Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot Diehl Defence has announced its acquisition of Dynamit Nobel GmbH (DN) includes the legal transfer of Troisdorfer Genehmigungshaltergesellschaft mbH (TGHG) shares and essential operating licences concerning explosives at the Troisdorf location which holds a unique regulatory status in Germany Dynamit Nobel (DN) is the successor to the well-established Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff- und Systemtechnik GmbH bringing a legacy of expertise in explosive materials and technology Diehl’s acquisition includes crucial licensing rights which form the regulatory foundation for the activities of DynITEC GmbH a joint venture between Diehl’s subsidiary JUNGHANS Microtec GmbH and Rheinmetall both of which are vital for Germany’s and its allies’ security needs The deal ensures that Diehl Defence secures long-term control of DynITEC’s premises safeguarding the future of DynITEC’s essential business activities Diehl Defence will also retain DN’s highly skilled workforce reinforcing the stability and continuity of the Troisdorf site’s infrastructure and services has a longstanding reputation for producing military explosives and electronic ignition systems in Troisdorf These products are core components for Diehl Defence and other defence manufacturers with demand for such technologies rising due to increased security requirements for Germany and allied nations since early 2022 Diehl Defence affirms that this acquisition preserves the critical integration of regulatory licences and technical expertise essential to DynITEC’s operations in Troisdorf The company believes that retaining these unique regulatory and operational capabilities will strengthen both its production capacity and its role in Germany’s defence supply chain Cookie Policy Copyright © 2025 Defence Industry Europe | mady by: geekon.eu We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns 2024–Felicitas Hendricks rode her Drombusch OLD to victory in the CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday to complete a double win for the German partnership Felicitas and the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding were awarded 76.970% and the unanimous choice of the five judges for the for the win where they began their Big Tour career in February 2023 and plan to return for the 2025 winter-long Global Dressage Festival brings to nine the total of CDI Big Tour wins Felicitas and Drombusch were the 2023 European Under-25 champion first competed in Florida as a junior on Faible AS 10 years ago she was on the 2023 and 2024 German gold medal Nations Cup teams in Wellington Switzerland’s Carla Aeberhard on Delioh von Buchmatt CH Fie Christine Skarsoe of Luxembourg on the 13-year-old Lusitano gelding Garrett placed third on 70.870% Lisa Wernitznig of Austria on the 16-year-old gelding Quintus won the Grand Prix Special on 69.936% CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle: https://results.equi-score.de/event/2024/28476/en/livelist/3?refesh=1 CDI3* Grand Prix Special: https://results.equi-score.de/event/2024/28476/en/resultlist/2 Diehl Defence acquired Dynamit Nobel GmbH (DN) including all operative activities employees and assets within a so-called share deal at the Troisdorf location where DynITEC GmbH (DynITEC) also has its headquarters DN is a successor company of Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff- und Systemtechnik GmbH Diehl Defence also takes over the shares of the Troisdorfer Genehmigungshaltergesellschaft mbH (TGHG) in company law terms and the related essential operating authorizations concerning explosives at the location The present licensing situation in Troisdorf is a fundamental requirement for the business activities of DynITEC and unique in Germany many years of expertise for the infrastructural services at the Troisdorf location will be secured by the takeover of the DN employees As owner of parts of the operative company premises of the DynITEC GmbH Diehl Defence is able to secure the future business activities of DynITEC over the long term thanks to the share deal DynITEC is a joint venture of the Diehl Defence subsidiary JUNGHANS Microtec GmbH and Rheinmetall DynITEC has been developing and producing military explosive devices energetic materials and electronic ignition systems at the Troisdorf location These are systemically relevant components for the products of Diehl Defence and other manufacturers of defence products which have turned out to be increasingly indispensable for the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and allied countries since the beginning of 2022 Diehl Defence preserves this unique link between the licensing situation and the essential expertise for DynITEC at the Troisdorf location 2024–Felicitas Hendricks and her Drombusch OLD dominated the CDI3* Grand Prix Saturday the pair’s first victory in the rider’s homeland since returning from the Florida winter circuit as the most successful Big Tour partnership Felicitas and the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding on which she was the 2023 European Under-25 champion Felicitas first competed in