Germany's would-be next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, won lawmakers' approval to loosen strict debt rules for higher defense spending as doubts mount about the strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Germany's parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge on Tuesday, throwing off decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth and scaling up military spending for a new era of European collective defence.

Germany’s would-be next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, won lawmakers’ approval Tuesday for ambitious plans to loosen the nation’s strict debt rules for higher defense spending as doubts mount about the strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance,

Apple Inc. lost its fight at Germany’s top civil court to overturn a regulator’s decision to put it under tighter antitrust scrutiny alongside other US tech giants.

Apple lost its challenge at Germany's top civil court on Tuesday against its classification as a significant market power, a label which gives antitrust regulators more scope and flexibility to scrutinise its business practices.

European markets held firm on Tuesday ahead of German lawmakers voting on a landmark overhaul to government spending, while uncertainty over a call on Ukraine between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin kept gold at $3,