Penulis: Agus S

As the hostilities between Israel and Iran itensify, European leaders have called for calm, warning of the growing risk of a broader regional war. But Europe's role as a key mediator may be over amid stalled diplomacy.

The latest flareup intensified Friday whenIsrael launched a targeted strike on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility,killing several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran then retaliated to Israel's large-scale attacks with waves of missile strikes on Friday evening and early on Saturday.

The attacks in an already unstable region have caused widespread concern across Europe.

NATOSecretary General Mark Rutte emphasized the urgency of avoiding further escalation, calling "for many allies — including the United States — to work … to de-escalate.” Adding, "this was a unilateral action by Israel.”

European CommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyen echoed the sentiment in a post on X, urging "all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation.” Adding that in a call to Israel's President Isaac Herzog late on Friday she "reiterated Israel's right to defend itself and protect its people." Before writing that "at the same time, perserving regional stability is vital."

Key European powers also appeared to rally behind Israel following its attack and Iran's counterstrikes.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merzexpressed strong support for Israel's "right to protect its existence and the security of its citizens.” Adding in a post on X that Iran's nuclear program presents "a serious threat to the entire region, and particularly to the state of Israel."

A sentiment echoed byFrench President Emmanuel Macron, who similarly urged restraint while reaffirming Israel's right to self-defense. The French leader has previously described Iran's nuclear capabilities as a significant strategic and security challenge for both France and Europe.

This alignment has drawn criticism from some analysts, who argue that Europe's support for Israel may undermine its credibility as a neutral mediator.

"European capitals such as Berlin and Paris have come out in support of Israel, ignoring this was an unjustified action," Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told DW.

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Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East program at the ECFR, further warned that Germany and France's alignment with Israel runs the risk of isolating Iran.

"If you are an Iranian, you would see this as Europeans siding with Israel in support of military action,” he told DW.

Iran, meanwhile, demanded a firmer stance from Europe. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a phone call with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, called on the EU and the broader international community to condemn what Tehran called a "criminal attack.”

European powers — particularly the so-called E3 of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — position has been influenced in part by a recent resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which found Iran in violation of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

The resolution, introduced by the E3, has provided political backing for a toucher stance on Iran, reinforcing accusations of non-compliance.

As diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — continue between the United States and Iran, European powers have found themselves on the sidelines.

Talks between the US and Iranian officials have taken place over recent months in Oman and Rome. The sixth round, reportedly scheduled for this weekend, was cancelled on Friday following the latest strikes.

"Europe missed an opportunity to use diplomacy before military escalation took over,” Lovatt said. Both he and Barnes-Dacey believe Israel's strike was designed in part to disrupt efforts to revive the US-Iran nuclear talks.

Hans Jacob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, told DW that the region is now "in a very dangerous escalation spiral,” with risks of further escalation increasing by the day.

"The current assessment is that Israel can only delay Iran's nuclear program,” Lovatt added.

With nuclear diplomacy faltering and military confrontation looming, Europe's role as a mediator — once central to the Iran nuclear deal — appears increasingly sidelined.

Unexploded WWII bombs are still regularly found across Germany. But hundreds of thousands of tons of wartime munitions also lurk off its shores. Now Berlin is stepping up moves to clean up this perilous toxic waste.

An estimated 1.6 million metric tons of conventional munitions lie in Germany's coastal waters alone. The vast majority is located in theNorth Sea; the rest in theBaltic. There are also thought to be several thousand tons ofchemical weapons.

Most have lain largely forgotten for 80 years or more. While headline-grabbing bomb discoveries on dry land close down entire neighborhoods and transport networks,as in the western German city of Cologne in early June, the threat is much more insidious at sea.

Growing fears over contamination have prompted action. Now, a large mobile platform is planned that will autonomously retrieve old weapons from the seabed and dispose of them. The trailblazing project was presented to the international community at the UN Ocean Conference in the French city of Nice in June.

"Up to now, recovery operations were only carried out in the event of imminent danger, if, for example, an undetonated bomb was at risk of exploding," said Sebastian Unger, marine conservation director at Germany's Environment Ministry (BMUKN).

"Now, it is about finally tackling this problem for reasons of environmental and marine conservation, but also to ultimately reduce human health risks," added the ministery expert, talking to DW from the event.

German mines and explosives discarded by Allied bombers on their way back to Britain are among theWWIIcombat weapons strewn across the ocean floor. But most of the explosives in Germany's North Sea and Baltic waters ended up there after the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

British troops tipped the armaments that they found in weapons factories and warehouses into the sea. It was seen as a quick fix in the process to denazify and demilitarize Germany.

In recent years, it has become apparent that they are decomposing. Some visible evidence of their decay: lumps of white phosphorus and an explosive mixture containing TNT occasionally washing ashore. The substances look frighteningly similar to prized amber or minerals and visitors and beachcombers have been injured.

