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Pledging stability, German SPD seeks three-way alliance to succeed Merkel

Pledging stability, German SPD seeks three-way alliance to succeed Merkel

EMMA THOMASSON and PAUL CARREL German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz vowed on Monday to strengthen the European Union and keep up the transatlantic partnership in a three-way coalition government he hopes to form by Christmas to take over from Angela Merkel's conservatives. Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) came first in Sunday's national election, just ahead of the conservatives, and aim to lead a government for the first time since 2005 in a coalition with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP). Scholz, 63, projected a sense of calm assurance when asked whether the close election result and the prospect of…
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A reluctant feminist: Germany’s Merkel still inspires many women

A reluctant feminist: Germany’s Merkel still inspires many women

SUSANNE NEUMAYER-REMTER and TANYA WOOD PETRA WISCHGOLL GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has become a feminist icon after 16 years in power even though the world's most powerful woman has only belatedly accepted that label as she prepares to step down, and conceded that gender equality is still a long way off. "She is admired by women all over the world, this is her main legacy. That a woman showed what she is capable of and does this with dignity and resolve," German feminist activist Alice Schwarzer told Reuters. A rare woman in the upper echelons of her conservative, male-dominated Christian…
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Merkel heads to flood zone facing questions over preparedness

Merkel heads to flood zone facing questions over preparedness

HOLGER HANSEN GERMAN authorities have faced a mounting outcry over deadly floods that engulfed large parts of the country last week, catching Europe's richest economy flat-footed in a disaster that had been predicted days earlier. As Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to the disaster zone for the second time, there were growing questions about how well prepared local and national authorities were for the floods that swept through defenceless towns and villages last week. "There were warnings about the masses of debris and floodwaters that were rolling towards these people and these warnings were not handled at all in the way…
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‘It’s terrifying’: Merkel shaken as flood deaths rise to 188 in Europe

‘It’s terrifying’: Merkel shaken as flood deaths rise to 188 in Europe

RALPH BROCK and ROMANA FUESSEL GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the flooding that has devastated parts of Europe as "terrifying" after the death toll across the region rose to 188 and a district of Bavaria was battered by the extreme weather. Merkel promised swift financial aid after visiting one of the areas worst affected by the record rainfall and floods that have killed at least 157 in Germany alone in recent days, in the country's worst natural disaster in almost six decades. She also said governments would have to get better and faster in their efforts to tackle the…
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‘Mercenaries should leave Libya’

‘Mercenaries should leave Libya’

TURKEY and Germany agree that all foreign mercenaries in Libya need to leave the country, but Ankara has a bilateral agreement with the Libyan government for its troops to be stationed there, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday. H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey. Photo: Brookings Institution/flickr On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libya would be an "important signal" as both leaders vowed to support the new interim government, a German government spokesman said. Turkey deployed troops to Libya under an accord on military cooperation signed…
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COVID-19: What you need to know

COVID-19: What you need to know

HERE's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: UK variant 'likely to sweep the world' The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is a concern because it could undermine the protection given by vaccines against developing COVID-19, the head of Britain's genetic surveillance programme said. The variant was dominant in Britain and was likely to sweep the world "in all probability", she said. Sharon Peacock, director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium, told the BBC: "What's concerning about this is that the 1.1.7. variant that we have had circulating for some weeks and…
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Merkel pushes for tougher German lockdown

Merkel pushes for tougher German lockdown

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel threw her weight behind calls for a fuller lockdown in Germany that would include closing shops after Christmas, telling legislators that vaccines alone would not majorly alter the pandemic's course in the first quarter. Europe's largest economy has been in partial lockdown for six weeks, with bars and restaurants closed but shops and schools open. That has stopped the coronavirus's exponential growth but infection levels remain at a high level. Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Merkel said regional leaders should follow scientific guidance, which has called for people to further reduce their contact with others. "It would…
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Harris’ VP win makes history, but attitudes to women’s leadership shows room to grow

Harris’ VP win makes history, but attitudes to women’s leadership shows room to grow

EMMA BATHA FROM New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern to Germany's Angela Merkel, women leaders have won praise for their handling of the COVID-19 crisis, but more than half of men are still unconvinced about having a woman at the helm, a study showed on Monday. The survey found only 52% of people across the G7 group of wealthy countries - 46% of men and 59% of women - would feel "very comfortable" with a woman as head of their government. While that did mark a six-point rise from 2019, research company Kantar said its Reykjavik Index for Leadership showed no change…
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U.S. allies greet Biden as next president despite Trump refusal to concede

U.S. allies greet Biden as next president despite Trump refusal to concede

THOMAS ESCRITT, MICHAEL HOLDEN and DAVID LJUNGGREN SOME of the United States' biggest and closest allies quickly congratulated Joe Biden on his presidential election victory on Saturday even though Donald Trump, with whom several have had rocky relations, had yet to concede. Germany, Canada and France, which have had strained ties with the Trump administration despite being its G7 and NATO partners, were among the first to recognise Biden's victory, soon after major U.S. television networks declared it. "I look forward to future cooperation with President Biden," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement on Twitter. "Our transatlantic friendship…
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France, Germany, Italy threaten sanctions over arms for Libya

France, Germany, Italy threaten sanctions over arms for Libya

THE leaders of France, Germany and Italy on Saturday threatened for the first time to use sanctions against countries that continued to violate a United Nations arms embargo on Libya. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged "all foreign actors to end their increasing interference and to fully respect the arms embargo established by the United Nations Security Council" in a joint statement issued by the French presidency after meeting in Brussels. "We are ready to consider the possible use of sanctions if the breaches of the embargo at sea, on land…
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