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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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

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.

☆ Germany has a plan to tackle a rapidly ageing workforce: recruiting robots
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But what does enhancing the workforce through robots and digitalization actually look like? There won't be major job losses as a result of digitalization, according to Ulrich Walwei, vice director of Germany's Institute for Employment Research. Ultimately, the goal of integrating robots into the workplace is to augment human capabilities, not replace them. "Our robots can free up human workers to focus on more complex and creative work, leading to more fulfilling and engaging jobs," Pehlivan told CNBC via email. "Ultimately, the goal of integrating robots into the workplace is to augment human capabilities, not replace them," he added.

☆ Fed Chair Jerome Powell got tricked by 2 Russian prank callers posing as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fed Chair Powell held a call with Russian pranksters pretending to be Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. "No sensitive or confidential information was discussed," a Fed spokesperson told Insider. Footage circulating on Russian State Television showed Powell answering an interviewer's questions, with the central bank head seemingly thinking he was speaking to Ukraine's leader. In a statement sent to Insider, a Fed spokesperson confirmed that Powell participated in a call with someone "who misrepresented himself" as the Ukrainian president in January. The phone call, which appears to have been carried out by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, covered a range of topics like Powell's inflation outlook and Russia's central bank, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Germany's domestic spy agency on Wednesday classified the youth organisation of far-right party the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as an extremist entity that threatens democracy, as authorities seek to combat a widespread rise in extremism. Germany's spy agency on Wednesday classified two other organisations, the Institute for State Policy and "One Percent", as extremist entities pursuing aims against the constitution. The spy agency said that the Young Alternatives wanted a society that was as ethnoculturally homogeneous as possible, designated migrants of non-European origins as fundamentally impossible to integrate and warned of the destruction of "organically grown European peoples". It is now Germany's most successful far-right party since World War Two and is currently polling just a few percentage points behind the Greens and the ruling Social Democrats (SPD). "We have seen that the whole discussion about extreme right tendencies has not hurt the AfD," said Guellner.

☆ Germany's foreign minister: Parts of China trip 'more than shocking'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Alexander Ratz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks during a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (not pictured) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, April 14, 2023. Suo Takekuma/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoBERLIN, April 19 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday described parts of her recent trip to China as "more than shocking" and said Beijing was increasingly becoming a systemic rival more than a trade partner and competitor. Beijing in turn asked Germany to support Taiwan's "reunification" and said China and Germany were not adversaries but partners. Speaking to the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament) on Wednesday about her China trip, Baerbock said "some of it was really more than shocking". China is Germany's largest trading partner, said Baerbock, but this did not mean Beijing was also Germany's most important trading partner.

[1/5] A demonstrator takes part in a protest against the shut down of the last three German nuclear power plants, in Berlin, Germany, April 15, 2023. An estimated 50,000 protesters in Germany formed a 45-kilometre long (27-mile) human chain after the Fukushima disaster from Stuttgart to the Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant. One of the long-running movement's early successes came in the 1970s when it managed to get plans for a nuclear plant in Wyhl in western Germany overturned. It was a Greens-coalition government that introduced the country's first nuclear phase-out law in 2002. "The nuclear phase-out is a Greens project ... and all parties have practically adopted it," said Rainer Klute, head of pro-nuclear non-profit association Nuklearia.

☆ China says hopes Germany supports peaceful Taiwan 'reunification'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attend a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, April 14, 2023. Suo Takekuma/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING, April 15 (Reuters) - China's top diplomat Wang Yi "hopes and believes" Germany will support China's "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Wang made the remarks at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is visiting China until Saturday, adding that China once supported Germany's reunification. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday it strongly approved of Baerbock's comments. "The Foreign Ministry thanks many high-level officials in the executive departments of various countries, including Germany, for their solidarity with Taiwan," it said.

[1/5] A general view shows the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, as Germany shuts down its last nuclear power plants in Neckarwestheim, Germany, April 14, 2023. Following years of prevaricating, Germany pledged to quit nuclear power definitively after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster sent radiation spewing into the air and terrifying the world. Germany's commercial nuclear sector began with the commissioning of the Kahl reactor in 1961: eagerly promoted by politicians but met with scepticism by companies. With the end of the atomic power era, Germany has to find a permanent repository for around 1,900 highly radioactive casks of nuclear waste by 2031. The government also acknowledges that safety issues remain given that neighbours France and Switzerland still depend heavily on nuclear power.

☆ German coalition government ends dispute after marathon negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A general view as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a government statement during a plenary session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Christian MangBERLIN, March 28 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling coalition government on Tuesday presented the results of 30-hour negotiations aimed at resolving a spat that has threatened to delay major policy initiatives in Europe's top economy. Scholz, whom critics have accused of not providing sufficient leadership, played down the differences among the parties by suggesting the coalition reached "some very good agreements" but did not give details. Earlier this month Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the FDP delayed his presentation of the draft budget due to coalition rifts. Notably, the FDP wants to rein in spending while the Greens want to invest more in the transition to a carbon neutral economy.

