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Scholz, who has visited Africa several times since taking office in late 2021, will hold bilateral talks with several African countries on Sunday, before hosting a German-African investment summit at Berlin's Marriott Hotel on Monday morning. African countries have long complained that while Europe talks about investment, China actually provides financing without any moral lecturing. Still, Chinese lending in Africa is in decline, while European interest is rising as it seeks to diversify supply chains. Nearly two thirds of German companies want to expand their business in Africa, according to a study by KPMG and the German-African Business Association. The member countries of the G20 Compact are Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.

Persons: jostling, Scholz, Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Mark Rutte, Olaf Scholz, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Mike Harrison Organizations: Africa, Dutch, African Union, KPMG, African Business Association, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Africa, Macron BERLIN, Germany, Berlin's, Europe, United States, Russia, China, Asia, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia

Scholz was speaking at a ceremony at a Berlin synagogue to mark "Kristallnacht" alongside Jewish leaders. "Every form of antisemitism poisons our society," said Scholz, who was wearing a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap, as is customary in a synagogue for men. A 10-minute video by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressing concern over rising antisemitism went viral last week. Indeed, new citizenship rules make clear that anyone who is antisemitic cannot receive German citizenship, Scholz said on Thursday. It was one of the world’s 10 largest Jewish centres, and many of Germany’s leading scientists were Berlin Jews.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Beth Zion, JOHN MACDOUGALL, Scholz, Molotov, RIAS, Robert Habeck, Israel, Germany’s, Hitler, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Thomas Escritt, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Jewish, Hamas, German, Thomson Locations: Beth, Berlin, Germany, Austria, Nazi, Israel, Palestinian

The meeting was aimed at garnering state leaders' support for such moves and addressing local authorities' complaints that public coffers and infrastructure are overburdened. The leader of the central state of Hesse put the total volume of aid at 3.5 billion euros. "Our shared goal is to push back irregular migration," said Scholz, after describing the agreement as a "historic moment." Some 230,000 people requested asylum in Germany in the first nine months of this year, more than in the full year 2022. His government has also agreed changes to existing rules to enable asylum seekers to enter the labour force more rapidly and to punish human traffickers with longer prison sentences.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Hesse Boris Rhein, Lower Saxony Stephan Weil, Angela Merkel, Scholz, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Miranda Murray, Rachel More, Barbara Lewis, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Lower, REUTERS, European Union, Thomson Locations: Hesse, Lower Saxony, Germany, Berlin, BERLIN, Russia, Scholz's

Migration has become a hot topic of debate in Germany ahead of elections on Oct. 8 in the states of Bavaria and Hesse, and in Europe at large ahead of European parliamentary elections next year. The post shared by Musk came from an account identified as Radio Genoa. It criticized the German state for funding charities rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean and included videos of rescue missions. Germany's centre-left government confirmed this week that it was financially supporting three German non-governmental organizations that operate in the Mediterranean and regularly bring migrants to Italy. In Texas, Tesla operates a plant in Austin and Space X operates a major testing and launch facility on the Texas Gulf Coast in Boca Chica near Brownsville.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, Billionaire Elon, Musk, Tesla's Gigafactory, Tesla, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Leslie Adler Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Rights, Billionaire, Radio Genoa, Forbes, Space X, Texas Gulf, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Germany, Bavaria, Hesse, Europe, Texas, Mexico, Italy, Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin, Brandenburg, Austin, Texas Gulf Coast, Boca Chica, Brownsville, U.S

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, for a general debate on the Federal Government policy in Berlin, Germany September 6, 2023. The chancellor announced a new "Germany pact" with a bundle of measures aimed at reducing bureaucracy, speeding up approval processes for new construction and digitising citizens’ access to key government services. The chancellor rejected the idea of fresh stimulus to boost an economy battling high inflation, financing costs and a drop in exports. Such sums showed Germany was holding its own vis-à-vis the U.S. and the $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, he said. For a special Reuters World News podcast on what is ailing the German economy please click here .

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Annegret, Scholz, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Thomas Escritt, Miranda Murray, Friederike Heine Our Organizations: Bundestag, Federal Government, REUTERS, Scholz's Social Democrats, Deutsche, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, BERLIN, Europe's

The new legislation will limit the amount of cannabis young adults can buy to 30 grams a month, compared to 50 grams for older adults. Scholz's government had already watered down original plans to allow the widespread sale of cannabis in licensed shops after consultations with Brussels. Instead, it said would launch a pilot project for a small number of licensed shops in some regions to test the effects of a commercial supply chain of recreational cannabis over five years. Malta became the first European country to allow limited cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use in late 2021. The legislation presented on Wednesday includes strict rules for growing weed - cannabis clubs of up to 500 associates must have burglar-proof doors and windows, with greenhouses fenced off.

