published by Sigrid Arteaga
Contributor: Imogen Goodman and Ulrich Kraus
Bild: Ski legend Maria Höfl-Riesch: The quick divorce | Ski-Legende Maria Höfl-Riesch: Die Blitz Scheidung
FAZ: Sharp decline in irregular entries into the EU | Starker Rückgang der irregulären Einreisen in die EU
Funke: Senate bypasses decision on investments | Senat umgeht Entscheidung bei den Investitionen
Handelsblatt: Blume’s Porsche problem | Blumes Porsche-Problem
RND: Would the US military stop Trump’s invasion plans if it refused to follow orders? | Befehl verweigert – würde das US-Militär Trumps Invasionspläne stoppen?
SZ: Trump attacks California’s governor | Trump greift Kaliforniens Gouverneur an
Tagesspiegel: War readiness „top priority“ – Pistorius calls for higher defense spending | Kriegstüchtigkeit „oberstes Gebot“ – Pistorius fordert höhere Verteidigungsausgaben
taz: Wind power stronger than the AfD | Windkraft stärker als die AfD
Welt: Ukraine war: 300 North Korean soldiers likely killed | Ukraine-Krieg: Wohl 300 nordkoreanische Soldaten getötet
Top-News
Gaza negotiations could be nearing agreement: In the talks on a ceasefire and a hostage deal, there are increasing signs of an agreement. US President Joe Biden said in Washington that the talks were on the verge of bearing fruit. He said he was looking forward to speaking soon with Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah as-Sisi. Egypt is one of the mediator countries. Reuters reported from participants that an agreement was „as close as never before“. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a solution was closer than ever. A meeting is planned for Tuesday with top representatives of Israel’s secret service, the Qatari government and the envoys of Biden and his successor Donald Trump. The meeting is to take place in Doha. spiegel.de, web.de, n-tv.de
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun appoints ICJ President Nawaf Salam as new head of government: Aoun had previously held talks with members of parliament in Beirut. According to him, the President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Nawaf Salam, has secured the support of enough parliamentarians. He can thus begin forming a new government. The nomination is seen as a setback for Iran-backed Hezbollah, which favored acting Prime Minister Nadschib Miqati, who has been in office for more than two years. n-tv.de
Ukraine’s only coking coal mine in Pokrowsk is said to have ceased production: In view of Russia’s advance on the strategically important city in eastern Ukraine, production at the plant there has been halted. The mine is the only one in the country that produces coking coal for Ukraine’s once great steel industry. According to the Ukrainian military analysis blog DeepState, Moscow’s troops were recently less than two kilometers from one of the mine shafts. handelsblatt.com
Group of five around Germany and France plans closer arms cooperation with Ukraine: Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said after a meeting with his counterparts from Poland, France, Great Britain and Italy in Warsaw that this had already been achieved, for example, in the construction of drones. If the money and the defense capacities for production are there, then Ukraine itself can supply its own troops with material and weapons at a quicker rate. Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stressed that the possibilities for such cooperation have not yet been exhausted. sueddeutsche.de, faz.net
Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects criticism from the Greens over the delivery of weapons to Ukraine: Scholz said that twelve billion euros have been earmarked for Ukraine in the draft budget for the current year; however, if the aim is to increase this amount, he said, it must be clear where the money is to come from. He is opposed to financing this through cuts to pensions or local government. Earlier, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had denied that the chancellor was blocking further aid to Ukraine. tagesschau.de, handelsblatt.com
Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser calls for one-time home visit rule for Syrian refugees: A voluntary return to Syria will only be made possible if people can get an idea of the situation on the ground, she said. For example, whether their houses are still standing or whether family members are still alive. Together with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, pragmatic options are being explored that have no negative impact on the protection status of refugees. In view of the fall of the Assad regime, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already called a few days ago for an exemption for trips back to Syria. In principle, people granted protection in Germany risk losing their status if they travel back to their countries of origin. rnd.de, n-tv.de
Thuringia’s domestic intelligence agency president Stephan Kramer wants report on the AfD from the Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution before the election: He referred to the legal mandate of the domestic intelligence agency to inform the public on Deutschlandfunk. In addition, the AfD lost all shyness at its federal party conference at the weekend and clearly showed its ethnic nationalism and anti-constitutionalism. Kramer called the behavior of the domestic intelligence agency highly regrettable. With its decision to only publish the date after the election, the agency is invoking its duty of neutrality and the need for restraint in the election campaign. deutschlandfunk.de
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomes the release of German-Iranian women’s rights activist Nahid Taghavi from custody in Tehran: Baerbock spoke of a great moment of joy that the 70-year-old could finally embrace her family again. The activist was released on Monday after more than four years in prison. She was arrested in October 2020 during a visit to Tehran on charges of propaganda and subsequently sentenced to more than ten years in prison. According to Amnesty International, she was held in solitary confinement for several months and tortured. Her health had progressively deteriorated. tagesschau.de, zdf.de
