published by Sigrid Arteaga
Contributor: Imogen Goodman and Ulrich Kraus
Bild: The secret AfD report in Bild | Das geheime AfD-Gutachten in Bild
FAZ: American Robert Prevost is Pope Leo XIV | Der Amerikaner Robert Prevost ist Papst Leo XIV.
Funke: Steinmeier urges Germans to heed lessons learned from the Nazi dictatorship | Steinmeier fordert Festhalten an Lehren aus der NS-Diktatur
Handelsblatt: How Germany can emerge from stagnation | So kommt Deutschland aus der Stagnation
RND: Pope Leo XIV: An American, but no friend of Trump | Papst Leo XIV.: Ein US-Amerikaner, aber kein Trump-Freund
SZ: For the first time, an American is pope | Erstmals ist ein US-Amerikaner Papst
Tagesspiegel: Commemorating the end of the war: Steinmeier accuses Putin and Trump of „breaking with history“ | Gedenken zum Kriegsende: Steinmeier wirft Putin und Trump „Epochenbruch“ vor
taz: The next war | Der nächste Krieg
Welt: Dispute over the government’s new migration policy | Streit über den neuen Migrationskurs der Regierung
Pope Leo XIV addresses the world with an appeal for peace: After the words „Habemus Papam“ had been spoken, the new head of the Catholic Church appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected the new pope. „Peace be with you all“ were his first words as pope to the world. Leo addressed his appeal for peace to „all peoples.“ People should engage in dialogue with one another and build bridges. Evil will not prevail, said the pope. The 69-year-old comes from Chicago and worked as a missionary in Peru. He has both American and Peruvian citizenship. sueddeutsche.de, spiegel.de, zdf.de
EU reviews co-operation with Israel amid fears of human rights abuses: According to EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas, European foreign ministers agreed two weeks ago to take up a corresponding initiative by the Netherlands. It provides for reviewing whether Israel is still adhering to the basic principles of the so-called Association Agreement. The text states that relations between the contracted parties should be based on respect for human rights. rnd.de
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s first visit to Ukraine: He is attending an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Lviv, western Ukraine; Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha will also be present. EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said that the EU would provide Ukraine with one billion euros for the Ukrainian defense industry. This is once again a „very important signal“ for Ukraine. faz.net
US President Donald Trump has again called for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine: If it is not observed, he threatened further sanctions by the US and its partners. Trump made the comments shortly after a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. In his evening video address, Zelensky said he had assured Trump of his country’s immediate readiness for such a ceasefire. The Russian leadership has not yet commented. rnd.de
ARD DeutschlandTrend by Infratest-Dimap: Union 27 percent (+1), AfD 23 percent (-1), SPD 16 percent, Greens 11 percent, Left 10 percent, BSW 4 percent, FDP 4 percent, others 5 percent. tagesschau.de
- The AfD is a right-wing extremist party: 67 percent agree, 27 percent disagree.
- Initiation of proceedings to ban the AfD: Appropriate 43 percent (+1), Not appropriate 47 percent (+1).
Commemoration of the end of World War II 80 years ago: In a memorial service in the Bundestag, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that May 8, the day of liberation, should not be celebrated in quiet self-assurance; freedom is not guaranteed for all time. This was demonstrated by Russia’s war of aggression and the reorientation of the US. Steinmeier expressed Germany’s deep gratitude to the Allies for liberating the country from the Nazi regime. This gratitude was extended to the Americans, British, and French, and the contribution of the Red Army was not forgotten. For this very reason, however, he said, Germany would resolutely oppose the Kremlin’s current historical lies. zdf.de, t-online.de
Domestic intelligences agency puts ‚extremist‘ classification on hold amid AfD summary proceedings: The standstill agreement in court is intended to speed up the summary proceedings. However, this does not mean that the constitutional protection agency is withdrawing its classification, the agency explained. The classification will be suspended until the Cologne Administrative Court has ruled on the application, the court announced. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution took a similar approach in response to complaints about its former ’suspected‘ extremist label; the authority won both cases. lto. de, derstandard.de, rnd.de
Chancellor Friedrich Merz talks to US President Donald Trump on the phone: Two days after taking office, Merz has had his first conversation with Trump and invited him to Germany. Trump said he could see himself making the trip. Both agreed during the call that they wanted to quickly settle trade disputes, a government spokesperson said. They also agreed to work closely together with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine. zdf.de
