Germany - The African Mirror

Apr

2023

Germany expels Chad’s ambassador in tit-for-tat move

BERLIN has ordered Chad's ambassador to Germany to leave the country within 48 hours in response to a similar move by the Central African country last week, the foreign ministry said. "In response to the unfounded expulsion of our Ambassador to Chad, we today summoned the Chadian Ambassador in Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, and called on her to leave Germany within 48 hours. We regret that it had to come to this," the ministry said in a tweet. Germany's ambassador to Chad, Gordon Kricke, was expelled from the country last week. The Chadian Communications Ministry said that the decision was a…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Germany at a standstill as huge strike halts planes and trains

WORLD

SARAH MARSH and MATTHIAS WILLIAMS AIRPORTS and bus and train stations across Germany were at a standstill, causing disruption for millions of people during one of the largest walkouts in decades in Europe's biggest economy as soaring inflation stokes wage demands. The 24-hour "warning" strikes called by the Verdi union and railway and transport union EVG were the latest in months of industrial action which has hit major European economies as higher food and energy prices dent living standards. They kicked off three days of wage talks which could lead to further strikes if they fail to yield a compromise. Employers have…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Germany has evidence of war crimes in Ukraine ‘in three-digit range,’ prosecutor says

WORLD

GERMANY has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country's prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at the international level. "Currently, for example, we are focusing on the mass killings in Bucha or attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure," Peter Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. So far, prosecutors have pieces of evidence in the "three-digit range", he added, without elaborating. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of committing atrocities in Bucha, a satellite town of Kyiv, soon after launching their invasion last February. Moscow has denied…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Germany to approve sending heavy battle tanks to Ukraine

WORLD

ANDREAS RINKE and TOM BALMFORTH GERMANY will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries such as Poland to do the same to help Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion, while the United States may supply Abrams tanks, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. While there was no official confirmation from Berlin or Washington by late on Tuesday, officials in Kyiv swiftly hailed what they said was a potential game-changer on the battlefield in a war that is now 11 months old. "A few hundred tanks for our tank crews - the best tank crews in the world. This…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Germany calls Al Aqsa visit by new Israeli minister a provocation

WORLD

GERMANY rejects unilateral steps that endanger the status quo on the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, said a foreign ministry spokesperson, calling a visit there by Israel's new far-right national security minister a provocation. "We expect the new Israeli government to commit to a continuation of the tried and tested practice around the holy sites in Jerusalem and to put a stop to further deliberate provocations," said the spokesperson at a regular government news conference. The Israeli minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, briefly visited the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a site also revered by Jews, angering the Palestinians and…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Germany raids far-right group over plot to install prince in coup

WORLD

MIRANDA MURRAY GERMANY detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor's office said was preparing a violent overthrow of the state to install as national leader a prince who had sought support from Russia. Prosecutors said the group was inspired by the deep state conspiracy theories of Germany's Reichsbuerger and QAnon, whose advocates were among those arrested after the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. Members of the Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) do not recognise modern-day Germany as a legitimate state. Some of them are devoted to the German empire under the monarchy, while some…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Germany hands first of Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria

NEWS

GERMAN authorities returned to Nigeria the first two of more than 1,100 priceless sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were looted by Europeans in the 19th century. British soldiers looted some 5,000 of the artifacts - intricate sculptures and plaques dating back to the 13th century onwards - when they invaded the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southwestern Nigeria, in 1897. The spoils made it into museums around Europe and the United States. "This is a story of European colonialism. We should not forget that Germany played an active role in this chapter of history," said German…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Fight crime, not migrants – Ramaphosa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA TWENTY-five years ago, our new democratic Constitution came into effect. In adopting this Constitution, we affirmed our commitment to a society based on democratic values, social justice and human rights. We were also making a complete break with our past. This was a past of race-based social engineering that manifested itself through influx control, job reservation, group areas and the dreaded dompas. When our forebears drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955, whose principles have been incorporated in our constitution, and declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, they were seeking a society free from…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Germany seeks backing for Tedros at WHO helm as Africa quiet – diplomats

NEWS

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY, ANDREAS RINKE and GUILIA PARAVICINI GERMANY is seeking support from other European Union members to ensure a second term for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the helm of the World Health Organisation, but African states have yet to show their cards, government sources and diplomats said. The deadline for proposing candidates in the politically charged race is Thursday at 1600 GMT and no other candidate for the election in May is known to have surfaced, they said. Tedros, who was elected as WHO's first African director-general in May 2017, has been shunned this time by his native Ethiopia due…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Germany, France worried about Mali plan for Russian mercenaries

NEWS

GERMANY has joined France in expressing concern about an agreement between Mali's military rulers and a Russian security company that would bring Russian mercenaries into the African country. Diplomatic and security sources have told Reuters that mercenaries hired by the Wagner Group would train the Malian military and provide protection for senior officials. The deal is close to being agreed on, they said, "We find this extremely worrying," a German foreign ministry spokesperson said. France's foreign minister on Tuesday criticised the plans, saying such a move was "incompatible" with the French military presence in its former colony. France is worried…