Bild: Tax shock for German pensioners! | Steuer-Schock für deutsche Rentner!
FAZ: ÖVP ready to talk about FPO-led coalition | ÖVP zu Gesprächen über FPÖ-geführte Koalition bereit
Funke: One million people demand comprehensive fireworks ban | Eine Million Menschen fordern umfassendes Feuerwerksverbot
Handelsblatt: Allianz boss calls for higher inheritance tax | Allianz-Chef fordert höhere Erbschaftssteuer
RND: The heated phase begins: The launch of the parties‘ election campaigns immediately provokes anger | Die heiße Phase beginnt: Der Wahlkampfauftakt der Parteien hat sofort für Ärger gesorgt
SZ: Baerbock offers Syria help | Baerbock bietet Syrien Hilfe an
Tagesspiegel: Faeser wants to examine protection status for Syrians – Caritas president warns against populism | Faeser will Schutzstatus für Syrer prüfen – Caritas-Präsident warnt vor Populismus
taz: Austria at a turning point | Österreich am Wendepunkt
Welt: “Bürgergeld”: CDU wants tougher rules. Sharp criticism from SPD | CDU will härtere Regeln. Scharfe Kritik von SPD
Top-News
sharp criticism of CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter: Kiesewetter had stated on X that there were increasing indications that Chancellor Olaf Scholz would travel to Moscow and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the federal election in February. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that what Kiesewetter was doing was defamation and announced legal action to the RND. Scholz has sharply criticized the statements of the CDU politician as a false claim made as part of the election campaign. SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch called on Kiesewetter to apologize. Scholz’s phone call with Putin in November, the first in almost two years, sparked anger in Ukraine and among Eastern European NATO partners. rnd.de, web.de, handelsblatt.com
SPD wants to promote investments with up to 18 billion euros: The state is to cover ten percent of the costs for investments by companies, for example for new machines or vehicles. According to calculations by the SPD presidium, this so-called „Made in Germany“ bonus could increase the gross domestic product by almost 0.2 percent in the first year. Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained that the measure would help companies quickly and unbureaucratically. If Germany wants to maintain its economic strength, the right course must be set now. web.de, welt.de, faz.net, handelsblatt.com
CDU/CSU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz wants to revoke German passports from people with dual citizenship who have committed crimes: Merz criticizes the naturalization made easier by the traffic light coalition and sees dual citizenship as a problem for Germany as a rule. His demands are aimed at expelling foreign offenders after the second offense in order to prevent attacks such as the one at the Magdeburg Christmas market. The proposals are in conflict with the German constitution and have been met with widespread criticism, as they call into question fundamental constitutional principles. spiegel.de
BamS Sunday trend by Insa: CDU 31 percent, SPD 16 percent (-1), Greens 13 percent (+1), FDP 4 percent, AfD 20 percent, Left Party 3 percent, BSW 7 percent, others 6 percent. bild.de
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani on a trip through the Emirates: The new rulers are making intensive efforts to establish further international contacts. Al-Shibani met with Prime Minister Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the emirate of Qatar. He is also scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The aim is to establish strategic partnerships and improve security and economic development in Syria. swissinfo.ch
Negotiations on ceasefire in Gaza continue: Qatar, Egypt and the United States are mediating talks in the Qatari capital Doha. The talks had repeatedly stalled. The Islamist Hamas movement wants an end to the fighting and the withdrawal of the Israeli military. Israel, on the other hand, only wants to accept a phased agreement with temporary ceasefires and is also demanding a list of the names of the surviving hostages. Hamas is prepared to release 34 hostages in a „first phase“. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sent representatives from Mossad and Shin Bet. n-tv.de
Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region meets with Russian resistance: The Ukrainian army launched new attacks in the western Russian region of Kursk on Sunday morning. Russian media also report a corresponding offensive. The Ukrainian leadership stated that there were advances in several directions. Russian units were taken by surprise by the offensive. The Russian army later announced that the attack had been repelled by artillery and air strikes. rnd.de, zdf.de
Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser announces a review of the protection status of Syrian refugees: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will review and, if necessary, revoke protection grants; this applies, for example, when people in Germany no longer need protection because the situation in Syria has stabilized. According to Faeser, this would affect those who do not have a right of residence for other reasons, such as because of work or training, and do not voluntarily return to their home country, Faeser told the Funke newspapers. Faeser emphasized that criminals and Islamists should be deported as quickly as possible. By contrast, she said, well-integrated people who work, have found a new home here and have learned German should be allowed to stay in Germany. zdf.de
EPP Group leader Manfred Weber calls for an increase in German defense spending. Investing two percent of economic output in this area is the absolute minimum, Weber told the Funke newspapers. Germany and Europe are in the crosshairs of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, Weber pointed out that 330 million Americans do not want to permanently defend 440 million Europeans. Therefore, joint procurement at the EU level is necessary to purchase weapons more cheaply. Weber called for a European missile defense shield and a cyber defense brigade. In addition, NATO’s eastern border must be secured jointly. morgenpost.de
Association of Towns and Municipalities calls for redistribution of tasks between federal, state and local governments: An honest discussion must now be held about which level should perform which task, said managing director Andre Berghegger on Deutschlandfunk. The federal, state and local governments sometimes deal with the same work, and no one knows exactly who is responsible. Berghegger believes that the municipalities are at the end of their financial tether. However, if infrastructure and services are no longer provided locally, citizens will lose confidence in the state’s ability to act as a whole. deutschlandfunk.de
Ministry of the Interior considers hacker attack on border police systems unlikely: Due to a computer breakdown, entry controls at German airports had to be carried out manually for several hours on Saturday. Queues formed at many airports upon entry. The issue was found in a system used by the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Ministry of the Interior explained. The hardware error should be fixed in the coming days. zdf.de, handelsblatt.com
More regional news:
- Saxony: Dresden asked the Saxon Ministry of Transport for help with the Carolabrücke bridge on multiple occasions. n-tv.de
- Hamburg: BSW must repeat board election; 2025 state election could be invalidated. abendblatt.de
- North Rhine-Westphalia: Interior Minister Herbert Reul wants more powers for authorities; „The country must not lag behind in the fight against crime“. waz.de
- Berlin: Influencer in custody after rocket shot. faz.net
- Saxony-Anhalt: Racially motivated violence on the rise in Magdeburg. tagesschau.de
- Bavaria: Climate activists from ‚Last Generation‘ block a street in downtown Munich. sueddeutsche.de
- Thuringia: The Left Party wants a special allowance for prospective police officers. n-tv.de
Austria’s FPÖ could start coalition talks with ÖVP: Federal President Alexander van der Bellen announced that he would talk to Herbert Kickl, the leader of the far-right FPÖ, about the situation on Monday. In the conservative ÖVP, voices against a coalition with the FPÖ have now become quieter. This opens up a new path to negotiations. On Saturday, the coalition negotiations between the ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ failed. The leader of the ÖVP and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer then announced his resignation from both posts. He said that everything had been tried, but that no agreement had been possible on key issues. The liberal Neos had already declared their withdrawal from the negotiations on Friday, after weeks of talks about a three-way alliance. spiegel.de, tagesschau.de, faz.net, zdf.de
