Germans start voting, polls suggest shift to right

Update Germans start voting, polls suggest shift to right
Above, a campaign poster for Friedrich Merz, Christian Democratic Union party candidate for chancellor, is pictured in Berlin on Feb. 22, 2025, ahead of the parliamentary election. (Reuters)
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Updated 23 February 2025
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Germans start voting, polls suggest shift to right

Germans start voting, polls suggest shift to right
  • Frontrunner Friedrich Merz vows tough rightward shift if elected, to win back voters from the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany
  • The AfD has basked in the glowing support lavished on it by Trump’s entourage, with billionaire Elon Musk touting it as the only party to “save Germany"

BERLIN: Germans were voting in a national election on Sunday that is expected to see Friedrich Merz’s conservatives regain power and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) score its best ever result as Europe’s ailing economic powerhouse lurches rightwards.

Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc has consistently led polls but is unlikely to win a majority given Germany’s fragmented political landscape, forcing it to sound out coalition partners.

Those negotiations are expected to be tricky after a campaign which exposed sharp divisions over migration and how to deal with the AfD in a country where far-right politics carries a particularly strong stigma due to its Nazi past.

That could leave unpopular Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive Europe’s largest economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals.

It would also create a leadership vacuum in the heart of Europe even as it deals with a host of challenges, including US President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war and attempts to fast-track a ceasefire deal for Ukraine without European involvement.

Germany, which has an export-oriented economy and long relied on the US for its security, is particularly vulnerable.

Germans are more pessimistic about their living standards now than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008. The percentage who say their situation is improving dropped sharply from 42 percent in 2023 to 27 percent in 2024, according to pollster Gallup.

Attitudes toward migration have also hardened, a profound shift in German public sentiment since its “Refugees Welcome” culture during Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015.




People walk past a campaign poster of Friedrich Merz, Christian Democratic Union party candidate for chancellor, in Potsdam, Germany, on Feb. 22, 2025. (Reuters)

Musk weighs in

Sunday’s election follows the collapse last November of Scholz’s coalition of his center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) in a row over budget spending.

The SPD is headed for its worst result since World War Two.

The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control, fueled by a series of attacks in which the suspected perpetrators were of migrant origin.

It has also been overshadowed by the unusually forceful show of solidarity by members of the Trump administration – including Vice President JD Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk – for the anti-migrant AfD, and broadsides against European leaders.

The 12-year-old AfD is on track to come in second place for the first time in a national election.

“I’m completely disappointed in politics, so maybe an alternative would be better,” said retired Berlin bookkeeper Ludmila Ballhorn, 76, who plans to vote AfD, adding she was struggling to live on her pension of 800 euros. “Rents and all other costs have soared.”

The AfD, however, is unlikely to govern for now as all mainstream parties have ruled out working with it, though some analysts believe it could pave the way for an AfD win in 2029.

Still, its strength, along with a small but significant vote share for the far-left and the decline of Germany’s big-tent parties, is increasingly complicating the formation of coalitions and governance.

Coalition options

EU allies are cautiously hopeful the elections might deliver a more coherent government able to help drive forward policy at home and in the bloc.

Some also hope Merz will reform the “debt brake,” a constitutional mechanism to limit government borrowing that critics say has strangled new investment.

The most likely outcome of this election, say analysts, is a tie-up of Merz’s conservative bloc of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) with the SPD, which is polling in third place in another uneasy “grand coalition.”

Polls, however, suggest another three-way coalition may be necessary if several small parties make the 5 percent threshold to enter parliament, complicating talks.

“A lot of my friends are likely going to vote for the conservatives because this government didn’t work so well and Merz’s international standing is quite good,” said Mike Zeller, 26, a civil servant.

“I just hope enough parties agree to a government so they can leave the AfD out.”


How ancient engineering helped address Delhi’s perennial water shortage

How ancient engineering helped address Delhi’s perennial water shortage
Updated 9 sec ago
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How ancient engineering helped address Delhi’s perennial water shortage

How ancient engineering helped address Delhi’s perennial water shortage
  • Delhi used to have 20 stepwells, which made water available throughout the year
  • In summer months, stepwell sites turned into places for social gatherings

NEW DELHI: Just minutes from New Delhi’s commercial hub, Ugrasen ki Baoli is an engineering marvel worth a detour from the usual tourist path, as it bears witness to unique medieval water storage solutions that could still hold relevance today.