Toxicological analyses carried out on mussels in the dumping site over the last decade have revealed traces ofcarcinogenicchemicals contained in the munitions. Examination of samples gathered since the 1980s also show a steady rise from 2002 onwards.

"The concentrations are still very, very low. As humans we don't have to be concerned about eating these mussels. But if we go further down the line — maybe in 30, 40 years — we might have to think twice," said Edmund Maser, a toxicologist from the University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), who has been involved in the research.

The marine ecosystem is, however, already at risk, according to Maser. TNT traces have been found infishand in seawater, too. And as the metal casings surrounding the munitions continue to rust, ever more will be released.

GEOMAR, the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, was asked by the Schleswig-Holstein state government in 2016 to help find out what weapons were down there and their possible environmental impact.

They have been using a variety of acoustic and visual technologies, which they have continued to develop during the ongoing pilot phase. The results have been mind-boggling.

"There is munition there, crates of it. One area is 20 by 40 meters in size where munition boxes are stacked up on the seabed, as if they've just been unloaded from a truck. In another spot there were a lot of bombs, 50 to 250 kilogram bombs, piled up like Mikado sticks," Jens Greinert, GEOMAR marine geologist, told DW. Small caliber ammunition, pistols and rocket launchers were also discovered.

The challenges of the shifting marine environment and the sheer mix of munitions on the seabed make the recovery process complicated as well as hazardous. The material inside can still explode — and there is always the risk of the release of toxic chemicals, such as TNT, during the retrieval and disposal process. GEOMAR and UKSH will also be part of the team monitoring the clean-up.

German environmental organization NABU began drawing attention to the problem in 2007 and is calling for the clean-up operation to get underway as soon as possible.

"We don't really have a lot more time. The decomposition is, in part, at a more progressed stage than we were hoping. Of course, the problem exists on land, too. But toxic substances remain localized there, while in the sea they continue to spread and enter the food chain," Kim Detloff, NABU head of marine conservation, said in an interview with DW.

The NABU expert said there remained a problem with ongoing financing of the long-term operation of the planned platform. "It needs to be working 365 days 24/7," said Detloff. And he added that the enormous scale of the problem meant that far more than one floating platform was needed.

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The pilot and next phase of the munitions recovery project were financed with a €100 million emergency program from the federal government.

The groundbreaking salvaging and dismantling platform should be ready for deployment by late 2026 or early 2027, according to the BMUKN's Unger. He hopes such approaches will be adoptedin other parts of the world.

In German waters, operations are likely to prioritize particularly ecologically sensitive areas, fish spawning grounds or areas close to the coast that are of particular interest to the tourist industry, but that is still under consideration, according to Unger.

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Two men have received jail sentences for their roles in the 2019 theft of an 18-karat gold toilet from the mansion. The €5.5 million artwork, which satirized consumerism, was once offered on loan to Donald Trump.

An Oxford court on Friday handed jail sentences to two members of a gang that in 2019stole a £4.75 million ($6.4 million, €5.5 million) art work in the form of a gold toilet from Blenheim Palace,the birthplace of famous British wartime Prime MinisterWinston Churchill.

The toilet, entitled "America" and created by Italian artistMaurizio Cattelanas a commentary on ostentatious consumerism, had been on display for a just few days at the stately home when a five-strong gang smashed its way into the palace, ripping out the fully functioning appliance.

The toilet, which was split up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered, weighed approximately 98 kilograms (216 pounds) and was made from gold worth about €3.3 million.

One of the men, James Sheen, 40, received a four-year sentence that will run consecutively to the 19 years and 4-month sentence he is currently serving for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary and fraud.

He is believed to have wielded the sledgehammer used to remove the toilet from its fastenings.

The other, Michael Jones, 39, received a 27-month sentence, with the judge saying he could not be sure he was part of the gang that carried out the burglary, though he was found guilty of having carried out reconnaissance at the stately home preceding the crime.

That reconnaissance included trying out the facility a day before the theft, an experience he described to the court as "splendid."

Other members of the gang have already been sentenced for their roles in the theft.

The toilet had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and had been offered to US President Donald Trump as a loan during his first term of office, an offer the White House declined, having rather requested a Van Gogh painting.

One of Cattelan's other works, a banana duct-taped to a wall,was sold in 2024 for $6.2 millionat auction in New York.

Blenheim Palace, which was built in the 18th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thousands of visitors come each year to visit it and the valuable art and furniture that it houses.

After years of waiting, former England soccer star David Beckham was awarded knighthood in King Charles' annual birthday honors list. Actor Gary Oldman and musician Roger Daltrey were also knighted.

FormerEnglandfootballer David Beckham, The Who's musician Roger Daltrey and actor Gary Oldman were knighted inKing Charles's annual birthday honors list.

The 50-year-old former player, who can now call himself Sir David Beckham, told the PA news agency that he could never have imagined receiving such an honorable award.

"I'm immensely proud and it's a very emotional moment for me to share with my family," he said.

Beckham joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993 and went on to make nearly 400 appearances for the club, winning a string of titles and cups.