Florida as a junior rider a decade ago and was successful on Faible AS up to Under-25 in 2021 She began competing Drombusch during at Big Tour initially at the Global Dressage Festival in 2023 including on the German gold medal Nations Cup team and the top rated CDI5* She went on to become the Under-25 European Champion in summer the same year the duo won seven of eight starts and was again on the German Nations Cup gold medal team and victorious in the CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle Germany’s Nadine Plaster on the nine-year-old mare Shiva NRW placed third on 67.739% Results: https://results.equi-score.de/event/2024/28476/en/livelist/1?refesh=1 The TimesThe factory is hidden away under the snow and behind a long fence lined with barbed wire There is nothing to reveal that the plot of land in Troisdorf a town with almost 80,000 residents south of Cologne has been dragged on to the centre stage of a national debate about German armament and the power of local politicians Although Germany has sent more military aid to Kyiv than any other European country, including the UK, there has been little weapon production, partly because of the unwillingness of local and regional leaders. There is a growing feeling of war fatigue in the country, with a survey showing that 34 per cent of Germans do not want to continue to provide military support to Ukraine. Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Europe’s efforts to boost arms production and help Ukraine to fend off Russia’s invasion are facing an unexpected obstacle in a German local government News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards Undated photo of a protest against developing the arms industry in Troisdorf 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 Source of photo; Writers' House of Georgia Georgian illustrator Tatia Nadareishvili’s book “Tina Hat Mut” won the second prize at the Troisdorf picture book award Tina hat Mut was published by Swiss Publishing House Baobab Books with the support of the Writers’ House of Georgia The Troisdorf picture book prize is the only German prize that specifically honors illustrations for picture books It recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of artistic picture book illustration The prize has been awarded by the Troisdorf Picture Book Museum every two years since 1982 Why Silknet's eSIM could be your top choice in Georgia  Since its introduction The area on the former Dynamit Nobel site is partially lined with old industrial buildings The city of Troisdorf is under increasing pressure over the Dynamit Nobel site While all parties involved have now muted their communication channels about DynITec's expansion plans on the former Dynamit Nobel factory site Mayor Alexander Biber (CDU) and the majority of the city council made up of the CDU Greens and Left Party are the focus of federal and state politicians Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) was not the only one to get involved in the discussion; NRW Minister President Hendrick Wüst (CDU) had his state chancellery schedule a mediating meeting between Biber and the board members of parent company Diehl Defence in December The meeting on 21 December at the State Chancellery in Düsseldorf "served to discuss the issues relating to the acquisition of ownership of the former Dynamit Nobel GmbH site," David Voskuhl Vice President Communications & PR at Diehl Defence "the mutual understanding of the respective positions grew These are to be clarified amicably in further confidential talks between the two parties." Beyond that the national and international press has also become aware of the dispute in Troisdorf The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) recently wrote that Troisdorf is now regarded as a municipality "in which the mayor and council are driving back the turn of an era with a provincial farce in the style of a bourgeoisie" the Handelsblatt newspaper already saw a "shortage of explosives" due to the city's blockade behaviour The future of DynITec is "acutely threatened" The city "is thwarting Diehl's plans: the company wants to significantly expand production there in order to fulfil delivery obligations to the German Armed Forces and Ukraine The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper judged that the production of urgently needed ammunition was being "prevented by vested interests" Events in Troisdorf are apparently also being followed very closely in Ukraine The Kyiv Post published in bold letters in Ukrainian and English: "In Germany local politics is blocking weapons for Ukraine" "Europe's efforts to boost arms production and help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion have hit an unexpected obstacle in a German local government," reads the detailed article which has a population of just under 80,000 has blocked the plans of a large defence company to expand local production for the time being the 'no' vote by the western municipality near Cologne calls into question the European Union's ability to produce more weapons at a crucial moment." The authors also refer to the Bundestag debate and the intervention of