Thursday, July 30

Tag: Germany

German politician resigns over surrogacy child controversy

Reuters 46-year-old Jens Spahn announced he and his husband had become parents earlier this week German centre-right politician Jens Spahn has resigned as parliamentary group leader of the country's governing coalition after being accused of hypocrisy over his use of a surrogate mother in the US to have a child. Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany - a policy backed by his Christian Democrat party (CDU) and, several years ago, by Spahn himself - although raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad is not. He wrote in a statement on Saturday: "I have realised that my personal happiness - founding a family together with my husband and becoming a father - is not compatible with my political office." Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads the CDU, called ...

Paris restricts alcohol consumption and sales as Europe’s heatwave shifts east

Getty Images French authorities have announced public alcohol consumption and sales bans in Paris, in a bid to ease pressure on the capital's hospitals during the heatwave. Parisians will be restricted from drinking alcohol in public from noon on Friday until 07:00 on Saturday. The measures will be in place during the same hours from Saturday to Sunday. Heatwave conditions that have left Spain, the UK and France sweltering for days are set to shift to the east, with forecasters in Germany and the Czech Republic warning of extreme conditions. Temperatures in Germany could hit 40C across the country on Friday. An extreme weather warning is now in place in much of the Czech Republic. Getty Images Temperatures in Italy are yet to peak, with over 40C expected o...

Warning Trump’s Germany troop pullout sends wrong message to Putin

Two top American legislators from Donald Trump's party have slammed the president's move to withdraw 5000 US troops based in Germany, saying it sends the wrong message to Russia. The Pentagon announced last Friday the troops would be withdrawn, making good Trump's threat after he clashed with the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, over the US war with Iran. But the decision has been criticised by US Republican politicians Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, who chair the Senate and House armed services committees respectively. The Pentagon says it is withdrawing 5000 US troops from Germany. (Photo: US European Command) (Supplied) The pair suggested that instead of pulling the troops out, they should be deployed further east to deter attacks on Western Europe. I...

Germany’s far-right AfD suffers series of candidate deaths ahead of local vote

As many as six candidates for Germany's far-right AfD have died in recent weeks ahead of local elections in the big western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Police have made clear there is no evidence of foul play in the deaths, but it means that new ballots will have to be printed and some postal voters will have to recast their ballots. North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of 18 million and a reported 20,000 candidates will run for office in its 14 September local elections. The number of deaths has nevertheless raised questions on social media. The state's interior ministry has pointed out that candidates from other parties, including the Greens and Social Democrats, have also died. The AfD became Germany's second biggest party in February's federal elections, spreading f...

German cabinet backs voluntary military service, opening door to conscription

Christian Mang/Getty Images The government wants an 80,000 increase in soldier numbers by 80,000 by the early 2030s Germany's cabinet has passed a draft bill which will introduce voluntary military service. The bill could also lead to conscription if more troops are needed. It's part of a move to boost German national defences, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Compulsory military service in Germany was ended in 2011 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made boosting Germany's military a priority given the threat from Russia and said "we are now back on the path to a military service army". He summed up his thinking earlier this year saying: "We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we don't have to defend our...

Putin praises Trump’s efforts to end Ukraine war ahead of summit in Alaska

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, more than three years after Moscow launched its invasion, as the two leaders prepared for a pivotal US–Russia summit on Friday (Saturday morning AEST) in Alaska. Following a meeting on Thursday with top government officials on the summit, Putin said in a short video released by the Kremlin that the Trump administration was making "quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities" and to "reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved". Putin also suggested "long-term conditions of peace between our countries, and in Europe, and in the world as a whole", could be reached under an agreement with the US on nuclear arms control. Donald...
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