Bild: Finally more money | Endlich mehr Geld
FAZ: Selenskyj: Ukraine and America agree on raw materials deal | Selenskyj: Ukraine und Amerika über Rohstoffabkommen einig
Funke: For many local transport projects in Berlin, the money isn’t there yet | Für viele Nahverkehrsprojekte in Berlin ist bislang kein Geld da
Handelsblatt: Special fund for EU defense | Sondervermögen für EU-Verteidigung
RND: How the CDU and CSU are targeting civil society | Wie CDU und CSU die Zivilgesellschaft ins Visier nehmen
SZ: USA and Ukraine agree on raw materials deal | USA und Ukraine einig über Rohstoff-Deal
Tagesspiegel: Questionnaire on NGOs: Organizations accuse Union of intimidation | Fragenkatalog zu Organisationen: Vereine werfen Union Einschüchterungsversuch vor
taz: Have they lost their mind? | Noch alle Tassen im Schrank?
Welt: Real wages in Germany: Strongest increase in 16 years | Reallöhne in Deutschland: Stärkster Anstieg seit 16 Jahren
SPD party and faction leader Lars Klingbeil offers the CDU quick talks on forming a coalition: He did not want to lose any time, said Klingbeil, but he warned CDU leader Friedrich Merz that forming a government was not a certainty. He had received a strong mandate for the upcoming negotiations. Klingbeil named growth, competitiveness, economic strength and job security as important topics. derstandard.at
French President Emmanuel Macron receives CDU leader Friedrich Merz in Paris: Macron is involving the possible future chancellor in ongoing crisis diplomacy at an early stage. In view of the change of course in US policy on Ukraine, one of the topics of discussion is likely to be European defense. During the three-hour conversation, both showed willingness to turn over a new leaf in German-French relations. Merz had previously received Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for talks in Berlin. tagesschau.de
US raw materials agreement with Ukraine to be signed on Friday: US President Donald Trump said at the first meeting of his cabinet that the agreement on rare earths and „other things“ was at stake. He did not mention which aspects were still part of the agreement. Ukraine’s President Selenskyj had confirmed an agreement on the framework conditions. However, he emphasized that an agreement must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament; in addition, the question of security guarantees for his country, which is being attacked by Russia, still had to be decided. Trump said that security guarantees were the sole responsibility of Europe. Trump reiterated his rejection of Ukraine joining NATO. tagesschau.de
Hamas has handed over four dead hostages: The mortal remains were returned to their homeland on Wednesday night. This time, the handover to the Red Cross took place without a ceremonial spectacle, with armed Hamas fighters and loud music. In return, around 600 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails. tagesspiegel.de, n-tv.de
Germany keeps its promise to take in endangered Afghans: The interior ministry stated that they would continue to see themselves as duty-bound; no new promises would be made for the time being. On Tuesday, 155 people came to Germany on board a chartered plane. They are former local staff who worked for Germany during the Bundeswehr’s deployment in Afghanistan and their relatives. The future government would have to decide how to deal with the issue. The CDU/CSU wants an end to the humanitarian admissions.
Criticism of the CDU/CSU’s inquiry into politically active associations continues: The CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s inquiry includes more than 500 questions about state-supported organizations such as „Grandmas Against the Right“, Greenpeace, and Netzwerk Recherche; among other things, it is concerned with their financing. rnd.de
Children’s carnival parade canceled on Carnival Monday in Nuremberg: Numerous participating institutions have canceled their participation as a precaution due to their reduced sense of security. The big Nuremberg carnival parade on Sunday, on the other hand, will go ahead as planned. Militant Islamists had called on social networks for attacks on carnival and carnival events; among others, Cologne and Nuremberg were mentioned. The Nuremberg police said there was no evidence of specific dangers and new findings. Cologne said that such threats were aimed at unsettling the population. infranken.de
Brandenburg BSW MP Sven Hornauf votes in favor of AfD proposal in the state parliament for the first time: He supported an AfD proposal not to reduce the size of the Parliamentary Control Commission. The commission monitors the work of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The SPD and BSW want to reduce the commission from six to three members. The AfD sees this as an attempt to marginalize them. rbb24.de
More Germany News:
- Berlin: Green Party politician Stefan Gelbhaar is demanding compensation from RBB for inaccurate reporting. spiegel.de
- Thuringia: AfD sets conditions for filling important positions in the state parliament; no new members of judiciary can be selected. thueringer-allgemeine.de
- Berlin: Senate parts ways with state animal welfare officer Kathrin Herrmann. rbb24.de
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Rostock rejects work programs for refugees and the unemployed after a heated debate in the city parliament. ostsee-zeitung.de
