HEIKO MAAS

A German court has convicted a military officer who posed as a Syrian asylum-seeker aof plotting to attack prominent politicians.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is warning that the U.S.-led military organization must prepare for the worst as concern mounts that Russia could be preparing to invade Ukraine.

The authoritarian leader of Belarus has criticized the European Union for its refusal to hold talks on the influx of migrants on the country’s border with Poland.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have talked on the phone about the need to deescalate the tensions around the migrant pressure on the European Union's border with Belarus and about the need for humanitarian aid there.

For many Iraqis, the name Colin Powell conjures up one image: the man who as U.S. secretary of State went before the U.N. Security Council in 2003 to make the case for war against their country.

European Union foreign ministers have looked at ways to stop illegal migration into the 27-nation bloc from neighboring Belarus including stopping companies from leasing jets to Belarusian airline Belavia.

Senior officials from two founding members of the European Union have expressed fears that a Polish court's ruling that Poland's Constitution has supremacy over EU laws could trigger the the country’s exit from the 27-nation bloc.

Hundreds of mourners, including law enforcement officers from across the nation, gathered at an outdoor music theater in Connecticut for the funeral of a state police trooper who was swept away in floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. (Sept. 9)

Blinken won't be specific, but says U.S. is "getting closer to the point" at which trying to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran won't be worth it.

Germany’s foreign minister has arrived in Libya to reopen the country’s embassy in Tripoli.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that any legitimacy or international support for the Taliban “will have to be earned” after Afghanistan’s new rulers announced an interim government that drew a deeply skeptical Western response.

Officials say dozens of people evacuated from Afghanistan by the United States military have applied for asylum in Germany during their layovers at the Ramstein U.S. Air Base.

The United States military has struck back at the Islamic State, bombing an IS member in Afghanistan less than 48 hours after a devastating suicide bombing claimed by the group killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at the Kabul airport.

Two months ago, the leaders of the world’s seven major industrialized democracies met at the height of summer on England’s southwest coast.

Sharply divided leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies have clashed over U.S. President Joe Biden’s insistence on withdrawing from Afghanistan by August 31 in the face of the Taliban takeover.

The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport has punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover reached Afghanistan’s capital.

The United Nations says it wants to continue delivering aid to Afghans at this critical moment and is doing so in Kabul, where thousands have fled, but is also evaluating the security situation “on an hour-by-hour basis.”.

A German magazine has reported that the country's foreign minister is signaling growing impatience with Iran.

As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.

Bejarano would say later that music helped keep her alive in the notorious German Nazi death camp and during the years after the Holocaust.

A survivor of the Auschwitz death camp who devoted much of her life to fighting antisemitism and racism in Germany has died.

A meeting of G-20 foreign and development ministers has ended with officials vowing to join efforts to fight hunger in the world, especially in Africa, in the wake of the pandemic, as well as climate change.

European leaders may have breathed audible sighs of relief when U.S. President Joe Biden visited them last week, but Biden's top diplomat is getting even more effusive welcomes on the continent.

The U.S.-Germany Holocaust Dialogue seeks to reverse the trend that gained traction amid a surge in political populism across Europe and the U.S.

The United States and Germany have launched a new initiative to stem an alarming rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial around the world.

The United States and Germany are struggling to resolve a major dispute over a Russian gas pipeline even as the Biden administration seeks to improve relations with western Europe that had been strained during Donald Trump's presidency.

Libya’s transitional government has underlined its commitment to holding elections on Dec. 24 at a conference with powers that have interests in the North African country.

The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have joined forces to impose sanctions on several officials in Belarus over the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to Minsk last month.

The presidents of Germany and Poland have met in Warsaw to celebrate the 30th anniversary of a key treaty between the two neighbors, focusing on the positive aspects of a sometimes wobbly relationship.

A group of traditional chiefs in Namibia say they have accepted an offer of compensation by Germany and a recognition that the colonial-era massacre of tens of thousands of their people in the early 20th century was genocide.

