The above, based on 2017 GDP per capita data, uses East Germany, long considered a benchmark for post-socialist economic recovery, as a reference point, set at approximately €30,300 per person. Regions shown in red fall below that threshold.

Following reunification in 1990, East Germany inherited outdated infrastructure , lower productivity, and weaker industrial capacity. Since then, the German government has invested more than €2 trillion in reconstruction, subsidies, and regional development.

While income gaps between eastern and western Germany persist, East Germany’s GDP per capita now exceeds that of many EU regions.

According to Eurostat, several regions in Southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Eastern Europe , and the Balkans continue to trail behind eastern German states in output per person.

The map underscores long-standing structural challenges. Many red-marked regions are affected by low industrial diversification, weaker transport links, ageing populations, and chronic underinvestment.

In Southern Europe, the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis slowed recovery for more than a decade. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the legacy of post-socialist transition and limited capital inflows continues to constrain growth.

The European Commission has repeatedly acknowledged that regional inequality within the EU remains high, even as national averages improve. Wealth tends to concentrate in capital cities and export-driven regions, leaving rural and peripheral areas behind.

“We must consider both motivation and method,” the prime minister said. “We’ve been informed that the Office of National Intelligence has identified material that reinforces this was an ISIS-inspired attack.”

The shooting, described by authorities as Australia’s worst mass casualty attack since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, left 15 people dead, including one of the gunmen, and injured more than 40 others. Those killed included Rabbi Eli Schlanger and a Holocaust survivor, according to community leaders.

Police said the attackers were identified as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was arrested and remains in custody.

In response, Albanese unveiled a national gun buyback scheme, calling it the most significant firearms reform since the sweeping changes introduced after Port Arthur, where 35 people were killed.

“The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” he said.

Under the proposal, the federal government will partner with states and territories to buy back surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms, with costs shared equally. Albanese noted that Australia now has more than four million firearms in circulation—more than at the time of the Port Arthur tragedy nearly three decades ago.

The government also plans to cap the number of firearms an individual can own, tighten licensing requirements, restrict the types of guns that can be legally owned, require Australian citizenship for firearm licences and fast-track the creation of a National Firearms Register.

“Australians are rightly proud of our gun laws,” Albanese said. “We are not home to the constant carnage we see in some countries, and we intend to keep it that way.”

Footage from the scene shows al-Ahmed grabbing one of the gunmen from behind, forcing him to the ground and taking his weapon. He is then seen pointing the gun at the suspect, who later fled.

Background and identity

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that al-Ahmed is an Australian citizen of Syrian origin. Family members say he comes from al-Nayrab village near Idlib in Syria and migrated to Australia in 2006. He lives in Sydney, where he runs a fruit shop, and is married with two children .

His brother, Huthaifa al-Ahmed, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Ahmed was nearby when the shooting began and intervened immediately. “I’m really proud of my brother,” he said. Al-Ahmed was shot twice during the incident and sustained serious injuries. He was taken to St George Hospital in Kogarah, New South Wales, where he is undergoing treatment and further surgery. Albanese visited him in hospital on Tuesday, describing his actions as an example of national unity. “Ahmed al-Ahmed took the gun off that perpetrator at great risk to himself,” the prime minister said.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also praised al-Ahmed, calling him a “real-life hero” whose actions helped prevent further loss of life. 

Al-Ahmed’s intervention has been widely commended in Australia and internationally. A fundraising campaign set up to support him and his family has raised more than $218,000. However, misinformation also circulated online following the attack, with false claims about al-Ahmed’s religion and identity. These claims were later corrected by Australian authorities.

“We are fighting today the battle that the Maccabees fought,” Netanyahu said, adding that their victory was central not only to Judaism but also to what he described as the foundations of Judeo-Christian civilisation. He argued that the failure of the Maccabees would have altered the course of world history and the development of societies based on freedom.

Netanyahu said the same spirit underpins the actions of Israeli forces confronting threats on multiple fronts. He said Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza, Lebanon and against Iran were motivated not only by the need to protect the Jewish people and the Israeli state, but also by what he described as a broader fight to defend civilisation.

The Israeli leader also connected the conflict in the Middle East to antisemitic violence abroad, referencing a deadly attack during a Hanukkah event in Australia.

“They did a horrible thing to us on October 7,” Netanyahu said, adding that similar violence was being directed at Jewish communities in places such as Sydney and the United States . He described the situation as a shared struggle against what he called “barbarians,” expressing confidence that Israel would prevail.

Netanyahu’s comments came a day after a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney during a Hanukkah gathering left 16 people dead. Australian authorities said the attackers were a father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was arrested and remains in custody.