- 7h ago
Jens Spahn and husband welcome son via US surrogate, triggering backlash from own party
The CDU parliamentary leader and his husband Daniel Funke announced the birth of Georg, carried by a surrogate in the United States, where the practice is legal but costs between $110,000 and $200,000.
- 13h ago
Germany won't block UniCredit's Commerzbank takeover, Merz says, but criticises 'aggressive' approach
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government is not preventing the Italian bank's acquisition, but called its approach 'inopportune and aggressive'. UniCredit now holds 47.59% of Commerzbank after a share exchange offer.
- 23h ago
Merz, 14 months in, tells Berlin press he's a 'learning system' as poll discontent hovers above 80%
Facing roughly 200 journalists in Berlin on Wednesday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged public discontent above 80 percent while insisting his coalition had found its rhythm and delivered on reforms.
- yesterday
German prosecutors probe comedian Uwe Steimle over Merkel hanging, Stauffenberg remarks at AfD event
The Dessau-Roßlau public prosecutor's office opened an investigation against cabaret artist Uwe Steimle on Wednesday after he joked at an AfD event about hanging a portrait of former Chancellor Angela Merkel and invoked the July 20 plotter Claus von Stauffenberg in reference to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- 2d ago
CSU's Hoffmann calls black-red coalition an eight-year project, dismisses Greens as reform partner
CSU state group leader Alexander Hoffmann told dpa the CDU/CSU-SPD government should be planned as an eight-year project, arguing only the current coalition can deliver necessary reforms.
- 2d ago
Macron's final Bastille Day parade showcases European rearmament with 6,800 troops and Ukrainian soldiers on the Champs-Élysées
President Emmanuel Macron presided over his tenth and final 14 July military parade on Tuesday, transforming the Champs-Élysées into a display of European military cohesion with 6,800 soldiers, 500 foreign troops from 35 nations, and 25 Ukrainian service members marching alongside French forces.
- 2d ago
Outgoing UK PM Starmer receives France's top honour from Macron ahead of July 20 exit
President Macron presented the Grand Officer rank to Keir Starmer on July 13 in Paris during his final coalition summit. The outgoing British prime minister will hand over to Andy Burnham on July 20.
- 2d ago
Germany's Rhine minister apologises for state failure on 5th anniversary of Ahr valley flood
Five years after the Ahr valley disaster that killed 135, Gordon Schnieder became the first Rhineland-Palatinate leader to explicitly apologise for state failures that night.
- 2d ago
At Ahr valley memorial, Steinmeier recalls 2021 flood deaths and warns Germany is still not ready for the next one
Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier led memorials in Düsseldorf and the Ahr valley on Tuesday for the 184-188 victims of the July 2021 flood, calling the disaster an unmistakable warning that Germany has yet to fully answer.
- 3d ago
Macron's final Bastille Day parade showcases 500 coalition troops, 35 nations in a display of European rearmament
Some 6,500 to 6,800 soldiers, including 500 from the Coalition of the Willing and 25 Ukrainians, marched down the Champs-Élysées as President Macron used his final national day parade to signal Europe's strategic awakening and readiness to defend itself.
- 3d ago
France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK summon Russian envoys over an FSB-orchestrated cyber sabotage campaign spanning a dozen European nations
Paris, Berlin, The Hague and London will all call in Russia's ambassadors after EU and UK intelligence linked Moscow's FSB to hacks on government networks, critical infrastructure and military supply routes, with 13 EU and 24 UK individuals and entities sanctioned.
- 4d ago
Iran's new supreme leader vows 'inevitable revenge' as Tehran newspaper publishes hit list of 13 world leaders
The ultraconservative Tehran daily Hamshahri published an infographic naming 13 world leaders it says must 'pay' for the killing of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, hours after his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei declared revenge 'inevitable.'
- 4d ago
Zverev loses Wimbledon final to Sinner; Merz visits locker room after match
Alexander Zverev lost in four sets to world No.1 Jannik Sinner in his first Wimbledon final. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in the Royal Box and then visited the locker room to console him.
- 4d ago
Prien plans €1.6bn parental allowance cut, caps maintenance advance at 16 amid backlash
Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) wants to trim parental allowance from 14 to 12 months, reduce the maintenance advance for children from 18 to 16 years, and use driving bans to pressure deadbeat parents, triggering opposition from SPD, child welfare groups, and the anti-discrimination commissioner.
- 4d ago
Jannik Sinner subdues Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Wimbledon final to retain crown
Zverev won the first set but could not break Sinner's serve all match; the Italian won his fifth Grand Slam and tenth straight meeting against the German.
- 4d ago
Iran's Hamshahri daily publishes revenge collage with Trump, Netanyahu in crosshairs and Merz in prison uniform
Hamshahri, a Tehran-run daily with a circulation of about 400,000, posted a graphic calling for vengeance against 13 Western politicians, including Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer, as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vows revenge for his father's killing.
- 4d ago
Iran's new supreme leader vows revenge, newspaper blacklists Meloni, Trump and Netanyahu
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared revenge for his father's death a national duty. A Tehran newspaper published AI-generated mugshots of 13 Western officials in orange prison uniforms, including Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.
- 4d ago
CDU/CSU narrows gap to AfD in new Insa poll, SPD and Greens lose ground
The CDU/CSU alliance picked up one point in the latest Insa Sunday trend, cutting the AfD's lead to six percentage points, while both SPD and the Greens fell back.
- 5d ago
Darline Graham sworn in as US senator after Lindsey Graham's sudden death, raising questions over Ukraine sanctions bill
Darline Graham Nordone, 62, a political novice, was sworn in Tuesday as South Carolina's first female senator, just days after her brother Lindsey Graham, 71, died suddenly of an aortic tear while pushing for Russia sanctions.
- 5d ago
Markus Söder says Minijobs 'remain' in clash with German pension reform blueprint
CSU leader Markus Söder has broken with a government pension commission's call to abolish low-paid 'Minijobs', promising they will endure and warning of damage to hospitality, retail and farming.
