The US-made fifth-generation F-35 warplane reportedly continues to face a raft of mechanical issues, although it has been developed for several decades with a budget of over $1 trillion. The German radar-maker Hensoldt has claimed that it managed to track two US stealth fighter jets F-35 from a pony farm for almost 100 miles (about 150 kilometres) during an air show, the website C4ISRNet reports. [...]

Investigative journalist Jurij Kofner is a German citizen. To question the extent to which his country’s policy decisions are influenced by America’s agenda, he explores Germany’s post-war history to understand how relations with the US were formed. He also looks into the dynamics of the two countries’ cooperation under the umbrella of NATO [...]

Germany takes its own approach to relations with China and won’t bow to US demands and pressure over unrest in Hong Kong, analysts told RT, as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Beijing to talk trade. [...]

The US-German friendship has taken a nosedive. A recent survey commissioned by Atlantik-Brücke and conducted by the polling firm Civey found that 85 percent of respondents rate relations between the two countries as poor to very poor. [...]

Three-quarters of Germans say that a US troop pullout won’t leave them defenseless, but almost as many believe their own army would be of little effect, a poll found, amid reports that Washington may move its assets to Poland. [...]

Earlier, key European powers Germany, France and the UK appeared to snub Washington’s requests for them to join a US-led mission against “Iranian aggression” in the Persian Gulf, with the three countries signaling support for a European-led security effort to “protect” commercial vessels operating in the region instead. [...]

Germany will refuse to take part in a US-led maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced. Maas said that there “cannot be a military solution” to the current crisis in the Persian Gulf. [...]

Deutsche’s net income also dropped by over 40 percent to €231 million in the second quarter, year-on-year - the lender is predicted to report a full-year loss for 2019. Deutsche shares fell 2.4 percent in response to the results. [...]

China has managed to outperform the US and the UK in a German ranking of the world’s most reliable trade partners, compiled from the latest survey of 2,000 German companies by Frankfurt-based Commerzbank. [...]

While the European Parliament elections are approaching with stakes being high, German MEP and former chairman of the National Democratic Party (NPD) Udo Voigt has spoken about the party's plans for the next legislative term, as well as its priorities and concerns. [...]

A massive political scandal involving Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has erupted, promoting the senior official to resign. [...]

Berlin’s failure to meet the alliance’s agreement to spend 2% of GDP on defence has been a source of tension between Germany and the US. Angela Merkel earlier pledged to boost military spending up to 1.5 percent of GDP by 2024. But the budget plan, introduced in Berlin, suggests that the expenditures will be decreasing after a rise next year. [...]

Washington has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on all parties related to or working on Nord Stream 2, with President Donald Trump accusing Germany of being a “captive” of Russia and urging Berlin to halt its cooperation on the $11-billion project. [...]

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Mexico and Germany oppose any scenario of military intervention in Venezuela, believing that it would lead to catastrophic consequences, the two countries’ foreign ministers said at the joint press conference on Thursday. [...]

Earlier, speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence boasted about "renewed American leadership on the world stage," while talking up sanctions against Russia, tough tariffs against China, 'confrontation' with Iran, and US intentions to withdraw from the INF Treaty. [...]

Investments by German businesses in the Russian economy exceeded €3 billion in 2018, marking the highest level since before the financial crisis more than a decade ago, according to the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce. [...]

The German Ambassador to the United States has asked the US Congress to hold back new sanctions against two of Russia’s biggest gas corporations, as further penalties may put energy security of the European Union in jeopardy. [...]

This is going to get very ugly. Germany is openly defying US President Trump's demands to spend more on its NATO budget. Already the American ambassador to the country is crying foul, prompting German calls for his expulsion. Of all the countries in the European Union, it is Germany that's been mostly on the receiving end of Trump's wrath since he entered the White House. In two years, the bilater [...]

The fact that German investments in Russia hit a ten-year record high in 2018 shows that the pressure Washington has exerted on Europe failed to discourage German businesses from returning to the Russian market, analysts believe. [...]

From his very first day, Donald Trump’s emissary Richard Grenell has evoked discontent in Germany with remarks some considered blatant blackmail. The irritation has peaked over recent months as he has threatened to cut sharing intelligence data with Germany for cooperation with Huawei and warned companies, involved in Nord Stream 2, of sanctions. [...]

Although Berlin has sided with the US and recognised self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, it is keeping Otto Gebauer, whom he picked to represent Venezuela in Germany, in limbo and has not granted the representative key diplomatic status. Spain, above all, has reportedly urged fellow EU member states not to recognise him. [...]

Berlin seems to be losing patience with the US ambassador who didn’t mince his words over German defense spending. A high-ranking MP demanded that the envoy be sent home because he acts “like an occupation commissioner.” [...]