A group of traditional chiefs in Namibia said Thursday they have accepted an offer of compensation by Germany and a recognition that the colonial-era massacre of tens of thousands of their people in the early 20th century was genocide. Germany pledged last week to give 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) over a 30-year period for projects to help communities of people descended from those killed between 1904 and 1908, when Germany ruled the southern African country. Germany asked the victims for forgiveness, in a statement by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Germany’s foreign minister has rejected the idea of delivering weapons to Ukraine after the country’s president indicated that he would like military help from Berlin.

Germany is sorry for the massacres but the lack of reparations has angered targeted communities.

"In light of Germany's historical and moral responsibility, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness," Germany's foreign minister said Friday.

In addition to accepting the atrocities committed a century ago were genocide, Germany will also spend about $1.3 billion in the country on "reconstruction and development."

Its official contrition and restitution to Namibia for genocide resonates with other societies dealing with past wrongs.

Germany is officially recognizing the colonial-era massacre of tens of thousands of people in Namibia as genocide and has agreed to provide funding to help the communities affected.

European Union nations are sketching out plans for new sanctions against Belarus that will target economic sectors close to its authoritarian leader as they seek to strike back at him for diverting a passenger jet to arrest a dissident journalist.

Environment ministers from seven leading industrialized nations agreed Friday to accelerate efforts to slow global warming, including a commitment to end government support for new coal-fired power plants by the end of this year.

A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas militants kicked in early Friday after 11 days of war and appeared to be holding in its opening hours.

A German army officer who posed as a Syrian asylum-seeker has gone on trial accused of plotting to kill prominent politicians and blame the attack on refugees.

The United Nations chief is urging Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to observe their cease-fire, and he says the international community must develop a reconstruction package “that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions.”.

Israel and Hamas have announced a cease-fire to end a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill.

World powers have met in Vienna for a new round of high-level talks on bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran amid growing hopes that an agreement might soon be within reach.

World powers met Wednesday for a new round of high-level talks on bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran amid growing hopes that an agreement might soon be within reach. Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired the talks between Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and Iran told reporters “we have made substantial progress” though there were “still things to be worked out.” The nations have been trying to resolve the major outstanding issues on how to return the U.S. into the landmark agreement, which then President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of unilaterally in 2018.

The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Russian companies and ships for their work on a European natural gas pipeline opposed by the U.S., but chose not to punish the German company overseeing the project.

President Joe Biden has called for “significant de-escalation” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden’s appeal on Wednesday comes after 10 days of heavy fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. It was Biden’s toughest public pressure so far on the U.S. ally, with the president asking Netanyahu in a telephone call to move toward “the path to a cease-fire,” according to a White House statement on their conversation.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry says that Washington is looking into the possibility of introducing a fee on imports from countries that don’t tax heavy polluters.

Israeli warplanes have unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several locations of Gaza City.

Several other German cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Hannover have seen anti-Israeli protests over the past few days. At least two synagogues were attacked, and several Israeli flags were torn down and burned since the latest eruption of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry says its top diplomat is traveling to Saudi Arabia as Turkey seeks to repair ties that hit an all-time low over the 2018 killing in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

European Union foreign ministers are debating ways to keep up support for Afghanistan’s beleaguered government after a brutal weekend attack on a girls' school.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday debated ways to maintain support for Afghanistan’s beleaguered government after a brutal weekend attack on a girls' school underscored deep concern that violence will spread as U.S.-led troops leave the country. With the departure of foreign troops just a few months away, European governments are still trying to work out what kind of diplomatic presence they will keep in Afghanistan and who will provide security for them. Just hours after the Taliban announced a cease-fire for later this week, a bus in southern Zabul province struck a roadside mine on Monday killing 11 people.

