German Health Minister Jens Spahn (R) and his husband Daniel Funke (L) arrive for a state banquet in honor of the queen and crown prince of Denmark at Bellevue Palace in Berlin on November 10, 2021. On Saturday, Spahn, now a member of the Bundestag, resigned his post after the couple used a surroga»»»

The parliamentary leader of Germany’s ruling bloc, Jens Spahn, has been forced to step down after he and his husband had a child via surrogacy. Spahn had previously criticized the practice, while his conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) party strongly opposes legalizing it in Germany. The scandal»»»

The former Hungarian government quietly committed more than HUF 100 billion (around EUR 288 million at the time) in public funds to support the development of Rheinmetall’s next-generation KF51 Panther main battle tank, according to company disclosures and financial records. While the investment wa»»»

Berlin: Firefighters have contained a wildfire in Muritz National Park in northeastern Germany. After intensive efforts that began on Monday, the fire was contained by creating water barriers to stop the blaze from spreading. The barriers soak the ground and trees in unburned parts of the forest, c»»»

SportsGermanyNew Bundesliga TV deal in US prioritizes reach over moneyJonathan HardingThe Bundesliga has a new home on American screens after Germany's top football league left ESPN. The new deal is a sign of the times. https://p.dw.com/p/5HC5lAfter years of being on ESPN, the Bundesliga has moved »»»

DUBAI: American guard Davion Mintz becomes the latest addition to Dubai Basketball for the 2026-27 season, joining the team from Wurzburg Baskets in Germany on a multi-year deal. The 1.91-meter 28-year-old arrives in Dubai following a standout season where he averaged 16.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and »»»

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc by eight percentage points in popularity among Germans, according to an Insa poll conducted for the Bild newspaper this week. If federal ele»»»

Instagram users across the UAE and around the world reported disruptions on Sunday, July 19, with thousands complaining of outages affecting the photo and video-sharing platform. Meta’s other services, including Facebook and Messenger, were also hit by reported issues, with users facing difficultie»»»

RIYADH: Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector posted strong growth in the first half of this year, reaching 117 billion dirhams ($31.9 billion), up 112 percent year on year, official data showed. In a press statement, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Center revealed that transaction volume in the emirate rose by»»»

Newsmax, the US cable news network that describes itself as the country’s fourth-largest cable news channel and is available in more than 100 countries, is preparing to expand its brand into Bulgaria, Mediapool reports. The company has announced that it has reached agreements for further internatio»»»

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters slammed Western governments for pushing for war with Russia and banning RT so the warmongering “propaganda of the ruling class” can be freely disseminated. Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, published on Friday, Waters expressed dismay that “some people in the»»»

EAST RUTHERFORD, United States: Lionel Messi will become the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final on Sunday as Spain’s Lamine Yamal seeks to join an elite group of teenage winners. The match at the MetLife Stadium will be the first meeting between Argentina’s Messi and the player w»»»

Jens Spahn, the parliamentary head of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU faction, resigned on Saturday amid mounting pressure over his use of a surrogate mother in the US despite a surrogacy ban in Germany. Spahn and his husband welcomed the child earlier this week, sparking criticism»»»

Hungary is looking to deepen its partnership with Germany’s state of Baden-Württemberg after a series of high-level meetings in Budapest, with economic cooperation, youth exchanges and regional development among the key priorities. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán announced on Facebook that she had wel»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria is seeking to strengthen its economic and investment ties with Germany, particularly with the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, during a meeting with a delegation led by Thomas Strobl, chairman of the regional parliament. Radev described Germany as one of »»»

On July 18, 1976, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first person in Olympic Games history to be awarded the score of a perfect 10 in gymnastics. 1 of 5 | Romania's Nadia Comaneci, 14, won three gold metals and received seven perfect scores at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The multiple exp»»»

