Tag: Merkel

Merkel calls coronavirus ‘biggest challenge since WWII’

by Michelle FITZPATRICK / Tom BARFIELD BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany is facing its biggest challenge “since the Second World War” in the fight against the coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, in what observers called a “final warning” for citizens to heed sweeping confinement measures. In a dramatic television appeal, Merkel said everyone played a part in slowing down a pandemic that has raced across the globe and triggered unprecedented peace-time lockdowns. “The situation […]

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Merkel says, open to scrapping zero-deficit rule to fight virus

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled Wednesday that she does not rule out suspending a self-imposed dogma of keeping Germany’s budget balanced in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. “It is an extraordinary situation, we will do what’s necessary and luckily Germany is relatively robust… we see at the end of that where our budget stands,” she said, stressing that ending the virus crisis “comes first”. Maintaining a balanced or “black zero” budget […]

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German gov’t condemns Iran’s missile attack on Iraqi bases housing coalition military

The German government condemned Iran’s missile attack on Iraqi bases that house US troops, urging the involved parties to “exercise restraint.” Speaking at a federal press conference (BPK) in Berlin on Wednesday, German government’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert “strongly condemned” the missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing coalition military on Wednesday. “We strongly condemn the missile attacks on the US bases in Iraq. We stand in close solidarity with the alliance,” he said. “Now it is […]

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Merkel urges Delhi to go green amid smog emergency

by Aishwarya Kumar NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel urged greater efforts to clean up New Delhi’s toxic air as she pledged one billion euros to help Indian cities switch to green transport. Merkel became a rare foreign leader to speak out on India’s smog crisis after being exposed to the capital’s air on Friday, when authorities said the pollution had reached “emergency” levels. Schools were ordered closed until Tuesday and all […]

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Merkel in Beijing: Hong Kong freedoms must be ‘guaranteed’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong “must be guaranteed” after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, her spokesman said. Hong Kong has been plunged into months of pro-democracy protests, and ahead of her three-day visit to China this week protestors in the semi-autonomous city appealed to the German chancellor to support them in her meetings with China’s leadership. In a […]

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Hong Kong protesters appeal to Merkel before China visit

  BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Hong Kong protest leaders on Wednesday appealed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to support their push for democracy when she visits China this week. Prominent movement leader Joshua Wong and others recalled in an open letter published by top-selling Bild daily that Merkel grew up in the communist police state of East Germany. “You have first-hand experience of the terrors of a dictatorial government,” wrote Wong, who was temporarily arrested […]

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Germany makes measles vaccination compulsory for children

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will make childhood measles vaccinations mandatory from March 2020, aiming to wipe out the resurgent and potentially deadly disease, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet decided Wednesday. Children will only be admitted to kindergarten or school if they have had the jabs, and vaccinations will also be compulsory for staff in day-care centres, educational institutions, medical facilities and refugee shelters. “We want to protect as many children as possible from a measles […]

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Merkel arrives at G20 after shaking scare

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived Friday at the G20 meeting in Osaka amid fears over her health after she suffered a second public bout of uncontrollable shaking in just over a week. Merkel’s plane touched down in the western Japanese city with a German government spokesman stressing: “She is doing well. Nothing is wrong.” The German leader, who turns 65 next month, sparked renewed fears for her health on the eve […]

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‘I feel well,’ says Merkel a day after health scare

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to assure journalists and citizens Wednesday she was well, a day after sparking concern by visibly trembling at an official ceremony. “I feel well,” she told school students during a visit to Goslar in the Harz mountains after Tuesday’s health scare blamed on dehydration on a hot summer’s day. Merkel, 64, had a glass of water nearby and said that, with scorching temperatures, one “should not […]

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Merkel party’s battle with YouTubers escalates

by Ryland JAMES BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s favored successor was swept into a new storm Tuesday, with her apparent call for limits to free speech around elections stoking further anger rather than putting down a raging youth-led YouTube revolt. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s call for “rules” for online media around election-time came after her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its center-left coalition partner SPD suffered their worst scores in Sunday’s European parliamentary vote. […]

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Macron, Merkel, Juncker and Xi to meet Tuesday in Paris

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will hold trade and climate talks on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaders will be joined by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker as they seek “points of convergence between Europe and China”, Macron’s office said Thursday. The meeting is part of Xi’s European tour, which comes with Europe divided over his “Belt and Road” trade infrastructure project and under […]

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Germany’s Merkel says there is ‘still time’ to find Brexit solution

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — There is still time to find a solution to Britain’s exit from the EU, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, voicing optimism on a political deal over the tricky “backstop” that has stymied progress. Speaking to Japanese and German business leaders in Tokyo, Merkel stressed that “on the one hand, time is pressing” and businesses using “just-in-time” delivery processes could not afford lengthy customs procedures. However, she added: “From a […]

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