German Retailers Facing Nightmare Before Christmas Shop owners in Germany are worried about the upcoming Christmas season, expecting a slump in sales, as double-digit inflation driven by energy prices forced people to shop less in the third quarter, the German Retail Association said. The group surveyed 500 companies with 70% of respondents saying they expect worse business conditions in the upcoming Christmas season compared to last year. In October, the German Federal Statistics Office reported that the harmonized inflation rate in Europe’s largest economy climbed to 11.6%, raising fears that the country will slide into a recession this winter. Subscribe to RT

German Grinches Behead Berlin’s Official Christmas Tree Climate activists have scaled the Christmas tree near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday and cut off the very tip of it. According to media reports, the Last Generation activists did so to draw attention to the climate crisis by depriving them locals of the holiday. “Climate collapse in Germany is just around the corner and the federal government is making no effort to protect us,” one of the activists, Lilli Gomez said. Subscribe to RT