Germany will take part in a French nuclear exercise later this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday after key defence talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at an air base near Cologne. Merz said the two countries would also continue to develop ​the ‌cloud solution from ‌the ​FCAS »»»

Copenhagen: One person was killed and a policeman was wounded in Denmark on Friday when a gunman opened fire on officers responding to a call of a blaze in a building, police said. The shooter was badly wounded when police returned fire and was taken to hospital. His motive for the ambush was not k»»»

France's ​main ​gambling sector regulator said ⁠on Friday it had ‌instructed the ‌country's ​internet service providers to ​block access ​to ​the Polymarket ​website, one of a number of online prediction markets that allow people to bet on the outcome of future events. The move aims to enforce»»»

The strengthening of parliamentary contacts and economic cooperation was the focus of talks between Parliament Chair Mihaela Dotsova and the President of the Landtag of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Strobl, Parliament's press centre said on Friday. Germany is an important pa»»»

WASHINGTON: The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday will be refereed by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia, two years after he was in charge of a Champions League final. FIFA announced the pick late Thursday. It’s the second straight World Cup final where Argentina, now the defending champ»»»

Liverpool FC have officially announced that Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has signed a new long-term contract, committing his future to the Premier League club until 2031. Reward for remarkable development The new agreement comes just three years after Szoboszlai joined Liverpool from RB »»»

MUNICH: A Moldovan man has been arrested on suspicion of espionage after a drone flew over a defense contractor’s facility in Munich and allegedly captured images of the site, prosecutors in Germany announced Friday. The 37-year-old man allegedly flew the drone over the facility on Wednesday and is»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country’s first hydrogen-powered train on Friday, making the country one of just a handful which have adopted the zero-emissions, clean fuel technology. Developed by state-owned Indian Railways, the blue trainset uses hydrogen fuel cells t»»»

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting President Emmanuel Macron this evening on the eve of a Franco-German cabinet meeting. One of the goals is to bounce back with new joint projects involving the defence industry of both countries following the failure of a common fighter jet project. Here is a sum»»»

The European Union's renewed drive to expand eastwards could face its biggest political obstacle yet if French far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, potentially derailing accession hopes for Ukraine and the Western Balkans at one of the most critical moments in the blo»»»

Jind, India: India launched its first hydrogen-powered train Friday, joining a small group of nations testing the technology as part of efforts to decarbonise rail transport and cut dependence on fossil fuels. The project is part of a broader push to modernise one of the world's largest rail networ»»»

K-pop exports reached a record high in the first half of 2026, South Korean government data showed Friday, In this March 21 photo, a billboard advertising the Netflix livestream of a BTS concert is seen in Seoul. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo South Korea's exports of K-pop albums»»»

POLITICS In an op-ed entitled "What is Bulgaria's place, Mr Radev?" and published by Capital, Alexander Detev comments on Prime Minister Rumen Radev's statement that Bulgaria will not join the Coalition of the Willing supporting Ukraine. Radev argued that lasting peace should be achieved through di»»»

JEDDAH: Berlin-based Palestinian singer-songwriter Aya Samra’s latest single, “Madina” is a reflection on identity, belonging, and the realization that home is something carried within. “I was moving in Germany a lot; so many apartments and so many cities,” Samra tells Arab News. “I was searching f»»»

India launched its first hydrogen-powered train Friday, joining a small group of nations testing the technology as part of efforts to decarbonise rail transport and cut dependence on fossil fuels. The project is part of a broader push to modernise one of the world's largest rail networks while redu»»»

Damascus, July 17 (SANA) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said on Thursday that Syria has become a reliable investment partner for Germany after concluding strategic agreements in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as Damascus seeks to expand economic coopera»»»

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bradley Dengler, the neurosurgery consultant to the Army Surgeon General, with Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, shows Col. Jessica Peck, the command surgeon for 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, how to use the i-Stat Alinity at LRMC, Germany on May 21. The device is a »»»

