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Germany

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Germany. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Berlin

Head of State

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Head of Government

Chancellor Olaf Scholz

The headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Photo: AFP

European Union

ECB cuts interest rates for 7th time in a row amid global trade tension

The cut was widely expected by analysts given the sudden shadow cast by Trump’s April 2 announcement of unexpectedly high tariffs.

18 Apr 2025 - 1:06AMvideocam

Tourism

Weimar, the German city rich in literary and architectural history

17 Apr 2025 - 4:00PM

China-EU relations

EU’s ‘trade bazooka’ was meant for China. Could the US be hit instead?

17 Apr 2025 - 5:01PMvideocam

Crime

Berlin doctor charged with murder of 15 palliative care patients

He allegedly administered an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxer to the patients without their knowledge or consent.

16 Apr 2025 - 5:49PMvideocam

Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. A Berlin doctor who was part of a nursing service’s end-of-life care team was initially suspected of the deaths of just four patients. That number has crept higher since last summer. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine war

Trump blames Biden and Zelensky for failing to prevent war in Ukraine

‘President Zelensky and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin,’ Trump wrote on social media.

15 Apr 2025 - 9:32AMvideocam

Diplomacy

My Take | It’s time for the European Union to do a ‘Kissinger’ with China

If Brussels wants to achieve ‘strategic autonomy’ in what has become a multipolar world, the only option that it has is to draw closer to Beijing.

13 Apr 2025 - 9:00PM

Food and Drinks

Why white asparagus is such an underground success in Germany

Thicker than the green version, and with a more subtle taste, white asparagus is a traditional springtime favourite of cooks in Germany.

12 Apr 2025 - 1:15PM

White asparagus is a spring favourite in Germany, and its delicate flavour is the result of it being grown underground. Photo: EPA-EFE

China trade

US, EU, German business chambers in China brace for ‘long-lasting’ trade war

Some say China-US strife offers an opportunity for other third countries to re-evaluate their relationship with China.

12 Apr 2025 - 1:00PMvideocam

Environment

‘Ant-agonistic’: aggressive ants threaten Germany’s infrastructure

The ants – in colonies with hundreds of thousands to millions of individuals – have also been noticed elsewhere in Europe, including France.

11 Apr 2025 - 9:52PMvideocam

Ukraine war

European nations promise to send Ukraine billions more to help fight Russia

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said he was ‘thankful’ and said a key issue was strengthening his country’s air defences.

11 Apr 2025 - 9:26PMvideocam

Children play near an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

China trade

China kicks off hunt for rare quartz, with hi-tech aspirations in mind

The critical mineral, used to produce silicon, is a foundational material for strategic industries like semiconductors and photovoltaics – and now it can be mined in China.

10 Apr 2025 - 9:51PMvideocam

China is searching for reserves of a rare quartz that is critically important in the production of solar panels. Photo: AFP

United States

US-Russian citizen released in Moscow-Washington prisoner swap

Ksenia Karelina was convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about US$52 to a charity aiding Ukraine.

10 Apr 2025 - 7:19PMvideocam

Angela Merkel

Germany’s Merz gets coalition deal, eyes reviving growth as global trade war looms

Merz, who called the US an unreliable ally, has already vowed to build up defence spending as Europe faces a hostile Russia.

9 Apr 2025 - 10:12PMvideocam

China-EU relations

EU frets over flood of Chinese imports as Trump stokes tariff war

Advocates for easier trade with Beijing, including Spain, face off against Poland and others backing protections against Chinese imports.

8 Apr 2025 - 2:07AMvideocam

EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional relations and Transparency, Maros Sefcovic attends a Foreign Affairs council in Trade format at the EU Council building in Luxembourg on Monday. Photo: AFP

War and conflict

Ex-German president warns of far-right at anniversary of Buchenwald liberation

Christian Wulff called Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp ‘a place of systematic dehumanisation’ as he warned against radicalisation.

7 Apr 2025 - 9:02AM

Former German president Christian Wulff (right) and German historian Jens-Christian Wagner attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Commodities

Will the free-falling oil price reorder the world’s energy landscape?

Brent crude, the global benchmark, tumbled 13 per cent through Thursday and Friday to just over US$66 a barrel.

5 Apr 2025 - 11:54AM

Nato

Marco Rubio says US committed to Nato but tells allies to spend more

Trump has demanded Nato more than double its current spending target to five per cent of GDP – more than any, including the US, spend now.

3 Apr 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

Currencies

Dollar weakens on concern Trump’s tariffs would batter US economy

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell as much as 1 per cent to the lowest since November, with the US dollar sliding sharply versus the yen and Swiss franc.

3 Apr 2025 - 5:22PM

Nikkei 225 stock benchmark and the dollar-yen exchange rate on display outside a Tokyo brokerage on April 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters.

United States

My Take | Once again, pointless sanctions are imposed on Hong Kong by America

Washington has neither moral nor legal standing to punish top officials, from the secretary for justice to a now retired commissioner of police.

2 Apr 2025 - 9:00PM

TikTok

TikTok Shop to expand to Germany, France, Italy next week amid uncertainty in US

The move marks a major expansion of the short-video app’s e-commerce operations in Europe as it faces a looming ban in its largest market.

28 Mar 2025 - 5:23PMvideocam

Celebrity children

Meet tennis star Boris Becker’s handsome fashion model son, Elias Becker

Tennis powerhouse Boris Becker remarried last September, with his sons Elias and Noah by his side – ‘I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house,’ he said of the boys’ wedding speech.

26 Mar 2025 - 6:00PM

Meet Wimbledon star Boris Becker’s handsome son, Elias Becker. Photo: @eliasbecker/Instagram

Defence

Opinion | Why Germany can’t afford not to spend billions on defence

For decades, Germans took Russia’s energy, China’s market and the US’ security guarantee for granted. They can’t be so complacent any more.

25 Mar 2025 - 8:30PM

An honour guard of the German armed forces Bundeswehr marches during a ceremony in honour of soldiers deployed to Mali, in front of the German Ministry of Defence in Berlin in 2024. Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to oversee a spending surge to boost German infrastructure and its armed forces. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Opinion | As US-led globalisation falters, China-Europe relations can flourish

Western leaders committed to the rules-based order must promote dialogue with Beijing while quietly upholding values now rejected by Washington.

24 Mar 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Nordic nations

Denmark issues travel warning for transgender people going to US

Germany has also updated its travel advisory after several of its citizens were detained at the US border.

22 Mar 2025 - 3:57AMvideocam

Food and Drinks

Why Germany’s Wine Queen could be dethroned by a man for the first time

Since 1949, only women have been allowed to compete in an annual contest that crowns ambassadors for Germany’s wine industry. Not any more.

19 Mar 2025 - 5:15PM

Charlotte Weihl, the current German Wine Queen. Photo: Instagram/_charlottewe_

Technology

Opinion | Forget Doge, it’s Musk’s Tesla that looks in need of a rescue

Once an audacious pioneer in electric cars, Tesla is being out-competed by cheaper, more innovative rivals and suffering by association with Musk.

19 Mar 2025 - 2:15PM

Elon Musk wields a chainsaw on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Centre on February 20 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, US. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Ukraine war

Trump, Putin agree on partial Ukraine ceasefire. Kyiv wants details

Ukraine ceasefire talks set for Sunday in Jeddah after Trump and Russian president hold lengthy phone call.

19 Mar 2025 - 4:00PM

Donald Trump

Germany approves Merz’s historic spending surge for defence, economic growth

Merz has a windfall of hundreds of billions of euros to ramp up investment after two years of contraction in Europe’s largest economy.

19 Mar 2025 - 12:09AM

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