News compact
EXCLUSIVE After the balloon was launched, the federal government was also alarmed. Berlin is checking whether similar objects have already been sighted in German airspace. Meanwhile, tensions between the US and China are growing. Beijing is angered by the use of force against a “civilian unmanned airship” and reserves the right to take consequences. To the article (SZ Plus)
Maassen lets the ultimatum for voluntary withdrawal from the party expire. The former head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, who was put on temporary retirement because of controversial statements, complains about an alleged “smear campaign that has been going on for weeks”. The hurdles for expulsion from the CDU are high, and the possible step is controversial within the party. Go to Article
How the BND should be controlled more closely. For a year now, a new federal authority has been monitoring the federal intelligence service’s wiretapping measures abroad. Now she could become even more powerful. The traffic light coalition is planning a major reform of the secret service law. To the article (SZ Plus)
Pakistan’s ex-president Musharraf dies after a long illness. He stood for an authoritarian leadership style, but also for rapprochement with the United States. After the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, Musharraf supported America in the war on terror. Al-Qaeda tried to kill him three times. The 79-year-old suffered from amyloidosis, a rare disease. Go to Article
The Pope ends a historically unprecedented pilgrimage in South Sudan. The leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian Churches swear to Christian unity and their commitment to peace. Displacement, hunger and natural disasters make the country the focus of one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. Go to Article
All about the war in Ukraine
EXCLUSIVE Ukraine worried about Leopard support. First Chancellor Scholz was accused of hesitation, then he decided to deliver leopard-Battle tanks. Now the federal government is waiting for concrete offers from several states that had also promised battle tanks. But neither Finland nor the Netherlands have given binding figures, nor have Denmark and Norway. To the article (SZ Plus)
Bakhmut increasingly encircled by Russian troops. Ukrainian and Russian troops are engaged in bloody battles in the Donbass for the strategically important city of Bakhmut. Israel’s ex-president Bennett reports on Putin’s promise not to kill Zelensky. To the live blog
Interview with Vladimir Sorokin: “We are all guilty, of course”. A conversation with the Russian bestselling author about his country’s history of violence, the undead Soviet people and the unwillingness of the intelligentsia to take responsibility. To the article (SZ Plus)