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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a show of support as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian cities. The aerial war has intensified, with Moscow menacing cities across Ukraine with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, while Kyiv has been striking Russia's oil industry and businesses. Merz said he travelled to Kyiv, his second trip as chancellor, to demonstrate Germany's support for Ukraine. "If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us," he said in a statement Sunday, adding that he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, "You can continue to count on our help." Merz said the partnership between the two countries was "not a one-way street," pointing to German and Ukrainian companies jointly developing technologies that benefit both sides. "This makes us safer and stronger," he said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the agenda would focus on "strengthening Ukraine, our defenc
Germany is aiming to double annual overnight stays by Indian visitors by 2030, its national tourism board chief Petra Hedorfer said, as the country seeks to tap the growing appetite among Indian travellers for longer, experience-led holidays beyond traditional city itineraries. India is an important strategic growth market for Germany, with Indian visitors accounting for 9,28,635 overnight stays in 2025, up 3.4 per cent from the previous year, Hedorfer, CEO of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), said in an interview to PTI. The positive trend has continued this year, with 5,37,565 overnight stays by Indian visitors recorded during January-July 2026, an increase of 2.9 per cent year-on-year. July alone saw 85,400 overnight stays, up 3.6 per cent compared with the same month last year. "Looking towards 2030, our longer-term ambition is to double overnight stays annually from India," Hedorfer said. She said Germany remained positive about the potential of the Indian market, ...
Russia's top diplomat rejected German calls to ease off its "dangerous path of escalation" toward the country, instead accusing Germany of being Ukraine's main sponsor and seeking to be a leading military power in Europe. "Does Berlin understand what this could lead to?" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asked in his speech at the UN General Assembly's annual gathering of world leaders. "Didn't they not learn the lessons of World War II?" Lavrov was dismissive after the German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the meeting, holding what's believed to be the first such tete-a-tete since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "He simply reiterated his official public position condemning Russia," Lavrov said. "You can judge for yourself whether that counts as dialogue or not." The meeting, at German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's request, came just before Lavrov addressed world leaders, where he also criticised the militarisation of Japan
Two drones were spotted flying over a German military base in the western part of the country earlier this week, just two days after a drone carrying explosives was found at a key cargo airport, the German Armed Forces said on Saturday. Security surveillance at the Bundeswehr base in Mechernich reported seeing two drones around 10 pm on Thursday, according to a statement from the German Joint Force Command. The sightings were confirmed and military police forces deployed to the site. The military said the Euskirchen police department has opened an investigation. The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the military did not release additional details. Recently, drone sightings over civilian and cargo airports have been more widely reported. Last year, mysterious drone flights over the airspace of European Union member countries alarmed the public and authorities, and also prompted the cancellation of dozens of flights that stranded thousands of ...
The suspect in the deadly Berlin Pride attack that left one person dead and 29 injured was shot and killed by police during a confrontation on Sunday in a suburb of the city, authorities said. Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, was killed following a search that lasted nearly 24 hours after the attack in downtown Berlin. Prosecutors said he had previously sought to join the militant Islamic State group. Ballout was suspected of driving a van into a crowd near Berlin's Pride festival Saturday night before apparently stabbing others with a machete in what authorities believe was an Islamic extremist terror attack. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the attack occurred a few hundred meters (yards) from a party near the Brandenburg Gate that was supposed to close out the city's Pride festival. Ballout was tracked down around 6 pm Sunday at a garden in Spandau, a Berlin suburb, the city's police department wrote on X. They said he apparently ran toward officers
A van slammed into people gathered for Berlin's famed LGBTQ+ event on Saturday night, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to call off the celebrations and a concert in the German capital hours after they had begun. Berlin police said they have identified a suspect who has not been arrested and he has ties to Islamic extremists in the German capital. "The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed," said police spokesman Florian Nath. He did not identify the suspect by name. Earlier, police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims. "We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects," police officer Florian Nath said on a short video released on the Berlin police account on X. Whit