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Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience Aleo Solar says it will halt production at its solar panel factory in Prenzlau The manufacturer is a unit of Taiwan’s Sino-American Silicon From pv magazine Germany German PV module manufacturer Aleo Solar, a unit of Taiwan-based solar supplier Sino-American Silicon said it will shut down production lines at its factory in Prenzlau as part of an “orderly phase-out.” A company spokesperson told pv magazine that Aleo plans to close the facility in the coming months Local newspaper Nordkurier has previously reported that many employees had already received termination notices with standard notice periods for long-term staff running through the end of June Aleo Solar has now confirmed that the closure will affect about 110 employees It noted that they will receive support through a social plan and professional reorientation Aleo Solar said it plans to wind down production gradually and use up remaining production resources The factory produces specialized solar modules for niche markets but the company said sustained overcapacity in China and a global price war have made competitive production unviable – challenges that have forced other German module manufacturers to halt production over the past year “This decision was not an easy one for us but it reflects the current reality of the solar industry,” said William Chen “We are one of the last German manufacturers in this segment – with a 25-year history We would have liked politicians to have taken timely measures to strengthen European solar production.” Aleo Solar said a core team will handle the company’s strategic reorientation It did not specify the size of the team or provide details on what the reorientation will involve began PV module production in Prenzlau in 2002 Bosch acquired a majority stake in the company Aleo Solar was then sold to a consortium of Asian investors led by Taiwan's Sunrise Global Solar Energy a subsidiary of Sino-American Silicon Products Group More articles from Sandra Enkhardt Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Coach en route from Berlin to Polish city of Szczecin ended up on its side near Prenzlau A bus accident on a motorway in north-eastern Germany on Saturday left two people dead and another four seriously injured The accident happened on an exit from the A11 motorway that leads to a car park close to an interchange near Prenzlau No other vehicle was believed to be involved and the cause of the accident The two people killed were a 29-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man Germany’s dominant long-distance bus operator The company said it was en route from Berlin to the Polish city of Szczecin Two people died and four were seriously injured during a bus crash on a motorway in northeastern Germany The victims are a 29-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man In addition to 4 seriously injured passengers there are 7 more passengers with minor injuries The tragedy took place at an exit from the A11 motorway No other vehicle is believed to have been involved in the incident Police in the German state of Brandenburg said the bus was operated by the company "Flixbus" and was travelling on the motorway linking Berlin to Szczecin in Poland The bus was carrying a driver and 13 passengers Follow us on Google News Showcase and Instagram to stay up to date with the day's topics More news from World AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The Dutch tax authority is seeking payment from an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor for a pension stipend that she is receiving from Germany for her employment as a child in forced labor The Tax and Customs Administration demanded in summer that Inge Prenzlau pay a portion of her $156 monthly compensation stipend from Germany even though that country exempts other recipients residing in Germany and beyond from paying taxes on that class of payments Het Financieele Dagblad last week reported Prenzlau worked at her father’s factory without pay when she was 11 years old She began working in 1942 after her father fell ill The family was forced to send her to work to prevent the German occupation forces and local collaborators from taking over the factory She had to walk to the factory for two hours in each direction from her home because Jews were not allowed to use public transportation Prenzlau took the Dutch tax authority to court seeking an injunction against their motion to collect The court instructed the government to sort out the dispute Menno Snel, a politician for the liberal D66 party and State Secretary for Finance, is opposed to making an exception for Prenzlau, Het Financieele Dagblad reported In a letter he sent last year to the tax authority he warned against making a concession that would set a precedent for “many other stipends rooted in such things as war I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site. Reporting by Kate Abnett and Julian Payne; editing by Richard Lough Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe’s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe’s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022. , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved A court ruling has sparked demonstrations against the natalist policies of Europe's right-wing populists