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Germany Tag

The United States and Poland have signed a landmark defense agreement on Saturday aimed at increasing U.S. troop presence in the country. Under the agreement, a thousand U.S. troops in Germany will be moved to Poland, raising their total strength to 5,500. The deal was inked by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak in Warsaw.

U.S. President Donald Trump has angered many German politicians and media commentators with his decision to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany. Defense Secretary Mark Esper laid out the plan on Wednesday.

Under the proposed pull-out, close to 6,400 troops will return to the U.S. and another 5,400 redeployed within Europe. 

Baden-Württemberg became the first German state to ban the burqa and other Sharia-mandated full-face coverings from its schools, local newspapers reported on Wednesday. The southern German state already forbids teaching staff to wear such garbs.

European mainstream media were united in their condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump's Fourth of July speech at Mount Rushmore. The coverage in the mainstream German, French, and British news outlets echoed each other, describing the speech as 'dark,' 'polarizing,' and 'divisive.'

Migrant mobs turned the German city of Stuttgart into a "war zone" as they attacked police and went on a looting spree on Sunday, German media reports. Rioters injured nineteen police officers as they yelled "Allahu Akbar" and pelted stones and smashed police vehicles.

German Chancellor 'rebuffed' U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to attend next month's G7 Summit, the German media reports. "As of today, considering the overall pandemic situation, she cannot agree to her personal participation on a trip to Washington," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday.

If you believe a new survey, Germans are turning to China in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Younger Germans now prefer China over the United States as an ally, the poll conducted by Kantar Public pollsters for Germany's Koerber Foundation found.

Europe witnessed a wave of anti-lockdown protests on Saturday. Germany saw a huge surge in demonstrations. Thousands came out in Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart against the measures imposed in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Warsaw, Poland and arrests were made in London's Hyde park, the European media reported.

Germany banned the Iran-sponsored terrorist group Hezbollah from operating in the country, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer disclosed on Thursday. The announcement came ahead of police raids on several mosques located across Germany. "Police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently" against Hezbollah backers, Seehofer confirmed.

European governments are moving towards the easing of Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns, media reports suggest. Many European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, have begun working on their respective "exit plans" to restore normalcy as the spread of coronavirus in their countries slows down.

Protests were held in Berlin and other German cities against the lockdown measures imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, around 1000 protesters came out in German capital Berlin and hundreds in the southern German cities of Stuttgart and Würzburg against restrictions in place since March 22, German newspapers reported.

After the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics, Germany has called off Oktoberfest set to take place between September 19 and October 4. With Germany struggling to contain Wuhan coronavirus, "the risk is simply too big," Bavarian state Prime Minister Markus Söder said while announcing his decision. "To live with coronavirus means to live carefully till there is a vaccine or a medicine," he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced strong support for the World Health Organization (WHO) after the United States cut its funding earlier this week. Chancellor Merkel "expressed her full support for the WHO," German government spokesman Steffan Seibert said on Thursday. German leader "defends the WHO's work following sharp criticism from Trump," German weekly Der Spiegel reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday rolled out a '"road map" for easing the nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. With the number of new infections and deaths starting to come down, Berlin wants to relax restrictive measures placed on public life and commercial activities. As a first step, the government will open schools and most shops on May 4.