Anas Modamani had no idea when he posted on Facebook a 2015 selfie taken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he would turn into the poster boy for radical Islamic terror. The then-18-year-old met Merkel in a German refugee camp after leaving war-torn Syria and his selfie with the leader went viral because it showed Merkel’s personality in a “rare unscripted moment,” according to CNN .
Category: Angela Merkel
Merkel to visit euroskeptic Poland in struggle to save EU
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Warsaw on Tuesday for talks with Poland’s top leaders, taking efforts to save the European Union to a country that is keen to keep as much national power as possible and fears being marginalized in a “two-speed Europe.” Her trip is “one of the most important visits in Polish-German relations since 2004,” when Poland joined the EU, said Sebastian Plociennik, an expert at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
Germany’s Merkel, Bavarian allies seek pre-election unity
Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting her Bavarian conservative allies in a show of unity following a long-running argument over migrant policy, setting the scene for a joint campaign for German elections in September. Bavaria’s Christian Social Union has dominated its southeastern state for decades and is traditionally an important source of national election votes for the conservative bloc led by Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.
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Trump has been burning up White House telephone lines calling his world counterparts and, during those talks, has committed to several trans-Atlantic trips. He spoke Sunday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and agreed to attend a NATO leaders’ meeting in Brussels in late May. Trump once dismissed the trans-Atlantic military alliance as “obsolete.”
EU leaders say Trump worries them as rhetoric becomes policy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for an EU summit, in Valletta, Malta, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. VALLETTA, Malta – European Union leaders on Friday sought a common stand on U.S. President Donald Trump, now that they increasingly fear that campaign rhetoric will be turned into policy and further tear their troubled bloc apart.
Angela Merkel’s Free Fall Continues In Latest Poll
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko address a news conference in Berlin, Germany, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Schulz would receive 50 percent of the votes if Germans got to pick a new chancellor this weekend.
Friend or foe? A look at President Trump’s early relations with world leaders
Diplomatic relationships are bound to have their ups and downs, and so far Trump has shown he’s not one to back down. Along with temporarily banning all refugees and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries, Trump’s relations with some global leaders have been off to a rocky start.
The Latest: Dutch populist lawmaker praises Trumpa s bans
The Latest on President Donald Trump, his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions : The Netherlands’ firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has clashed in Parliament with the Dutch foreign minister over U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban for people from seven Muslim nations. In a debate Tuesday, Wilders – seen by many as a Dutch equivalent of Trump – paid tribute to the new U.S. leader, saying, “Finally America has a president, finally a country in the West has a president, who not only lives up to his promises but who says ‘the freedom of my citizens is more important than anything.’
The Latest: Dutch populist lawmaker praises Trumpa s bans
The Latest on President Donald Trump, his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions : The Netherlands’ firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has clashed in Parliament with the Dutch foreign minister over U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban for people from seven Muslim nations. In a debate Tuesday, Wilders – seen by many as a Dutch equivalent of Trump – paid tribute to the new U.S. leader, saying, “Finally America has a president, finally a country in the West has a president, who not only lives up to his promises but who says ‘the freedom of my citizens is more important than anything.’
Germany: Social Democrats back Schulz to challenge Merkel
Germany’s main center-left party is backing former European Parliament president Martin Schulz to lead their campaign to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel in the country’s upcoming election. Members of the Social Democratic Party’s national executive agreed Sunday to make Schulz their candidate for the chancellorship, a post that traditionally goes to the party which receives the greatest share of votes in a general election.
The Latest: Iraq: We understand motives behind travel ban
The Latest on U.S. President Donald Trump and his ban on refugees from Muslim-majority countries : The Iraqi government says it understands the security motives behind President Donald Trump’s decision to ban seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the United States, but underlined that their “special relationship” should be taken into consideration. Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says Iraqis are hoping that the new orders “will not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States.”
Germany’s Merkel, Trump agree on importance of NATO in call
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine on Saturday and agreed on the importance of NATO during their first call since Trump’s inauguration, according to joint statement by Merkel’s office. The two leaders had an “extensive phone conversation” in which they also talked about relations with Russia, said Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert.
