Free Republic

1:53 Germany’s army rushed an Iris-T air-defence system into service on its own soil for the first time Wednesday having delivered several of the sophisticated systems to war-torn Ukraine to take down Russian rockets, drones and missiles mid-flight. AFP reports Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the surface-to-air system was part of a long term build-up of German and European defences initiated in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin launching the Ukraine invasion in 2022. “Russia has been massively rearming for many years, especially in the field of rockets and cruise missiles,” Scholz said at the inauguration ceremony at a base...

German producer prices rose in January at their fastest rate since modern records began, soaring 25% as energy costs spiraled and extending a run of sharp increases expected to keep consumer inflation at around 5% for several months more. The jump in PPI, considered a leading indicator for consumer prices, was the biggest since 1949, when West and East Germany were founded and the country’s post-war economic data series began. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the figure, published on Monday by the Federal Statistics Office, to remain at December’s 24.2%. Sharp increases of 18.4% and 19.2% respectively were logged...

Since Wednesday, Hamburg's streets have been filled with heavily-armed police officers. Clues indicate an impending terror attack, but so far officials have drawn a blank. CCTV Pictures taken on Wednesday night, in a Hamburg bus, show three men who are suspected by police of planning a terrorist attack. Around 1,000 police officers spent Wednesday and Thursday looking for suspected terrorist attackers in the North German port city of Hamburg. Twelve check-points were set up in the city center and cars were stopped and searched at gunpoint. Commuters on public transport were also stopped and searched. The hunt was called off...