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CNN —Germany announced Wednesday that it is ramping up its border controls with neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic to “limit human trafficking,” as the country faces fierce debate on its migration policy while asylum applications surge. Police will carry out “additional flexible checks and mobile controls along the smuggling routes at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the press. The announcement came as the interior minister raised the possibility of implementing fixed controls along the borders with its two eastern neighbors this week. Until now, the southern state of Bavaria on the Austrian border was the only part of Germany with stationary border controls, a legacy of the 2015-2016 migration crisis when Europe’s leading economy took in over a million refugees. “We are fighting to keep internal border controls open within the European Union.

Persons: CNN —, Nancy Faeser, Lisi Niesner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, Faeser, Italy –, Berlin’s, ” Alexander Handschuh, Handschuh, Angela Merkel’s Organizations: CNN, Police, ”, Immigration, Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, European Union, Office, Migration, Refugees, German Federal Police, German Association of Towns Locations: Poland, Czech Republic, Czech, Bavaria, Austrian, Germany, Polish, Forst, Hesse, Italy, Berlin, –, Brussels, “, Ukraine, Municipalities

China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing was “strongly dissatisfied” with Baerbock’s comments and “firmly opposes” them. “The remarks made by Germany are extremely absurd, seriously infringe on China’s political dignity, and are an open political provocation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing on Monday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry often leaves out content it deems sensitive from the transcripts of its regular briefings. In June, US President Joe Biden also referred to Xi as a “dictator,” sparking a fierce backlash from Beijing. As a result of this and China’s political decisions, we need to change our approach to China,” the paper said.

Persons: Xi, ”, Berlin’s, Annalena Baerbock, “, Putin, Germany’s, Patricia Flor, Mao Ning, Xi –, Joe Biden, Jiang Zemin, Mike Wallace, Jiang, Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong’s, Angela Merkel, Baerbock Organizations: CNN, Fox News, China’s, Ministry, Chinese Foreign Ministry, CBS, South China, Germany’s Greens Locations: China, Germany, United States, Ukraine, Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, Taiwan, South, “ China, Australian

It follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the loss of Moscow's cheap natural gas — an unprecedented shock to Germany’s energy-intensive industries, long the manufacturing powerhouse of Europe. The loss of cheap Russian natural gas needed to power factories “painfully damaged the business model of the German economy,” Kullmann told The Associated Press. One hotly debated solution: a government-funded cap on industrial electricity prices to get the economy through the renewable energy transition. However, squabbling among the coalition government over the energy price cap and a law barring new gas furnaces has exasperated business leaders. “The perception of Germany's underlying strength may also have contributed to the misguided decisions to exit nuclear energy, ban fracking for natural gas and bet on ample natural gas supplies from Russia,” he said.

Persons: “, Christian Kullmann, Kullmann, ” Kullmann, Evonik, Robert Habeck, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Angela Merkel, —, Biden, Scholz, Evonik's Kullmann, Gerhard Schroeder, Holger Schmieding, ”, ” Schmieding, Schmieding Organizations: Jobs, International Monetary Fund, European Union, Evonik Industries, Associated Press, Greens Party, Social Democrat, Free Democrats, Companies, Schott AG, ” Locations: ESSEN, Germany, Ukraine, Europe, Europe's, Essen, Russia, Moscow, China, Bavarian, U.S, Lafayette , Indiana, Brussels, Berlin, Chile, Qatar, ” Germany, Berenberg

☆ Hillary Clinton returns to the White House for arts celebration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jeff Mason | Thomson Reuters | Jeff Mason Is A White House Correspondent For Reuters. He Has Covered The Presidencies Of Barack Obama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Clinton will attend an event with first lady Jill Biden to celebrate Praemium Imperiale Laureates, recipients of a global arts prize by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts. A former senator and first lady, Clinton, a Democrat, was the first woman to be a major U.S. political party's presidential nominee. Recipients of the arts award were first celebrated at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the then first lady in 1994. Though she spent plenty of time at the White House during the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton did not return during Republican Trump's four years in office. With President Joe Biden in the White House since 2021, Clinton has been back, but not to give public remarks.

