Berlin, Germany | AFP | Talks between the top German parties on forming a new government for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fourth term spilled into overtime Monday but confidence appeared to be growing they would strike a deal. More than four months after Germany’s general election, marathon weekend negotiations failed to yield …
Read More »Aubameyang slammed for failing to testify at Dortmund attack trial
Dortmund, Germany | AFP | German authorities criticised Borussia Dortmund player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for failing to testify Monday in a trial over the bomb attack targeting the team last year. Aubameyang, who is reportedly closing in on a lucrative switch to Arsenal, was due to speak at the trial of the …
Read More »Germany asks US court to drop Namibian genocide suit
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The German government said Friday it had asked a US court to throw out a lawsuit brought by indigenous groups from Namibia seeking reparations for the genocide of their peoples under German colonial rule. It was the first time Berlin has formally responded to the …
Read More »German police arrest 15-year-old for killing classmate
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German police have arrested a 15-year-old schoolboy suspected of killing a classmate on Tuesday by stabbing him in the neck, authorities and media reports said. Media reports said the teenager did not resist when police tracked him down through a helicopter search and arrested him. …
Read More »‘I will fight for Ugandan coffee’
Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Dr. Albrecht Conze is Germany’s new Ambassador to Uganda. He talked to The Independent’s Ronald Musoke about his first impressions and more. What have been some of your impressions of Uganda since you arrived in the country? I am amazed by the stability in …
Read More »Volkswagen clinches record sales in 2017
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Germany’s Volkswagen said Wednesday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2017, putting it on track to hold on to the title of world’s largest carmaker two years after its “dieselgate” emissions scandal. Some 10.74 million vehicles from VW or its subsidiaries …
Read More »Macron ‘happy’ Merkel coalition deal in sight
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he was “happy and very satisfied” that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had achieved a breakthrough with the Social Democrats on her bid to form a coalition. Macron, who had pressed the Social Democrats (SPD) to return to a grand coalition …
Read More »Merkel in last-ditch push for German coalition
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel embarks Thursday on last-ditch talks with Germany’s second biggest party to form a government, in what is also a battle to rescue her political career. September’s inconclusive elections left the veteran leader without a majority and struggling to find partners to govern …
Read More »THIS WEEK: FDP pulls out of Germany coalition talks
THIS WEEK: FDP pulls out of Germany coalition talks Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The possibility of forming a coalition government in Germany collapsed after the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) pulled out of the initiative on the night of Nov.19 after four weeks of talks with Chancellor Angela …
Read More »How Europe’s greenest city kicked out cars
Berlin’s smart transport: How Europe’s greenest city kicked out cars Berlin, Germany | RONALD MUSOKE | Berlin, Germany’s capital and also largest city does not have the most efficient public transport system in the country, partly because of the low incomes of residents compared to other cities around the world. In …
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