Bild: Jens Lehmann’s drunk drive | Jens Lehmann: Die Suff-Fahrt
FAZ: Prime Minister Weil resigns | Ministerpräsident Weil legt seine Ämter nieder
Funke: A100 closure: 150 million from the federal government, Wissing steps up the pace | A100-Sperrung: 150 Millionen vom Bund, Wissing drückt aufs Tempo
Handelsblatt: The CDU’s nuclear plan | Der Atomplan der Union
RND: After conviction: Marine Le Pen can only go on the offensive | Nach Verurteilung: Jetzt bleibt Marine Le Pen nur noch der Angriffsmodus
SZ: Dispute over future migration policy | Streit um künftige Migrationspolitik
Tagesspiegel: Experts are skeptical: Minister Faeser considers border controls a success | Experten sind skeptisch: Ministerin Faeser hält Grenzkontrollen für einen Erfolg
taz: Rightly so? (Marine Le Pen) | Recht so? (Marine Le Pen)
Welt: Bamf chief wants to abolish individual right to asylum | Bamf-Chef will individuelles Asylrecht abschaffen
CDU and SPD continue coalition negotiations in smaller rounds: On Tuesday evening, a group met around the party leaders at the CDU headquarters. The topics of dispute are tax and economic policy, as well as measures to curb irregular migration. The main negotiating group is to meet on Wednesday at the Bavarian state representation. stern.de, handelsblatt.com
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backs away from successor for dismissed domestic intelligence chief: One day after appointing former Navy Commander Eli Sharvit, Netanyahu has withdrawn his decision. Netanyahu thanked Vice Admiral Sharvit for his willingness to take over as head of the domestic intelligence service, but said the government wanted to consider other candidates as well. No reasons were given. The opposition accused the government of erratic behavior regarding the domestic intelligence service. web.de
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky calls for new US sanctions against Russia: Russia is violating the partial ceasefire proposed by the US, he said at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Kiev. His country provides the US with information on violations almost daily. He hopes that US President Donald Trump has sufficient instruments of influence. After the Russian attack on the power plant in Kherson, about 45,000 residents in Kherson are without electricity, said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha. US President Donald Trump recently threatened Moscow with punitive measures in the oil sector if the Kremlin refused to accept a ceasefire with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia accuses Kiev of continuing to bomb Russian energy infrastructure. According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a list of alleged violations by Ukraine was sent to the USA, the UN and the OSCE. zdf.de, t-online.de
RTL/ntv Trendbarometer by Forsa: AfD 24 percent (+1), SPD 15 percent, Greens 12 percent, Left 10 percent, BSW 4 percent, FDP 4 percent, others 6 percent. n-tv.de
- The better vice chancellor: Boris Pistorius 56 percent, Lars Klingbeil 25 percent, neither of them 19 percent.
- Defense Minister Boris Pistorius further extends his lead in the politician ranking. n-tv.de
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil announces his withdrawal and recommends Economics Minister Olaf Lies as his successor: Weil wants to resign on May 20 due to personal reasons, telling the press it was ‚time to slow down‘. The 66-year-old has been prime minister in the state for twelve years. His designated successor Lies announced that he wanted to continue the existing red-green government coalition. Leading representatives of the Lower Saxony Greens also spoke out in favor of this. ndr.de, zdf.de, spiegel.de, faz.net, noz.de (Reactions)
Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser rejects fundamental changes to asylum law: Her party rejects the idea of abolishing the individual right to asylum in favor of humanitarian admission quotas. Quotas alone would not be effective because there would still be war refugees. That is why no country in Europe is doing this. Faeser was responding to Bamf chief Hans-Eckhard Sommer, who would like to replace the current system of individual rights with large-scale humanitarian admissions. spiegel. de, lto.de
Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser gives a positive assessment of the outgoing government’s migration policy. The goal, she said, was to strengthen labor migration and to combat irregular migration and human trafficking. Much progress has been made in all three areas. In the debate about the future migration and asylum policy, Faeser called for verbal disarmament. The challenges cannot be solved with announcements and pithy demands, but only with persistent work. n-tv.de, zdf.de, rp-online.de
