Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani on Saturday wrapped up a two-day visit to Munich and headed back to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, an official statement said. “The prime minister has returned to the homeland after participating in the Munich Security Conference 59,” the statement said. “At the Munich Conference, we …
Read More »Iraq asks EU for assistance in recovering stolen assets, combating corruption
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani on Saturday called on the European Union (EU) commission to help his cabinet combat corruption, extradite wanted persons, and recover stolen assets. Prime Minister al-Sudani’s remarks came during a meeting with the EU commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on the sidelines of the …
Read More »Al-Sudani meets with the International Criminal Court Prosecutor
Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, met with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Ahmed Khan, in Munich. A statement by al-Sudani’s office said that the meeting discussed UNITAD’s efforts to investigate ISIS’s crimes against the Iraqi people, hold the responsible accountable, and achieve justice for the victims. …
Read More »Former guard at British embassy sentenced to 13 years in prison for spying for Russia
A man who passed highly sensitive information to the Russian state while working as a security guard at the British embassy in Berlin was on Friday jailed for 13 years and two months in a London court. The court heard David Ballantyne Smith, 58, collected confidential information for more than …
Read More »Iraqi PM Al-Sudani arrives in Germany to attend Munich security council
Iraq’s Prime Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arrived in Munich to attend the Munich security council, heading a government delegation, a statement by al-Sudani’s office said. The President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, will attend the annual Munich Security Conference this month, a source revealed on Sunday. The 59th …
Read More »Ford announces mass layoffs in Europe
Ford has announced that one in nine of its European employees will be cut, following the company’s aggressive electrification plan. Earlier this year, German union representatives first sounded the alarm about possible job cuts from Ford Europe, estimating roughly 2,500 employees would be cut on the continent, with the majority …
Read More »Another coup plot foiled in Germany
Five suspects from right-wing circles were charged with preparing to overthrow the government and abduct a minister German security services have charged five suspects with treason over an alleged plot to overthrow the government. The group, whose members are now all in custody, allegedly planned to cause a “civil war-like” …
Read More »German parliament recognizes Yazidi ‘genocide’ in Iraq
Germany’s lower house has recognized as “genocide” the 2014 massacre by the armed group ISIL (ISIS) against the Yazidi minority group in Iraq and Syria. The move by parliamentarians on Thursday condemned “indescribable atrocities” and “tyrannical injustice” carried out by ISIL fighters “with the intention of completely wiping out the …
Read More »German minister promises weapons and EU accession help on surprise Ukraine trip
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border on Tuesday, promising more weapons as well as “concrete offers” to help the country’s accession to the European Union. In a statement ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro …
Read More »Moscow finds the Merkel ‘confessions’ concrete grounds for a tribunal
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson says the confessions of the German ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel on the Minsk agreements are grounds for a tribunal. On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that a confession made by German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel concerning the Minsk agreements might be used as evidence in a …
Read More »German Army Has Ammo for Only Two Days of War – Report
The German Army (Bundeswehr) has enough ammunition for only one or two days of warfare, the German edition of the news website Business Insider (BI) reported on Saturday, citing defense industry and parliamentary sources. According to BI, Berlin is significantly lagging behind the NATO requirement of maintaining stocks for at …
Read More »Germany reacts to Ukraine’s NATO membership bid
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says that the alliance must not be dragged into a war with Russia Germany will do everything to avoid NATO becoming a direct party in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said. Her remarks came after Kiev requested to become an official member of …
Read More »Europe races to prepare for energy crunch this winter
Germany was pressing on Monday to secure liquefied natural gas contracts with Gulf producers and other European states outlined measures to conserve energy, with Russian flows running at severely reduced levels as winter approaches. Berlin said it aimed to sign LNG contracts in the United Arab Emirates to supply terminals …
Read More »German nuclear reactor leak poses no safety threat but complicates plans
E.ON has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government’s winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday. Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at …
Read More »German military resumes reconnaissance mission in Mali
The German military resumed its reconnaissance mission in Mali on Tuesday after a suspension of more than three weeks following a spat with Mali’s government regarding overflight clearances. Berlin has deployed some 1,000 troops to Mali, most of them near the northern town of Gao where their main task is …
Read More »Low water levels on Danube reveal sunken WW2 German warships
Europe’s worst drought in years has pushed the mighty river Danube to one of its lowest levels in almost a century, exposing the hulks of dozens of explosives-laden German warships sunk during World War Two near Serbia’s river port town of Prahovo. The vessels were among hundreds scuttled along the …
Read More »German Chancellor to testify over handling of multibillion-euro tax fraud
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to testify in front of lawmakers on Friday over his role as Hamburg mayor in tackling a multibillion-euro tax fraud in a case that threatens to tarnish him even as he battles multiple crises. In the scheme of “cum-ex” or dividend stripping, banks and investors …
Read More »German troops back to Bosnia as fear of instability grows
Germany has deployed troops with the European Union’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia for the first time in a decade as concerns mount instability from the Ukraine war could spread to the Western Balkans. On Tuesday, the first German troops to return to the country were greeted in a ceremony at …
Read More »Germany prepares crisis plan for abrupt end to Russian gas: Reuters
German officials are quietly preparing for any sudden halt in Russian gas supplies with an emergency package that could include taking control of critical firms, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The preparations being led by the Ministry for Economic Affairs show the heightened state of alert about …
Read More »Hungary says EU ban on Russian oil crosses ‘red line’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blasted European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen for “attacking” EU unity with a proposed Russian oil ban, saying it crosses a red line.
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