Moldova sees security crisis in Transnistria due to end of Russian gas supplies: Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in the capital Chisinau that he feared Russia was trying to bring pro-Russian forces to power in his country. Transnistria has so far received Russian gas, which was delivered via a Ukrainian pipeline. The transit contract for this line ended at the turn of the year. The Transnistria region is not internationally recognized and has so far been supported by Russia. orf.at
Greenland’s head of government Mute B. Egede is campaigning for independence from Denmark: „History has shown that it was not possible to achieve full equality in cooperation with Denmark,“ Egede said in his New Year’s address. It is now up to the people to decide whether to separate from Denmark. Since 2009, Greenland has had the right to declare its independence through a referendum. zdf.de
Poland disinvites Hungarian ambassador from opening gala for EU Council presidency: The Ministry for European Affairs in Warsaw justified the decision by stating that Hungary had granted political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, the former deputy Polish Minister of Justice from the former ruling party PiS. Romanowski is being investigated in Poland on charges of misuse of public funds. euronews.com
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visits US President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago: Her office in Rome released photos on Sunday showing Trump and his visitor in Mar-a-Lago in front of a Christmas tree. Nothing was known about the exact content of the meeting. US media reported only that the two had watched a movie together and had dinner. stuttgarter-zeitung.de, faz.net
Demonstrators take to the streets in South Korea over suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol: Some of the demonstrators called for the politician’s arrest, while others spoke out against it. Yoon had imposed martial law at the beginning of December in order to take action against the opposition. After protests from his own ranks, among others, he lifted martial law a few hours later. The public prosecutor’s office has initiated criminal proceedings against Yoon. He is accused of inciting unrest, for which the president’s immunity does not apply. Yoon repeatedly failed to appear for questioning. The arrest warrant issued in response is only valid for a short period. Yoon announced that he would take legal action against the investigators. zdf.de
Funeral services for ex-US president Jimmy Carter have begun: a motorcade carrying Carter’s coffin drove through the town of Plains in the US state of Georgia, where Carter had spent more than 80 years of his life. The funeral procession will also travel to Atlanta, where Carter was a senator in the 1960s and later served as governor. A private funeral service is also planned in Atlanta. Carter’s casket will later be transported to the capital, Washington, where it will be on display until the funeral on Thursday. rnd.de
US President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people: the United States‘ highest civilian award honors people who have shown exemplary commitment to the United States or world peace. Among those honored are former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, billionaire investor George Soros, who has been a lifelong advocate for human rights, and José Andrés, founder of the food aid organization World Central Kitchen. U2 frontman Bono, footballer Lionel Messi and basketball legend Earvin „Magic“ Johnson were also honored. Actor Michael J. Fox was honored for his commitment to Parkinson’s research. Other recipients of the medal include conservationist Jane Goodall, longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, US fashion designer Ralph Lauren and LGBTQ activist Tim Gill. faz.net
US House of Representatives elects Republican Mike Johnson as chair, after two changes of vote: The vote had initially been suspended shortly before the end because it became apparent that he would not receive enough votes against his Democratic challenger Hakeem Jeffries. Several Republicans had previously voted against their own candidate. After the interruption, two Republican MPs corrected their previous no votes into yes votes. This brought Johnson’s final tally to 218 votes to 215. faz.net
Court to announce verdict in Trump hush-money trial on January 10: The judge said he was not inclined to impose a prison sentence. The sentencing would take place on the currently scheduled date, ten days before Trump’s swearing-in as US president. A jury had already found Trump guilty last year of having disguised a payment of $130,000 to a porn actress as hush money. According to the jury, he wanted to gain an advantage for his first presidency in the 2016 election campaign.
