Germany

MUNICH, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Munich Security Conference to be held from Friday to Sunday has attracted an unprecedented number of key policymakers from around the world seeking solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the global.

Around 500 participants, some of them heads of state and government, or political and security heavyweights, are expected to meet to discuss a wide range of issues from competition and cooperation between major countries, the European Union (EU)'s future, to transatlantic relations.

Islamabad, Feb 14 (PTI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday embarked on a visit to Germany to attend an international security conference in Munich where leaders and defence experts from across the world will discuss security issues.

Speaking to reporters prior to his departure, Qureshi said he will present Pakistan's point of view on different issues of regional peace and security in the conference from February 15-17, the Radio Pakistan reported.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany narrowly avoided a recession in the fourth quarter, reporting only zero growth as foreign trade made little contribution to Europe’s largest economy.

The lackluster figure released Thursday by the state statistics agency followed a 0.2 percent fall in output during the preceding third quarter. Business spending on machinery and equipment as well as construction supported the economy in the fourth quarter and kept Germany from suffering two straight quarters of negative growth, one definition of a recession.

14 Feb 2019; DW: Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have signed two petitions calling on a German zoo to return Bili, a bonobo ape who was being "bullied" by fellow apes, to the United Kingdom.

The petitions, which have gathered more than 400,000 signatures, call on the authorities at the zoo in the western German city of Wuppertal to release Bili to an ape sanctuary in the UK.

12 Feb 2019; DW: Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the party had to prevent any repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Germany.

"We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening again," the CDU leader said. "We have learned our lesson."

Kramp-Karrenbauer took over the conservative CDU leadership from Chancellor Angela Merkel in December.

12 Feb 2019; DW: Germany needs at least 260,000 new migrant workers per year until 2060 in order to meet labor shortages caused by demographic decline, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Of that number, 146,000 people each year would need to immigrate from non-EU member states, the research published by the Bertelsmann Foundation said.

10 Feb 2019; DW: A man spouting racist insults allegedly confronted two Syrian teenagers in northeastern Berlin and punched them in the face, authorities said Saturday.

He hit the girls, aged 15 and 16, "with his fist several times ... before fleeing into a shopping arcade," police alleged in a statement. Both girls were taken to hospital for treatment.

9 Feb 2019; DW: US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell on Sunday criticized Germany's pledge to incrementally raise its defense spending to 1.5 percent until 2024 in an interview with German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

09 Feb 2019; DW: Germany's Bundeswehr has suspended a lieutenant colonel in the elite Special Forces Command (KSK) commando unit on suspicion of right-wing extremism, according to the military's counterintelligence service MAD.

"The person is already known by the MAD," a spokesperson said. "The responsible authorities have already taken disciplinary measures."

09 Feb 2019; DW: It cost over €1 billion ($1.13 billion) to build. It will house around 4,000 secret agents. It covers an area the size of 36 soccer pitches. The new headquarters of the German Intelligence Agency (BND) has completed its move from Pullach, on the outskirts of Munich, to the center of Berlin, close to the former Wall.