and raised questions about who makes Poland's laws I made the six-hour train journey to Berlin from Warsaw I was up at dawn to catch the train to Prenzlau a German town a one-and-a-half hour journey north-east of Berlin I walked up the road to a grand old building that looked more like a manor than a hospital I was sitting in a waiting room on the corridor where abortions are performed but many Polish women had made the journey to Prenzlau before me Poland has the toughest abortion controls in Europe with just three exceptions: when the mother’s life is in danger or when there are severe and irreversible foetal defects women seek an abortion underground or in countries where it is more easily available Prenzlau’s particular appeal for Polish women seeking to terminate a pregnancy that did not fall into one of those three categories was a Polish gynaecologist carrying out abortions at the hospital Now a court ruling in Poland threatens to make these rules On 22 October the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortion in cases of severe foetal defects which currently account for almost all the legal abortions carried out in Poland which will become law as soon as it is officially published has prompted some of the largest protests across Poland since the fall of communism in 1989 Despite the surge in coronavirus cases this autumn crowds of demonstrators – largely young women – have filled the streets of Warsaw has become a feature of the urban landscape on the walls of buildings and on posters in windows A takeaway coffee I ordered at a Warsaw café even came with lightning-shaped latte art The tribunal’s decision is good news for the minority of Poles who consider the current rules to be too soft including some politicians in the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party In 2016 PiS’s chairman Jarosław Kaczyński said that his party will “strive to ensure that even very difficult pregnancies Within Poland, this policy is part of a conservative agenda promoted by PiS, which includes championing the so-called traditional family and targeting the country’s LGBT+ community. Kaczyński has denounced gay rights as a threat warning of “an attack on the family and children” Poland’s new ruling would deprive women (and their partners) of the right to choose whether to carry a severely damaged foetus to term with potentially far-reaching consequences for women and their families [See also: Why we should fear populists like Orban and Erdogan who want women to be baby machines] A particular cause for concern among protesters is that the decision to further limit access to abortion was made not by parliament but by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal which has been controlled by PiS appointees since the party came to power in 2015 The ruling was a response to a request made last year by a group of MPs for the Tribunal to review whether the provisions allowing abortions in cases of foetal defects are compatible with Poland’s constitution In a statement criticising the ruling Poland’s ombudsman Adam Bodnar recommended that Poland consider establishing a citizens’ assembly similar to the one held in Ireland before the 2018 referendum on abortion rights legal and social reasons” relating to access to abortion Polls show that support for tighter restrictions on abortion is limited among the public. According to one poll 59 per cent of Poles – and 40 per cent of PiS voters – are in favour of access to abortion in cases of severe foetal defects with only 22 per cent in favour of abortion on demand (up to the 12th week of pregnancy) just 13 per cent of respondents supported the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling For now, the protests seem to have worked: the ruling still has not been published in the Journal of Laws Poland’s most important publication of legal acts and the deadline for doing so was 2 November As such the rules on access to abortion remain PiS seems to have been taken aback by the scale of the women’s protests as it was following a previous proposal to tighten the restrictions on abortion in 2016 The party leadership is already under pressure from its coalition partners over its handling of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic But the situation remains unresolved and the protests continue Gdańsk and other cities in Poland over the past weekend rather than pushed through in the guise of a supposedly objective court decision The ENERTRAG Hybrid-Power-Plant sets a milestone in systems integration of renewable energy sources Hydrogen is the best way of integrating renewables into mobility and heating The plant is operated by Brandenburg-based ENERTRAG AG one of the leading European wind energy suppliers and designed in partnership with the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg the ENERTRAG project combines a wind energy plant The capability for storing unused electricity as hydrogen helps stabilise the power grid and provides a model for the future take-up of renewable energies One of the main advantages of the hybrid power plant is the diversity of ways in which the energy While most of the electricity obtained from wind is normally fed into the power grid in times of oversupply it is used to generate hydrogen – which the hydrogen is converted back into electricity in a combined heat and power plant where it is mixed with