- Berlin: More than one in three were not allowed to vote. rbb24.de
- Bavaria: Munich sets up relief fund for those affected by the attack. sueddeutsche.de
- Berlin: Arson attacks against construction cranes and Deutsche Bahn; left-wing extremist claim of responsibility. spiegel.de
- Bavaria: Munich scales back plans for Ramadan decorations. sueddeutsche.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: Landtag discusses free period products. ndr.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: Landtag concerned about Russian shadow fleet. n-tv.de
- NRW: City of Cologne does not have to provide AfD with space for a carnival party this year. ksta.de
- Bremen: Collection of climate data can begin. weser-kurier.de
- Brandenburg: EU restoration regulation for damaged ecosystems suspended. rbb24.de
European companies are to be given advantages in tenders: The EU Commission is advocating criteria that would give European companies an advantage over competitors from the USA or China. These could include CO2 emissions, the possibility of recycling or cyber security. The „Clean Industrial Deal“ also envisages promoting climate-friendly technologies. Electricity from renewable energies is to be approved more quickly. In addition, the EU Supply Chain Law will be postponed by one year to June 2028, and the requirements for companies will be significantly weakened. The measures are expected to save industry and households 45 billion euros in the current year alone. welt.de, lto.de, tagesschau.de, handelsblatt.com
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock calls for a joint defense fund for significantly higher military spending: In view of the „historic milestone“ of Russia’s war in Ukraine and increasing US closeness to Russia, she said, investments on an unprecedented scale are needed. In her view, relaxing EU debt rules for defense spending would be an important step but would not be enough, especially for EU countries with high national debt and little financial leeway. Therefore, a common defense fund is needed. In addition, the joint procurement of armaments must be strategically better positioned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancels planned meeting with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Washington: The US government said the reason was scheduling issues. Kallas wanted to explore with Rubio the possibilities for the Europeans to participate in the Ukraine talks between the US and Russia. Kallas had recently described US President Donald Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine as a „dirty deal“. Despite the cancellation of the meeting with Rubio, Kallas wants to hold talks with senators and congressmen in Washington. spiegel.de, n-tv.de
Government formation in Austria apparently nearing completion: According to party sources, the coalition agreement is expected to be presented on Thursday. The leaders of the conservative ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos had already spoken of major progress over the weekend. This is the second attempt at forming a coalition for the three parties since the parliamentary elections at the end of September. Negotiations in January had failed. t-online.de
Romanian ex-presidential candidate Calin Georgescu arrested: The public prosecutor’s office has charged the pro-Russian right-wing extremist with inciting action against the constitutional order, spreading false information and making false statements regarding campaign financing, among other things. Investigations have been ongoing since last year. As reported by the General Prosecutor’s Office in Bucharest, house searches were carried out across the country on Wednesday at the homes of supporters of Georgescu. Georgescu had surprisingly won the first round of the presidential election in November. However, shortly before the runoff, the Constitutional Court annulled the first round of voting due to irregularities in campaign financing. tagesschau.de, welt.de, handelsblatt.com
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik given one-year prison sentence: The Serbian nationalist was sentenced by a court in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is also banned from exercising his office as president of the predominantly Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska for six years. Dodik had decreed that no more decisions by the High Representative of the UN or the Bosnian Constitutional Court should be implemented in Republika Srpska. The trial has fueled concerns about the already fragile stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina. spiegel.de, dw.com, n-tv.de
Iran significantly increases uranium production: IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says there is cause for serious concern. His agency in Vienna writes in a report that Iran has greatly accelerated the production of almost nuclear-weapons-grade uranium in recent months. Iran’s stockpile of uranium with a purity level of 60 percent has increased by a good 91 kilograms to around 275 kilograms since the end of October. The document is to be discussed in a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors next week. rp-online.de, derstandard.at, rnd.de
