Bild: EU wants to ban smoking outdoors | EU will Rauchen im Freien verbieten
FAZ: SPD executive committee unanimously nominates Scholz as chancellor candidate | SPD-Vorstand nominiert Scholz einstimmig zum Kanzlerkandidaten
Funke: Scholz prepares for election campaign | Scholz wappnet sich für Wahlkampf
Handelsblatt: Merkel promotes reform of debt brake | Merkel wirbt für Reform der Schuldenbremse
RND: Angela Merkel: „I’m not backing down“ | Angela Merkel: „Ich mache keinen Rückzieher“
SZ: Scholz seeks confrontation with Merz | Scholz sucht die Konfrontation mit Merz
Tagesspiegel: „For future investments“: Ex-Chancellor Merkel in favor of debt brake reform | „Für Zukunftsinvestitionen“: Ex-Kanzlerin Merkel für Reform der Schuldenbremse
taz: Women! | Frauen!
Welt: Germany investigates after DHL plane crash | Deutschland ermittelt nach Absturz von DHL-Flugzeug
Hints of ceasefire with Hezbollah: Israel’s security cabinet will approve an agreement for a ceasefire with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia on Tuesday, several Israeli media report. The text of the US-brokered agreement has been finalized. John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said that an agreement was very close. Lebanese government sources in Beirut also expressed optimism. The agreement provides for a 60-day transition period during which Israel’s military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the militant Islamist group Hezbollah is to clear its bases on the border with Israel. The area is then to be controlled by the Lebanese army. Israel’s right-wing extremist security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called a possible ceasefire a „big mistake“; such an agreement would be „a missed historic opportunity to destroy Hezbollah“. zeit.de, tagesschau.de
- Israel’s army bombed a command center of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in the center of Beirut over the weekend. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 29 people were killed in the attack. A multi-storey residential building in the center of the Lebanese capital was destroyed.
- Israel’s army has again attacked targets in the south of Beirut; clouds of smoke rose over the area. According to the state, twelve people were killed in Israeli attacks in Tyre in southern Lebanon. According to the official Lebanese news agency Ani, there were three Israeli attacks on Monday.
- Syrian authorities report Israeli air strikes. Israel fired on several border crossings from Lebanon, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said; two civilians were injured. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli army attacked a border crossing in Kusajr and six bridges over the Oronto River.
- UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warns of even more suffering for people in the Gaza Strip due to heavy rains. About half a million residents are at risk because they live in areas affected by flooding. On Sunday, it had rained heavily in some parts of the coastal area. spiegel.de
- Israel confirms systematic attacks on Iran’s smuggling route for first time. spiegel.de
- Iran firmly rejects responsibility for the killing of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates, the state news agency Irna reported, citing Iran’s embassy in the Emirates. On Sunday, authorities in the Gulf state reported that three alleged perpetrators had been arrested. zeit.de
- Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls for the death penalty for Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants are not sufficient, he wrote on X. spiegel.de
- According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters Germany. No one is above the law, Baerbock said at the G7 foreign ministers‘ meeting in Italy. While the U.S. sharply criticized the arrest warrant, the British government, for example, indicated that it would like to implement it. web.de
Bild-Sonntagsfrage by Insa: Union 32.5 percent (+0.5), SPD 15 percent (-1), Greens 11 percent, FDP 4.5 percent, AfD 19.5 percent (+0.5), Left 3.5 percent, BSW 7.5 percent, others 6.5 percent. bild.de
NATO countries want to strengthen arms production in Ukraine: One of the plans is to promote the development and procurement of drones controlled by artificial intelligence, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Great Britain, Italy and Poland in Berlin. Europe must coordinate its efforts more closely, harmonize its actions and pursue higher goals in order to be a good partner for the United States as well. Ammunition production is another area in which cooperation with Ukraine is to be expanded. The aim must be for Ukraine to be able to act from a position of strength. handelsblatt.com
- France and the UK are discussing the possibility of sending Western ground troops and private defense contractors to Ukraine, reports Le Monde; the idea has been under consideration since British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to France two weeks ago. A proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the year was rejected by Germany, among other countries. Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in March that it was an „open secret“ that Western soldiers were in Ukraine.
- According to unconfirmed reports, Ukrainian forces have attacked the Russian military airport Khalino in the Kursk region with US ATACMS missiles. This would be the second use of ATACMS against targets on Russian territory since the US government allowed Ukraine to attack military targets in Russia with long-range weapons. web.de, handelsblatt.com
- According to Reserve-Major Oleksii Hetman, Ukrainian forces are using guerrilla tactics in the Russian Kursk region. These would enable them to resist and keep significant areas under control despite the tenfold superiority of Russian troops.
