Bild: Next pension shock | Nächster Renten-Schock
FAZ: Rebels overthrow Assad | Rebellen stürzen Assad
Funke: Syrians in Berlin celebrate Assad’s fall – Turkey wants refugees to return | Syrer in Berlin feiern Assads Sturz – Türkei will Rückkehr der Flüchtlinge
Handelsblatt: Revolution in Syria | Revolution in Syrien
RND: Assad believed to be in Moscow with his family | Assad soll mit Familie in Moskau sein
SZ: Islamists overthrow Syrian dictator | Islamisten stürzen Syriens Diktator
Tagesspiegel: Syria has freed itself | Syrien hat sich befreit
taz: Spring has come at last | Endlich Frühling
Welt: Historic hours in Syria: „We are celebrating, and how“ | Historische Stunden in Syrien: „Wir feiern, und wie“
Syria’s ousted leader Bashar al-Assad Assad has fled to Moscow with his family: Russia has granted them asylum. In the Syrian capital of Damascus, crowds of people stormed the presidential palace, Assad’s private residence and the Iranian embassy. Along with Russia, Iran has been one of the Assad regime’s biggest supporters. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa promised a peaceful transition of power and cooperation with all forces in the country, including with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, who has already declared his willingness to hand over power. Anas Salhadi, an insurgent commander, said the rebels would protect state institutions. He said the message to all religious communities in Syria was that the country belonged to everyone. spiegel.de, faz.net, zeit.de, zdf.de, n-tv.de, handelsblatt.com
The revolution has been a source of jubiliation and hope for many Syrians. In Syria itself, but also in many other countries, thousands have taken to the streets to celebrate. In Berlin, around 5,000 people gathered in Kreuzberg alone, according to police. People also came together in Kiel, Essen, Bonn, Mainz and other cities; there were motorcades and streams of drivers honking cars. There were also joyful demonstrations in Great Britain and Turkey. However, some are still concerned about the future in the war-torn country, because rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa and many of his fighters have an Islamist or jihadist background.zdf.de, rbb24.de, haz.de, saarbruecker-zeitung.de
Background: The war began in 2011 when Assad used brutal force to crush resistance to his dicatorial regime. He has only been able to hold on to power thanks to Russia, Iran and the terrorist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Assad’s family ruled the country with an iron fist for more than 50 years. faz.net, dw.com, zdf.de
Israel controls buffer zone on the Golan Heights: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of a „historic day“ in Syria following the overthrow of the Assad regime. The military has taken control of the buffer zone on the Golan Heights; the decades-old ceasefire agreement with the neighboring country has fallen apart, and Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions. This is a temporary measure until a suitable solution is found. Israel stressed that the army will not interfere in Syria’s internal affairs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that his country was interested in „good neighborly relations“ with Syria. spiegel.de, tagesschau.de
BamS Sunday trend by Insa: 32 percent for the CDU, SPD 16 percent (+1), Greens 12 percent (-1), FDP 4 percent (-1), AfD 19 percent (+1), Left Party 4 percent (+1), BSW 8 percent, others 5 percent. bild.de
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President-elect Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Zelensky said it was a good and productive meeting. Everyone wants this war to end as quickly as possible and in a just way. Trump called for an immediate ceasefire. On his online platform, Truth Social, he called on Kiev and Moscow to start negotiations, stating that Zelensky was ready to come to an agreement with the Russian government. Zelensky wrote on X: „If we are talking about an effective peace with Russia, we must first of all talk about effective guarantees for peace“. The war cannot be ended with just a piece of paper and a few signatures, he said. The Kremlin stated that Russia was ready to talk on the basis of Ukrainian territorial concessions to Russia. In an NBC interview, Trump said he would „probably“ cut US aid to Ukraine. handelsblatt.com, web.de
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Volkswagen to refrain from closing plants: „Closing sites is not the right way forward,“ Scholz told the Funke newspapers. He added that the management of the struggling auto manufacturer had also contributed to the difficult situation. In view of this, it is not right to lay off employees, he said. n-tv.de
