German President brings Berlin kebab shop owner on tricky diplomatic visit to Turkey

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier begins a delicate visit to Turkey on Monday, taking a Berlin kebab chef with him as a show of close personal ties between the two nations despite differences with his Turkish counterpart.

Steinmeier, who is visiting Turkey for the first time since becoming president, has had a difficult relationship with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The German head of state has been quick to call out Erdogan’s approach towards Israel and has previously raised concerns about the erosion of democratic norms in Turkey.

On the trip, the German president hopes to highlight the contribution made by generations of Turkish migrants, who since the 1960s have come to work in Germany.

Among those to establish themselves in Germany was the grandfather of Arif Keles, a Berlin kebab shop owner invited on the trip by Steinmeier.

The grilled meat artisan will serve Döner kebab to guests at a dinner in Istanbul on Monday night.

READ ALSO: How the humble Döner kebab evolved into Berlin’s go-to fast food snack

German’s Deutsche Bahn bans cannabis smoking at train stations

German railway operator Deutsche Bahn is adjusting its regulations to prohibit smoking cannabis at German train stations.

“… We want to protect our passengers, especially children and young people, at our train stations. That’s why we will place a general ban on the consumption of cannabis in our train stations. We are adjusting our regulations to that effect as soon as possible,” a DB spokeswoman told German paper Bild am Sonntag.

READ ALSO: Germany bans cannabis smoking at train stations

The new rules should be ready and legally valid in about four weeks’ time. From June onwards, Deutsche Bahn will be prosecuting anyone who breaches the rules, but until then, railway staff will ask passengers to refrain from smoking cannabis with “friendly requests and information”. 

The cannabis ban will also apply to the smoking areas that some train stations have, Deutsche Bahn told German press agency DPA.

There is already a general ban on smoking at German train stations, with the only exceptions being designated smoking areas, where smoking cannabis will also be prohibited.

German government proposes June 15th as Veterans Day

Germany has been mulling introducing an annual Veterans Day to commemorate former members of the armed forces and express gratitude to those serving their country. 

Now June 15th has been put forward as the proposed date for this to take place – and will soon be voted on in the Bundestag. 

This day was chosen because the veterans’ badge was awarded for the first time on June 15th in 2019.

According to the motion submitted by coalition and opposition parties, over 10 million men and women have served in the Bundeswehr (German army) since it was founded in November 1955. Some soldiers have suffered serious physical or psychological injuries as a result of their deployment.

The SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU call on the government to “develop a sustainable and contemporary concept for the implementation of June 15th as a national Veterans Day” and to ensure a fundamental improvement in the aftercare of injuries suffered, particularly during deployment abroad.

Free Democrats want stricter sanctions on long-term unemployment benefits

The FDP, which is in a junior partner in the coalition with the Social Democrats and Greens, is calling for stricter sanctions on those receiving Bürgergeld (long-term unemployment benefit) and the end of people receiving their pension at 63.

According to a draft resolution ahead of the FDP’s upcoming party conference, those in Germany who refuse to work should have their benefits cut by 30 percent immediately.

“Anyone who does not fulfil their obligations to cooperate with the Bürgergeld and, for example, refuses reasonable work without good reason, should face an immediate 30 percent reduction in benefits,” the paper states. The scope for stricter sanctions must be utilised, “up to and including the complete cancellation of benefits”, the paper adds. 

The current regulation stipulates that authorities can cut a maximum of 10 percent of benefits for one month for recipients who breach their obligations for the first time.

Meanwhile, the FDP wants to abolish people being able to retire with a pension at 63 and instead want to make working later more attractive. They suggested getting rid of the employer’s contribution to unemployment insurance once the standard working limit has been reached.

Scandals rock German far right but party faithfuls unmoved

When carpenter Tim Lochner decided to run for mayor in the German city of Pirna, he knew standing for the far-right AfD would give him the best chance of winning. “My success proves me right,” Lochner told AFP at the town hall in Pirna, a picturesque mountain town with a population of around 40,000 in the former East German state of Saxony.

Surfing on a surge of support for the AfD across Germany, Lochner scored 38.5 percent of the vote against two other candidates in December, making him the AfD’s first city mayor.

Four months later, support for the anti-euro, anti-immigration party has been slipping as it battles multiple controversies.

Germany to send new frigate to protect ships in Red Sea

Germany has said it will send a new frigate to the Red Sea in August to help secure maritime traffic, disrupted for months due to attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The ‘Hamburg’ will replace the ‘Hessen’, which left the zone on Saturday, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said. The ‘Hessen’ had been deployed in the area on February 23 as part of the European Union’s “Aspides” mission to protect ships in the area.

The statement said the ‘Hamburg’ had escorted 27 merchant ships in the intervention zone and had on four occasions repulsed drone and missile attacks by the Huthis. It had around 240 military personnel on board.

READ ALSO: Germany to send new frigate to protect ships in Red Sea

Bayern to honour Beckenbauer with statue outside stadium

Bayern Munich are to honour the late German football legend Franz Beckenbauer with a statue outside their Allianz Arena home ground, a club supporters foundation announced on Sunday.

Beckenbauer, widely considered one of the best players of all time, died in January at the age of 78.

‘Der Kaiser’s’ statue will sit alongside that of former teammate and Bayern striker Gerd Mueller, which was unveiled in September.

Mueller, who still holds the Bundesliga goalscoring record, died in August 2021 at the age of 75.

READ ALSO: ‘The Kaiser’: German football legend Franz Beckenbauer dies

With reporting by Rachel Loxton