The German economy shrank for the second straight year in 2024 as worried consumers held back on spending and Chinese competition ate into the country’s traditional exports of cars and industrial machinery.

Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate for the conservative Christian Democratic Union acknowledged the need for a “major effort” to revive the economy as his party pledges to return German growth to 2 percent over the next five years through changes to the welfare and tax systems.

Germany's cabinet has decided to authorise the army to shoot down suspicious drones seen near military sites or other critical infrastructure. A statement from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that,

Government proposal comes amid sharp rise in suspicious activity around military facilities and industrial sites

Germany's cabinet is set to approve plans on Wednesday authorising the armed forces to shoot down illegal drones following repeated reports of illegal flights over critical infrastructure, a draft amendment seen by Reuters showed.

German police are investigating an election campaign flier by a far-right party that looks like a plane ticket and calls for the deportation of 'illegal immigrants.'

Fake one-way plane tickets have been posted in the mailboxes of migrant families ahead of Germany’s critical elections in February. Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) – the far-right populist party unequivocally endorsed by the richest man in the world and soon Donald Trump’s advisor,