergstadt" association wants to carry out speed measurements on the action day itself. Among other things, he points to the nearby kindergarten and the many senior citizens who live here. And he could well imagine a traffic-calmed area in caspersmeyerstrabe.

But at least a crosswalk, as some residents would like to see between the rewe market and the bus stop. But ralf neundorfer did not get anywhere with a request to that effect in the city’s civic dialog. "It’s all difficult, he said. Nothing could be done."

As the police and the city made clear in response to our inquiry, in order to set up a crosswalk, you have to comply with the "guidelines for the construction of crosswalks" the basis. "This demands, for example, a certain traffic volume in terms of pedestrians and cars per hour and sufficient lighting", explains ines schellmann, traffic officer at the bamberg city police department.

"The speed limit in caspersmayerstrabe is 30 km/h, and there is already a crossing aid in the immediate vicinity of the cherbonhof bus stop, explains steffen schutzwohl from the city press office. That’s why another traffic lane is not necessary – and the money for constructional changes is scarce.

"The crossing is 200 meters further down. When senior citizens or families get off the bus and want to go to the supermarket on the opposite side, they don’t walk such a detour", says ralf neundorfer.

For the police, caspersmeyerstrasse is not considered "accident-prone. The speed limit of 30 km/h is regularly monitored by the local authorities and by the police. "For example, we were at the 22. September there", makes ines schellmann clear. And according to steffen schutzwohl, speed measurements are taken every five weeks on average.

Grune demand more speed cameras

Resident neundorfer cannot understand that. "But caspersmayerstrabe is maybe three kilometers long. If they flash at the bottom, it doesn’t really reflect the situation here."

The grunes bamberg/odp/volt faction advocates an expansion of speed measurements in the city area in its fubganger program.

"Since speeding is a frequent cause of accidents, we are requesting an expansion of municipal speed monitoring to protect people walking on foot, who are the weakest traffic participants", it says in a corresponding application of 29. September.

"For this purpose, the available quota of hours is to be increased from the current 140 to 280 measuring hours, and new measuring points are to be decided by the mobility senate."

Meanwhile, in caspersmeyerstrabe, adults and children are still painting posters that will be displayed at 10-meter intervals on saturday. "We are interested in safe pedestrian traffic and that drivers keep to the speed limit of 30 km/h", said the chairman, emphasizes ralf neundorfer.

He praised the bamberg city bus drivers, almost all of whom obeyed the speed limit and thus slowed down the drivers behind them. "But some simply overtake the moving bus, making it even more dangerous."

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There was a lot of talk without a final result at the youngest meeting of the city council weismain. After the agreement on the costs of the youth center pins in altenkunstadt expired in 2017, the opinions about the further use due to very high financial contribution of the city of weismain are a complex issue.

Costs were discussed

In the resolution presented, it was planned that the city of weismain would only participate to a limited extent in terms of costs, which is why the city was responsible for 16 percent of the costs. In comparison, 23 percent for burgkunstadt and 61 percent for altenkunstadt. Until now, the three municipalities of altenkunstadt, burgkunstadt and weismain had each paid one third of the costs incurred. To cap had been provided per municipality at the beginning of 2016 10000 euro. Last year this could not be maintained and 11 238 euros were incurred. Janine brunecker (GUB/) was disappointed that not nearly as much was invested in the youth sector in weismain. Also, the attendance figures of the weismain youths are in a blatant disproportion to the use of the burgkunstadter and altekunstadter.
She spoke out in favor of contacting the other municipalities and the red cross as the sponsor and discussing how to continue. A problem is certainly also that the young people in weismain and on the jura are not so mobile to come to altenkunstadt. This was contradicted by hans popp (CSU). If young people want to get somewhere, they will get there. There is probably not enough interest from the young people of weismain. Michael muller (CSU) went one step further. He was of the opinion that it would be better to put the money into weismain clubs and demanded the termination of the participation in the youth club pins. Julia sporlein (CSU) suggested that the weismain playgrounds, which are supported by clubs, should then also be better financed. Jasmin schardt (die grunen) explained that one could not compare the two and saw the youth center pins itself as responsible for the mobilization of young people in weismain. With the reference that one hopes for further realizations in discussions with the neighboring communities, the point was postponed unanimously to one of the next meetings.