Persons: Lisi Niesner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Karl Lauterbach, Lauterbach, Armin Schuster, Kristine Luetke, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Angus MacSwan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Scholz's Social Democrats, Free Democrats, Thomson Locations: Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany, Europe, Saxony, Brussels, Netherlands, Switzerland, Malta

China became Germany's single biggest trade partner in 2016 and is a core market for top German companies including Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BASF (BASFn.DE) and BMW (BMWG.DE). "They know German companies will run up direct channels to the chancellery," said Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Asia program. The talks come after Antony Blinken on Sunday became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit China in five years, stressing the importance of keeping open lines of communication to reduce the risk of miscalculation. The Chinese delegation will meet with some of those CEOs on Monday, according to people familiar with the plans. The Chinese delegation will head to Paris for an official visit and to attend a financial conference on June 22 to 23.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Fabrizio Bensch, China Scholz, Scholz, Li Qiang, Li, Wang Yiwei, Andrew Small, Marshall, Mikko Huotari, Antony Blinken, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Laurie Chen, John Geddie, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Volkswagen, BASF, BMW, Centre, European Studies, Renmin University of China, Greens and Free Democrats, Social Democrats, Analysts, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, China, Beijing, Munich BERLIN, Europe, European Union, Asia, Munich, Bavaria, Paris

Still, Bremen is the first federal state to hold an election this year and as such, the results will be closely watched. The conservatives are polling in second place on 26-28%, meaning the SPD could win back its pole position in its traditional stronghold. But the Left party is on fragile ground at a national level due to internal strife which could have regional repercussions. That has given a boost to local right-wing populist party Buerger in Wut (Citizens in Rage). It is focusing on immigration and fighting crime and is now polling 9-10%, up from 3% a few months ago.

BERLIN, May 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Germany for its support as he met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday in his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion. Zelenskiy arrived in Berlin from Rome, where he met separately on Saturday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis. "In the most challenging time in the modern history of Ukraine, Germany proud to be our true friend and reliable ally," Zelenskiy wrote in the guest book of the German presidency. Zelenskiy last visited Germany for the Munich Security Council in February last year just before the war broke out. Germany was constrained in its support for Ukraine at that time both by its energy dependence on Russia and a pacifism rooted in its bloody 20th century history.

[1/5] Newly elected Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner and his predecessor and designated Berlin Senator for Economics and Energy Franziska Giffey look on at the city's town hall Rotes Rathaus (Red Townhall), in Berlin, Germany, April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Nadja WohllebenBERLIN, April 27 (Reuters) - Berlin appointed its first conservative mayor in more than two decades on Thursday after the Christian Democrats (CDU) beat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in a repeat election in February, dislodging its centre-left coalition. Kai Wegner, 50, a former insurance salesman, was sworn in as mayor after a vote in local parliament, succeeding the SPD's Franziska Giffey who had been Berlin's first female mayor. His CDU won a clear victory in February's election held after a court ruled the 2021 vote invalid due to irregularities. Critics have accused his CDU party of dog-whistle politics.

The Greens in particular, but also the SPD, want to invest more in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The FDP on other hand, seeks a return to solid public finances after signing off on hundreds of billions of euros of exceptional expenditure during the pandemic and energy crisis. German coalition disputes are also spilling over into European Union policymaking, sparking irritation among partners. Proportional representation, for example, means coalition governments are the norm, which can slow down decision-making. However singling out just one minister could could result in that minister's party exiting the coalition, he said.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. GERMANY LAGGINGWhile several countries across Europe are still formulating telecom policies, only Britain and Sweden have so far banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment. The German government was last month unable to answer a parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks, filed in part in response to the report. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. The government would ban operators from using certain controlling elements from Huawei and ZTE in 5G networks. The German government was last month unable to answer a recent parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

Still, many Germans feel Scholz is not doing a very good job of explaining his thinking. Scholz has so far neither said he would give the green light nor if he would send tanks from Germany. A main reason given is that Russia could see the deliveries of tanks as tantamount to Germany becoming a party to conflict. The Kremlin would be less inclined to retaliate if another nuclear power such as the United States also sent tanks. Already, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced Germany to overcome taboos such as exporting arms to war zones.

China became Germany's single biggest trade partner in 2016. A recent survey by the Ifo think-tank found that nearly half of German industrial firms now rely on significant inputs from China. But Scholz's trip comes at a time of growing concern in the West - particularly in Germany's top security ally, the United States - about China's trade practices, human rights record and territorial ambitions. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai called the decision "naive" and criticized the timing of Scholz's trip to China as "deeply unfortunate". But the German chancellor declined Macron's offer, the sources said.

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