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NRW: CDU remains strongest party, Rubio visits Israel, Russia sanctions, Defense drones, Deportations to Afghanistan
published by Sigrid Arteaga
Monday, September 15, 2025
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Image: Germany’s basketball players are European champions: Well done, you giants! | Deutschlands Basketballer sind Europameister: Riesig, ihr Riesen!
FAZ: Trump sets conditions for NATO countries for new sanctions | Trump stellt NATO-Staaten Bedingung für neue Sanktionen
Funke: CDU wins local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia – AfD gains ground | CDU gewinnt Kommunalwahl in NRW – AfD legt zu
Handelsblatt: America’s weakness | Amerikas Schwäche
RND: Kirk assassination: Suspected killer refuses to cooperate – but new findings emerge nonetheless | Kirk-Attentat: Mutmaßlicher Todesschütze kooperiert nicht – trotzdem neue Erkenntnisse
SZ: Russian maneuvers unsettle NATO | Russisches Manöver beunruhigt die Nato
Tagesspiegel: Local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia: CDU wins, AfD third strongest party, SPD at historic low | Kommunalwahl in NRW: CDU gewinnt, AfD drittstärkste Kraft, SPD historisch niedrig
taz: Right-hand traffic in London | Rechtsverkehr in London
Welt: After the Kirk assassination: unrest and unanswered questions | Nach dem Attentat auf Kirk: Unruhe und offene Fragen

Top-News

CDU remains strongest force in local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia: Despite slight losses, the CDU was able to maintain its leading position. The Greens suffered significant losses, while the AfD gained ground. According to WDR, 147 run-off elections are expected to decide who will become mayor or district administrator. The AfD has reached the run-off election for the post of mayor in Gelsenkirchen, Duisburg, and Hagen. The CDU and SPD have announced that they will support each other in run-off elections for mayor if AfD politicians are also standing for election. rnd.de, faz.net, zdfheute.de, spiegel.de, sueddeutsche.de

Israeli Air Force bombs several high-rise buildings in Gaza City: The building is said to have housed infrastructure belonging to the Islamist Hamas. The army had previously issued an evacuation order for the neighborhood in question, which also includes the port of Gaza City. Residents were told to go to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone; aid organizations criticize that the area is already overcrowded and unsafe.

  • The Israeli army has destroyed another building belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City. The terrorist organization Hamas is said to have used the building to spy on soldiers and prepare attacks.
  • Israel’s Ministry of Defense expects a sharp increase in the number of wounded and mentally injured in the Gaza war.
  • The ministry’s rehabilitation department is treating 20,000 wounded soldiers, more than half of whom have psychological injuries.

UN General Assembly adopts declaration on two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians: The text, which was adopted by a large majority, formulates the goal of a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel. At the same time, it calls for the removal of the radical Islamic Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip. With international support, Hamas must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. 142 countries, including Germany, voted in favor of the so-called New York Declaration. Ten countries, including Israel and the US, voted against the text presented by France and Saudi Arabia. tagesschau.de

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the killing of the Hamas leadership as a prerequisite for ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
  • Special summit on the situation in Israel to begin on Monday in Doha. Nearly 60 Arab and Islamic states are discussing a common position on Israel. According to a draft resolution, Israel’s attack on Qatar jeopardizes the normalization of relations with Arab states.
  • Qatar appeals to the international community to punish Israel “for all crimes committed.” spiegel.de

Israel and Syria discuss security agreement: Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said the talks aim to persuade the Israeli army to withdraw from areas it occupied after the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in early December; Israel must be brought back to “where it was before December 8.” Israel and Syria have been officially at war since 1948, and a peace treaty has never been signed. zeit.de

US President Donald Trump in favor of comprehensive sanctions against Russia together with NATO countries: They would also have to stop buying Russian oil. The negotiating position vis-à-vis Russia is significantly weakened by the fact that some NATO countries continue to purchase energy from Russia. Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia import Russian oil. Trump also suggested that NATO countries should jointly impose import tariffs of 50 to 100 percent on China in order to reduce its economic influence on Russia. faz.net

  • President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock considers a blue helmet mission possible under a peace agreement; above all, however, peace talks must first take place.
  • According to the Ministry of Defense in Bucharest, the drone spotted in Romania on Saturday came from Russia. zdfheute.de
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered NATO support in defending against Russian drones. Ukraine is ready to share its experience with NATO, Zelensky said.

