A member of the Iraqi government chose the visit of Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday to criticise European countries that encourage Christians to leave the war-torn nation.
A US Army deserter seeking asylum in Germany based on his moral opposition to the Iraq invasion is confident his request will be granted after a gruelling nine-hour hearing, his lawyer said Thursday.
The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia will take on some 540 Iraqi refugees in the coming weeks, state integration minister Armin Laschet said on Thursday in Düsseldorf.
The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its violent and chaotic aftermath left behind not just blood, death and destruction, but also deep psychological scars for many.
Despite all its denials, Germany is said to have been instrumental in helping the US military wage its war against Iraq – after a former American general thanked the secret service for its help.
US Army deserter André Lawrence Shepherd has applied for asylum in Germany, his lawyer told reporters on Thursday. Shepherd said he did not want to participate in a war that violates international law.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be the first German foreign minister to visit Baghdad next year since Berlin's opposition to the Iraq war. The visit is seen as a strong sign of support for US president-elect Barack Obama's Middle East policy.
Anticipating likely requests by US president-elect Barack Obama, an official at the German Foreign Ministry said on Thursday Berlin would not increase its military and civilian operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A US soldier stationed in Germany was sentenced to eight months in prison Thursday for his role in the killings of four blindfolded Iraqi detainees last year, an army spokeswoman said.
A US soldier was sentenced in Germany on Thursday to seven months in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the deaths of four detainees in Iraq last year, an US Army spokeswoman said.
Three US soldiers from a battalion based in Germany have been charged with premeditated murder in an alleged incident in Baghdad in spring of 2007, US Army officials announced on Wednesday in Grafenwöhr.
US presidential hopeful Barack Obama will on Thursday kick off a European tour in Berlin, where he can expect a rapturous welcome amid a deep yearning on the continent for change in Washington.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and German bosses have a dinner date Tuesday following a visit this month by Economy Minister Michael Glos to Baghdad, signifying that German-Iraqi trade is back in business.
Germany will this week press for the European Union to offer asylum to more Iraqi refugees, and especially Christians, Germany's interior minister said on Sunday.
Hundreds of peace activists took the streets of major German cities on Saturday in traditional Easter marches. This year, the focus was on Iraq and Afghanistan.