New German foreign minister to meet Trump administration next week – report
Germany’s incoming foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, will hold talks with President Donald Trump’s administration in the United States next week, Handelsblatt newspaper said on Friday, after a cool start to relations between Berlin and the new U.S. leader. Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, enjoyed a close relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Trump presidency boosts European right-wingers
Right-wing leaders from across the region meeting in Germany see new US administration as dawn of a new era European nationalist leaders came together on Saturday in a show of strength at the start of a year of big election tests, celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president and declaring themselves a realistic alternative to the continent’s governments. Right-wing populist leaders from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and elsewhere strode confidently into the Koblenz congress hall on the banks of the Rhine River ahead of a flag-waving escort, setting the tone for a gathering whose mood was buoyed by Trump’s swearing-in.
Merkel Confident She Can Find Trade ‘Compromise’ With Trump
Berlin mayor Michael Mueller, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere stand in silence at the Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, December 20, 2016, one day after a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke.
Emerging – Trump Doctrine’ Toward Europe Upends Historic Alliance
For most of the past seven decades, U.S. relations with Europe revolved around a set of shared beliefs: Russia was the common adversary, Germany’s industrial might would be the core of the Continent’s economy and a unified Europe was in everyone’s interests. Donald Trump is having none of it.
The Latest: Obama Lashes out at Congress Over Guantanamo
President Barack Obama is criticizing Congress for refusing to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying there’s “simply no justification beyond politics” to keep it open. Obama pledged at the start of his presidency to close the facility in his first year.
Obama speaks to Merkel in final call with foreign leader
President Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday in his final conversation with a foreign leader as president. Both leaders agreed maintaining close ties between the U.S. and Europe is “essential to ensuring a a rules-based international order and the defense of values that have done so much to advance human progress in our countries and around the world.”
German Greens choose centrist duo for election campaign
In this Nov. 12, 2016 file photo party chairman Cem Ozdemir, left, and parliamentary faction leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt talk during a party convention of the Green party in Muenster, western Germany. Germany’s traditionally left-leaning Greens on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 chosen the two centrists to lead them into this year’s election, in which the party could be a key to forming a new government.
Presidential Adviser: Poland Should Increase Military Ties with US
Polish Army and U.S. Army soldiers attend the opening ceremony of the Anaconda-16 military exercise, in Warsaw, Poland, June 6, 2016. Krzysztof Szczerski, President Andrzej Duda’s top foreign policy adviser, was speaking days before the new U.S. administration that has signaled a friendlier approach to Russia takes power in Washington.
Poland wants to increase its military ties with the US
Krzysztof Szczerski, President Andrzej Duda’s top foreign policy adviser, was speaking days before the new U.S. administration that has signaled a friendlier approach to Russia takes power in Washington. Szczerski also suggested that Poland would welcome the re-election of Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, Poland’s largest trade partner with whom relations have soured since Polish conservatives came to power a year ago.
European leaders shocked as Trump slams NATO and E.U., raising fears…
European leaders said Monday that they may have to stand alone without the United States once Donald Trump enters office, raising the prospect of an unprecedented breach in transatlantic relations after Trump’s comments that the European Union is bound for a breakup and that NATO is obsolete. Trump said in a weekend interview with the Times of London and Germany’s Bild newspaper that the 28-nation European Union was a vehicle for German interests and said that he was indifferent to the bloc’s fate.
Merkel or Putin: Trump won’t be drawn on who he trusts more
Days away from being sworn in as US President, Donald Trump isn’t saying who he trusts more — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a longtime US ally, or Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump called it a draw — at least for now, in a joint interview conducted on Friday by German publication Bild and the Times of London.
Germany approves more soldiers for UN mission in Mali
German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads this year’s first cabinet meeting of the German government at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. Chancellor Merkel will run for her fourth term in fall this year.
Germany: 280,000 new migrants last year, far lower than 2015
Germany saw about 280,000 new asylum-seekers arrive last year, less than a third of the previous year’s huge influx of 890,000, the interior minister said Wednesday. While new arrivals declined, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that the number of rejected asylum-seekers who left Germany was up – though still not to authorities’ satisfaction.
Euro could be dead in 10 years, says France’s Macron
The euro may not exist in 10 years’ time if Paris and Berlin fail to bolster the single currency union, French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, adding the current system benefited Germany at the expense of weaker member states. Macron was economy minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande until he resigned last year to create his own political movement and stand as an independent candidate in this year’s presidential election.