☆ China protests 'vile' Taiwan visit by German minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has ramped up military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit is taking place as Berlin is reviewing its previously close ties with China. In January, a visit to Taiwan by a delegation of high-ranking lawmakers from the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest party in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition, also led to protests from Beijing. "It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be the first minister heading a specialist government department to visit Taiwan in 26 years," she added. Given the sensitivity of the trip, Stark-Watzinger is not scheduled to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

☆ Factbox: Ernie vs ChatGPT on global leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

These were some of the summarized answers to questions Reuters posed to Ernie in Chinese, and ChatGPT in English, about world leaders:WHAT POLICIES HAS PRESIDENT XI JINPING INTRODUCED THAT ARE BENEFICIAL TO CHINA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? WHO ARE U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S RELATIVES? Ernie: "A relative of U.S. President Joe Biden is Valerie Biden Owens." ChatGPT: "President Joe Biden has a large and close-knit family," it says before naming Jill, Hunter, Ashley and Beau Biden and providing brief descriptions. "Joe Biden also has several grandchildren."

☆ German minister to visit Taiwan in test of China relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit will take place at a time when Berlin is reviewing its previously close ties with China. Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, will begin her visit early next week, a ministry spokesperson said. Speaking at a regular news conference in Berlin, the education ministry spokesperson said the agenda during Stark-Watzinger's visit will also include battery research and supply chains. Last year, China condemned a visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years, as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

A DB spokesperson told Reuters that under current IT security legislation it did not have to run network components by Germany's cybersecurity office, the BSI, unlike public telecoms network operators. A BSI spokesperson said it was not aware of any law that determined the DB IT systems as "critical components". A Huawei spokesperson said the firm would never harm any nation or individual. The December contract with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is for Huawei tech like switches and routers. A government source said it had detected some operators had already built in Huawei critical components without waiting for a BSI green light and could be required to replace those.

☆ The Perils of Premature Negotiation Over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Michael Kimmage | Hanna Notte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the engines of diplomacy are revving up. France, Germany and the United Kingdom have recently floated the idea of giving Ukraine a security guarantee. The Biden administration has repeatedly pledged to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.” But Washington isn’t free from constraints. There is a limit to the money and materiel the U.S. can send to Ukraine. Absent the decisive defeat of Russia or Ukraine, the war will have to end with a negotiated settlement.

☆ Putin gave Biden a $12,000 writing set in 2021. It was among the unusual presents world leaders offered the US president that year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

These are 7 of the most unusual, unique, or noteworthy presents gifted to President Joe Biden that year. These are 7 of the most unusual presents gifted to President Joe Biden in 2021. Putin gave Biden a $12,000 desk setLess than a year before Vladimir Putin launched his unprompted war in Ukraine, the Russian president gifted Biden a Kholuy Lacquer miniature workshop desk writing set and pen valued at $12,000, according to the State Department. Queen Elizabeth gave the president a photo of herselfThe late Queen Elizabeth gave the gift of herself during the 2021 G7 summit in England. President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept. 1, 2021, in Washington.

☆ China cranking up political espionage, German official tells newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] German and Chinese national flags fly in Tiananmen Square ahead of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, China, May 23, 2018. We must be prepared for these to increase in the coming years," Verfassungsschutz agency chief Thomas Haldenwang told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He warned that economic dependence on China could be exploited for political influence. "The political leadership is already using its economic power, which also results from intensive relations with the German and European economies, to implement political goals." The German government has been reassessing its economic relations with authoritarian countries after the Ukraine war laid bare the vulnerabilities of Berlin's years-long energy dependence on Russia.

☆ Jump or be pushed: German conservatives turn on ex-Nazi hunter over race comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Once he was Germany's top Nazi hunter. Now the conservative opposition want to kick former domestic security chief Hans-Georg Maassen out of their party for allegedly repeating anti-Semitic and racist tropes. But the long-time member and one-time parliamentary candidate of former Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) lost that job after being accused of ignoring video evidence of far-right gangs chasing immigrants in riots. Maassen, who has always strongly denied charges of racism, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Under German party democracy laws introduced to prevent the re-emergence of dictatorial parties like Hitler's Nazis, expulsion can only follow a series of quasi-judicial hearings to establish whether a member is in conflict with the party's values.

On energy, the ministry has “completely overhauled the previous government’s Russia-friendly policy” to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas, it said. “That tells you something.”Germany consistently underestimated the Russian threat and gave counterintelligence work a low priority, but that is changing now in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, experts and Western officials said. Last April, Berlin expelled 40 Russian Embassy employees for allegedly working for Russian intelligence services. Germany’s intelligence services failed to anticipate that Russia would invade Ukraine, a failure that has yet to be the subject of any publicly released “lessons learned” review. Such a review would show Germany is serious about altering its approach, the Western official said.

☆ For Ukraine, Western tanks could be a game changer in the conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For Ukraine, the offer of modern, Western battle tanks was a long-time coming; it has requested Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, and asked Berlin to authorize their re-export from other allies, for months. On Wednesday, Germany offered Ukraine 14 of its Leopard 2A6 tanks and said it would allow allies to export their own German-made tanks to Ukraine. watch nowPoland, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway and Finland are among the other countries that have signaled they will, or are willing, to send tanks to Kyiv. Ukraine is certainly focusing right now on the exact number of tanks it can expect from its Western allies. The speed of training of our military, the speed of supplying tanks to Ukraine and the volume of tank support."

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