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☆ Explainer: How to correctly re-export German tanks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The following explains defence export rules in Germany and other countries and the way such deals have been handled previously:HOW DO GOVERNMENTS CORRECTLY RE-EXPORT GERMAN TANKS? The same goes for cases where the weapons may be used to wage a war of aggression or the re-export approval might violate Germany's obligations under international law. As defence exports are a touchy issue in Germany, foreign countries usually do not directly submit a formal request for re-export to the German authorities. If not, the foreign country abstains from submitting a formal re-export request, and no diplomatic harm is done. GERMANY'S HIGH HURDLES FOR DEFENCE EXPORTSGermany has one of the toughest defence export regimes in the world – largely due to its bloody pre-1945 past.

☆ German minister promises Ukraine weapons, EU accession help on surprise trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock expressed Germany's solidarity with Ukrainians living through Russia's invasion and harsh winter conditions. After Germany last week promised to send Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of increased military support, Baerbock promised more weapons, without specifying which ones. Senior Russian legislator Leonid Slutsky, echoing Moscow's line that it launched the war to "denazify" Ukraine, said history would harshly judge the comments by Baerbock. Baerbock also said it was important not to lose sight of Ukraine's place in Europe and its desire to join the EU. She said Germany would provide 20 million euros ($21.47 million) for demining efforts and another 20 million euros to boost Ukraine's access to Starlink internet terminals.

☆ Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Iran's judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God", its Mizan news agency reported on Monday, defying growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators. Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty on demonstrators demanding greater respect for women. Under Iran's Islamic law, treason is punishable by death. Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate protesters". The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have condemned Iran for using the death penalty against demonstrators.

☆ Travelers rush to take advantage of China reopening
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

After years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure to be among the first in line following the reopening Sunday of border crossing points. Those crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China, however, are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours — a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries. Hong Kong media reports said around 300,000 travel bookings from the city to mainland China have already been made, with a daily quota of 60,000. "I've been under isolated quarantine for six times in different cities (in mainland China)," said Ivan Tang, a Hong Kong business traveler. Meanwhile, more foreign governments are imposing testing requirements on travelers from China — most recently Germany, Sweden and Portugal.

In a joint statement after a call between President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the United States said it would provide Ukraine with Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles while Germany would provide Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The U.S. weapons package, to be announced on Friday, is expected to include about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles as part of security assistance totalling about $2.8 billion, U.S. officials told Reuters. Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy expressed his appreciation for Germany's contribution, saying on Twitter that "Germany is making an important contribution to intercepting all Russian missiles!" The decision was announced after Scholz's government faced a chorus of calls from within his three-way coalition to beef up military support for Ukraine after France announced it was sending light AMX-10 RC armoured combat vehicles. That includes weapons that "Ukraine needs to free occupied areas and the people who are suffering under Russian terror", she said.

☆ Germany says EU decisions should not be blocked by individual countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LISBON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that the European Union could no longer afford to have decisions blocked by individual member states. "Qualified majority voting can lead to fairer...results for all of us," Baerbock told a conference in Portugal's capital Lisbon. "We must be capable of acting efficiently and swiftly." Baerbock said that EU countries are often not even able to draft a press release "because they cannot agree on the same wording". Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Poland says Germany refused talks on World War Two reparations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Germany has rebuffed the latest push by Poland's nationalist government for vast reparations over World War Two, saying in response to a diplomatic note that the issue was closed, the foreign ministry in Warsaw said on Tuesday. Poland estimates its World War Two losses caused by Germany at 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.4 trillion) and has demanded reparations, but Berlin has repeatedly said all financial claims related to the war have been settled. "Germany does not pursue a friendly policy towards Poland, they want to build their sphere of influence here and treat Poland as a vassal state." In 1953, Poland's then-communist rulers relinquished all claims to war reparations under pressure from the Soviet Union, which wanted to free East Germany, also a Soviet satellite, from any liabilities. In a joint press conference with Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau last October, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the pain caused by Germany during World War Two was "passed on through generations" in Poland but that the issue of reparations was closed.

☆ Germany hands over 20 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerABUJA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Germany has handed over 20 Benin Bronzes from its museums to Nigeria, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday, making it the latest European country to return cultural artefacts to their African homeland. Germany had agreed to start returning Benin Bronzes held in its museums last year. Earlier this year, Germany signed a declaration with Nigeria to release all 1,130 Benin Bronzes - actually copper alloy relief sculptures, many showing court figures - in German public museums. The returns are likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds by far the largest and most significant collection of Benin Bronzes. Nigeria's information minister called on the British Museum to release the more than 900 Benin Bronzes it has.

