Germany updates: Cabinet approves 2026 draft budget – DW – 07/30/2025
The German government approved the 2026 draft budget, which includes planned investments totaling €126.7 billion ($146.4 billion) and borrowing of €174.3 billion.
It came with a warning from Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil that significant austerity measures will likely be needed starting in 2027.
Meanwhile, Germany's economy shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter of the year, according to preliminary data released by the federal statistics office, Destatis.The German Cabinet has approved Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's 2026 draft budget, which outlines spending of €520.5 billion ($600.3 billion) and new borrowing totaling about €174 billion.
Europe's largest economy is shifting away from decades of fiscal conservatism to revive economic growth, modernize its aging infrastructure, and boost military spending.
German lawmakers are expected to begin discussions on the budget by the end of September, with final approval anticipated by year's end.
Berlin's large New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate will not take place this year, organizer Benedikt Alder told the German news agency, DPA.
The cancellation follows a decision by the Berlin city government to withdraw financial support for the celebration.
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner told DPA that the city will no longer fund the show, which has drawn thousands of revelers and millions of TV viewers over the decades.
"In my opinion, it's not the job of taxpayers to finance such events," Wegner told dpa. "Especially not in times of tight budgets."
With no financial backing secured, organizers were left with no choice but to call off the festivities, Alder said.
Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is reviewing the nationwide use of security software developed by the US company Palantir.
A ministry spokeswoman told magazine that the evaluation is ongoing and no decision has yet been made.
The software was specifically developed for security agencies and is used by intelligence services, the military, and police.
"Palantir is not a neutral IT provider but closely linked to U.S. intelligence agencies with clear geopolitical aims,"Johannes Schätzl, a Social Democrat lawmaker, said.
He added that German security forces should not use the company's software.
Green Party deputy leader Konstantin von Notz said that at a time when the US government is becoming less reliable, cooperation with Palantir should be ruled out.
Dobrindt generally supports the use of such software and received backing from Jens Spahn, a fellow member of the ruling conservative CDU/CSU. Spahn said Palantir "would greatly help" police, adding that criminals use all digital tools available and "the state must keep up within the law."
Last week, the Society for Civil Rights and the Chaos Computer Club filed a constitutional complaint against Palantir's use in Bavaria, arguing that it violates privacy rights by linking unrelated individuals to criminal data.
The software is used on the state level in Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Germany's economy shrank in the second quarter, according to provisional data released on Wednesday.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% compared to the first quarter, the federal statistics office Destatis said. This follows a modest revision of Q1 growth to 0.3%.
Destatis said the quarterly decline was due to lower investment in machinery, equipment, and construction. However, consumer and government spending provided some support.
Year-on-year, GDP remained flat when adjusted for prices, but showed a slight increase of +0.4% when calendar effects were also considered.
A rescue mission is underway in northern Pakistan for German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier, who was seriously injured in a rockfall on Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range.
The 30-year-old was climbing at around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) when falling rocks swept her away. Her climbing partner raised the alarm after being rescued.
Officials say helicopter access is impossible.
"The conditions at the altitude where she was injured are extremely challenging, and a team of foreign climbers will launch a ground rescue mission today," Areeb Ahmed Mukhtar, a senior local official in Ghanche district, said.
Dahlmeier, a seasoned mountaineer, made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning both the sprint and pursuit events.
German news channel Welt TV is launching a weekly program entirely produced and hosted by artificial intelligence.
Titled KI-Welt, the show covers topics like AI, robotics, and future tech, with all editorial processes, from research to presentation, handled by AI with human supervision.
Jan Philipp Burgard, Welt TV's editor-in-chief, said the experimental show is to show what is already possible with AI.
"We won't be able to stop the AI revolution, so we should embrace it and help shape it," he said.
A computer-generated avatar anchors the show. The first episode will air on Thursday.
Profits at German carmaker Mercedes-Benz have fallen by 55.8% in the first half of the year, the company says.
The Stuttgart-based carmaker said post-tax earnings plummeted from €6.1 billion to around €2.7 billion in the first half of the year.
The business cited tariffs, lower sales volumes, and costs linked to efficiency measures as reasons for the decline.
Looking ahead, Mercedes now expects full-year group revenue to fall significantly below last year's level.
The German government is expected to approve the 2026 draft budget on Wednesday, which outlines spending of €520.5 billion ($600.3 billion) and new borrowing totaling about €174 billion.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's budget includes €126.7 billion in investments earmarked for modernizing the country.
The government, in office since May, has pledged to increase spending to upgrade infrastructure and strengthen the military.
Officials also hope the budget will help improve the economic climate, which is projected to recover noticeably in 2025 and 2026 after two years of stagnation.
Klingbeil, however, warned this week that significant austerity measures will likely be needed starting in 2027, when a funding gap of approximately €172 billion is expected.
from the Bonn newsroom, still staffed by humans.
That's no longer entirely the case over at Welt TV, where a new weekly program will soon be produced and presented entirely by artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, the German government is tackling the 2026 draft budget the old-fashioned way, without AI assistance, at least as far as we know.
In a notable shift from its long-standing tradition of fiscal restraint, Germany is now spending big: aiming to jumpstart the economy, modernize its aging infrastructure, and boost military investment.
We'll be keeping an eye on those stories, and more, right here in this blog.
