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The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump's threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the "decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground." The US has several major military facilities in Germany, including the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. The number of troops leaving Germany would be 14 per cent of the 36,000 .
President Donald Trump on Wednesday levelled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the US military presence there as he continues to feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israel war against Iran. Trump made the threat after Merz earlier this week said that the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Trump has also repeatedly railed against NATO for the alliance's refusal to assist the US in its two-month-old war. "The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time," Trump said in a social media post. Merz had said earlier Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained "as good as ever," but he had "had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran." During his first term in the White House, Trump also moved to cut US ..
In the backdrop of the ongoing West Asian conflict, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, they are stark realities with direct implications for India's security and economic stability. Addressing the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security on day one of his three-day visit to the country, he also asserted that the world today is faced with new security threats, and the technological transformation has made the situation highly complex and intricately connected. A new approach with the willingness to adapt to the changing environment is the need of the hour, the minister said. Singh also made a strong pitch for enhanced collaboration between the defence industrial ecosystems of India and Germany. His visit to Germany also comes amid the West Asia conflict that has stretched for over 50 days, with global ramifications. "For a developing country like India, which relies on the West Asian regi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a three-day visit to Germany beginning Tuesday to finalise a bilateral defence industrial roadmap. The roadmap will provide for a framework for the two countries to initiate co-development and co-production of various military hardware, officials said. In Berlin, Singh will hold wide-ranging talks with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius and other senior leaders. "Discussions will focus on enhancing defence industrial collaboration, strengthening military-to-military engagements, and exploring opportunities in emerging domains such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and drones," the defence ministry said ahead of Singh's trip. "A defence industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping operations training are likely to be signed in the presence of both the defence ministers," it said. The ministry said Singh's visit will provide an opportunity to review the ongoing defence ...
German growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 were cut by experts on Wednesday as governments across Europe implement measures aimed at reducing the price impact of the Iran war. A group of five economic institutes predict German gross domestic product will expand by 0.6 per cent this year - less than half the 1.3 per cent they forecast in September - and by 0.9 per cent in 2027, down from 1.4 per cent. The economic outlook was below the government's own forecast, issued two months ago, of 1 per cent and 1.3 per cent growth, respectively. The Iran war has created an unwelcome new obstacle to growth across Europe. The annual inflation rate in the 21-nation euro area sped up to 2.5 per cent in March from 1.9 per cent the previous month. It was powered by a 4.9 per cent increase in energy prices as the war and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel costs higher. "This energy price shock is hitting a German economy in which a recovery set in last year after a several-year downturn,"
Germany on Sunday indicated that it won't participate in the Strait of Hormuz mission now. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on ARD television, "Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No." Wadephul said "we will only get security for the Strait of Hormuz if there is a negotiated solution." He said he is sceptical about expanding the European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea, called Operation Aspides, to the Strait of Hormuz because it hasn't been effective in its current area. Wadephul added: "It is completely clear that Europe always gives constructive support when it comes to securing sea routes, but I see neither an immediate necessity nor above all Germany participating." Iraqi agency: Rockets hit Baghdad airport, surroundings injuring 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraq's Security Media Cell, affiliated with the country's security forces, said Sunday that Baghdad International Airport and its surroundings were
Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world's most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas' publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume "Theory of Communicative Action". Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany's defeat, later recalled the dawn of a new era in 1945 and his coming to terms with the reality of Nazi crimes as something without which he wouldn't have found his way into philosophy and social theory. He recalled that "you saw suddenly that it was a politically criminal system in which you had lived". He had an ambivalent relationship with the left-wi
German development finance institution DEG and Citi on Thursday announced providing a USD 76-million co-financing package to Shriram Finance Ltd, aimed at accelerating economic inclusion, rural development, and climate-aligned mobility pan-India. Under this, while DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH) has provided a 40 million euro loan (around USD 46 million) and Citi has extended a Rs 260 crore loan to the NBFC, a statement said. This collaborative and innovative financing is designed to strengthen the company's outreach to priority segments that remain underserved in India's credit ecosystem, it said, adding Citi acted as a lead arranger and coordinator for this financing. This is the second such collaboration between the two co-financing partners following the successful transaction supporting CreditAccess Grameen in 2024, underscoring the institutions' shared commitment to advancing inclusive and climate-positive financing in India, the statement said.
Britain, France and Germany said they are ready to work with the US and partners to help stop Iran's retaliatory attacks. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement Sunday that they are "appalled" by Iran's "reckless" strikes on their allies, which are threatening their service members and citizens in the region. "We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran's capability to fire missiles and drones at their source. We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter," the statement said. It did not provide further details.