biogas to achieve ideal output levels The waste heat from this process is used as district heating for the nearby town of Prenzlau Any superfluous hydrogen is turned into fuel for hydrogen cars and brought to petrol stations in Berlin which benefited from financial support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) shows how some of the most pressing difficulties that renewable energies face could be overcome Surplus electricity from wind generators can be stored on-site as hydrogen and used to help balance out fluctuations in the power grid which are caused by differences in the supply of solar- and wind energy In this way renewable energy can be 100 % flexible and can be used when and where it is needed By strengthening the use of renewable energies the project is making a valuable contribution to the EU’s aim of raising the share of renewable energies to 20 % by 2020 a target enshrined in the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy Total investment for the project “Production of hydrogen through renewable energies” is EUR 10 948 000 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributing EUR 6 082 000 through the “Brandenburg” Operational Programme Ministerium für Wirtschaft und Europaangelegenheiten des Landes Brandenburg Janusz Rudzinski talks on the phone to a woman seeking an abortion as he performs the procedure in Prenzlau It’s Almost Impossible to Get an Abortion in Poland These Women Crossed the Border to Germany for Help She had experienced two miscarriages in the past she knew things weren’t going as planned She was already suffering a host of complications Her doctor in Poland prescribed her the drug progesterone meant to fortify the inner lining of the uterus She called her doctor to discontinue the treatment (Kaja is a pseudonym; the 34-year-old fears legal repercussions.) and that stopping the medication could harm her pregnancy Kaja realized that ending the pregnancy was what she needed to do for her own health but she also knew her doctor could never help her about 30 miles (50 km) from the Polish border where around 20 Polish women travel each week for abortions Poland is home to some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union Abortion is legal in France up to 12 weeks from conception the procedure is only permitted if the mother’s health is at risk or the pregnancy results from rape or incest women say it’s extremely hard to find a doctor who will perform the procedure Women can technically order pills for medical abortions from other countries since the drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol are on the list of the World Health’s Organization’s essential medicines but women say packages can be held up by customs and the process is difficult Kaja visited an online forum for women seeking abortion in Poland a Polish doctor who has been practicing in Germany for over 35 years Kaja called Rudzinski — known to accept women’s calls at all times of day — and he told her to come to his clinic in Prenzlau Kaja drove around 200 miles from her village in Poland to Rudzinski’s clinic across the border “I believe women have the right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies,” says Dr who estimates he sees about 20 Polish women every week “I don’t think abortion should be a taboo subject.” assuring her that the procedure would go smoothly and quickly “If anything happens to me in a future pregnancy I feel relieved knowing I can always travel to Germany,” she says went to Prenzlau for an abortion at the recommendation of her gynecologist Poland’s abortion laws haven’t always been strict. The procedure was legalized in 1956, due in part to arguments that unsafe abortions were contributing to high maternal mortality rates. Abortion became widely available in public hospitals and private clinics and was subsidized by the government if performed at a government institution. Women often relied on abortions due to a lack of available contraceptives stringent abortion law in 1993 with the backing of the Catholic Church “This law is a compromise between the Catholic Church and politicians without the participation of women,” says Krystyna Kacpura the executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning in Warsaw only about 1,000 legal abortions are performed every year The exact number of illegal abortions performed is unknown but reproductive health organizations estimate the figure is between 10 to 100 times higher Rudzinski says he hears from women in Poland who attempt dangerous abortions on their own “They will buy drugs from pharmacies that are not controlled,” he says “Sometimes the drugs they take are for stomach ulcers They will experience pain and bleeding and think the abortion was successful they realize it did not work and a regular abortion is no longer possible.” and they have the majority,” explains Kasia Strek whose pictures here are part of her year-long project documenting the state of women’s reproductive health in Poland “They are able to change laws and are close to the Catholic Church I am not sure how far they will go.” (All the men and women in Strek’s photos asked to use pseudonyms for legal reasons.) Patients are often accompanied by their partners Three women who terminated their pregnancies rest in the gynecology wing of the hospital in March 2017 Polish women and men have started protesting in historic