Persons: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Charles McQuillan, Donald Trump, Clinton, Jill Biden, Praemium Imperiale, Barack Obama, Obama, Republican Trump's, Joe Biden, Angela Merkel, Biden, Trump, Roe, Wade, Jeff Mason, Miral Organizations: Queen's University Belfast, Rights, White, U.S, Japan Art Association, Democrat, Republican, House, Trump, Democratic Party, Electoral College, Thomson Locations: Hillsborough, Belfast , Northern Ireland, U.S

CNN —As Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) grows ever popular, the country’s once dominant Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party finds itself at a crossroads. The center-right CDU was in power for much of Germany’s post-war era and oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany. Max Schwarz/ReutersBerlin’s CDU mayor, Kai Wegner, took to X to write: “What cooperation is there to be had? Populist parties as ‘lightning rods’The CDU’s Michael Kretschmer, state premier of Saxony, believes a shift in policy is the best approach for democratic parties to stop the rise of the far-right. Opinion polls in his state, one of the five that make up Germany’s former east, put the AfD in the lead; Saxony has long been a stronghold for the far-right party.

Persons: Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz, shockwaves, Merz, Merz backpedaled, ”, Robert Sesselmann, Max Schwarz, Kai Wegner, Jörg, “, ” “, Kühne, ” Tino Chrupalla, John MacDougall, Merkel, it’s, sadi, Michael Kretschmer, Kretschmer Organizations: CNN, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, East, Social, Green Party and Free Democrats, ZDF, Reuters Berlin’s CDU, INSA, New, SPD, Greens, ARD, Bundestag, Getty, Federal Criminal Police, UN, UNHCR, “, Citizens Locations: Germany, West Germany, Sonneberg, Thuringia, Germany’s, Saxony, Leipzig, West, East Germany, East Germans, West Germans, Saxony Anhalt, Ukraine, Poland, Syria

☆ Putin couldn't believe how 'fit' Biden was when they met for their 2021 summit: book
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin apparently couldn't believe how fit Biden was in 2021, per a new book. In The Last Politician, Franklin Foer wrote about how the Russian president couldn't believe his eyes. Apparently, Putin had taken it to heart that Biden was a feeble man before their 2021 summit. But it was Putin who couldn't believe that President Joe Biden was looking good during their 2021 summit, according to a new book. Advertisement Advertisement Watch: Inside Putin's secret bunker and billion-dollar palace"When Putin called Angela Merkel to deliver the postmortem of the meeting, he told her, 'President Biden is very fit.'"

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Biden, Franklin Foer, couldn't, Putin, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Foer, Scranton Joe wasn't scrawny, Angela Merkel, Biden's, Matthew McConaughey's, Boris Johnson Organizations: Service, Scranton, Capitol, British Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Geneva, Ukraine, Rehoboth Beach

☆ Fact Check-Video of Putin ‘snubbing’ Macron has been cropped
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip that shows Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbing French President Emmanuel Macron before shaking hands with other world leaders has been cropped. The full video shows that Putin did not ignore Macron. The full video shows that Putin greeted Macron before shaking hands with then German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then U.S. President Donald Trump (timestamp 0:50) (here). A clip taken from a different angle (timestamp 0:27) (here) also shows the leaders shaking hands. The video has been cropped to make it seem like Putin ignored Macron.

Persons: Vladimir Putin snubbing, Emmanuel Macron, Putin, ”, Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, Read Organizations: Reuters, Macron Locations: Paris, France

☆ Germany Takes Step Toward Legalizing Marijuana
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Catie Edmondson | More About Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The German government approved a plan on Wednesday to legalize some recreational marijuana use, paving the way to allow adults to legally buy and possess small amounts of cannabis. The legislation, which would allow adults to purchase and possess up to 25 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption through nonprofit social clubs, must still be approved by Parliament. But the endorsement from the three-party coalition’s cabinet was a crucial step toward Germany becoming the first major European country to legalize marijuana. The measure is weaker than what Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government had originally proposed. The socially liberal coalition announced its intent to legalize recreational marijuana when it came into power in 2021, quickly finding consensus on an issue opposed for years by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Persons: ”, Karl Lauterbach, Olaf Scholz’s, Chancellor Angela Merkel Locations: Germany

☆ Analysis: No decoupling, but West and China drift apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, October 19, 2020. But underlying trade and investment trends point to an unmistakable long-term drift in commercial ties with the West. Take foreign direct investment - the more forward-looking clue as to where commercial ties between countries are heading. WATCH GERMANYSome, meanwhile, point to the fact that U.S.-China trade - exports and imports of goods combined - hit a record $690 billion last year as evidence that the reality does not match the frosty political rhetoric. Last month's China strategy document unveiled by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition left open exactly how far Berlin would ultimately go in reining in commercial ties.

