Germany

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany (AP) — Finance ministers for the Group of Seven leading economies on Thursday will deal with the immediate effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, overtaking their more ambitious plans to reform the global economy.

A refugee crisis, high inflation, food insecurity exacerbated by the wa r and climate change, and the ramifications of a multiyear pandemic are just a few issues drawing leaders’ attention.

BERLIN (AP) — German police say they have detained a suspect in connection with a Thursday morning attack at a high school in the northern city of Bremerhaven in which one person was injured.

Police said the incident happened at the Lloyd high school in the center of the city.

A police spokesperson initially confirmed that there had been a shooting, but later revised that information to say only that the attacker was armed.

“The armed person was detained and is in police custody,” police said in a statement.

BONN, Germany (AP) — The U.S., several global development banks and other groups on Wednesday unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to stave off a worldwide food security crisis worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, a key danger facing an increasingly fragile world economy.

The February invasion has touched off a sharp increase in energy and food prices that are now contributing to a slowdown in growth, prompting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to note the risk of stagflation at a news conference.

BERLIN, May 17 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is open to the idea of seizing Russian state assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, he said in an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt and three other European newspapers.

"I am politically open to the idea of seizing foreign assets of the Russian Central Bank," Lindner said, adding that proposals to this effect were already being discussed among the Group of Seven economic powers and in the European Union.

BERLIN, May 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a “credible” investigation into the death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as he offered condolences to her family.

Blinken said he spoke with the brother of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was a US citizen, during his flight Saturday to Berlin for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

“I had a chance to express deep condolences for her loss, our deep respect for the work that she did as a journalist for many years,” Blinken told reporters in Berlin.

BERLIN, May 15. /TASS/: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba thinks that his task is to deliver as many weapons as possible to Ukraine and attain the utmost sanctions against Russia. He expressed this in an interview with Bild published on Saturday.

"My goal is to supply Ukraine with as many weapons as possible, to initiate as many sanctions as possible against Russia and help as many Ukrainians who were forced to flee abroad as possible," he said.

BERLIN, May 15. /TASS/: All NATO member states are committed to keep the anti-Russian sanctions in place for as long as is necessary, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference on Sunday after an informal meeting of NATO top diplomats in Berlin.

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - Croatia's foreign minister said on Sunday talks between Turkey with Finland and Sweden over its concerns with regard their membership to the NATO alliance were on the right track after all three met on Saturday.

"Discussions are on a good track and we hope we will have a good outcome today to show solidarity and speak with one voice," Grlic Radman told reporters at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin.

BERLIN, May 14 (Reuters) - Norway on Saturday backed Finnish and Swedish plans to join NATO against criticism from Turkey.

"We don't know what Turkey really means but from (the) Norwegian perspective, we are 100% behind Finland and Sweden if they decide to apply for membership in NATO," Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld said as she arrived for a meeting with her NATO counterparts in Berlin.

"This will also strengthen the Nordic cooperation because we chose differently after World War 2, so I think that this is a historic moment right now," she added.

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - Russia's offensive in Ukraine is failing and its operation in the Donbass region has stalled, NATO's secretary general said on Sunday.

"Russia's war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned. They failed to take Kyiv," Jens Stoltenberg told reporters by video link. "They are pulling back from Kharkiv and their major offensive in Donbass has stalled."