Free Republic

Germany reportedly plans to spend over €1 billion ($1.25 billion) on the development of a new transatlantic anti-aircraft system over the next eight years. According to German press reports Thursday, Bundestag rapporteurs after years of research have finally approved what amounts to the largest current trans-Atlantic defense project. At a time when Germany is tightening its defense spending and streamlining its military, parliamentary factions agreed to order between 12 and 24 of the MEADS units, under development for the last few years. MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System) is a ground-launched missile system which can destroy aircraft and missiles within...

Buoyed by a strong bike leg, German Normann Stadler won the Ironman Triathlon World Championships Saturday in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Stadler, 33, of Mannheim, Germany, won his first men's title in 8 hours, 33 minutes and 29 seconds. His splits were 54:27 for the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 4:37:58 for the 112-mile bike race and 2:57:53 for the 26.2-mile run in windy conditions. "They all told me before the race that a cyclist can't win the race," Stadler said to the crowd. "Well, I won." Three Germans finished among the top five men. The other top finishers: Peter Reid, 35, Victoria, British...

German President Horst Köhler has caused tension between the eastern and western regions by saying that it is unlikely the former East will ever have the same living and employment standards as the rest of the country. German President Horst Köhler poured fuel on the simmering embers of Germany's current east-west discontent when comments suggesting that standards of living in the former East Germany cannot realistically be brought up to those of the more prosperous western states appeared in the German press on Sunday. Köhler, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, increased tensions inside the country over the...

Germany's initial election results are in following a day of voting in the European parliamentary elections. The CDU will remain as Germany's strongest party in the European parliament. Currently, the party stands at just over 45.5 percent. The Social Democrats are currently at around 22 percent. The Greens currently have 11 percent, which is their best-ever result. They've called themselves the winners of the European elections. Meanwhile, the Party of Democratic Socialism, the PDS and the Free Democrats, the FDP, are expected to clear the 5 percent electoral hurdle. All in all, citizens from 19 European Union countries, including France,...

I am glad that Ronald Reagan has died. Yes, I really am. I am glad that he has died without pain and suffering, that he has died among his dear wife, his children, and at home. He said good-bye (which origins from "God be with you") to us with the age of 93, and I´m glad that he has lived that long. Who has ever met Alzheimer patients (my Grandma was one) knows, that it´s a horrible disease, but the pain comes with loneliness. President Reagan was not alone during "the journey which lead him to the sunset of life"....

German editorial about the deat of Ronald Reagan (click the link and then "Nachrichten", then "Post von Wagner" to read the text in German) Dear Nancy Reagan, 17 years ago I was standing at the Brandenburg Gate, along with many fellow Berliner. Your husband stood there and shouted over the wall: "Mr. Gorbatchov, tear down this wall..!" The heart of our city was in ruins then, a wall divided it. Two years later, this wall was gone, and the war was gone out of our city. Your husband was unique. In the bible, a prophet says: I walk in the...

According to FOCUS Magazine (kind of German "Time"), Ambassador Daniel Coats (chief of the US mission to Germany) shall replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence, if Rumsfeld cannot be kept in the Administration. National Security Advisor Rice should have asked Coats wether he were ready to take over the office as the chief of the DoD when she visited Berlin on May 16th, and Coats answer was positive.

Giving in to calls from his party member to focus more on his duties as chancellor, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Friday has stepped down as leader of his Social Democratic Party (SPD). Franz Müntefering, who serves as the leader of the SPD’s parliamentary group, will now also take on leadership of the party. The move comes after several leading SPD politicians had called on Schröder to relinquish the party post in order to free up time for governing the country: Andrea Ypsilanti, who leads the SPD in the central German state of Hesse, had called for the move in...

<p>HAMBURG, Germany (CNN) -- A German judge is considering a request to delay the verdict for Abdel-Ghani Mzoudi, a Moroccan Muslim accused of assisting the September 11 hijackers.</p> <p>Judge Klaus Ruehle is expected to rule by 11 a.m. (5 a.m. ET) Thursday on the continuance request from Andreas Schultz, a lawyer representing family members of September 11 victims.</p>

Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann faces "breach of trust" charges in a Düsseldorf court. He and five others are accused of authorizing unwarranted payments when mobile phone company Mannesmann was bought out by Vodafone. It's likely to rank as one of the most closely-watched trials in German corporate history. Starting Wednesday, the head of Deutsche Bank, the former head of Germany's biggest trade union, and the former supervisory board of mobile phone company Mannesmann will be spending two days a week in a Düsseldorf court facing charges he unlawfully approved payments to top company executives. The six men have been...

