AP PHOTOS: Germany springs to life in vivid scenes of nature

As the sun bleeds into daylight or fades toward night, AP photographer Michael Probst is often on the hunt for serene scenes near his home in Frankfurt, Germany that evoke a sense of wonder. Nature comes alive in the vibrant yellow of a pollen-laden bee approaching a sunflower or a...

FIFA teams up with UN health agency for campaign to educate world soccer about concussion

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA teamed up with the World Health Organization on Wednesday for a campaign to educate the soccer industry about the risks of concussion injuries. “Concussion is a public health issue of concern at all levels of football, and many other sports, requiring greater...

German opposition Christian Democrats tap leader Friedrich Merz as their candidate for chancellor

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union announced Tuesday that it has chosen its leader, Friedrich Merz, to be its candidate for chancellor in next year's national election. The decision sets the stage for a possible challenge of Chancellor Olaf...

Germany's Christian Democratic Union taps Friedrich Merz as its candidate for chancellor in next national election

Germany begins conducting checks at all its land borders

KEHL, Germany (AP) — Germany on Monday began random checks at its borders with five Western European nations as it seeks to crack down on irregular migration, expanding a system of mobile border controls that are already in place at four other borders. The checks began at the...

Germany signs agreement with Kenya to bring in skilled workers and plug labor market gaps

BERLIN (AP) — German and Kenyan officials signed an agreement Friday in Berlin to promote the recruitment of skilled workers who can fill gaps in Germany's labor market, and to facilitate the repatriation of Kenyans who don't have the right to stay in Germany. The agreement was...

Central Europe braces for heavy rains and flooding forecast over the weekend

PRAGUE (AP) — Central European nations braced on Friday for severe flooding forecast to hit the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary over the weekend. Czech authorities erected metal barriers or protective walls from sandbags, while water was released from...

Wolfgang Gerhardt, who led Germany's pro-business Free Democrats, dies at 80

BERLIN (AP) — Wolfgang Gerhardt, a politician who led Germany's pro-business Free Democrats from 1995 to 2001, died on Friday at the age of 80. Gerhardt's death was announced by Christian Lindner, the current head of the Free Democrats, a small party that has been a coalition...

Islamic extremist plotted to attack German soldiers during their lunch break, prosecutors say

BERLIN (AP) — An alleged Islamic extremist has been arrested in connection with plotting an attack on German soldiers during their lunch break in Munich, killing as many of them as possible and causing a feeling of insecurity among the larger population, authorities said Friday. ...

A tiny village has commemorated being the first Dutch place liberated from World War II occupation

MESCH, Netherlands (AP) — Walking arm-in-arm with the Dutch queen, American World War II veteran Kenneth Thayer returned Thursday to the tiny village that he and others in the 30th Infantry Division liberated from Nazi occupation exactly 80 years ago. Thayer, now 99, visited Mesch,...