Germany
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Germany

Germany
Germany
The latest breaking news and stories on Germany, a country in northern Europe known as a federal republic, and the world’s fourth largest economy. Also covering Germany’s relationship with China and Europe, plus commentary and updates on Germany’s economy, politics, society and social issues.
Capital
Berlin
Head of State
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Head of Government
Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau receives moxibustion therapy at the new Chinese medicine hospital in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Editorial | Hong Kong well set to raise the global bar for Chinese medicine

A new blueprint and hospital could be just the right medicine to help achieve the central government’s goals for the Greater Bay Area.

Ukraine war

Rubio says won’t force deal on Ukraine as Europeans join Miami talks

Ukraine war

EU agrees US$106 billion loan for Ukraine, but without Russian assets

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US-China relations

US arms deal supports Taiwan’s effort to reassure Trump on defence burden

Weapons package underpins Taipei’s move towards an asymmetric ‘porcupine’ strategy as Washington presses allies to do more.

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The Javelin is a single man-portable fire-and-forget medium-range antitank weapon system designed to defeat all known and projected threat armor. Photo: Handout
China-EU relations

EU facing crunch talks over Ukraine, China and its economic future

EU leaders are set to meet amid growing concern in Brussels that the bloc’s divisions will impede meaningful action across a range of issues.

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Ukraine war

Putin vows victory in Ukraine as US and Russia prepare for Miami talks

Russian leader boasts of battlefield gains in Ukraine while his envoys prepare to meet the Americans this weekend.

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European Union

EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban in victory for its carmakers

Europe pivots to bolstering its crisis-hit auto sector in a major green policy retreat.

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Fumes emerge from the exhaust pipe of a car with a combustible engine in Berlin. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Zelensky demands justice as nations back Ukraine reparations; will Russia pay?

US$232 billion in frozen Russian assets are central to a new Hague-based commission managing Ukraine war damage claims.

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European Union

As I see it | Russia will end the European Union, not the other way around

The end of history is more history, as Hegel might have said, with the postmodern unified EU potentially reverting back to rival modern states.

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Ukraine war

US officials say Washington agrees to give Ukraine security guarantees

‘Article 5-like’ security offer emerges at talks in Berlin in a bid to secure an end to the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Berlin. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK spy and military chiefs give threat assessment in ‘age of uncertainty’

Head of MI6 says ‘we are now operating in a space between peace and war’, as defence chief urges ‘whole nation’ prepare for evolving threats.

The new head of Britain’s MI6, Blaise Metreweli makes her first public speech in London on Monday. Photo: AFP
Volkswagen

Can Volkswagen regain its China market share with its US$3.5 billion bet?

Volkswagen, which once had 50 per cent of China’s vehicle market, has invested €3 billion in its largest R&D centre outside its home country in Hefei.

Japan

Japan’s retreat from global health funding hands China diplomatic opening

Tokyo’s over 52 per cent funding cut to a global body fighting Aids and malaria risks damaging its hard-won reputation as a ‘peace nation’.

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Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa
Ukraine war

Zelensky suggests Ukraine could drop Nato goal for security guarantees

The shift, which includes a call for ‘Article 5-like’ guarantees, comes as Washington presses for an end to the four-year Ukraine war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a meeting with the US delegation in Berlin. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters
Crime

Germany thwarts Islamist plot to ram vehicle into Christmas market

Authorities arrested five men over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria state.

Electric & new energy vehicles

High-end car sales sink in China as cheaper brands trump European marques

Many buyers were swayed by a 20,000 yuan (US$2,830 ) trade-in subsidy offered by the government for purchasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

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Ukraine war

Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan

Europe worries a US plan for a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region may help Moscow to reinvade Kyiv.

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A Ukrainian soldier jumps down from a tank in Kharkiv, Ukraine, last month. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Asian Angle | Is the new Philippines-Germany defence pact built to last?

Rising anxieties over Beijing and Moscow have united Berlin and Manila in an axis that must now be institutionalised to ensure it endures.

Japan

Opinion | From Singapore to Taiwan, Japan must face its past for Asia’s future

Lasting peace in Asia demands that Tokyo abandons its historical revisionism and refusal to acknowledge past crimes.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Only true repentance from Japan can resolve East Asia’s ‘memory wars’

It is important that Japan, China and South Korea collectively reckon with the legacy of military aggression and wartime atrocities.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China-EU relations

EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening

Multiple sources confirm increase in Beijing backing before China-Russia ties are discussed by ministers from the EU’s 27 members on Monday.

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Ukrainian recruits rest as they complete basic military training amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: 65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP
United States

Outside In | It’s an expensive Christmas for Americans thanks to Trump’s tariffs

It’s been years since the US president extolled the virtues of trade wars: how much longer before he recognises tariffs harm the US economy?

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Why ‘Hong Kong model’ combining Chinese and Western medicine could go global

German facility says it is exploring potential areas of collaboration and possible joint projects with the city’s new hospital.

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Japan

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

Outdated teaching methods and the rise of language translation apps have made most Japanese less inclined to learn English, educators say.

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Japanese schoolchildren cross a street in Tokyo. English proficiency is dropping in Japan, a fact that some critics are attributing to outdated teaching methods. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Zelensky floats referendum on territory, as US pressure mounts to end war

Ukraine’s president says Russia wants ‘the whole of Donbas’ in return for peace, but Ukrainians must have their say.

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Ukrainian servicemen prepare targets with images depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

Brussels ramps up China de-risking while France and Germany pull further apart

Raids, probes and new screening rules collide with widening splits between Paris and Berlin over how tough to be on Beijing.

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China-Japan relations

Donald Trump left facing ‘dilemma’ as China-Japan spat worsens: analyst

White House navigates backing long-time ally Japan while preserving trade truce with China amid fraying ties between the Asian neighbours.

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