the "popular" defence minister and point out that DynITec manufactures important parts for the production of the Iris-T air defence system three parts of which were supplied to Ukraine by the German government DynITEC GmbH specialises in the development and production of military ignition and priming agents energetic materials and electronic ignition systems The confusing situation in Troisdorf comes at an inopportune time for DynITec and its parent company President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) signed a framework agreement for the procurement of more than 1,200 IRIS-T missiles for Germany - "to meet further requirements" What does the unresolved situation in Troisdorf mean for the contract with BAAINBw for the delivery of 1,200 Iris-Ts Voskuhl: "The framework agreement you mentioned for IRIS-T missiles confirms the customer's confidence in the quality of our products and our assumptions for the forecast growth course.“ "The Troisdorf site is an important link in Europe's goals to support Ukraine as Kiev calls on its allies to supply the country with more ammunition at a time when it is struggling to fend off the Russian offensive," writes the Kyiv Post How does the Diehl Defence spokesman assess the international media response Voskuhl: "I read the article in the Kyiv Post on 28 December but I don't want to take part in speculation about requirements and deliveries to Ukraine or elsewhere." the city of Troisdorf is defending itself against the accusations that it is blocking arms production for the Bundeswehr and Ukraine The city is merely securing the right of first refusal for a 50-hectare area and is drawing up a development plan for this site The corresponding resolutions of the city council "do not restrict the current production of Diehl Defence" according to a written statement from the city "Neither resolution restricts the expansion of this production in the existing factory The city council's decisions are based on the long-term utilisation of the site The two-thirds majority of the council rejects a significantly enlarged armaments factory in the centre of the city it wants to use the site for commercial areas with a mix of companies and The city council wants to prevent "huge parts of the Dynamit Nobel site from remaining forever unused as a defence factory site as would happen if Diehl were to purchase the site" The mayor makes a proposal to resolve the conflict: "In the short term ramp up production in Troisdorf as far as it serves to support Ukraine find a new location for Diehl Defence where the company can produce outside a metropolitan area," says Biber DynITec had already stated in earlier talks with the GA that a ramp-up of production would only be possible with investments totalling considerable millions the company would only make these investments if it also owned the land and buildings Although the city of Troisdorf has now responded to the two complaints against the council's decision the municipal supervisory review has not yet taken place district spokesman Antonius Nolden told the GA former mayor of Troisdorf and SPD member of the Bundestag had lodged complaints with the municipal supervisory authority of the Rhein-Sieg district against the Troisdorf council decision for a right of first refusal Göllner is convinced that the size of the industrial sites is also of state and federal political importance and that a local authority cannot simply decide on a right of first refusal The right to local self-administration enshrined in the Basic Law also has its limits IRIS-T (InfraRed Imaging System - Tail/Thrust Vector Controlled) is the European "world's most modern" short-range air-to-air missile which is developed and produced by Diehl Defence in cooperation with partners from Sweden more than 5000 missiles have been delivered IRIS-T is part of the standard armament of the Eurofighter/Typhoon and is integrated into the US-made F-16 KF21 and FA-50 (South Korea) and IAR-99 (Romania) In addition to defence against enemy fighter aircraft the system can also combat attacking air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles Pilots can even successfully fend off attacks from behind with IRIS-T without having to change the course of their own aircraft (Original text: Dylan Cem Akalin/Translation: Mareike Graepel) Two Challenger events were held during the first week of Roland Garros Lukas Klein grabbed his maiden title at that level not long after coming back from a wrist injury Andrea Pellegrino prevailed in a final against his namesake Lukas Klein became a very consistent threat in Challenger events last year before injuring his wrist and getting forced out of the game for six months His comeback hadn’t possessed a standout result but the level was very solid from the get-go The Slovakian had to qualify for the main draw in Troisdorf and lost a set in the first round of qualifying to Paweł Ciaś Klein took the decider quite comfortably though and ripped apart every single opponent on his way not dropping any more sets on the way to the final The impressive wins had him eliminate Dominic Stricker in a NextGen battle or take out Roman Safiullin