numbers Polish politicians rejected a bill that would increase women’s access to abortion offer emergency contraception without prescription and incorporate comprehensive sex education at school The bill had received signature support from over 400,000 people (Poland has a population of around 38 million) legislation is moving forward in Poland’s parliament that would further restrict abortion rights by banning the procedure for fetuses with congenital disorders 13 thousands of people protested in front of Parliament in Warsaw over the rejection of the pro-abortion rights bill and the progress of the anti-abortion bill Anti-abortion demonstrators often use graphic imagery in their call for a total ban on abortions they picketed in front of a library in Wroclaw where activists had gathered to lecture women about pharmacological abortion options prays at a church after undergoing an abortion in March 2017 Iza said she was drugged and raped during a party and found out a month and a half later that she was pregnant she was determined not to carry the pregnancy to term The turnout for Black Monday was huge: In Warsaw 24,000 women and men gathered in Castle Square in the rain organizers report that 116,000 people participated “This was a really huge protest and the first time that women stood in solidarity with each other.” “I heard a grandmother tell her granddaughter I came here for you and your future,’” she adds The marches had impact: just three days later, 352 of the 428 lawmakers voted against the bill. “Observing the social developments, we have come to a conclusion that this legislation will have an opposite effect to the one that was intended,” said Kaczynski after the protests The issue remains deeply divisive among women one of the women Strek photographed (above) says that her pregnancy was the result of rape but that her mother wanted her to have the child anyway Justyna Wydrzynska, who runs an online informational forum on medication abortion called Masz Wybor (You Have a Choice) says abortion is more widely discussed in the wake of Black Monday Wydrzynska started the site after undergoing her own medication abortion in 2006 without any help or education about the drugs “I work in small community and so I don’t often talk about what I am doing,” she says The failure of the outlaw bill in 2016 was seen as a success for abortion-rights advocates in the country A neon light in the shape of a wire hanger is displayed at the office of the Federation for Women and Family Planning in Warsaw in June “We feel responsible for all women of the world who are looking to us,” says Kacpura “Women in Latin America and Ireland are looking to see if Polish women win or if we stop they might feel like they also have no chance.” But Kacpura says abortion-rights advocates in Poland plan to continue to challenge to the government’s position “Politicians should not be able to make decisions regarding my health and my body,” she says adding that she’s thinking of trying to get pregnant again “The politicians in Poland don’t help women but make everything more difficult and burdensome.” — With reporting and translations by Sandra Ifraimova Kasia Strek is a Polish photojournalist based between Paris and Warsaw. Follow her on Instagram @kasia_strek Alexandra Sifferlin is a staff writer at TIME. Follow her on Twitter @acsifferlin Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is TIME’s Deputy Director of Multimedia. Follow him on Twitter @katz Please press and hold the button until it turns completely green If you believe this is an error, please contact our support team 147.45.197.102 : 0cefbb52-b5d6-4295-9147-6b270e9d A Catholic from Poland’s conservative south Abortion is illegal in Poland except in cases of rape severe prenatal defects or when the mother’s life is at risk so Anna and her partner found a clinic in Germany she was one of six Polish women who underwent abortions at the hospital in Prenzlau This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “No exceptions” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Idaho (KBOI) — An obstetrician-gynecologist in Idaho was suspended because of a video circulating of her allegedly making "hurtful and inappropriate statements," officials said The clinic released the following statement onFacebook pageandits website: The clinic did not specify what statements Oliver allegedly made OGA then left a comment on their original Facebook post that said "We understand that serious pain has been caused by the comments Dr We have turned off commenting for this post but remain open to your concerns Please email us at feedback@ogaidaho.com if you have a concern you'd like to discuss with us We ask for patience as we work through this incident." Study for European parliament ‘explains why EU assessors brushed off warnings of pesticide’s dangers’ EU regulators based a decision to relicense the controversial weedkiller glyphosate on an assessment plagiarised from industry reports, according to a report for the European parliament A crossparty group of MEPs commissioned an investigation into claims, revealed by the Guardian that Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) copy-and-pasted tracts from Monsanto studies The study’s findings have been released hours before a parliamentary vote on tightening independent scrutiny of the pesticides approvals process The authors said they