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The German Chancellor uses the World Economic Forum to spell out her vision for a harder-working, less bureaucratic Europe In astonishingly short time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has emerged as the most dynamic leader in Europe. That at least seemed to be the verdict of the applause meter at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 25. "You have given us hope for the first time in a long time," Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and chief executive of Swiss food giant Nestlé (NSRGY ), told Merkel after she delivered the keynote address to a packed auditorium. Merkel called for a...

WASHINGTON Jan 13, 2006 — New German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she raised disagreements Friday over detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in her meeting with President Bush. The two leader acknowledged differences but said that they had open and candid discussions about many issues of mutual concern such as Iran's nuclear ambitions and helping to rebuild Afghanistan. Iran's decision to resume enrichment and bar U.N. inspectors is of grave concern for both countries and the shared effort aimed at halting Iran's nuclear program has helped strengthen relations between the U.S. and Germany. Alito's Confirmation Seems Likely Bill Clinton on AIDS,...

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Germany's new Chancellor Angela Merkel, due for a warm welcome in the Bush White House tomorrow, represents a new political phenomenon in her country. Her government embraces her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) with their Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democrats, the first time such lineup in 37 years. It is quite unlike its predecessor, the Red/Green coalition of 1998-2005, in which the ranks were filled with "sixty-eighters,"offspring of the 1968 anti-Vietnam War and anti-establishment student revolt, in whose new-leftist hearts dislike and distrust of America lingered. Germany's relations with Washington have nearly always been better...

French plans to break the EU’s constitutional deadlock have put the country on a collision course with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. French President Jacque Chirac’s plans to ratify the less controversial parts of the treaty “in the framework of the current treaties”, has been rejected by Merkel. Berlin insists that ‘cherry-picking’ aspects of the text would “seriously damage the overall balance” of the constitution. In one of his numerous new year’s speeches, Chirac also reiterated French calls for a “pioneer group” to drive Europe forward on Tuesday. But Berlin rejects calls to speed up European integration around a group of...

Berlin (dpa) - Four kidnappers who abducted a retired German government deputy minister this week have been arrested in Yemen, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in Berlin said on Saturday. The spokesman said the four alleged kidnappers would be brought before a court. The announcement came as Juergen Chrobog, 65, his wife Majda and three adult sons were being flown to safety in the port city of Aden after their release by tribesmen. The spokesman added that leaders of the tribe had signed an accord with the Yemeni government that led to the release of the family. The accord...

New German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the agreement reached in Brussels as "a good accord for Europe", saying it sent out a signal of hope for the development of Europe. But it was also something of a personal triumph for Mrs Merkel herself, who was attending her first European summit. While she praised the British presidency in the EU for its readiness to compromise, her own role as an honest broker was crucial to the final deal. It was Mrs Merkel's proposal for increasing the budget that broke the deadlock, freeing funds for Eastern European states and paving the way...

BERLIN Dec 6, 2005 — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that the United States has admitted making a mistake in the case of a German national who claimed he was wrongfully imprisoned by the CIA. Merkel spoke during a press conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who refused to discuss specifics with reporters. The two women leaders' first meeting was dominated by questions about U.S. terrorism policies, including the five-month detention of Lebanese-born Khaled al-Masri and reports of secret CIA prisons and potentially illegal use of European airports and airspace to transport terror suspects. "The American administration is...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is paying her first official visit to Poland - a country she described as Germany's "second big neighbour". Mrs Merkel's appointment has been generally well received in Poland. Her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, was widely perceived as too critical of America, too close to Russia, and too focused on Germany's domestic agenda. Since assuming office last week, Mrs Merkel has visited France, Britain and Brussels. Poland was next on the list. Mrs Merkel says wants Germany to improve relations with Washington and to act as a mediator in internal EU disputes. She has said she will not...

