Foreign Minister Baerbock's unannounced visit to post-Assad Damascus marked the morning headlines, as she toured former torture facilities while Assad survived an alleged poisoning attempt in Moscow. Syria's new leadership refused to shake her hand while greeting her French counterpart.
By midday, Austrian politics dominated coverage as coalition talks collapsed when Neos exited negotiations with ÖVP and SPÖ, raising speculation about Sebastian Kurz's potential return. The debate over Musk's AfD endorsement intensified, with questions emerging about AI authorship of his Welt article and FDP's Strack-Zimmermann warning her party against alignment.
Evening coverage focused on military developments, with investigations into the French-trained 155th Brigade in Ukraine and new German weapon commitments for 2025. A nationwide computer system failure at German airports complicated border control operations.