World
Merz secures billion-euro deal for German military and infrastructure

A provision would exempt defence spending above 1% of GDP from debt brake rules, enabling Germany to increase military spending without limit.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has revealed plans for a new €500 billion special fund aimed at boosting infrastructure and defence spending.
Just over a week after his victory in the federal elections, Merz announced that his Christian Democratic Union (CDU), together with its Bavarian sister party (CSU) and likely coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), will present a joint bill in parliament next week to ease the country’s debt brake.
“I want to say that very clearly in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, our defence must now apply ‘Whatever it takes’,” said Merz, speaking alongside SPD and CSU party leaders at a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
“The additional spending on defence can only be coped with if our economy returns to stable growth within a very short period of time . . . This requires rapid and sustainable investments in our infrastructure,” he added.
Amendment to ‘Basic Law’
The bills need a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass, meaning Merz must reconvene the outgoing Bundestag, elected in 2021, and gain the backing of the Greens.
It marks a significant shift from Germany’s historically conservative approach to public borrowing. In 2009, Berlin enshrined the debt brake in its constitution, which restricts government borrowing and sets the structural deficit at a maximum of 0.35% of GDP.
Although Merz did not indicate such a move during the election campaign, the CDU/CSU is now defending the decision in light of recent global political events, including the tense clash between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington.
“Germany and Europe must quickly strengthen their defence capabilities. The CDU, CSU and SPD will table a motion to amend the Basic Law so that defence spending above 1% of GDP is exempt from the debt brake,” Merz stated at the press conference.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil emphasised that investments would not only be made in the German armed forces but also in a substantial funding programme for schools, day care centres, and infrastructure.
“This country has been running on empty in many areas, but that is now a thing of the past,” Klingbeil said.
Response to the deal announcement
The Greens’ Parliamentary group leader, Katharina Dröge, has criticised Merz for failing to engage in dialogue with the her party before making the announcement, noting that the CDU/CSU could discussed their plans with the Greens in advance to secure the majority needed to pass the special fund in the newly elected Bundestag.
Merz has also faced some criticism for failing to outline his fiscal plans during his federal election campaign.
“Defence is largely exempt from the debt brake, with an additional €500 billion allocated for special infrastructure projects, plus further debt in state budgets! This is a matter of state policy,” says Robin Alexander, the deputy editor-in-chief of German newspaper WELT.
“However, it’s also true that this aligns more with what Scholz and Habeck proposed during the election campaign than with the approach that Merz campaigned on during the Bundestag election,” he adds.
Markus Feldenkirchen, a journalist for German newspaper Spiegel, made similar comments on the plan stating “the agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD on the future financing of politics is responsible. What the future chancellor’s party proposed about financing during the election campaign was completely irresponsible. It was clearly a deliberate deception.”

World
Trump says he's considering 'taking away' Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is considering “taking away” the U.S. citizenship of a longtime rival, actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a decades-old Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits such an action by the government.
“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday. He added that O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, should stay in Ireland “if they want her.”
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Rosie O’Donnell speaks at a rally calling for resistance to President Donald Trump, in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, Feb. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
The two have criticized each other publicly for years, an often bitter back-and-forth that predates Trump’s involvement in politics. In recent days, O’Donnell on social media denounced Trump and recent moves by his administration, including the signing of a massive GOP-backed tax breaks and spending cuts plan.
It’s just the latest threat by Trump to revoke the citizenship of people with whom he has publicly disagreed, most recently his former adviser and one-time ally, Elon Musk.
But O’Donnell’s situation is notably different from Musk, who was born in South Africa. O’Donnell was born in the United States and has a constitutional right to U.S. citizenship. The U.S. State Department notes on its website that U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization may relinquish U.S. nationality by taking certain steps – but only if the act is performed voluntary and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship.
President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, May 30, 2025,. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, noted the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the Fourteen Amendment of the Constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born U.S. citizen,” Frost said in an email Saturday. “In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win his second term. She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage.
Responding to Trump Saturday, O’Donnell wrote on social media that she had upset the president and “add me to the list of people who oppose him at every turn.”
World
Russia's Lavrov warns US against 'exploiting' alliances as he meets with Kim Jong Un in North Korea

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed Russia and North Korea’s “invincible fighting brotherhood” and warned the U.S., Japan and South Korea against forming an antagonistic alliance during a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Wonsan, North Korea, Saturday, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
“We warn against exploiting these ties to build alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia,” Lavrov said, according to Russia’s state Tass news agency.
Russia and North Korea have bolstered their ties over the last few years, with North Korea providing troops and munitions to Russia in support of the war in Ukraine and Russia providing military and economic assistance to the closed-off dictatorship.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also visited North Korea last year.
RUSSIA GIVES RUBIO A ‘NEW AND DIFFERENT APPROACH’ AS TRUMP PUSHES FOR PEACE WITH UKRAINE
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Wonsan, North Korea, Saturday. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
The U.S., South Korea and Japan have been expanding or restoring their trilateral military exercises in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. On Friday, the three countries held a joint air drill involving U.S. nuclear-capable bombers near the Korean Peninsula, and their top military officers met in Seoul and urged North Korea to cease all unlawful activities that threaten regional security.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui attend a meeting in Wonsan, North Korea, Saturday. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
North Korea may deploy more troops this summer, according to South Korean intelligence.
Lavrov called the meeting a continuation of the countries’ “strategic dialogue” and said he hoped for more direct meetings in the future.
“We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis. … Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

Lavrov called the meeting a continuation of the countries’ “strategic dialogue” and said he hoped for more direct meetings in the future. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said more Russian delegations would visit North Korea later in the year, TASS reported.
Lavrov is next scheduled to travel to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting early next week.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
World
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235

Here are the key events on day 1,235 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is how things stand on Sunday, July 13:
Fighting
- Ukrainian officials said Russian air attacks overnight on Saturday killed at least two people in the western city of Chernivtsi and wounded 38 others across Ukraine.
- The raids also damaged civilian infrastructure from Kharkiv and Sumy in the northeast to Lviv, Lutsk and Chernivtsi in the west.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence said it attacked companies in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in Lviv, Kharkiv and Lutsk, as well as a military aerodrome.
- The United Nations Human Rights monitoring mission in Ukraine said that June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.
- In Russia, a man was killed in the Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Politics and diplomacy
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov that his country was ready to “unconditionally support” all actions taken by Moscow in Ukraine.
- Earlier, Lavrov held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, in Wonsan, and they issued a joint statement pledging support to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other’s countries, according to North Korean state media.
- Lavrov also warned the United States, South Korea and Japan against forming “alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia”.
- Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, said his government hoped to reach an agreement with the European Union and its partners on guarantees that Slovakia would not suffer from the end of Russian gas supplies by Tuesday. Slovakia has been blocking the EU’s 18th sanctions package on Russia over its disagreement with a proposal to end all imports of Russian gas from 2028. Slovakia, which gets the majority of its gas from Russian supplier Gazprom under a long-term deal valid until 2034, argues the move could cause shortages, a rise in prices and transit fees, and lead to damage claims.
- Russia blamed Western sanctions for the collapse of its agreement with the UN to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilisers. The three-year agreement was signed in 2022 in a bid to rein in global food prices.
Weapons
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “close to reaching a multilevel agreement” with the US “on new Patriot systems and missiles for them”. Ukraine was stepping up production of its own interceptor systems, he added.
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