Application is supported

With 250 signatures was the request of the SCW obermain for an inner-local speed limit of the baiersdorfer strabe provided. Because motorists drive too fast here, dangerous situations repeatedly occur when crossing the road from the sports center to the training grounds. An attempt had already been made to install a crosswalk here, but this had been rejected by the district, according to second mayor hans schott (CSU). The possibility of putting up flower cubbies or thresholds (rudi duck (CSU) and janine brunecker (GUB/) was debated. However, the optimal solution would be to change the speed limit to 30 km/h in this area. The council agreed to support the application of the SCW obermain to improve traffic safety. Here a traffic inspection of the district building yard will be necessary to change something. Improvement suggestions of the circle building yard had to be implemented then zugig. Wolfgang bauer of the natural sciences faculty explained the agenda item on the exploration of geothermal energy for scientific purposes by means of 2-D seismics by the friedrich-alexander-university of erlangen. In a geoscientific research project, the possibility of using energy from the depths of the earth (geothermal energy) in upper franconia is to be investigated.
With the help of appropriate equipment, the soil is to be investigated at depths of up to 6000 meters. Vibration vehicles are used as the measuring method. Lowerable chute plates of the vehicles send vibrations underground. Their sound is passed on to a measuring vehicle.

Damage will be replaced

The weismain city council unanimously approved seismic measurements on the territory of the city of weismain. Underground pipelines, sensitive infrastructure, historical monuments and protected areas are taken into consideration. Should any damage occur, it will be compensated in full.

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Human rights organization amnesty international has accused four online booking agencies of violating palastinians’ rights by offering services in israeli settlements. Amnesty explicitly named airbnb, booking.Com, expedia and tripadvisor.

"They claim human rights violations of palastinians by listing hundreds of rooms and activities in israeli settlements on occupied palastinian land, including east jerusalem," read the statement released on wednesday.

Israeli strategic affairs minister gilad erdan to take action against amnesty international staff in light of report. He had instructed his ministry to look into the possibility of banning them from entering israel and staying in the country. He had already asked the minister of finance a few weeks ago to cancel tax subsidies for the organization. "I will not allow harming the israeli burghers who live in judaa and samaria (west bank) and on the golan heights and in jerusalem," said erdan.

Amnesty wrote in the report: "online booking agencies demand tourism in illegal israeli settlements, contributing to their existence and expansion."The settlement of the occupied palastinian territories is to be classified as a war crime. "Nevertheless, these four companies continue to operate in the settlements and profit from this illegal situation."

A spokeswoman for tripadvisor said wednesday that it understands "this is a sensitive issue with cultural and political implications.". The fact that a company is listed on tripadvisor "does not imply any endorsement or support of that company on our part". They provide listings as a platform for guests "to share their own experiences with other travelers". She explained: "for this reason, we do not remove listings of companies or businesses that remain active and open."

Booking.Com shared: "the mission of booking.Com is to enable people to experience the whole world. We allow all accommodation providers worldwide to list them on our platform as long as they comply with applicable law. The way we display information is always in accordance with local laws in order to provide transparency to all those seeking accommodation on our website."

A spokeswoman for expedia said they are reviewing the report. Airbnb did not initially respond to a request for comment.

Saeb erekat, secretary general of the palastinian liberation organization PLO, called on the united nations to "publish a list of companies involved in the israeli occupation.". He called for international guidelines to ensure that foreign citizens and companies do not support israeli settlements.

Airbnb had said in november it was removing accommodation in israeli settlements from its listings because they were in the "center of the dispute between israelis and palastinians". In both israel and the u.S., affected parties subsequently filed discrimination lawsuits against airbnb. The wiesenthal center included airbnb on its list of the world’s ten worst anti-semitic incidents in 2018.

