FAZ: Scholz calls Habeck’s 3.5 percent proposal half-baked | Scholz nennt 3,5-Prozent-Vorstoß Habecks unausgegoren
Funke: Berlin’s coalition divided over lessons of New Year’s Eve | Berlins Koalition uneins über Konsequenzen aus Silvester
Handelsblatt: Farewell to facts | Abschied von den Fakten
RND: Dispute over NATO defense spending: German politicians reject Trump’s 5 percent demand | Streit um Nato-Verteidigungsausgaben: Deutsche Politiker weisen Trumps 5-Prozent-Forderung zurück
SZ: Trump issues massive threat against Greenland and Panama | Trump droht Grönland und Panama massiv
Tagesspiegel: Zuckerberg follows Musk’s lead: Facebook and Instagram take the same line as Trump in the US | Zuckerberg macht den Musk: Facebook und Instagram gehen in den USA auf Trump-Linie
taz: Work requirement debate gets out of hand | Arbeitspflicht-Debatte läuft aus dem Ruder
Welt: Entrepreneurs present rescue plan for economy | Unternehmer präsentieren Rettungsplan für Wirtschaft
Top-News
Mark Zuckerberg ends fact-checking on Instagram and Facebook: The Meta boss is presenting the end of the collaboration with fact-checkers in the US as a “return to the roots of freedom of expression”. As with X, users are to moderate content themselves with “Community Notes”. Zuckerberg wants to simplify the rules for content, remove restrictions on the discussion of controversial topics such as migration and gender, and roll back the filters used to monitor these rules. These changes come as the company is undergoing a management shake-up and Zuckerberg is seeking to work with US President-elect Donald Trump to counter the censorship pressure other governments are exerting on US companies. heise.de, zeit.de, taz.de, faz.net
Majority reject Elon Musk’s interference: Almost three-quarters of those surveyed in the RTL/ntv trend barometer consider it inappropriate for the US multibillionaire to comment on German politics. A quarter find Musk’s statements on the federal election “okay”. A supportive majority for the X-owner is only found among the supporters of the AfD, at 66 percent. A majority of German citizens also believe that Musk’s praise for the AfD will benefit the party in the upcoming federal election at the end of February. 37 percent do not expect the support to influence the AfD’s chances in the election. n-tv.de
RTL/ntv Trendbarometer by Forsa: CDU/CSU 32 percent (+1), SPD 17 percent (+1), Greens 12 percent (-1), FDP 3 percent, AfD 19 percent, Left Party 3 percent (-1), BSW 4 percent, others 10 percent. n-tv.de
- Chancellor preference: Olaf Scholz 16 percent, Friedrich Merz 26 percent (-6), Robert Habeck 22 percent (+2).
Germany supports easing of Syria sanctions: Berlin sent two proposals to the governments of other EU member states before Christmas, the Financial Times reports. These proposals identified areas in which the sanctions against the country could be lifted. Berlin is pushing to facilitate financial transactions with Syrian government institutions and to ease restrictions on the transfer of private capital, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels. This step would have to be preceded by political reforms by the new Syrian leadership. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made similar comments during her visit to Damascus. The German proposals are to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on January 27. n-tv.de, lto.de
President-elect Donald Trump urges release of Hamas hostages: All hell will break loose in the Middle East, which won’t be good for Hamas, and it “will frankly be not be good for anybody” if the hostages aren’t back by his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump said. He offered no further details. At Mar-a-Lago, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s nominee for US envoy to the Middle East, expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached between Israel and Hamas at the current round of negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha. ariva.de
President-elect Donald Trump now views the war in Ukraine as “much more complicated”: Russia’s war could escalate further, Trump said, criticizing US President Joe Biden’s negotiating tactics. Asked how soon he plans to meet with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Trump said: “Well, I can’t tell you that, but I do know that Putin would like to meet. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to meet with him before the 20th, which I hate because you know people are getting killed every day – many, many young people.” welt.de
Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz expected at the CSU winter retreat: Together with Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Söder, the CSU MPs want to discuss strategies and content for the final phase of the federal election campaign. The CDU/CSU wants to make it clear that there will be a change in policy with the two sister parties in government and Merz as chancellor, explained the head of the CSU state group, Alexander Dobrindt.