in the semifinals Klein dominated the opening set with his big serve and forehand combination While Bergs was briefly up 3-0 in the second set after the Slovakian had his only weaker service game of the match Klein quickly pulled it back and took his maiden Challenger title 6-2 6-4 The 24-year-old was already down to World No 327 in the ATP Rankings and this will propel him back into Grand Slam qualifying range Both players are scheduled to feature on the Challenger Tour next week while the champion at Troisdorf received a special exempt for Prostejov Andrea Collarini caught some great form in Buenos Aires a month ago, reaching the final and losing to Camilo Ugo Carabelli The Argentinian missed out on Roland Garros qualifying by a few spots striking his lefty forehand beautifully to completely demolish all his opponents on the way to the final Collarini lost just 15 games and never let his opponent have more than 3 games in a single set The streakiness of Andrea Pellegrino continues to amaze. Not long after winning Rome Challenger last year only to break out of it with consecutive finals in Lisbon and Naples Pellegrino compiled a 6-16 win/loss record before making the semifinals at Bordeaux this month becoming the first player in 2022 to beat Benjamin Bonzi in a Challenger defeating four compatriots on his way to the final (Lorenzo Giustino Pellegrino’s lows often have him struggle to keep the ball in play but his highs can be absolutely ridiculous too is among the smoothest ball-strikers on the tour in which the 25-year-old dominated 6-1 6-4 It’s his 2nd Challenger title and the win helps him get back to the top 200 Both finalists will play in Forli next week – Collarini as an alternate Last Word On Sports is back with more action in our best bets column It promises to be an exciting opening day of WTA Rome action ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1/64-Finals Diallo – Giron: Time TBA H2H: first meeting Gabriel Diallo has won four of his last five matches 2023–Nadja Aaboe Sloth rode Favour Gersdorf to victory in the CDI3* Grand Prix Saturday for the first Big Tour win for the Danish partnership Nadja and the 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding scored 70.283% for the win The duo competed successfully as an amateur until 18 months ago when switching to international senior ranks Their biggest success to date was on Denmark’s winning team at the CDIO4* Nations Cup in Falsterbo last summer Austria’s Lisa Wernitznig and Quintus Borja Carrascosa of Spain on the 10-year-old Westfalen gelding Sir Hubert B was third on an identical score of 69.826% Results: https://results.equi-score.de/event/2023/21478/en/livelist/01?refesh=1 The inaugural CDI Troisdorf held at equestrian center Haus Rott near Cologne (GER) will be hosting a 3* level international dressage competition with small medium and big tour classes on 9 - 12 September 2021 The organizers have boosted their programme with an extra focus on amateur and young horse classes alongside the 3* tour Although the yard is hosting its first CDI competition Troisdorf is highly liked and respected venue for German national shows having hosted no less than 25 competitions this year alone an indoor arena for warm-up and a large all-weather footing outdoor competition ring make this stable a pleasure to ride and compete at Thomas Walker (USA) competing in TroisdorfHaus Rott is a brand new equestrian facility of which its construction finished in the summer of 2020 Owned and managed by dressage rider Lukas Blatzheim the inaugural CDI was supposed to take place in September 2020 but postponed by a year due to Covid-19 "We are excited to welcome international dressage riders to our stable," said a proud Blatzheim who has been vigorously working to stage a high class dressage competition on 9 - 12 September 2021 "we wanted to host the event in 2020 but corona changed everything but because they now coincide with the European Dressage Championships in Hagen we made a strategic change to the programme and have put an additional emphasis on the amateur classes as well as young horse tests alongside the 3* programme Of course we hope to attract a broad field of competitors across all these divisions." newly constructed in 2020lThe CDI 3* features the Prix St The Medium Tour will stage the Inter A and B and the big tour has the classic Grand Prix medium and big tour and for young horses tests will be held for 6 and 7-year olds The ground jury includes 5* judges Peter Holler and Bernard Maurel The approved schedule can be found here For more information, contact Lukas Blatzheim at +49 175 188 1989 or lukas.blatzheim@icloud.com 2023–Nadja Aaboe Sloth and Favour Gersdorf made it two-for-two winning the CDI3* Grand Prix Special Sunday a day after the Danish duo captured the Grand for their first Big Tour victory Nadja and the 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding scored 69.936% in the Special The pair competed on Denmark’s winning team at the CDIO4* Nations Cup in Falsterbo last summer Borja Carrascosa of Spain and the 10-year-old Westfalen gelding Sir Hubert B were runner-up on 69.468% Hungary’s Berrill Szoke