China and President Xi Jinping are now viewed more favorably than the US and Donald Trump across most of the world, a new Pew Research Center survey spanning six continents has found. Pew says China enjoys a more positive image than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, includi»»»

QNA Doha The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani continued to receiveregional and world leaders who came to offer condolences to His Highness on the passing of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani at Lusail Palace on Wednesday. HH the Amir met with President of the Uni»»»

MADRID: The Spanish competition is the league with the most representatives in the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, accounting for 24 of the 52 players named in the two squads. This figure places the Spanish competition well ahead of other leagues, with the English Premier League r»»»

LONDON: The first session of a Syrian-German Joint Committee to assist Syria’s recovery took place in Damascus on Thursday. It was co-chaired by Asaad Al-Shaibani, the foreign minister of the Syrian Arab Republic, and Geza Andreas von Geyr, German minister of state at the Federal Foreign Office. Th»»»

PARIS/BERLIN: France and Germany will discuss deepening cooperation on nuclear deterrence, missile defense, long-range strike capabilities and space at a joint ministerial retreat, the Elysee said, seeking to show that the EU’s two largest defense powers can still work together despite differences »»»

Damascus, July 16 (SANA) Head of the Syrian General Authority for Civil Aviation and Air Transport Omar Hosari said the newly signed air transport agreement with Germany establishes the legal framework for restoring direct air links between the two countries after years of suspension. In a post on »»»

A black-furred monkey with striking orange-pink lips that has remained hidden for years in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been confirmed as a new species, marking one of Africa’s most significant primate discoveries in decades. The monkey, officially named Colobus con»»»

Damascus, July 16 (SANA) Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani received a German delegation led by Géza Andreas von Geyr, Germany’s Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, on Thursday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations. The two ministers also launched the inaugural ses»»»

Dubai: India is set to join a select group of countries operating hydrogen-powered passenger trains when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the country’s first such service on Friday, marking a major milestone in Indian Railways’ transition to cleaner and more sustainable transportation. The hy»»»

Frankfurt, Germany: US ride-hailing giant Uber has struck a 12.7-billion-euro deal to take over German food delivery behemoth Delivery Hero, the latest consolidation in the industry, the companies said Thursday. The German firm operates in over 60 markets worldwide and has expanded beyond its tradi»»»

WARSAW: Poland has ‌charged an 18-year-old Ukrainian man with inciting ethnic tensions by desecrating memorials to Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two, the Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Thursday. The so-called Volhynia massacres have been a source of tension between»»»

President Zelenskiy was in Paris on July 13 for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, joining some 25 heads of state and government at the Hôtel des Invalides to sign up to deals supplying desperately needed air defence systems, ammunition and fighter jets. Hosted by Emmanuel Macron, the gathe»»»

The Medical University of Plovdiv currently enrolls 2,530 international students from 63 countries, including 1,100 from EU member states, the university told BTA. The largest groups of foreign students come from the UK, followed by Greece, Germany, and Italy. The university offers English-taught p»»»

BULGARIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM COALLITION OF WILLING FOR UKRAINE Despite the shift in position and Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s refusal to participate in the Coalition of the Willing meeting in support of Ukraine, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova signed a declaration in Kyiv on Wednesday t»»»

The Medical University of Plovdiv currently enrolls 2,530 international students from 63 countries, including 1,100 from EU member states, the university told BTA. The largest groups of foreign students come from the UK, followed by Greece, Germany, and Italy. The university offers English-taught p»»»

Russia’s crude output declined to the lowest in at least two and a half years in June as Ukraine attacked the nation’s oil infrastructure on an almost daily basis. But LNG production remains untouched and exports to Europe are at their highest level ever. There is a fundamental conflict of interest»»»

Russia’s crude output declined to the lowest in at least two and a half years in June as Ukraine attacked the nation’s oil infrastructure on an almost daily basis. But LNG production remains untouched and exports to Europe are at their highest level ever. There is a fundamental conflict of interest»»»