Berlin - Two leading German politicians welcomed Tuesday the new security team nominated by the US president-elect, Barack Obama, but both said they expected Berlin to keep standing up for its own interests.
Karsten Voigt, an official attached to the Foreign Ministry to promote non-diplomatic relations with the United States, said Obama's choices showed the United States wanted to restore its global leadership.
Speaking on RBB radio, he said Berlin would need to demonstrate self-assurance if Obama pressed Germany to send troops into battle against the Taliban.
Berlin - Germany's international broadcaster, government- funded Deutsche Welle (DW), said Monday an internal inquiry had disproved claims that its Chinese-language programming had a pro- Beijing bias.
Before this year's summer Olympic Games in Beijing, controversy erupted over allegations by German critics that DW was not neutral. But a detailed analysis showed the "groundless" claims were based on poor translations.
Berlin - The women's German Open tournament appears to be leaving Berlin for another host city, possibly Warsaw, as tennis in the country faces another setback.
News reports on Monday in Berlin said that the Qatar tennis federation, which runs the event, could have lost interest in the event which is being downgraded in the new
2009 calendar.
The reports said that the Qataris have not paid several bills and that ticket sales for the May 2009 edition is yet to start. The tournament website was also no longer available.
Berlin - Through a spokesman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed Monday her opposition to quickly admitting Ukraine and Georgia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a political rival who is running for the chancellorship next year, had last week firmly rejected a US proposal to admit them quickly.
In Berlin, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said Merkel was "seamlessly" in agreement with Steinmeier on the matter. Neither candidate nation would fulfil the criteria for NATO entry in the foreseeable future, he said.
Berlin - Germany criticized Kosovo Monday for detaining three of its intelligence agents for more than a week, but said it was not planning to cut back aid to the tiny Balkan state.
Deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said in Berlin that Germany had an interest in stability in both the region and in Kosovo and was not considering "reducing aid in reprisal."
But he added, "It is common to review aid after a certain period."
Berlin - Two leading German politicians welcomed Tuesday the new security team nominated by the US president-elect, Barack Obama, but both said they expected Berlin to keep standing up for its own interests.
Berlin - Germany's international broadcaster, government- funded Deutsche Welle (DW), said Monday an internal inquiry had disproved claims that its Chinese-language programming had a pro- Beijing bias. 
Berlin - The women's German Open tournament appears to be leaving Berlin for another host city, possibly Warsaw, as tennis in the country faces another setback. 
Berlin - Through a spokesman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed Monday her opposition to quickly admitting Ukraine and Georgia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 
Berlin - Germany criticized Kosovo Monday for detaining three of its intelligence agents for more than a week, but said it was not planning to cut back aid to the tiny Balkan state. 
Berlin - German retail sales plunged in October, data released Monday showed, as t
