Germany
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Germany

Germany
Germany
The latest breaking news and stories on Germany, a country in northern Europe known as a federal republic, and the world’s fourth largest economy. Also covering Germany’s relationship with China and Europe, plus commentary and updates on Germany’s economy, politics, society and social issues.
Capital
Berlin
Head of State
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Head of Government
Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz
Flags flutter in front of the Arrow 3 air defence system in Annaburg, Germany. Photo: Reuters
Israel

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

With more countries increasingly turning to Israel for their air defence systems, they cannot afford to isolate the Middle East power.

Open Questions series

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on Europe’s ‘China shock’, US snub

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JD.com

Burglary of JD.com warehouse in France prompts investigation, speculation

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Social media

US hits 5 Europeans with visa bans in ‘censorship’ row

Former EU commissioner is among those barred as the US targets individuals it says are involved in censoring US social media platforms.

The most high-profile target was French ‌former business executive Thierry Breton, who served as the European commissioner. Photo: dpa
China trade

As Germany’s trade deficit with China nears new high, analysts warn of backlash

The widening gap, fuelled by a localisation push in China and fierce EV competition, is fuelling fears of political upheaval and rising protectionist sentiment in Berlin.

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Britain

Baidu teams up with Uber, Lyft for London robotaxi launch in first half of 2026

The Lyft robotaxi fleet will use Baidu’s fully electric Apollo Go RT6, which has been purpose-built for ride-sharing.

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US-China relations

Editorial | Less hostility towards China in new US security strategy is welcome

The plan’s watering down of America’s antagonism towards China bodes well for both nations and the world.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a meeting in the White House in Washington on December 2. Photo: CNP/Abaca Press/TNS
United States

German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space

Michaela Benthaus had thought her dreams of being an astronaut were over after she was badly injured in a mountain bike accident.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Editorial | Hong Kong well set to raise the global bar for Chinese medicine

A new blueprint and hospital could be just the right medicine to help achieve the central government’s goals for the Greater Bay Area.

Ukraine war

Rubio says won’t force deal on Ukraine as Europeans join Miami talks

Trump envoys are meeting officials from Kyiv and Moscow, but the question of ceding territory remains a stumbling block in negotiations.

Residents react at the site of a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Ukraine war

EU agrees US$106 billion loan for Ukraine, but without Russian assets

EU leaders reach a compromise after plans to use frozen Russian assets failed to gain backing.

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky after a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

US arms deal supports Taiwan’s effort to reassure Trump on defence burden

Weapons package underpins Taipei’s move towards an asymmetric ‘porcupine’ strategy as Washington presses allies to do more.

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China-EU relations

EU facing crunch talks over Ukraine, China and its economic future

EU leaders are set to meet amid growing concern in Brussels that the bloc’s divisions will impede meaningful action across a range of issues.

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Ukraine war

Putin vows victory in Ukraine as US and Russia prepare for Miami talks

Russian leader boasts of battlefield gains in Ukraine while his envoys prepare to meet the Americans this weekend.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Photo: Tass via dpa
European Union

EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban in victory for its carmakers

Europe pivots to bolstering its crisis-hit auto sector in a major green policy retreat.

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Fumes emerge from the exhaust pipe of a car with a combustible engine in Berlin. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Zelensky demands justice as nations back Ukraine reparations; will Russia pay?

US$232 billion in frozen Russian assets are central to a new Hague-based commission managing Ukraine war damage claims.

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European Union

As I see it | Russia will end the European Union, not the other way around

The end of history is more history, as Hegel might have said, with the postmodern unified EU potentially reverting back to rival modern states.

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Ukraine war

US officials say Washington agrees to give Ukraine security guarantees

‘Article 5-like’ security offer emerges at talks in Berlin in a bid to secure an end to the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Berlin. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK spy and military chiefs give threat assessment in ‘age of uncertainty’

Head of MI6 says ‘we are now operating in a space between peace and war’, as defence chief urges ‘whole nation’ prepare for evolving threats.

Volkswagen

Can Volkswagen regain its China market share with its US$3.5 billion bet?

Volkswagen, which once had 50 per cent of China’s vehicle market, has invested €3 billion in its largest R&D centre outside its home country in Hefei.

Japan

Japan’s retreat from global health funding hands China diplomatic opening

Tokyo’s over 52 per cent funding cut to a global body fighting Aids and malaria risks damaging its hard-won reputation as a ‘peace nation’.

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Mothers wait for their babies to receive a malaria vaccine in Malawi in 2019. Japan has slashed funding to a global health agency fighting infectious diseases. Photo: AFP
Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa
Ukraine war

Zelensky suggests Ukraine could drop Nato goal for security guarantees

The shift, which includes a call for ‘Article 5-like’ guarantees, comes as Washington presses for an end to the four-year Ukraine war.

Crime

Germany thwarts Islamist plot to ram vehicle into Christmas market

Authorities arrested five men over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria state.

Electric & new energy vehicles

High-end car sales sink in China as cheaper brands trump European marques

Many buyers were swayed by a 20,000 yuan (US$2,830 ) trade-in subsidy offered by the government for purchasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Porsche’s all-electric Macan Turbo sports car is displayed at the 17th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2024) on April 23, 2025. Photo: Shutterstock
Ukraine war

Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan

Europe worries a US plan for a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region may help Moscow to reinvade Kyiv.

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A Ukrainian soldier jumps down from a tank in Kharkiv, Ukraine, last month. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Asian Angle | Is the new Philippines-Germany defence pact built to last?

Rising anxieties over Beijing and Moscow have united Berlin and Manila in an axis that must now be institutionalised to ensure it endures.

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Japan

Opinion | From Singapore to Taiwan, Japan must face its past for Asia’s future

Lasting peace in Asia demands that Tokyo abandons its historical revisionism and refusal to acknowledge past crimes.

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