A baoli, or a stepwell, is a storage system that once helped the Indian capital address its perennial water shortage.

With a series of steps leading down to the water level, these structures allowed people to reach the water even when its levels changed with the seasons.

Usually built in the hot and arid areas like the northern state of Rajasthan and the western state of Gujarat, they used to be common in the Delhi region too.

“Since Delhi was also semi-arid, there was a large number of these built to provide water to people in small and large villages and settlements,” Sohail Hashmi, oral historian of Delhi and conservationist, told Arab News.

“They were dug especially in areas where the water level was rather low … You dug a well and next to the well, you built a tank, and when both structures were ready, you connected the well through a channel to the stepwell, and the water from the well filled up the stepwell.”

Located about a 5-minute walk from Connaught Place, the New Delhi stepwell is approximately 60 meters long and 15 meters wide, descending 108 steps — or about 15 meters below ground.

The baoli made water available throughout the year, and people could use it not only to draw drinking water but also to wash and bathe in the tank.

“It was a relief because the water was flowing from the well and the water from the well was always clean. So even if the water in the tank got dirty because people washed their clothes, you could still draw water from the well for drinking,” Hashmi said.

“Over time, these places also became places for social gathering, especially during the summer months … You had a large water body with arches and rooms and spaces, so people could come there and escape the summer heat.”

According to local legend, Ugrasen ki Baoli was commissioned by King Agrasen, the legendary ancestor of the prosperous Agrawal community, who, thousands of years ago, ruled over Agroha, an ancient trading city near present-day Delhi.

But historians estimate it was built around the 15th century, in the Delhi Sultanate period, which marked numerous cultural and architectural developments in the city.

“Architecturally, if you look at it, it is built with rubble, and the rubble is held together with a plaster of limestone and crushed bricks … These are techniques that were introduced into India in the late 12th and early 13th century,” Hashmi said.“It belongs to the late Sultanate period, so I would roughly place it in the 15th century.” Delhi once had 20 stepwells similar to Ugrasen ki Baoli, but none have survived the test of time. Efforts to revive them may no longer be effective, as the city’s groundwater levels have dropped significantly.

Groundwater at deeper levels is often not potable due to natural contamination — high levels of minerals like arsenic, fluoride, or heavy metals, and salinity, which in arid regions turns deep groundwater brackish.

There is still potential for the stepwells to conserve water and help address Delhi’s water problems, although it would take some time.

“At best, what can be done is that in the monsoon (season), you can divert rainwater into these stepwells, so they replenish the subsoil water,” Hashmi said.

“If this is done over decades, maybe the subsoil water level would improve and then much of this water could become potable, but before you do that, building (new) stepwells doesn’t make sense now.”


Explosion at a California fireworks warehouse sets off fires and forces evacuations

Explosion at a California fireworks warehouse sets off fires and forces evacuations
Updated 42 sec ago
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Explosion at a California fireworks warehouse sets off fires and forces evacuations

Explosion at a California fireworks warehouse sets off fires and forces evacuations
The cause of the explosion was under investigation, the office said
The fire had reached 78 acres (32 hectares) as of Tuesday night

CALIFORNIA: An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in northern California caused several fires, sending black smoke into the air and forcing evacuations, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

People were urged to avoid the area of Esparto and Madison for several days following the Tuesday night explosion, which set off multiple fireworks and caused a large fire that led to other spot fires and collapsed the building.

“The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area,” the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation, the office said.

The fire had reached 78 acres (32 hectares) as of Tuesday night, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Esparto is in a rural area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento.

“We do believe this location is owned by an active pyrotechnic license holder,” Deputy State Fire Marshal Kara Garrett told KXTV. She added: “This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office posted that it was tracking the fire and that state ground and air resources were deployed.

“The State Fire Marshal has sent an arson and bomb investigation team, and stands ready to provide additional support as needed,” the statement said.

