Ticket Inspector Dies After Attack by Fare‑Evader on Rhineland‑Palatinate Regional Express
A 36‑year‑old train guard was killed by injuries sustained after an attack that occurred during a ticket check on a regional express in the Kaiserslautern district, the German tabloid Bild reports based on its own information. The assault took place Monday evening on a regional express leaving Landstuhl for Homburg. The guard was inspecting a passenger who had no valid…
February 4, 2026
DAX Opens Slightly Lower as Political Risks Remain High
The German stock market opened on Wednesday with slight losses. By 9:30 a.m. local time, the DAX was calculated at roughly 24,765 points, which was 0.1 % below the previous day’s closing level. The top performers were BASF, Mercedes‑Benz, and Deutsche Telekom, while at the bottom of the list were Heidelberg Materials, Scout24, and Rheinmetall. Thomas Altmann of QC…
February 4, 2026
Schwesig doubts CDU’s wall against AfD post‑election while keeping her coalition separate
The Minister-President of Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, has voiced doubts about whether the political distance between the CDU and the AfD will endure after the forthcoming state election. She nevertheless makes it clear that her government will not collaborate with the AfD.“I cannot put my hand in the fire to say that it will not happen” she told the…
February 4, 2026
Aydan Ozoguz Criticizes FIFA’s Plan to Reintegrate Russian Teams
The chairwoman of the German Bundestag’s sports committee, Aydan Özoguz (SPD), has rejected FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal to allow Russian teams to return to international football competitions. “Reintegrating Russia and its associations into world football at a time when Russia is bombarding Ukraine with unrelenting force would send a fatal…
February 4, 2026
DGB Criticises Delay by CDU Government in Strengthening Collective Bargaining
The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) accuses the CDU‑led federal government of deliberately delaying measures to strengthen tariff binding in Germany. On Wednesday the federal cabinet was supposed to approve a national action plan to promote collective‑bargaining negotiations. DGB board member Stefan Körzell told “Tagesspiegel” that “this was…
February 4, 2026
German Handcraft Union Criticizes Proposed Building Energy Law Overhaul
Jörg Dittrich, president of the Zentralverband Deutsches Handwerk (ZDH), warned that the reforms to the Building Energy Act could go too far. He told the newspapers of the “Neuen Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft” that many craft businesses would welcome it if support programmes remained unchanged and the law simply continued under a different name. At the same…
February 4, 2026
Hardt Warns Russia Is Using Ukraine Talks To Buy Time While Attacking Kyiv Energy Infrastructure
Foreign ministers of the governing coalition warned that the next round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi among Russia, Ukraine, and the United States carries expectations that are too high. The CDU spokesperson for foreign policy, Jürgen Hardt, told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”: “Russia is showing that the Kremlin has no interest in peace by deliberately…
February 4, 2026
Academic Parents Add 37 Minutes Each Day To Child Care For Kids Under Five
In a recent study by the Federal Institute for Population Research, parents whose partner holds a university degree spend an additional 37 minutes a day with their children until the age of five compared with parents whose partner lacks such a qualification.This daily difference adds up to about 1,125 extra hours over the first five years of a child’s life. When…
February 4, 2026
Berlin Unites in Anger Over Moscow’s Revanchism Accusation Against Germany
Germany’s foreign ministry has been criticised across party lines in Berlin for accusing the Russian state of “revanchism”.Green Party member Anton Hofreiter, who chairs the European Union committee in the Bundestag, called the charge “bizarre” arguing that a representative of an imperialist regime, which is committing serious war crimes, cannot…
February 4, 2026
Germany Electric Car Share Grows Too Slow to Meet Climate Goals
Electric vehicle adoption is rising in Germany, but the growth remains too slow to achieve rapid climate neutrality in transport. A recent analysis by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), drawing on data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the Federal Network Agency, was highlighted in the Funke Media Group’s mid‑week newspapers. According to…
February 4, 2026
Germany Launches €59m Program to Restore Small River Floodplains
The Federal Environment Ministry is launching a new €59 million program to restore the floodplains of smaller rivers. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that “river corridors are our lifeblood” and that the belief that humans must conquer and straighten streams is a mistake that needs correcting. He cited…
February 4, 2026
DB InfraGo Anticipates Decade of Repairs Amid Slow Rail Network Recovery
Philipp Nagl, CEO of DB InfraGo, believes the rail network’s poor state will only improve gradually. “We have to expect a decade of renovations” he told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Wednesday issue). He noted that about forty more major corridor repairs are underway on heavily used segments. With each finished project the situation gets…