Obama says goodbye
NOVEMBER 16: U.S. President Barack Obama waves before descending from Air Force One upon his arrival on November 16, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. President Obama is scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel tomorrow and hold talks with other European leaders on Friday as part of his last trip to Europe as President before continuing to Peru.
Merkel pledges quick security action after Berlin attack
Chancellor Angela Merkel promised Monday that Germany’s government would tackle security issues raised by the Christmas market truck attack and renewed a pledge to make a “national effort” to ensure that failed asylum seekers return home. The Dec. 19 truck attack in Berlin demanded a swift response that guarantees both security and civil liberties, Merkel said at a conference of civil servants in Cologne.
Merkel’s Gaffe-Prone Ally in Brussels Faces Parliament Hot Seat
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s appointee to the European Commission, Guenther Oettinger, is known to have teflon qualities. He may be about to prove it.
Commentary: Migration threatens global disaster
Just in case you are wondering what the most serious question of the New Year will be, you might well start by thinking about Russia’s evil power plays, about the vulgar leaders who seem to be popping up everywhere, or about the rise of the oceans that, until now, have always protected America. All good guesses, but I will guess that you would be wrong.
World briefs: False report triggers recoil in Germany
It was every God-fearing Christian’s worst nightmare about Muslim refugees. “Revealed,” the Breitbart News headline screamed, “1,000-Man Mob Attack Police, Set Germany’s Oldest Church Alight on New Year’s Eve.”
Europe reaping what it sowed with open borders policy for refugees
No one could have predicted that left-leaning German Chancellor Angela Merkel would call for banning hijabs. The open borders policy European countries have taken toward refugees fleeing the Middle East due to ISIS has resulted in violence increasing in those countries, with ISIS infiltrating the refugees.
Merkel On Refugee Terror Attacks: It’s ‘Bitter And Sickening’
Berlin mayor Michael Mueller, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere stand in silence at the Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, December 20, 2016, one day after a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke.
Merkel says Islamist terrorism is biggest test for Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for photographs after the television recording of her annual New Year’s speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 30, 2016. Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in a New Year’s address to the nation, and she vowed to introduce laws that improve security after a deadly attack before Christmas in Berlin.
Merkel tells Germans their country is stronger than terror
Chancellor Angela Merkel is telling Germans in her New Year message that their country is stronger than terrorism and the government will do everything to ensure “security in freedom.” Merkel said in her annual televised address being broadcast Saturday that 2016 had been “a year of severe tests,” the toughest of them Islamic extremist terror.
European cities ramp up security for New Year after Berlin attack
European capitals tightened security on Friday ahead of New Year’s celebrations, erecting concrete barriers in city centres and boosting police numbers after the Islamic State attack in Berlin last week that killed 12 people. In the German capital, police closed the Pariser Platz square in front of the Brandenburg Gate and prepared to deploy 1,700 extra officers, many along a party strip where armoured cars will flank concrete barriers blocking off the area.
opinions | Trip to Germany a reminder of our duty to speak for the voiceless
The week after Thanksgiving, I had the privilege to be a participant on the Germany Close Up trip. The program gives American Jewish students and young professionals the opportunity to see and experience modern Germany and to better understand the political history and cultural landscape.
Tunisian Suspect’s Fingerprints Found in Berlin Truck Cab
Tunisian suspect Anis Amri’s fingerprints have been found in the cab of the truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin, strengthening the case linking him to the deadly attack, Germany’s top security official said Thursday. Authorities across Europe were scrambling to find the 24-year-old suspect, a day after Germany issued a wanted notice for him and warned that he may be “violent and armed.”
Germany frees suspect in market attack, says perpetrator maybe still at large
Muslims pray at a Christmas market on Tuesday to commemorate the 12 killed victims of a truck that plowed into a crowd at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.
German Chancellor Merkel visits Berlin attack site
Berlin, Dec 21 : German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the site of the terror attack that struck a Christmas market here, killing 12 persons. [NK World] The head of government, during her visit to the attack site on Tuesday, was accompanied by Interior Minister Thomas de Maizi and re, Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier and the governing mayor Michael Muller, Efe news reported.