☆ Iran carries out second known execution over protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iran on Monday executed a second known prisoner detained and convicted amid nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy, airing footage on state television it claimed shows him stabbing two security force members to death and running away. At least 488 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-September, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests. Iran’s Interior Ministry said earlier this month that the death toll was 200, including security forces who were killed. A heavily edited state television report aired after Rahnavard’s execution showed clips of him in the courtroom. It executed the first known prisoner detained during demonstrations last Thursday.

☆ EU wrangles with Hungary over Ukraine aid, tax plan as billions at risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

As the wrangling has gone on, Hungary also blocked the 18 billion euros joint EU loan to Ukraine and the tax plan, drawing ire from other countries for what they said was an attempt to blackmail the bloc into releasing the funds to Budapest. Hungary says it opposes joint EU borrowing to support Ukraine but that it would extend bilateral aid to Kyiv instead. Budapest has also said the OECD plan for a minimum corporate tax is against Hungary's national interests. Other EU countries are divided between those willing to punish Hungary more harshly and those saying the amounts frozen would be lessened if Hungary moved on Ukraine and OECD. The rest depends on Hungary, it's their money," said one EU diplomat.

☆ India signals it will continue to buy oil from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

India's Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar gestures as he answers questions during an interview in Brussels on February 17, 2020. India will prioritize its own energy needs and continue to buy oil from Russia, its foreign minister signaled Monday, as Western governments press Moscow with a price cap to squeeze its earnings from oil exports. Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made the comments after holding talks with his visiting German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in which they discussed bilateral relations and Russia's war in Ukraine. Jaishankar said it isn't right for European countries to prioritize their energy needs but "ask India to do something else." India has so far not committed to the $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil set by the Group of Seven major industrialized countries and European Union that is expected to come into effect Monday.

☆ India shared a list of products with Moscow for access to Russian market - minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia has been India's largest supplier of military equipment for decades and it is the fourth-biggest market for Indian pharmaceuticals. "We have given Russians a set of products which we believe we are very competitive in and which we feel should be getting access to the Russian market," Jaishankar told reporters in a briefing with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, who is on a visit to India. I think a large part of it would be determined by the market," Jaishankar added. During a visit to Moscow in November, Jaishankar said India needed to boost exports to Russia to balance bilateral trade that is now tilted towards Russia. Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Alison Williams and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.N. condemns Iran's crackdown on protests, establishes probe into alleged abuses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Thursday to condemn the bloody crackdown on peaceful protests in Iran and create an independent fact-finding mission to investigate alleged abuses, particularly those committed against women and children. Thursday’s session in Geneva is the latest international effort to put pressure on Iran over its crackdown, which has already drawn international sanctions and other measures. “The only answer we received was more violence, more death.”Protesters wave Iranian pre-Islamic revolution flags in front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Thursday. The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, expressed concerns that Iran’s government has not been listening to the world community. The council will now set up a “fact-finding mission” to investigate rights violations “especially with respect to women and children” linked to the protests that erupted on Sept. 16.

☆ Ukraine's finance minister says reconstruction costs are rising
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said more Western aid is needed to help it meet its growing reconstruction costs following this week's escalation of Russian missile attacks. Marchenko also said current Western support meant "we'll have approximately $3-3.5 billion a month vs $5 billion this year". However, he said the current budget includes only a very small amount for reconstruction costs which it needs to increase if possible. For now, though, Western support continues. Also, G7 foreign ministers will discuss how to ensure Ukraine's energy supply when they meet next week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted on Thursday.

[1/10] Delegates applaud as COP27 President Sameh Shoukry delivers a statement during the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 20, 2022. "We had to fight relentlessly to hold the line of Glasgow," a visibly frustrated Alok Sharma, architect of the Glasgow deal, told the summit. He listed off a number of ambition-boosting measures that were stymied in the negotiations for the final COP27 deal in Egypt: "Emissions peaking before 2025 as the science tells us is necessary? Another section of the COP27 deal dropped the idea of annual target renewal in favour of returning to a longer five-year cycle set out in the Paris pact. "I recognise the progress we made in COP27" with the loss and damage fund, Aminath Shauna told the plenary.

☆ COP27 deal is a blessing in a very good disguise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The world’s premier forum for combatting climate change concluded in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday with an inadequate agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. At Glasgow’s COP26 a year ago, the world’s nearly 200 nations promised to update their decarbonisation plans in 2022. Pessimists will accurately stress that a newly agreed loss and damage fund to pay off affected countries is just an empty bucket – the details will be determined later. At COP26 it was obvious a perceived lack of generosity from richer nations was holding back efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The commitment to establish a dedicated “loss and damage” fund left many of the most controversial decisions on how it might work until next year, including who should pay into it.

