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
Around the world, more people are growing up as only children; marrying late, if at all; having children late, if at all; and living alone in old age. Photo: Shutterstock
China society

Outside In | Plight of Hebei’s freezing elderly shows urgent need for pension reform

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

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Science

Could China’s Yaogan-47 satellite have a lens as wide as the Hubble Telescope?

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Japan

Japan’s next-generation fighter jet project gets boost as European rival stalls

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Greenland

Europeans send military personnel to Greenland in message to Trump

Initial deployments are small, but Denmark is planning a ‘larger, more permanent’ Nato presence.

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A Royal Danish Air Force plane carrying personnel in military fatigues after landing at Nuuk airport in Greenland. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong

Legal Tales | Time to end bid-rigging in Hong Kong with criminalisation, tougher enforcement

In the wake of the Tai Po fire, an all-too-common practice in building management and maintenance comes under the spotlight – and must be redressed.

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India

Germany’s Merz backs India-EU trade deal during first official visit to Asia

The German chancellor and India’s Modi have signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral trade and enhancing defence cooperation.

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Iran

Iran hits back as Germany’s chancellor says leadership facing ‘final days’

Germany’s Friedrich Merz warns that a government relying on violence is ‘effectively finished’.

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Iranians at a pro-government rally in Tehran on January 12. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters
China-EU relations

Opinion | EU-China ties are stuck between interdependence and rivalry

To break the pattern of trade escalations with Beijing, Brussels must move beyond tariffs and invest in its own competitiveness.

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South Korea

South Koreans see joy in parenthood but fear economic strain

While 74 per cent see joy in children, 92 per cent say economic burdens impact family planning – a factor in South Korea’s record-low birth rate.

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Israel-Gaza war

Hamas says will dissolve its Gaza government when Palestinian body takes over

Militant group agrees to cede power to technocratic committee under Trump-brokered plan, but silence remains over disarmament.

Palestinian armed fighters in Gaza during the handover of Israeli captives in October last year. Photo: dpa
India

India’s Modi to host German leader to bolster trade, defence ties

Merz’s visit is his first to an Asian country since he took office, ahead of a planned EU-India summit and as they work on a free-trade agreement.

A poster featuring German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Greenland

Britain in talks with Nato allies over Arctic security as US eyes Greenland

UK minister says talks on the Arctic ‘business as usual’, while Trump posits having Greenland ‘one way or the other’.

Britain

1 dead in UK, 100,000 French homes without power as storms batter Europe

The man died on Friday after a tree fell onto a caravan in Cornwall, while some rail services in Germany remain affected by the storms.

Taiwan

Taiwan to fortify key facilities and ramp up ammunition output to ward off PLA

Senior official says the island must be ready for drones and new grey-zone tactics as Trump fuels doubts about US commitment.

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Taiwan will reinforce its defences against drones to withstand mainland military pressure, according to a senior Taiwanese official. Photo: AFP
Crime

Online predator ‘White Tiger’ on trial in Germany over crimes against children

Shahriar J is accused of driving a trans teen in the US to suicide, and of encouraging kids to make porn that he then used to exploit them.

A justice officer is pictured ahead of the start of the “White Tiger” trial in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday. Photo: AFP
European Union

EU agrees to ‘world’s largest’ free-trade zone with Mercosur pact after 25 years

The EU sealed the historic deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to form a 700 million strong bloc, defying fierce farmer opposition.

Artificial intelligence

Chinese robot vacuum maker Dreame sees AI-driven appliances run household chores

The firm’s ambition is to become a ‘world-class technology company’, global president Chang Xinwei says.

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Donald Trump

Trump plots to buy Greenland, as Nato ally Denmark seethes

The US president has repeatedly refused to rule out using force to seize the Arctic island, but his team says the first option is diplomacy.

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A Danish navy vessel patrols the waters off Nuuk, Greenland, in March 2025. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Ukraine’s allies agree to ‘robust’ security guarantees in push to end war

UK and France could deploy troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire, but a big question mark hangs over Russia’s response.

Greenland

Use of US military to acquire Greenland ‘always an option’, White House says

Trump’s preferred option might be to buy Greenland from Denmark, but the White House says military action is being considered.

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Obituaries

Anne Frank’s stepsister, Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, dies at 96

Schloss co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK foundation in 1990 to pass on the memory of the Holocaust to young people and combat prejudice.

Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust UK, has died aged 96, her foundation said on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Energy

Berlin mayor denounces attack on German capital’s power grid as ‘terrorism’

Mayor demands a federal manhunt for those who plunged 45,000 homes into darkness as the alleged perpetrators claim responsibility.

A man uses a torch in his flat during a blackout that left thousands of homes without electricity. Photo: Reuters
Switzerland

Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14.

Crime

Loot in German bank vault heist could exceed US$117 million

Hundreds of safe deposit box holders report losses from last month’s heist far exceeding insurance limits.

China-EU relations

‘Straddle the middle ground’: Europe’s hard choice over US attacks on Venezuela

Although they do not agree with Trump’s way of doing things, they seem to agree with his ultimate objectives, analyst in China says.

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US President Donald Trump, flanked by his top officials, addresses a press conference following the capture of the Venezuelan first couple, in Florida on January 3. Photo: Reuters
Energy

Cable fire cuts power to tens of thousands of Berlin homes and businesses

A suspected arson attack damaged the power cables. Authorities said 35,000 households will be without electricity until Thursday afternoon.

Police emergency staff at the site of a cable bridge fire in front of the Lichterfelde power plant on the Teltow Canal in Berlin, Germany on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Bangladesh

Asian Angle | Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?

As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness.

Science

As I see it | We can now watch our own genes dance

Modern biology reveals a real miracle: how broken pieces of molecules evolved into a species that became conscious of its own genetic make-up.

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