Tóth and Qatar Results: https://results.equi-score.de/event/2023/21478/en/livelist/02 German based Spanish professional dressage rider Manuel Dominguez Bernal celebrated his international debut at Grand Prix aboard Niina Nilosaari's Quentano At the 2022 CDI Troisdorf on  6 - 9 October 2022 The CDI Troisdorf hosted its second international dressage competition at Haus Rott on the outskirts of Cologne (GER) this year After a pilot CDI in 2021 and a first spring edition in 2022 the October CDI was the last outdoor CDI in western Europe of 2022 A strong field of Grand Prix riders rallied in Troisdorf to compete with two Grand Prix tours bringing top level action to the venue Manuel Dominguez Bernal and the Finnish owned 13-year old Hanoverian gelding Quentano (by Quaterback x Dartagnan) won the Grand Prix with 70.935% who is best known for winning silver and bronze at the World Young Horse Championships with breeding stallion Escamillo this victory was a massive success as it was the rider's first international Grand Prix start in his career Dominguez and Quentano edged out German routinier Andrea Timpe on the 19-year old Don Darwin (by Don Schufro x Warkant) with 69.152% and German former pony team rider Annabel Frenzen on  the 11-year old SilberStern FRH (by Silbermond x Raphael) with 68.717% Dominguez and QuentanoIn the Grand Prix Special the next day Dutchman Geert Jan Raateland and VMF Chardonnay (by Westpoint x Wellington) moved into the winner's circle with 71.149% with Dominguez in second place on 70.957% and Timpe third with 69.426% better than I expected," Manuel told Eurodressage "Even though there were things to improve I am very happy who works for Helen Langehanenberg in Germany immediately thinks of what could have gone better and what the working points "There were very good moments in the test and other things that we still have to improve on to make it the same as at home," he said Quentano with Faurie at the 2020 CDI LierQuentano was originally owned by Isabelle Bergmann and was nicknamed "Quatsch" at the time Under Madita Zurheide he had his international show debut at a 6-year old in the young horse classes at the 2015 CDI Perl In 2018 Quentano sold through Hof Kasselmann to the British based Finnish Niina Nilosaari who developed the horse to Grand Prix with her then-coach British Olympian Emile Faurie The Brit put the first Grand Prix miles on the bay and competed him at a select few CDI's in 2019 and 2020 achieving 70.340% at the 2020 CDI Lier and 72.935% at the 2020 CDI Keysoe In the spring of 2021 Niina moved Quentano to Finnish team trainer Rien van der Schaft's yard in The Netherlands The new collaboration convinced Van der Schaft to put on his tails again and he showed Quentano in a national show in Tolbert that year Rien's last CDI start dated back to November 2008 Niina has not yet competed Quentano herself but moved him into training from Van der Schaft to Dominguez in mid April 2022 Nilosaari on Kom Ragdoll at the 2019 CDI JooslandThe horse has had a full one year break due to a hoof problem which required three MRI's and a scintigraphy to discover When asked what the future plans are with Quentano "continue to improve and do some international shows and together with his owner plan the coming season." Owner Nilosaari is an international dressage rider for Finland She made her CDI debut in 2015 on the now 18-year old Finnish bred KOM Ragdoll (by Patrick x Tolstoy) and represented Finland at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg In February 2022 Niina announced that Kom Ragdoll has been leased to a Taiwanese rider who wants to qualify for the postponed 2023 Asian Games Related LinksRien van der Schaft Back in the Show Ring with Nilosaari's QuentanoRien van der Schaft Appointed Finnish Dressage Team Trainer 2022–Manuel Dominguez Bernal of Spain rode Quentano to victory in the CDI4* Grand Prix Thursday a debut Big Tour competition for the Spanish rider who has been successful with young horses in the past two years Manuel and the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding was awarded 70.935% for the win Manuel was reserve champion on Escamillo at 2021 World Young Horse Championships and took bronze at the championships this year Germany’s Andrea Timpe on Don Darwin Compatriot Annabel Frenzen on the 11-year-old Rhineland gelding SilberStern FRH was third on 68.717% Click for results there are no matches available for this year This player has not participated in any Grand Slam Singles Main Draw events individual player stats are cumulative for the calendar year and not calculated using a minimum match requirement the public order office and police discovered two illegal workers during a raid at the online retailer Amazon in Troisdorf on Thursday One delivery truck had completely worn down tires and was immediately taken out of circulation according to a customs spokesman after the inspection There were also indications of payment below minimum wage in several instances These cases will be be further investigated 131 drivers were questioned and numerous contracts with Amazon subcontractors were checked Amazon's own employees were not questioned