Debate on the organization of border controls: The federal police stepped up operations in Bavaria, among other places, on the borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Additional officers are also on duty at the external borders of Saxony, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Controls are to begin shortly in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The government informed the ambassadors of neighboring EU countries on Thursday about the stricter border controls. Criticism came from several neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Chancellor’s Office Chief Thorsten Frei said that border controls should not become a permanent measure. lto.de, zdf.de
- Brandenburg: Interior Minister Katrin Lange wants to publish the Constitutional Protection Agency’s report on the regional AfD. rbb24.de
- Lower Saxony: SPD, Greens, and CDU plan new parliamentary committee to monitor the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. ndr.de
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Resignations from the AfD faction in the Barth city council. ndr.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: Beate Nielsen replaces Education Minister Karin Prien in the state parliament. n-tv.de
- Bavaria: Animal welfare scandals become a topic in the state parliament against the will of the CSU and Free Voters. sueddeutsche.de
- Hesse: Frankfurt votes in favor of „Master Plan for Mobility.“ hessenschau.de
- Saxony: Austerity measures cause problems for Neiße Film Festival. n-tv.de
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Special committee to investigate events at tourism association n-tv.de
EU Parliament decides to relax border requirements for car manufacturers: European car manufacturers are being given more time to comply with EU climate targets. The EU Parliament voted in Strasbourg in favor of a corresponding relaxation. The EU states still have to formally approve the decision, but they had already spoken out in favor of a postponement. They are thus following the EU Commission’s recommendation that companies should no longer have to comply with limits annually, but over a three-year period. zdf.de, tagesschau.de
US and UK agree on trade deal: US President Donald Trump announced in Washington that the deal is comprehensive. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke in London of a historic day. He said the agreement was a tribute to the shared history of both countries. Neither Trump nor Starmer have provided any details of the agreement so far. For the US, it is the first agreement since Trump imposed far-reaching punitive tariffs. rnd.de, sueddeutsche.de
Conflict between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir region intensifies: India’s military said that three military posts near the border had been attacked by Pakistani drones. There are also reports of several explosions at the airport in the city of Jammu in the Indian-controlled part of the Kashmir region. India has activated its air defense system. International efforts to resolve the conflict are continuing. faz.net, zdf.de, sueddeutsche.de, tagesschau.de
More News:
- Turkey: X restricts access to Ekrem Imamoglu’s user account in response to a request from the authorities. tagesschau.de
- Switzerland: Online users to be required to identify themselves. heise.de
- United Kingdom: Bank of England lowers key interest rate to 4.25 percent. sueddeutsche.de
Former FAZ editor Günther Nonnenmacher dies at 76: He had worked for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung since the 1980s. In 2014, he retired after ten years as editor of the newspaper. Nonnenmacher was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his journalistic work. dwdl.de
One in five companies has abolished working from home: Working from home is still widespread in larger companies, according to a survey by Bitkom. One-fifth of companies in Germany have abolished working from home, and another five percent plan to do so. spiegel.de
More from Business, Tech and Science:
- German exports rose again in March. tagesspiegel.de
- Arms manufacturer Rheinmetall sees steep rise in profits. n-tv.de
- Economic institute reports as many bankruptcies as in 2005. zeit.de
- Fighting fraud: Agreement reached on security measures for Germany-wide rail ticket. heise.de
- Neobank N26 launches mobile phone initiative with Vodafone. handelsblatt.com
- Warner sales plummet, but streaming thrives dwdl.de
- „We’re pretending everything is okay“: US correspondent Juliane Schäuble on the charade with Donald Trump kress.de
- Recruiting offensive with the help of gaming: DB budget goes to fischerAppelt and Apollo GG pr-journal.de
- Instrumental competition celebrates anniversary – 21 countries represented n-tv.de
- Les Misérables actors apparently don’t want to perform in front of Trump spiegel.de
- King Charles hosts garden party zdf.de
- Best fangirl moment: Billie Eilish meets and hugs fans on Berlin’s Kudamm tagesspiegel.de
- Conference League: Gosens scores twice, but Florence still misses out on the final spiegel.de
- Hannover 96: Former national player Halstenberg ends his career ndr.de
- Basketball Bundesliga: Alba celebrates important victory in the race for a playoff spot tagesspiegel.de
- Gießen 46ers work their way into the playoff semifinals hessenschau. de
- NBA playoff series against Nuggets: Hartenstein’s Thunder even the score with a record zdf.de
Pensioner rides roller coasters up to 50 times – to combat her back pain web.de