Germany party

The German Social Democratic Party (GSDP) won the Bundestag election, ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, the DPA reported, citing data posted on the federal election commission's website after the vote count.

The SDP receives 25.7 percent of the vote, its best result in years.

The head of Germany's national labor agency says the country needs significantly more skilled immigrants to plug gaps in the work force as the population ages, AP reports.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's heir apparent shook up German politics on Feb. 10 by declaring she would step down as the governing party's leader and not run for chancellor, fueling uncertainty in the country seen as Europe's anchor of stability amid Brexit and pressure from the far right.

The three parties exploring a possible coalition in Germany face an early test of their willingness to compromise on Thursday when they try to hammer out a common stance on deeply divisive immigration and asylum policy, Reuters reports. 

Thousands of Germans spontaneously started protests after the far-right Alternative to Germany party turned into a third political force and joined parliament for the first time, reports German news agencies. 

More than 1,000 criminal complaints for high treason have been filed against German Chancellor Angela Merkel since the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, local media reported yesterday.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Aug. 28 sharply condemned a leader of the right-wing populist AfD party who called for an official with Turkish roots to be "dumped" in Anatolia, saying such comments recall Germany's "worst memories."

Social democrat candidate Martin Schulz has better prospects to become Germany's Chancellor in the election this autumn, a new poll shows.

Some 49% of Germans wish that Schulz would get the office, while just 38% would prefer Merkel to keep it.

It appears that the people of the German Province of Pomerania have revolted by voting for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, leaving the Christian Democrats in third place in last Sunday's state legislature election. The outcome of those elections, in fact, prompted some to hasten to see it as the beginning of the end for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political career.

Authorities rescued several hundred migrants from the Aegean Sea off eastern Greek islands in relatively calm waters on Nov. 7, also reporting the death of a toddler.

The boy, aged 2-3 years, was found off the coast of Lesbos fully clothed, including boots, and wearing an orange life jacket, the Greek coast guard said in a statement.