President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's second term in office ends early next year. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Greens are campaigning for a woman to succeed him. This would be a first in history: Twelve men have held Germany's top office since the end of World War II.
In the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, the West has moved to cut off Moscow's oil and gas revenues — from US President Donald Trump hitting India with tariffs for buying Russian oil to the European Union vowing to phase out Russian gas imports "once and for all" by November 2027.
Skip next section Interior Minister Dobrindt says waiting on final AfD verdict February 26, 2026 Interior Minister Dobrindt says waiting on final AfD verdict Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that the federal government had taken note of Thursday's initial ruling on the AfD.
US President Donald Trump and his allies have long expressed their support for the right and far right of the European political spectrum. This was made official in the United States National Security Strategy (NSS) published in December 2025.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday poured oil on the fire in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine by ordering tighter security at critical energy infrastructure sites, while accusing Kyiv of seeking to disrupt the Hungarian energy system.
Skip next section Closing summary: Takeaways from Merz's trip to China February 26, 2026 Closing summary: Takeaways from Merz's trip to China Friedrich Merz tours Siemens Energy facility (German manufacturer that works on energy technology) in HangzhouImage: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Thursday completed his inaugural trip to China with a host of business
The new chairman of the Catholic German Bishops Conference, Heiner Wilmer, is four days older than his predecessor, Georg Bätzing: almost 65 years old. This is not what one would call a generational handover.
Travel can sometimes place us in a moral dilemma. A sense of unease may arise from everyday realities — the carbon emissions caused by flying, for example, or the broader consequences of modern mass tourism. Is this simply something to accept? Should we simply stop traveling or are there better ways to do it?
Soldiers spend weeks or even months in a cramped shelter in a so-called "kill zone," a stretch as long as 20 kilometers (12 miles) that is largely controlled by enemy drones. There is no way to reach a position by vehicle or evacuate the wounded. Ammunition and food supplies are constantly interrupted.
Berlin's government is effectively sabotaging the city's international status as an artistic and academic hub, according to students and teachers at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) , which is pressing ahead with cuts to its English-language arts courses as the city slashes the budgets of its universities.
China's rise from poverty to the world's second‑largest economy rewrote the rules of globalization. Now Beijing's push into high-end technology is unfolding at an even faster pace.
Skip next section Germany warns its citizens in the Middle East February 25, 2026 Germany warns its citizens in the Middle East Germany's Foreign Ministry called on German citizens in the Middle East to take safety precautions in light of a potential US attack on Iran that could destabilize the region.