A ceremony is being held in the German city of Dresden to consecrate the Church of our Lady which was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II. The charred remains of the Frauenkirche were left for decades by East Germany's communist authorities. Its reconstruction began after German reunification, partly financed by private donors in Britain and the US. Sunday's ceremony is being attended by representatives from around the world - including the Duke of Kent, the German President, Chancellor Schröder and the ambassadors of the four allied powers of WW2. The baroque sandstone dome of the reconstructed Frauenkirche dominates...

By Noah Barkin and Claudia Kade BERLIN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Conservative leader Angela Merkel will become Germany's first woman chancellor under a deal with Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) to break a post-election deadlock, sources said on Monday. Three weeks after voters gave Merkel's conservatives an unexpectedly narrow win over Schroeder's SPD in a federal election, senior sources from both parties said an agreement had been struck that should pave the way for a power-sharing cabinet. According to a senior SPD source, the SPD is poised to get the foreign, finance, justice and labour ministries in a new coalition...

German-American Day, 2005 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America German Americans have played an important role in establishing America as a land where liberty is protected for all of its citizens. Each year on German-American Day, we celebrate the contributions the millions of Americans of German descent have made to our great Nation. Among the early German immigrants, many saw America as a beacon of religious freedom and an opportunity for an improved standard of living. German immigrants helped pioneer the first American colony at Jamestown. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg served as the first Speaker of...

GERMANY unveiled a huge advertising campaign yesterday to boost the nation's flagging self-esteem and lift the depression caused by its gridlocked general election nine days ago. A black cloud seems to have settled over the country since the vote. Young Germans talk of emigrating, and middle-aged architects plan to move to the countryside to raise children, breed chickens and escape the sense of decline. The economy, which was supposed to splutter into life next year after a long recession, now looks likely to grow by less than 2 per cent. High time, then, to mount a € 30 million (A$47...

German President Horst Koehler has agreed to dissolve parliament and allow early elections, probably in September. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder purposely lost a confidence vote on 1 July to pave the way for the early elections, but needed the president's backing. Mr Schroeder's move followed a humiliating loss for his Social Democrats in regional elections in May. The opposition Christian Democrats, led by Angela Merkel, are currently well ahead in opinion polls. Despite the apparent prospect of defeat, Mr Schroeder opted for the early elections to seek a fresh mandate for a controversial reform package. In this serious situation, our country...

"Talent for Freedom" - Speech by Federal President Horst Köhler at the memorial ceremony in the Plenary Chamber of the German Bundestag marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe 08.05.2005 Berlin On 8 May 1945, the German senior medical ensign Wolfgang Soergel is sitting in a prisoner-of-war camp in Scotland. He writes in his diary, "Adolf Hitler is dead. They're still fighting for Chemnitz. In tattered pieces of newspaper, I read of civil war in the place where I am looking for you. Will I ever see you again? In late April, National...

Welcome in Germany! Europe is the destination of the first trip to the foreign of President Bush in his 2nd term. That is a strong signal for us Europeans, it is a confession to the friendly cooperation across the the Atlantic. The visit in Mainz is furthermore a clear message to Germany: America sees a special weight in the relations between us. We Germans know to value this message. The United States have played a major role in preserving our freedom and re-uniting our country. For that, the USA deserves our grattitude. 16 years ago, the father of the current...

German Chancellor Schröder pledged €500 million ($661 million) towards reconstruction efforts in the tsunami-affected regions of South Asia on Wednesday, making Germany the single largest donor so far. Addressing a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder confirmed that Berlin would contribute a whopping €500 million to the tsunami-hit regions in Asia. This tops the the €20 million the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Greens had already promised for humanitarian aid in South Asia. Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul refused to confirm the figure on Tuesday, but she did say that a considerable increase of financial aid...

Soft power without the backing of hard power changes little. Hard power without soft power means only destruction. It is the greatest single weakness of the US forces that in 2004 — contrary to 1945 — they do not have the capacity to stop the bombing, get out of their tanks, and encourage indigenous democratic development In one sense, Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were also weapons of mass distraction. Without doubt, President George W Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair believed that Saddam Hussein either had, or had the wherewithal to produce, such weapons when they decided for pre-emptive...

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...