ANNEGRET KRAMP-KARRENBAUER

A world without war, or even borders, for an entire generation of Europeans went up in smoke with Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Members of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, the party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have chosen prominent conservative Friedrich Merz as its new leader.

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party is turning to a ballot of its entire membership to choose a new leader after crashing to defeat and its worst-ever national election result in September.

NATO defense ministers are weighing what lessons to draw from the military mission in Afghanistan, including whether to even undertake major operations outside Europe and North America.

A leader of the Greens say the multiparty talks on forming a new German government have “a long way to go” and will have to bridge significant policy differences.

Germany's defense ministry says a company of the military’s guard battalion has been suspended from official duty amid an investigation of initiation rituals, suspected sexual abuse and far-right activity.

Angela Merkel, Germany’s first female chancellor, has been praised by many for her pragmatic leadership in a turbulent world and celebrated by some as a feminist icon.

American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul on Sunday targeting a suicide bomber in a vehicle who was aiming to attack the airport, U.S. officials said, as the United States nears the end of its military presence in the city.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, as many as 80% of people living with arthritis have trouble sleeping at night, and sometimes that can create a cycle of insomnia and pain. Dr. George Cyril, a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, joined "CBSN AM" to discuss how to manage arthritis and sleep.

___ROME — Italy’s foreign minister is warning allies against concentrating on blaming the U.S. administration for the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto tweeted on Tuesday that Finland’s most recent evacuation on Monday included also 40 persons from the European Union delegations in Afghanistan. ___ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that an inclusive political settlement is the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. ___COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide says the evacuation deadline in Afghanistan should be extended beyond Aug. 31. In neighboring Sweden, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that she too could not guarantee that they can help all those who want to get out.

BERLIN — The German military says it is concerned by the growing risk of attacks by the Islamic State group in Kabul. ___ROME — Italy’s foreign minister is warning allies against concentrating on blaming the U.S. administration for the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan. ___COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide says the evacuation deadline in Afghanistan should be extended beyond Aug. 31. In neighboring Sweden, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that she too could not guarantee that they can help all those who want to get out. ___CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said that Australia has helped evacuate more than 1,600 people from the Kabul airport in 17 flights since last Wednesday.

Sharply divided leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies have clashed over U.S. President Joe Biden’s insistence on withdrawing from Afghanistan by August 31 in the face of the Taliban takeover.

The first such deployment in almost 20 years is meant to uphold freedom of navigation in international waters, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

BERLIN — (AP) — The German military on Tuesday launched a “space command” tasked with overseeing satellites, watching for dangerous space junk and analyzing other countries' activities. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer launched the new operation during a visit to its base at Uedem in western Germany. Kramp-Karrenbauer said that the term “Weltraumkommando,” or “space command,” might draw far-fetched associations with the novels of Jules Verne or starship Enterprise, but the reality is “far from being so sensational,” news agency dpa reported. The minister said space operations for Germany “are always defensive operations” - for example to ensure that infrastructure isn't endangered. The United States already has a Space Command, whose role is to conduct operations such as enabling satellite-based navigation and troop communication and providing warning of missile launches.

US Germany Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer at the Pentagon, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the U.S. military will allow Naval Academy graduate Cameron Kinley to pursue a career in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Acting Navy Secretary Tom Harker had denied Kinley's request to delay his commissioning. He will now be able to attend the Buccaneers' training camp later this month. Austin said Cameron will be enlisted in the Inactive Ready Reserve during his NFL career, after which “we look forward to welcoming him back inside the ranks as a naval officer.”Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. military will allow Naval Academy graduate Cameron Kinley to pursue a career in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Germany's last troops left Afghanistan Tuesday after a nearly 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer tweeted that the last Bundeswehr soldiers “left Afghanistan safely” Tuesday evening. The German military said that the last troops were on their way home via Tbilisi, Georgia, and that Brig. Gen. Ansgar Meyer, the last commander of the German contingent, was on board an Airbus A400M aircraft bringing them home.

BERLIN — (AP) — Germany’s defense minister said on Friday that 12 German troops and a soldier from another country were wounded following an attack on soldiers taking part in a United Nations mission in Mali. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said three of the soldiers were seriously wounded. All of the wounded soldiers were flown by helicopter to Gao, where they were being treated at German, French and Chinese medical facilities, the minister said. A German medevac plane will fly to Gao overnight to bring the wounded soldiers back to Germany on Saturday, said Kramp-Karrenbauer. Germany has hundreds of troops taking part in U.N. stabilization and European Union training missions in the West African nation.

