Timmy the stranded whale back on the move

 Brazilsaid Germany would contribute around €700 million (roughly $825 million) to climate and sustainable mobility projects, according to the state development bank BNDES, as reported by Reuters.

The announcement came during president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’stwo-day visit to Germany, which included talks on cooperation in areas such as raw materials, defense, technology and climate protection.

The fund will support studies and finance projects aimed at tackling climate change, Lula said at a joint press conference earlier in the day.

The two countries also signed a separate declaration of intent for an additional €200 million investment in sustainable mobility, according to a statement released by BNDES.

Germany is a long-standing partner in Brazil’s environmental efforts, particularly in forest protection and climate finance.

The stranded humpback whale made relatively swift progress on Monday morning, covering 3 kilometers due south in the right direction to escape the bay of the island of Poel near Wismar that he was trapped in.

But by the afternoon and evening, the progress slowed once more. “Timmy” was lying in a shallow area near the bay’s exit, Fred Babbel, the head of the diving company trying to assist the whale’s passage, told the NDR local broadcaster.

Babbel said the whale was resting and that the position should be safe even if the water level continues to drop.

Rescuers were hoping for improved weather and wind conditions on Tuesday to try to coax the whale to move again.

The protection zone trying to keep onlookers at a safe distance has been adjusted to reflect his new position.

The whale would still have hundreds of kilometers of difficult and dangerous waters, to which it is not suited, to navigate in order to return to the North Sea and ultimately its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rescuers in northern Germany are mounting a complex operation to save a stranded 15‑meter whale in the Baltic Sea. After several failed refloating attempts, the animal is to be lifted onto a floating platform and towed toward the North Sea. Authorities say the whale’s condition is better than feared, despite intense public interest and debate over human intervention. Experts believe it strayed from its Atlantic migration route.

The German Foreign Ministry on Monday took to social media to announce its rejection of Russian threats over Germany’s support for Ukraine, noting that Berlin had summoned the Russian ambassador to address the issue.

Russia recently identified Germany and its defense industry contractors as potential targets of aggression, including hybrid measures, citing their collaborative relationship with Ukraine — which Russia has failed to overwhelm since launching its February 2022 invasion.

In a two-part statement on X, the Foreign Ministry pushed back, writing: “Russia’s direct threats against targets in Germany are an attempt to weaken our support for Ukraine and to test our unity.”

“Our response is clear,” the post continued, “We will not be intimidated. Such threats and all kinds of espionage activities in Germany are completely unacceptable. To this end, the Russian ambassador was summoned today.”

After it appeared that Chancellor Merz and President Lula da Silva were avoiding each other at the Hannover Messe trade fair and canceled a planned joint statement on trade, their two governments appeared united on one front — the Strait of Hormuz.

The two nations “share deep concern over ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, including the impact on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” a joint declaration seen by Reuters news agency read.

Both countries are “strongly ​encouraging progress ​toward a substantive ‌negotiated settlement on ​Iran,” the statement continued.

Since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February, ongoing blockades and uncertainty have surrounded the waterway, which is key for the global fuel trade and is a major international supply chain link. The situation has triggered a significant downturn for the global economy.

Munich police spokesman Christian Drexler said that more than 500 fans of the football team VfB Stuttgart had been detained related to a mass brawl with Bayern Munich supporters.

The fight began outside Munich’s Allianz Arena on Sunday night, after the local team clinched their 35th Bundesliga title in a match against Stuttgart.

“It appeared to us that the incident was planned. It didn’t look spontaneous,” police said of the clash, adding that at least 1,000 fans had been involved.

Despite having 300 officers deployed, Drexler said it still hadn’t been enough to stop the brawl that broke out in the arena parking lot. He added that only Stuttgart fans were taken into custody as there were not enough police officers on site to detain both groups.

Germany’s Olymial bid to host the Summer Olympics in either 2036, 2040, or 2044 in a public referendum.

The “CologneRheinRuhr” bid would have Cologne as the lead city, with other nearby municipalities also hosting events, as has become the norm in recent years.

Cologne will face stiff competition from Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg who are also lobbying the DOSB. Whichever German city is chosen will face another uphill battle against bids from Qatar, Turkey, India, Chile, and South Africa.

The DOSB is reportedly particularly keen to host the 2036 games, as it would mark 100 years since the Berlin games hosted by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, and be an opportunity to showcase a vastly changed Germany.