Steel summit at the German Chancellery: A meeting with representatives of the steel industry, works councils and trade unionists is to focus on concrete measures to secure steel production in Germany. Reliable electricity prices, investment incentives and protection against dumped steel are important. Germany’s largest steel group, Thyssenkrupp, has announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs over six years. tagesspiegel.de, handelsblatt.com
SPD and Greens demand support from the opposition CDU on the Violence Assistance Act: German Family Minister Lisa Paus said that violence is an everyday occurrence for women in Germany. These women must be protected. The CDU signaled a willingness to talk, but accused the governing parties of using the issue for electioneering. The cente-right party is setting clear financing, no transwomen in women’s shelters and ankle monitors for perpetrators as conditions for supporting the act, CDU deputy leader Andrea Lindholz told DPA. n-tv.de
Demonstrations for the legalization of abortion in Berlin and Karlsruhe: In Karlsruhe, the organizers counted around 2800 participants, and in Berlin a good 2500. The background to the rallies is a cross-party motion by members of the Bundestag. The motion proposes the legalization of abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. The bill was discussed for the first time in the Bundestag last week. tagesspiegel.de
More Politics:
- Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to split the RKI. rnd.de
- SPD urges tougher measures: Using stun guns against New Year’s Eve rioters. rp-online.de
- SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch is in favor of free school lunches. welt.de
- In a guest article, FDP leader Christian Lindner defends his „Milei and Musk“ statement after backlash. handelsblatt.com
- CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann wants to significantly reduce the size of federal authorities. spiegel.de
- German County Association sounds alarm over empty coffers. br.de
- IT equipment in schools: Federal and state governments agree on „Digital Pact 2.0“. tagesschau.de
- Former Federal President Joachim Gauck awarded the Luther Rose. mdr.de
Protests against the attempted breach of church asylum in Bremen: According to the organizers, more than 2000 people demonstrated. The Hanseatic city has declared war on the church asylum; a solidary urban society opposes this. At the beginning of last week, police forces had tried to deport a 25-year-old Somali man from the Protestant Zion community. Around a hundred people prevented this from happening as the bells of the church began to ring. butenunbinnen.de
Suspect in October Berlin S-Bahn bomb threat is dead: He is said to have died in an accident involving explosives in Lower Saxony at the end of November. According to the public prosecutor, a DNA examination confirms that it is the man who was previously sought for planting explosives at a station in Berlin’s Neukölln district. The type of explosives discovered in October are often used to blow up ATMs. Another suspect is still being sought. rbb24.de
EU Commission agrees free trade agreement with Mercosur countries despite criticism from some European countries: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Montevideo at the end of the deliberations, contrary to what had previously been announced. The free trade agreement would create one of the largest trade areas in the world, with more than 700 million people. It would cover almost 20 percent of the world economy and more than 31 percent of global goods exports. It is still unclear whether the agreement will receive the required approval in the EU. zeit.de, tagesschau.de
Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioğlu becomes OSCE Secretary General: At the OSCE Ministerial Council in Malta, the member states agreed on the appointment for the position that has been vacant since September. Despite tensions between Russia and the other OSCE states, Moscow also agreed to the new appointment. Sinirlioğlu served as Turkey’s foreign minister for a short period in 2015 and then as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. In Malta, he emphasized that the OSCE could play an important role in a diplomatic process to end the war in Ukraine. diepresse.com, sueddeutsche.de
More Regional:
- Brandenburg: SPD and BSW approve coalition agreement. rbb24.de
- Thuringia: BSW votes in favor of coalition agreement with CDU and SPD. tagesschau.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: Consumers face cheaper bills thanks to green electricity record. shz.de
- Hessen: AI to support police in evaluating video images. heise.de