☆ What are people saying about the COP27 deal?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I urge you to acknowledge when you walk out of this room, that we have all fallen short in actions to avoid and minimise loss and damage. "Too many parties are not ready to make more progress today in the fight against climate crisis." PAKISTAN CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER SHERRY REHMAN"We have struggled for 30 year on this path and today in Sharm el-Sheikh this journey has achieved its first positive milestone ... MALDIVES CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER AMINATH SHAUNA"I recognise the progress we made in COP 27 particularly on...the funding arrangements for loss and damage. And we were able to prevent a backslide behind the consensus of Glasgow and Paris (climate summits).

☆ Germany plans to tighten rules for firms highly dependent on China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign ministry plans to tighten the rules for companies deeply exposed to China, making them disclose more information and possibly conduct stress tests for geopolitical risks, a confidential draft document seen by Reuters said. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry declined to comment. The draft, drawn up by the foreign ministry led by the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, still has to be agreed by other ministries. A final decision on the China strategy is expected early next year. To avoid cluster risks, investment guarantees should be limited to 3 billion euros per company per country, it added.

☆ Maldives minister: COP27 negotiators have reached a deal on a climate fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Negotiators say they have struck a potential breakthrough deal on the thorniest issue of United Nations climate talks, creation of a fund for compensating poor nations that are victims of extreme weather worsened by rich nations' carbon pollution. "There is an agreement on loss and damage," which is what negotiators call the concept, Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna told The Associated Press Saturday. A second overarching document from the climate talks leadership ignores India's call to phase down oil and natural gas, in addition to last year's agreement to wean the world from "unabated" coal. The EU made a surprise proposal days earlier tying a fund for climate disasters to emissions cuts that go beyond what the 2015 Paris climate agreement calls for. "We're now, I must say, very close to getting a loss and damage fund," Adow said.

☆ EU piles pressure on Iran's leaders with more sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Macron said the crackdown by Iranian leaders would make it harder to reach agreement on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which would give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. "I don't think there will be new proposals which can be made right now to save the nuclear deal." Speaking after he met four Iranian women activists in Paris over the weekend, Macron said that more European Union sanctions would be adopted in reaction to Tehran's actions. Iranian leaders blame foreign enemies including the United States for what they call riots. In a letter published by Emtedad news website, some 2,300 graduated students of Amirkabir University in Tehran urged authorities to release students detained.

☆ Ghana president sacks junior finance minister over alleged impropriety
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bernd Lauter/Pool via REUTERSACCRA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has sacked Charles Adu Boahen, the minister of state for finance, the presidency said on Monday after allegations of impropriety were circulated by a well-known Ghanaian investigative journalist. Adu Boahen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. read moreThe allegations against Adu Boahen did not appear to be related to those previously raised against Ofori-Atta. Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said in a statement the video showed Adu Boahen "apparently using my name, inter alia, to peddle influence and collect money from supposed investors". "I would like to state that if what the minister (Adu Boahen) is alleged to have said is accurately captured in the video, then his position as a minister of state is untenable.

☆ Germany to Hungary: no grey area on ratifying Sweden, Finland NATO accession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Germany has made it clear to Hungary that there is no grey area when it comes to the ratification of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Berlin on Thursday. "With regard to the question about Hungary: I would like to underline this clearly ... there is no grey area," Baerbock told a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom. Hungary's parliament will discuss the ratification during its autumn session after a series of EU-related bills have been passed, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Wednesday. Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The top diplomats of the G7 rich democracies will join sessions in the western German city of Muenster focusing on Ukraine, China and the Indo-Pacific as well as Iran and Africa, among others. "G7 partners will now together kick off winter aid for Ukraine," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the opening of the event. The joint winter aid will be coordinated by G7 partners, she noted. Japan and Germany have agreed to work towards a military logistics pact, a Japanese government official said on Thursday after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. The G7 session was being hosted by Germany as holder of the group's rotating presidency.

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.

☆ EU examines classifying Iran Revolutionary Guards as terrorists - Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Germany and the European Union are examining whether to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday. "I made it clear last week that we will launch another package of sanctions, that we will examine how we can also list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation," Baerbock said in a interview with ARD broadcaster on Sunday. Her comments come after the head of the Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their already fierce crackdown on widespread unrest. Germany last week said it was tightening entry restrictions on Iran beyond an already announced EU sanctions package. Baebock also said there were currently no negotiations about the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West.

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