Bild: Lego brick stuck in ear for 20 years | Legostein steckte 20 Jahre im Ohr
FAZ: Left wing of SPD and Jusos challenge coalition agreement | Linker SPD-Flügel und Jusos stellen Koalitionsvertrag infrage
Funke: Only one in four apartments in Berlin is affordable for people on average incomes | Nur jede vierte Wohnung in Berlin ist für Normalverdiener bezahlbar
Handelsblatt: Anderson’s appeal | Andersons Appell
RND: The SPD, the coalition and the hated phrase ’no alternative‘ | Die SPD, die Koalition und das verhasste Wort der Alternativlosigkeit
SZ: Merz wants to enable Taurus deployment | Merz will „Taurus“-Einsatz ermöglichen
Tagesspiegel: Jusos reject coalition agreement – SPD leadership fights for approval | Jusos lehnen Koalitionsvertrag ab – SPD-Spitze kämpft um Zustimmung
taz: Only „Yes“ means „Yes“ | Nur Ja heißt Ja
Welt: Friedrich Merz’s new ‚upper limit‘ on aslyum seekers – and his chances of success | Friedrich Merz‘ neue Obergrenze und ihre Chancen
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner prepares for the election of the Chancellor on May 6: The Bundestag is scheduled to meet on that Tuesday. Klöckner is preparing to convene parliament for the election of the Chancellor. The prerequisite for the special session of the Bundestag is that the coalition agreement is finally approved by then. rp-online.de, n-tv.de
Union and SPD discuss minimum wage increase: Wiebke Esdar of the SPD’s parliamentary left wing called the latest statements by CDU leader Friedrich Merz a provocation. She firmly believes that the increase to 15 euros will come next year, she said on DLF radio. SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch and Labor Minister Hubertus Heil expressed similar views. Merz said over the weekend that there was „no legal automatism“ in the minimum wage increase. Merz and CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann said the minimum wage commission was responsible for setting the rate for workers. deutschlandfunk. de, faz.net
SPD leadership seeks approval for coalition agreement: Starting Tuesday, the approximately 358,000 SPD members will be able to vote for or against the coalition agreement over a period of two weeks. zdf.de
EU announces 1.6 billion euros in new financial aid for Palestinians: The aid for the Palestinian Authority should be spread over three years and is linked to reforms, said EU Middle East Commissioner Dubravka Šuica. The EU thus reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and its commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution, she said. stern.de, zdf.de
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calls for „maximum pressure“ on Russia: The killing in Ukraine will not stop, Kallas said in Luxembourg at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Kallas condemned the heavy missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy; this shows that Russia only wants war. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was mocking the goodwill of the United States to end the war in Ukraine. UN Secretary General Antonia Guterres called on Russia to immediately end attacks on civilians. orf.at
Bild-Sonntagstrend by Insa: CDU 25.5 percent (+1), AfD 24.5 percent, SPD 16 percent, Greens 11 percent (+0.5), Left Party 10 percent (-0.5), BSW 4.5 percent, FDP 3.5 percent (-0.5), others 5 percent. bild.de
Government defends further flights for Afghans to Germany: Security has top priority for the flights, the Interior Ministry said. All passengers will be strictly checked before entry. The Foreign Office pointed out that around 2,600 people from Afghanistan had a binding notification of admission to Germany. Recently, there was criticism from the Union parties of the flights for former local staff of German institutions in Afghanistan and for people who are particularly at risk. The black-red coalition wants to end the Afghanistan program. n-tv.de, tagesschau.de
Russians seeks return of shadow fleet ship „Eventin“: According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, an appeal has been filed against the seizure and confiscation of the ship and its cargo. Until a decision is made, further enforcement measures must be put on hold. The tanker is listed by the EU as part of Russia’s shadow fleet to circumvent sanctions and was found adrift north of Rügen in mid-January. The tanker was seized and confiscated by German customs. n-tv.de, tagesschau.de
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder has to cut short his trip to India due to illness. According to the state chancellery, Söder cannot continue with the travel program due to a gastrointestinal infection. Head of the State Chancellery Florian Herrmann has taken over the leadership of the delegation. sueddeutsche.de, faz.net
More News:
- Bavaria: New arrest warrant issued for Munich attack driver, including an additional two counts of murder. br.de