First mass in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after festive reopening: The mass on Sunday morning was led by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich. Among others, 150 bishops from all over France took part. On Saturday, the cathedral was ceremoniously reopened in the presence of numerous heads of state and government as well as high-ranking politicians from around the world. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised the church as a European landmark that reflects a thousand years of the continent’s history, with all its ups and downs. On April 15, 2019, a fire broke out in the church and caused the pointed tower and the roof to collapse. faz.net, tagesschau.de, zdf.de
Further pro-European protests in Georgia: Thousands of people also marched towards parliament in Tbilisi on Sunday. Numerous people had already demonstrated against the government in the previous nights, resulting in riots. Security forces used force against the crowd, deploying water cannons and tear gas. Germany, France and Poland condemned the government’s actions against critics. In a joint statement, they condemned police operations against opposition parties and civil society organizations, as well as the arrest of opposition members. The three countries called for their immediate release and for the protection of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. zeit.de, de.euronews.com, n-tv.de
Presidential election in Romania must be repeated: The supreme court justified this with revelations by the Romanian secret service. According to these, the first round of the election had been the target of an aggressive Russian hybrid attack. With the help of coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms and paid advertising on the social media platform Tiktok, the right-wing and pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was massively promoted. Georgescu won the first round by surprise. Pro-European politician Lasconi came in second. Both were supposed to face each other in a runoff on Sunday. derstandard.at
Baltic states welcome Poland’s initiative for Baltic Sea surveillance: Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda held out the prospect of joint patrols after a meeting with his counterparts. Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics said the Baltic Sea was increasingly becoming a „place of concern“. Recently, damage to underwater data cables in the Baltic Sea had caused a stir. Representatives of various countries expressed the suspicion that it could be a hybrid attack on European infrastructure. boerse.de
Ruling party in Ghana has conceded defeat in presidential election: Even before the official announcement of the result, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said that he had already congratulated the opposition candidate and former president John Dramani Mahama on his election victory. He said the Ghanaian people had voted for change and he would respect their decision. The first results from the electoral commission are expected on Monday. tagesschau.de
Iran could significantly increase its stockpile of almost weapons-grade uranium, according to the IAEA: Tehran has informed the IAEA of plans for a drastic increase in production and has already taken the first steps, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the agency’s member states. Iran has the capacity to produce at least seven or eight times more uranium with a 60 percent enrichment level than it did last time. Grossi spoke of a very worrying development. t-online.de
South Korea’s interior minister Lee Sang-min resigns: Lee Sang-min is considered a close confidant of President Yoon Suk-yeol. On Saturday, an impeachment trial against Yoon Suk-yeol failed due to the required two-thirds majority in parliament not being reached. The opposition announced that it would try again next Saturday. Meanwhile, Yoon Suk-yeol has apologized to the population for briefly declaring martial law; he is sorry that his actions have caused uncertainty. He promised not to impose martial law a second time. The parliamentary session was accompanied by massive popular protests; around 150,000 people gathered in front of the building and demanded Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation. tagesschau.de (impeachment); tagesschau.de (impeachment); zeit.de (minister of the interior)
President-elect Donald Trump is threatening allies by saying that the US will leave NATO. „They have to pay their bills.“ During his first term as US President, relations between the US and NATO were already strained. Trump accused the partners of investing too little in defense. In the spring, Trump reiterated in the election campaign that he would not come to the aid of defaulting NATO partners if they were attacked. In the interview, he confirmed his intention to implement a mass deportation of migrants and a rigorous customs policy against trading partners. He wants to pardon detained supporters who were involved in the storming of the Capitol in January 2021. n-tv.de (NATO), web.de, n-tv.de