Despite opening the Hannover Messe trade fair together and Brazilian officials acting as guests of honors, organizers were surprised on Monday as Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Lula da Silva took off in separate directions.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” trade fair officials told German news agency DPA.

The pair also canceled a planned joint statement for the end of Lula’s trip to Germany.

Relations between Brasilia and Berlin have cooled somewhat under Chancellor Merz, who is more conservative than Lula and who sparked outrage after insulting the Brazilian city of Belem last November.

After returning from the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Merz implied that the entire German delegation had been keen to leave the city as soon as possible.

The national crime rate dropped by 5.6% in 2025 compared to a year before, Interior Minister Dobrindt said at the annual presentation of the federal crime statistics report.

One reason for this is the legalization of cannabis, Dobrindt said, which cut down drug-related crimes.

Violent crime decreased slightly, down 2.3% compared to 2024, and theft was down by 6.5%.

However, reports of sexual assault were up by 8.5%. Experts said this can partly be explained by a changing culture towards reporting gender-based violence that makes victims feel more comfortable coming forward.

As in previous years, the suspects in sexual assault and rape cases are overwhelmingly the partners or ex-partners of their victims. Some 98.6% of suspects were men.

There were also more cases of child sexual abuse imagery than the previous year, partly due to the rise in AI-generated pornography.

The German government, including Chancellor Merz, have been criticized for implying that immigrants were causing a crime wave — something not borne out by evidence.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced that pay increases for many of the government’s top bureaucrats will be smaller than expected as the German economy continues to wobble, the news magazine Spiegelreported.

The difference ranges from a few hundred euros less than expected to one thousand euros fewer a month than promised to many officials.

Dobrindt has recently presented a new draft law that proposes to keep pay rises for government workers more in line with the fluctuations of the economy.

The Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest industrial trade fairs, started its second day on Monday and Chancellor Merz was in attendance alongside Brazilian government officials, including President da Silva.

Every year, a different partner country is highlighted at the fair. This time, Germany and Brazil are keen to deepen cooperation ahead of the full implementation of an EU-Mercosur free trade deal.

The controversial deal — European farmers are worried that stores will prefer to stock cheaper South American goods — has been provisionally applied before its official ratification by all member states.

The Mercosur group includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguary, Paraguay, and Bolivia, with several other nations in South America being associate countries.

Chancellor Merz was keen to assuage fears about fuel storage and supply chains in Germany as the US-Israel war with Iran continues to disrupt global trade and send oil prices skyrocketing.

“For the moment, the market situation is tense, but supply in Germany is secure,” Merz told reporters at the Hannover Messe when asked about the country’s stores of oil, diesel, and kerosine.

He added: “In the event that the situation should worsen, we are prepared to take action. Security of supply is a top priority for Germany…the German economy and citizens must be able to rely on the fact that the supply of essential products such as diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel remains secure.”

Merz’s National Security Council is expected to address the issue directly in the coming days, and measures are already being taken by the Energy Security Task Force to shore up supplies. Critics of Merz’s conservative-led government have pointed out that a great deal of funds meant for Germany’s transition to renewable energy were diverted away from their stated purpose, leaving the country more vulnerable to flucuations like the one created by the US-Israel war with Iran.

A humpback whale nicknamed Timmy was reportedly back on the move on Monday morning after becoming stranded again over the weekend.

The story of the marine mammal, which first became stuck in Wismar Bay off of Germany’s Baltic Sea cost on March 31, has garnered significant attention in Germany with some broadcasters dedicating 24/7 videostreams to his plight.

Now, rising water levels and strengthening winds have buoyed Timmy back out into open water under his own strength, which experts take as a postive sign.

He is due to be fitted with a tracking device to aid his onward journey back into the wild after rescue boats are done guiding him to the ocean.

The latest initiative was backed by several independent entities, including Walter Gunz, the co-founder of electronics giant MediaMarkt, after initial government interventions failed to bring Timmy back out to sea and hopes for his survival had faded.

Good morning from Bonn as it basks in the spring sunshine.

Today we will bring you the latest a saga that has gripped Germany — the tale of Timmy of the whale.

At the same time, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also trying to allay fears over energy and supply crises.

Also in Berlin, German-Brazilian government consultations continue a day after Merz welcomed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the capital.

Check back here as we bring you all the latest news from Germany.