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.
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published a poll in early February examining Ukrainians' attitudes towards the war. The survey was conducted in late January, when massive Russian attacks on energy facilities caused power outages and disrupted heating and water systems across the country, particularly in Kyiv.
Skip next section UN says Ukraine war is 'a stain on our collective conscience' February 25, 2026 UN says Ukraine war is 'a stain on our collective conscience' UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated calls for a ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying the conflict remained "as a stain on our collective conscience."
Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. AP/AP hide caption toggle caption AP/AP ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's defense minister said that his country ran out of "patience" and considers that there is now an "open war" with Afghanistan, after both countries launched strikes following an Afghan cross-border attack.
There is no shortage of gloomy assessments of the global situation at the moment. "In the era of great powers, our freedom is no longer a given. It is under threat," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the opening of the Munich Security Conference earlier in February. Merz explicitly mentioned China.
Syria's new government and Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced a major investment package dealing with energy, telecommunications, aviation and real estate. The multi-billion-dollar investment agreements signed in Damascus include a major telecommunications project, a low-cost joint airline and an international airport in northern Syria.