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The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is running into some trouble amid withering opposition from the Trump administration. As it stands, Russia still needs to ship large volumes of gas to Europe via Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 would allow Russian gas to bypass Ukraine, giving Russia more leverage to meddle in Ukraine while still reliably delivering gas to Europe. Merkel has been supportive of the project, not least because several major western European companies have stakes in the pipeline, including Royal Dutch Shell, as well as major German companies Wintershall and BASF. Last year, Merkel, under intense pressure from the Trump...

France and Germany are to forge shared defence, foreign and economic policies in an unprecedented “twinning” arrangement regarded as a prototype for the future of the European Union.This month Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron will sign a treaty that paves the way for the two nations to present a united diplomatic front to the world and to mount joint peacekeeping missions in conflict zones. Both countries will lobby for Germany to receive a permanent seat on the UN security council, alongside France, the US, China, Russia and Britain, the leading Allied powers on the winning side at the end of...

The New York Times is quick to the typeset to explain how Brussels is desperately offended because President Trump and Secretary Pompeo have lowered the importance of the EU. Officials from the European Union are apoplectic that U.S. officials have downgraded their status amid the official registry of diplomatic protocols. (snip) -- BRUSSELS — The Trump administration downgraded the diplomatic status of the European Union’s delegation to the United States last year without making a formal announcement or informing the bloc about the change, a European official said on Tuesday.

What happens when the political opposition and the entire media establishment in Germany refers to your party as "fascists"?  This. The Hill: Frank Magnitz, a lawmaker with German far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), was reportedly attacked by at least three men on Monday night and remained hospitalized on Tuesday, The New York Times reported.  Magnitz is the head of AfD's chapter in the German city of Bremen. Thomas Jürgewitz, the deputy head of the Bremen chapter, told the Times in a phone interview that Magnitz is expected to make a full recovery. The AfD circulated a picture of Magnitz's bloodied face, writing on Facebook, "Today...

Monday’s attack on Bremen’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Frank Magnitz is not the first time the far-right populist party has been targeted in the northern German city. In the past, windows have been smashed and a car vandalized. Yet the brutal beating of Magnitz does mark a new level of violence in Bremen. The 66-year-old Magnitz, who remains hospitalized, was reportedly set upon by masked assailants, who struck the parliamentarian in the head with an object. When Magnitz went to the ground, the attackers apparently continued beating him. Passersby ultimately came to his aid. Bremen’s police and state security...

The leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made a video statement on the sickening attack on Frank Magnitz, state chairman of the AfD. Magnitz was almost beaten to death by three masked thugs in the northern German city of Bremen. Police said they are treating the incident as a “politically motivated act.” AfD leader Alice Weidel said “she is completely shocked by this abhorrent act” and partly blames the media for it. According to her the media’s smear campaign against her democratically elected party “finally beared fruit”. Weidel says “this cowardly attack is to be completely condemned” and...

A member of Germany's parliament from the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) suffered serious injuries after he was attacked by three people in the northern city of Bremen Monday in what the party described as an "assassination attempt." According to a statement on the AfD Bremen Facebook page, Frank Magnitz was knocked unconscious as he left a New Year's reception at a theater in the city. The party said the attackers continued to beat Magnitz on the head after he was down. The statement credited "the courageous intervention of a builder" with saving Magnitz's life. AfD said police and...

BREAKING>>>> German Conservative AfD Politician BEATEN NEAR DEATH in Bremen –Political Assassination– 3 Days after AfD Headquarters Bombed! .. (Full title). ... German #AfD-politician Frank Magnitz (member of the German parliament) was badly injured in the German town #Bremen in #Germany, probably by three persons of the Antifa. Evidently a man (passer by) saved his life today at night. ... German police have declared this a political assassination attempt. ... Violent attacks on the conservative AfD Party in Germany are escalating. On Friday the AfD headquarters were bombed in Saxony. Three buildings were damaged in the blast ... Attacks are...

A key point of contention was the collaboration between the mosque and Yad Vashem, a Jewish organisation that focuses on preserving the memory of the holocaust. The exhibition at the London mosque, which was devoted to Muslims who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, has been cancelled without an official explanation, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported. The cancellation of the event, held by the Centre for Islamic Understanding in Golders Green, was preceded by Muslim protests that were largely fuelled by statements of Roshan Salih, the editor of a Muslim media outlet called "5 Pillars." The man slammed...