He then played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and AC Milan. He also captained his country 58 times and made 115 appearances.

One of the highlights: in 1999, he won the Champions League final with Manchester United against FC Bayern.

His 1999 marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham cemented his celebrity status, which far surpassed his sporting achievements.

In 2003, Beckham had already been elevated to the rank of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

67-year-old Oldman began his career on stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company before rising to prominence in film. He won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama "Darkest Hour."

He also had roles in the "Dark Knight" trilogy and the "Harry Potter" movie series. More recently, he starred in the TV spy drama "Slow Horses."

Roger Daltrey, the lead singer of the rock band The Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, was knighted for his charitable work.

TheBritish governmentannounced that more than 1,200 people received honors for their achievements, particularly those who dedicated their time to public service.

King Charles's official birthday will be celebrated with the annual "Trooping the Colour" military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is November 14.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner swap in accordance with the agreements reached in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is holding back the Russian offensive in the Sumy region.

UkraineandRussiaconducted another prisoner of war exchange on Saturday, the fourth such exchange in a week.

Earlier in June, both countriesreached an agreementin Istanbul that included a series of swaps.

"We continue bringing our people home from Russian captivity," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post.

"Many of the guys who returned to Ukraine today had been held captive since 2022," he added, without mentioning the number of prisoners.

Russia's Defense Ministry also did not say how many prisoners of war were involved in the swap with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Saturday that Ukraine has received 1,200 bodies of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia.

On Friday, Russia announced that it had repatriated the bodies of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers who had been killed, but that it had received none of its own.

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In a separate statement, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine's army is managing to containRussia's current military offensivein the northeastern Sumy region.

"We are in the process of levelling the position. The important thing is that there are 53,000 Russians there," Zelenskyy said in comments released for publication by his office on Saturday.

"The fighting there is taking place along the border. You have to understand that the enemy is being held back there," the president added.

According to Zelenskyy, Russian troops have only advanced 7 kilometres across the border.

Russian troops have recentlyincreased their attacks in northeastern Ukraine, announcing plans to establish a "buffer zone" in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops have maintained defensive lines along more than 1,000 kilometers of the front line.

He also dismissedMoscow's claimsthat Russian troops had crossed the administrative border into central Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Dnipropetrovsk region borders Ukraine's Donetsk region, which Russia claims to have annexed.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

Members of the German military will be honored in the country's first-ever Veterans Day on June 15. Big parties and protests are planned in Berlin and other cities nationwide.

"There are people who risk their lives for society, and they simply deserve a certain amount of appreciation and recognition," David Hallbauer says.

He was a soldier deployed abroad and now serves as deputy chairman of the Association of German Deployment Veterans (BDV). The organization has been campaigning for an official Veterans Day in Germany for years.

On Sunday, June 15, it will get its wish when military veterans will be honored for the first time with a large civic celebration at the Reichstag parliamentary building in Berlin and other events nationwide.

Hallbauer is delighted. "In other countries, this is a matter of course, but it hasn't been established here at all until now," he says.

There are obvious historical reasons as to why a culture of appreciation for veterans is only now developing in Germany. The tradition of celebrating war veterans ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The Nazi's so-called Heroes Memorial Day was abolished and replaced by a national day of mourning. After the Wehrmacht, the Nazi's unified armed forces, was disbanded, Germany had no army at all for a decade. Veterans' associations were also banned during this time.

Even after the Federal Republic of Germany founded its military, theBundeswehr, in 1955, no new veterans tradition initially developed. This began to change in the 1990s when more German soldiers were deployed abroad. They served in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Africa, and some returned wounded or traumatized.

But not all of these soldiers received the help they needed from the Bundeswehr or other government agencies in response. German society seemed to have little more than a friendly disinterest in the Bundeswehr, despite the fact that foreign deployments were approved by parliament.

Hallbauer also experienced this lack of interest. He describes how, at one of his association's commemorative events in front of the Reichstag in Berlin, tourists from the United States, England and France "where the ones who thanked us for our service, while the Germans were of the opinion: 'What kind of guys are these?'" he says. "Most people who came by couldn't relate to us at all."

It was mainly the veterans themselves who repeatedly raised their concerns until they were finally heard among lawmakers. Linking the little-used term "veteran" to the Bundeswehr in a new way was challenging because many associated it with World War II.

A new definition was needed. In 2018, the then Minister of Defense, Ursula von der Leyen, finally provided one. In an order of the day, she decreed, "A veteran of the Bundeswehr is anyone who is in active service as a soldier in the Bundeswehr or has retired honorably from this service and has not lost their rank."

According to this broad definition, the country has around 10 million veterans, most of whom no longer wear a uniform.

It was not until April 2024 that theBundestag passed a resolutionto create a Veterans Day by a large majority. Only the Left Party abstained, criticizing what they called "symbolic politics." The resolution included a pledge to improve support for veterans wounded in action and their families.