Investor advocacy group criticizes Economics Minister Robert Habeck’s call for social security contributions to be levied on capital income: Habeck had criticized on ARD that capital income is exempt from social security contributions. However, work should not be more heavily taxed than income from capital. Therefore, he suggested that these sources of income should also be subject to social security contributions. The Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger (a German investor advocacy group) stated that the push for social security contributions on interest and stock dividends would affect the middle class and skilled workers. Those most affected would be those who try to make private provisions for their retirement, as well as the self-employed and start-ups; millionaires, on the other hand, would not be affected because social security contributions are subject to assessment limits. spiegel.de, welt.de
Union chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz wants to give industrial preservation priority over climate protection: He only supports the coal and gas phase-out if industrial preservation is ensured. At the same time, Merz emphasized at the conference of the party’s social committees for works councils in Bochum that he explicitly supports the phase-out of fossil fuels; he does not believe in a return to nuclear power. faz.net, n-tv.de
EU states take back only a fraction of migrants from Germany: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees announced that Germany had submitted almost 13,000 requests for returns to Italy in 2024, around 10,500 of which were approved, but only three people were actually transferred from Germany to Italy. The situation is similar with Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia. The EU’s Dublin Regulations stipulate that the member state responsible for an asylum procedure is, in principle, the one in which the applicant first set foot on European soil. welt.de, web.de
Federal Commissioner for Victims Roland Weber assumes that between 600 and 800 people were affected by the attack in Magdeburg: He said that this included people who had lost loved ones and those who had been injured, as well as eyewitnesses who were still distressed by what they had seen, and first responders. tagesschau.de
EU greenhouse emissions sink in 2023: With 3.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the bloc produced seven percent less than in the previous year, according to Eurostat in Luxembourg. Since 2013, there has been an 18 percent decrease overall. At 43 percent, the largest savings were in the areas of power generation, gas and steam supply, and air conditioning. Households produced 14 percent less CO2 than ten years ago. zeit.de
More regional news:
FPÖ and ÖVP want to avert EU deficit proceedings for Austria with austerity package: FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl said that a package of savings of around 6.3 billion euros had been agreed in principle; the details are still being worked on. They could build on that and start coalition negotiations in other areas as well. Christian Stocker, acting leader of the ÖVP, said that they had not only agreed on a consolidation for 2025, but also on a seven-year restructuring plan. tagesschau.de
Turkish President Recaps Tayyip Erdogan complains about low birth rate in Turkey: In Ankara, Erdogan announced, among other things, interest-free loans for young married couples, support payments and housing offers as incentives for starting a family. He reiterated his call for families to have at least three children. At the same time, the Turkish president warned against gays, lesbians and transsexuals. They are part of a foreign conspiracy to undermine society in his country with „perverted ideologies“. zdf.de
Terrorists kill at least 40 farmers in Nigeria: Both the terrorist group Boko Haram and the IS militia are active in the northern state of Borno. The region’s governor, Babagana Zulum, condemned the attacks and called on the Nigerian military to take decisive action against the perpetrators. He called on farmers and fishermen in the region to stay within certain corridors that the military has deemed safe. Boko Haram and the regional IS affiliate have parts of Borno under their control and regularly attack the civilian population. tagesschau.de, spiegel.de
More news:
Business
Agriculture fears further spread of foot and mouth disease: Farmers‘ Association President Joachim Rukwied said that everything must be done to contain the outbreak. The Ministry of Agriculture said the specific economic impact is still unclear. zdf.de
Farmers struggle to meet increasing demand for organic meat and milk: Too few farmers are switching to organic farming, complains Bioland President Jan Plagge in the „Augsburger Allgemeine“. The farmers lack clear signals for restructuring their farms. For 2025, consumers will have to live with shortages. focus.de
Retirement of baby boomers exacerbates shortage of skilled labor: According to Destatis, bus and tram drivers are particularly affected. In these occupations, 44 percent of employees are older than 55 years. The percentage of older employees is also above average in landscaping, bricklaying, and butchery, as well as among truck drivers. The German Economic Institute estimates that almost 20 million employees in Germany will retire in the next twelve years, while only about 12.5 million younger employees will take their place. zdf.de
More from the worlds of business, technology and science:
Iranian founds AI company for language models: On PlusFortyNine, we talk to young entrepreneur Leo Kaveh, who has just founded his first startup in Germany. In our program for expats and foreign professionals, we take a look at the German government’s new visa portal, as well as the cultural perspective of fireworks at the turn of the year. Today at 7 pm on JazzRadio Berlin 106.8 or now on. plusfortynine.de
Ten million euro surprise: Small French town inherits millions from namesake. n-tv.de