Bild: New cost burden in nursing homes / Neue Kostenkeule in Pflegeheimen
FAZ: Criticism from SPD over the federal government’s stance on Israel / Kritik aus SPD an Israelkurs der Bundesregierung
Funke: Berlin Senate approves double budget with record spending / Berliner Senat beschließt Doppelhaushalt mit Rekordausgaben
Handelsblatt: Billions for Germany / Milliarden für Deutschland
RND: On the death of Ozzy Osbourne: He shaped the world of heavy metal like few others – through his music and scandals / Zum Tod von Ozzy Osbourne: Er prägte die Welt des Heavy Metal wie kaum ein anderer – mit seiner Musik und mit Skandalen
SZ: SPD demands tougher stance on Israel / SPD fordert härteren Kurs gegen Israel
Tagesspiegel: Nursing home care becoming increasingly expensive: Social organizations and insurers demand relief / Pflege im Heim immer teurer: Sozialverbände und Kassen fordern Entlastung
taz: No votes for the AfD / Keine Stimme für die AfD
Welt: Taliban consular staff allowed to enter Germany / Konsularpersonal der Taliban darf nach Deutschland
According to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the government is united on its policy toward Israel: There were no differences of opinion within the coalition, Merz said. The situation in the Palestinian territory is no longer acceptable. He strongly urged the Israeli government to stop the massive military interventions and to allow a ceasefire and humanitarian aid for the population. spiegel.de
- SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch had called on Germany to join an appeal by 28 countries for an end to the war in Gaza; Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan regretted that this had not happened.
- CDU foreign policy spokesman Jürgen Hardt defended Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s decision not to sign the appeal, saying it would only further isolate the Israeli government.
- SPD foreign policy spokespeople Adis Ahmetovic and former parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich called in a joint statement for an end to weapons exports to the Israeli government that are being used in violation of international law.
Deaths in Israeli attack on Gaza: Several people were killed in Gaza City, and many were injured according to Palestinian sources; the home of a bank branch director was destroyed. Israel’s army continued attacks in other parts of the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 81 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday since the beginning of the day; the figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. zdfheute.de
- Aid workers suffer severely from hunger: Employees of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and other helpers in Gaza were so severely affected by hunger and exhaustion that they collapsed while working, said UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini. Among the affected are also doctors, nurses, and journalists. tagesschau.de
- EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas sharply condemned the latest attacks by the Israeli army in Gaza. Attacks on civilians seeking help were „unjustifiable.“ She urged Israel“s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to uphold Israel’s promises to the EU on access to aid for the population in Gaza. nau.ch
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the images of civilians killed during aid deliveries in Gaza „unbearable.“ The EU reiterated its call for free, safe, and rapid humanitarian aid, as well as full respect for international law. Israel must honor its commitments.
- France calls for free access for journalists to the Gaza Strip.n-tv.de
Houthi militia attacks Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv twice: A hypersonic missile was reportedly used in the second attack, said a spokesperson for the Islamist militants. According to Israel’s army, both rockets were intercepted. On Monday, Israel’s military attacked Houthi positions in the port of the Yemeni city of Hodeida. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened further military strikes. n-tv.de
Kremlin dampens expectations for new talks with Ukraine starting Wednesday in Istanbul: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would defend its interests in the talks. A summit between the two presidents was still premature, he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that only talks at that level could bring results to end the Russian war of aggression. In the third negotiation round between Kyiv and Moscow, Zelensky wants to push for another prisoner exchange and the return of Ukrainian children abducted to Russia. focus.de
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signs a controversial law that ends the independence of anti-corruption agencies. The law places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office under the control of the Attorney General, whom Zelensky appoints. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called this a „serious setback“ on Ukraine’s path to EU membership. n-tv.de
- The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, associated with the Left Party, has been declared an undesirable organization in Russia. „We regret this further escalation,“ said director Daniela Trochowski. Russia’s prosecutor general stated that the foundation ran programs „aimed at stirring protest, radicalizing youth, and discrediting Russian state authorities.“
- Moscow warns Azerbaijan after Ukraine statement. n-tv.de
- Newsroom in Russia raided: Editor-in-chief of Telegram channel „Baza“ missing. n-tv.de
FAZ Sunday poll by Allensbach: CDU/CSU 29%, AfD 23%, SPD 15% (-1), Greens 12% (+1), Left 9%, BSW 3.5% (-0.5), FDP 4%, Others 4.5%. faz.net
RTL/ntv trend barometer by Forsa: CDU/CSU 25% (-1), AfD 25% (+1), SPD 13%, Greens 12%, Left 13% (+1), BSW 4%, FDP 3% (-1), Others 4%. n-tv.de
- Satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz: Yes 32% (-3), No 64% (+4).
