German Armed Forces Digital Radio System Faces Alarming Shortcomings In Leak Test Report
A previously confidential report has revealed more serious problems with the Bundeswehr’s new radio system than were understood before. According to “Welt am Sonntag”, the paper that parliamentarians have been demanding from the Ministry of Defence for weeks, the military rated the equipment – last deployed in a field test in November – as…
March 20, 2026
DAX Launches Fresh Recovery Bid While Investors Stay on the Sidelines
The German benchmark index, the Dax, began a new recovery attempt early Friday. At around 9:30 a.m. local time it was trading near 23,120 points, a level 1.2 % above yesterday’s close. The highest‑gaining names were Infineon, Heidelberg Materials and Bayer, while Qiagen, Deutsche Börse and Scout24 fell to the bottom of the list. “Today the Dax might recover…
March 20, 2026
Israel Launches Nighttime Attack on Multiple Syrian Targets
Israel carried out strikes on several targets in Syria during the night leading up to Friday. The Israeli forces announced that they had hit a command centre and weapons stored in military facilities belonging to the Syrian government in the southern part of the country. According to Israel, the attack was a response to the assault on civilians of the Druze community in…
March 20, 2026
Justice Minister Announces Bill to Close Gap in German Criminal Law on Digital Violence
Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) will close a major gap in German criminal law by making the creation and distribution of sexualised deepfakes expressly punishable. Millions of artificial‑intelligence generated pornographic images and nude photos circulate online, frequently featuring women who have been filmed in public. The proposed amendments will not only…
March 20, 2026
Producer Prices Down 3.3 % YoY in Feb 2026 as Energy Costs Decline Reported by Destatis
In February 2026, producer prices for commercial goods were 3.3 percent lower than in February 2025, and prices fell 0.5 percent compared with the previous month, Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) reported on Friday. The key driver of the year‑on‑year decline was lower energy prices – a trend that had been noticeable even before the outbreak of war in the Middle East.…
March 20, 2026
Euro Remains Top Export Currency for German Goods to Non‑EU Countries in 2025
In 2025 the euro was the most common currency for German exports outside the EU, covering 54.7 % of all export transactions. The United States dollar followed with 26.4 %, the pound sterling 4.8 %, the Chinese renminbi 2.7 %, and the Swiss franc 2.4 %; the remaining 8.9 % were paid in other currencies. On the import side the U.S. dollar dominated, accounting for 45.2 % of…
March 20, 2026
Verdi Calls All-Day Strike at dpa, 800 Workers Protest Today
Verdi, the German service‑trade union, called its roughly 800 employees at the Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa) to a full‑day strike on Friday. The walkout will affect the agency itself, its regional offices, the Berlin newsroom and the subsidiaries in that area. The warning strike is intended to reinvigorate stalled collective bargaining talks that are being conducted between…
The Monopolkommission welcomes the planned reinforcement of the Federal Cartel Office’s powers to tackle long‑standing competition distortions. Competition expert and commission member Rupprecht Podszun told the Funke‑Media newspapers that the measure is “very helpful, but it will have long‑term effects”. He added that the office currently handles cartels,…
March 20, 2026
Alexander Scheer Reveals He Has Severe ADHD and Shares Details of Past Drug Use
Actor Alexander Scheer revealed details about his medical diagnosis and past drug use in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “I have severe ADHD” Scheer told the paper, saying the condition was identified when his girlfriend noticed his symptoms and had him checked by a doctor who confirmed the diagnosis. He added that he doesn’t…
March 20, 2026
German Teacher Union Calls Messaging App Ban for Kids Unlikely
The president of the German Teachers’ Association, Stefan Düll, has criticised proposals to ban messenger services such as WhatsApp for children and young people. He argues that a blanket prohibition or sweeping usage restrictions would be hardly realistic in practice. These services currently play a central role in everyday communication and scheduling within…
March 20, 2026
Germany Releases Over 6,125 Prisoners Early Last Year
In 2023, at least 6,125 inmates in Germany were released earlier than the originally scheduled end of their sentences, according to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. The figures come from a survey carried out by the justice ministries of the individual Länder. Among the states that keep records, Baden-Württemberg recorded the highest number of early releases with…
March 20, 2026
Merz Challenges EU AI Rules, Promises Uncompromising Review
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) announced that he intends to scrutinise the European Union’s AI regulation in its entirety. “There is a fairly extensive list of proposals coming from industry, including start‑up companies that want to work with this technology” he told dts news agency in Brussels after the EU Council meeting late Thursday evening. He…
