The number of available ATMs in Germany is decreasing for various reasons.

The termination of partnerships will impact the accessibility of cash, especially in rural areas.

There are fewer and fewer ATMs in Germany where clients can withdraw cash. Several reasons are behind this trend: police statistics increasingly report incidents of ATMs being blown up, many branches that previously offered counter services are being closed for efficiency reasons, and digital payments are becoming more popular.

Today, it is possible to withdraw cash at supermarket checkouts. This service was also available at gas stations until now, but it will soon be restricted. Several banks from the “Cash Group” network – including Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Hypovereinsbank, and Postbank – will no longer cooperate with Shell gas stations. This was reported by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”, citing internal sources.

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Up to 1,000 Euros: Cash Service at Gas Stations Ends

According to the report by “Ksta,” the cooperation ends on June 30. A total of 1,300 out of 2,000 Shell gas stations will no longer offer this service, although they were previously part of the partnership. Compared to stores, the main advantage for clients at Shell stations was that there was no minimum purchase requirement. This allowed for withdrawals of up to 1,000 euros – soon, this will no longer be possible.

The mentioned reduction in cash withdrawal options, further worsened by the end of cooperation between banks and Shell stations, is particularly problematic in rural areas. There, gas stations were often the only practical option for withdrawing money.

Banks are reacting differently to this change. For example, Postbank – which is also affected by the termination – will offer cash withdrawals via a barcode generated in the Postbank app starting in autumn 2024. More than 12,500 stores across the country are participating in this program.

No More Cash at Shell Stations

Deutsche Bank is currently developing a similar product that is expected to be available by the end of 2025. In this case as well, the bank’s app plays a central role.

In addition to the already mentioned problem in rural areas, there is another important factor: the age structure of the population in Germany. The country is aging, and although many elderly people are adapting to new technologies, a large number still do not own a smartphone. This poses a simple obstacle to using banking apps.

So, those living in rural areas and without a smartphone are likely to be dissatisfied with the development – because there are fewer and fewer options for withdrawing cash in Germany.

(FR.de)

A car plowed into a crowd of people today who were celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title during a parade, led by the club’s footballers on top of a bus, reports The Times.

"We are currently dealing with reports of a traffic incident in Liverpool city center. We were contacted shortly after 6 PM today following reports that a car struck several pedestrians on Water Street," said a police spokesperson.
He stated that the car stopped at the scene, and one man was arrested.

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Emergency services are currently at the scene.

The victory parade was following a 16-kilometer route. Due to the incident, several streets were closed, and Liverpool City Council strongly advised people not to drive in that direction.

Local media report that 19 people were injured, but the extent of their injuries has not been disclosed.

They also note that police are "considering the possibility that this was a terrorist act."

A video of this horrific event is shown below.

We kindly ask anyone for whom scenes of violence could pose a health risk, as well as minors, not to play the video on their devices.

We repeat, the content is of a disturbing nature.

ADMIN POST.

A new angle of the suspected terror attack on crowds celebrating in Liverpool, shows the car making impacts with pedestrians.

It's looking very intentional from this view.

Prayers out to the victims. pic.twitter.com/OPyun51ApY

— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) May 26, 2025

ADMIN POST.

Reports coming in of a suspected terror attack in Liverpool.

A car was driven into crowds celebrating their Premier League win, when the vehicle struck people on Dale street in the city.

Situation unfolding. pic.twitter.com/yZUGDxUDg6

— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) May 26, 2025

A video capturing the moment when Brigitte Macron pushed her husband Emmanuel's face made the rounds in French and international media on Monday. The President of France dismissed speculation that the cameras had witnessed a quarrel, saying the two of them are simply “jokers.”

On Monday, French media attempted to analyze the interaction caught on camera as the couple exited the plane on Sunday at the beginning of their Southeast Asia tour.

The headline of an article on the website of the daily newspaper “Le Parisien” asked: “Slap or ‘spat’? Images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron disembarking in Vietnam spark many comments.”

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Macron later told reporters that the couple – married since 2007 after meeting in high school where he was a student and she was a teacher – were just joking.

“We’re joking around, and in fact, I’m joking with my wife,” he said, adding that the incident was being exaggerated.

French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped by his wife during a family dispute that was caught on camera.

The incident occurred shortly after the French presidential plane landed in Vietnam.

