Union wins Germany's federal election followed by far-right AfD
In a result very close to what voter polls had predicted for weeks, the conservative Union party (CDU/CSU) won the largest share of votes at around 29 percent, according to a preliminary count on Monday morning.
The Union was followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 20.8 percent of the vote - almost double their previous vote share.
For Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), it was the worst result yet, with support for the party sinking to just 16.4 percent. For their Green coalition partners, meanwhile, a vote share of 11.6 percent looked likely.
According to exit polls, the far-left Die Linke achieved a late surge to score nearly nine percent of the vote - a notable comeback for a party that was polling at less than five percent when election campaigns began.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz, now officially set to become Germany's next chancellor, has said that he will push to form a new government quickly.
READ ALSO: What happens next in Germany after conservative election win?
"The world out there is not waiting for us and it is not waiting for lengthy coalition talks and negotiations," Merz said on election night, reiterating his goal of forming a new government by Easter.
NRW airports to be hit by stikes on Monday
Passengers at Cologne and Düsseldorf airports are likely to face severe disruption on Monday after services union Verdi initiated a series of warning strikes.
At Cologne/Bonn airport, strike actions began on Sunday evening, while in Düsseldorf, protests kicked off in the early hours of Monday. The industrial action is set to last 24 hours.
The union has warned that critical operations such as baggage handling, aircraft servicing on the tarmac, and check-in procedures will face severe disruptions.
This is expected to lead to the cancellation or significant delays of many flights planned for Monday. Passengers are advised to seek information before travelling.
In Cologne alone, more than 100 flights could be affected. Early figures indicate that 106 scheduled passenger flights - comprising 53 departures and 53 arrivals - may not proceed as planned.
READ ALSO: Will Germany see more transport and public sector strikes?
Düsseldorf Airport, the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia, is also expecting the strikes to have a "considerable impact", with at least 30 percent of the planned 334 take-offs and landings set to be cancelled.
The strikes form part of a wider protest across several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, with actions also affecting kindergartens, municipal offices, and hospitals.
Polls show preference for 'grand coalition' between Union and SPD
A coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD is the most popular option after the general election, according to a snap YouGov poll.
After exit polls were released on Sunday, 44 percent of those polled said that they would most like to see an alliance between the centre-right and centre-left parties. A quarter (25 percent) would prefer a three-party alliance between the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens.
Almost a third (30 percent) would prefer a coalition with the AfD, which the CDU/CSU has ruled out.
YouGov surveyed 1,001 eligible voters from 9.15 pm on the evening of the election. Which coalitions are mathematically possible had not yet been finalised at the time of the survey.
Higher sales forecast for this carnival season
As Rosenmontag (3rd March) nears, a study shows that carnival could bring in at least €2.1 billion nationwide – significantly more than in previous years – according to calculations by the Institute of the German Economy (IW).
In the previous carnival season, total sales of some €1.7 billion were forecast.
The experts attribute the sharp increase primarily to this year's particularly long carnival season, which totals 115 days.
The season traditionally begins on November 11th and ends on Ash Wednesday, which falls on March 5th this year. The session is therefore 20 days longer than last year so there is more time to take part in events and spend money.
The carnival business is particularly lucrative for the catering trade with the IW expecting sales of €925 million for food and drink.
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German dies in tobogganing accident
A holidaymaker from Germany who was seriously injured in a tobogganing accident in Austria some two weeks ago has died.
The 41-year-old from Baden-Württemberg had gone to the Schladming ski area with friends for a few days, police reported.
A total of five friends had "consumed quite a bit of alcohol" in a ski hut on the evening of February 7th before heading down into the valley when one of their sleds slipped away down the mountain, the police said.
The men, wearing only trainers, wanted to try to catch the sled so raced after it with the other toboggans, but police said the slope was not authorised for tobogganing.
The 41-year-old man lost control and crashed into a 40-centimetre-high side barrier, sustaining life-threatening head injuries. He was found by a skier who administered first aid and called the rescue service. Now, some two weeks after the accident, the man has died from his injuries.
East German rock band Karat celebrate 50th anniversary
"We were here yesterday. We are here today. We are still here," sung Karat's Claudius Dreilich on Saturday as the East German rock band took to the stage 50 years to the day after their very first concert.
Since February 22th, 1975, the so-called Berlin 'Ballad Kings' have played 5,000 concerts, produced 15 studio and five live albums, selling millions of copies. On Saturday night, the five musicians celebrated together with a few hundred fans in the Babylon cinema not far from Berlin's Alexanderplatz.
The event was also a small celebration of GDR nostalgia as the band invited some East German celebrities to the audience, including singer Dirk Michaelis ("Als ich fortging"), guitarist Dieter "Quaster" Hertrampf from the Puhdys, presenter Jürgen Karney and Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt.
With additional reporting from Paul Krantz, Amy Brooke, AFP and DPA
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