Persons: Aly, China's, Louise Loo, Stephen Roach, Yale Law School's Paul Tsai, Angela Merkel, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Mark Leonard, –, Joe Biden, Loo, Mark John, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, West, Oxford Economics, Yale Law, Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center, Reuters, European Council, Foreign Relations, – Mercedes, Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, BASF –, Oxford, Thomson Locations: Port, Shanghai, China, United States, Europe, GERMANY, Germany, Berlin, reining, Taiwan, U.S

☆ Rise of Far Right Leaves Germany’s Conservatives at a Crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Catie Edmondson | More About Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mario Voigt, a leader of Germany’s mainstream conservative party, has watched with concern the slow but steady string of victories notched by the far-right Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD. In his home state of Thuringia, in eastern Germany, the AfD just last month won the district administrator’s seat, giving the far right bureaucratic authority over an area for the first time. Since the spring, the AfD has only gathered momentum. The party has gained at least four points in polls since May, rising to 20 percent support and overtaking the country’s governing center-left Social Democrats to become Germany’s second-strongest party. A more recent poll, released on Sunday, put the AfD at a record high of 22 percent support.

Persons: Mario Voigt, Voight’s, Angela Merkel Organizations: Social Democrats, Christian Democratic Union Locations: Germany, Thuringia

☆ Why are far-right parties on the march across Europe?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Far-right parties are propping up coalitions in Finland and Sweden. Afraid of losing voters to UKIP (and other far-right parties), the governing Conservatives ended up adopting many of its positions. Chesnot/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesConversely, far-right parties have attempted to sanitize some of their rhetoric, hoping to appear a more credible electoral prospect. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesA different type of populismAnd so the recent successes of far-right parties cannot be explained by dramatic shifts in public opinion. A lot depends on the ability of mainstream parties – particularly on the left – to build tents big enough to accommodate their differences, rather than compromising with far-right parties to prop up their coalitions.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel’s, Mario Draghi, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Viktor Orban, Andrej Babis, Czech Michael Bloomberg, Czech Donald Trump, Meloni, Mussolini, Nigel Farage, Jack Taylor, Farage, Jean, Marie Le Pen, Marine, Lionel Jospin, Jacques Chirac, Petteri Orpo, Sanna Marin, Vilhelm Junnila, Ulif Kristersson, Mark Rutte’s, Pen, Chesnot, Philippe Marlier, ” Le, Matteo Salvini, Vladimir Putin, Tino Chrupalla, Alice Weidel, Thomas Lohnes, Omer Messinger, Larry Bartels, Boris Johnson, Leon Neal, Giorgia Meloni, Odd Andersen, Orban, Kaczynski, Rutte’s, Pedro Sanchez Organizations: CNN, White, Channel, European Central Bank, Italy’s, Vox, UK Independence Party, UKIP, European Union, EU, Conservatives, National, Socialist, Socialists, Finns Party, Swedish, Sweden Democrats, Rassemblement National, University College London, Lega, Ukraine, Russia, Former British, Italy's, NATO, Getty, Spain’s Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Brussels, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Czech, France, Finland, Sweden, Austria, European, Netherlands, Russian, Oxfordshire, Vilnius

☆ Opinion: Welcome to the ‘looking-glass’ world of Putin’s Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Opinion Daniel Treisman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Welcome to the weird, through-the-looking-glass world of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where everything is its opposite and almost nothing is what it seems. That may hold as well for the still-murky fate of last month’s mutineer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group. Daniel TreismanWorse yet for the Kremlin, Prigozhin’s claim — coming from a diehard nationalist — will seem quite believable to many Russians. In this looking-glass world, the president has no time for politics. After the war started, Navalny offered a 15-point program for ending it and rebuilding a democratic Russia.

Persons: Daniel Treisman, “, ”, Vladimir Putin’s, mutineer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Prigozhin, Putin, Alexey Navalny, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Orwell, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Emmanuel Macron, Navalny, Angela Merkel Organizations: University of California, CNN, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, Russian, Putin, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Moscow, Belarus, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Belarusian, Minsk, St . Petersburg, Kremlin, Russian, Melekhovo, Vladimir, Russia, Kara, Rostov, Sochi, Ukraine, Dagestan, Crimea, “

☆ German coalition at odds over fighter jet sale to Saudi Arabia, Welt am Sonntag reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, July 1(Reuters) - Germany's coalition government is at odds over whether to bow to British pressure and approve the production of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets for Saudi Arabia, the newspaper Welt Am Sonntag reported on Saturday, citing anonymous sources. A third of the components for the jets come from Germany, industry sources told Reuters at the time. Since the rapprochement of Saudi Arabia and Iran, which could end their proxy war in Yemen, the British have argued that Germany cannot block the export of Eurofighter jets to third parties. A spokesperson for the Chancellery declined to comment to Welt am Sonntag. Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner, Jamal Khashoggi, Angela Merkel, Sabine Siebold, Victoria Waldersee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Eurofighter Typhoon, BAE Systems, Reuters, Social Democrats, Finance, Greens, SPD, Eurofighter, Welt, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Yemen, Saudi, Germany, United States, France, Britain, Iran