Ukraine claims responsibility for attacks on Russian rail network: An explosive device detonated on a railway line in the Oriol region. Three people were killed. A train derailed in the St. Petersburg region. Both incidents were acts of deliberate sabotage, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR. Russian authorities confirmed the derailment of a freight train. spiegel.de, n-tv.de

  • Ukraine wants to throttle its mobile network due to ongoing Russian drone attacks. This would restrict 4G and 5G communications, which enable particularly fast data transfers. The aim is to prevent the modems used in the drones from accessing the internet of Ukrainian communications providers. n-tv.de
Polls

BamS Sunday trend from Insa: Union 25 percent (-1), AfD 25 percent, SPD 14 percent (-1), Greens 12 percent, Left Party 11 percent, BSW 4 percent, FDP 3 percent, others 6 percent. bild.de

Politics

CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen calls for NATO procurement program for defense drones: Germany, which has virtually no capabilities in this area, has an increased need for such defenses against Russian drones, Röttgen told the Rheinische Post newspaper. Drones cannot be intercepted permanently with complex and expensive defense systems. Röttgen proposed cooperation with Ukraine, whose arms industry has extensive experience in this area due to its constant defense against Russian attacks. t-online.de

Government plugs budget holes with special funds: According to the employer-friendly German Economic Institute, the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition is creating budgetary leeway of ten billion euros in the transport sector alone. The full extent of this practice remains unclear because the shifting of expenditure between the core budget, special funds, and climate and transformation funds is difficult to track. The IW study cites Deutsche Bahn as an example. Almost 19 billion euros from the special fund is earmarked for the railways, while at the same time rail investments in the federal budget are falling by almost 14 billion euros. zdfheute.de, faz.net, tagesspiegel.de

  • UN: Most returnees to Afghanistan have no prospects. zdfheute.de

More News:

  • Union faction leader Jens Spahn is open to inheritance tax reform; approval in the government camp. rnd.de
  • Election of three new constitutional judges on September 25. tagesschau.de
  • Support plan aims to boost housing construction. handelsblatt.com
  • Health Minister Nina Warken sets up commission to stabilize statutory health insurance finances. tagesschau.de
  • Digital Ministry wants to have a say in federal IT spending. heise.de
  • Berlin: 12,000 people attend BSW demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate. sueddeutsche.de
  • Thuringia: Commissioner for Jewish Life Michael Panse welcomes the laying of Stolpersteine in Erfurt. deutschlandfunkkultur.de
  • Schleswig-Holstein: Minister of Economic Affairs Claus Ruhe Madsen proposes English as an official language. rnd.de
  • Berlin: Humboldt Forum plans to tighten security measures after fatal knife attack. tagesspiegel.de
Around the World

EU postpones decision on new climate target for 2040: The issue will first be discussed at an informal summit on October 1. In July, the EU Commission proposed reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. The environment ministers of the EU member states were to make a decision. Due to concerns raised by France, Poland, and Italy, Germany ultimately also abandoned this time-bound target. zeit.de

CHP supporters protest against possible removal of party leader: A ruling is expected on Monday; alleged procedural errors occurred at the party conference two years ago when Özgür Özel was elected leader. In his speech at the rally, Özel accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of clinging to power through legal action against the CHP after it won victories in numerous cities and municipalities in last year’s local elections. Özel spoke of a coup against the country’s future president and announced resistance. spiegel.de, spiegel.de, rnd.de

  • During raids conducted as part of corruption investigations, numerous opposition politicians were arrested again on Saturday, including the mayor of the Istanbul district of Bayrampasa, Hasan Mutlu, from the largest opposition party, the CHP. spiegel.de

