Central European tourists have been descending on Achill ever since Heinrich Böll wrote effusively about its inhabitants’ customs and idiosyncrasies

In 1954, the German writer Heinrich Böll landed in Ireland for the first time, headed west and kept going till he reached the Atlantic ocean. He was seeking a refuge from the brash materialism of postwar Germany, and found it on Achill island, where waves crashed against cliffs, sheep foraged in fields and villagers went about their business of fishing, farming and storytelling.

The following year he returned with his family and began to observe and chronicle the customs, idiosyncrasies, sorrows and joys of its inhabitants. So began a literary love affair between Germany and a windswept corner of County Mayo that endures 70 years after the Nobel laureate’s first visit.

Deutsche Bahn’s vision includes hi-tech cabins and more efficient engineering work amid growing dissatisfaction with the railway

Germany’s national rail company, Deutsche Bahn, has announced its plans for the future, with a multi-billion euro revamp which its bosses say will make it more efficient, more reliable – and more fragrant.

Digitalised railway stations, single-seat cabins and longer trains are among the promises, as well as buttons that passengers can press to diffuse relaxing scents.

Olaf Scholz says Chinese president agreed to back June peace talks that Russia is not attending while Xi says efforts for a resolution must involve both sides

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, says he has urged Xi Jinping to press Russia to end its “senseless” war in Ukraine and that the Chinese president has agreed to back a peace conference in Switzerland.

Scholz said after a meeting with Xi in Beijing on Tuesday that “China’s word carries weight in Russia”.

Markus Pieper resigns from €17k-a-month role hours before he was due to start amid claims of favouritism

• Europe live – latest updates

A row threatening to overshadow Ursula von der Leyen’s campaign for a second term as European Commission president has ended after a German colleague in her Christian Democratic Union party quit his new role as her special envoy for small businesses.

Markus Pieper resigned from the €17,000-a-month (£14,500) role hours before he was due to start on Tuesday after pressure from MEPs and European commissioners who had raised allegations of favouritism.

Olaf Scholz says European cars should have equal access to Chinese customers

• Europe live – latest updates

The chancellor of Germany has urged industry bosses in China to play fair by not overproducing cheap goods or infringing copyright rules.

Speaking on a three-day visit to China where he is travelling with leading business representatives and three government ministers, Olaf Scholz said he, in turn, would encourage the European Union not to be driven by self-interested protectionism, in which governments restrict international trade to help domestic companies.

France, Germany and EU organise meeting over ‘one of worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory’

Speaking at a press conference in Paris, Janez Lenarčič , the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said “the first thing that we have to do is to make sure that Sudan is not forgotten.”

“Today, the people caught in this emergency are almost completely invisible. Other devastating crises have overtaken the news from around the world,” he said.

One year since the war broke out, Sudan is in a state of collapse. The country has turned into one of the worst humanitarian disasters ever on the African continent. Grave violations of international humanitarian law continue unabated. As EU commissioner for humanitarian aid, I am strongly convinced that it is our duty not to look away.

Most cases of abortion are illegal in Germany, which report is expected to say is not compatible with international standards

Abortions in Germany should be legalised within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a government-appointed commission is expected to recommend on Monday.

While abortion is rarely punished, it remains illegal in Germany, except for specific circumstances including when a woman’s life is in danger, or she is a victim of rape, while the prerequisite for any termination is a consultation with a state-recognised body.

Technician, 51, who hung his own picture in an exhibition about art world glitches, has been sacked and given a three-year ban

The first picture that greeted visitors to the first-floor exhibition space in Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne gallery on 23 February may not have immediately grabbed their attention.

The 60cm by 120cm artwork was a retro-looking photograph of a family of four, with the background and parts of the faces and bodies roughly painted over in white. It was unassuming compared with the video- and photo-based artworks in the adjacent rooms, but only on closer inspection might visitors have wondered why there was no label giving the artist or the work’s title.

German human rights groups bring court action amid rising dismay in country at deaths in Gaza

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Germany will face a fresh call to revoke all arms sales to Israel on Thursday in a lawsuit that puts more pressure on Berlin amid a rising outcry about the scale of deaths and destruction in the war on Gaza.

A lawsuit in the German domestic courts will ask judges to urgently direct the government to revoke all arms licences to Israel issued since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.