9 h. ago One last push before Germany goes to the polls: Final poll predicts large gains for far

A little more than a month after a general election was called following a vote of no confidence against chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germans will have their chance to vote tomorrow.

Politics

14 h. ago The Swansea Blitz heroes who braved death and destruction to help save hundreds of animals

After German bombing raids left the area in ruins - people did everything they could to keep their pets alive

Events

34 h. ago Germany at a crossroads: the reprise of the far right – photo essay

Germany is experiencing a political shift that is alarming many citizens. The photographer Fabian Ritter has spent years documenting the rise of the far-right AfD party and more extreme groups. Recent events illustrate the growing tensionIn the run-up to Sunday’s election in Germany the political climate has become more heated. There have been attacks on politicians and campaign workers, and election posters have been destroyed. Many felt unsettled or even threatened after Friedrich Merz, the leader of the centre-right CDU, proposed a bill to tighten immigration control that had the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.Björn Höcke, the AfD’s leader in Thuringia and head of its nationalist wing, speaks at the Domplatz in Erfurt during the party’s final campaign event before state elections, 31 August 2024. Continue reading...

Culture

48 h. ago ‘Our neighbours are daring to choose fascism again’: Germany’s election leaves many fearing what lies ahead

A high-stakes campaign defined by anti-migration rhetoric has stoked fear instead of discussion of pressing structural problemsFlanked by market stalls selling everything from Turkish borëk pastries to bedazzled iPhone cases, Lina, 53, confessed that she was racked with worry about what may lie ahead for her three children once Sunday night’s election is over.She has lived in Germany for decades, carving out a life for herself and her family after moving from Lebanon. Now – after a frenzied election campaign in which most politicians have scrambled to ward off the rise of the far right with tough talk on migrants – she wondered what the consequences would be for the lives they had painstakingly built. Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Musk suggests Zelensky runs 'fraud machine feeding off the dead bodies of soldiers' as Washington's war of words with Kyiv deepens

The tech billionaire's unfounded claim will deepen Washington's war of words with Kyiv after the White House revealed President Donald Trump was 'very frustrated' with Zelensky.

Events

52 h. ago Labour ministers are urged to double their investment in the grid to meet surging demand for electricity

With energy demands predicted to double by 2050, the Government must ensure the system can cope and connect new sources of renewable power to the grid, it says.

Politics

2 d. ago In these dark times of racially charged election campaigns, the German left offers a flicker of hope | Fatma Aydemir

Heidi Reichinnek’s speech went viral on TikTok – and sparked a surge of support from voters who reject the mainstream’s xenophobiaI was shopping for groceries the other day in Berlin’s neglected northern outskirts, when I remembered a joke. A banker, a social welfare recipient and an asylum seeker are sitting at a table. There are 12 cookies in front of them. The banker takes 11 cookies and says to the social welfare recipient: “Watch out, the refugee wants your cookie.”It came back to me as I witnessed a young white mother completely losing it at the checkout. At first I thought it was the prices that had caused her fury, though there was no indication of that; I was probably just projecting my own anxieties about money on to the woman’s tantrum. It took me a moment to realise that she was accusing another woman, also a mother but not white, of standing in her way on purpose. She shouted that this was her country and we should all step out of her way and that soon we would see. Two...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump throws gasoline on feud with Zelensky as the Ukrainian leader issues searing ultimatum to the US

President Trump repeated his accusations calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator' during his speech in Miami on Wednesday.

Politics

3 d. ago I toured the Tower of London after dark, and witnessed a mysterious 700

I toured the Tower of London after dark, and witnessed a mysterious 700-year-old ceremony  Time Out London

Politics

4 d. ago Scottish Labour vows to end '8am GP rush' and axing peak ScotRail fares

Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour has unveiled a key health policy as the 2026 Holyrood election campaign ramps up.

Politics

4 d. ago Scottish Labour vows to end '8am GP rush' and axe peak ScotRail fares

Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour has unveiled a key health policy as the 2026 Holyrood election campaign ramps up.

Politics

4 d. ago Growing fears that Ukraine may be forced to hold early election that could deliver a 'Putin puppet' under Trump's plan

A return to the polls this year is expected to be a key condition of the peace agreement being negotiated in Saudi Arabia between Donald Trump's top foreign policy advisers and Russia.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘The lurch to the right scares me’: could the left surprise in German election?

Amid Elon Musk’s meddling on behalf of the AfD, the Linke is gaining strong support from women and young votersAs the world’s richest person meddles at will on behalf of the far right in the German election campaign, a leftist party calling for taxing billionaires out of existence has risen from the ashes in the race’s final stretch.The far-left Linke, successor to the East German communists who built the Berlin Wall and just months ago on life support after an internal schism, has had a surprise resurgence before the 23 February poll. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Now Downing Street refuse to say if under fire Lord Hermer will keep his job until the next election

Lord Hermer's decisions as the Government's chief law officer have come under scrutiny as details have emerged of his previous clients, including Gerry Adams and jihadi bride Shamima Begum.

Politics

5 d. ago Europe at war over Starmer's Ukraine peace plan: Germany's Scholz storms out of crisis summit and slams UK's 'completely premature' troops pledge

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz left a crisis summit in Paris between European leaders early and a 'little irritated' labelling the premier's calls as 'highly inappropriate'.

Events

5 d. ago Now Downing Street say if under fire Lord Hermer will keep his job until the next elections

Lord Hermer's decisions as the Government's chief law officer have come under scrutiny as details have emerged of his previous clients, including Gerry Adams and jihadi bride Shamima Begum.

Politics

5 d. ago AfD leader blasts politicians for 'excluding millions of voters' who want migration tackled in heated TV debate as hard

Alice Weidel praised US Vice President JD Vance for his comments calling on Germany to drop its decades-long taboo of having the far right in government.

Politics