Germany

BERLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Germany's intelligence service chiefs warned on Monday that China could use stakes in critical infrastructure as leverage to pursue political aims amid a debate in Berlin over whether to let Chinese shipping company Cosco invest in Hamburg port.

Germany's Greens-run economy ministry wants to veto Cosco's bid to buy a stake in one of the three terminals in Germany's most important port, while the Social Democrat (SPD)-run chancellery is more in favour, according to government sources.

BERLIN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called for an expanded European Union, telling a gathering of European social democrats that it would then be able to better pull its weight in global affairs.

Since assuming office, Scholz has made European Union expansion to include the Balkans and others nations a major plank of his foreign policy. It has taken on more urgency since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which became a candidate for EU membership early this summer.

BERLIN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Sweden has rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany to look into the recent ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, a Swedish prosecutor investigating the leaks, said.

Mats Ljungqvist, the prosecutor involved in Sweden's criminal investigation into the Nord Stream leaks in the Swedish economic zone, said Sweden was already co-operating with Denmark and Germany on the matter.

BERLIN, October 14. /TASS/: Germany, Sweden and Denmark gave up plans to jointly investigate the sabotage at the Nord Stream pipelines and will go it alone, Germany’s ARD television channel reported on Friday, citing sources in the German government.

The report said Sweden was the first to leave the joint investigation team, as it allegedly was wary of potential leaks. Denmark followed suit.

"Now each country is conducting its own investigation," ARD said.

BERLIN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to dismiss the country's cybersecurity chief due to possible contacts with people involved with Russian security services, German media reported late on Sunday, citing government sources.

Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal information security agency, could have had such contacts through the Cyber Security Council of Germany, various outlets reported.

BERLIN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Germany will deliver the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defence systems to Ukraine within days, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Monday.

"The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and the many other cities show how important it is to supply Ukraine with air defence systems quickly," Lambrecht said in a statement.

"Russia's attacks with missiles and drones terrorize the civilian population in particular. That is why we are now providing support especially with air defence weapons."

BERLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Germany will ensure the European Union freezes the assets of those responsible for a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran and bans their entry to the bloc, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told a German Sunday newspaper.

Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic have submitted 16 proposals for new EU sanctions against Iran for its clampdown on protests ignited by the death in policy custody of a young woman, a German foreign ministry source said last week.

BERLIN (AP) — A major German state is voting Sunday in an election that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left party hopes will bring some relief from poor recent nationwide poll showings as the country faces high inflation and worries about energy supplies this winter.

BERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Cables vital for the rail network were intentionally cut in two places causing a near three-hour halt to all rail traffic in northern Germany on Saturday morning, in what authorities called an act of sabotage without identifying who might be responsible.

The federal police are investigating the incident, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, adding the motive for it was unclear.

BERLIN (AP) — Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, has lost its last remaining external power source as a result of renewed shelling and is now relying on emergency diesel generators, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the plant’s link to a 750-kilovolt line was cut at around 1 a.m. Saturday. It cited official information from Ukraine as well as reports from IAEA experts at the site, which is held by Russian forces.