Tough new rhetoric on China from some members of Germany's governing coalition has led to disagreement rather than unity on what the government's policy should be.

Germany is firing up coal plants and importing liquefied natural gas to shore up energy supplies. Activists are carrying out increasingly disruptive protests, gluing themselves to roads and runways.

Coal-fired power plants across Germany were scheduled to be shut down by the end of the year. But with Russia cutting gas deliveries, Germany is turning to coal.

A hot, dry summer has meant the water level on the Rhine River, Western Europe's most important waterway, is at a record low, making it too shallow for many ships to pass.

The decline in economic output from March through June was worse than economists expected. Still, the downturn has not inflicted large job losses for Europe's biggest economy.