Bild: The shocking cost of nursing homes | Kostenschock in Pflegeheimen
FAZ: Merz: Four percent is four percent too much for the FDP | Merz: Vier Prozent sind vier Prozent zu viel für die FDP
Funke: Verdi to call the next warning strike at BVG on Monday | Verdi ruft für Montag zum nächsten Warnstreik bei der BVG auf
Handelsblatt: Government failure? | Staatsversagen?
RND: Virtually unlimited powers: How billionaire Musk is hijacking the US government | Praktisch uneingeschränkte Befugnisse: Wie der Milliardär Musk die US-Regierung kapert
SZ: Election campaign slows German Ukraine aid | Wahlkampf bremst deutsche Ukraine-Hilfe
Tagesspiegel: After joint vote on asylum: Union and AfD gain popularity | Nach gemeinsamer Abstimmung zu Asyl-Wende: Union und AfD gewinnen an Zuspruch
taz: Why Harun from Kreuzberg is voting for the AfD | Warum Harun aus Kreuzberg die AfD wählt
Welt: White House qualifies Trump’s plan for Gaza | Weißes Haus relativiert Trumps Plan für Gaza
FDP leader Christian Lindner in favor of cross-party migration resolution against AfD: The concepts of the CDU, SPD and Greens should be combined to find common solutions. Lindner emphasized in the ZDF program „Schlagabtausch“ that the AfD can only be weakened by solving the problems that made it big. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak reacted cautiously and warned against adopting the AfD’s narrative. Other politicians, such as AfD leader Tino Chrupalla and CSU leader Alexander Dobrindt, have criticized the excessive demands placed on local authorities by immigration, while Left Party leader Jan van Aken attributes this to austerity measures. tagesspiegel.de
Left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow criticizes Friedrich Merz’s actions as blackmail: The CDU has deliberately used votes from the AfD as a weapon against other democratic parties, said the former Prime Minister of Thuringia in the DLF. With his behavior last week, CDU leader Merz broke the agreement of all democratic parties never to accept votes from the AfD. Merz has thus unnecessarily put himself in the hands of this party.
Israeli army to develop plan for „voluntary departure“ of Palestinians from Gaza: Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the departure would be possible by land, sea and air. He was responding to comments made by US President Donald Trump, who had declared that the US would take over Gaza and turn it into an economically prosperous coastal strip. tagesschau.de
US-Ukraine Special Envoy Keith Kellogg has rejected the idea that Ukraine could become a nuclear power again: Kellogg also said he would not present a US peace plan at the Munich Security Conference. US President Donald Trump will be the one to present the peace plan, he said in a TV interview. Extensive talks will be held in Munich with high-ranking European politicians. Kellogg is scheduled to visit Kyiv on February 20, reports RBK Ukrayina, citing sources in the office of the President of Ukraine.
ARD-Deutschlandtrend by Infratest-Dimap: CDU/CSU 31 percent (+1), SPD 15 percent, Greens 14 percent (-1), FDP 4 percent, AfD 21 percent (+1), Left Party 5 percent, BSW 4 percent, others 6 percent. tagesschau.de
- Leadership of the next federal government: CDU/CSU 36 percent (+4), SPD 17 percent, AfD 12 percent (-1), Greens 8 percent (-2), Left Party 2 percent, BSW 2 percent, FDP 2 percent (+1), others 2 percent (+1), none of these 19 percent (-3).
- Coalition partners in a CDU/CSU-led federal government: SPD 31 percent (-1), AfD 19 percent (+1), Greens 14 percent (-2), FDP 13 percent (+1), BSW 4 percent, Left 2 percent, Other Party 2 percent (+1), none of these 15 percent.
ZDF Politbarometer by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen research group: CDU/CSU 29 percent (-1), SPD 15 percent, Greens 14 percent, FDP 4 percent, AfD 21 percent, Left Party 5 percent, BSW 4 percent (+1), other 8 percent. zdf.de
- Chancellor’s wish: Friedrich Merz 30 percent (-1), Robert Habeck 24 percent (-1), Olaf Scholz 20 percent (+4), Alice Weidel 13 percent (-2), don’t know/no answer 13 percent.
- Introduction of a motion by the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag with AfD votes for a majority: 47 percent, not good 48 percent.
- AfD endangers democracy: Yes 71 percent, No 27 percent.
- AfD should be banned: Yes 41 percent, No 54 percent.