Israel conquered the west bank and east jerusalem, among other places, during the 1967 six-day war. There are now more than 600,000 israeli settlers living in more than 200 settlements. The palastinians want to establish an independent state on the territory. The 1980 annexation of east jerusalem is not internationally recognized.

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The federal employment agency is sitting on a gigantic pile of money: 26 billion euros is the reserve that the agency in nurnberg has accumulated over the past few years.

And even this thick financial cushion will probably not be enough to combat the consequences of the corona crisis on the german labor market. What the chairman of the federal employment agency, detlef scheele, had to announce makes the impact of the crisis on the economy abundantly clear. Unemployment is on the rise, short-time allowances are rising exponentially to "unimaginable levels," and the number of new jobs is plummeting – scheele summarized the negative figures right at the beginning.

751.000 companies had registered short-time work for 10.14 million people by the end of april. Far more than economists had forecast. "That's a number that also left us a bit breathless," said scheele. But behind these 10.14 million names are people whose jobs will be preserved," he says.

This means that not only one in three companies entitled to do so was affected by short-time work, but also almost one in three employees subject to social insurance contributions in germany. In the catering industry – one of the hardest hit sectors – short-time work has been registered for nine out of ten employees.

Federal agency expects that in the end not all people for whom an application is filed will actually claim short-time benefits. There are no valid estimates, since the situation is not comparable with an economic crisis.

It is also unclear how long the short-time work will last and what percentage of it will ultimately be used. The federal government has decided to increase the short-time allowance, so that in future it will no longer only cover 60 percent of the net loss, but up to 80 percent, and for parents up to 87 percent. The increase will cost between 1 and 1.5 billion euros, said scheele.

Despite the enormously high number of short-time work advertisements, the number of unemployed – untypical for an april – fell by 308.000 up on march to 2.644 million. This is down by 415.000 higher than in april 2019. Seasonally adjusted, 373 people were unemployed in april.000 more people without a job – an increase like never before at this time of year. The unemployment rate climbed by 0.7 points to 5.8 percent. Mass layoffs do not take place, however; companies retain employees and bridge the crisis with short-time work.

In the crisis year 2009, 1.44 million people were in short-time work – the record to date. In 2009 as a whole, the figure added up to 3.3 million. This is now being far surpassed. In its negative scenario, the federal agency assumes that there will be up to eight million short-time workers at the peak and that the annual average will be a gigantic 2.8 million. In addition, the number of unemployed could be reduced by 200.000 per year on average.

In this scenario, the 26 billion euro reserve was not enough. "We had a financial requirement of between four and five billion euros from federal funds this year," said scheele.

Steffen kampeter, chief executive of the confederation of german employers' associations and co-chairman of the administrative council of the federal employment agency, criticized what he saw as an overly coarse labor market policy. "Due to political decisions, however, the federal employment agency's backlog is melting faster than snow in the sahara," kampeter emphasized. "Policies that aim to please today and completely lose sight of tomorrow are of little substance and have an even shorter half-life before they become political revelations."

Detlef scheele, who has been used to positive news during his time as chairman of the federal employment agency, is visibly upset when he has to announce the april figures in nurnberg. Never before in post-war history has he or one of his predecessors in office had to go before the press with such figures, said scheele.

"The corona crisis was allowed to lead to the worst recession of the postwar period in germany," he stressed "it has never been worse."This also puts the labor market under severe pressure. Not so much because there were layoffs on a large scale. Rather, because there were hardly any vacancies left and because labor market policy measures such as qualifications had not even been able to start in the first place.

"The labor market has practically collapsed," said scheele. In april 2020, there were only 626.000 unfilled positions were reported to the employment agencies, 169.000 less than a year ago. Adjusted for seasonal effects, the number of job vacancies had fallen by 66.000 down.

