If you don’t have money to grow carefree

Traveling for a week, discovering new things, seeing something other than their own home – this is impossible for about one in eight children in Germany. For financial reasons. Nearly one in five people live in a home that cannot replace worn or damaged furniture. In some cases, money is not enough to join a sports club, go to the cinema or other recreational activities.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, more minors are at risk of becoming poor in Germany in 2024 than in the previous year. One in seven children is now affected. For single-parent households with one child under 14, the poverty threshold is a net household income of 1,795 euros per month; for a household with two adults and two children under 14, the cost is 2,900 euros.

When compared with European countries, Germany is still in a fairly strong position, but for millions of people, financial difficulties have real consequences – for example, on their participation in social and cultural life. You can read about who is most at risk of poverty and where poverty rates are highest in our articles:

“Back to a case-by-case assessment” – that’s what the federal government wants to do in the future regarding arms shipments to Israel. The coalition partially lifted the export ban next Monday. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the decision. Since August, the export of weapons that Israel could use in the Gaza war has not been permitted – a reaction from Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the Israeli government’s aggressive actions in Gaza.

With this decision, Merz caused irritation not only among the Israeli government, but also among the European Union. He agreed with Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, but not with the Union faction or the CSU leadership.

What’s new now: The The federal government again allows the export of military equipmentbut remain open to being able to limit it again if necessary. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said they would “react to further developments”. The ceasefire in the Middle East has stabilized in recent weeks, but the situation remains tense. The federal government appears willing to remain flexible in providing military support to Israel in the future.

On Junge Unity (JU) Day in Germany at the weekend, the weeks-long conflict between the Union and the SPD over planned pension packages reached a peak. Chancellor Merz remained clear on the issue and stuck to the coalition plan. But he offered a way out, as my colleague Dominik Rzepka reported:

But anyone who believes that these powerful words will end the debate is wrong. Everyone involved – from the JU to the SPD – made it clear they wanted to remain in their previous positions. The debate over pension reform is a test for the black-red coalition. Economist Bernd Raffelhüschen said: “The fault was the coalition agreement.”

Ukrainian citizens between the ages of 18 and 22 can legally leave the country again. This had been forbidden to them since the outbreak of the war. Lisa Jandi explains what pushed her to leave her country.

French President Emmanuel Macron received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today. The main focus of the meeting was military support for Ukraine:

Inpatient treatment in Germany: 4,078 euros in Coburg, 2,288 euros in Wilhelmshaven – that’s how big the gap is between private contributions and full inpatient care in Germany. Dagmar Noll points out the main findings of a recent study by the German Economic Institute.

Class action lawsuit against Meta: The group is said to violate European data protection and spy on its users’ surfing behavior. Therefore, Facebook and Instagram users are entitled to compensation. Fabian Noah Medler reports on possible class action lawsuit.

Last night, police officers went to an apartment in Bochum where they encountered a twelve year old child with a knife in his hand. A shot was fired – and the girl was seriously injured. On ZDFheute broadcast live at 17:30 ZDF reporter Thomas Münten reports on what is currently known. The guest is criminologist Tobias Singelnstein.

There is a lot of waiting ahead of the German national team’s World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia. A draw was enough for the DFB selection to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in America, Mexico and Canada. Good news before kick-off: Captain Kimmich may be able to take part.

You can see the match here in a live broadcast starting at 20:15. (kick-off 20:45) – and many other qualifying matches in summary:

This expedition was a milestone for German environmental protection: a team of researchers and sailors set off for the Danger Islands. In 2024, the islands were designated as Germany’s first protected area in Antarctica. “Our main goal is to preserve a very large penguin colony,” said Osama Mustafa of the Thuringian Institute for Sustainability and Climate Protection.

How it works and how the team wants to reach the difficult-to-access Danger Islands can be read and seen in Carsten Behrendt’s report:

This statement, even more disturbing for some, led to much criticism of former Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière ten years ago today and in the following weeks. The CDU politician later explained that at his press conference at the time, he could not rule out that an attack on Hanover’s main train station was imminent.

The international football match between Germany and the Netherlands was canceled 90 minutes before kick-off due to a terror warning. There were concrete indications of a planned bomb attack, but no explosives were found.

Ancient Greece: for many, the birthplace of the West. Long before the birth of Christ, people there set new standards: as scientists, architects, founders of democracy, and philosophers. But behind that shining facade lies a dark shadow. The five-part documentary series “Dark Greece” shows what drove the Greek world – fierce competition, violence and oppression (5 episodes of 45 minutes each).

Torben Heine and the entire ZDFheute team

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