Ipsos polling question: CDU/CSU 29 percent (-1), SPD 16 percent, Greens 13 percent (-1), FDP 4 percent, AfD 21 percent (+2), Left Party 4 percent (+1), BSW 5 percent (-1), others 8 percent. (Change since mid-January) ipsos.com
Employers demand raising of retirement age: In the election programs and in the election campaign, the social systems would be neglected, criticized Rainer Dulger, president of the German Employers‘ Association, to the DPA. He said that a dynamization of the retirement age is needed. Under current law, the age limit for the standard old-age pension without deductions will be gradually raised to 67 years by 2031. t-online.de, handelsblatt.com
Federal Constitutional Court declares extradition of Maja T. from left-wing scene to Hungary unlawful: It had not been sufficiently examined what prison conditions awaited German national, who identifies as non-binary, in the country. The suspect is accused of having attacked and injured right-wing extremists as part of a group in the capital Budapest in early 2023. A few months later, the accused was arrested in Berlin. tagesschau.de, lto.de, sueddeutsche.de, zdf.de
Venro, the umbrella organization for development and humanitarian aid, calls for a „European alliance“ following the cuts in development cooperation announced by the USA: Michael Herbst, head of the Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs, said a system that had supported people in crisis and disaster regions was coming to a sudden halt. The suspension of funds by the USAID agency will affect around 120 million people in more than 100 countries. Herbst called on the German government to provide special funds for humanitarian aid and crisis management and to form a European alliance for this purpose.
Commemoration of femicide victim Hatun Sürücü after 20 years ago: The 23-year-old German-Kurd was shot and killed by her brother at a bus stop in the Berlin district of Tempelhof on February 7, 2005. He said he did it because of his sister’s self-determined lifestyle. He was sentenced to almost ten years in juvenile custody for murder and later deported to Turkey. tagesspiegel.de
More regional news:
- Hessen: Minister of the Interior Roman Poseck complains of more violence in the election campaign. fr.de
- Hessen: AfD candidate Andreas Lobenstein fails in election for vice presidency in the state parliament. fr.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: Mobile phone ban at German school in Sonderborg. ndr.de
- Berlin: Local transport partially paralyzed from Monday due to BVG strike. zdf.de
- Lower Saxony: German Offshore Industry Center is being expanded. n-tv.de
- Brandenburg: Environmental organization threatens to take legal action against oil refinery PCK Schwedt for high sulfur dioxide emissions. tagesspiegel.de
- Bavaria: Open AI opens first German office in Munich. faz.net
EU plans sanctions against shipowners and captains of the „Russian shadow fleet“: Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced that the upcoming 16th sanctions package against Russia will include travel bans and account freezes. This is intended to deter ship operators and captains. Last year, the EU banned almost 80 ships from docking in EU ports. However, experts estimate that the fleet is significantly larger. ariva.de
FPÖ and ÖVP continue coalition negotiations in Austria: Differences between the two negotiating partners had recently arisen in migration, foreign and security policy. With the decision to continue the talks, it is becoming increasingly likely that Herbert Kickl will be the first right-wing populist in Austria to move into the Chancellery. His FPÖ won the parliamentary elections last fall. zeit.de
Slovakia is once again buying gas from Russia. The gas is being transported via Turkey and Hungary instead of via Ukraine, the state gas supplier announced. The supplier said it wanted to honor the supply contract with the Russian company Gazprom, which runs until 2034, despite political concerns. Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas when a supply contract with Gazprom expired at the turn of the year. tagesschau.de
Iranian President Massud Peseschkian denies the country is developing nuclear weapons: According to a report by the Irna news agency, he said that his country does not want war in the Middle East and is not pursuing the construction of nuclear weapons during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran. Observers interpret his words as an indirect message to US President Donald Trump. Peseschkian again referred to a religious legal opinion of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which prohibits weapons of mass destruction and the killing of innocents.