From the veterans' point of view, there is still a long way to go in providing for wounded soldiers. Lengthy examinations and bureaucratic hurdles often mean delays in receiving care.

"We would like to see faster, simpler procedures," says Andreas Eggert, a soldier for 25 years who was deployed seven times to Afghanistan. The 49-year-old returned from his service with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eggert now volunteers helping other veterans. He plans to spend June 15 at the main event in Berlin, which will be opened by Bundestag PresidentJulia Klöckner, a member of the conservativeChristian Democratic Union (CDU).

The event aims to have a folk festival atmosphere with a stage program, food trucks and games for children. In the Reichstag building, rock star Bryan Adams will show his photo exhibition "Wounded: The Legacy of War."

"We need a day of recognition like this," says Eggert, who also sees the event as an opportunity to start a conversation with Bundeswehr critics.

An alliance of left-wing groups has announced protests at the Berlin event. Participants criticize the "glorification of the Bundeswehr" and the "staging of Veterans Day as a family-friendly event with the character of recruiting for the military."

The Bundeswehr has, in fact, recently ramped up its recruitment efforts. In light of growing military demands related toRussia's war on Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in early June thatGermany needs up to 60,000 more service personnelto meetNATOgoals.

The new security demands have sparked debate about a return to military conscription, which was abolished in 2011. For now, ChancellorFriedrich Merz's coalition governmentaims to strengthen the military on a voluntary basisand make serving more attractive to young people.

This article was originally written in German.

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Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion d'honneur award, France's highest distinction, after his graft conviction. The former French president was found guilty of illegal attempts to obtain favors from a judge.

Former French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, has had his Legion d'honneur (Legion of Honor) award revoked after hisconviction on graft charges, according toa decree published Sunday.

He has thus become the second French head of state to be stripped of the award afterPhilippe Petain, who headed the collaborationist Vichy regime during World War II and was convicted in August 1945 for high treason and conspiring with the Nazi occupiers.

The widely-expected decision to take the award back from Sarkozy came despite the opposition of current French PresidentEmmanuel Macron, who said in April that he thought that it was important for "former presidents to be respected."

The Legion d'honneur, France's highest order of both civil and military merit, was established in 1802 byNapoleon Bonaparte.

Under its rules, recipients automatically lose the award if they are convicted of a crime or receive a prison sentence of at least one year.

Sarkozy, who has been dogged by legal problems since his heavy defeat in the 2012 French presidential election, has been convicted of graft. The conviction was upheld last year by an appeals court, whichordered him to wear an electronic ankle braceletin place of a one-year jail sentence.

The 70-year-old former president, who had the electronic tag removed this month, was found guilty of trying to secure favors from a judge illegally.

Sarkozy is currently appealing the conviction at the European Court of Human Rights while also being tried in a separate case on charges of accepting illegal campaign financing inan alleged pact with late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

A verdict in the latter case is expected in September.

Sarkozy, who denies the charges, could face a seven-year prison term if prosecutors have their way.

His legal problems have not prevented him from continuing to have a political presence in right-wing politics in France, and he is also known to hold regular meetings with Macron.

During his time in office, Sarkozy worked closely with former German ChancellorAngela Merkel, particularly on problems associated with the eurozone crisis,earning the pair the sobriquet "Merkozy."

Brazil is one of VW's most critical foreign bases. The company's past in the country is blighted by decades of human rights abuses and exploitation.

US PresidentDonald Trumpis trying to turn back time by usingimport tariffsas a tool to force international companies to manufacture their products in the United States.

Many companies produce abroad, usually to profit from lower labor costs in their respective host countries, or to have a closer relationship with customers. This creates jobs in foreign markets, which also boosts local sales.

One such company isVolkswagen(VW). Two years ago, theGermanautomaker celebrated its 70th anniversary as a "Brazilian" carmaker. The company began work inBrazilwhen it opened a warehouse in Sao Paulo on March 23, 1953. The Anchieta factory, VW's first production facility outside Germany, opened shortly thereafter.

"Volkswagen do Brasil has completed 70 years of technological innovation and pioneering spirit," said VW Brazil boss Ciro Possobom at the 2023 celebration. "VW has modernized its Brazilian factories, developed new technologies and is a brand that is much closer to the people today."

A year later, VW announced that it wouldexpand its presence in Brazilby enlarging its four locations in the South American country. At the time, automobile analysts reported that VW planned to spend 7 million Brazilian reals (€1.1 billion, or $1.26 billion) in Brazil by 2026. Now that plan has been revised to 16 billion reals by 2028.

VW's investment in Brazil has largely paid off from the start. It not only invested in cars there, the company has also sought to make money on cows, specifically, beef. To facilitate the latter,Volkswagen created a new agricultural business known as Fazenda Volkswagen, or the Volkswagen Farm, located in Cristalino, around 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) from VW do Brasil headquarters in Sao Paulo.

Christopher Kopper, a historian at Germany's Bielefeld University who has studied the history of VW do Brasil, says it was there, of all places, away from the bustle of the big city, that VW's image began to tarnish.