Serious consequences of climate change already visible in Germany: Years that were classified as extreme before 1990 are now considered normal, said DWD board member Tobias Fuchs; there are ever greater fluctuations in temperatures and precipitation. Heat waves have increased, and there is a greater risk of flash floods, flooding and droughts. According to the weather service, 2024 was the warmest year since records began. zdf.de, saarbruecker-zeitung.de, tagesschau.de
German police officer arrested in raid against organized crime: He is alleged to have supported the Calabrian mafia ‚Ndrangheta, according to the public prosecutor and police; a warrant has been issued for the betrayal of secrets. A total of 34 arrest warrants and 40 search warrants have been executed in Italy and Germany during the raid. In addition to Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have also been affected. The operation is the result of a joint investigation with Italian authorities. The suspects are said to have been involved in setting up a criminal organization that is also said to have offshoots in Germany. spiegel.de, welt.de, zdf.de, faz.net
More News:
- Hamburg: Bundestag administration is examining party donations made by Warburg Bank to the Hamburg SPD in 2017. t-online.de
- Berlin: Senate approves a package of draft laws to reform the administration. tagesspiegel.de
- North Rhine-Westphalia: CDU member of parliament Ansgar Heveling admits interference in the appointment of the head of the Higher Administrative Court. rp-online.de
- Berlin: Transport Minister Volker Wissing provides 150 million euros for the renewal of the A100 bridge. rbb24.de
- Thuringia: Coronavirus investigation committee begins work. mdr.de
- Lower Saxony: Special ship with seven Castor containers arrives at the port of Nordenham. ndr.de
- Bavaria: Opposition calls for changes to shop closing times. sueddeutsche.de
- NRW: Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul hands over new water rescue units. n-tv.de
- Bavaria: Veterinary office finds deficiencies in the stables of Günther Felßner, who was previously pitched as Germany’s next Agriculture Minister . spiegel.de
EU Commission wants to relax CO2 rules and give carmakers more time to comply with climate rules: In order to avoid impending fines, the carbon dioxide emissions of new cars this year are to be offset against values from the next two years. The EU member states and the EU Parliament would have to agree to the proposal. The background to the impending penalties is the so-called fleet limits, which track the average emissions of newly built cars. handelsblatt.com, n-tv.de, manager-magazin.de, n-tv.de
EU Parliament lifts immunity of AfD politician Petr Bystron: The background to this is an investigation by the Munich public prosecutor’s office into a post on a social network. In it, politicians were shown raising their right arms in various situations. In the opinion of the public prosecutor, this gives the impression that the politicians are performing the Nazi salute. Bystron is accused of at least tacitly accepting this and of having disseminated the symbols of an illegal organization. There are further accusations against Bystron. He is suspected of having received money in connection with the pro-Russian portal „Voice of Europe“ in order to act in Russia’s interests during his time as a member of the Bundestag. Bystron himself has rejected the accusations against him. tagesschau.de, n-tv.de, zdf.de
Court aims to make decision on appeals in Marine Le Pen case by summer 2026: A total of three applications are to be considered. One of them comes from Le Pen’s right-wing nationalist party, the Rassemblement National, as announced by party leader Jordan Bardella. The Rassemblement National announced a rally in Paris on Sunday to support Le Pen. After a possible verdict in mid-2026, there would be just under a year left until the presidential election, in which Marine Le Pen intends to run. Le Pen and 23 other defendants had been found guilty of embezzling EU funds. zdf.de, spiegel.de, faz.net, handelsblatt.com
EU criticizes China’s military maneuvers off Taiwan: In view of the large-scale military exercise being conducted by China around the island of Taiwan, the US has pledged its support to the government in Taipei; there must be no unilateral attempts to change the status quo. The European External Action Service called on all parties to exercise restraint. China’s military had, according to its own statements, been training for „precision attacks“ and a blockade of the island; the deployment was intended to send a stern warning to Taiwan. stuttgarter-zeitung.de, tagesschau.de
New tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump will come into force „immediately“: A statement by Donald Trump is planned for Wednesday afternoon in the Rose Garden of the White House. Trump had declared April 2 „Liberation Day“. It is expected that he will announce so-called reciprocal tariffs, which will see the US raise tariffs wherever they currently charge less than their trading partners. Trump had recently accused EU countries of taking the US for a ride. He is particularly bothered by the fact that European companies sell significantly more goods to the US than American companies sell to the EU. faz.net, handelsblatt.com