Resistance to Donald Trump’s plans for mass termination of government employees: A federal judge has suspended a deadline by which employees had to decide on an offer by Thursday. The employees thus have more time to consider whether or not to accept an offer to resign. The judge scheduled a new hearing for next Monday. Last week, almost all employees of US government departments and agencies received an email stating that a different course would be taken by the government in the future. Those who did not want to go along with this path could leave their jobs with severance pay. Otherwise, they might face immediate dismissal. n-tv.de
Panama withdraws from Chinese „New Silk Road“: Panama’s embassy in Beijing has informed the Chinese side that it will not extend its participation in the „New Silk Road“ agreement, said President Jose Raul Mulino. The decision to do so had already been made before US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit a few days ago. Like US President Donald Trump, Rubio had criticized China’s excessive influence on the Panama Canal. This would violate obligations arising from treaties between the US and Panama. zdf.de, faz.net
More news:
- EU: Concerns growing about the EU’s plans for deportation camps outside its borders. de.euronews.com
- France: Parliament approves budget after a long dispute. tagesschau.de
- Great Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer under increased pressure to move closer to the EU. rnd.de
- France: Tax increase for electricity and gas. n-tv.de
- Sweden: Örebro assassin was in possession of several legal weapons. t-online.de
- Georgia: Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze remains optimistic about EU membership by 2030. de.euronews.com
- Kosovo: Trump’s envoy recommends voting out the government. faz.net
- Greece: State of emergency declared for Santorini due to the risk of a major earthquake. zeit.de
- DR Congo: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres fears violence will spread. boerse.de
- Syria: UN report accuses Assad troops of systematic looting. spiegel.de
- Australia: Giving the Nazi salute will now be punishable by at least a year in prison. spiegel.de
German economy shrinks by 0.5 percent in 2025: „I have never seen such a bad mood and such poor figures,“ DIHK Chief Executive Helena Melnikov told Handelsblatt. She called on the next federal government to implement comprehensive economic policy reforms. The DIHK forecast is based on a survey of its 23,000 member companies. The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce is thus much more pessimistic about the economy than the government. handelsblatt.com
Federal Network Agency removes millions of banned products from circulation: It identified a total of 8,000 device types, with a total of 5.3 million units, that did not meet legal requirements. These included, for example, batteries that overheat or wireless sockets that interfere with the police or fire brigade’s radio services. In addition, there were products, such as drones, that lacked the EU CE marking. heise.de
More from the worlds of business, technology and science:
- Concern over shift to the right: CEOs fear danger to democracy. spiegel.de
- Wage gap is closing: Fewer jobs in the low-wage sector due to minimum wage. faz.net
- Technology associations: No new standards for fiber optic expansion necessary. heise.de
- Porsche trims margin outlook massively. handelsblatt.com
- New ING Germany CEO Lars Stoy: Make more out of customers.tagesspiegel.de
- Federal Statistical Office: German industry received more orders than expected in December zeit.de
- Endangered jobs: Skilled workers have the most secure jobs faz.net
- Fake job offers spread malware on LinkedIn zdnet.de
- High cost pressure: Construction industry freezes amid upheaval faz.net
- Social media addiction: Billion-dollar consumer protection lawsuit against Tiktok and X faz.net
- ARD and ZDF are intensifying their online presence for the election quotenmeter.de
- Social networks – the rise and fall of social media wdr.de
- Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard has distanced himself from actress Karla Sofía Gascón in an interview wdr.de
- Music producer: Hip-hop pioneer Irv Gotti has died spiegel.de
- Moses Pelham ends his career at number 1 in the vinyl charts musikexpress.de
- „I’m Michael Jordan’s son“: Marcus Jordan flees during police check – cocaine involved ksta.de
- Coldplay daughter all hot: Apple Martin rocks Fashion Week n-tv.de
- Markus Söder: Sons criticize CSU leader’s social media presence t-online.de
In Germany, it’s traditional to gift bread and salt as a housewarming present, symbolizing prosperity, stability, and good fortune. Bread represents nourishment and security, ensuring that new homeowners never go hungry, while salt has long been associated with wealth, preservation, and protection. This widely known custom often results in homeowners receiving multiple loaves of bread and more salt than they could ever use. To modernize the tradition, some opt for creative alternatives, such as bath salts instead of kitchen salt or gifting beer, often called flüssiges Brot (liquid bread) in Germany. While the gift might seem unusual today, it remains a meaningful gesture, deeply rooted in cultural history, and a warm way to wish someone well in their new home. For more insights, direct from Germans, go to our webpage: plusfortynine.de/askagerman
- Soccer World Cup 2030 in Morocco: German economy not yet in the game table.media/africa
- Eintracht Frankfurt: Batshuayi asks reporter for help in learning German: “If you know a good teacher” kicker.de
- Brazilian record goalscorer: Neymar makes comeback for his boyhood club FC Santos, wearing the number 10 jersey once worn by Pelé spiegel.de
- Alpine Skiing World Championships: Austrian Stephanie Venier takes surprise gold in super-G sportschau.de
- Sailing: Herrmann and Casiraghi will compete in the classic Admiral’s Cup sportschau.de
Beavers exonerate authorities – Czech Republic saves 1.2 million euros after the animals instinctively build dams and create ponds morgenpost.de