"VW was approached about its treatment of workers at Fazenda Volkswagen back in the 1980s," Kopper told DW.

In 2016, Volkswagen tasked Kopper with compiling a report on VW do Brasil's activities during Brazil's military dictatorship, which began when a military junta staged a coup in 1964 and went on to maintain an iron grip on the country for the next 21 years.

VW contracted Swiss agricultural economist Friedrich-Georg Brugger to set up the farm in 1974. Brugger counted on VW employees and other contracted workers to carry out his ambitious agrarian experiment. It was only years later, in a report broadcast by German public television, that it became clear just how ruthless Brugger was in pursing his plans.

Kopper said VW workers were always taken care of. "They had their own houses, their own schools, a medical clinic. But that did not apply to workers employed by subcontractors. They worked under conditions akin to indentured servitude."

The historian explained that the company always maintained that distinction. He said managers always "talked their way out of trouble by emphasizing that they were not responsible for the treatment of laborers employed by subcontractors." At the same time, they never tired of "pointing out that full-time workers directly employed at the Fazenda by VW lived very well by local standards."

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Work at the farm was conducted far away from prying eyes, and the project's ultimate failure did not make headlines either.

"The Fazenda had no chance of making a profit from the outset," said Kopper. "The project was a wash."

But what was even more shocking to Kopper than conditions at the Fazenda was what he learned about the company's attitude toward cooperation with Brazil's ruling military junta.

"VW worked closely with the dictatorship's security apparatus," he said. "That applied to VW's main factory in Sao Paulo and other facilities."

Kopper eventually realized that the conditions at the Fazenda were merely a detailed fragment from a much larger and far darker picture. Security at VW do Brasil factories, for instance, alsoworked closely with the junta. VW employees tolerated arrests and abuses by military police, even assisting them at times.

"Correspondence with the board of directors in Wolfsburg [where VW is headquartered in Germany] documents full acceptance of the military dictatorship up until 1979," says Kopper of his findings.

Such behavior would be a scandal at any company, but it's even worse with Volkwagen when one considers the global automaker's start during the days ofAdolf Hitler's dictatorship. Founded inNaziGermany by Nazi organizations,Volkswagen systematically profitedoff of slave labor, exploiting and abusing thousands of forced laborers.

Had those in positions of responsibility in Wolfsburg learned nothing?Of course, there were immediately suspicions that the company planned to continue its misdeeds from a decade earlier, just under another dictator on another continent.

Kopper said it is really difficult to brush aside such accusations. "I would partially agree with that regarding management at VW do Brasil."

He said the reasons for that have to do with the fact that many of VW's managers in the 1950s and 60s "had been army officers and Nazi party members" when they were younger.

Kopper said that was not the case for Wolfgang Sauer, who ran VW's Brazilian subsidiary from 1971 to 1984, adding, "He was too young." According to the historian, Sauer was not bound to Germany's Nazi military tradition but rather to "Brazil's tradition of authoritarian paternalism: You can give workers social benefits, but that doesn't mean you have to accept independent works councils."

The societal and juridical reappraisal of VW's actions during Brazil's military dictatorship is far from over. Numerous legal battles over damages and admissions of guilt await the global automaker. Only when that process has been completed can Wolfsburg close this chapter of its corporate history.

This article was originally published in German and was translated by Jon Shelton.

Germany is marking its first ever Veterans Day with a series of events in Berlin and across the country. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich get their Club World Cup campaign underway in the United States. .

This blog is now closed. Here's a roundup of developments in Germany on Sunday, June 15.

German Chancellor Friedrich MerzMerz has arrived inCanadafor theG7 summit.

The chancellor is scheduled to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for talks on Sunday evening.

Speaking before his departure, Merz said his main topics for summit are theconflict between Israel and Iran, efforts to end thewar in Ukraine, thetrade dispute with the United Statesandmigration.

"Iran must not be allowed to develop or have nuclear weapons," he stressed.

"Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens," he said, adding that Iran's nuclear weapons program was an existential threat to Israel.

On Monday and Tuesday, Merz is scheduled to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines with leaders from Japan, Australia, India, Brazil and South Africa.

SC Magdeburg won the Handball Champions League for the third time in the club's history, after 2002 and 2023.

The German runners-up won the final in Cologne against Füchse Berlin with a score of 32–26 (16–12). In front of 20,000 fans, Gisli Kristjansson scored eight goals for Magdeburg.

The Berlin club, which became German champions for the first time a week ago, still has to wait for its first Champions League triumph.

Füchse had eliminated the French representative HBC Nantes in the semi-finals, while SC Magdeburg reached the final with a narrow victory against record winners and defending champions FC Barcelona.

In the match for third place, HBC Nantes defeated Barcelona 30-25.

German ChancellorFriedrich Merzhas said that Iran must "never be allowed to have nuclear weapons" and demanded that Tehran "stop the bombardment of civilian targets inIsraelimmediately."