found “clear evidence of BfR’s deliberate pretence of an independent assessment whereas in reality the authority was only echoing the industry applicants’ assessment.” said the scale of alleged plagiarism by the BfR authors shown by the new paper was “extremely alarming” “This helps explain why the World Health Organization assessment on glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen was so at odds with EU assessors, who awarded this toxic pesticide a clean bill of health brushing off warnings of its dangers,” she said The study found plagiarism in 50.1% of the chapters assessing published studies on health risks – including whole paragraphs and entire pages of text based its recommendation that glyphosate was safe for public use on the BfR’s assessment An Efsa spokesperson said: “The report does not provide any new scientific information that calls into question the assessment and conclusions of glyphosate Efsa stands firmly behind the integrity of its risk assessment processes and its conclusions on glyphosate.” In a statement, the BfR rejected any notion of deliberate deception saying that its authors had evaluated the relevant industry reports before selecting passages of text to “integrate” “We often see that the complexity of the conventional procedure for the re-approval of the pesticidal active substances is not understood properly,” said the BfR professor “The term ‘plagiarism’ is not relevant in this context.” A separate analysis of research methods used to evaluate glyphosate by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also raised questions about regulatory independence It found that EPA regulators used unpublished industry reports in 63% of the studies they evaluated whereas the IARC relied solely on publicly available literature Almost three-quarters of the peer-reviewed papers looked at by IARC found evidence of genotoxicity in glyphosate, compared with just 1% of the industry analyses, according to the study published in Environmental Sciences Europe said: “It is unacceptable that pesticide-industry studies receive greater recognition than scientific peer-reviewed open literature in regulatory decision-making similar criticisms have been made of EU decisions and we fear that outside the EU pressure to approve pesticides will increase.” German headquartered PV manufacturer Aleo Solar has announced plans to introduce the module in the new year the company is moving to a larger cell size for the new product which it says will offer up to 333 W output from a 60-cell format Aleo Solar’s 280 MW module factory in Prenzlau Aleo Solar will introduce a new module to market from January which it says will offer a 3-4% improvement on its previous offering The module will be supplied with a 25-year warranty guaranteeing 85% of the initial power output which operates a 280 MW production line in Prenzlau is following an industry trend towards larger wafer and cell sizes by incorporating a 158.75mm cell that is slightly larger than the 156.75 mm cells used in previous modules Aleo Solar says that increases the area of its module in comparison to the company’s older module 158.75mm is the largest size which can be processed on module production lines without modification or tool replacement Aleo Solar’s new module will be available as a 60-cell product with a white backsheet offering 325 and in a 48-cell format with a rating of up to 265 W The module features a 42mm frame the producer says offers exceptionally high mechanical stability prevents torsion and stresses on cells and makes the module suitable for heavy snow or ice loads The module is advertised as 100% PID [potential-induced degradation] free and its 25-year warranty guarantees a maximum of 0.56% annual degradation as well as promising 85.1% of nominal performance in the 25th year of operation More articles from Mark Hutchins Rapid transition to renewables heralds new era of fossil fuel decline I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Wind and solar power have overtaken fossil fuel-generated power for the first time in Europe Wind turbines and solar panels generated 30 per cent of the European Union’s electricity in the first six months of 2024 while the share of fossil fuel generation fell to 27 per cent The shift to renewables follows a major push by member states to transition away from polluting power sources in order to meet climate goals Despite increasing electricity demand in the first half of 2024 fossil fuel generation fell to an all-time low of 343 terawatt hours (TWh) “The first half of the year shows fossil generation’s narrowing role in the power sector and gains for renewables that are beyond temporary variations in conditions,” said Chirs Rosslowe “We are witnessing a historic shift and it is happening rapidly If [EU] member states can keep up momentum on wind and solar deployment then freedom from fossil power reliance will truly start to come into view.” The latest figures fit with a forecast made by Ember last year that the world is about to enter an era of fossil fuel decline as a result of record-breaking renewable energy production A separate report by researchers at the University of Exeter and University College London in October found that solar energy had reached an “irreversible tipping point” that will see it become the world’s main source of energy by 2050 “The recent progress of renewables means that fossil fuel-dominated projections are no longer realistic,” said Femke Nijsse a scientist from the University of Exeter who was involved in the research “Using three models that track positive feedbacks we project that solar photovoltaics will dominate the global energy mix by the middle of this century.” The latest report from Ember found that 13 EU member states now generate more electricity from solar and wind than from fossil fuels, with some countries meeting more than 50 per cent of their electricity demand from the renewable power sources. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Dimitri in his club.BLZ/Paulus PonizakBerlin/Prenzlau-It's hard to even imagine a club night at this point but Tresor founder Dimitri Hegemann is already looking beyond the pandemic Last week on Facebook Hegemann said he was looking for young colleagues in Prenzlau "interested in setting up and running a small club for electronic music." Hegemann confirmed his plans to open a club in the city located about 100km north of Berlin in Brandenburg but said he wants to manage the project together with local residents He only wants to provide the necessary support "Young people need space," he said and believes a club can help The former bassist of Leningrad Sandwich has been a staple of Berlin's electronic music scene since the 1980s and in 1991 opened Tresor partially in an old safe in a derelict Wertheim department store in Leipziger Straße The original Tresor closed in 2005 but reopened in an old power plant in Köpenicker Straße in 2007 Hegemann's latest plans have been well-received and he said he's had several hundred people contact him Prenzlau mayor Hendrik Sommer confirmed Hegemann has been in touch and the city welcomes outside investment The idea is in keeping with Hegemann's Happy Locals initiative which he founded in 2012 to offer cultural events in small German towns to battle the emigration of young residents to larger nearby cities Andrew Bulkeley adapted this article from the original German The Berliner Zeitung English Edition weekly newsletter Collaborative Community Projects NDIS Carer Support & Respite Community Development Home Newsroom Colourful expressions at Laidley aged care community A group project at a Laidley aged care community is empowering seniors to express their artistic talents – while creating a sense of pride and achievement Members of the Colourful Expressions group at Carinity Karinya Place have dedicated their time and creativity to produce beautiful collaborative art pieces for their local community Carinity Karinya Place Activities Officer said in recent weeks 12 residents have contributed to a new peacock artwork consisting of three body pieces and approximately 50 features “Each resident contributed by colouring individual peacock feathers they assembled the vibrant masterpiece,” Kerrie said “The project was not only a creative endeavour but also a collaborative effort that brought our residents together in a meaningful and engaging way.” Kerrie said art projects had inspired many residents including those who had previously declined to engage in social activities to develop their creative skills and foster new connections “The Colourful Expressions group project not only allows our residents to express their artistic talents but also created a sense of pride and accomplishment,” Kerrie said Kerrie said the peacock artwork will be showcased in the Prenzlau State School library “providing a pleasing and inspiring addition to their learning environment” It is one of several creative projects recently undertaken by Carinity Karinya Place residents and displayed at local schools. “In Spring, residents made paper birds and bees with the theme being ‘Spring into a good book’. Another was clay bugs with the theme of ‘Catch the reading bug’,” Kerrie said. Residents also knitted scarves with which to wrap trees and poles at schools. “We believe that initiatives like these contribute positively to the well-being of our residents and foster a strong sense of connection with the broader community,” Kerrie said. A partnership between a Carinity Education school and a Brisbane church is strengthening students’ “sense of belonging”. Of all the centenarians who currently live in Carinity aged care communities, half moved in after they had turned 100.  Arthur ‘Ron’ Neal is the latest. ANZAC Day is a special time of reflection for Carinity Colthup Manor aged care resident and Vietnam War veteran, Doug Young. Carinity acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Queensland and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. ABC News News HomeLive-baiting scandal: Disgraced greyhound racing trainers deny wrongdoing one year onShare Live-baiting scandal: Disgraced greyhound racing trainers deny wrongdoing one year onBy Kristina HarazimTopic:Law, Crime and Justice A greyhound bites a possum being used as live bait as a part of the dog's racing training regime. (Supplied: Animals Australia) Link copiedShareShare articleDisgraced greyhound racing trainers have spoken out about their treatment a year after they were caught up in the live-baiting investigation broadcast on the ABC's Four Corners program. Legendary trainer Ron Ball, from Prenzlau, south-west of Brisbane, was one of 22 trainers warned off by Racing Queensland. Police charged 37 people with animal cruelty. Mr Ball admitted he