Two die in France of ‘heat-related illness’: minister

Two die in France of ‘heat-related illness’: minister
Updated 02 July 2025
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Two die in France of ‘heat-related illness’: minister

Two die in France of ‘heat-related illness’: minister

PARIS: Two people died in France as a result of “heat-related illness,” said the minister for ecological transition on Wednesday, as the country registered its second-hottest June since records began in 1900.
A heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, leading to the closure of nearly 2,000 schools in France at midday on Tuesday.
“More than 300 people have been treated by firefighters and two have died following heat-related illnesses,” ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday.
“June 2025 has become the second hottest June since records began in 1900, behind June 2003,” she added.
Temperatures in June 2025 were 3.3 degrees Celsius higher than the seasonal average compared to 3.6 degrees Celsius in June 2003, her office said.
Meteo-France said June 30 was the hottest day in June since measurements began in 1947, beating the previous record set in 2019.
Relief will start to arrive from the Atlantic on Wednesday, bringing thunderstorms and cooler temperatures to parts of western Europe.


Ugandan military helicopter crashes at Somalia’s Mogadishu airport

Ugandan military helicopter crashes at Somalia’s Mogadishu airport
Updated 20 min 11 sec ago
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Ugandan military helicopter crashes at Somalia’s Mogadishu airport

Ugandan military helicopter crashes at Somalia’s Mogadishu airport
  • Three of the helicopter’s eight occupants survived the incident
  • There was a fire at the crash site

MOGADISHU: A Ugandan military helicopter deployed with the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia crashed at Mogadishu airport on Wednesday, a Ugandan military spokesperson told Reuters.

Three of the helicopter’s eight occupants survived the incident, said the spokesperson, Felix Kulayigye, though he did not provide details on the fate of the other five people.

There was a fire at the crash site, which emergency responders were trying to extinguish, he said.

The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) said in a statement that “search and rescue operations are currently underway to retrieve the remaining crew and passengers.”

The helicopter crash landed at Mogadishu’s international airport just before touching down, AUSSOM said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Somalia’s state-run SONNA news outlet reported that the helicopter was engulfed in flames after crashing.

“We heard the blast and saw smoke and flames over a helicopter,” Farah Abdulle, who works at the airport, told Reuters. “The smoke entirely covered the helicopter.”

AUSSOM has more than 11,000 personnel in Somalia to help the country’s military tackle Islamist group Al-Shabab.

The Al-Qaeda affiliated group has been fighting for nearly two decades to topple Somalia’s internationally recognized government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Sharia law. 


Fiji says China military base not welcome as Pacific islands steer between superpowers

Fiji says China military base not welcome as Pacific islands steer between superpowers
Updated 02 July 2025
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Fiji says China military base not welcome as Pacific islands steer between superpowers

Fiji says China military base not welcome as Pacific islands steer between superpowers
  • Strategically placed between the United States and Asia, the Pacific Islands are a focus of rivalry between Washington and Beijing

SYDNEY: Fiji is opposed to China setting up a military base in the Pacific Islands, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said on Wednesday, adding that it did not need such a base to project power, as shown by an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Strategically placed between the United States and Asia, the Pacific Islands are a focus of rivalry between Washington and Beijing for security ties.

The islands were trying to cope with a big, powerful China seeking to spread its influence, Rabuka told the National Press Club in the Australian capital, adding that Beijing understood he would lobby other Pacific leaders against such a base.

“Pacific leaders in all their recent discussions have tried to go for policies that are friendly to all and enemies to none — and it is a fairly tough course to steer, but it is possible,” he added.

The Pacific would feel the impact of any conflict over the Taiwan Strait between major powers, a possibility already being planned for by China and other nations, he said.

Fiji opposes establishment of a military base by China, he said, in response to queries on Beijing’s security ambitions in a region where it already has a security pact with the Solomon Islands and a police presence in several nations.

“If they want to come, who would welcome them?” he said. “Not Fiji.”

China’s embassy in Fiji did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Beijing has previously ruled out establishing a military base in the Solomon Islands.

China did not need a base to project power, Rabuka added, as Beijing tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in September that flew over Fiji to land in international waters.

China showed off its coast guard to 10 visiting leaders of Pacific islands in May, after registering two dozen of its vessels with a regional fisheries commission last year, though it has yet to start South Pacific patrols.

China’s coast guard would need to “observe our sovereignty, our sovereign waters,” Rabuka said.

Fiji’s cooperation with China to develop infrastructure should not affect how it interacts with Australia, New Zealand and the United States, he added.

To manage strategic competition in the region, Rabuka is trying to build support for an Ocean of Peace treaty to ensure outsiders respect its unity and the “rejection of coercion as a means to achieve security, economic or political advantage.”

Leaders of the 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum will consider the pact at a meeting in September.