More news:
- EU: EU could retaliate against Trump tariffs by taxing US digital companies. zeit.de
- EU: OpenWebSearch project: EU research power against Google’s dominance. zdf.de
- EU: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen cancels trips due to severe pneumonia, but otherwise continues to work. t-online.de
- EU: EU wanted to reduce dependence on China. derstandard.at
- Slovakia: Prime Minister Robert Fico’s „revenge campaign“ against the media. orf.at
- France: Military presence in Africa is declining. wort.lu
- Estonia: Policy of strength towards Russia. finanzen.net
- Montenegro: Strict gun laws announced after 12 people were killed in a series of rampages. de.euronews.com
- United Kingdom: Elon Musk considers Nigel Farage the wrong leader for right-wing populists. tagesspiegel.de
- Great Britain: Introduction of a National Care Service planned to protect against „high costs“. n-tv.de
- Greece: Former Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis has died. rnd.de
- Italy: Arrest of journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran possibly timed for prisoner exchange. fr.de
- Kosovo: Serbs complain of provocations in front of Orthodox monasteries. derstandard.at
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Rebels capture strategically important city of Masisi. spiegel.de
- Mozambique: Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane announces his return from exile. zeit.de
- Taiwan: Taipei suspects China of sabotaging undersea cables. spiegel.de
- USA: FBI: Assassin visited New Orleans before the attack. handelsblatt.com
- USA: Las Vegas: Tesla remotely opens the exploded Cybertruck and collects videos. heise.de
- USA: Japanese government criticizes President Joe Biden’s steel veto. n-tv.de
Business
Three German companies among the 100 most valuable listed companies in the world: SAP, Siemens and Deutsche Telekom are the only German representatives in the rankings produced by consulting firm EY. SAP benefited from the hype surrounding AI and jumped from 62nd to 32nd place. As in previous years, the top 100 are dominated by US tech companies. Apple remains in first place, followed by chip company Nvidia and Microsoft. A total of 62 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world are based in the United States. zdf.de
37.5 percent of long-distance trains delayed in 2024: This is the worst figure in at least 21 years. All trains that arrive at least six minutes later than planned are considered delayed. Due to the delays, Deutsche Bahn had to pay passengers hundreds of millions in compensation. The railway explained that most delays were due to the outdated, accident-prone and overburdened infrastructure, and pointed to numerous renovation measures. By modernizing heavily used lines, the railway hopes to increase the punctuality of long-distance trains to 75 to 80 percent within the next three years. n-tv.de
More from the worlds of business, technology and science:
- The unemployment rate rose to 6.0 percent in December. zdf.de
- Germans exchanged around 57 million German marks for euros in 2024. spiegel.de
- Curevac is back in the black. n-tv.de
- Publisher Hans Dieter Beck has died. faz.net
- „Our doors are always open“: Putin is enticing German companies back to Russia. n-tv.de
- Green business models can be very profitable. table.media
- Swiss banking crisis: Credit Suisse is said to have withheld information about Nazi accounts. zeit.de
- US group Meta: Joel Kaplan, the new head of government affairs, has a special relationship with Republicans. golem.de
- Thilo Mischke will not be the new „ttt“ moderator after all. dwdl.de
- China: Control on the internet: „We online censors deserve pity“. table.media
- Slovakia: Fico’s „revenge campaign“ against the media. orf.at
- Media ethicist on Musk’s op-ed: „The world would be better off if he had chosen to do an interview in which he could be counterattacked with questions“. kress.de
- Darts World Cup 2025: Sport1 breaks the 3 million mark. new-business.de
- Dismissal of the cathedral music director: the Freiburg Cathedral Boys‘ Choir stays at home in protest. spiegel.de
- Hamburg’s Senator for Culture Brosda criticizes planned cuts in the cultural sector. monopol-magazin.de
- Half-time show: Linkin Park is to perform at the Champions League final in Munich. web.de
- Aline Abboud, former presenter of the Tagesthemen news program, has written a book about her origins. stern.de
- Hollywood star Tom Holland wants to quit acting when he becomes a father. spiegel.de
- Füllkrug scores for West Ham: ManCity win, Arsenal and Chelsea falter. sport.de
- FC Barcelona: The Dani Olmo case is developing into a crisis – the international is still not eligible to play. sueddeutsche.de
- Ice hockey in the DEL: Polar Bears still unstoppable and top of the table for now. sportschau.de
- Basketball: Unrivaled League – The best-paid women’s league in the world – In the USA, a group of female basketball players wants to get off to a flying start with a league they have founded themselves. deutschlandfunk.de
- At the Four Hills Tournament: German ski jumpers far from the top. kicker.de
- Sailing: Vendée Globe – Dalin is the first to cross the equator again. sportschau.de
Unusual animal rescue: Fire brigade frees frozen duck. ksta.de