Young German men.
It came out of nowhere. It’s inexplicable.
Young Germans opt out of military service as Berlin strives to boost army – Almost 6,000 young men apply to be excluded on moral or religious grounds despite ‘conscription lite’ policy.
Due to the Iran war? I didn’t know Germany even had a Middle East presence.
But I guess 30 guys holed up in a camp on the edge of the Erbil airport counts.
German military to leave base in Erbil, northern Iraq by September, Spiegel reports – German troops are set to withdraw from Erbil, Iraq, by the end of September following a broader effort to reduce Germany’s Middle East presence due to the Iran war.
Which Germany are they talking about here?
German of the day: Märchen. That means fairy tale.
Why migrants come to Germany for work and then leave again – Germany has long attracted skilled workers to its labor market. The country has been much less successful at retaining them. So what is Germany doing wrong?
That means store hours on Sunday.
There are none in Germany, in case you didn’t know. Germans are very religious. Hardy, har, har.
But wait! Suddenly. In the year 2026…
Debate Over Expanding Sunday Store Hours – Following libraries and bakeries, the retail sector now also wants to fight for the right to open stores on Sundays. It has received support from the Bundestag’s Economic Committee. Churches and labor unions view the initiative critically.
Following the government’s announcement that it would extend Sunday opening hours for bakeries and pastry shops, the discussion about general store opening hours on weekends is now gaining momentum: The Bundestag’s Economic Committee has called for a significant relaxation of the current ban on Sunday openings…
Air conditioning in Germany is now officially a good thing.
Greens’ Dröge calls for air conditioning push in public facilities – The co-leader of Germany’s Greens, Katharina Dröge, appeals in this week’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper for rapid moves to install air conditioning units in key public buildings.
You know. Key public buildings like the German Bundestag.
That means job cuts. Deep cuts, in this case.
Job Cuts at VW: Auto Giant Plans to Cut Up to 100,000 Jobs – The crisis in the auto industry continues. VW is now reportedly doubling its original layoff plans – and some plants are also expected to be closed.
According to information from Manager Magazin, the Volkswagen Group plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs. Citing insider information, the publication reported that the restructuring is to be carried out over the next few years. This would effectively double the previous job-cut target. In addition, plans are reportedly in place to close four plants in Hanover, Emden, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm (Audi) in the medium term.
It’s felt them though. In the ancient past.
Germany hit by record temperatures as heatwave moves east – Germans braced for sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in Western Europe was expected to move east after temperatures broke records above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Everybody knows why Germans don’t have air conditioning.
Unlike the US or parts of Asia, many homes in Germany and northern Europe aren’t equipped to deal with extreme heat. But as the world gets hotter, trends are changing.
German of the day: Amerikabild
That means image of America.
The soccer fan who is shaking up Germany’s image of America – For years, Germans have viewed the U.S. primarily through headlines and mostly negative news: Donald Trump, polarization, gun violence, and culture wars. And now an unknown German soccer fan named “Freddy from Germany” comes along, posts on social media about his first visit to a “Waffle House,” expresses amazement at a massive gas station with more than a hundred pumps and a shooting range right in the middle of an outdoor store—and suddenly, millions of people are seeing a different side of America…
Perhaps this World Cup ultimately says more about Germany than it does about the United States.
This time it’s “blame the Designated Bad Guy for everything.”
They just switched it from Trump to Merz.
Germans’ New National Sport: Blaming Friedrich Merz for Everything – Blaming the current chancellor cannot conceal the deeper, collective responsibility for Germany’s nearly 20 years of drift.
That impulse says less about Mr. Merz than about the political maturity of the Federal Republic.
