PARIS — Even ice cream, Italian gelato or Popsicles couldn't help this time. Temperature records that had stood for decades or even just days fell minute by minute Thursday afternoon and Europeans and tourists alike threw themselves into fountains, lakes, rivers, or the sea to escape a suffocating heat wave...
D-Day Veterans Revisit Normandy, Recall Horror and Triumph
Planes spread out across the sky, nearly wingtip to wingtip. A sniper's bullet whizzing by the ear. Squeezing a dying soldier's hand, so he knew he was not alone. Across three quarters of a century, the old veterans remember that epic day on the beaches of Normandy. For historians, D-Day...
US Pulls Nonessential Staff From Iraq Amid Mideast Tensions
BAGHDAD — The U.S. on Wednesday ordered all nonessential government staff to leave Iraq, and Germany and the Netherlands both suspended their military assistance programs in the country in the latest sign of tensions sweeping the Persian Gulf region over still-unspecified threats that the Trump administration says are linked to...
How Wilson’s Call to War Pulled America Onto a Global Stage
On April 2, 1917 President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. It was a somewhat surprising turn of events. Earlier in his presidency, Wilson coined the phrase “America First,” and his supporters proudly waved banners at the 1916 Democratic National...
Germany: Merkel Warns of Modern Racism on Kristallnacht 80th
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's main Jewish leader warned against tolerating modern-day anti-Semitism and racism as they marked the 80th anniversary Friday of the Nazis' anti-Jewish Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass," pogrom. On Nov. 9, 1938, Jews were terrorized throughout Germany and Austria. At least 91 people...
Angela Merkel Won’t Seek 5th Term as German Chancellor
BERLIN — Germany's Angela Merkel announced Monday that she will step down as head of her conservative party in December after 18 years and won't seek a fifth term as chancellor in 2021, launching a leadership transition in Europe's biggest economy. Merkel has led her conservative Christian Democratic Union since...
Germany Presses for EU Unity on Arms Sales Freeze to Saudis
BERLIN — A top German official pressed Monday for the European Union to show a united front on arms exports to Saudi Arabia after Berlin backed a freeze on such exports over the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that arms exports to Saudi Arabia "can't...
VW to Stop Making Iconic Beetle Next Summer
DETROIT — After selling it on and off in the U.S. for nearly seven decades, Volkswagen has decided to squash its iconic Beetle. The company's American unit announced Thursday that it would end global production of the third-generation bulbous bug in July of next year after offering two special editions...
New Bank System Could Protect Iran Nuclear Deal: German Official
BERLIN — Germany's foreign minister is calling for Europe to create a payments system independent of the United States, a move that could help keep alive the nuclear deal with Iran following the withdrawal of the U.S. Heiko Maas' suggestion was part of a wider-ranging piece for Wednesday's edition of...
With US Out, Other World Powers Negotiate Iran Nuclear Pact
VIENNA — Five world powers agreed with Iran on Friday to forge ahead with negotiations with the country and maintain its ability to export gas and oil as they seek to preserve a nuclear deal with Tehran despite the withdrawal of the United States. European Union foreign policy chief Federica...