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 US is set to cut thousands of troops from Germany, with Donald Trump warning that more reductions may follow. We look at who the American forces here are, what they do and what could happen next. https://www.thelocal.de/20260504/how-many-us-troops-serve-in-germany-and-what-happens-if-they-go Mon, 04 May 2026 14:42:03 +0200 how-many-us-troops-serve-in-germany-and-what-happens-if-they-go German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he would not give up on working with US President Donald Trump, despite a spat between the leaders over the war in Iran. https://www.thelocal.de/20260504/germanys-merz-says-not-giving-up-on-working-with-donald-trump Mon, 04 May 2026 08:49:40 +0200 germanys-merz-says-not-giving-up-on-working-with-donald-trump Germany's defence minister on Saturday said the withdrawal of American troops from Germany had been expected and that Europe needed to do more to ensure its own security. https://www.thelocal.de/20260502/germany-says-withdrawal-of-us-troops-was-expected Sat, 02 May 2026 14:42:06 +0200 germany-says-withdrawal-of-us-troops-was-expected Nato on Saturday said it was "working" with the United States to understand Washington's decision to slash its troops in Germany by 5,000 following a spat between the leaders of the two nations. https://www.thelocal.de/20260502/nato-says-working-with-us-to-understand-decision-to-cut-troops-in-germany Sat, 02 May 2026 13:13:12 +0200 nato-says-working-with-us-to-understand-decision-to-cut-troops-in-germany Germany said Thursday it was "prepared" for a possible reduction in US troops threatened by President Donald Trump, who kept up his barrage of attacks on Chancellor Friedrich Merz. https://www.thelocal.de/20260501/germany-says-prepared-for-any-us-troop-reduction Fri, 01 May 2026 08:46:53 +0200 germany-says-prepared-for-any-us-troop-reduction Germany will soon send a minesweeper to the Mediterranean for a possible mission in the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the US-Iran war, a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP Saturday. https://www.thelocal.de/20260427/germany-to-despatch-minesweeper-for-possible-hormuz-mission-2 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:05:42 +0200 germany-to-despatch-minesweeper-for-possible-hormuz-mission-2 Defence and security-related firms for the first time have their own section at the world's top industrial fair in Hanover this week -- a sign of the times as Germany embarks on a massive rearmament drive. https://www.thelocal.de/20260423/the-german-army-joins-hanover-trade-fair-as-defence-industry-booms Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:17:32 +0200 the-german-army-joins-hanover-trade-fair-as-defence-industry-booms After days of confusion over Germany’s new military service law, the defence minister has clarified that men of military age can still travel freely – for now. https://www.thelocal.de/20260408/germany-says-military-age-men-dont-need-permission-to-travel-after-all Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:50:49 +0200 germany-says-military-age-men-dont-need-permission-to-travel-after-all A new German military service law will require most young men to inform authorities when leaving the country for long periods, with a newspaper report on the little-noticed provision prompting widespread debate. https://www.thelocal.de/20260405/german-men-required-to-inform-military-of-extended-foreign-trips-under-new-law Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:26:04 +0200 german-men-required-to-inform-military-of-extended-foreign-trips-under-new-law German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced determination Friday to salvage a warplane programme with France, but also admitted he had come close to giving up on the troubled project. https://www.thelocal.de/20260328/germanys-merz-says-determined-to-save-european-warplane-project Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:06:40 +0100 germanys-merz-says-determined-to-save-european-warplane-project Australia and Germany agreed Thursday to simplify hosting each other's troops and cooperate on space defence during a visit by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to Canberra. https://www.thelocal.de/20260326/germany-and-australia-deepen-defence-ties Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:50:10 +0100 germany-and-australia-deepen-defence-ties The war in the Middle East started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has 'nothing to do with NATO' and is 'not NATO's war', German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's spokesman said Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20260316/germany-says-middle-east-war-has-nothing-to-do-with-nato Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:15:53 +0100 germany-says-middle-east-war-has-nothing-to-do-with-nato German, Canadian and Norwegian leaders are meeting in the Norwegian Arctic on Friday to discuss the region's fragile security situation, against the backdrop of a large NATO exercise. https://www.thelocal.de/20260313/germany-canada-and-norway-leaders-hold-arctic-security-talks Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:17:34 +0100 germany-canada-and-norway-leaders-hold-arctic-security-talks Tens of thousands of young students in cities across Germany left their classrooms on Thursday in protest against the country's new military service laws. https://www.thelocal.de/20260306/in-pictures-thousands-of-students-in-germany-strike-against-military-service Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:38:08 +0100 in-pictures-thousands-of-students-in-germany-strike-against-military-service France, Germany and the UK said Sunday they were ready to defend their interests and those of its allies in the Gulf if necessary by taking "defensive action" against Iran. https://www.thelocal.de/20260302/germany-france-uk-ready-to-take-defensive-action-against-iran Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:29:01 +0100 germany-france-uk-ready-to-take-defensive-action-against-iran Germany is pulling troops out of northern Iraq due to 'escalating tensions in the Middle East,' as more and more signs point toward a looming US intervention in Iran. https://www.thelocal.de/20260219/germany-moves-troops-out-of-iraq-citing-middle-east-tensions Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:01:02 +0100 germany-moves-troops-out-of-iraq-citing-middle-east-tensions Thousands of NATO troops including from Spain and Turkey joined an exercise Wednesday on Germany's Baltic coast that defence officials labelled a show of readiness to deter Russia. https://www.thelocal.de/20260219/in-pictures-nato-troops-storm-germanys-baltic-coast-in-training-exercise Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:02:21 +0100 in-pictures-nato-troops-storm-germanys-baltic-coast-in-training-exercise German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticised French defence spending on Monday, calling for Paris to do more to turn calls for European security sovereignty into concrete capabilities. https://www.thelocal.de/20260216/german-foreign-minister-attacks-france-over-defence-spending Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:46:11 +0100 german-foreign-minister-attacks-france-over-defence-spending European leaders, worried about threats from a nuclear-armed Russia and doubts about the future of US security commitments, are increasingly debating whether to bolster nuclear arsenals on the continent. https://www.thelocal.de/20260214/merz-says-in-talks-with-macron-on-european-nuclear-deterrence Sat, 14 Feb 2026 09:11:12 +0100 merz-says-in-talks-with-macron-on-european-nuclear-deterrence Germany will deploy about 5,000 police to secure the Munich Security Conference this week, including reinforcements from neighbouring countries, officials said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20260211/germany-deploys-5000-police-for-munich-security-conference Wed, 11 Feb 2026 14:51:51 +0100 germany-deploys-5000-police-for-munich-security-conference