More News

  • Spain: More than 50,000 illegal vacation rentals removed. boerse.de
  • Greece: Chaotic conditions in refugee camp on Crete. tagesschau.de
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina: Gang kidnaps migrants in border area. sn.at
  • Niger: 14 soldiers killed in ambush by extremists.
  • Myanmar: At least 19 dead in air strike on schools.
  • Solomon Islands: Pacific island nations establish their own climate fund to combat the effects of global warming. deutschlandfunknova.de

USA News

Suspect in the murder of Trump supporter Charlie Kirk uncooperative: According to investigators, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is suspected of murdering Kirk, violating gun laws, and obstructing justice. He comes from a conservative family, but his “ideology” differs from theirs. “There was clearly a left-wing ideology with this assassin,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox; Tyler Robinson lived with a transgender person. rnd.de, n-tv.de, spiegel.de

  • US judge accuses Trump administration of circumventing immigration laws in deportations. According to US law, it is prohibited to deport migrants to their home countries if they are in danger there.
  • Fed director Lisa Cook exonerated in fraud case by document. n-tv.de
  • US wants to extend TikTok sale deadline again. welt.de

Brazil emphasizes sovereignty: The US has raised tariffs following the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The current head of state, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, wants to negotiate these punitive tariffs with US President Donald Trump. “But Brazil’s democracy and sovereignty are not up for debate,” Lula wrote in the New York Times. The latest tariffs imposed by the US government, exceeding 50 percent, were justified by the criminal prosecution of Bolsonaro. zdfheute.de

Business
  • Pharmacists‘ association warns: Supply bottlenecks are a recurring issue. tagesschau.de
  • IAA Mobility auto show ends with increase in visitor numbers. sueddeutsche.de
  • Energy sector gives positive assessment of electric car ramp-up. handelsblatt.com
  • Strength in structure – How women promote cooperation in dense networks table.media
  • German Trade Union Confederation: Temporary workers to receive higher wages in future zeit.de
  • Nationwide campaign: Why organic waste bins are being checked from today – if waste has not been separated properly, the organic waste bin will not be emptied. spiegel.de
  • Car companies report significant drop in profits zeit.de
  • Billion-dollar corporation to be created: European companies apparently unite against Musk’s Starlink t-online.de
  • IW: Companies continue to complain about slow internet golem.de
  • Refurbished smartphones: Germans are cautious compared to other Europeans stadt-bremerhaven.de
  • Gene optimization and eternal life: Silicon Valley invests billions in the superhuman industry n-tv.de
Lifestyle
  • Following Kirk’s criticism: Former US Ambassador Richard Grenell calls for visa revocation for ZDF correspondent Elmar Theveßen stern.de
  • AI and the end of journalism newbusiness.de
  • Paramount Studios criticizes call for boycott against Israeli film institutions deutschlandfunkkultur
  • Pope Francis as seen from a drone: Spectacular concert at the Vatican wdr.de
  • “It bothers me incredibly”: Ariana Grande condemns ticket profiteering n-tv.de
  • Berlin – Pergamon Museum: First ancient sculptures return monopol-magazin.de
  • Meeting in Moscow: Even Sean Penn was dazzled by Putin spiegel.de
Community News

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Sports
  • Merz raves about DBB stars sport1.de
  • Neuer rules out return to DFB
  • Bayern Munich’s former striker: Müller already making history in his third MLS game for Vancouver – three goals in a goal fest and playoff qualification with the Vancouver Whitecaps < href=“https://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/ article68c664f67ecf6b1bfe3e44bf/Bayern-Munich-striker-Mueller-makes-history-in-his-third-MLS-game-for-Vancouver.html“>welt.de
  • World Athletics Championships: Malaika Mihambo jumps to silver sueddeutsche.de
  • Triathlon: Graf wins in Karlsbad, Tertsch on the podium rand.de
Gedöns

Germany’s famous Oktoberfest actually starts in September! Munich hosts the world’s largest beer festival, featuring traditional costumes, massive tents, parades, and music. While beer flows, visitors also enjoy pretzels, sausages, and a joyful harvest atmosphere—making it a true highlight of autumn festivities in Germany.

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