it was only about delivery drivers from subcontractor companies Two young drivers who had delivered packages without a work permit are under investigation; but it is the companies which illegally employed them that are the main focus these people are neither insured nor are they paid fairly." He added that the law in this case provides for fines in the five-digit range and even imprisonment in repeat cases The customs spokesman praised Amazon as being very cooperative The online retailer assured the authorities of its full support during such inspections It expects its subcontractors to comply with legal requirements social security contributions and working hours Amazon has set up a driver’s hotline in Germany in several languages - delivery people can use this hotline to report grievances anonymously The "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" had previously reported on the inspection customs and police had also repeatedly come across violations such as undercutting the minimum wage working without social security and significant defects in the delivery trucks During a check at the end of March last year at Amazon in Cologne there were 24 indications of violations among a good 50 drivers questioned A delivery truck was found to be so dilapidated during an inspection a year ago that it had to be towed away Karam Alhajmohamad completed his hairdressing training with the help of his boss Manuela Andreas (standing) and his training mentor Rita Maiwald When Karam Alhajmohamad began his training at the Troisdorf hairdressing salon "Haireinspaziert" his boss Manuela Andreas and his colleagues had to keep telling him to "smile" When she took the now 23-year-old Syrian on as an apprentice he was overwhelmed by the language and at vocational school too shy to answer the phone and speak to customers for fear of saying the wrong thing With the help of his boss and a training mentor from the "Paten für Ausbildung" (PfAu) project run by Diakonie An Sieg und Rhein he recently completed his training with an average grade of 3.0 and was able to overcome his fear of speaking Karam Alhajmohamad came to Germany from Damascus in 2017 at the age of 17 His brother was already in Eitorf and was able to bring the young man over from the war in Syria through family reunification Alhajmohamad had helped out his uncle in the hairdressing salon during the summer holidays after he had to leave Damascus behind and flee to a foreign country education seemed to be the best path for him and a short time later he was standing in my shop asking me for an apprenticeship I realised that he would be a good fit for us and wanted to give him a chance," recalls master hairdresser Manuela Andreas who has been running her salon for five years Alhajmohamad began his training with the fear of not being able to speak to customers properly and not being accepted due to his poor language skills "But my boss encouraged me all the time to answer the phone and I slowly became less shy," he says He practised his craft with Andreas in the salon This was possible with observation and imitation Alhajmohamad soon became very worried about vocational school especially the technical terms," he remembers He got poor grades and lost hope that this would change "You could tell that he saw a big block in front of him that he didn't know how to get rid of," says Andreas but as an example of how important language is in the hairdressing trade Rita Maiwald had been a customer of Manuela Andreas for a long time When the hairdresser asked her what Maiwald was doing now that she was retired the qualified psychologist told her that she was volunteering as a "mentor for training" The Diakonie project offers young people support in starting a career by providing them with volunteers to accompany them she cautiously asked Rita Maiwald whether she could imagine helping Karam Alhajmohamad She could and soon met the Syrian regularly at the vocational school after lessons to revise the material with him then - as the exams approached - several times Alhajmohamad even visited Maiwald at home on Sundays so that he could learn even more with her "Once he got an A in economics and joked that he could now become a politician," Manuela Andreas recalls her protégé's successes She and Maiwald repeatedly emphasise how hard and diligent Karam Alhajmohamad has worked to achieve this Maiwald: "It's not really my job to give private tuition I saw it as a way of giving him self-confidence and confidence in what he was already capable of he managed everything on his own." Andreas also praises Alhajmohamad: "He's a good role model for others who think they can't do something and almost lose hope.