More news:
- Lithuania: Fourth US soldier found dead. n-tv.de
- Turkey: Protest against arrest of students; opposition calls for boycott of consumer goods. on unternehmen-heute.de
- Bosnia-Herzegovina: Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Serb leader Milorad Dodik in Moscow. spiegel.de
- Denmark: Frederiksen travels to Greenland to meet the incoming leader of the government. rnd.de
- Finland: Ban on anti-personnel mines to be abandoned. orf.at
- France: Government allowed to shut down social networks in „exceptional circumstances“. heise.de
- Sweden: Around nine million euros invested in civil defense bunkers. n-tv.de
- Luxembourg: Country takes over tri-national KFOR mission in Kosovo for the first time. lessentiel.lu
- Portugal: Madrid does not want to increase the military budget; state finances have only just been laboriously repaired. sueddeutsche.de
- Hungary: Thousands demonstrate against Pride Parade ban. welt.de
- Finland: Last large coal-fired power plant closes; complete phase-out moves closer. n-tv.de
- Spain: Misuse of deepfakes to be penalized. sueddeutsche.de
- Lichtenstein: Radio Liechtenstein will be closed down in the first half of the year. nau.ch
- Italy: Struggling with dramatic population decline. faz.net
- Greece: Country digitalized itself into the savings champion of Europe. capital.de
- Austria: Recession causes increase in undeclared work. sn.at
- Greece: Flooding on the islands of Paros and Mykonos. tagesschau.de
- Iceland: Volcano erupts near the town of Grindavik; Blue Lagoon closed. tagesschau.de
- Myanmar: International organizations call for more aid for those affected by earthquake; Red Cross International Committee calls for an end to fighting. dw.com
- Australia: Parts of Queensland flooded; worst floods in 50 years. zdf.de
German researchers want to recruit top talent from the USA: In a guest article in Spiegel, academics write that under the Trump administration, universities are being put under pressure by being threatened with the withdrawal of funding. They are also being restricted in the content of their research. As a result, one of the world’s most important sources of innovation could be curtailed. The scientists propose setting up a program to create up to 100 professorships at German universities and non-university research institutions. spiegel.de, zdf.de
More news:
- Federal Statistical Office: More women are learning the carpentry trade, more men are becoming hairdressers. fnp.de
- Commerzbank registers more phishing attacks. handelsblatt.com
- CERN is planning the next big particle accelerator. faz.net
- Chinese carmakers Dongfeng Motor and Chonqing Changan Automobile reportedly talking about multi-billion merger. handelsblatt.com
- Tesla sales in Europe continue to plummet. handelsblatt.com
- Public prosecutor drops investigation against top managers of Engel & Völkers on suspicion of aiding and abetting social security fraud. handelsblatt.com
- French children’s book author Marion Brunet wins Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. deutschlandfunkkultur.de
- Artificial intelligence: How biased are ChatGPT’s answers? Axel Springer becomes the first German media group to sign an exclusive deal with AI provider OpenAI. uebermedien.de
- Why the editor-in-chief of Correctiv likes the ARD documentary about the Potsdam Meeting – „I think it’s very good that the film tried to include as many voices as possible.“ kress.de
- In Ukraine, there is criticism of the selection for this year’s World Press Photo Awards – the photos were taken by, among others, a long-standing employee of the Russian agency TASS. wdr.de
- Dubbing actors: German voices of US stars warn against voice bots ksta.de
- Solo project: Rammstein musician Till Lindemann surprisingly kicks band member out, citing „creative differences“. ksta.de
- Elon Musk discloses maintenance payments faz.net
- David Beckham celebrates his 50th birthday – a month early web.de
Find the best English speaking small businesses and service providers in Germany. The Germany List is a place for Ausländers to find the products and services they need, as well as list the businesses they own.
- Application to CONCACAF: Greenland wants to join a major confederation – with the USA sportschau.de
- UEFA discusses in Belgrade: DFB is firmly against Russia’s return to football n-tv.de
- Developments in women’s soccer: The German women are losing ground zeit.de
- DEL Play-offs – Main-round winners Ingolstadt and defending champions Berlin face challenges kicker.de
- Manipulated suits: Five suspensions lifted in ski-jumping scandal sportschau.de
April Fools‘ Day jokes 2025: Friedrich Merz travels to the ESC, the Trumps want to be on the throne of Bavaria faz.net