☆ Russia pulls back from brink of crisis after deal reached to end Wagner insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Alexey Nikolsky/AFP via Getty Images Putin judges an arm wrestling match while visiting the Seliger youth educational forum in Russia's Tver region in August 2011. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ” Prigozhin, ” Wagner, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Prigozhin, ” Peskov, Putin, Putin Putin, Joseph Stalin, –, “ Putin, Evelyn Farkas, ’, Vladimir Putin, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Pavel Bednyakov, Peter Zwack, Beth Sanner, ” Sanner, “ He’s, … Putin, Moscow’s, Priogozhin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Communist, McCain, Putin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, Russia’s Southern Military District, US Army, National Intelligence for Mission, State Department, European Union Locations: Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Kremlin, Russia’s Belgorod, Putin Russian, Russian, Rostov, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, –, Canada, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, Soviet, Kazakhstan

☆ Opinion: This is bigger than just the US and China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Opinion Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The possibility of miscalculation has increased in recent months as China has triggered some close encounters with US ships on the high seas. (In 2020, China overtook the US as Europe’s biggest trading partner for goods.) The confusion in Europe over how to treat China was on full display earlier this year when French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made their disastrous joint visit to China. Blinken’s visit to Beijing is being marketed as a bilateral meeting with a shot at achieving détente.

Persons: Michael Bociurkiw, Antony Blinken, Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia, Laura Ballman, Blinken, Li Hui, Lu Shaye, can’t, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Angela Merkel, Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, ”, “, Xi Jinping Organizations: Atlantic Council, Organization for Security, Cooperation, CNN, Amsterdam CNN —, NATO, CIA, European Commission, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Odesa, Europe, Beijing, United States, China, Ukraine, Washington, Taiwan, Canada, Russia, Paris, French, Russian, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Iran

☆ Russia is charging foreign business execs over $25,000 to attend its version of Davos — but nobody really wants to be seen there in the first place
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Most attendees hail from the ex-Soviet states, Africa, Cuba, and the UAE, per the Moscow Times. But it's still charging foreign participants over $25,000 to attend, which appears to baffle even the forum's own organizers. "The main problem for the 2023 organizers is to scrape together participants," a forum organizer told The Moscow Times on Thursday. "Although it serves no real purpose, this forum will never be abandoned," a manager at another major Russian state-owned company told The Moscow Times. Organizers of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: —, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: UAE, Moscow Times, Service, St ., Economic, United Arab Emirates, The Moscow Times Locations: Davos, Africa, Cuba, Moscow, St, St . Petersburg, Ukraine, Swiss, Russian, Europe, Petersburg

☆ Russia's isolation from the global economy causes poor turnout at Putin's economic forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's isolation from the global economy caused poor turnout at Putin's economic forum in St. Petersburg. The event previously drew big names from the West, but was mostly populated by lower-level politicians this time. Experts have sounded the alarm on Russia's economy amid Ukraine war sanctions. But experts have warned that the moat between Russia and Western world could be lethal to Russia's economy. Though some prognosticators see Russia's economy posting small growth this year, those estimates are largely based on the Kremlin's "cherry-picked" statistics, according to two Yale researchers, who recently made the case that Russia's economy is struggling far more than Putin has let on so far.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin's, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Zhang Hanhui, Zhou Liqun, Putin Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs, Yale Locations: St . Petersburg, Ukraine, Soviet Union, America, Asia, Russia, China, Moscow, Western

☆ The rise of Germany's most successful far-right party since the Nazis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 7 (Reuters) - Following are some of the key moments in the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country's' most successful far-right party since the Nazis were in power. The party wants Germany to quit the euro and reintroduce the Deutsche Mark. 2015 - The party shifts right during Europe's migration crisis, causing some of the original founders to quit. As the only party to criticise Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that let in hundreds of thousands of migrants, it sees support rise steadily. 2021 - Germany's BfV domestic spy agency service places the AfD under surveillance on suspicion of trying to undermine Germany’s democratic constitution.

Persons: Chancellor Angela Merkel's, Bjoern Hoecke, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Sarah Marsh, Madeline Chambers, Edmund Blair Organizations: Deutsche, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Turkey, Thueringen, Russia

The logo of Russia’s state gas company Gazprom was emblazoned on the shirts of players at the soccer club Toennies chaired. In Germany, Toennies’ story is far from unique. At the centre of Gazprom’s influence campaign was Schalke 04, the soccer club Toennies chaired at the time and which Gazprom began sponsoring in 2006. Russian gas imports have dropped dramatically and Germany is supplying tanks and other weapons systems to Ukraine. In 2001 Toennies assumed another of his older brother’s roles – chairman of soccer club Schalke 04.