Defense chief pulls entire infantry unit out of Lithuania over claims of "misconduct" at a booze-fueled hotel party.

BRUSSELS — (AP) — The European Union on Thursday authorized the United States, Canada and Norway to join a major military project aimed at speeding up the deployment of troops and military equipment around Europe. At a meeting in Brussels, EU defense ministers gave the greenlight for the three to join the 27-nation bloc’s “military mobility” project, led by the Netherlands and aimed at easing bureaucratic procedures that slow troop deployments considerably, whether by land, sea or air. Canada is leading a NATO battlegroup stationed in the region, near Russia’s border, and Norway is involved, too. It’s the first time that the EU will allow outside countries to join its official system of military projects and is a sign of improving EU-NATO cooperation. And we see this as another big step regarding trans-Atlantic connectivity and in the cooperation of European Union and NATO.”

BRUSSELS — (AP) — The European Union is set Thursday to allow the United States, Canada and Norway to join one of its military projects aimed at speeding up the deployment of troops and equipment around Europe. EU defense ministers will give the green light for the three to join the 27-nation bloc’s “military mobility” project, led by the Netherlands and aimed at easing bureaucratic procedures which slow troop deployments considerably. Canada is leading a NATO battlegroup stationed in the region, near Russia’s border, and Norway is involved, too. It’s the first time that the EU will allow outside countries to join its official system of military projects and is a sign of improving EU-NATO cooperation. And we see this as another big step regarding trans-Atlantic connectivity and in the cooperation of European Union and NATO.”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to pull all American troops from the country starting on May 1.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he is expanding the U.S. military presence in Germany by 500 troops and has stopped planning for large-scale troop cuts ordered by the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has formally stopped the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany that was ordered last year by the Trump administration but had never actually begun. Speaking at the State Department on Thursday, Biden said the troop pullout would be halted until Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin does a review of America's troop presence around the globe. AdTrump's order met resistance from Congress as well as from within the military, which has long relied on Germany as a key ally and base of operations. The Pentagon began a review, to determine which troops would be redeployed to other locations and which would remain in Germany. Austin said in a statement Thursday that the department will conduct a review of the U.S. military footprint around the globe.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)BERLIN – Germany is “highly valued” as a station for American soldiers, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in his first conversation with her since taking up his new post, the German Defense Ministry said Thursday. German officials have hoped that order will be rescinded by the new administration, and the German Defense Ministry said that in his call with Kramp-Karrenbauer on Wednesday, Austin “emphasized that Germany is highly valued as a station and that American soldiers feel very comfortable here." “The U.S. continues to consider its presence in Germany as an important part of joint security,” the Defense Ministry said in a readout of the call. About 34,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, which includes key American military facilities like the Ramstein Air Base and the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command. The Defense Department said Austin wanted to “reinforce the value the United States places on the bilateral defense relationship with one of our closest NATO Allies.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkels party is choosing a new leader on Saturday, eight months before voters decide who will succeed Merkel in a national election. (Odd Andersen/Pool via AP)BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party chose Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany’s most populous state, as its new leader Saturday. Laschet will have to build unity in the Christian Democratic Union, Germany's strongest party, after beating more conservative rival Friedrich Merz. Saturday's vote ends a nearly year-long limbo since outgoing leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who narrowly beat Merz in 2018 to succeed Merkel as CDU leader but failed to impose her authority, announced her resignation. Laschet has garnered mixed reviews in the pandemic, particularly as a vocal advocate of loosening restrictions after last year’s first phase.

Now her Christian Democratic Union party is seeking its second new leader since she quit that role in 2018. Current leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her resignation last February after failing to impose her authority on the party. Delegates from Germany's strongest party can choose Saturday between three main candidates who differ markedly, at least in style. This is Merz's second bid for the party leadership after he lost narrowly last time to Kramp-Karrenbauer, considered Merkel's preferred candidate. The CDU leader will be chosen by 1,001 delegates.

BERLIN – Germany's defense minister on Tuesday rejected Turkey's complaints over the search of a Turkish freighter in the Mediterranean Sea by a German frigate participating in a European mission, insisting that German sailors acted correctly. The German ship is part of the European Union's Irini naval mission, which is enforcing an arms embargo against Libya. German officials say that the order to board the ship came from Irini’s headquarters in Rome and that Turkey objected while the team was on board. Turkey says the search was “unauthorized and conducted by force” and insisted that its objections prior to the search were ignored. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer backed the German crew's actions.