More News:
- EU: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán threatens to veto the next EU budget. spiegel.de
- EU: Hungarian secret service allegedly hacked and tapped EU officials. derstandard.at
- EU: Criminal law in the EU: Companies have to fear more and more fines. sueddeutsche.de
- EU: Deadline for EU-wide product liability for hardware and software begins. heise.de
- EU: Broadband expansion: EU states warn against rapid copper-fiber optic migration. heise.de
- Estonia: AI cruise missiles to be tested in Ukraine against Russia. merkur.de
- Spain: Reform facilitates immigration. zdf.de
- Italy: Radical migration policy bears first fruit. fr.de
- Belgium: The debt agency’s financing plan for the coming year provides for 45 billion euros of new debt. grenzecho.net
- Netherlands: Dead and missing after explosion in apartment building in The Hague. faz.net
- Congo: WHO investigates unknown disease. handelsblatt.com
- China: Number of warships off Taiwan doubled. spiegel.de
- El Salvador: 82,000 arrests in the fight against drug gangs. rnd.de
Retailers dissatisfied with sluggish Christmas business: Stefan Genth, managing director of the German retail association Handelsband, said that the week before the second Sunday in Advent had been similarly mixed to the week before, with an estimated turnover of 14 billion euros. According to Genth, the Christmas business so far has been particularly disappointing for shoe and clothing stores. By contrast, cosmetics stores and book, technology and grocery stores are satisfied. wiwo.de
More from Business, Tech and Science:
- 5,000 jobs to go: Sigrid Nikutta shrinks DB Cargo. tagesspiegel.de
- VW wants to sell another plant in China. heise.de
- DGB warns of critical working conditions for parcel delivery staff. br.de
- Cheapflation in Germany: the price of cheap products is rising particularly sharply. n-tv.de
- Private sector: how China’s companies are currently doing. table.media
- Green lead markets: „A central element in the Clean Industrial Deal“. table.media
- Upturn in the real estate market: Prices in Europe and Germany are rising again. marktundmittelstand.de
- Tire abrasion: the unrecognized environmental problem on our streets. t3n.de
- Important connection currently closed: rail line between Berlin and Hamburg resumes operations. t-online.de
- Precedent gives taxi drivers hope: will minimum prices force Uber out of the market?. wiwo.de
- From January 1, 2025: Mexico plans 40-euro fee for cruise passengers. t-online.de
- In Tyrol: Ski resort for under two million euros. t-online.de
- Disguised as a podcast – far-right music available on Spotify for months. t-online.de
- Cardinal Woelki wins legal battle against Bild newspaper – for good. The battle related to whether Woelki knew about the case of the former president of the children’s missionary organization „Die Sternsinger“. kress.de
- ZDF gala „A Heart for Children“: Standing ovations for Toni Kroos’s commitment – just not from his son – who smiled happily at his father from his red armchair. rnd.de
- Main-Post takes over local newspaper „Die Kitzinger“ from the Oberfranken media group. new-business.de
- Top 15 regional newspapers: How many online articles are written per day? kress.de
- Outstanding musical comedy: „Emilia Pérez“ cleans up at the European Film Awards. spiegel.de
- „We are alarmed“: The Verdi trade union sees German culture threatened by AfD. monopol-magazin.de
- Farewell after stroke: Iron Maiden drummer McBrain quits after 42 years. spiegel.de
- Prince Andrew withdraws from royal Christmas celebrations. promiflash.de
- „You know my professional situation“: FDP leader Lindner counters request for donations at benefit gala. tagesspiegel.de
- Allegations of sexual violence: Al Fayed’s son would have liked to have seen his father in the dock. spiegel.de
- DOSB and Olympic bid: Germany has no vision, no date and no financial plan – nothing. spiegel.de
- Moving words: Bayern no longer wants to give away Beckenbauer’s number 5. kicker.de
- BVB – „He would still be there too…“: Watzke clarifies – Terzic wanted to leave. sport.de
- MLS final with LA Galaxy: Reus celebrates the first championship title of his career. sportschau.de
- Nino Ehrenschneider surprises: an unknown German tennis player reaches the final of the M15 tournament in Stellenbosch, South Africa. sport.de
- Comeback of the US ski star: Vonn is having „great fun“. wz.de
- World Cup in Lillehammer: Geiger and Schmid celebrate in NoKo thriller. sportschau.de
- Next triumph in Altenberg: Laura Nolte also wins in two-man bobsleigh. sportschau.de
Christmas market in Austria plays „Last Christmas“ for five hours – visitors are compensated. merkur.de