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Germany
21/03/2025 Speaking at the annual Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) Congress, Germany's likely next chancellor, Merz, pledged continued robust financial support and weapons deliveries to Ukraine. 'There is some good news. This afternoon, immediately after the Bundesrat (upper house of parliament) decision, parliament's budget committee will meet and release €3 billion ($3.25 billion) for Ukraine'. This funding has been requested since last year September but was held up due to the budget situation, he said. Earlier today, the Bundesrat approved constitutional changes that will enable the incoming government 'to significantly boost defense spending' and infrastructure investments. 'Under these changes, Germany's strict fiscal rules will be eased, allowing borrowing for critical defense spending', intelligence service enhancement, IT system protection, and aid to states attacked in violation of international law. With this latest injection, Germany's total military assistance to Ukraine will reach €7 billion in 2025. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
United Kingdom
(Friday), 04:09 GMT; 14:05 GMT, 21 March 2025 A blaze broke out at the nearby substation at 8pm on Thursday, the fire caused a major power outage. Flights forced to return to India, the Caribbean and the US as Heathrow shutdown at around 3am today triggered worldwide travel chaos with more than 200,000 passengers left stranded in airports. Dozens of flights have been diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Lyon and other European cities. The airport is handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day. The cause of the fire remains unknown. (Map, photo/ (Source: Daily Mail – United Kingdom)
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