- Russia is attacking Ukraine with missiles. On Monday morning, missiles hit the center of Odessa, according to Governor Oleh Kiper. Russia has attacked energy facilities in the Mykolaiv region; power has been restored. There were reports of drone attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region. Numerous attacks have been repelled across the country. In Kharkiv, 19 people were injured.
- On Monday night, Kiev was massively attacked, writes Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The air defense is in use in various districts. The flying objects are entering Kiev’s airspace from different directions.
- Russia reported the shooting down of three Ukrainian drones in the Kaluga region, around 150 kilometers southwest of Moscow. Falling debris triggered a fire in an industrial plant, according to Russia. Ukraine’s military reports that an oil depot has been destroyed. A civilian was killed in a drone attack in the border town of Shebekino in the Belgorod region.
- Russia’s former defense minister and current secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, meets with Taliban representatives in Kabul. n-tv.de
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is campaigning with his Ukraine policy: He has ensured that Germany is the largest supporter of Ukraine behind the USA, Scholz emphasized on ZDF. But at the same time, he has withstood pressure and not delivered any cruise missiles or given permission to attack targets in the Russian hinterland with weapons supplied by Germany. “I believe that this is the course that the majority of citizens favor. And it only happened because I advocated it,“ Scholz emphasizes. zdf.de
Search for cause of DHL cargo plane crash continues: The Ministry of Transport announced that German investigators have been sent to the scene of the accident near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. They are in close contact with local authorities. The aircraft, which originated in Leipzig, crashed next to a residential building on Monday morning after initiating an emergency landing shortly before the destination airport. One crew member was killed and three others were injured. According to Lithuania’s defense minister, Laurynas Kasciunas, there is so far no concrete evidence of sabotage or a terrorist attack. DHL says it has no evidence of suspicious packages on board. At the end of August, German security authorities warned of incendiary devices being sent via freight service providers. mdr.de, faz.net, tagesspiegel.de
- Konstantin von Notz, head of the parliamentary control committee, called for better protection of critical infrastructure, which also includes freight transport. He called on the Bundestag to pass a law to that effect before the end of the current legislative period. faz.net
- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock does not rule out the possibility that an act of sabotage was responsible for the crash of the DHL aircraft in Lithuania. In Europe, there have been several attacks on critical infrastructure recently. It is hoped that insights will be gained from the evaluation of the flight data recorder and information from survivors. welt.de
- Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned against making hasty judgments about the crash of the DHL cargo plane. There are many terrible forms of hybrid warfare, but he said that accusations should only be made when there is clear evidence.
German government in favor of easing European CO2 limits for carmakers: There should be no fines for companies if they do not quite meet the CO2 targets, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The money should remain with the companies for modernizing their own operations. Economics Minister Robert Habeck pleaded for a temporary suspension of penalty payments. The penalty payments that would actually be due in 2025 could be offset if overachievement were achieved in 2026 and 2027. After meeting with his Italian counterpart Adolfo Urso, Habeck said he wanted to be pragmatic for automakers in this difficult situation. n-tv.de
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke on a treaty against marine litter: A global plastic agreement needs specific goals and effective monitoring. In the South Korean city of Busan, delegates from more than 170 nations are spending a week hammering out the final details of an agreement that aims to stop the growing plastic pollution in the oceans and on land with binding targets. There are still some unresolved issues. ndr.de
Union wants to correct hospital reform after the election: Tino Sorge, a health policy maker, told the Augsburger Allgemeine that it is an unfinished law with completely uncertain effects. On Friday, the Bundesrat approved the reform plans of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. The plan is to increase specialization in hospitals and to partially move away from flat-rate financing. augsburger-allgemeine.de
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier officially appoints Cem Özdemir as education minister: Özdemir received the certificate of appointment at Bellevue Palace in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Özdemir takes over the education ministry from FDP politician Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who resigned after the break-up of the „Ampel“ coalition, until the Bundestag election. zeit.de
More Politics:
- Federal Prosecutor’s Office charges alleged Hamas members. handelsblatt.com
- Survey of the Bundeswehr: majority of men would defend Germany. n-tv.de
