Germany

BERLIN (AP) — German investors are increasingly optimistic about the country’s economy as the latest surge of new coronavirus infections seems to be slowing, a closely-watched survey showed Tuesday.

The Mannheim-based ZEW institute said its indicator of economic expectations for Germany over the next six months increased 13.7 points in May over the previous month to a reading of 84.4, the highest value since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last time the indicator was at a higher level was in February 2000.

(Reuters) --- The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be broken, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday, as social distancing measures and an accelerating vaccination campaign help lower the infection rate.

"The third wave appears to be broken," Spahn told a regular weekly news briefing on Germany's pandemic management.

BERLIN, May 5 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that the EU-China investment treaty was an "important undertaking" despite "all the difficulties that will certainly arise in the ratification process."

"It is a very important undertaking because it gives us more reciprocity in market access, because we have decided to comply with the labor standards of the International Labor Organization and other things with which trade can be developed to the benefit of both parties," said Merkel at a digital conference of the Union Party parliamentary group.

BERLIN, May 5. /TASS/: The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is among matters having no common assessment in the Trans-Atlantic aspect, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at an online conference on Wednesday.

BERLIN, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The German government on Wednesday banned a Muslim organisation that it accused of supporting “terrorism globally with its donations”.

Police raided buildings associated with Ansaar International in 10 German states, the German Interior Ministry said in a statement. 

The ministry alleged the money the organisation collected ostensibly went into welfare projects as a ruse to help finance groups such as the Syrian al-Qaida affiliate known as the Nusra Front, the Palestinian group Hamas and al-Shabaab in Somalia.

05 May 2021; MEMO: Germany's Interior Minister has said that far-right crimes in the country have hit a record high.

Far-right offences accounted for more than half of all politically motivated crimes and are at their highest level in 20 years since police started collecting data in 2001.

05 May 2021; MEMO: Germany has expressed its rejection of a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) describing Israeli practices toward Palestinians as amounting to "the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution."

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert that the international human rights watchdog's assumption that "Israel is committing the international law crime of apartheid is explicitly not endorsed by the federal government," Anadolu Agency reported.

BERLIN, May 4. /TASS/: Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) considers it possible to resume the construction of Nord Stream 2 in German waters after a claim initiated by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), at the end of this May, a representative from the regulator told TASS on Tuesday.

(Reuters) --- Germany saw a big jump last year in politically motiviated crimes, and offences commited by far-right supporters hit a record high, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday.

Far-right offences were up nearly 6% from the previous year at 23,064, and accounted for more than half of all politically motivated crimes, the highest level since police started collecting such data in 2001.

(Reuters) --- Disagreements over intellectual property rights mean Germany, France and Spain have yet to agree the next steps for a joint fighter jet project, the defence ministry in Berlin said on Saturday after a deadline to find a solution ran out.

Last week, the defence ministers of Germany and France set an end-April deadline to broker a deal over the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), Europe's largest defence project.