Germany

BERLIN, December 3. /TASS/: The employee of the UK Embassy in Germany, who is suspected of spying for Russia, may be extradited to the UK, Spiegel reported on Friday.

Germany is now considering a UK extradition request, the report said.

The Office of the German Federal Public Prosecutor on August 11 said the suspect, identified only as David S., at least once passed the documents that he obtained in line of duty to a Russian operative and received a compensation. The man has been placed in custody.

BERLIN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel was honored here on Thursday evening with a military grand tattoo ceremony, the most solemn ceremony of the German armed forces.

Merkel said in her speech that she felt gratitude and humility, noting that trust is the most important asset in politics.

She described the 16 years as chancellor as eventful and challenging. She recalled, among other things, the financial crisis in 2008 and the many people seeking refuge in 2015.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister said Friday that more than 1% of the population — almost a million people — are currently infected with the coronavirus, and called on citizens to get vaccinated if they haven’t done so yet.

The country confirmed 74,352 new daily COVID-19 cases and 390 additional deaths, figures published by the federal disease control agency showed. According to the Robert Koch Institute’s calculations, some 925,800 people in Germany are considered actively infected with the virus.

BERLIN (AP) — Diplomats negotiating in Vienna to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have paused after five days of talks to consult with their governments and will reconvene next week, officials said Friday.

The European Union official chairing the meeting said there had been some progress, but further “convergence” was necessary.

“We have identified the challenges ahead. Now it is time to consult with capitals,” EU diplomat Enrique Mora told reporters. “We will be resuming here in Vienna next week.”

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s former chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said Thursday that he is quitting politics, two months after stepping down as leader amid corruption allegations.

Kurz said the recent birth of his first child had motivated him to take the step.

The 35-year-old said he had always done his best to “move our beautiful Austria a little bit in the right direction,” but acknowledged having made some mistakes during his 10-year career.

Still, Kurz insisted: “I’m neither a saint, nor a criminal.”

BERLIN (AP) — A World War II bomb exploded at a construction site next to a busy railway line in Munich on Wednesday, injuring four people, one of them seriously, German authorities said.

A column of smoke was seen rising from the site near the Donnersbergerbruecke station. The construction site for a new commuter train line is located on the approach to Munich’s central station, which is a bit over a kilometer (about a half-mile) to the east.

FRANKFURT, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A German court on Tuesday jailed a former Islamic State militant for life after convicting him of involvement in genocide and crimes against humanity over mass killings of minority Yazidis by IS in Syria and Iraq.

It was the first genocide verdict against a member of Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda that seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before being ousted by U.S.-backed counter-offensives, losing its last territorial redoubt in 2019.

BERLIN (AP) — Swiss voters were having their say in a referendum Sunday on legislation which imposed the use of a special COVID-19 certificate that lets only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative attend public events and gatherings.

The vote offers a relatively rare bellwether of public opinion specifically on the issue of government policy to fight the coronavirus in Europe, currently the global epicenter of the pandemic.

26 Nov 2021; MEMO: Germany, on Friday, called on Iran to "fully cooperate" with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and "answer all open questions" about its nuclear program, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"We support the IAEA's call on Iran. The country must cooperate fully and extensively with the IAEA. Ensure the transparency of its nuclear program and answer all open questions," Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman, Andrea Sasse, told a news conference in Berlin.

BERLIN (AP) — Official figures released Thursday show Germany has become the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Germany’s disease control agency said it recorded 351 additional deaths in connection with the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 100,119.

In Europe, Germany is the fifth country to pass that mark, after Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy and France.