https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The German army has suspended soldiers in its ceremonial guard over suspicion of sexual aggression and sympathy with the far-right, a recurring problem within the Bundeswehr. https://www.thelocal.de/20211008/german-army-suspends-soldiers-over-far-right-suspicions Fri, 08 Oct 2021 17:32:56 +0200 german-army-suspends-soldiers-over-far-right-suspicions Germany has completed its troop pull-out from Afghanistan, started in May, the defence ministry announced Tuesday, ending a nearly 20-year deployment there alongside US and other international forces. https://www.thelocal.de/20210630/historic-chapter-ends-germany-completes-troop-pull-out-from-afghanistan Wed, 30 Jun 2021 11:48:17 +0200 historic-chapter-ends-germany-completes-troop-pull-out-from-afghanistan Germany's Defence Minister on Tuesday vowed to severely punish soldiers stationed in Lithuania who were accused of singing racist and anti-Semitic songs, if the allegations turned out to be true. https://www.thelocal.de/20210616/new-army-scandal-germany-vows-to-punish-soldiers-caught-singing-anti-semitic-songs Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:17:29 +0200 new-army-scandal-germany-vows-to-punish-soldiers-caught-singing-anti-semitic-songs Germany wants to extend its military presence in Afghanistan, where it has the second-largest contingent after the United States, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Saturday. https://www.thelocal.de/20210213/germany-wants-troops-to-stay-on-in-afghanistan Sat, 13 Feb 2021 14:50:03 +0100 germany-wants-troops-to-stay-on-in-afghanistan Germany's defence minister on Wednesday offered up to 10,000 soldiers to help carry out coronavirus tests in care homes as the country continues to struggle with high infection numbers. https://www.thelocal.de/20210114/german-bundeswehr-offers-10000-soldiers-to-help-virus-fight Thu, 14 Jan 2021 10:15:26 +0100 german-bundeswehr-offers-10000-soldiers-to-help-virus-fight Chancellor Angela Merkel's government on Wednesday agreed a draft bill that would compensate gay soldiers who faced discrimination in the armed forces between 1955 and 2000. https://www.thelocal.de/20201125/germany-to-compensate-gay-soldiers-over-discrimination Wed, 25 Nov 2020 15:08:17 +0100 germany-to-compensate-gay-soldiers-over-discrimination The trial of a staff sergeant on a rape accusation that started Thursday has highlighted a problem that appears to be on the rise in the German army - sexual assault of female soldiers. https://www.thelocal.de/20200821/rape-trial-of-sergeant-shines-spotlight-on-sexual-assault-in-german-army Fri, 21 Aug 2020 13:04:14 +0200 rape-trial-of-sergeant-shines-spotlight-on-sexual-assault-in-german-army Germany is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to help in the country's battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Thursday. https://www.thelocal.de/20200319/germany-calls-up-army-reserves-in-fight-against-coronavirus-pandemic Thu, 19 Mar 2020 14:34:53 +0100 germany-calls-up-army-reserves-in-fight-against-coronavirus-pandemic Germany on Tuesday said it had temporarily withdrawn some of its troops deployed as part of the anti-IS coalition in Iraq, in the latest fallout over the US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. https://www.thelocal.de/20200107/germany-to-withdraw-some-troops-from-iraq Tue, 07 Jan 2020 09:53:43 +0100 germany-to-withdraw-some-troops-from-iraq The German army will employ a rabbi as religious counsellor for the first time in a century, a firm signal that Jewish life is an integral part of the country, Germany's Defence Minister said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20191211/german-army-to-employ-rabbi-for-first-time-in-a-century Wed, 11 Dec 2019 13:23:38 +0100 german-army-to-employ-rabbi-for-first-time-in-a-century Germany's Defence Minister vowed to take "decisive action" against any cases of radicalism in the army, after it emerged that the Bundeswehr is to suspend a member of its elite KSK force on suspicion of far-right extremism. https://www.thelocal.de/20191202/german-army-to-suspend-elite-force-member-over-suspected-far-right-extremism Mon, 02 Dec 2019 10:00:54 +0100 german-army-to-suspend-elite-force-member-over-suspected-far-right-extremism The German army was hit by another equipment problem, as it was forced to keep its new Airbus Sea Lion helicopter on the ground because key technical documents were riddled with irregularities. https://www.thelocal.de/20191127/german-army-grounds-new-helicopter-in-fresh-equipment-setback Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:05:05 +0100 german-army-grounds-new-helicopter-in-fresh-equipment-setback The German army on Wednesday apologized for posting a photo on Instagram of a military uniform complete with two Iron Crosses bearing the Nazi swastika and appearing to celebrate it as "retro". https://www.thelocal.de/20191127/german-army-apologizes-over-retro-nazi-uniform-post Wed, 27 Nov 2019 15:21:46 +0100 german-army-apologizes-over-retro-nazi-uniform-post Germany said Monday it would raise its NATO spending to more than €50 billion in 2020, days before leaders meet in London for the 70th anniversary of the transatlantic partnership. https://www.thelocal.de/20191118/germany-pledges-more-for-under-pressure-nato-ahead-of-summit Mon, 18 Nov 2019 17:09:36 +0100 germany-pledges-more-for-under-pressure-nato-ahead-of-summit German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her support Tuesday behind a controversial call by her defence minister for international troops to create a "safe zone" in northeastern Syria. https://www.thelocal.de/20191023/resume-the-fight-against-terror-merkel-backs-call-for-troops-in-syrian-safe-zone Wed, 23 Oct 2019 11:19:10 +0200 resume-the-fight-against-terror-merkel-backs-call-for-troops-in-syrian-safe-zone The sight of fatigue-clad soldiers manning the German military's brightly-lit stall at Cologne's Gamescom draws in the curious - but some guests consciously stayed away. https://www.thelocal.de/20190826/german-army-seeks-out-gamers-in-hunt-for-computer-savvy-recruits Mon, 26 Aug 2019 12:59:33 +0200 german-army-seeks-out-gamers-in-hunt-for-computer-savvy-recruits An army helicopter crashed in northern Germany on Monday, killing the pilot, defence officials said, in the second fatal crash in a week for a military plagued with equipment problems. https://www.thelocal.de/20190702/second-deadly-crash-of-german-army-helicopter-in-a-week Tue, 02 Jul 2019 10:40:30 +0200 second-deadly-crash-of-german-army-helicopter-in-a-week On the first day of the Munich Security Conference, we look in numbers at Germany's armed forces, and the direction that they will be heading in the future. https://www.thelocal.de/20190215/more-women-soldiers-and-less-equipment-a-look-at-germanys-army-in-numbers Fri, 15 Feb 2019 13:19:20 +0100 more-women-soldiers-and-less-equipment-a-look-at-germanys-army-in-numbers Germany on Tuesday detained a German-Afghan man on suspicion he was spying for Iran while working for the German army as a linguistic and cultural adviser. https://www.thelocal.de/20190115/germany-arrests-german-afghan-army-adviser-for-spying-for-iran Tue, 15 Jan 2019 14:33:10 +0100 germany-arrests-german-afghan-army-adviser-for-spying-for-iran Germany's military chief said Thursday he was considering recruiting in other EU nations to target specialists like IT professionals and medical doctors. https://www.thelocal.de/20181227/german-military-looks-to-recruit-in-other-eu-nations Thu, 27 Dec 2018 13:22:30 +0100 german-military-looks-to-recruit-in-other-eu-nations