Trust in Merz: Yes 29%, No 67%. - Defense Minister Boris Pistorius leads cabinet popularity rankings. n-tv.de
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt considers deportation centers outside Europe essential: Joint EU action or cooperation among some states is possible, he said. Rejected asylum seekers would be held there until deportation. Agreements with third countries would be needed—difficult with crisis nations like Libya. tagesschau.de
43 Iraqis deported from Leipzig/Halle to Baghdad: They were single men required to leave, some with criminal records. Thuringia led the operation, and Minister of Justice Beate Meißner said the action showed a determined change in migration policy. dw.com, n-tv.de
Czech PM Petr Fiala sees no problem with German border controls: Germany always informs in time, he said. Both Fiala and Chancellor Merz stressed that illegal migration should not be left to nationalists and populists. n-tv.de
- 311 asylum seekers turned back at the border since early May. stern.de
Germany and Czechia want to increase cooperation in the defense industry: Czechia plans to buy F-35 jets and Leopard tanks. Both countries reaffirmed their support for Ukraine. Czechia had launched a munitions initiative. welt.de
Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei wants to cap out-of-pocket nursing home costs: Hardly anyone has a pension that would allow them to pay €3,000 for a place in a nursing home, Frei told the RND. At the same time, he pointed out that nursing care insurance only covers part of the costs. He urged people to make private provisions for nursing care. The German Nursing Council is calling for a clear division of costs. An evaluation by the Association of Substitute Health Insurance Funds had shown that an average of €3,000 per month is payable by the patient for the first year in a nursing home. rnd.de, tagesspiegel.de
Draft bill by Labor Minister Bärbel Bas for a law on compliance with collective agreements: Companies will be required to pay their employees according to collective agreements when working on federal government contracts. Compliance with the requirements will be monitored by a new inspection body. Bas submitted the draft bill to the federal government for approval. zdfheute.de, tagesschau.de
- The Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations criticized the plan as false advertising. Managing Director Steffen Kampeter explained that the law would force companies into a foreign collective bargaining system that would place a particular burden on small businesses.
- The German Trade Union Confederation emphasized that the planned law would ensure fairer competition and that it was an important lever for strengthening collective bargaining coverage.
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider wants to promote adaptation to climate change with new initiatives: The “Climate-Adapted Forest Management” program is to be expanded. The goal is to create species-rich mixed deciduous forests that can cope better with rising temperatures than the spruce forests that predominate in many parts of Germany. Schneider is visiting several climate adaptation projects in Berlin and Brandenburg today. In cities, street trees and unsealed surfaces could make a difference of several degrees in summer, Schneider explained. In rural areas, forests and moors act as natural air conditioners and also store water. zdfheute.de, tagesschau.de
Other News:
- Federal and state tax revenues up in the first half of the year; revenue amounted to €447.6 billion zdfheute.de
- Turnaround in customs conflict with Trump: Germany ready for trade war. spiegel.de
- Draft from Minister Bas: The Government wants to strengthen occupational pensions. tagesschau.de
- Germany to invest €800 million in military medical service. web.de
- Defense Minister Pistorius on summer tour: Drone show for the minister. spiegel.de
- Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer urges media companies to invest in Germany. rnd.de
- DLR and Bundeswehr to exchange almost all space data. heise.de
- Controversial Russia trips: AfD and Wagenknecht praise Platzeck. tagesspiegel.de
Federal government promotes lithium projects in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse: The total amount involved is just under 104 million euros, according to the Ministry of Economics in Berlin. Each of the two federal states is financing 30 percent of the project. Two German subsidiaries of Vulcan Energy Resources want to extract lithium from geothermal brine. The extraction area is Europe“s largest deposit in the German Upper Rhine Valley.
