Government reportedly considering change in retirement age

Following the death of ‘Timmy’, a local humpback whale whose stranding and then repeated rescue attempts in a shallow bay off northern Germany were closely followed in Northern Europe, Danish authorities now have to decide what to do next.

Timmy’s body is now lying on a popular Danish beach. When whales die and are left on land, there is a good chance that the gases forming in their stomachs could cause a large explosion, so removing the carcass is both necessary and dangerous.

German officials are reportedly assisting their Danish counterparts in an effort to recover Timmy’s body and perform an autopsy to better understand why the whale was unable to safely re-enter the wild.

Rescue workers in the eastern German city of Görlitz said they had recovered the body of a 25-year-old Romanian tourist, three days after a building housing rental flats and vacation apartments suddenly collapsed.

Another 26-year-old Romanian tourist and a 48-year-old Bulgarian-German man are missing. Rescue workers have said they hope to find the pair alive, but the chances are diminishing every hour.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the incident. Görlitz Mayor Octavian Ursu said a gas leak may have started.

A picturesque town on the Polish border, Görlitz is often used by filmmakers to depict scenes set in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In a letter to EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, Chancellor Merz has proposed making Ukraine an “associate” member of the EU.

This would bring it closer to the bloc, but would not provide the same voting rights given to member states. Kyiv has applied for full membership, but that process could take more than a decade until the necessary conditions are met.

Read more about Merz’s proposal in our report here.

Politicians react to a report by a German tabloid Picture That the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planning to raise the retirement age from 67 to 70.

According to the report, the age will increase to 68 years in the 2040s, 69 years in the 2050s, before finally reaching 70 years in the 2060s. Picture It is written that the 13-member committee working on the reform proposals also wants to reduce the pension payment rate slightly to keep the system sustainable.

With a long-stagnant birthrate, support for older generations has been a source of debate in Germany for decades. Experts have warned that without immigration, the pension system would collapse.

The alleged proposal was heavily criticized by opposition parties, unions and even the labor rights arms of Merz’s own centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU).

However, later Thursday a spokesperson for Merz’s office rejected this. Picture Report as speculation. The Social Democrats (SPD), junior coalition partners who control the Labor Ministry, said they would decline to comment on the unverified reports.

Bundesliga side Freiburg may have lost their first European final to Aston Villa, but their European performance is a reminder that success in football can be achieved without big spending or losing identity.

Read our analysis of tomorrow’s Europa League Championship game here: Another way could also work for Freiburg’s final Europa League credentials.

a wonderful good morning From sunny and warm Bonn.

Today we’re looking at the latest debate about securing Germany’s future through pension reform, as well as recent developments with Ukraine’s EU membership and the announcement of Germany’s World Cup squad.

Stay tuned for the latest headlines, analysis and reports from across Germany.