Poll: Majority of Germans see Merkel gone by 2021 elections

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BY Unknown Thursday, January 11, 2018 0

Poll: Majority of Germans see Merkel gone by 2021 elections

A majority of the German population believes that Chancellor Angela Merkel will not see out the current parliamentary term that ends in 2021, in spite of ongoing talks to breathe new life into the grand coalition that has ruled for the past four years.
According to the poll conducted by the Infratest institute and published by the business daily Handelsblatt, on Thursday, 56 per cent see Merkel departing early, should she be re-elected Chancellor by the Bundestag.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), along with their long-term allies, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), are engaged in talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) to revive the coalition following the September elections, even though all three parties lost ground.
According to the report, 23 per cent of those polled in early January were critical of what they saw as indecisiveness on the part of the 63-year-old leader, who has been chancellor since 2005 and is currently serving in a caretaker capacity.
Merkel stands accused by many of those polled of sitting out problems rather than confronting them, but 20 per cent saw her calmness and composure as Merkel’s greatest asset.
Asked about possible successors to the CDU leader, 37 per cent put Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere in the lead, followed by Peter Altmaier, who heads the chancellor’s office, on 31 per cent.
The representative telephone poll of 1,012 eligible voters put Defence Minister, Ursula Leyen in third place on 28 per cent, and the Prime Minister of the western state of Saarland, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, in fourth on 24 per cent. (NAN)

German Army Vessel Rescues 102 Migrants Off Coast Of Libya

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BY Unknown Thursday, December 14, 2017 0

German Army Vessel Rescues 102 Migrants Off Coast Of Libya

A German army vessel has rescued 102 migrants from the Mediterranean, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said the Bundeswehr ship, part of an EU mission dubbed “Sophia,” rescued 84 men, two women, 15 children and a baby from a vessel off the Libyan coast, 25 km north of Tripoli.

The men, women and children were brought to Messina in Sicily, while their vessel sank.

The German military has saved 22,000 people from the Mediterranean since May 2015.

In another development, the Turkish media reported that nearly 70 migrants trying to reach Europe by sea became stranded on a rocky outcrop in the Aegean Sea, and needed rescuing by helicopter.

The state news agency Anadolu reported that four children were among about 68 migrants, who had tried to reach the Greek islands from Turkey in an inflatable boat.

The failed migrants were taken by helicopter back to the Turkish mainland, where some three million Syrians are living after fleeing conflict in their homeland.

The land route across the Balkans and the sea route across the Mediterranean are the two main methods used by undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers who are attempting to reach Europe.

Germany condemns burning of Israeli flags at pro-Palestinian demoonstrations

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BY Unknown Monday, December 11, 2017 0

Germany condemns burning of Israeli flags at pro-Palestinian demoonstrations

Germany condemns burning of Israeli flags at pro-Palestinian demoonstrations

Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has condemned the burning of Israeli flags at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, in Berlin, following the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week.

Germany was “connected in a quite particular way to the state of Israel and to all people of the Jewish faith,” he said in comments to the newspaper Bild to be published on Monday.

“We do not accept it when Jews or the state of Israel is insulted in this shameful way,” de Maiziere continued.

Two Israeli flags were burnt at a Friday demonstration outside the US embassy, by the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, following President Donald Trump’s decision on the disputed city of Jerusalem.

Ten people were arrested and police launched an investigation into the alleged insulting of the emblem of a foreign state.

Another flag was burnt at a protest march attended by about 2,500 people between Berlin’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg districts on Sunday.

The German government was “aware of the particular situation in the Middle East,” de Maiziere said.

“In light of and particularly because of this we condemn it utterly when violence takes place at demonstrations and the Israeli flag is burnt.

“Germany has freedom of opinion and assembly. But these freedoms must be practised peacefully.”

Berlin’s Mayor Michael Mueller had already condemned the flag-burning, saying those people who took part in it could not rely on the protection of the constitutional right to demonstrate. 

Trump bigger problem than N’ Korea, Russia – Germans

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BY Unknown Tuesday, December 05, 2017 0

Trump bigger problem than N’ Korea, Russia – Germans

Trump bigger problem than N’ Korea, Russia – Germans

Germans see US President Donald Trump as a bigger challenge for German foreign policy than authoritarian leaders in North Korea, Russia or Turkey, according to a survey by the Koerber Foundation.

Topping the list of foreign policy concerns were refugees, with 26 per cent of respondents worried about Germany’s ability to cope with inflows of asylum seekers.

Relations with Trump and the United States ranked second, with 19 per cent describing them as a major challenge, followed by Turkey at 17 per cent, North Korea at 10 per cent and Russia at 8 per cent.

Since entering the White House in January, Trump had unsettled Germans by pulling out of the Paris climate accord, refusing to certify an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and criticising Germany’s trade surplus and its contributions to the NATO military alliance.

Trump’s actions prompted the usually cautious German Chancellor Angela Merkel to say earlier this year that Berlin may not be able to rely on the United States in the future. She also urged Europe to take its fate into its own hands.

In the poll of 1,005 Germans of voting age, carried out in October, 56 per cent of Germans described the relationship with the United States as bad or very bad.

Despite Merkel’s pledge, the survey showed deep scepticism in the population about Germany taking a more active role in international crises, with 52 percent of respondents saying the country should continue its post-war policy of restraint.

That may reflect the fact that neither Merkel nor her main challengers in the recent election campaign talked much about how Germany should respond to the challenges posed by Trump’s disruptive presidency and Britain’s looming departure from the European Union.

Last week, Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel’s conservative party and head of the foreign affairs committee in the Bundestag, decried a “deplorable” lack of leadership in educating Germans about the need to invest more in their own defence and security. (NAN)

Buhari, Quattara worry over Togo

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BY Unknown Thursday, November 30, 2017 0

Buhari, Quattara worry over Togo

President Buhari (L) with Côte d’Ivoire President  Alassane Ouattara (m)

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Ivorian counterpart, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, have expressed concern over the political instability in Togo, and warned the crisis could have regional consequences.

Both leaders expressed their concern during a bilateral meeting in Abidjan on the margins of the 5th AU-EU Summit.

“We must have a solution in Togo. The friends of the opposition and authorities must talk to them on the steps to jointly take to achieve stability. They must work towards gaining the trust of each other.

A statement by Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), quoted the quoted Buhari as saying that, ‘‘there will be regional consequences for instability in Togo and this will surely come at a cost to development’’.

The Nigerian leader also had a separate bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the issue of stemming the tide of illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe took the front burner.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen legal migration and made a commitment to expand discussions on how to stem the tide of illegal migration.

On security, President Buhari told the German Chancellor that his government’s commitment to the security of lives and property in Nigeria remains absolute.

Reaffirming the nexus between security and job creation in Nigeria, President Buhari said prompt attention is being given to the gainful employment of youths in Nigeria through education and the acquisition of skills and vocational training.

He said Nigeria and Germany can draw from the experiences to cooperate effectively in the area of investing in youths for a sustainable future.

In her remarks, the German Chancellor appreciated the strides made by the Buhari administration in revamping the economy and promised to increase support for Nigeria in dealing with terrorism.

Merkel said 58 German companies are operating in Nigeria, adding that more companies have indicated interest to invest in the energy, manufacturing, agriculture and construction sectors.

President Buhari also had fruitful bilateral discussions with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Vice President of the Gambia Fatoumata Tambajang.