Germany

09 Feb 2019; DW: Germans have an increasingly negative view of the relationship between their country and the US, a survey released on Friday indicated, with many seeing China as a more reliable partner.

Just over 42 percent of Germans who took part in the study said they saw China as a more reliable partner than the US, compared with 23.1 percent who favored the US over China.

The fatal blaze occurred shortly before midnight Thursday in Lambrecht, a town of 4,000 residents in a hilly region popular for its forested hiking tracks between Speyer and Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

A police spokeswoman said the fire possibly began in the kitchen of the apartment on the building's top floor. Among the dead were a couple registered as occupants. The other three were likely to have been visitors.

More than 100 firefighters fought the blaze through into Friday morning.

BERLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The German industrial production fell unexpectedly for the fourth month in a row in December 2018, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) reported on Thursday.

After the price, seasonal and calendar adjustments, the industrial production in December 2018 was down by 0.4 percent from the previous month. Compared to the same month in 2017, it shrank notably by 3.9 percent, according to a statement of Destatis.

BUCHAREST, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) member states needed to conclude a comprehensive agreement on asylum system, so as to be better prepared for future challenges, EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday.

"We have to find temporary solutions regarding the migrants' debarkation, but, at the same time, we need to reach a comprehensive and structured agreement regarding our common asylum system," he said.

07 Feb 2019; DW: Police said a "family-related and organized network" from Romania was behind the forced prostitution of children. Berlin's Tiergarten Park has become a center for men seeking sex with young boys.

Four Romanian men have been arrested in Berlin for the forced prostitution of minors, including their own children, police said Wednesday.

06 Feb 2019; DW: Two freight cars carrying spray cans and other hygiene products caught fire late Wednesday as a train was traveling through Rhineland-Palatinate, state police said in a statement.

The blaze caused spray cans aboard the train to explode and fly through the air, a police spokesman said. The flames caused damaged to the two freight cars, an overhead line and a barrier designed to limit noise from the railway, though no residential buildings were affected.

07 Feb 2019; DW: Jens Stoltenberg has said countries such as China and India could be brought on board to save the key nuclear pact. The INF treaty is headed for a collapse after the US and Russia said they would walk out of the deal.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he was open to an expanded Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with more members in order to save the key armaments pact.

06 Feb 2019; DW: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced plans to produce a new joint fighter jet on Wednesday.

The two spoke at Gennevilliers near Paris at a facility operated by Safran Aircraft Engines, which will produce the jet's new engine in collaboration with Germany's MTU Aero Engines.

5 Feb 2019; DW: The Bundeswehr (Germany’s Federal Defence) provides Catholic and Protestant clergy for soldiers, but no spiritual counsel for Muslims. According to the government, key questions must be answered before the Bundeswehr's religious ranks are expanded.

Nariman Reinke, a naval petty officer, is one of about 1,500 Muslim soldiers who serve in the Bundeswehr.

5 Feb 2019; DW: Germany's economy minister, Peter Altmaier, on Tuesday officially launched a controversial plan aimed at developing the country's industrial sector and increasing its international competitiveness in technology and innovation.

Though it was the first time Altmaier fully detailed the "National Industry Strategy 2030," some key points had previously been revealed to the German media the previous week, prompting the minister to take the defensive against claims of protectionism and intrusive state intervention.