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Germany Bans Hezbollah, Raids Mosques

April 30, 2020 6:07 pm

Germany on Thursday completely banned Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement from carrying out activities on its soil, as police raided mosques and venues linked to the group.

Like the European Union, Germany had until now only outlawed Hezbollah’s military wing while tolerating its political wing.

But in a shift immediately welcomed by the United States and Israel, the German interior ministry said it now considered the entire movement a “Shiite terrorist organisation”.

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation deemed responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings worldwide,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Germany’s Bild daily.

The interior minister “has banned the operation of …

Syrian War Criminals Face Landmark Trial In Germany

April 21, 2020 1:41 pm

Berlin, Germany – Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian colonel, has been in a German jail ever since he was arrested in Berlin in mid-February last year.

He is accused of committing crimes against humanity and will on Thursday go on trial at the Higher Regional Court in the southwestern German city of Koblenz, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The process is expected to take up to two years.

Eyad al-Gharib, who supposedly worked under the colonel, will also be on trial.

But it is Raslan’s case that is considered most significant – the senior military official is seen as a

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Germany Kicks Out Russian Diplomats Over Berlin Murder

December 4, 2019 2:29 pm

Germany expelled two Russian diplomats on Wednesday after prosecutors said Moscow could be behind the killing of a former Chechen rebel commander in a Berlin park.

Russia’s foreign ministry immediately pledged unspecified “retaliatory measures”, saying the accusations were “groundless and hostile”.

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian national, was shot twice in the head at close range in Kleiner Tiergarten park on August 23, allegedly by a Russian man who was arrested shortly afterwards.

The suspect in the killing was said to be riding a bicycle and was seen by witnesses afterwards throwing the bike and a stone-laden bag with a …

Bayern Climb To Second As Gladbach Slip Up In Berlin

November 23, 2019 3:36 pm

Managerless Bayern Munich went second in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 4-0 romp at Fortuna Duesseldorf as leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Union Berlin.

Bayern’s interim coach Hansi Flick enjoyed his third straight win since Niko Kovac was sacked earlier this month as Munich moved to within a point of Gladbach.

Despite rumours linking ex-Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino to the Bayern vacancy, Flick has been told he will be in charge until at least Christmas.

“I enjoy the here and now. It will be like that until Christmas and I’m just trying to do my …

Merkel, Macron to host Balkans meeting in Berlin

April 29, 2019 3:26 am

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are hosting a meeting of Balkan leaders in Berlin, a move intended to restart deadlocked talks between Serbia and Kosovo.

The meeting on Monday will include the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia, several Western Balkans leaders and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.