Woman gives birth outdoors in freezing temps in Germany
Berlin, Feb 12: A homeless woman gave birth outdoors in temperatures well below freezing early Friday in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, authorities said. A police patrol spotted the 20-year-old woman, a companion and the newborn infant shortly after the birth at about 5 am on a ventilation grate outside a subway station, the dpa news agency reported. The woman and her baby were huddled in a sleeping bag trying to keep warm in minus 15 Celsius temperatures. Both were taken by authorities to a hospital to warm up and for observation. Further details on the incident were not immediately available. (AP)
Portugal restaurants launch initiative for health workers
Lisbon, Feb 12: Portugal’s national association of restaurants has launched an initiative to prepare and deliver meals to the frontline health workers currently battling the Covid-19 pandemic in six of the country’s major hospitals. The “Serving Heroes” initiative has been launched by the PRO.VAR association said a report. Under the programme, 16 restaurants in the cities of Braga, Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto plan to serve around 5,000 lunches to the health professionals for 10 working days. The initiative is financed by Betano Portugal, an online platform for sports bets. Restaurants across the country have been ordered to shut down, while only their delivery or takeaway services remain operational. (IANS)
Singer fined by court for son’s stage performance
Berlin, Feb 12: A Bavarian court found a folk singer guilty Friday of violating Germany’s strict child labor laws for having his 4-year-old son perform on stage with him during an evening concert. Angelo Kelly, 39, was fined 3000 euros ($3,600) by the Hassfurt administrative court for the 2019 appearance at an open air summer concert with his son William, who sang What a Wonderful World.
The boy is the youngest of Kelly’s five children. “During this performance, the child William stood for at least 30 minutes on the stage where he played along, sang along and interpreted his own song,” the court said, according to the dpa news agency. “This is is considered work by the Youth Labor Protection Act.” Kelly, who is popular in Germany, said on his Facebook page that he would appeal the verdict. “As a father, the well-being of my children is the most important thing for me,” he wrote.
“William was and is never obliged to appear with us at our shows. If he did it, it was because he wanted to.” Children ages 3 to 6 can take part in musical performances under German law for up to two hours a day, but only with official approval of an exception and only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., dpa reported. William, who is now 5, appeared on stage until 8:20 p.m., according to authorities.
Kelly’s attorney, Julian Ackermann, blasted the ruling, saying that interpreting a “brief appearance on the stage in the presence of one’s mother and siblings at a concert given by one’s own father” as child labor was legally wrong and “far removed from the facts.” (AP)