Placements were almost non-existent. The mediators were now processing applications for short-time work. In total, not 700 but 9000 people are currently entrusted with this activity – in addition to employees of the employment agencies, volunteers from the federal office for migration and refugees, the german pension insurance and the german postal service.

Federal labor minister hubertus heil – like IG metall boss jorg hofmann – praised the instrument of short-time work available in germany, also in comparison with other nations. "Short-time work secures millions of jobs," said heil. In the USA, more than 26 million people have lost their jobs in the past five weeks. The development shows that "we can't guarantee every job in our country, but we will fight for every job," heil said.

Finance minister olaf scholz (SPD) assured that the government would continue to do everything possible to secure companies and jobs. "I deliberately brought out the bazooka". Our goal is to ensure that companies and jobs come through these times in one piece," said scholz, referring to the provision of taxpayers' money.

It is not certain, however, whether the battle, which is being waged with gigantic sums of money, can actually prevent insolvencies and thus new unemployment. "It depends on how long it takes," said scheele. Success depended on decisions made by virologists and politicians. The key issue is the opening of schools and kindergartens. "The economy can only take off if parents can go to work," he stressed. And the deputy chairwoman of the german federation of trade unions, annelie buntenbach, warns: "the dam is on short time and we have to do everything we can to prevent it from breaking."

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Chancellor angela merkel (CDU) was thus able to push through her most important demands. She was heavily criticized for the demand from germany for a "savings commissioner" for greece, but only gave in in her choice of words.

In their intergovernmental fiscal compact, the 25 countries pledge to save money and introduce a debt brake based on the german model. States accept tougher EU budget controls and tougher penalties against defaulters.

According to the current schedule, the treaty is to be signed in march and must then be approved (ratified) in the member states. Germany in particular had insisted on the new pact.

The dispute over greece’s total over-indebtedness put a heavy strain on the special summit. Despite heavy criticism from europe, the federal government stood by its demand for tighter control over the maypole. Merkel made it clear, however, that action must be taken with – and not against – greece.

At the one-day top-level meeting on monday, there were sharp accusations about the berlin proposal to take away the sovereignty of the completely over-indebted greece over its budgetary policy and to transfer it to an EU controller. According to reports, the ideas came from the finance ministry in berlin.

Even merkel’s close ally, france’s president nicolas sarkozy, said at the end of the consultations: "you cannot put any country, no matter which one it is, under tutelage."

After lengthy debates on the fiscal compact, the leaders settled a dispute with poland and other non-euro countries over participation in euro group summits. These countries should be allowed to take part in all discussions on three topics: competitiveness, changes in the global strategy of the euro currency and future reforms of the ground rules for community preservation.

The goal of the fiscal pact is to regain lost confidence in the financial markets. Strict austerity measures should limit government deficits and prevent future traps like greece’s.

In the debate on greece, the head of the euro group, jean-claude juncker, called the berlin proposal for a "savings commissioner" "unacceptable. Such a regulation would only be possible if it existed for all states. Austria’s chancellor werner faymann said: "there is no need to insult anyone in politics."

Merkel did say: "i think we were having a discussion that we shouldn’t be having." She added, however, "the point is: how can europe support that in greece the things that are given as conditions are respected. But all this can only be done if greece and the other countries discuss it with each other."

From afar, even egyptian minister guido westerwelle (FDP) distanced himself: "i am very unhappy about the tone in this debate," he said on a trip to the middle east in cairo. We should have "an encouraging debate, not a discouraging debate.

The leaders also approved the permanent crisis fund for ailing euro countries, the ESM. This is to be implemented on 1. July and will have a volume of 500 billion euros. The ESM is to borrow on the capital market and on-lend this money to bankrupt euro states. Whether the volume of emergency loans is sufficient is to be examined at the next EU summit in march.

The summit also decided to do more for economic growth and especially for jobs for young people. Sweden is the only country not to join the growth initiative for the time being. To this end, existing funds from the EU’s brussels pots, which are worth billions, are to be put to better and faster use. At present, there is still 82 billion euros in the structural funds, which have not yet been earmarked for concrete projects.