Merz spoke to Haitham bin Tariq ofOmanby phone on Sunday morning, thanking the Sultan for Muscat's efforts to mediate with Iran regarding an end to the latter's nuclear program.

A German government spokesman said the two leaders "were in agreement that a proliferation of the conflict must be avoided."

Later, before departing for the G7 summit inCanada, Merz also said thatGermanywas making preparations for potential Iranian attacks on "Israeli or Jewish targets" and reiterated: "Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its civilians."

Thecurrent conflict between Israel and Iran, which has now seen both countriesexchange missile and drone strikes for three nights running, escalated when around 200 Israeli planes attacked around 100 infrastructural and personnel targets linked to Iran's nuclear program on Friday morning in an operation codenamed "Rising Lion."

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The president of the German parliament, Julia Klöckner, officially opened the country's first national Veterans Day on Sunday, saying it was "high time" for such an occasion.

"This day has created something which has always been lacking: public visibility, recognition and respect for all those who have served in our country's armed forces," she said at an event in Berlin.

Speaking on a stage in front of theReichstag, the seat of Germany's parliament, Klöckner highlighted the role of the German army, known as theBundeswehr, as a "parliamentary army" which is answerable to parliament – as opposed to an individual head of state as commander-in-chief.

"That is why we as parliamentarians carry particular responsibility," she said. "And today, we honor those people who were prepared to serve this country, our country, our values."

Writing on social media, German ChancellorFriedrich Merzcalled theBundeswehra "key component of our society" and said: "The men and women who serve, or have served, in it deserve our thanks, our recognition and our respect. This service for our country belongs in center of our society."

On Saturday, Defense MinisterBoris Pistoriuspraised the professionalism of German troops and said that the challenges facing them will increase in years to come.

"In the last two-and-a-half years, I have experienced first hand the professionalism of our troops, whether on exercises at home or abroad, in tanks or planes, on [NATO's] eastern flank inLithuaniaor when evacuating citizens inSudan," he told theRheinische Postnewspaper.

"The threat has increased in recent years," he nevertheless warned. "We have to be clear: we have to be able to defend our country and our alliance if it is attacked."

A major fire in the center of Villingen in the southwestern state ofBaden-Württemberghas left six people injured, including two firefighters, and caused damage estimated at several million euros.

The fire, the precise cause of which remains unclear, broke out in a house and quickly spread to four neighboring buildings, causing three roofs to collapse in the flames which reached up to ten meters (32 feet) high.

Around 130 firefighters were involved in efforts to extinguish the flames, work which continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.

Local residents were told to temporarily close their doors and windows due to the amount of smoke.

Local police are investigating the cause of the fire.

The president of the German parliament,Julia Klöckner, has warned members of the far-right populistAlternative for Germany (AfD)and the socialistLeft Party (Die Linke)over their behavior in theBundestag, accusing of them of using the platform offered by parliament to go viral on social media.

"We have a strengthened Left Party and a strengthened AfD in parliament who seem to need each other to serve their respective constituencies on TikTok and other platforms," saidBundestagspräsidentinKlöckner, who fulfils functions similar to that of a parliamentary speaker in other countries.

"There are currently several candidates for top spot when it comes to rule breaches," she told theRedaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland(RND) media outlet this weekend.

"And that shouldn't be taken as an accolade. The floor [of parliament] is not a stage on which to produce content for digital media. This is where we confront each other using words."

Klöckner, a member of ChancellorFriedrich Merz'sconservativeChristian Democrats (CDU), recently ordered two Left Party members to leave the hall after donning items of clothing which conveyed "intentional provocations."

Last week, lawmaker Cansin Köktürk was asked to change out of a black t-shirt which bore the word"Palestine"while her colleague Marcel Bauer refused to remove a Basque beret. Klöckner judged that both items contravened rules which state that lawmakers' attire must "respect the dignity of the house."

Darts players Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko pulled off what German media are calling "the greatest victory in the history of German darts" on Saturday when they beat favoritesEngland8-4 in the last-16 of the World Cup of Darts event inFrankfurt.

The English pairing of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, the reigning world champion and current world number one respectively, and two of the biggest names in the sport, were overriding favorites to win the tournament. But they were sensationally shocked by their German opponents in front of a raucous and partisan home crowd.

"Everyone expected England to win, so we used that as a psychological advantage," said Schindler, ranked 18 in the world. "We are delighted to go through. German darts is in good shape right now and we will continue to push forward."

Traditionally aBritishandIrishpastime,darts is gaining in popularity in Germany, with hundreds of German fans traveling to theworld championshipsat Alexandra Palace in London every year. And they recreated some of the famously raucous "Ally Pally" atmosphere in Frankfurt on Saturday by loudly booing the English players.

"I think it was definitely one of the best atmospheres we've had in a World Cup," said Schindler, but added: "Obviously we have to say that we don't approve of the whistling and booing."