Germany is returning hundreds of artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes that were mostly looted from West Africa by a British colonial expedition and subsequently sold to collections around the world, including German museums, authorities said Friday. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed a deal reached with museums and authorities in Nigeria to work on a restitution plan for a substantial number of artifacts, calling it a “turning point in dealing with our colonial history.” Germany’s minister for culture, Monika Gruetters, said the Benin Bronzes were a key test for the way the country deals with its colonial past.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal have been thrown into uncertainty following an attack on Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal have been thrown into uncertainty following an attack on Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility.

Announcing the total pledge, EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic said that besides the grants, financial institutions and donors offered loans amounting to $7 billion. AdThe EU said it committed to €3.7 billion ($4.3 billion) for 2021 and beyond, with €1.12 billion ($1.31 billion) coming from the bloc's executive arm and €2.6 billion ($3 billion) from the 27 EU member states. Another $5.8 billion was requested for nearly 6 million Syrian refugees who fled their homeland. AdGerman Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged 1.738 billion euros ($2 billion) on Germany’s behalf Tuesday, an amount he described as the country's largest pledge in the last four years. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom cut its pledge to “at least" 205 million pounds ($281 million), compared to 300 million ($411.8 million) last year.

German foreign Minister Heiko Maas speaks in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The European foreign ministers also called on mercenaries and foreign fighters to leave the country immediately. Ad“This (withdrawal) is indispensable so that Libya can regain its sovereignty and security,” said France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “We have talked about the tasks ahead and about how we can concretely support (Libya) where there is a wish for it,” said Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. EU top diplomats also stressed the need to reopen the country's Mediterranean coastal road linking the east and the west.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a press briefing at the end of a NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021. WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Germany on Wednesday that companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could face sanctions, as Washington tries to pressure Berlin to pull its support for the controversial Russian-backed energy project. The secretary said he wanted to make sure during his conversation with Maas that there was "no ambiguity" in the U.S. position on the pipeline. "The pipeline divides Europe, it exposes Ukraine and Central Europe to Russian manipulation and coercion and it goes against Europe's own stated energy security goals," Blinken said. Berlin has resisted pressure from Washington to pull its support for the project.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, left, talks to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas during a European Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Monday, March 22, 2021. (Aris Oikonomou/Pool Photo via AP)BRUSSELS – The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions Monday on a number of Myanmar officials accused of involvement in the country's military coup and the ensuing crackdown on protesters. The EU announced penalties on 11 officials, including 10 top military officers. Ten of the 11 targeted with asset freezes and travel bans by the EU are senior members of the Myanmar Armed Forces. AdMyanmar’s military junta prevented Parliament from convening on Feb. 1.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas speaks at the foreign ministry in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 prior to his attendance of the virtual human rights council in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)BERLIN – Germany's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Iran to accept diplomatic overtures coming from the West in order to preserve the 2015 nuclear accord. "In the end, Iran needs to understand that what’s important is to de-escalate and accept the offer of diplomacy that’s on the table, including from the United States,” Maas said. "But we still want to use these three months, together with other partners in the nuclear agreement, to discuss step by step how the U.S. can return to this accord,” Maas said. "With or without agreements – we will do everything so that you will not arm yourselves with nuclear weapons.”

(Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP, Pool)BERLIN – The German government is preparing the way for the country's troops in Afghanistan — the second-biggest contingent in a NATO force — to stay in place until next year if needed. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new draft mandate that would enable German troops to stay until Jan. 31, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. German troop deployments overseas require parliamentary approval, which is typically granted on an annual basis. Seibert said that the maximum level of 1,300 German troops is unchanged in the new mandate. Germans will elect a new parliament on Sept. 26, but it typically takes weeks or even a few months before a new coalition government is in place.

Besides signaling Thursday a willingness to talk with Iran, the administration also reversed Trump’s determination that all U.N. sanctions against Iran had been restored. He's expected to address the U.S. stance on the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal, the war in Afghanistan and the economic and national security challenges posed by Russia and China. The U.S. has not participated in a meeting of those participants since Trump withdrew from the deal and began steadily ramping up sanctions on Iran. The Trump administration had imposed the severe restrictions, which essentially confined them to their U.N. mission and the U.N. headquarters building in New York. “It is concerning the Biden Administration is already making concessions in an apparent attempt to re-enter the flawed Iran deal," he said.