US President Donald Trump announces 25 percent tariffs on EU goods: „We have made a decision and we will announce it soon,“ Trump said at the cabinet meeting. Cars, but also other goods, will be affected. Trump once again accused the Europeans of taking advantage of the US. Trump had recently signed an order to raise tariffs wherever the US currently charges less than its trading partners. The EU Commission in Brussels announced that it would react decisively and immediately to new tariffs. spiegel.de, t-online.de
More news:
- France: Government threatens to revoke Algeria’s special status if former colony does not take back designated Algerians. zeit.de
- Poland: Turning away migrants at the border will soon be legal. dw.com
- Turkey: „Historic declaration“ by PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan announced for Thursday. derstandard.at
- Belgium: Prime Minister Bart De Wever admits budget concerns. brf.be
- Netherlands: Go-ahead for German-Dutch offshore partnership. lessentiel.lu
- Switzerland: Top military officials flee the country after Defense Minister Viola Amherd’s withdrawal. faz.net
- France: Explosions at Russian consulate in Marseille; two Frenchmen confess to the crime. n-tv.de
- France: Maximum sentence for Islamists after attack in Nice five years ago; reduction in sentence largely ruled out. stern.de
- Iran: More money for state propaganda. dw.com
- USA: Reuters, Tagesspiegel and other media excluded from Trump’s cabinet meeting. derstandard.at
- Chile: Over 90 percent of households have electricity again after a high-voltage power line failed. zdf.de
- Argentina: Pensioners demand that the supply of free medicines be maintained. deutschlandfunk.de
Real wages rise by 3.1 percent: The purchasing power of employees in 2024 has increased significantly compared to the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. It is the strongest increase since the beginning of the time series in 2008. The increase is due to the lower rate of price increases, the payments of inflation compensation premiums and higher wages. welt.de
One in four parcels will go undelivered due to Verdi’s warning strike: Deutsche Post said the backlogs would be processed in a timely manner. The trade union Verdi had called for the night shifts in the parcel and letter centers to stage a walkout. In the public sector wage dispute, administrations and daycare centers were on strike in several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday. Verdi also announced a warning strike at Hamburg and Munich airports. handelsblatt.com
More news:
- Change of course meets with criticism: BP is once again focusing more on oil and gas. n-tv.de
- Cartel office examines entry of Unicredit at Commerzbank. handelsblatt.com
- Price of 250-gram pack: Butter costs less than two euros again. n-tv.de
- Bafin Executive Director Raimund Röseler wants fewer regulations for smaller banks. handelsblatt.com
- Deutsche Bahn: International connections with record number of passengers. welt.de
- Telekom wants to distribute record dividend. faz.net
- Aldi Süd is allowed to sell Dubai chocolate from Turkey. handelsblatt.com
- Amazon is launching the linear TV channel Prime in April. dwdl.de
- Economic crisis: How little climate protection contributed to the recession table.media/climate
- Especially in industry: Companies want to cut even more jobs tagesschau.de
- Share price slides: Tesla’s value falls below one trillion dollars spiegel.de
- Sales continue to climb: Nvidia’s figures exceed expectations n-tv.de
- Jeff Bezos sets guidelines for opinion pages of „Washington Post“. derstandard.at
- Journalism: German Press Council reports record number of violations of press code zeit.de
- Google vs. publishers: In Munich, a judge will decide how much money Google owes publishers – A look abroad shows that a warm shower of money beckons kress.de
- Gelbhaar demands six-figure compensation from RBB after false accusations n-tv.de
- ‚We are Social‘ digital report: This is how intensively Germans use social media horizont.net
- A Russian actor might win an Oscar – and no one cares? nzz.ch
- Bavaria: State painting collections defend themselves against accusations of looted art zeit.de.
- „Star Wars“ producer: Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy reportedly planning to step away from role spiegel.de
- At the age of 39: Actress Michelle Trachtenberg dies tagesschau.de
- Despite his critical condition, Pope works from an armchair in hospital spiegel.de
- Mother of his 13th child: Ashley St. Clair accuses Elon Musk of being a bad father spiegel.de
- The future chancellor’s wife – Charlotte Merz: „I plan to continue with my life as usual“ t-online.de
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- A big step for Olympic boxing: IOC „provisionally“ recognizes World Boxing sportschau.de
- Via video link from Switzerland: Blatter testifies as a witness in the ‘summer fairytale’ trial sportschau.de
- Next innovation on the horizon? Images on stadium screens: DFB discusses VAR revolution n-tv.de
- Farewell party at the Bielefeld Alm: Werder Bremen are stuck in the „shit“ after being knocked out of the cup n-tv.de
- Acapulco: Return to the scene of shame – Zverev is happy to have achieved hard-fought opening victory n-tv.de
- „I know what I’m capable of“: Darts legend James Wade makes attention-grabbing title statement sport.de
- Para Ski Alpin: Monoskier Forster misses out on next victory in Bardonecchia sportschau.de
Apple has explaining to do: Dictation function in the iPhone turned „racist“ into „Trump“ spiegel.de