BERLIN (Reuters) – Take a declining population, stir in fears of economic collapse, add a bestselling book on the perils of Muslim immigration and you have the ideal mix for a political scrap about the integration of minorities in Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition this year faces seven state elections, one of which for the first time pits established parties against a group founded by Germans of Turkish origin whose stated mission is to improve integration.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German resistance to bankrolling European bailouts is likely to stiffen this year as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s embattled conservatives face 25 million voters in state elections with an untested crop of politicians.

An unprecedented number of senior lawmakers have quit Merkel’s Christian Democrats CDU.L in recent months and the fate of the party is now tied to its leader as never before. Merkel will be anxious to downplay fears that German taxpayers could face additional burdens in Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German resistance to bankrolling European bailouts is likely to stiffen this year as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s embattled conservatives face 25 million voters in state elections with an untested crop of politicians.

An unprecedented number of senior lawmakers have quit Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in recent months and the fate of the party is now tied to its leader as never before. Merkel will be anxious to downplay fears that German taxpayers could face additional burdens in Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

By Dave Graham

BLAINSLIE, Scotland (Reuters Life!) – John Moffat’s sparkling eyes grow dim when he remembers the 2,000 sailors swallowed up by the Atlantic after his torpedo bombers consigned the German battleship Bismarck to its doom nearly 70 years ago.

“That still haunts me. It was a terrible sight. All these heads bobbing up and down in the huge waves, and not a chance in hell of being saved,” Moffat, 91, told Reuters in an interview.

MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s warned Spain on Wednesday that its debt could be downgraded and Portugal took steps to revive its economy amid concerns about euro zone debt contagion on the eve of a European Union summit.

Moody’s said it was worried about Spain’s high debt funding needs, its heavily indebted banks and its regional finances, but it did not expect Madrid would have to follow Greece and Ireland in seeking an EU bailout.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will remain at risk of attack in 2011 by Islamist militants trying to erode wavering support for military involvement in Afghanistan and to strike at the heart of the European economy.

For the past month, Germans have trudged about in the snow under the watchful gaze of hundreds of extra police stationed in transport hubs and other public places after the government unexpectedly raised its security alert.

BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Germany will remain at risk of
attack in 2011 by Islamist militants trying to erode wavering
support for military involvement in Afghanistan and to strike at
the heart of the European economy.

For the past month, Germans have trudged about in the snow
under the watchful gaze of hundreds of extra police stationed in
transport hubs and other public places after the government
unexpectedly raised its security alert. [ID:nLDE6AG14Q]

MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s warned Spain on Wednesday its credit rating could be downgraded, highlighting concerns about euro zone debt contagion on the eve of a European Union summit.

Moody’s said it was concerned about Spain’s high debt funding needs, its heavily indebted banks and its regional finances, but it did not expect Madrid would have to follow Greece and Ireland in seeking an EU bailout.

MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s warned Spain on Wednesday that its debt rating could be downgraded, pushing Spain back into the euro zone debt spotlight ahead of an EU leaders’ summit starting on Thursday.

Moody’s said it was concerned about Spain’s high debt funding needs, its heavily indebted banks and its regional finances, but said it did not expect Madrid to have to resort to an EU bailout like Greece and Ireland.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Dec 14 (Reuters) – The European Central
Bank could decide this week on whether to increase its capital
– giving it a cushion against any losses on its bond purchases
– after Germany threw its weight behind the idea on Tuesday.

The ECB’s policy-setting Governing Council will discuss a
possible capital hike when it meets on Wednesday and Thursday, a
euro zone central bank source said.