Thursday's top story: Germany condemns 'reckless' Russian drones in Poland
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned Russia on Wednesday for sending drones into NATO member Poland in a "reckless action" that he said had threatened lives.
"Russia has endangered human lives in a state that is a member of NATO and the EU," Merz said in a statement.
"This reckless action is part of a long chain of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and on NATO's eastern flank. The German government condemns this aggressive Russian action in the strongest possible terms."
Poland was gathering its NATO allies for urgent talks Wednesday after the Russian drones flew into its airspace during an overnight attack on Ukraine.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had invoked NATO's Article 4 under which a member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany was cooperating with Poland in the form of consultations under Article 4, saying: "We support this approach, which we consider to be correct."
Cabinet moves forward with targeted tax relief
The German cabinet on Wednesday approved a series of tax relief measures aimed at commuters, the catering industry, farmers, small businesses and volunteers.
Under the plans, which the government wants to implement from 2026, the commuter allowance will rise and VAT on restaurant meals and catering will be cut to seven percent from the current 19 percent.
Subsidies for diesel fuel for the agricultural industry would also be reinstated.
The cuts came along with other draft laws that Germany's Finance Minister has said are intended to reduce "bureaucracy in the financial market sector".
While voters are almost always glad to hear see tax cuts, prominent economist Veronika Grimm has voiced criticism of the measures, suggesting that they won't bring relief to everyone.
"Tax cuts for individual interest groups and commuting citizens are heading in completely the wrong direction," she said.
READ ALSO: Tax relief - Germany plans VAT cut in restaurants and hike in commuter allowance
A recent survey revealed that the majority of German voters would support increasing taxes on wealthy individuals, which could fund broader tax cuts in other areas or social benefits in theory. Government leaders of the CDU and CSU parties, however, have ruled out any move in that direction.
Warning systems to be tested for 'Warntag'
Germany's annual nationwide warning day takes place on Thursday at 11am.
Readers in Germany can expect to receive an alert on their mobile phones and possibly hear local alarms or warning sirens going off at that time.
The nationwide Warntag, which takes place every year on the second Thursday in September, is used to test the warning systems that would alert the population in the event of a disaster.
The same warning systems could be used, for example, during floods, a huge power outage, or a cyber or military attack.
On this occasion, however, the warning signal is just a test.
'Germany is a lady without a womb': Bavarian Prime Minister criticised for sexist language
Bavaria's Prime Minister and leader of the CSU party, Markus Söder, sure knows how to stir up controversy and make headlines.
Earlier this week on the side-lines of the Munich Motor Show he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that "Without cars, mechanical engineering and chemistry, Germany is a lady without a belly."
The strange comparison, apparently meant to illustrate the importance of Germany's car industry, was immediately met with backlash from female members of parliament who saw the comment as offensive and sexist - taking issue in particular with the term he used for belly or lower abdomen, which was seen as referencing the womb.
The deputy parliamentary group leader of the Left Party in the Bundestag, Nicole Gohlke, wrote on X that the CSU leader had revealed his "creepy image of women", adding that for Söder, a woman is "apparently only worth something...if she can be used for reproduction".
Green Party chairwoman Franziska Brantner also accused the Bavarian Prime Minister of "sexism".
According to a report by Stern the comment could have been seen as a reference to the image of a "lady without a belly" which was a kind of disappearing mirror trick seen at fairgrounds where a woman lying down appeared to have her lower half removed.
Cabinet members' phone numbers were shared online
Personal data of Chancellor Merz along with cabinet members and other heads of authorities have been circulating online, according to a report by Spiegel.
Along with Merz's number, for example, the President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Claudia Plattner's number was also shared.
A spokeswoman for the BSI told the German Press Agency that the BSI was aware of a situation "in which personal data (including mobile phone numbers) of cabinet members, authority heads and other affected persons are offered on so-called sales intelligence platforms".
Accordingly the BSI is reportedly in contact with the Federal Criminal Police.
According to Spiegel, the information came from a whistle-blower from Italy, who had found the active numbers online and then reported it to those affected and the German authorities.
"He had already found active numbers of numerous top politicians in Italy with the same providers and triggered investigations by various authorities after publication," the magazine said.
With reporting by AFP.
Comments