What exactly enraged his wife remains unclear. pic.twitter.com/O8bnm4wVMC

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 26, 2025

"It's becoming some kind of geo-planetary catastrophe."

He added that other videos have also been misinterpreted, such as those allegedly showing him with a bag of cocaine on a train to Kyiv.

“None of this is true and everyone needs to calm down,” Macron ordered the global public.

His office had previously offered a similar explanation.

“It was a moment when the President and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip. It was a moment of complicity. That alone was enough to give conspiracy theorists ammunition,” his office said.

Marine Le Pen knows very well that only one can be number one.

A few weeks after being convicted of embezzlement and effectively barred from the 2027 presidential elections, the leader of the French far-right appears increasingly sidelined by her successor, Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old president of the National Rally party, reports Politico.

A wave of flattering polls for Bardella, combined with growing skepticism about Le Pen’s political future, has put her on the defensive, although she still publicly claims she intends to run for president for the fourth time.

"For the first time, they are completely tied" in the polls, said Frédéric Dabi, general director of the research firm IFOP.

Le Pen and Bardella each received 31 percent of voter support for the first round of the presidential election, according to a poll published this week – although such numbers must be taken with caution, considering the election is still two years away.

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The fact that voters apparently don’t mind replacing Le Pen with Bardella is sure to stir unrest within the National Rally, given the party’s history under the iron rule of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and internal succession battles.

Le Pen carefully allocated roles around her, including Bardella’s, partly to avoid the rivalries that tore the party apart during her father’s reign.

Questions have also been raised about whether Bardella is ready for the spotlight and pressure that come with a presidential campaign.

Bardella was originally envisioned as a candidate for a "subordinate" role in the American style – as a future prime minister alongside presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (in France, the president appoints the prime minister after the election).

But due to his mentor’s legal troubles, her dreams of the Élysée Palace now depend on how the Court of Appeal will rule next summer.

And so Bardella finds himself in the somewhat awkward role of a promising deputy who could replace a star not yet ready to step down.

Le Pen's Camp on Edge

What’s worrying for Le Pen is that "there are clearly certain doubts among her current and potential voters about whether she will even make it to the starting line in 2027," said Dabi.

In an IFOP poll published on May 12, only 53 percent of respondents believed she would be in a position to run, while for Bardella that number was 69 percent.

Publicly in Harmony, Internally Tense

Publicly, the National Rally tries to downplay any signs of division. Although Bardella has finally acknowledged his new status, he told the France Inter radio station on Wednesday that he and Le Pen "work hand in hand."

He also pledged to support Le Pen in her battle to overturn the court’s decision, which she portrays as an attack on democracy that denies voters the candidate preferred by the National Rally.

One of the party’s senior advisers, granted anonymity to speak freely, also tried to dismiss the idea of growing tension between Le Pen and Bardella.

"I can testify that they are working in harmony," the adviser said.

However, polling has become a sensitive topic for the National Rally due to uncertainty surrounding Le Pen’s future.

Earlier this month, her most loyal supporters were outraged when they learned that in a comprehensive survey to be published by IFOP, only Bardella was polled as the National Rally’s candidate for 2027.

Le Pen was included only after two of her closest allies intervened.

The research bore the stamp of conservative billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin, a major donor to the institute that commissioned the survey.

Stérin, who has pledged millions to reshape French politics according to his ideals, reportedly is not a supporter of Le Pen.

Instead, he favors right-wing candidates who are more economically liberal than the longtime far-right leader, who rose to power advocating protectionist policies.

The episode was portrayed by Le Pen's supporters as an attempt to marginalize her and elevate figures like Bardella, who is seen as more economically liberal.

A group of experts, civil servants, and lawmakers – called Les Horaces, who have worked behind the scenes for years to support Le Pen’s platform – came out publicly for the first time on May 16.

Their first press conference was largely interpreted as an attempt to bring their champion back into the spotlight – but that didn’t stop reporters from bombarding them with questions about their loyalty.

"At this time, Marine Le Pen is the National Rally’s candidate," said André Rougé, Member of the European Parliament and president of the group, when asked whether he would serve Bardella.

Veterans like us, he added, know that until the final whistle blows, you have to keep playing.

The international community should consider sanctions against Israel in order to force the country to end the war in the Gaza Strip, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today ahead of a meeting of European and Arab countries in Spain (Madrid), where a call will be made to end the Israeli offensive.