SPD and BSW have not yet agreed on a coalition agreement in Brandenburg: Minister President Dietmar Woidke said after the talks that there were still a number of open issues. He is, however, optimistic that an agreement can be reached this week. BSW Member of Parliament Sven Hornauf has announced to RBB that he will refuse to vote for Woidke in the re-election as long as he continues to expand the air force base in the Elbe-Elster district. rbb24.de
One-year commemoration of the Potsdam meeting of right-wing politicians on migration policy: Around 700 people protested against right-wing extremism. The call for the protest came from Fridays For Future, the Green Youth, the Jusos, the Left Youth Solid and the „Grandmas against the right“. On November 25, 2023, AfD politicians and individual members of the CDU and the Werteunion met with Martin Sellner, the driving force behind the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement. tagesspiegel.de
Prison sentence for „Reich citizen“ from group around planner for Lauterbach kidnapping: The 62-year-old man from the Odenwald has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison in connection with planning a coup. The Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main considered it proven that the man participated in the preparation of high treason and was a member of a terrorist organization. The group, which was uncovered in April 2022, planned, among other things, to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. lto.de
More Regional:
- NRW: Bielefeld police deny left-wing attack on AfD election stand. nw.de
- Berlin: Senator Felor Badenberg wants to repeal cannabis law. zeit.de
- Hamburg: CDU requests 78 changes to the double budget. ndr.de
- Hamburg: Weapons ban at train stations and in suburban trains is effective according to federal police. n-tv.de
- Bavaria: Special meeting of the advisory board following allegations against Nuremberg prison. n-tv.de
- North Rhine-Westphalia: Cologne CDU mayoral candidate Karl Mandl rejects postponement of election. ksta.de
- Berlin: Senator for Culture Joe Chialo on competition and personal responsibility; the time of paternalism is over. faz.net
- Hessen: Prime Minister Boris Rhein travels to Vietnam. n-tv.de
- Hessen: Scolding of AfD by former Eintracht president Peter Fischer covered by freedom of expression; public prosecutor’s office does not investigate. hessenschau.de
- Baden-Württemberg: Pilot project for robo-buses in Friedrichshafen extended. heise.de
Runoff election in Romania between right-wing extremist and conservative: After almost all the votes had been counted, the favorite and Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu fell back to third place and will probably not make it to the runoff election after all. This is scheduled for December 8. In the first round of voting, the independent right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu received the most votes with almost 23 percent. He had conducted his election campaign primarily on the platform TikTok, where he took pro-Russian positions and criticized NATO. spiegel.de, faz.net, handelsblatt.com
EU Court of Auditors warns against misleading food labels: The numerous seals of quality and logos on food can overwhelm consumers, according to the EU Court of Auditors. Instead of providing clarity, food labels often lead to confusion. Citizens are bombarded with more and more promises, logos, slogans, seals of quality and ratings. Products high in fat, sugar or salt are also sold as particularly healthy. The auditors called for clear EU regulations for food labeling. rnd.de
Trump election fraud case to be dropped: Special counsel Jack Smith justified the decision with the practice that the Department of Justice does not take action against incumbent presidents. However, the prosecution is keeping open the possibility of re-indicting Trump as soon as the Republican is no longer president. The proceedings revolve around Trump’s unfounded allegations of voter fraud and his role in the storming of the Capitol by his radical supporters. Judge Tanya Chutkan approves the request to dismiss. handelsblatt.com, spiegel.de
More News:
- EU: EU Parliament: Europe on the right. stuttgarter-zeitung.de
- EU: Inflation: ECB again concerned about low inflation. sueddeutsche.de
- EU: Europe’s financial markets: ECB chief Christine Lagarde criticizes EU for inertia on capital markets union. wort.lu
- EU: X-Alternative: EU searches for a Bluesky representative. golem.de
- France: In the rape trial in Avignon, the public prosecutor is calling for 20 years in prison for the main defendant, Dominique Pelicot. diepresse.com
- France: Marine Le Pen threatens government with no confidence vote in dispute over austerity measures. tagesanzeiger.ch
- Greece: After Syriza split, there will soon be ten parties in parliament. taz.de
- Austria: SPÖ calls for coalition with right-wing populists after FPÖ triumph in Styria. tageblatt.lu
- France: Fraud opportunities for cross-border commuters in unemployment benefits are to be stopped. lessentiel.lu
- Greece: Nine refugees died in a boat accident off Samos in the Aegean Sea. zeit.de
- Turkey: Erdogan wants to rule until at least 2033. rheinpfalz.de
- Bosnia: Subdued mood at the Day of Statehood celebration. taz.de
- Hungary: Strong wage increase. faz.net
- Switzerland: Foreign Minister Beat Jans wants closer cooperation with Italy on migration. srf.ch
- USA: Turkeys for Thanksgiving: Joe Biden pardons „Peach“ and „Blossom“. spiegel.de
- Egypt: Germans among those missing after sinking of tourist boat. faz.net
Thyssenkrupp plans to cut 11,000 jobs in steel division: 5,000 jobs are to be cut by 2030 through adjustments in production and administration, and a further 6,000 jobs through the outsourcing or sale of business activities. Thyssenkrupp is also seeking to sell Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann. The site in Kreuztal-Eichen is to close. wdr.de, handelsblatt.com