The countries in which youth unemployment is at least 30 percent and which can therefore hope for help in finding projects that are worthwhile are estonia, greece, italy, portugal, slovakia, spain, latvia and lithuania.

There is also concern about the highly indebted portugal, which has once again become the target of investors. Yields on government bonds climbed to the highest levels since the introduction of the euro. The almost bankrupt state already receives 78 billion euros in emergency aid from the current bailout fund EFSF.

A strike in belgium against the government’s austerity package hampered the arrival of the summit participants at midday. Merkel and other heads of government landed not as usual at brussel airport, but at an airbase southeast of the capital.

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The driver of the low-loader was puzzled: he was supposed to deliver ten curved precast concrete parts, each one a meter and a half wide and weighing 16 tons. Right here, on the edge of glashutten, a little village of 1400 souls in the district of bayreuth. But where was the corresponding bridge construction site for this?? Werner leykam was able to enlighten the helpless searcher: he was spot on with his freight, but the carriers were destined for a residential building. What do you mean? Ten concrete giants for a family home?

Of course not for just any house. At this object, which stands like a mirage behind the abandoned restaurant "zum hirschen from the boschung rises, many things are unusual. It not only exceeds some building standards (and thus official requirements), but was also allowed to be unique in france.

For werner leykam, his wife claudia and their children tamara and joshua recently moved into a 240-square-meter house on the ground floor. The builder dug himself five meters deep into the ground. "Others spread their excavated material in the garden or have it picked up for expensive money – we simply put the tens of cubic meters on the roof." The self-employed car mechanic, whose workshop is only a screwdriver's throw away, points upwards. The crumbly layer is spread over a height of 80 centimeters; the supporting structure is protected by several layers of drainage made of styrofoam, fleece and lava chippings. "I did not know a better damming", says leykam "and it bleeds, too." Still only grass grows over the thing, in the next year it should be flowers.

The 41-year-old also made a good start from the bottom, leaving cold drapes in his wake. "The complete floor slab lies on a bed of glass foam ballast, one meter thick." In general, the tendency to save energy dominated the entire project, which the owner also planned himself. "I did not want to build a house off the rack, but I also wanted to spend as little as possible on follow-up costs." The building costs at least twice as much as a new building in conventional construction, but is an energy-plus house. Means: thanks to the 20-kilowatt-peak-photovoltaic-system it generates more electricity than the residents consume. Triple-glazed windows keep the warmth in, as does a heat recovery ventilation system.

No more than 20 euro per month
Another highlight: fortress-thick walls. The builder used 42.5 centimeter thick bricks in the front half of the building. "This is even more effective than a full thermal protection – and moreover i can do without artificial materials like styrofoam." The k-value of 0.12 even falls below the current top standards for passive houses. How much money he needs for heating? Leykam is as curious about this as the energy consultants who assisted the glashuttener. "The first winter will show. According to my calculations, it should not be more than 20 euros per month." The main heat is supplied by a brine heat pump that preheats its water via 500 meters of ground collectors.

As an "emergency stove a pellet stove is ready in the winter garden; a stucco wood stove is to be installed in the 65 square meter open living room. "If it must be", so the house builder believes "three dozen tea lights also had to be enough to keep it toasty warm for one day."
Because there were many inquiries about their unusual building project, the leykams invited people to an inspection in july – shortly before moving in. More than 500 visitors took advantage of the opportunity. And you could also convince yourself that the inhabitants of an earth house are not light-shy creatures, who have to do without any brightness. A light-flooded entrance leads into a bright kitchen, then into the open living room. The gallery window front shovels light into the children's rooms, two bathrooms, and the sleeping quarters.

"I want to save energy", says the builder "but that doesn't mean we have to live in a cave or use prisms and mirrors to artificially direct the light into the interior." Therefore his burial "welcome to my cellar dungeon" is always accompanied by a smile.

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