Spain Proposes EU-U.S. Trade Zone Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has unveiled an ambitious proposal which could see the world’s two biggest economies form a free trade zone within a decade. During a visit to Washington, where he addressed American business leaders, Aznar said the two economies, which account for around half of all world trade should establish an "Atlantic Economic Zone." June’s bilateral EU-U.S. summit has been earmarked as the venue to set the plan in motion, with the creation of a "High Level Economic Commission." Within 12 months this body would present an "action plan" identifying regulatory...

About foreign policy Has the world become more secure in 2003? Yes and No. Yes, because bad guys have fewer chances to escape than last year. Without what´s described as 0911, Saddams opponents would still sit in Iraqs prison-pits; afghan Mega-Islamists would continue to "stalinize" the people and the country. Someone like Gaddafi would have never made a power- but also peace-keeping deal with his worst enemies. And the stone-age-communist Mister from North Korea has also cooled down. No, because what happened hasn´t led to a full peace in all aspects, including the social and civilian. Because bin Laden still...

Italian sources told Deutsche Presse Agentur that the Convention of the EU´s head of states/governments has failed to decide about a new EU constitution! Developing...

A court in Bonn has rejected a claim by a group of Serbians seeking damages stemming from an incident in the 1999 Kosovo war. Ten civilians were killed and 17 others seriously wounded in the attack on a bridge in the southern-Serbian town of Varvarin. The 35 Serbians who brought the case were either injured or lost loved ones in the attack. They were seeking one million euros in damages from the German government, representing all NATO-members. They argued that the German government was directly or indirectly responsible for the air strike, because it took part in the NATO military...

German judicial sources have said that two Yemenis suspected of raising funds for al Qaeda and the militant Palestinian group Hamas have been extradited from Germany to the United States. The two men were arrested in Frankfurt last January as part of an FBI undercover sting operation. A spokeswoman said the extradition was only permitted under the condition that they would not be sentenced to death or tried before a military court.

Home to Germany’s second-largest Jewish community, Bavaria’s capital begins construction of a synagogue and cultural center that organizers hope will help the city’s reestablished Jewish population flourish and grow. German President Johannes Rau on Sunday called on Germans to join together to fight for freedom and tolerance in the wake of a recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents in the country. Rau traveled to Munich to lay the foundation stone for a new Jewish Community Center in the Bavarian city. The presence of police and sharpshooters, however, focused attention on less fortunate developments in recent weeks. Two months ago, police foiled...

The German-U.S. anti-terror agreement signed on Tuesday cements an understanding that has been shared for the past 20 years. Now, in these times of high alert, the two countries have made their cooperation official. In the on-going fight against international terrorism, Germany and the United States have agreed to extend their cooperation by signing an agreement which makes official a standing arrangement between the two countries concerning the investigation and prosecution of suspected terrorists. In a further sign of thawing relations between German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President George W. Bush and the gradual improving of ties between the two...

German-American Day Celebrates More Than 300 Years of German immigration to our shores, beginning with the arrival of 13 Mennonite families from Krefeld on October 6, 1683. Seeking a new life of freedom and opportunity, these immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and founded Germantown near the city of Philadelphia. On this day, we recognize the contributions of those German pioneers, and millions of other German-American immigrants and their descendants, to the life and culture of our great Nation. As one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States, German Americans have greatly influenced our country in the fields of business,...

The absence of any mention of God in the preamble of the European Union's new constitution is set to spark debate again as EU leaders gather to discuss the blueprint this weekend in Italy. Months after the issue had been swept aside, the question of whether God will have a place in the document that will chart the course of an expanded Europe is set to flare-up once again this weekend. Italy, Ireland, Spain and new EU member Poland are likely to lead a push to get a mention of Europe's Christian roots into the constitution, which was completed in...

After he had cooked a tea from the flourishes of the "angel's trumpet" and drunken of it, a 18-year-old in Halle has cut off his tongue and his penis. After that selfmutilation he was treated in the psychiatry of the university hospital, a speaker confirmed. The youngster has behaved normally, after he has drunk the tea. Then the horror trip began. According to statements of the mother, the 18-year-old went to the bower of the garden and mutilated himself there. "Nothing can be saved there, nothing can be repaired, he lost his tongue and penis forever", the emergency doctor said....