Merkel announced on Monday she would not run for party leader in December or seek a fifth term as chancellor in 2021, setting a deadline for her exit from German politics. It came after the CDU suffered a setback in a state vote in Hesse last Sunday, while its Bavarian sister party suffered its biggest loss in half a century in the southern state. READ MORE: Merkel Says Her Step-Down as CDU Leader Unlikely to Affect International Talks © AP Photo / Markus SchreiberMerkel Should Step Down As Chancellor Immediately – AfD Co-ChairThe lawmaker pointed out that Merkel’s decision was spurred by her inability to restore her authority within the CDU, adding that the German chancellor made the "right conclusion" from her failures. Merkel has been criticized for her open-door migration policy, which resulted in a million of mostly North African migrants pouring … [Read more...] about Germany’s CDU May Return to Conservativism After Merkel’s Exit – SPD Lawmaker
Germany
Men killed in avalanche near Mt Cook were NZ citizens from Germany
The two mountain guides killed in an avalanche near Mt Cook died almost instantly, police say. The men became caught in the avalanche when it struck Mt Hicks on the western side of Aoraki/Mt Cook early on Wednesday. The lone survivor, Jo Morgan, wife of entrepreneur and former politician Gareth Morgan, managed to dig herself out and was rescued. She is safe and has been helicoptered to Christchurch. 'I'm lucky to be alive': Jo Morgan shares story of surviving deadly avalanche near Mt Cook Search on for three people lost in avalanche near Mt Cook "I'm just so lucky to be alive. I was buried too," Ms Morgan told Newshub. "It took me nearly an hour to dig myself out and set the locator beacon off." Mid-South Canterbury Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin told media the trio had reached the summit and became 'engulfed' by the avalanche on their descent. "I think one of them was killed pretty much instantly, and one of them probably perished before the team got … [Read more...] about Men killed in avalanche near Mt Cook were NZ citizens from Germany
Germany’s deadliest post-war murderer killed 100
A German nurse admitted in court on Tuesday to being post-war Germany's deadliest serial killer, murdering 100 patients with lethal injections so that he could play the hero by trying to revive them. When judge Sebastian Buehrmann asked 41-year-old Niels Hoegel if the charges against him were valid, he responded in the affirmative, adding: "All that I have admitted to is true." Hoegel hid his face behind a blue plastic folder as he was ushered into the courtroom in the northern city of Oldenburg by police and his attorney. He had already been sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2015 after he was found guilty of killing two patients with lethal injections. In January, prosecutors brought new charges against him for killing another 97 people. The court said in a statement that the number had gone up to 100. His admission will not end the trial, at which families of the victims hope to uncover more information about the crimes. "We want him to get the sentence that he deserves," said Frank … [Read more...] about Germany’s deadliest post-war murderer killed 100
German cinemas group purchase part of increased UK investment in Germany
British cinema group Vue International this week announced the acquisition of Cinestar’s 57 premium multiplex sites in Germany, adding 449 cinema screens to its European portfolio. The purchase is part of a broader pattern of increased pre-Brexit British investment in Germany. Vue International is already present in eight EU27 markets, owning and operating Vue Entertainment in the UK and Ireland, CinemaxX in Germany and Denmark, Space in Italy, Multikino in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania and Vue Nederland in the Netherlands, according to a statement by Vue. Cinestar operates seven cinemas in Berlin alone, including the CUBIX in Alexanderplatz. A report published recently by German think tank Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IDW) estimated that Brexit could reduce EU-UK trade by 50 per cent in the long term. Yet recent UK investment in Germany is on the up. READ ALSO: Why Brexit is a double-edged sword for Germany: Special report Nearly a quarter of all … [Read more...] about German cinemas group purchase part of increased UK investment in Germany
Why joining the coalition could save Germany’s SPD
Decision time With its members due to vote on the party's coalition deal with Angela Merkel's conservatives, now is the time for the Social Democrat party to show some discipline and humility and stop pulling itself apart. Published on February 15, 2018 12:20 pm The current ruinous infighting within Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is playing out like a bad soap opera. Just days after it began tearing itself apart over its future leadership and ministerial appointments in the proposed new grand coalition with Angela Merkel’s conservatives, the country’s oldest party has seen its popularity plummet to new lows. Even the neutral observer must be shocked at how a party that has played such an important, corrective and stabilizing role in politics from the German Empire and Weimar Republic to today’s Federal Republic is nosediving. When the grassroots members of the party vote on whether they approve of the coalition agreement between the two sides … [Read more...] about Why joining the coalition could save Germany’s SPD