In addition to signaling a willingness to talk with Iran, the administration also reversed Trump’s determination that all U.N. sanctions against Iran had been restored. The U.S. has not participated in a meeting of those participants since Trump withdrew from the deal and began steadily ramping up sanctions on Iran. The Trump administration had imposed the severe restrictions, which essentially confined them to their U.N. mission and the U.N. headquarters building in New York. “It is concerning the Biden Administration is already making concessions in an apparent attempt to re-enter the flawed Iran deal," he said. In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani expressed hope Thursday that the Biden administration will rejoin the accord and lift the U.S. sanctions that Washington re-imposed under Trump, according to state television.

(UNTV via AP)PARIS – Top European and U.S. officials urged Iran on Thursday to allow continued United Nations nuclear inspections and stop nuclear activities that have no credible civilian use. Iran is “playing with fire,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who took part in talks Thursday in Paris with his British and French counterparts. Iran has said it will stop part of International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of its nuclear facilities next week if the West doesn’t implement its own commitments under the 2015 deal. The 2015 accord is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The head of the IAEA is scheduled to travel to Iran this weekend to find a solution that allows the agency to continue inspections.

LONDON – The top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States met Friday for the first time in almost three years as the European allies welcome America’s return to center stage in world affairs under President Joe Biden. Britain’s Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department said the foreign ministers of the three European nations and the U.S. secretary of state held virtual talks on topics that included Iran, China, Russia, Myanmar, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The last time the top foreign affairs officials from the four countries met as a quartet was in April 2018. The meeting of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came a day after Biden told U.S. diplomats at the State Department: “America is back. One of Biden's first acts as president was reversing Trump's withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord.

"Vaccinated people should be allowed to exercise their basic rights again," Maas told the country's biggest tabloid, "Bild am Sonntag." "Interventions in civil liberties must always be well justified," a spokesman for the ministry told Germany's dpa news agency. Signs indicate closure due to coronavirus restrictions in Hesse, Germany, January 20, 2021. Demonstrators gather to a protest against Germany's coronavirus restrictions at Alexander Square, in Berlin, Germany, January 09, 2021. "It's not about privileges, but about fundamental rights," German Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Peter Liese told the magazine Der Spiegel.

For Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the cocoon has come undone with remarkable speed. AdvertisementAs the months-long protest movement continues, the reverence long demanded of Thailand’s monarchy is breaking down in ways big and small. As the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years, Vajiralongkorn was destined to inherit the throne. AdvertisementIn the picturesque southern state of Bavaria, Vajiralongkorn, who has been married four times, is said to have purchased a villa near pristine Lake Starnberg in the town of Tutzing in 2016. Royal bearers carry King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a palanquin during his 2019 coronation.

FILE PHOTO: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends an event on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 24, 2020. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseBERLIN (Reuters) - Strengthening the World Health Organization is one of the best investments, Germanys foreign minister said on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday halted funding to the Geneva-based organisation. Trump made the move over the WHOs handling of the coronavirus pandemic, drawing condemnation from infectious disease experts as the global death toll mounted. The virus knows no borders, Heiko Maas said on Twitter. One of the best investments is to strengthen the @UN, especially the under-funded @WHO, for example for developing and distributing tests and vaccines.

Zoom has seen enormous growth as more and more workers have been instructed to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic. CNBC Make It rounded up a list of insurance companies that have announced initiatives for drivers during the current coronavirus health crisis. Megan Leonhardt12:02 pm: McDonald's relationship with US franchisees is fraying over coronavirus reliefThe coronavirus pandemic is straining McDonald's relationship with its U.S. franchisees once again. "Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds," Gates said on Twitter early Wednesday morning. Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will suspend funding to the WHO while it reviews the agency's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.