The German public broadcaster RBB reported that the information was posted on a Twitter account over a series of days in December leading up to Christmas. Merkel's entire cabinet was targeted as part of a cyberattack that occurred until at least the end of October, according to the German newspaper Bild. Some of the information released included private emails, mobile phone numbers and private addresses. Politicians from all levels, including the European parliament, were affected by the data breach, a government spokesperson said. Other people of public interest, including artists and journalists, were also among those affected.

The Bavarian town of Amberg is in shock after a group of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iran rampaged through the city Saturday night. Four attackers aged 17 to 19 randomly beat exiting passengers at the train station, and then moved to the city center to continue their rampage. According to reports, the attackers shouted "kafir" (a derogatory term meaning "non-Muslim," "unbeliever") and "n*****" at some victims. In all, 12 victims ranging from ages 16 to 42 needed medical attention. A 17-year-old victim was treated for severe head wounds. Afterwards, Amberg's Mayor Michael Cerny has appeared more concerned about Facebook...

At least four people have been injured after a man intentionally drove into a crowd of people in western Germany in what appears to have been an attack directed at foreigners. Those hit by the car included Syrian and Afghan citizens, and some were seriously injured. Muenster police said the 50-year-old driver of a Mercedes drove into a crowd in the centre of Bottrop shortly after midnight Tuesday.

In 2019 Germany will assume greater international responsibility and must stand up for its convictions, Angela Merkel has vowed in an annual address. The chancellor said old certainties about international cooperation had "come under pressure", alluding to strained US-German relations. This year, President Donald Trump and the chancellor have clashed on German domestic and foreign policy issues. Mrs Merkel's New Year's speech will be broadcast in full later on Monday. Over the past year, Chancellor Merkel has been a leading defender of multilateralism, in contrast to Mr Trump's America First foreign policy. "In our own interest, we must take on...

On its face, Trump’s announcement that he is pulling US forces out of Syria seems like an unfriendly act toward Israel. But it isn’t. On its face, President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is pulling US forces out of Syria seems like an unfriendly act towards Israel. But it isn’t. Trump’s decision to pull US forces out of Syria is of a piece with outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s address on Tuesday to the UN Security Council regarding the Palestinian conflict with Israel. Both statements reflect the depths of the administration’s friendship and support for the State...

Germany is being laughed at… migrant humour reveals the sad truth, migrants are taking the mick. The political elite and leftist media have tried to convince Germans that the young illegal ‘refugee’ men (soldiers) coming in the hundreds of thousands to Germany will help the declining workforce. Their arguments have long been that migration is to fill an increasing void in population to sustain labour and industry. This short video, that has gone viral, clearly reveals that to not be the case. As well as statistics showing that the majority of migrants are not working at all, rather living off...

German army plans to recruit foreign mercenaries in bid to plug thousands of vacancies and fulfil its NATO commitment after Trump said he would cut off funding Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced plans in ministry documents Poles, Italians and Romanians living in Germany will be targeted by recruiters US President Donald Trump has pressured Germany to up its NATO commitment Germany's military is drawing up plans to recruit nationals from other European countries as part of a drive to beef up the armed forces. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to recruit Poles, Italians and Romanians,...

Lawmakers from Germany’s grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a “mosque tax” for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay. Thorsten Frei, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) told Die Welt daily that a mosque tax was “an important step” that would allow “Islam in Germany to emancipate itself from foreign states.” In Germany, church taxes are collected from practicing Catholics and Protestants in order to fund church activities. They are collected by the state and then transferred to religious authorities. In the absence of a similar tax,...

President Trump and Melania made their second unannounced visit to US troops abroad around 8pm ET as they visited troops on the German base of Ramstein. The First Couple were on their way back from meeting troops in Iraq when Air Force One stopped to refuel and meet service members 'carrying MAGA hats' who had waited up until around 4am local time.

Struggling to fill its ranks, Germany’s military is drawing up plans to recruit nationals from other European countries as part of a drive to beef up the armed forces. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants to recruit Poles, Italians and Romanians, magazine Der Spiegel said, citing a ministry document. The German military, or Bundeswehr, has stepped up its recruitment efforts as part of a broader reset following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Last year, Germany said it would increase the size of its armed forces to 198,000 active soldiers by 2024 from 179,000. Pressure on Berlin...

An award-winning German journalist who was recently found to have fabricated parts of stories may be facing more trouble. Claas Relotius, 33, is facing new accusations that he solicited donations for orphans of the war in Syria, donations that he ultimately pocketed, reported CBS. As part of the scandal over the former CNN International's Journalist of the Year, residents of Fergus Falls, Minn., dispelled a variety of falsehoods in his piece “ In a small town” that took aim at "the people who pray for Trump on Sundays." Relotius is accused of making up quotes, interview subjects, and facts in...