Merz doubles down on gambit with German far right in combative speech

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Prospective chancellor takes startlingly aggressive line against those protesting against gamble with AfD

The German conservative opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, whose party is widely tipped to win this month’s general election, defended his hardline migration proposals after a wave of protests accused him of breaching the time-honoured “firewall” between the far right and centrists.

In an uncompromising speech to a party congress of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin, Merz said he was confident they would win the 23 February vote “with a very good result”, well ahead of the anti-immigration, anti-Islam Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has been consistently placing second in the polls.

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G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Escalation of Violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo – Department of State

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  1. G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Escalation of Violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo  Department of State
  2. Eastern Congo rebel alliance declares ceasefire starting on Feb. 4  Reuters
  3. Food prices skyrocket in DR Congo’s Goma after M23 takeover  Al Jazeera English
  4. 5 things to know about the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo  NPR
  5. Rebels call for ceasefire in DR Congo after hundreds are killed in a week of fighting  CNN
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Car bomb blast in northern Syria kills at least 20 – BBC.com

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  1. Car bomb blast in northern Syria kills at least 20  BBC.com
  2. Car bombing kills 20 in northern Syria’s Manbij: Presidency  Al Jazeera English
  3. At least 15 killed in car bomb explosion in northern Syria  ABC News
  4. Car Bomb in Syria Kills 15 Agricultural Workers  The New York Times
  5. Another car bomb in a northern Syria city kills at least 19, mostly women  The Associated Press
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Scientists hope these tiny froglets can save their species – The Associated Press

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  1. Scientists hope these tiny froglets can save their species  The Associated Press
  2. Endangered frogs born at London zoo after rescue mission in Chile  The Guardian
  3. A Leap of Hope: Endangered Frogs First Seen by Charles Darwin Give Birth in London to Help Avoid Extinction  Good News Network
  4. Tiny endangered Chilean froglets are born in London after 7,000 mile mission to save them from extinction  Yahoo! Voices
  5. Endangered male frogs 'give birth' to 33 froglets after 7,000-mile journey  Fox Weather
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Ontario premier ‘ripping up’ contract with Musk’s Starlink over US tariffs

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Doug Ford says Canada will not work with ‘people hellbent on destroying our economy’, blaming failed deal on Trump

The leader of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, announced on Monday that he would be “ripping up” a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet services in response to the US tariffs on Canada announced by Donald Trump.

The contract, first signed in November, aimed to provide high-speed internet access through Starlink’s satellite service to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses, notably those in remote, rural and northern communities of Canada, by June 2025.

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Front-runner in German election says his party will ‘never’ work with the far right – The Associated Press

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  1. Front-runner in German election says his party will ‘never’ work with the far right  The Associated Press
  2. Germany: CDU leader rules out co-operation with far-right  Euronews
  3. Germany's Merz tells DW that AfD 'wants to destroy the CDU'  DW (English)
  4. Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against proposed German immigration crackdown  Reuters UK
  5. German Opposition Gambles With Far-Right on Immigration, and Loses  The New York Times
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An interview with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s president – The Economist

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  1. An interview with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s president  The Economist
  2. Opinion | Syria Has a New Government—or Does It?  The Wall Street Journal
  3. Syrian leader visits Saudi Arabia, in a shift away from Iran  Semafor
  4. Syria's Sharaa says it will take 4-5 years to hold presidential election  Reuters
  5. Syria’s Interim President in Saudi Arabia on First Foreign Trip  Bloomberg
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Donald Trump’s Trade War Is Unwinnable – Jacobin magazine

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  1. Donald Trump’s Trade War Is Unwinnable  Jacobin magazine
  2. The opening salvos have been fired in Trump's trade war - what comes next?  BBC.com
  3. Opinion: Trump may upend politics, but he cannot defy the laws of economics  The Globe and Mail
  4. America First mapped: All the countries Trump has threatened in his first two weeks as president  The Independent
  5. Trump Actions Spark Concern in US and Abroad  News For Kids
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Mitch McConnell calls Trump tariffs ‘bad idea’ but most Republicans toe line

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Ex-Senate majority leader is one of few party members to criticize president’s trade war with US neighbors and China

Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely fallen in line with Donald Trump’s move to impose tariffs on the US’s biggest trading partners, with the notable exception of the former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who called it a “bad idea”.

With even Trump admitting that the tariffs – 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on China – might cause “some pain”, there was mostly strong support from the president’s loyalists. Jason Smith, chair of the ways and means committee of the House of Representatives, said the tariffs would “send a powerful message that the United States will no longer stand by as other nations fail to halt the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants into our country”.

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