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German council orders demolition of mosque near Stuttgart – DW – 07/30/2025
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Fact check: Tsunami unleashes fake films and misinformation – DW – 07/30/2025
An earthquake in the Pacific triggered tsunami waves across the US, Japan, and Russia — and a flood of misinformation online. DW separates fact from fiction. A powerful earthquake off Russia's east coast has prompted evacuations across the Pacific, from Japan to Peru, and caused tsunami waves in Russia, Japan, and Hawaii. Among the footage circulating online, misinformation is also spreading fast. DW Fact check has seen false information ranging from shared out of context to AI-generated fakes and entirely fabricated claims about the situation on the ground. The American talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey, who lives part time in Maui, Hawaii, has been the target of harsh criticism. She owns a property there and the private road running up to it has sparked debate: Claim: "In Maui, Hawaii people are moving to higher ground. Oprah Winfrey has refused to let people use her private road," a user claims on X. 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NATO ex-employees accuse the alliance of going DOGE – DW – 07/30/2025
In unusually direct criticism, former NATO insiders say the alliance is being shaped to reflect Donald Trump's priorities. Officials, however, insist the restructuring is independent and overdue. Since NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte forged a consensus on massive spending hikes and flattered the United States president, Donald Trump has developed a newfound appreciation of the alliance. And, as a result, many people at NATO breathed a sigh of relief. But not everyone gave Rutte a hero's welcome. The secretary-general is facing a barrage of criticism, some of it public, over what his team calls an "optimization" of NATO resources. What might in normal times be described as a bureaucratic reshuffle, has created a different impression in the current trans-Atlantic climate. Some observers say Rutte is reconfiguring NATO to please the White House — and are doing so in ways that don't serve the alliance's broader or longer-term interests. Dr. Gerlinde Niehus, who held many positions at NATO over 26 years, has taken the lead in lambasting the changes. She went so far as to say that Rutte is following the controversial Elon Musk-driven downsizing under the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). "Taking inspiration from the ill-conceived US 'DOGE' exercise, [the reorganization] is largely a sleek ingratiation aligned to US MAGA politics," Niehus wrote in a LinkedIn post, opinions which she later confirmed to DW directly. "Under the disguise of 'efficiency,' NATO HQ functions which could become the target of Donald Trump's ire for their presumed 'wokeness' or 'irrelevance' are either downgraded, tucked away or dissolved." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Niehus refers to two changes she finds particularly disturbing: The transfer of the office of NATO's Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) out of the secretary-general's office and the merger of the Climate and Energy Security Section with Defence Policy and Planning. She says these actions have been taken to "ensure lower visibility" of these issues. In Washington, DC, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has all but eliminated WPS programs at the Pentagon, and Trump is famously dismissive of efforts to combat climate change. Is it a coincidence that some of NATO's changes seem to mirror White House priorities? A senior NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity insists the more dangerous security environment, not any single ally, has compelled the reorganization of staff structures. "The secretary-general, like his predecessors, wants to ensure that the NATO Headquarters is organized so that it can function efficiently and effectively," the official told DW, "That is the impetus behind this structural reform, which is not aimed at cutting costs or numbers of staff but at better aligning areas of work." Perhaps the most visible difference will be the shuttering of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division (PDD). This has traditionally housed NATO's press operations; co-sponsorship of projects on issues such as societal resilience, interaction with students and other visiting groups; and general outreach to citizens. Many people in PDD will need to find other positions, while some will see their functions move to other units. The press office will be put directly under the secretary-general and the spokesperson's office. The other division being cut is Executive Management, which covers a range of tasks from recruitment to the internship program to archives. NATO sources say the number of posts being cut is not huge, perhaps 40 overall, because others are being created at the same time. Meanwhile, they say, there are some 300 vacancies. But Niehus, who spent many years in NATO public diplomacy and engagement efforts, still finds the elimination of PDD and reassignment of remaining communications staff hard to fathom at a time when she believes the alliance should be working overtime to "foster informed discussions on NATO and wider defense matters in our societies." She also fears the co-sponsorship grants program, which works with think tanks, universities and other civil society initiatives, "will come to a grinding halt." This takes on added significance with the U.S. government having disbanded its USAID global humanitarian assistance agency, which also helped fund some of these activities and services. But the senior NATO official told DW that the alliance's outreach efforts will not diminish; rather, PDD is "being reshaped into a more focused office of strategic communications." Other changes likewise "all drive toward the same principle — better alignment so that we can deliver on the crucial work of the alliance." NATO sources say the grants program will not be ended, although there may be a temporary pause to allow the bureaucratic changes to take effect. One former US State Department diplomat, given anonymity to discuss their views, agrees with the critics that there are risks to this shake-up if funding or staffing for public outreach is downgraded. Having served in both NATO and European Union public diplomacy posts in Brussels and around the world, this retired official fears the changes seen at both NATO and in the US could further fuel alienation and apathy among the public, both in alliance territory and other parts of the world. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The former official sees that happening in practice, for example, through long-distance conversations held at 5:30 a.m. once a week, as they continue mentoring a colleague posted in Asia. "My mentee told me that in her last conversation with her ambassador, she was considered 'failing' because the newspapers carried more about Australian assistance and Chinese assistance than American assistance," the retired official recounted, referring to the elimination of the USAID presence in this country. "She was 100% blamed for that. How are you supposed to win against the Chinese when we have nothing?" Back at NATO headquarters, regardless of whether it was an official order or not, some employees working in areas such as Women, Peace and Security and Climate have been encouraged not to make these parts of their job particularly visible. Several people have shared their experiences first-hand with this reporter. One prominent advocate on these issues, Hannah Neumann, a German Green member of the European Parliament, said she has similar stories from her NATO contacts. Neumann says she considers this "super frustrating because it doesn't make any sense from a purely scientific, security, political perspective.' However, she also emphasizes that it's essential to ensure that work on these topics keeps going. At present, she said she's been assured that this is happening — even if people have to change offices and keep their heads down to do it.