BERLIN – Germany's defense minister said Tuesday that Europe must do more for its own protection, even as it seeks to ensure that the United States remains vested in the continent's security interests. “The idea of Europe's strategic autonomy goes too far if it feeds the illusion that we can ensure security, stability and prosperity in Europe without NATO and without the U.S.,” she said. France's President Emmanuel Macron recently insisted that the change of administration in the U.S. should be used as an opportunity to pursue Europe's strategic independence, not backtrack on it. “The United States will only respect us as allies if we are earnest, and if we are sovereign with respect to our defense," Macron told French magazine Le Grand Continent. Kramp-Karrenbauer said it's important for Europe to be able to conduct military operations, for example in Africa, independently of the United States.

The world is watching as millions of Americans cast their ballots for the next president on Tuesday. “In the American system, the last vote counts, and maybe the last vote changes the result," Borrell told Spanish National Television. "The battle over the legitimacy of the result — whatever it will look like — has now begun,” said the German defense minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. “Africa used to learn American democracy, America is now learning African democracy,” tweeted Nigerian Sen. Shehu Sani, reflecting a common view from some on a continent long used to troubled elections and U.S. criticism of them. ___AP journalists around the world contributed.

BERLIN Germany's defense minister on Friday described the planned withdrawal of some 12,000 U.S. troops from her country as regrettable, while suggesting it underlines the need for Europe to do more for its own security. American defense leaders said Wednesday that the U.S. will bring about 6,400 troops home and shift about 5,600 to other countries in Europe. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the need for more European integration in her response early Friday, and said she hopes to use Germany's current tenure of the European Union's rotating presidency to help make progress on security and defense policy. We are keeping German and European interests in view, she said in a statement. Esper said the Pentagon was also looking into moving U.S. Africa Command out of the German city.

BERLIN Germanys defense minister reportedly plans to restructure the countrys special forces unit after numerous allegations of far-right extremism. Die Welt and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported about 70 soldiers would be affected. Part of Germanys Bundeswehr military, the KSK was formed as an army unit in 1996 with a focus on anti-terrorism operations and hostage rescues from hostile areas. In January, the military reported 20 soldiers are under suspicion of being right-wing extremists. Gen. Markus Kreitmayr, told soldiers that he wouldnt tolerate extremism in the ranks.

MOSCOW Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed President Donald Trumps reported plan to withdraw more than a quarter of U.S. troops from Germany, saying it would help bolster security in Europe. Trump has reportedly signed off on a plan to cut the number of troops stationed in Germany from 34,500 to no more than 25,000. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters earlier this week that Berlin hadnt yet been informed of any U.S. troops pullout. Moscow has described the deployment of NATO forces near Russian borders as a top security threat. Zakharova strongly warned Washington against redeploying some of the troops from Germany to Poland, saying it would further exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects of dialogue between Russia and NATO.

If the U.S. goes ahead, however, she suggested the move would do more harm to NATO as a whole than to Germanys own defense. The fact is that the presence of U.S. soldiers in Germany serves the entire NATO alliance security, including Americas own security, she said. This would break down trans-Atlantic bridges.The days are long gone when hundreds of thousands of American troops were stationed in Germany as a bulwark against the possibility of a Soviet invasion. If this is confirmed, you have to ask yourself what impact this will have on NATO and the security architecture in Europe, Beyer said. Germany has been increasing its defense spending and the issue of troops had lain dormant for many months.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a televised interview at the hauptstadtstudio (Capital city studio) of public broadcaster ARD in Berlin, Thursday June 4, 2020. Merkel dismissed such talk in an interview Thursday with ZDF television. Really not.Presssed as to whether her decision stands, she said: Very firmly.The 65-year-old Merkel, who became chancellor in 2005, announced in October 2018 that she wouldn't seek another term. But she did say she planned to serve out her current term, which is due to end late next year. It remains unclear who will seek to replace Merkel as chancellor.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the one-time favorite to succeed Angela Merkel, confirmed Monday that she will not run for chancellor. Known colloquially as "AKK," the CDU leader said she will remain as defense minister until the end of the legislative period and chair of the CDU until another candidate is found. The announcement throws the CDU's political future, and that of Europe's largest economy, into doubt once Merkel steps down from the chancellorship in 2021. Kramp-Karrenbauer had taken over the party leadership in December 2018 and was widely seen as a successor to Merkel, who has led Germany since 2005. The politician was from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) but he has since stepped down from the role following the furor caused by the vote.