Persons: Clemens Toennies, Vladimir Putin, Toennies, Willy Brandt, ”, Putin, Sberbank, Angela Merkel, “, ” Merkel, Bernd, Clemens, Putin’s, Alexei Gromov, Gromov, Gerhard Schroeder, Schroeder Organizations: Gazprom, Toennies, Schalke, Gazprom’s, Reuters, Miele, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, ” Schalke, Chelsea, Kremlin, Former Locations: WIEDENBRUECK, Germany, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Berlin, Russians, Crimea, Gazprom, Rheda, German, Europe, Nord Stream, Dresden

☆ Germany's Scholz publicly backs Biden over Trump for re-election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said he prefers U.S. President Joe Biden to his predecessor, Donald Trump, and hoped Biden would be re-elected for a second term in office. Addressing pupils at a primary school close to Berlin, Scholz accused Trump of being divisive and that he would be bad not only for the United States but also for Germany. Responding to a pupil's question, Scholz said: "I think the current president is better, so I want him to be re-elected." Biden's many years of public service mean he knows exactly "what you have to do to prevent the world from going to war," Scholz said. Recent polls show Biden with an edge over potential Republican challengers Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as the November 2024 U.S. presidential election draws closer.

Walking away, President Joe Biden wrapped his arm around Zelensky’s shoulders. None of the G7 leaders are particularly popular at home, even as they produce results abroad. After all, it was Trump who had argued over dinner at the 2019 G7 summit in Biarritz, France, that Russia should be allowed back into the group. That level of chaos was nowhere to be found in Hiroshima this past week, when leaders appeared to generally like each other. Even before Biden left for the G7 summit, the stalemate over raising the federal borrowing limit prompted a scramble to rearrange the president’s engagements so he could return to Washington early.

☆ Zelenskiy collects Charlemagne Prize on behalf of Ukrainian people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zelenskiy flew to the western city of Aachen with Chancellor Olaf Scholz following talks in the German capital. He received a standing ovation at a ceremony in the Coronation room of Aachen town hall, where he was awarded the prize, which celebrates services to European unification. "Ukrainians will always make Europe stronger," Zelenskiy said in English before switching to Ukrainian to address the gathering that included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The Ukrainian people, under Zelenskiy's leadership, are fighting not only for their country "but also Europe and European values", the prize committee said in a statement. Previous recipients of the prize include French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

☆ Zelensky Meets With German Leaders After Their Massive Weapons Pledge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Erika Solomon | Vivek Shankar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Zelensky’s trip to Germany follows a visit to Rome, where peace negotiations were a major theme in meetings with Pope Francis and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Ukrainian and German officials have privately said that Mr. Zelensky might be hoping to persuade Mr. Scholz to play a more influential role when it comes to European support for the war, or even in mediating a peace settlement. Later on Sunday, Mr. Zelensky is expected to travel to city of Aachen in western Germany to receive the prestigious Charlemagne award on behalf of himself and the Ukrainian people. The award is bestowed on those who have done the most to promote European unity. Russian missile strike hits Ternopil in western UkraineRussia fired missiles at the Ternopil region in western Ukraine, Ukrainian officials on Sunday, hitting the hometown of Ukraine’s Eurovision group during the song contest and demonstrating Moscow’s ability to launch attacks far from the front lines.

Russian servicemen rehearse on Sunday for the Victory Day parade, when Moscow will aim to display its military prowess. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesSeveral Russian regions have cut back on Victory Day celebrations, due to insufficient military weapons available for display. World leaders such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended the military parade in previous years. ‘Evil has returned’Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday suggested moving Ukraine's Victory Day parade a day earlier so it does not align with Moscow's celebrations. Like Russia, Ukraine traditionally commemorates victory over the Nazis on May 9, but that date has become increasingly associated with a parade in Moscow.

☆ Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military 'lacks almost everything' it needs to do it, a former German general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's the warning from a former German general who argues that Germany must refurbish its badly neglected armed forces — though this will take years to accomplish. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can't meet its recruiting goals. In 2020, German defense spending was only 1.4% of GDP, well short of 2% goal that NATO members have pledged to hit by 2024. "Armament procurement concentrated on armored transport vehicles rather than on battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles," Vad writes. RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty ImagesDespite years of calls by France for pan-European defense, coordinating German defense procurement with other EU states — each with distinct military needs and political priorities – is difficult.

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