GERMANY

Dutch PM 'ashamed' of asylum failings as MSF steps in

Refugees wait outside at the main reception centre for asylum seekers, in Ter Apel
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday said he was "ashamed" of problems at the country's centre for processing asylum requests as humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent in a team to assist with migrants' medical needs.
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The German government says the drop in the sales tax on gas will outweigh a surcharge gas companies can apply

Germany to lower tax on gas to help consumers

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Germany would temporarily slash the sales tax on gas to help consumers facing soaring bills amid a crunch in Russian energy supplies.
The prospect of severe, longer-term limits to traffic spells a new headache for the industries lined up on the banks of the Rhine

Low Rhine deepens Germany's energy crisis

A hot, dry July made worse by climate change has raised the risk that the German economy could run aground as sinking Rhine waters make shipping along the river harder.