- Orban's soft power shines as Hungary hosts Israeli match
- 'Retaliate': Trump tariff talk spurs global jitters, preparations
- 'Anti-woke' Americans hail death of DEI as another domino topples
- Trump hails migration talks with Mexico president
- Truckers strike accusing Wagner of driver death in Central African Republic
- London police say 90 victims identified in new Al-Fayed probe
- Air pollution from fires linked to 1.5 million deaths a year
- Latham falls for 47 as New Zealand 104-2 in first England Test
- US tells Ukraine to lower conscription age to 18
- Judge denies Sean Combs bail: court order
- Suarez extends Inter Miami stay with new deal
- Perfect Liverpool on top of Champions League, Dortmund also among winners
- Liverpool more 'up for it' than beaten Madrid, concedes Bellingham
- Aston Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Mexico president hails 'excellent' Trump talks after US tariff threat
- Leicester set to appoint Van Nistelrooy - reports
- Coffee price heats up on tight Brazil crop fears
- Maeda salvages Celtic draw against Club Brugge
- Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Dortmund beat Zagreb to climb into Champions League top four
- Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid
- Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media
- Thousands still queuing to vote after Namibia polls close
- Trump taps retired general for key Ukraine conflict role
- Canadian fund drops bid for Spanish pharma firm Grifols
- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
- Kumara gives Sri Lanka edge on rain-hit day against South Africa
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing toughest race yet
- Spurs goalkeeper Vicario out for 'months' with broken ankle
- Moscow expels German journalists, Berlin denies closing Russia TV bureau
- Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid
- France says Netanyahu has 'immunity' from ICC warrants
- Nigerian state visit signals shift in France's Africa strategy
- Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation
- Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Opposition candidates killed in Tanzania local election
- Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
In western Germany, 'temporary' life a year after flood
In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in western Germany, residents are still waiting for the return of normal life a year after the town was devastated by deadly flash floods.
Around 18,000 inhabitants, or more than half the local population, were affected by the disaster in this once picturesque town in western Germany known for its thermal baths.
The anniversary of the night of July 14, 2021 will be marked on Thursday with the visit of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The town mayor, Guido Orthen, will be able to show Scholz roads cleared of the muck and debris strewn by the flood waters that submerged the town.
But a return to the way things were "will still take time", he says, with the rebuild very much a work in progress.
"We still have temporary infrastructure, temporary playgrounds, temporary schools, temporary roads that make life possible," he says.
None of the 18 bridges that used to cross the Ahr river is functional yet, with three temporary crossings installed in their place.
- 'Disenchantment' -
The traces of the flood are everywhere, from the collapsed banks by the roadside to the high-water mark on many of the buildings.
While officials may want to rebuild things as quickly as possible, they are also under pressure to make sure residents are protected from future floods.
As it stands, "we are still living in the same dangerous situation as a year ago", Orthen says, putting residents in a state of anxiety any time bad weather is forecast.
In Germany, 185 people were killed in the disaster. The majority of the fatalities were in the Ahr valley, which winds along 40 kilometres (25 miles) to where the river joins the Rhine to the south of Bonn.
Mayor Orthen is dismayed that protective measures to keep residents safe from future floods are subject to interminable bureaucratic discussions.
In zones with high flood risk, the houses that have been destroyed are not permitted to be rebuilt, while those that were damaged can be repaired.
Moreover, town officials face a mountain of paperwork, with Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler expected to submit 1,400 requests for reconstruction projects by the end of June 2023.
"We won't be able to," Orthen says. Even with reinforcements, his staff is "exhausted".
After a year of living in a "state of emergency", the elected official sees "disenchantment" and a "feeling of powerlessness" growing among his residents.
Over 2,000 people have left Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in the last year.
In the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, only 500 million euros ($506 million) in aid have been handed out of the total 15 billion euros set aside.
The slow progress is an "affront to those affected", according to conservative state legislator Horst Gies, quoted in the General Anzeiger daily.
In the neighbouring region of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1.6 billion euros of government support has been approved for use, out of a total of 12.3 billion euros.
- 'We want to exist' -
In the town of Sinzig, around 15 kilometres from Ahrweiler, candles have been lit in front of a former care home for the mentally disabled, where 12 residents lost their lives in the floods.
The organisation that ran the establishment, Lebenshilfe, is still looking for a location to open a new facility.
"Our discussions with the mayor's office and the local administration still haven't produced anything," says Ulrich van Bebber from Lebenshilfe.
Frustration is building among those trying to rebuild their lives as promised help is slow to arrive.
"We want to exist in the eyes of Germany," says Iris Muenn-Buschow, the ground floor of her home still in the middle of repair works.
"We have the impression that everything else that goes on in the world is more important than what happens here in Germany," she says.
With her husband, she has founded an organisation called "the Ahr valley stands up" ("das Ahrtal steht auf") which has organised a series of protests.
"Nobody has forgotten the Ahr valley and the other regions," Rhineland-Palatinate state prime minister Malu Dreyer said recently, stressing the extent of the work still left to do.
K.Brown--BTB