Berlin’s Senator of the Interior Iris Spranger wants to restrict private fireworks at the turn of the year: She has written a letter to her colleagues in the federal states and to the interior minister Nancy Faeser. The aim is to achieve an opening clause in the Explosives Act. This would give federal states the option of banning fireworks across the board. Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner said that there was agreement that the current situation must be changed, but he again spoke out against a nationwide ban on fireworks. zeit.de
- Baden-Württemberg: Man arrested after fatal shooting at engineering firm in Bad Friedrichshall. n-tv.de
- Berlin: Investigations after pro-Palestinian protests and lecture hall occupation; university president calls police “threatening”. spiegel.de
- Bavaria: Munich Regional Court wants to speed up the Wirecard trial and limit itself to the ten most important charges, such as balance sheet manipulation and embezzlement; public prosecutor’s office must agree. faz.net
- Schleswig-Holstein: FDP accuses state of inadequate checks on battery manufacturer Northvolt. n-tv.de
- Hamburg: BSW’s articles of association put the threat of the election of the city-state’s parliament at risk. ndr.de
- Saxony-Anhalt: Demonstration in Dessau-Roßlau on the 20th anniversary of the death of Oury Jalloh. rnd.de
- Bavaria: State increases funding for specialist units against human trafficking. sueddeutsche.de
- Lower Saxony: SPD state MP Dennis True dies at 36. ndr.de
- Rhineland-Palatinate: Alleged Reichsbürger from the Rhein-Pfalz district has to stand trial. swr.de
- Bavaria: Police stop unauthorized projection of Habeck on Siegestor. n-tv.de
- Berlin: Federal Prosecutor’s Office charges men with attempted attack on Berlin-Grünau prison 30 years ago. rbb24.de
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl has invited the ÖVP to talks. The goal, he said, must be to regain the trust of the population and rebuild the country after years of decline. Kickl named strengthening the economy and comprehensively reducing debt as central points. Kickl emphasized that a prerequisite for a coalition with the ÖVP would be that the latter be prepared to implement consistent reforms. derstandard.at, n-tv.de
European Court of Human Rights condemns Greece for illegal expulsion of migrants: Greece has systematically expelled refugees at its external borders, the ECtHR ruled. The “pushback” of a Turkish national violated the European Convention on Human Rights because it was carried out without examining the dangers that the woman would face in Turkey. She had fled to Greece in 2019 and applied for asylum there after being convicted in Turkey for allegedly belonging to a banned organization. After her arrival in Greece, she said she was forced to board an inflatable boat and returned to her home country without her asylum claim being examined. The Court in Strasbourg ordered Greece to pay 20,000 euros in damages. lto.de, sueddeutsche.de
French President Emmanuel Macron commemorates the victims of the Islamist attack on “Charlie Hebdo” in 2015: In addition to Macron, his predecessor Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo also took part in the memorial service in front of the former editorial building in Paris. They laid flowers while the names of the victims were read. At the request of the relatives, there were no political speeches. There were also memorial services in other cities in France, for example in Lille, Besançon and Toulouse. web.de, tagesschau.de
Algeria accuses France of interfering in its internal affairs: The background to this is criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the imprisonment of Algerian-French writer Boualem Sansal. Macron had demanded his immediate release and accused Algeria of denying the seriously ill author treatment. Algeria’s foreign ministry said it disapproved of the statements. According to the government, Macron’s claim that the case of Sansal is about freedom of expression is false. Rather, it is about questioning Algeria’s territorial integrity – and that is punishable. Sansal had been critical of Algeria’s territorial claims and its policy on Western Sahara.
UN complains of increase in executions in Iran: Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk announced that according to current reports, 901 people were executed last year. In 2023, the number was 853. Türk emphasized that Iran must urgently stop the development. According to the Norwegian-based human rights organization Hengaw, most of the death sentences were handed down for drug-related offenses and murder. tagesschau.de
President-elect Donald Trump calls for an increase in defense spending by NATO member states to five percent: the sum of five percent of the gross domestic product is appropriate and can be afforded by all member states. An increase has been discussed within NATO for some time. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in November that two percent is not enough. zdf.de, tagesschau.de
President-elect Donald Trump wants to lift the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling: He wants to reverse the ban imposed by incumbent Joe Biden on the first day of his term in office. It is unclear whether Trump needs congressional legislation to do so. Trump has again spoken out against renewable energies and wants to stop the construction of wind turbines.