- Hamburg: Red-Green coalition talks make progress on more policy areas. ndr.de
- NRW: Municipalities to receive faster assistance with cyber attacks. wdr.de
- Sachsen-Anhalt: Intel releases building land in Magdeburg for corn and sunflowers. heise.de
- Saxony: State urges cuts to ARD and ZDF as part of the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty. lvz.de
- Schleswig-Holstein: SPD criticizes state government’s track record on inclusion. n-tv.de
- Lower Saxony: Low radiation at the Gorleben interim storage facility. n-tv.de
- Saxony: Teacher leaves school after receiving right-wing extremist threats. zeit.de
- Berlin: Senate and BVG consider extending knife bans to public transport after an attack in Charlottenburg. rbb24.de
EU imposes sanctions on Iranian judicial officials for serious human rights violations: Among those affected are the head of the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran and senior judicial officials from Fars province. The EU remains deeply concerned about the arbitrary arrest of EU citizens and dual nationals in Iran. In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in executions in the past year. The sanctions include, among other things, the freezing of assets and entry bans. faz.net
Turkish court rejects release of deposed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu: The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that judges at the Istanbul Criminal Court had ruled against the appeal of Imamoglu’s lawyers. Imamoglu was arrested in March on corruption charges. Shortly thereafter, a court ordered his pre-trial detention. The CHP politician is considered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest domestic rival. His arrest is considered politically motivated. Imamoglu’s arrest sparked massive protests in Turkey.
Hungary’s parliament curtails LGBTQ+ rights: The country’s constitution now states that a person can only be defined as either a man or a woman. 140 members of parliament voted in favor of the motion put forward by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, while 21 voted against. Non-binary people will therefore not be recognized as such. The government will also be able to ban LGBTQ+ communities from holding public events. Numerous people are demonstrating against the constitutional amendment in front of the parliament building. tagesspiegel.de, t-online.de, spiegel.de, sueddeutsche.de
Germany pledges 125 million euros in aid for Sudan: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the greatest humanitarian disaster of our time is unfolding in Sudan. The money is to support international and local organizations that distribute food and medicine. A conference in London on Tuesday will also address a political solution to the conflict. According to UN figures, more than 30 million people in Sudan are dependent on humanitarian aid. zdf.de, handelsblatt.com
South Korea’s deposed president Yoon Suk Yeol rejects charges of rebellion at the start of the criminal proceedings: The public prosecutor’s office is accusing the 64-year-old of high treason, among other things. Yoon declared martial law in December in a budget dispute, plunging the country into a political crisis. Characterizing a non-violent event that lasted only a few hours as a revolt seems legally unfounded, Yoon said. Furthermore, the National Assembly’s request to lift martial law was immediately implemented. zeit.de
President Donald Trump is offering carmakers a temporary exemption from his tariffs: Companies need a little more time to convert their supply chains to the production of parts in the US; he is therefore looking into how the companies can be helped. He did not provide any details. At the beginning of April, Trump imposed a flat 25 percent tariff on car imports to the US. From May onwards, tariffs will also be imposed on imported components. zdf.de, rnd.de, spiegel.de
More news:
- France: Algeria expels French diplomat following the arrest in Paris of an Algerian consular employee. faz.net
- France plans closer cooperation with Morocco on deportations. n-tv.de
- Poland: Slavomir Mentzen of the Confederation party, which includes liberal economists, right-wing extremists, monarchists and Eurocritics, has a chance of reaching the runoff in the presidential election. faz.net
- Serbia: Regime steps up intimidation tactics in battle against students. derstandard.de
- Greece: Shipowners hit hard by billions in fines for Chinese freighters in the trade war between Washington and Beijing. rnd.de
- Netherlands: Speed limit on highways increased again after steep reduction. t-online.de
- Great Britain: Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s adviser on trial for betting fraud. spiegel.de
- Czech Republic: Russian Orthodox Church transfers ownership of property to Hungary to avoid sanctions. tagesschau.de