was trialling his dogs at trainer Tom Noble's property at Churchable, south-west of Brisbane, in February 2015 where surveillance cameras recorded numerous incidents of live baiting, but he claimed he did not see it. I think we've got the easy pickings you might say and then it'll be a slow process trying to get underground to where it's still happening in the back blocks of Queensland. "I hadn't done anything wrong and I didn't see anything that was being done wrong," Mr Ball said. He challenged Racing Queensland's determination against him, which also saw him removed from the industry's prestigious Greyhound Hall of Fame, and a decision was made earlier this month to reduce his life ban to 10 years. But Mr Ball said he intended to take the matter to the Supreme Court to clear his name. He was not charged with criminal offences. "It's mentally, physically, financially been just destructive," he said. "It's cost me approximately $140,000 now - no income for 12 months, barred from every greyhound track in Queensland and your character that you hold in the industry is being tarnished." Glass House Mountains greyhound trainer and breeder Ray Gatti appealed his life ban through the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal where the term was reduced to 10 years. The 91-year-old pensioner said the industry ban had a significant financial impact on him. Tom Noble at the Ipswich Magistrates Court in August, 2015. (AAP: Dave Hunt) "I used to get a quid out of the dogs and I'm getting nothing out of them now and they're costing me. I've still got them," Mr Gatti said. "I've got no money at all to tell you the truth - I'm flat out paying my bills." Mr Gatti was also defending a charge of animal cruelty which related to him being on Noble's property where live animals were used as lure for the dogs. Noble pleaded guilty in February to 15 charges of animal cruelty and was awaiting sentencing. "I was clocking them [the dogs] and Tracey [Kunde] was grabbing them off the arm and putting them in the kennels," Mr Gatti said. "If I'd have seen anything different on the arm I would've noticed it. But I never noticed any pig on the arm at all, only on a video afterwards. "I had no idea I was there that day, until I got notification from Racing Queensland." Racing Queensland stood behind its decisions and in a statement wrote: "Any determinations made by Racing Queensland to warn off for life were judged on the merits of each individual case". A piglet being used as live bait as a part of a greyhound racing training regime. (Supplied: Animals Australia) Greyhound Racing New South Wales abandoned its investigations into eight suspended trainers in February because of concerns about the legality of the surveillance footage used to implicate the men. RSPCA Queensland chief executive officer Mark Townend said officers nationally would continue to work with police to investigate and penalise offenders. "I think we've got the easy pickings you might say and then it'll be a slow process trying to get underground to where it's still happening in the back blocks of Queensland," he said. "I think it's [live baiting] a generational thing. "I think some of those older people in the industry need to move out and realise we're serious about taking them to court and realise there's actually a serious animal cruelty charge and they could do some jail time." The president of the Australian Federation of Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Associations, Brenton Wilson, said while his organisation did not believe the practice was common, it backed the strong stance against animal cruelty. "That's the only way our sport can move on is through zero tolerance and best practice and do things better than anybody else," he said. Mr Wilson blamed poor management from the states' racing boards for the industry's current crisis, and said greyhounds - particularly in Queensland - needed better stadium facilities and safer tracks for the dogs. "There hasn't been one policy, there hasn't been any positive thing for 20 years," he said. The Queensland Government appointed an integrity commissioner after an inquiry into the industry last year found Racing Queensland failed to do the job. A spokesman said it would announce an interim board in the coming weeks after the last one was sacked. But Animal Liberation president Chay Neal said he did not believe the inquiry's proposed changes would tackle all the welfare issues, particularly overbreeding and euthanising dogs that were either injured or not fast enough to compete. "We certainly think it's had more than its chance and we see no alternative than for the industry to be shut down," he said. Racing Queensland said it had increased adoptions through the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), and introduced rule changes designed to improve the health and welfare of breeding females and minimise the number of puppies born. CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) All articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueShe left an address in Prenzlau about 7.15am on Thursday She was wearing a green school uniform and carrying a black backpack when she was last seen Police are appealing for anyone with information about her whereabouts to come forward Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy She left an address in Prenzlau about 7.15am on Thursday