More news:
- EU: Inflation in the eurozone rises for the third month in a row. zeit.de
- EU: EU makes real-time transfers mandatory from January 9. heise.de
- EU: EU researchers want to detect critical raw materials in deep rock layers. electrive.net
- Sweden: Anchor of the freighter “Eagle S” recovered by navy. n-tv.de
- France: Front National founder Jean-Marie Le Pen is dead. tagesschau.de
- Denmark: Trump’s son provokes with “private visit” to Greenland. tagesschau.de
- Belgium: Negotiations to form a government continue; royal mandate extended. vrt.be
- Great Britain: Deepfakes with a sexual reference are to be made a criminal offense. heise.de
- Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis’s agreements on migration policy are paying off. faz.net
- Moldova: EU funding to alleviate gas crisis. euractiv.de
- Poland: Private broadcasters are part of the “critical infrastructure”; protection against takeover by foreign investors. faz.net
- Serbia: Secret service BIA illegally monitors activists, journalists and politicians. taz.de
- Hungary: Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff Antal Rogan put on US sanctions list over corruption allegations. derstandard.at
- Ghana: New President John Dramani Mahama sworn in; calls for a comprehensive fresh start. france24.com
- Sudan: US accuses RSF militia of genocide and imposes further sanctions. spiegel.de
- South Korea: Anti-corruption agency obtains new arrest warrant against suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol. zeit.de
- Tibet: Death toll rises to at least 126 after major earthquake. spiegel.de
- China: Chinese filmmaker jailed for documenting Covid protests. tagesschau.de
- Venezuela: Opposition politician Edmundo Gonzalez wants to return to Venezuela despite arrest warrant. spiegel.de
Business
Germany has almost halved greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990: Coal-fired power generation reached an all-time low. According to Agora Energiewende, CO2 emissions in 2024 were around 660 million tons. This is a decrease of three percent compared to the previous year and 48 percent compared to the reference year 1990. The climate protection measures, especially in the electricity sector, are having an increasingly strong effect. In the problem areas of transport and buildings, however, the European targets were not met. zdf.de, spiegel.de
Record revenues from CO2 tax again: According to the Federal Environment Agency, revenues rose by 21 percent to 13 billion euros. Since 2021, a CO2 tax has been levied on gasoline, diesel, heating oil and natural gas, among other things, which oil and gas companies pass on to customers. The aim is to create incentives to consume less fossil fuels. The price per ton of CO2 was 45 euros in 2024. At the beginning of the year, it was raised to 55 euros. zeit.de
More from the worlds of business, technology and science:
- VW management contributes 300 million to austerity plan. handelsblatt.com
- CES names Germany “Innovation Champion”. handelsblatt.com
- Experts do not expect a turnaround in the construction industry until 2026. n-tv.de
- Deutsche Post rejects demand for a substantial wage increase before collective bargaining begins. n-tv.de
- Doctors are Germany’s top earners, with a median salary of €98,750. n-tv.de
- Economist proposes 20-percent pay cut for the first week of illness. handelsblatt.com
- Getty Images merges with photo provider Shutterstock. heise.de
- Wage report: Asking for a raise pays off. sueddeutsche.de
- Deutsche Bahn: “The renovation of the Riedbahn was unnecessary”. wiwo.de
- Green revolution: Adidas recycles old clothes to make new polyester. capital.de
- Ruble rolls on – despite war in Ukraine: Czech brewers export more beer to Russia. deutsch.radio.cz
- Ten years after the terrorist attack on the editorial team: “Charlie Hebdo” publishes a special edition. t-online.de
- Protests help media workers: Persecuted journalists whose cases are publicized and supported by campaigns by Amnesty International and others get more than symbolic support. mmm.verdi.de
- Poland protects its broadcasting. faz.net
- Freedom of the press in Serbia: When the government is always listening. taz.de
- Apple News: Allegedly planning to expand into other countries. heise.de
- Merger of image agencies: Getty Images wants to buy Shutterstock. spiegel.de
- Austrian artist: Hundertwasser Museum in Uelzen planned for August. monopol-magazin.de
- Beethoven House acquires composer’s original manuscript. tagesspiegel.de
- AI images: When images are just bullshit. zeit.de. welt.de
- Duchess Meghan: Instagram comments disabled for a sad reason – said that reading negative comments about herself on the internet can be painful. gala.de
- “It’s a great joy”: Robert De Niro experiences late fatherhood. n-tv.de
Baby in Berlin is Germany’s first international maternity concierge. Their mission is to help international families in Germany during pregnancy, birth and the early family years by offering assistance with pregnancy questions, paperwork, mother care and validated contacts for a happy and stress-free start as a family in Germany!
- Top clubs in crisis: Opportunities and threats for FC Bayern – a whole series of top stars face an uncertain future. sport.de
- Owner’s high debt: Chinese record champions Guangzhou excluded from professional leagues. kicker.de
- Premier League stars make the leap – Golden Shoe: Mohamed Salah is the new frontrunner in the new year. kicker.de
- Russia and the IIHF: Ice hockey boss Luc Tardif is backing Donald Trump. faz.net
- Tennis: Alexander Bublik swears at Murray and Nadal. t-online.de
- Record world champion now in red – Ferrari adventure: what awaits Lewis Hamilton at his new start at the age of 40 – Leclerc fully integrated, Hamilton is the newcomer. sportbuzzer.de
- Vendée Globe: Herrmann masters repair to Malizia mast at a height of 29 meters. sportschau.de
$20,000 tip: How Post Malone sweetened a bartender’s Christmas. spiegel.de