Lawmakers in Germany's Bundestag have passed a colossal defence and infrastructure spending package tabled by Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. It includes a special 500 billion euro fund to update the country's infrastructure over the next 12 years and an exemption of big defence spending from its prized "debt brake" system designed to ensure fiscal discipline. Plus, residents in western Senegal are voicing anger over a gigantic mining operation by France's Eremet.