Helsing Urges Pure European Defence for NATO’s Eastern Flank
Grundbert Scherf, co‑founder of the Munich start‑up Helsing, says the NATO eastern flank should be secured mainly with European weapon systems rather than relying on American ones. Speaking to Spiegel, he noted that “we have had enough wake‑up calls” and added that the eastern flank should be able to act militarily in a “purely European” manner, as…
February 11, 2026
Britain Deploys 1,000 Additional Troops Into Norway, Plans to Double Forces to 2,000 Within Three Years
The British Ministry of Defence announced that the number of troops stationed in Norway will be doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 within the next three years. Defence Secretary John Healey made the statement on Wednesday during a visit to the Royal Marine Commandos at Camp Viking, located on the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. Healey said that the UK forces will play an…
February 11, 2026
Germany Fulfills EU Air Quality Limits but Falls Short of WHO Guidelines 2025
In 2025, Germany again complied with all European air‑quality thresholds, according to a provisional assessment of data from about 600 monitoring stations. The Environmental Agency (UBA) announced this after reviewing the measurements. Although the German data met the European standards, the World Health Organization’s recommendations remain far behind. WHO advises an…
February 11, 2026
Merkel Shakes Up CDU Party Congress as Sepp Müller Praises 16-Year Leadership
Sepp Müller, the deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, welcomed the announcement that former Chancellor Angela Merkel has unexpectedly planned a visit to the CDU party convention. “Merkel ruled successfully for 16 years” Müller told the RTL‑ntv programme “Frühstart” on Wednesday. “If that is Friedrich Merz’s…
February 11, 2026
Helsing calls for Europe-focused defense of NATO’s east flank by replacing U.S. weapons with European systems
Grundbert Scherf, co‑founder of the Munich start‑up Helsing, argues that the NATO eastern flank should be protected largely with European weapons systems rather than those from the United States. “We’ve had enough wake‑up calls” Scherf told “Der Spiegel”. “On the eastern flank we need to be able to act militarily – as far as possible…
February 11, 2026
Germany’s Tourism Surges to Record 497.5 Million Overnight Stays in 2025
Germany’s tourism industry set a new record in 2025, registering 497.5 million overnight stays. According to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday, accommodation providers recorded a 0.3 % increase over the previous record year, 2024. The rise was partly driven by high numbers at the end of the year. In December 2025,…
February 11, 2026
Germany Sees Decade-Long Low In Alcohol-Related Hospital Admissions
In 2024, only 283,500 patients were treated in German hospitals for a diagnosis that involved alcohol as the sole cause, a drop of 28.9 % compared with the 10‑year mark in 2014, according to Destatis. That figure represents the lowest level of alcohol‑related admissions in the past decade. In 2014, the number had been 398,500. The proportion of all hospital stays that were…
February 11, 2026
UN Eyes Rising Violence in South Sudan
The United Nations are monitoring a new surge of violence in South Sudan, with clashes between government troops and opposition forces reported particularly in the state of Jonglei. Jean‑Pierre Lacroix, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, stated on Tuesday to the Security Council that the stalemate among the key signatories of the Revitalized Peace…
February 11, 2026
Klingbeil Unveils Ten Point Plan to Drive EU Capital Market Union
Bundesfinanzminister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) announced that he will launch a new initiative aimed at advancing the European Capital Market Union. Speaking to ”Handelsblatt”, he said that both on an European and national level they would now accelerate “the first important steps”. “We are working intensively on ten measures to drive the Capital…
February 11, 2026
Nine Dead, 25 Hurt in Canadian School and Home Shooting
At a secondary school and a residential building in the Canadian province of British Columbia, at least nine people were shot and more than 25 were injured on a Tuesday afternoon local time, the Tumbler Ridge Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced. When officers arrived at the school they discovered multiple casualties. A person-believed to be the shooter-was found dead…
February 11, 2026
Israel’s IAI Promises Arrow 3 Will Shield Germany from Russian Missiles
Israeli defence company IAI has pledged to shield Germany from Russian rockets with its Arrow 3 missile‑defence system. “They’ll be able to sleep more soundly in Munich and Berlin” Boaz Levy, the company’s chief, told the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. Germany ordered the system for €3.6 billion. It has already been stationed in the country…
February 11, 2026
Barley Warns EU Against New Supply Chain Directive Changes, Calls for Planning Security
Katarina Barley, the European Parliament’s vice‑president from the SPD, has warned against further amendments to the EU supply‑chain directive and called for firms to receive planning certainty. She told the news portal that “de‑bureaucratisation also means reliability”. After extensive negotiations, a balance has been reached. “Once you have done it,…
