Wednesday's top story: Merz says new EU rules mean Germany can soon end border controls
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday he expected to end border controls soon after EU countries backed a significant tightening of Europe's migration policy.
The new measures, supported by EU interior ministers in Brussels on Monday, include setting up "return hubs"Â outside the 27-nation bloc for failed asylum seekers.
Merz said the plans meant that "we will be able to shift border controls to Europe's external borders" but without specifying when German border controls may be lifted.
Germany first introduced border checks with its nine neighbours in September 2024 under former chancellor Olaf Scholz, aiming to curb irregular immigration and heighten security.
Merz's government further tightened border checks when it took power in May, moving to boost police numbers and reject most asylum seekers as part of a crackdown on migration.
The new measures agreed in Brussels must still be approved by the European Parliament before coming into force.
As well as return hubs outside the EU, they also threaten penalties for migrants who refuse to leave European territory, including longer periods of detention.
Migrants could also be returned to countries that are not their countries of origin, but which Europe considers "safe".
READ ALSO: Germany to further extend border controls in migration crackdown
Climate group files lawsuit against state of Berlin
Environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) filed a climate lawsuit on Tuesday against the state of Berlin at the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg, accusing the city senate of failing its legal duty to update its central energy and climate protection programme (BEK) by the end of 2024.
DUH stated that no draft has even been produced, despite Berlin's binding obligation to revise the programme periodically to meet COâ‚‚ reduction targets, including 70 percent by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2045.
The group highlighted the senate's budget cuts to climate measures and sluggish progress, with emissions dropping only 200,000 tonnes annually from 2020 to 2023 – far short of required acceleration.
DUH executive director JĂĽrgen Resch criticised the "I don't care" attitude, demanding urgent action like the creation of 100 kilometres of cycle superhighways, bus lanes and building renovations.
READ ALSO: 'Denial of reality' - Is Germany's future government ignoring the threat of climate change?
One in four Germans buys themselves a Christmas gift
At Christmas, around a quarter of Germans now also get a gift for themselves, according to a survey by Munich economist Oliver Gansser.
Popular self-gifts included books, delicatessen, travel or wellness experiences costing between €50 and €170 on average. One in six self-givers invested even a bit more money - up to around €223 on average - on a smartphone.
Andrea Gröppel-Klein, a consumer and behavioural researcher at Saarland University, suggests the phenomenon is not new.
"We have been familiar with self-gifts from research since 1990," she says. In recent years, studies on the reasons behind this phenomenon have increased.
"We are attached to this beautiful idea of the ideal Christmas world, in which the large family eats together and exchanges gifts," Gröppel-Klein said, but she noted that the social reality for many is different today.
Now one in five Germans lives in a single household. For the researcher, a gift to oneself can therefore also be a "comforting self-regulation".
Oliver Gansser and his students surveyed more than 60,000 people, who answered questions about their holiday gift-giving habits in person, on the phone or online.
READ ALSO: Gift guide - The best Christmas presents to buy in Germany
BMW names new boss to steer car giant in tough times
BMW said Tuesday its head of production Milan Nedeljkovic will take over as chief executive as the German auto giant contends with challenges ranging from the electric shift to Chinese competition.
An engineer by training and an employee of the Munich-based manufacturer since 1993, the 56-year-old will succeed current CEO Oliver Zipse in May when he reaches the end of his term, the group said in a statement.
But the Serbian-born executive takes over at a time of deep crisis for Germany's flagship auto sector.
BMW, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, is seeing its sales decline in the key Chinese market due to strong local competition, particularly when it comes to EVs.
Like domestic rivals Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, BMW has also been impacted by US tariffs, although it has fared somewhat better as its largest factory in the world is located in South Carolina.
The carmaker reported rising profitability in the third quarter due to healthy worldwide sales, with Zipse saying the group had proven itself "resilient" in the face of headwinds.
READ ALSO: German exports tread water as shipments to the US and China fall
Germany's 'most beautiful sunrise' captured on school run
A spontaneous sunrise snapshot from the Hanover region has won Deutsche Post's contest for Germany's most beautiful dawn, earning a spot on a special stamp next July.
Banu Erkan's photo of the "Koldinger Seen" (Koldinger lakes) – taken on the way to her son's school – triumphed in an online vote by a slim majority, beating nearly 1,200 entries from pros and amateurs. It won 21 percent of 6,800 votes, the postal service announced Tuesday.
"The sunrise that morning was so magical, I just had to capture it," said Erkan.
The image will feature on a 95-cent stamp with a 1.3 million print run, plus a €2,000 prize for the photographer.
READ ALSO: IN PICTURES - The most beautiful photos of autumn in Germany
Germany's women’s handball team reaches World Championship semi-finals
Germany's women's handball team has reached the World Championship semi-finals for the first time since 2007. Coach Markus Gaugisch's side continued their strong run on Tuesday, defeating Brazil 30:23 in the quarter-finals to secure at least a bronze medal match.
In front of 10,522 fans at Dortmund's Westfalenhalle, Antje Döll led the scoring with six goals. Germany will now face either France or Denmark in Rotterdam on Friday.
With reporting by AFP, DPA & Paul Krantz.
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