After the recent expansion of Israeli military operations in Gaza, several countries considered allies of Israel have joined the growing international pressure to end the war in the Palestinian territory.

The two-month blockade of the Gaza Strip has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine, raising fears of famine. Humanitarian organizations have stated that the minimal amounts allowed by Israel in recent days fall far short of what is needed.

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Madrid will today host a meeting of 20 countries and international organizations to discuss ways to end the war, said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares in an interview with French radio France Info, as reported by Danas.

"We must do everything, we must consider everything to stop this war," said Albares, adding that sanctions are also under discussion after the European Union recently decided to review its cooperation agreement with Israel.

A previous such meeting, held in Madrid last year, brought together countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, as well as European nations including Ireland and Norway, which have recognized the Palestinian state.

Today’s meeting will also be attended by representatives of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and will aim to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, 1,218 people were killed, mostly civilians, according to AFP data based on official sources.

Hamas took 251 hostages, 57 of whom are still in Gaza, including 34 who have died, according to the Israeli military.

Nearly 54,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry of Hamas in Gaza.

Almost 40 percent of German companies complained about a lack of orders in April, and despite a slight improvement, the situation remains unsatisfactory, the German IFO Institute for Economic Research in Munich announced today.

In April, 37.3 percent of companies reported a shortage of orders, a decrease from 40.2 percent in January, but the share of affected companies is still high.

"Despite the slight improvement, this is still not a sustainable recovery," commented IFO research director Klaus Wohlrabe.

According to him, demand remains subdued in many areas, and the current high uncertainty in the market could further complicate the situation.

• French Dockworkers Rebel: We Refuse to Participate in Genocide
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In the industrial sector, the share of companies affected by a lack of orders dropped significantly from 44.8 percent in January to 36.8 percent in April, and the situation in the automotive and chemical industries is somewhat better than at the beginning of the year.

According to the report, in German mechanical engineering the share remains high at around 43 percent. The lack of orders continues to be widespread in both wholesale and retail trade. In wholesale, just over 61 percent, and in retail, about 50 percent of companies reported a shortage of orders.

In the service sector, the share of companies complaining about a lack of orders slightly increased from 31.2 to 32.2 percent, with the problem being particularly pronounced in the hotel industry and among IT service providers.

The United Kingdom is considering mandatory chemical castration for certain sex offenders to reduce the risk of reoffending and ease prison overcrowding, Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said today.

The project, still in the planning phase, is based on a 2022 pilot program in several prisons in southwest England, where libido-inhibiting treatments are currently offered on a voluntary basis.

The proposal is one of several options listed in an independent report on sentencing offenders released today, which estimates that the country will face a shortfall of 9,500 prison places by early 2028.

The minister told MPs that the possibility of making the measure mandatory is being explored.

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• German Minister: Recognizing the Palestinian State Now Would Be a Bad Signal

According to her, psychological treatment should be required alongside chemical castration, especially for offenders whose motivation stems more from a need for power or domination than from sexual desire.

Chemical castration of sex offenders is used in many countries, including Poland, Russia, South Korea, Germany, and several U.S. states.

In France, it is prescribed by a physician, not criminal courts.

Two people have died and two more are missing in the floods that have hit Australia, authorities in the country announced today.

In New South Wales, north of Sydney, more than 500 people have been rescued during the floods that have affected the region since Tuesday.

The most severe floods in Australia were recorded in 1929, and today’s are even worse, reports AP.

The Premier of New South Wales, Christopher Minns, warned that another 30 centimeters of rain is expected in the next 24 hours, adding that 50,000 people have been warned to prepare for evacuation or the possibility of being cut off due to flooding.

Australia: New South Wales is grappling with some of the worst flooding in living memory. The city of Taree is practically underwater, with 48,000 people cut off, potentially for weeks - 7 Newspic.twitter.com/X5fh3q95Ts

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) May 21, 2025

"We are preparing for more bad news," said Minns.

The body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded house, said Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell.

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The body of a man in his thirties was found in the floods early this morning. He went missing last night while trying to pass through a flooded intersection.

Helicopters were used to rescue people trapped on rooftops and verandas of their homes.

Fourteen evacuation centers were opened in the region today.

The cyclone brought rainfall exceeding four months’ worth in just the past two days, blocking towns and leaving people stranded on their rooftops.

Meteorologists predict that the rain will continue to hit the region, with the possibility of up to 200 millimeters of additional rainfall in some areas by Friday.