The number of independent local daily newspapers is falling: this is the conclusion of a study by the Hamburg Media School. Although there are no news deserts at the district level yet, there is a tendency towards desertification. While there were an average of 2.26 independent local daily newspapers per district in the early 1990s, by 2023 there were only 1.83. In addition, almost half of the districts now have only one newspaper. medien.epd.de
One in five companies in Germany uses artificial intelligence: large companies use the technology significantly more often than medium-sized and smaller companies, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In particular, text processing and speech recognition in marketing and sales play a role. Companies that have not yet used AI cited a lack of knowledge, uncertainty about legal consequences and concerns about data protection as reasons for not using it. stern.de
Entrepreneur Peter Leibinger is to become the new president of the BDI: the 57-year-old engineer was elected by the general assembly to succeed BDI President Siegfried Russwurm, who is stepping down from his post as planned after four years. Leibinger is, among other things, chairman of the supervisory board and co-owner of the mechanical engineering firm Trumpf. He wants to help „restore more optimism for Germany as a business location,“ said Leibinger. sueddeutsche.de
Germans donate more again: The German Donation Council expects donations to reach 5.091 billion euros by the end of the year. That would be two percent more than last year. Ulrich Pohl, head of the German Charities Council, said that Germans are showing impressive solidarity despite economic challenges. On average, each citizen in Germany donates 38 euros. tagesschau.de
More from Business, Tech and Science:
- Trump shock and traffic light end: companies are once again looking to the future with skepticism. n-tv.de
- Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel calls for later retirement in return for more growth. handelsblatt.com
- Second cum-ex ruling against Hanno Berger is final. faz.net
- „Spiegel“ will appear as early as Friday from July 2025. meedia.de
- At the expense of small investors: Varta reorganization takes important step forward. n-tv.de
- Germans are increasingly buying medicines online. tagesschau.de
- Greenwashing: Europe’s fight against false promises of environmental friendliness. www.welt.de
- Ifo Business Climate Index falls: „The German economy is lacking in strength“. www.t-online.de
- DIHK survey: German companies more optimistic abroad. www.zdf.de
- Creditworthiness: Schufa wants to put consumer data online for the first time. table.media
- „Green Friday“ instead of „Black Friday“: environmental aid calls for an end to the discount battle. www.heise.de
- Elon Musk publicly mocks RWE boss Markus Krebber and his concerns about the power supply from renewable energies. „For every person who shares something on LinkedIn, I immediately lose my respect. Unbearably embarrassing“. www.wiwo.de
- Journalist Anuschka Roshani: Wrongly dismissed – made serious allegations against the Swiss media group Tamedia, and has now been partially vindicated by the labor court. www.zeit.de
- Aline Abboud is stepping down as a „tagesthemen“ presenter. www.zeit.de
- Criticism of public broadcasters: „It should look like Netflix, but only cost a fraction“. www.sueddeutsche.de
- Pro-Chinese disinformation: Google removes 1000 domains from Google News. www.heise.de
- Peace Prize winner of the German Book Trade: Writer Boualem Sansal arrested in Algeria. www.spiegel.de
- Austerity program in Berlin – Chialo on planned cultural cuts: „Everything is still in flux“. www.monopol-magazin.de
- Ballet in Russia: Bolshoi Theater wants to auction off part of the tickets. www.ksta.de
- Prince George: For King Charles! Kate has big plans for her son – Prince George is to appear more in public to support Grandpa Charles. He’s even happy about it. www.gala.de
- Four-time world champion: Sebastian Vettel is going back to school – and is now doing a „short training course“ in agriculture. www.ksta.de
- Cristiano Ronaldo is said to owe money to a plastic surgeon. www.faz.net
Tune in to Xpat Berlin on JazzRadio 106.8fm in Berlin and Brandenburg at 7 PM! This week, Ivan Gabor from WahlHeymats explores how Berlin’s politics might shift if non-Germans could vote. Plus, don’t miss our Ask a German column—this time diving into Christmas traditions in Germany—along with the latest news, event tips, and a fantastic lineup of jazz
- World Cup 2030 and 2034: World Cup in Saudi Arabia – no contradiction from the DFB. www.sportschau.de
- Auctions until December 4: New attempt – DFL auctions media rights. www.sportschau.de
- Fight against relegation in the Bundesliga: There is still a faint light in the basement of the table. www.sportschau.de
- Absolute majority at the meeting: BVB members vote for the end of the Rheinmetall deal. www.sportbuzzer.de
- Manchester City in crisis – a dip in form? Or the beginning of the end of the Guardiola era? www.spiegel.de
- No contract offer yet – Liverpool’s Salah disappointed: ‘I’m gone more than I’m staying’. www.sportbuzzer.de
- Alpine Skiing: Only Dürr is convincing – German skiers (still) below expectations. www.sportschau.de
- World Chess Championship in Singapore: title defender Ding wins opener against favorite Gukesh. www.sportschau.de
trend on social media – red cabbage on pizza: this trend is heating up opinions. www.t-online.de