“ He is particularly good at cutting short haircuts He now chats to customers about this and that as is part and parcel of life as a hairdresser Andreas knows that he still has more to learn: "It's the same for every hairdresser Nobody masters every cut after three years Even I'm still learning." But Karam Alhajmohamad now knows that he has a good foundation and can continue working in a much more relaxed manner than three years ago His goals are to gain a master craftsman's certificate improve his language skills and become a naturalised citizen (Original text: Sofia Grillo; Translation: Mareike Graepel) Some places in and around Bonn allow you to pick your own strawberries visitors can pick their own certified organic strawberries starting June 3 The farm announces the dates for each week on its website At the Engels farm location in Niederkassel-Rheidt harvesting is expected to be possible starting in August Schneiders Obsthof also allows you to pick your own strawberries in the field Other farms offer freshly picked strawberries from their own cultivation in their farm stores or at sales stands in and around Bonn An overview is provided by the NRW Chamber of Agriculture at Landservice.de This is a listing that does not claim to be complete. It is also not a ranking. The order is arbitrary. Is a strawberry field missing from the listing? Send us an email to online@ga.de The shelters are already seeing more animals being surrendered and expect this to increase animals are abandoned by their owners when joy gives way to overwhelm over their new roommates the animal shelter in Bonn discovered a tethered dog and a box with five pigeons on their fence because abandoning animals is a criminal offense This worries the shelters in the region: Animal surrenders and abandonments are piling up and are expected to continue to increase many people had acquired a pet when they were forced to sit at home in the lockdown Requests had also increased at local animal shelters warns the Bonn-based German Animal Welfare Association The feared delivery wave of "Corona animals" is slowly emerging which were acquired without due consideration during the Pandemic through the Internet in the zoo specialized trade or with illegal dealers are being abandoned The animal shelters would have to prepare for a flood of new admissions In Tierheimen there are already admissions "Animals are delivered or abandoned are accumulating now" says Julia Zerwas of the animal shelter Albert Schweitzer in Bonn She is not worried about the animals she has placed herself "We animal shelters have paid attention to tightened placements during the pandemic," Zerwas says The inquiries for domestic animals had exploded in the Corona time properly more attention has been paid to whether prospective buyers are suitable keepers Zerwas also expects that the situation will continue to worsen This is due to the fact that many more animals than usual have been bought through puppy breeders and some breeders are sold out in advance by the fourth litter," Zerwas says The animal shelter in Troisdorf says it is taking in more small animals and cats in particular the shelter discovered a crate with six guinea pigs a man had called to drop off six guinea pigs Because the shelter now had space problems for the small animals The animals were then apparently abandoned Many people are uninformed when they get animals and then quickly overwhelmed While animal shelters pay special attention to the suitability of a keeper that is not the case in the commercial trade the situation was much calmer," Jurisch says She expects many more animals to be surrendered abandoned animals in particular mean more work There is almost always a lack of medical history information The animals would then have to be thoroughly examined and vaccinated as a precaution the new living situation is often even more difficult and unfortunately we don't have as much time for them here as we do at home," says Zerwas from the Bonn animal shelter The shelters therefore appeal to common sense: anyone who acquires an animal should inform themselves thoroughly beforehand and think carefully about whether they can meet the animal's requirements A fire broke out in a warehouse of the Reifenhäuser company on Monday a warehouse burned down at the Reifenhäuser machine factory in Troisdorf-Sieglar According to fire brigade spokesman Peter Kern The smoke development was correspondingly strong The column of smoke over Sieglar was clearly visible in the afternoon not only from Troisdorf but also from other parts of the Rhine-Sieg district on the right bank of the Rhine The fire brigade was called to the fire shortly before 3 p.m and was deployed with a total of about 140 emergency personnel Peter Kern reported that the firefighters were able to bring the fire under control relatively quickly only the extinguishing work was still in progress the fire brigade remained on site on Monday evening for clean-up work It is still unclear how the fire started and is being investigated the building was a warehouse used for storing plastic granulate Reifenhäuser was not able to give any information on the extent of the damage to property on Monday the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance warned of possible health hazards due to the heavy smoke The city of Siegburg also pointed out that people in the entire urban area of Troisdorf and Siegburg as well as in the Sankt Augustin districts of Menden and Meindorf should keep their windows and doors closed the warning was lifted again at around 5 pm on Monday initial measurements did not reveal any pollutants of concern