Author: staff

Endlich Gold für Deutschland? Das Bundeskabinett beschließt heute die Unterstützung für eine deutsche Olympia-Bewerbung für 2036, 2040 oder 2044. Gordon Repinski analysiert den anstehenden Wettstreit der Regionen zwischen München, Rhein-Ruhr, Hamburg und Kiel sowie Berlin und erklärt, warum Kanzler Friedrich Merz jetzt sechs Millionen Euro für den Bewerbungsprozess zusagt.  Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Christiane Schenderlein. Die für Sport zuständige Staatsministerin im Kanzleramt verteidigt erklärt, was in der möglichen  Bewerbung steckt, warum auch ein Olympia in Berlin 100 Jahre nach 1936 eine Chance sein kann und wie die Spiele als Motor für Infrastruktur und Bürokratieabbau dienen sollen.Außerdem: Die Zahl der ukrainischen Geflüchteten in…

LONDON — Rachel Reeves needs at least one good news story to sell. The under-fire U.K. finance minister is gearing up for a tricky budget next week — and slashing Brits’ energy bills could give her something to shout about. Officials in the Treasury and at No. 10 Downing Street are exploring ways to cut domestic energy costs by shifting some levies currently added to household bills into general taxation, said three government figures granted anonymity to discuss pre-budget planning.  Ministers are targeting a cut of between £150 and £170 on an annual household bill, according to one of the…

A new Military Mobility Transport Group, bringing together national authorities, the European Defence Agency and the European External Action Service, will oversee implementation. The communication also mentions forthcoming reviews of the Rail Service Facilities Regulation and the Air Services Regulation, as well as a 2026 evaluation of the flexible use of airspace rules and a pledge to promote dual-use airports. The text also foresees the creation of a solidarity pool and a strategic lift reserve enabling the shared use of EU and national transport assets in crises. Other initiatives include a military mobility catalogue of dual-use transport assets, a digital…

Many EU countries backed the démarche, with ministers from Denmark and Germany taking a prominent role in the announcement.  In a statement, Germany’s Environment Minister Carsten Schneider called on the meeting “to free ourselves from fossil fuels … it can help with access to energy, lowering prices for households and businesses and strengthening our energy security.” For the EU to back the initiative, all countries in the 27-nation bloc would need to unify behind it. The EU has recently undergone a tough process of setting new climate goals that drew opposition from countries with ties to coal and the car industry.…

Thousands of people marched in Athens on Monday to mark the anniversary of the 1973 student uprising that contributed to the fall of Greece’s military junta. Demonstrators walked toward the US Embassy, continuing a tradition held every year since 1974 to protest Washington’s support for the regime at the time. Authorities deployed thousands of riot police and closed major roads and metro stations along the route. The 1973 crackdown saw police and troops open fire on unarmed protesters, with an army tank breaking through the gates of the Polytechnic University.

Once the Parliament’s trade committee approves proposed safeguards, which could happen by Monday, the plenary will vote on the issue as soon as Tuesday on whether to submit them to an urgent procedure. And if a majority of lawmakers approve the accelerated procedure, the safeguards are expected to be put to a vote on Thursday, the officials explained, on condition of anonymity Under the safeguards, proposed in October, the European Commission would commit to closely monitor imports of sensitive farm products such as beef, poultry and sugar. This was perceived as an olive branch to assuage concerns from countries skeptical towards…

Published on 18/11/2025 – 21:03 GMT+1 •Updated 22:27 The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill on Tuesday to force the Justice Department to publicly release all files and evidence held against disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill passed with 427 votes in favour, five abstentions and one against. The vote was a remarkable display of approval for an effort that had struggled for months to overcome opposition from US President Donald Trump and Republican leadership. A small bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a petition in July to manoeuvre around House…

“The president has said so. All necessary preparations will soon be completed,” Peskov said.  Putin said the regime for Chinese citizens would be “reciprocal,” but didn’t share details. Russian nationals can currently remain in China for up to 30 days without a visa under a year-long trial policy announced by Beijing in September. Putin has been attempting to deepen relations with China since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, aiming to reduce the country’s reliance on the U.S. and Europe. Weeks before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow and Beijing signed a “no-limits” partnership that declared the two…

Alice and Ellen Kessler, German twin dancers and singers who rose to prominence in the 1950s, have died at the age of 89 in what Munich police described as a “joint suicide.” The sisters, who lived together in Grünwald near Munich, began their careers as teenagers and left East Germany in 1952 before joining a revue theater in West Germany. Their international careers advanced in Paris, and they later performed with artists including Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte. The Kessler twins continued to make stage appearances into their later years, remaining active in the entertainment industry for decades.

Russian drone strikes triggered multiple fires in the city of Dnipro on Tuesday, damaging more than 20 vehicles, several residential buildings, a media office and other civilian infrastructure, according to regional officials. Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne said its local office and radio studio suffered heavy damage, though no staff were inside at the time. Railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported damage to train cars and delays on several routes after strikes in Dnipro and the Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched four Iskander-M missiles and 114 strike and decoy drones overnight; air defenses intercepted 101, while 13 drones and four…