While the previous law required most newly installed heating systems to use at least 65% renewable energy, often with a heat pump, the reformed legislation will allow households to keep using oil and gas. It also removes a mandate for expert consultation when installing a new heating system.
SPD Secretary General Tim Klussendorf told the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Sunday that the ruling coalition should now move swiftly to make the ban a reality. "We finally need clear rules on digital platforms. Addiction-inducing algorithms, hate, and bullying are a massive problem for our entire society and can be particularly dangerous and harmful to children and young people," he said.
Germany's part-time workforce has indeed increased significantly over the decades, but that is due in large part to families no longer being able to survive on a single income, as well as technological changes that have left many people choosing part-time work over no work at all. Citing data from Germany's federal statistics agency, DeStatis, MIT has pointed out that in 2022, 27% of part-time workers in Germany reported their reasons for not working full-time as simply "a desire to work part-time."
Layoff announcements this year top 1.1 million, the most since 2020 when the pandemic hit, according to the Challenger jobs report, which has taken on a bit more significance lately due to the patchy official labour market data in the wake of the US government shutdown. The firm said layoff plans hit 71,321 in November, a down from the huge (22yr high for the month) cuts announced in October...the 1.17mn total is 54% higher than the same 11-month period a year ago
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz dug in on proposed pension reforms Friday despite resistance from younger members of his conservative CDU party who fear they will saddle future generations with unaffordable costs. Speaking Friday morning after late-night talks with his junior coalition partners the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merz said it was the SPD's "wish that we not amend this bill". "We agreed on this yesterday," he added.
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans on sending a German astronaut to the moon as part of the "Artemis" mission. This was announced by the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, on the sidelines of the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen. "I have decided that the first Europeans to fly to the moon will be part of the Artemis program. We are looking for a German astronaut to join the crew," he said.
Bundestag President Julia Klockner, of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), recently implied that Germany had become the "brothel of Europe" reigniting the national debate about sex work. In a speech read out at an award ceremony on Tuesday, Klockner criticized Germany's current legislation, saying sex workers are not adequately protected. "I am firmly convinced that we must finally ban prostitution and the purchase of sex in this country," the conservative Klockner said.
The world of social media is flashy and fast-paced: those who stand out rise to the top with their ballrooms, space rockets, and chainsaws, dominating the headlines. The researchers for Germany's "Mitte Studie" ("Center Study"), however, turn their attention away from the dazzling personalities and the fringes, to examine those who form the backbone of a democratic and open society, looking at their attitudes toward right-wing extremism, xenophobia and antisemitism.
We must a sober look at the reality in order to choose the right path for our country, he says. He stresses that our freedom is under threat with growing sense of insecurity, with Germany's economic model also under pressure from a new form of protectionism. He also warns against political forces at home and abroad questioning social cohesion and undermining German democracy.
Voters in North Rhine-Westphalia headed to the polls on Sunday for municipal elections across the state. The poll is the first local election since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May. The vote seen as a gauge of Merz's coalition government, which is made up of his conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the center-left SPD. The performance of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) which has been classified as "right-wing extremist" by the country's domestic intelligence agency, is a key factor for assessing Germany's political climate.
Stephan Brandner, parliamentary whip for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), criticized the number of staff for ex-chancellor Olaf Scholz, questioning the necessity of eight employees.
