Speaking to the Bundestag in Berlin on Thursday, the chancellor said Germany needed to maintain strict control to prevent mutations such as those found in the UK, Brazil and South Africa from wrecking Europe’s largest economy. The variants have been found so far in 13 of the 16 German states. …
Read More »‘Mutants are a reality’: Germany extends lockdown until March 7 as Merkel urges caution over Covid-19 variants
Exceptions to the lockdown, which has been in place since December, mean that hairdressers are able to reopen from March 1 and federal states can decide on their own timetables for the reopening of schools. But German bars, restaurants, hotels, leisure centers and non-essential shops will remain closed until the …
Read More »Russia expels diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden for alleged participation in pro-Navalny protests
In a statement issued on Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had made formal protests to the embassies of Germany, Poland and Sweden. Representatives of these countries are said to have participated in mass-demonstrations that saw thousands take to the streets in cities across Russia over the past …
Read More »Germany discloses names of Dutch SS veterans still receiving pensions for serving Hitler in WWII
Berlin has forwarded a list with the names of recipients of German pensions between 2015 and 2019 and the exact sums they were paid, the Dutch State Secretary for Finance Hans Vijlbrief said in a letter to parliament, which was cited by local media. It turned out that 34 people …
Read More »US ‘freezing’ Trump plan to withdraw 12,000 troops from Germany while Pentagon reviews policy – general
The plans have been “put on freeze” while new US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is “in the process of conducting a very thorough review” of the policy, Air Force General Tod Wolters told reporters, without giving a timeframe for the audit. The planned drawdown included relocating the US European …
Read More »France & Germany threaten AstraZeneca with legal action if they favored UK over EU when distributing Covid-19 vaccine
“I am not saying that there is a problem but if there is a problem and that [they] have favored other destinations, other countries – for example the UK – over us then we will defend our interests,” France’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune told the French …
Read More »Germany buys Trump-touted antibody cocktail against Covid-19 at $2,400 per dose – health minister
“Starting next week, the monoclonal antibodies will be used in Germany as the first country in the EU. Initially in university clinics,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag, which was published on Sunday. The drug is produced by the biotech lab Regeneron, which …
Read More »Germany considers extended lockdown as new Covid-19 variants emerge, Merkel spokesperson warns of ‘risk of mutation’
“We still have a big risk… that is the risk of mutation,” Steffen Seibert, Angela Merkel’s spokesman, said at a news conference, revealing that the chancellor had brought forward a meeting with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states to Tuesday. The country has reported multiple cases of the Covid-19 variant …
Read More »Germany’s ruling party picks centrist Armin Laschet as its new leader
The first-ever digital election was held by CDU on Saturday, with Laschet defeating his main contender, hardliner conservative Friedrich Merz, in a runoff ballot. The centrist politician and self-styled Angela Merkel continuity candidate, Laschet, narrowly won the election scoring 521 to 466 votes. The digital election’s results will be further …
Read More »Calls for PROBE as Germany’s apparent failure to pre-order enough vaccines sparks rift within Merkel’s govt coalition
Germany’s mass vaccination against Covid-19 began just days ago but is already marred by Berlin’s and the EU’s failures, according to its critics. Of all issues with the Pfizer jab’s distribution, the apparent lack of doses at hand has raised the most questions. On Monday, the German Health Minister Jens …
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