Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a fourth term in Germany’s general election on Sunday, but her victory was clouded by the hard-right AfD party winning its first seats in parliament. Merkel, who after 12 years in power held a double-digit lead for most of the campaign, …
Read More »‘Bring home the bacon,’ Merkel tells voters on eve of poll
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rival Martin Schulz rallied voters on the eve of Sunday’s election, urging Germans to shun the first hard-right party expected to enter parliament in force since the end of World War II. Merkel, the clear frontrunner after 12 years in power …
Read More »Booze, Porsches and secrets: Germany’s candidates get real
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany’s 2017 election campaign, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to cruise to a fourth term, may have been widely panned as a snoozefest. But a closer look reveals that the candidates themselves are anything but dull. Here’s a rundown of some of the most …
Read More »Merkel says in ‘clear disagreement’ with Trump over N. Korea
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday she was in “clear disagreement’ with US President Donald Trump over his threat to destroy North Korea. “I am against such threats,” Merkel said in an interview with the radio station Deutsche Welle. “We believe that any kind of military …
Read More »‘Get lost!’: How some Germans hope to shout down Merkel
Ostseebad Binz, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel may appear to be cruising to a victory in next week’s elections, but her campaign rallies across Germany have been plagued by rowdy protesters who jeer, boo and even throw tomatoes at her. From the western university town of Heidelberg to the …
Read More »Merkel warns of consequences for EU asylum laggards
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Countries that fail to take part in the quota scheme for assigning asylum seekers around the European Union could themselves be denied help in other areas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday. “If there is no solidarity on migration, neither will there be in …
Read More »Transfer window the talk of Europe
Madrid, Spain | AFP | The European football transfer window may now be closed but there was talk of little else this week as the likes of top coaches Zinedine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel made calls for sweeping changes. The subject is at the centre of …
Read More »Merkel urges tougher rules to end sky-high transfers
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday urged football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA to tighten rules governing transfers and stamp out spiralling record spending on players. “I view the financial developments in professional football as critically as many people,” she told Mittelbayerische Zeitung daily. “Such sums are …
Read More »Merkel ahead as Schulz fails to land knock-out punch in sole debate
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Angela Merkel appeared to be powering ahead Monday to a fourth term as chancellor of Germany, after her rival Martin Schulz failed to halt her advance in a crucial televised debate three weeks before elections. Sunday’s prime-time TV clash had been billed as Schulz’s last chance …
Read More »Merkel ‘out of touch’, says challenger as vote nears
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel is “aloof” and “out of touch”, her main challenger Martin Schulz said Sunday, stepping up his attacks as he seeks to turn around a flagging campaign ahead of next month’s general election. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader said Merkel …
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