Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | At least 60,000 people were forced to leave their homes in central Frankfurt on Sunday as Germany begins an operation to defuse a huge unexploded World War II bomb dubbed “blockbuster”. The operation is the biggest evacuation of its kind in post-war Germany, Frankfurt’s …
Read More »Trump announces ambassador picks to Germany, India
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump has announced a series of ambassador nominations to key capitals, including Berlin and New Delhi, more than seven months after taking office. In a statement released late Friday, the White House announced Trump intends to nominate Richard Grenell to be ambassador …
Read More »Top trends at IFA 2017
Berlin, Germany | AFP | With just a few months to go until the high-tech spending bonanza of the Christmas season, Berlin’s IFA trade fair is the place to spot the trends that will mark high streets this year. Here are a few of them: – Ultra-HD TVs – IFA’s aisles …
Read More »High-def TVs rule the roost at Berlin’s IFA
Berlin, Germany | AFP | No-one wants to watch Game of Thrones’ bloody fantasy battles on a tiny tablet screen, which is just one reason why cheaper, bigger, higher-definition televisions are the stars of this year’s IFA electronics fair in Berlin. Rather than just fantasise when they gather in front of …
Read More »‘Gifted’ high-tech takes spotlight at Berlin’s IFA fair
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The gadgets on display at Berlin’s mega consumer electronics fair this week may not look radically different, but they are smarter than ever before and designed to meet our every need — often before we’ve even thought of it ourselves. As smartphones and other electronic devices …
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 …
Read More »Merkel says Turkey must not ‘misuse’ Interpol in writer’s case
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she was glad a Spanish court had ordered the conditional release of a Turkish-German writer wanted by Ankara and warned Turkey not to “misuse” Interpol to pursue its critics. “That’s not on. We must not misuse international organisations such as Interpol” …
Read More »Erdogan wades into German election, Berlin hits back
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday urged ethnic Turks in Germany to reject its main parties in upcoming elections, prompting a sharp warning from Berlin to stop the “unprecedented” meddling. Erdogan called on ethnic Turks to ignore Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their …
Read More »Merkel reaches out to young voters on YouTube
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel, campaigning Wednesday for the youth vote on YouTube ahead of September 24 elections, said her favourite emoticon was the “smiley” and dismissed fears about a potential World War III. The 63-year-old leader, in power for nearly 12 years, also said she hoped …
Read More »Italy applauds Libya’s decision on migrant ‘search and rescue’ zone
Rome, Italy | AFP | The Italian government on Sunday welcomed Libya’s decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast, a move that has prompted almost all international charities to halt migrant search and rescue operations in the area. The comments from Italian Foreign Minister Angelino …
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