For Littler in particular, the defeat continued a series of frustrating experiences inGermany. After being booed at a Premier League night inBerlinin February and again at the German Darts Grand Prix inMunichin April, the teenage superstar withdrew and said his next visit to Germany would be the European Championship in Dortmund in October, something he cryptically said he was "glad to say."

In the end, he returned earlier — but only for a short visit until the defeat to Schindler and Pietreczko, who went on to beat Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock ofAustraliain the quarterfinals. They will face Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney of Northern Ireland in the semifinal on Sunday evening.

German championsBayern Munichare set to get theirClub World Cupcampaign underway on Sunday against semi-professionalNew Zealandside Auckland City in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It's the second game of the controversial, newly-expanded tournament, which kicked off with a goalless draw betweenEgyptianchampions Al Ahly andLionel Messi's Inter Miamion Saturday.

"You can't really feel much excitement so far, can you?" said Bayern midfielder and vice-captain Joshua Kimmich of the tournament for which organizersFIFA have struggled to sell broadcast rightsand tickets. "You can tell that people here [in the United States] are sports enthusiasts but that there are other sports here."

The German international also expressed frustration at his club's squad planning after the Bavarians missed out on the signing of German superstarFlorian Wirtz(who is joining Premier League side Liverpool instead) and allowed mainstaysThomas Müllerand Leroy Sané to leave — although the pair will still feature in the Club World Cup.

"Of course, you feel that we could do something given that Flo [Wirtz] isn't coming and that Leroy and Thomas are leaving," he said on the weekend it was also reported that Bayern striker Mathys Tel is set to make his current loan to Tottenham Hotspur permanent, leaving Bayern even shorter staffed.

"Any solutions will have to wait until after this tournament," said head coachVincent Kompany, preferring to focus on the game against the underdogs from Auckland City.

"Just because they're an amateur team doesn't mean that they don't have good ideas," said the Belgian. "We've prepared the team for this game just like for any other."

Kimmich also said it was "our job to take them seriously." Perhaps referring to recent German Cup defeats to second-division Holstein Kiel in 2020 and third-division FC Saarbrücken in 2023, or theChampions Leaguedefeat to Spanish side Villarreal in 2022, he warned: "We've lost games against supposedly small opponents before, so we've been warned."

Germanyis set to honor its armed forces personnel with its first ever Veterans Day on Sunday.

With a series of events around the country, including in front of theReichstagparliament building in Berlin from 1 p.m. local time, the German government is hoping to strengthen the bond between the army, known as theBundeswehr, and the general public.

A key topic onVeteranentagwill be the physical and psychological injuries suffered bysoldiers on deploymentand the difficulties they face when it comes to reintegrating into civilian life.

But critics have warned against what they see as the "glorification" of the armed forces and accused the government of using Veterans Day as a marketing ploy toboost recruitment for its understaffed army.

According to government figures, there are around 10 million army veterans in Germany – defined as soldiers who are either currently in active service or who have been honorably discharged.

You can read more about Germany's new Veterans Day and the country's complex relationship with its armed forces here.

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Germany's complex relationship with its armed forces can be traced back in large part to the crimes committed by German troops during theSecond World War— especially in eastern Europe and inPolandin particular.

On Monday, a new monument is set to be unveiled in centralBerlinto commemorate the victims of theNaziinvasion and occupation of its neighbor between 1939 and 1945, during which an estimated six million Poles,around a fifth of the civilian population, were murdered.

The new monument will consist of a large boulder from the northeastern German state ofMecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which borders Poland, on the site of the former Kroll Opera House.

The Opera House served as the seat of the German parliament for much of the Nazi period after the nearbyReichstagbuilding was damaged in the 1933Reichstagfire. As such, it was the location for dictatorAdolf Hitler's declaration of war on Poland in September 1939.

Peter Oliver Loew, the director of the German-Polish Institute, told the Catholic news agency KNA that it is "important to send a message, even if it's only a temporary location for now."

In June 2024, the German government approved plans for a permanent monument and a "German-Polish House," a precise timeline for which has not yet been set.

Nowadays, Germany and Poland are key allies at the heart of theEuropean Union, but the memory of the German occupation of Poland remains a live issue, especially in Warsaw, where nationalist politicians frequently raise the issue of German reparations for Nazi crimes.

"I will fight for them from the very first day of my presidency," promised new Polish President Karol Nawrocki during his recent campaign, for instance.

For historian Loew of the German-Polish Institute, the new memorial is therefore "a necessary and important step on the road to rapprochement between our two countries."

Guten Tag!Welcome to DW's coverage of developments inGermanyon Sunday, June 15.

Germany is marking its first ever Veterans Day with a series of events in Berlin and across the country.

The day is designed to highlight the difficulties faced by service personnel who return from deployments injured or traumatized, but critics have warned against "glorifying" the armed forces.

In football,Bayern Munichare set to get their Club World Cup campaign underway in Cincinnati later. FIFA's new tournament is not without controversy.

Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei has his sights set on an estimated $271 billion in cash stashed away by his fellow citizens to survive economic hardships.

Thanks to sweeping spending cuts,ArgentinePresidentJavier Mileihas managed to bringinflationin his country down from a monthly 25% in December 2023 to below 3% now, according to official data published by the country's INDEC statistics agency.

And yet, thecost of livingin Argentina isstill rising, forcing the libertarian leader to make another controversial proposal to the public.

He's called on his fellow citizens to spend their cash dollars squirreled away in mattresses and foreign bank accounts, long held by Argentines as a hedge against decades of economic turmoil.

Last week (June 5), Milei's government sent a bill called Fiscal Presumption of Innocence to Congress, declaring that the law ensures that there will be no more persecution of those Argentines holding undeclared dollars.

The measure widens a tax amnesty scheme rolled out last year which already lured tens of billions of dollars back into circulation.

During Milei's 2023 presidential election campaign, his supporters marched through the streets of Buenos Aires waving oversized dollar bills featuring their candidate's face. Milei himself called the Argentine peso "worth as much as shit," initially pledging to replace it with the US dollar as legal tender once he's elected.

Today,Milei's dollarization driveis back on the agenda, but in a different form. This time, it's not about switching the national currency, but about integrating the US dollars Argentines have been stockpiling at home into the formal economy.

The INDEC agency has estimated that Argentinians have about $271 billion (€234 billion) hidden away, money that is colloquially referred to as "dolares del colchon," or mattress dollars. The exact amount is unknown, because the money is essentially undeclared.

People began stockpiling these dollars during Argentina's prolonged periods of hyperinflation, which gripped the country until the end of 2023. Having access to US dollars in cash — or being able to receive and withdraw dollar funds — allowed people to sidestep skyrocketing peso prices by taking advantage of favorable exchange rates.

In Argentina, dollar cash reserves became a kind of financial life insurance.

Eugenio Mari, chief economist at the Buenos Aires-based libertarian think tank Fundacion Libertad y Progreso, finds this behavior perfectly rational.

Speaking to DW, he said that for decades Argentines have tried to "protect themselves from inflation and from government overreach," meaning many used part of their income to buy dollars and kept them out of circulation.

But saving in dollars also meant making consumption sacrifices and spending less overall.

Now, President Milei wants to change that engrained behavior by convincing Argentines to bring the hidden dollars back into the monetary system for the benefit of the broader economy.

The government argues that inflation has been tamed — at least for the time being — creating the right moment to release the hoarded cash.

But trust in a currency can be destroyed quickly, while rebuilding it takes much longer. So it's still unclear whether Argentines are willing to monetize their "mattress dollars" in sizeable amounts.

In his effort, Milei is counting on deregulation and the removal of tax burdens to encourage them. Some even say the president is banking his political future on the scheme, which may come to be seen as a test of people's trust in his economic policy.

So far, the plan is progressing slowly, daily newspaperClarinwrote last week.

Technically, Argentinians are required to report any foreign currency holdings. But the law has never been fully enforced.

Milei's bill guaranteeing fiscal innocence to offenders was a clever move, says economist Mari.

"The removal of reporting requirements to the tax authority makes transactions easier and reduces the risk of citizens being pursued by the state, especially by tax authorities," said Mari.

Since Javier Milei took office in December 2023, many economic indicators have improved. Inflation has dropped significantly, poverty is declining, the government has posted budget surpluses, and the economy is growing.

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According to recent World Bank forecasts, Argentina's economy is expected to grow by 5.5% this year, with another 4.5% projected for next year.

However,prices for food and essential goodshave soared, due largely to the rollback of state subsidies and the strengthening of the Argentine peso.

Thousands of Argentines, meanwhile, are crossing borders into Chile, Paraguay, or Brazil to shop more cheaply, as the stronger peso is giving them a more favorable exchange rate.

Hernan Letcher, director of the Centro de Economia Politica Argentina (CEPA) in Buenos Aires, believes Milei's aim with his dollar monetization plan is to "inject more dollars into the government's currency exchange system," which for him is "essentially a foreign exchange policy measure."

Nau Bernues, a financial expert and the CEO of Quaestus Asteriscos — a firm specializing in the financial system and investments — believes the government wants to "go even further." The plan is to make the dollar a "more transactional currency" that would allow people to "buy not only an apartment or a car, but also an appliance or even a cookie at a kiosk."

"It's doing everything possible to ensure that there are more and more dollars. If that happens with constant pesos or no issuance, the exchange rate should appreciate," Bernues told the news agency Noticias Argentinas last week.

He noted that Milei's economic team was "constantly proclaiming" that the dollar could fall from currently about 1,180 pesos per greenback to 1,000 pesos.

But he personally is skeptical about Milei's "ambitious" plan, arguing that the dollars under the mattress are people's "insurance, perhaps their life savings," which they won't touch for anything, "except if they make it much easier to purchase land, real estate and assets that the average Argentine assigns a certain amount of protection."

This article was originally written in German.