- Nigeria: Nearly 50 dead in new attacks on villages in Plateau State; pastoralist-farming conflict over arable land. derbund.ch
- China: Ban on rare earth exports; Europe also affected. n-tv.de
- Japan: Army spokesman Yuki Sakata: „Nuclear deterrence works“. tagesspiegel.de
- Peru: State of emergency extended in parts of the country due to high number of murders. web.de
- Brazil: Ex-head of state Jair Bolsonaro is being treated in intensive care. spiegel.de
Dax CEOs earn significantly more in 2024: According to a report in the Handelsblatt, CEOs received a total of more than 230 million euros in compensation, which is around 10 percent more than in the previous year. The net profit of their companies was only around one percent higher than in the previous year. Particularly large salary increases were recorded by Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery and SAP CEO Christian Klein. Klein was also the top earner among CEOs, with almost 19 million euros, followed by Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius and Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume. handelsblatt.com, tagesschau.de
US share of German export business at two-decade high: According to the Federal Statistical Office, around one tenth of all exports went to the US last year. This is the highest figure in more than 20 years. In some sectors, the share was even higher. In particular, the pharmaceutical industry, medical technology, automotive engineering and mechanical engineering had above-average export quota to the US. Tariffs on German exports to the US would hit these industries particularly hard. zdf.de, tagesschau.de
More news:
- René Obermann to head the SAP supervisory board. faz.net
- Antitrust proceedings against Facebook parent Meta have begun in the US. zdf.de
- Meta announces AI training with EU user data. spiegel.de
- Startups are raising more venture capital. handelsblatt.com
- Unicredit: Cartel office allows increase of shares in Commerzbank. faz.net
- Mathias Stamm is to become editor-in-chief of Deutsche Welle. dwdl.de
Almost one hundred physical attacks on journalists in Germany last year: The number has reached a new high since the beginning of a long-term study ten years ago, according to the European Center for Press and Media Freedom in Leipzig. Freedom of the press in Germany is increasingly being challenged. More than 70 of the cases of physical attacks occurred at demonstrations. Of these, 57 occurred at pro-Palestinian gatherings. According to the study, 20 cases could be assigned to the right-wing spectrum and three cases to the left-wing spectrum. freiepresse.de
More news:
- Media lawyer Christian Schertz takes action against Titanic’s subscription offer meedia.de
- „Doomscrolling“ and „Digital Detox“: Why news consumption is political uebermedien.de
- Spotify audiobooks are coming to Germany golem.de
- Music festival: Céline Dion’s appearance at the Swiss ESC remains uncertain saarbruecker-zeitung.de
- „Bodyguard“ remake: Taylor Swift director is said to be on board musikexpress.de
- „The White Lotus“ actress: Aimee Lou Wood calls SNL parody „mean and unfunny“ spiegel.de
- Blue Origin has landed again: Katy Perry shot into space – dramatic gesture on landing – she held up a daisy and then kissed the ground, presumably in reference to her daughter Daisy’s first name t-online.de
What the new coalition means for expats: This week at Plus Forty Nine, we discuss Germany’s new government and what it means for expats. We talked to political consultant Peter-Alberto Behrens about the coalition’s plans regarding citizenship, asylum policy, and integration. With his bicultural perspective and many years of experience, he explains what could change for immigrants.
The cultural segment turns to Easter: We take a look at how Germans celebrate Easter, from traditions to chocolate bunnies. Plus, there’s a new edition of Ask a German, this time about the Germans‘ fast walking speed. Tune in now at 7 p.m. on JazzRadio or now online.
- Zwanziger likely to be appointed on April 30: Netzer and Linsi remain on the witness list in the DFB trial kicker.de
- „Currently above everyone else“: Khedira names CL favorites FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain and warns FC Bayern sport.de
- After away game in Ulm: Magdeburg fans riot at truck stop near Nuremberg sportschau.de
- Women’s World Championship in the Czech Republic: German ice hockey women advance to the quarter-finals after beating Hungary 4-1 sportschau.de
- Formula 1 in Bahrain after Piastri’s victory: The duel between the McLaren drivers begins sueddeutsche.de
- Van der Poel speaks of „attempted manslaughter“ after bottle is thrown 33 kilometers from the finish line – culprit turns himself in spiegel.de
How Switzerland is trying to save the holes in Emmental cheese – For years, the number and size of the holes in Emmental cheese have been shrinking. The reason? The milk has become too clean. sueddeutsche.de