Germany news: New rules to tamp down gasoline price hikes

The situation for a humpback whale stranded in the Baltic Sea remains critical.

The animal, estimated at 12 to 15 meters long, has been wandering the Baltic Sea for about four weeks. It first stranded last week off the Schleswig-Holstein coast on a sandbank and was freed using excavators. It later became stuck again in Wismar Bay before briefly escaping on Monday with the help of acoustic stimuli from experts.

Dubbed "Timmy" by German media, the whale has been suffering from severe skin problems linked to low salinity and still has remnants of fishing nets in its mouth, which have only been partly removed.

The whale is currently off the island of Poel, authorities said, noting it had been breathing and moving but had not changed position.

The whale had briefly freed itself Monday evening after being stuck for days but ran aground again in shallow water Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities and experts. Officials had initially decided to give the weakened animal time to recover.

Authorities and conservationists said Tuesday evening that the overall prognosis was poor.

The Association of German Cities has been calling for rules to allow well-integrated Syrian workers to remain, as debate grows over possible returns to Syria.

The umbrella group says keeping skilled workers would make economic sense and provide planning certainty for both refugees and employers. The comments come amid a backlash to comments by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The chancellor has said Syria's transitional president had suggested up to 80% of Syrians in Germany could return within three years.

"We know that numerous people who fled Syria have now arrived in the German labor market. This includes sectors that are desperately seeking skilled workers," the association's Managing Director Christian Schuchardt told the Funke Media Group of newspapers.

"Therefore, we assume that the federal government will find a regulation that allows people who have fled Syria to remain in Germany, regardless of the situation in their home country, at least if they are needed as skilled workers and, of course, are well integrated."

Around 320,000 Syrian nationals were employed in Germany by mid-2024, with an employment rate of about 48%, many working in logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, construction, and healthcare.

Germany has introduced a new rule allowing gas stations to raise fuel prices only once a day, at noon, after a recent surge in prices.

The coalition of the conservative CDU/CSU and center-left Social Democrats adopted the measure based on a similar system in Austria, aiming to curb price swings and improve transparency.

The law was published on Tuesday and allows price cuts at any time, while violations can be fined up to €100,000 (about $115,000).

Experts, including ADAC and fuel retailers, have questioned whether the rule will have a significant impact.

The move comes as fuel costs have risen sharply since the start of the Iran conflict, with additional measures strengthening antitrust powers against excessive pricing.

German petrol prices have jumped by more than 15% since the US and Israel began their war.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom here in Bonn.

You join us as Germany introduces a new but much-criticized measure that allows gasoline stations to change the price of petrol only once per day.

The change comes as gasoline prices around the world spike in light of Israel and the US launching a war against Iran.

Stick with us here for the latest news about Germany.