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 Germany's embattled centre-left leader Martin Schulz said Friday he would abandon a bid to become foreign minister in a new coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel, after massive resistance from his own party. https://www.thelocal.de/20180209/schulz-abandons-bid-for-foreign-ministry-as-spd-power-struggle-heats-up Fri, 09 Feb 2018 15:25:38 +0100 schulz-abandons-bid-for-foreign-ministry-as-spd-power-struggle-heats-up Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday urged Europe to define and defend its own interests, warning that Washington's retreat from the world stage may continue even after Donald Trump's presidency. https://www.thelocal.de/20171205/eu-needs-to-project-its-power-in-trump-era-in-order-to-survive-says-german-foreign-minister Tue, 05 Dec 2017 13:55:52 +0100 eu-needs-to-project-its-power-in-trump-era-in-order-to-survive-says-german-foreign-minister German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has accused supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of threatening his wife amid a festering diplomatic crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20170822/erdogan-supporters-have-threatened-my-wife-german-foreign-minister-says Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:12:49 +0200 erdogan-supporters-have-threatened-my-wife-german-foreign-minister-says Germany's foreign minister said Friday that British Prime Minister Theresa May's opening offer on guaranteeing EU citizens' rights after Brexit was "the minimum". https://www.thelocal.de/20170623/britains-offer-to-eu-citizens-was-merkel-dep Fri, 23 Jun 2017 17:21:57 +0200 britains-offer-to-eu-citizens-was-merkel-dep Update: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to cancel talks set for Tuesday with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel over the visiting diplomat's plan to also meet rights groups critical of Israel's government. https://www.thelocal.de/20170425/german-minister-ruffles-israeli-feathers-with-plans-to-meet-rights-groups Tue, 25 Apr 2017 11:44:26 +0200 german-minister-ruffles-israeli-feathers-with-plans-to-meet-rights-groups The government has come in for criticism after new figures revealed that Germany exported ten times the quantity of small arms ammunition in the first half of 2016 as in the same period last year. https://www.thelocal.de/20161025/german-small-arms-ammunition-exports-grow-ten-fold Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:16:12 +0200 german-small-arms-ammunition-exports-grow-ten-fold Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday that negotiations on a massive trade deal between the European Union and the United States were effectively dead in the water. https://www.thelocal.de/20160829/vice-chancellor-ttip-has-failed-us-eu Mon, 29 Aug 2016 11:56:57 +0200 vice-chancellor-ttip-has-failed-us-eu Germany's Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel raised eyebrows Wednesday over a video of him showing the middle finger to a group of far-right protesters. https://www.thelocal.de/20160817/vice-chancellor-gabriel-gives-neo-nazi-protesters-the-finger Wed, 17 Aug 2016 12:18:13 +0200 vice-chancellor-gabriel-gives-neo-nazi-protesters-the-finger Over the weekend, reports emerged that German weapons exports doubled in 2015. Figures seen by Die Welt show they have increased again in 2016. https://www.thelocal.de/20160705/after-record-year-weapons-sales-rise-again Tue, 05 Jul 2016 19:08:01 +0200 after-record-year-weapons-sales-rise-again The economy minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday defended his goal to reduce German arms exports despite the industry nearly doubling its business in 2015. https://www.thelocal.de/20160704/gabriel-defends-arms-exports-increase Mon, 04 Jul 2016 11:16:10 +0200 gabriel-defends-arms-exports-increase Germany came in for a political first on Tuesday as a new poll showed combined support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government dropped below 50 percent for the first time. https://www.thelocal.de/20160531/support-for-merkel-govt-dips-below-50-percent Tue, 31 May 2016 11:00:41 +0200 support-for-merkel-govt-dips-below-50-percent Germany's beleaguered Social Democrats denied Sunday that their party chief Sigmar Gabriel would step down, after a local broadcaster claimed that a new leader was about to be named. https://www.thelocal.de/20160508/talk-of-party-chief-change-nonsense-germanys-spd Sun, 08 May 2016 18:53:03 +0200 talk-of-party-chief-change-nonsense-germanys-spd Germany's coalition partners agreed new measures Thursday to tighten asylum policies in an effort to stem an unprecedented influx of migrants, notably by making it easier to send back arrivals from North Africa and by delaying family reunifications. https://www.thelocal.de/20160129/north-africa-to-be-designated-safe-as-govt-gets-tough-on-refugees Fri, 29 Jan 2016 09:27:03 +0100 north-africa-to-be-designated-safe-as-govt-gets-tough-on-refugees Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned Saudi Arabia on Monday Berlin could review military exports to the oil-rich nation in light of Riyadh's mass executions of prisoners two days earlier. https://www.thelocal.de/20160104/germany-warns-saudi-arabia-it-may-review-military-exports Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:06:57 +0100 germany-warns-saudi-arabia-it-may-review-military-exports Germany plans to speed up repatriations of rejected asylum-seekers from new central hubs, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her coalition allies agreed Thursday, vowing to bring order to a record migrant influx. https://www.thelocal.de/20151106/germany-to-speed-up-asylum-deportations Fri, 06 Nov 2015 09:17:25 +0100 germany-to-speed-up-asylum-deportations A German bishop has compared planned 'transit zones' for refugees arriving in Europe to concentration camps, prompting a stinging backlash from conservative politicians. https://www.thelocal.de/20151104/bishop-likens-refugee-zones-to-concentration-camps Wed, 04 Nov 2015 18:16:33 +0100 bishop-likens-refugee-zones-to-concentration-camps Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that closing borders within Europe could lead to military conflict in the Balkans as she once again sought to defend her refugee policies on Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20151103/merkel-warns-of-military-conflict-in-balkans Tue, 03 Nov 2015 10:15:51 +0100 merkel-warns-of-military-conflict-in-balkans Demands are growing for Chancellor Angela Merkel to do more to limit the number of refugees entering the country ahead of an emergency summit of coalition government leaders at the weekend. https://www.thelocal.de/20151030/pressure-refugees-merkel-seehofer-asylum-seekers-syria Fri, 30 Oct 2015 09:58:24 +0100 pressure-refugees-merkel-seehofer-asylum-seekers-syria Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday that up to a million refugees could arrive in Germany in 2015 – a huge step up from current official estimates of 800,000 asylum applications. https://www.thelocal.de/20150914/up-to-a-million-refugees-in-2015-gabriel Mon, 14 Sep 2015 13:21:53 +0200 up-to-a-million-refugees-in-2015-gabriel Germany will be able to take in 500,000 refugees a year for a few years, Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy Sigmar Gabriel said amid an unprecedented influx. https://www.thelocal.de/20150908/we-can-take-half-a-million-refugees-per-year Tue, 08 Sep 2015 12:16:52 +0200 we-can-take-half-a-million-refugees-per-year