More News:
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: State Environment Minister Till Backhaus criticizes Poland’s oil plans near Usedom. zeit.de
- Lower Saxony: Demand for armaments boosts economy. ndr.de
- Bavaria: Half a billion investment in bio campus. sueddeutsche.de
Rhineland-Palatinate: Julia Klöckner wants to reactivate Strasbourg barracks. rhein-zeitung.de
Bavaria: Vicky Leandros refuses to perform before Alice Weidel at castle festival near Regensburg, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis outraged. spiegel.de
- EU-Japan summit: Tokyo, at least, should be a success. diepresse.com
- Commission calls for 2,500 additional ICT specialists for the EU. heise.de
- US could gain access to EU data in Microsoft cloud. derstandard.de
- Lithuania: Balts register 22 times more GPS problems; Russia suspected. de.euronews.com
- Belgium: State sued over role in Gaza.vrt.be
- Romania: Bucharest plans volunteer army to strengthen its military reserves. de.euronews.com
- Spain: The Government wants to release secret files from the Franco dictatorship. spiegel.de
- Italy: The Refugee tragedy, with around 100 deaths, has legal repercussions in Italy. derstandard.at
- United Kingdom: Government and OpenAI sign strategic partnership. zeit.de
- Poland: Warsaw Palace of Culture turns 70. zdfheute.de
- Congo: Up to 500 miners buried after a series of landslides. zdfheute.de
- Somaliland: breakaway region seeks recognition, US seeks location for Palestinians. n-tv.de
- China: NGO for workers“ rights gives up; supply chain law affected. sueddeutsche.de
US working on deadline extension in customs dispute with China: „I will be in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday with my Chinese counterparts, working on what is most likely to be an extension,“ US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Network. The deadline actually expires on August 12. At the same time, Bessent reaffirmed the previous August 1 deadline in the tariff conflict with other countries. The US then wants to impose tariffs of varying amounts on imports.
- Donald Trump wants to distract from the Epstein case by any means necessary. derstandard.at
- Epstein case: Justice Department wants to question partner Ghislaine Maxwell. tagesschau.de
One in four start-ups is considering leaving Germany due to a lack of capital: Bitkom cited its own survey as the reason for this, pointing to the lack of venture capital in the country. Over 80 percent said that investors had become more cautious due to the economic situation. Only 23 percent believed that there was sufficient venture capital available in Germany.n-tv.de
The German Economic Institute proposes a uniform period for receiving unemployment benefits at the expense of older people: Employers“ president Rainer Dulger told Handelsblatt that long-term unemployment helps no one. That is why incentives are needed to overcome it quickly. The SPD firmly rejects a standardization of the period for receiving unemployment benefits. People over the age of 50 in particular find it much more difficult to find a new job after losing their old one, said SPD deputy parliamentary party leader Dagmar Schmidt. t-online.de
More News:
Immersive is a Berlin-based language-learning startup founded by Eduardo Roldan and his team, designed to help expats break through the language and cultural barriers of life in Germany. Recognizing that mastering German is essential for true integration, Immersive goes beyond basic vocabulary and grammar—its app uses native content like news and media to make language learning relevant to daily life, helping users understand what’s happening around them and feel more connected to German society.
The startup was born out of the founders’ challenges navigating Germany’s complex systems and the realization that language is key to inclusion and independence. By focusing on real-world content and cultural context, Immersive empowers expats to participate more fully in their communities, handle bureaucracy with confidence, and embrace both their new home and their cultural roots.
In Germany, you can get a degree in sausage.
Well, sort of—at the Fleischerfachschule (Butcher’s Technical School) in Augsburg, students can become certified Wurstexperten (sausage experts). They study the science of meat, regional sausage traditions, and even sausage aesthetics. There are more than 1,500 types of sausages in Germany, so it’s serious business… but also pretty amusing when you realize people write full exams on the difference between Bratwurst and Bockwurst.