Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany would lift restrictions on Ukrainian use of German weapons against military targets inside Russia, marking a significant policy shift from the previous administration. The Kremlin immediately labeled this a "dangerous" escalation, threatening that Russian forces would burn targets "like matchsticks."
The trial of Issa al Hasan, the IS-affiliated attacker who killed three people at Solingen's "Festival of Diversity" last year, began with his confession: "I am guilty, I deserve everything." He attempted to reframe his actions, claiming he killed "innocents, not infidels."
Domestic political debates intensified around the Northvolt battery factory project failure, with CSU leader Söder demanding an investigation into what Junge Freiheit called a "monument to green economic policy." Berlin's Olympic bid plans emerged, proposing venues at Tempelhof Field and an Olympic Village in Grunewald.
The CDU-led government faced criticism after reports revealed security gaps in Afghan resettlement programs under Baerbock's foreign ministry.
