MUNICH (Reuters) – The leader of the Syrian opposition was expected to meet U.S., Russian and U.N. officials on Saturday at a Munich conference which may provide a rare chance to overcome differences on how to end Syria’s civil war.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, head of the Syrian National Coalition Moaz Alkhatib, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were all expected to meet – but not necessarily all at the same table, as the opposition hoped.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A female journalist’s allegations that a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition made sexist comments about her cleavage in a bar one year ago have stirred a debate about the relationship between reporters and politicians in Germany.

Rainer Bruederle, the 67-year-old parliamentary leader of the Free Democrats (FDP), junior partners in the coalition, was reported by Stern magazine this week to have told one of its reporters she could “really fill a dirndl” – the low-cut Bavarian traditional dress.

BERLIN/PARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s European partners
heaped scorn on Prime Minister David Cameron’s demand for
radical reform of the EU and promise of an “in-out” referendum
on UK membership, calling it reckless and ignorant of EU
decision making.

“If Britain wants to leave Europe we will roll out the red
carpet for you,” quipped French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius,
a barbed riposte to Cameron who last year used the same phrase
to invite wealthy French tax exiles to Britain.

BERLIN/PARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s European partners
told David Cameron on Wednesday his demand for radical reform of
the EU and an “in-out” referendum on UK membership showed a
selfish and ignorant attitude.

France went so far as to call Britain’s bluff and say it was
free to leave. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he had told
a recent meeting with British businessmen: “If Britain wants to
leave Europe we will roll out the red carpet for you.”

BERLIN, Jan 21 (Reuters) – If Angela Merkel’s conservatives
draw any lesson from the latest election setback in Lower Saxony
state for her bid for a third term as chancellor, it is this:
don’t bet that her popularity will automatically translate into
votes.

Encouraged by half-Scottish state premier David McAllister’s
confident campaign, Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) thought
they could afford to give supporters tacit approval to split
their ballots to save their struggling Free Democrat (FDP)
allies.

BERLIN, Jan 15 (Reuters) – An election on Sunday in
Germany’s second-biggest state will be a crucial test of
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chances of winning a third term in
the autumn.

It will also showcase the man who may prove best-placed to
succeed her as leader of the CDU, the country’s biggest
conservative party – and possibly even as chancellor.

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany signaled on Wednesday it was ready to back plans for the European Central Bank to be made the chief supervisor of banks, raising the prospect of a breakthrough on the European Union’s most ambitious financial reform.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the German cabinet he was “optimistic” about a deal ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, a German official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BERLIN (Reuters) – The president of Kyrgyzstan warned in his first visit to the West on Tuesday his central Asian republic would suffer the kind of turmoil seen in the south of the region unless it consolidated democratic reforms.

“If we don’t develop democracy further in Central Asia or succeed in building a parliamentary democracy in Kyrgyzstan, then a new Afghanistan will arise in Central Asia,” President Almazbek Atambayev told a joint news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

HANOVER, Germany, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Aygul Ozkan, the
daughter of a Turkish tailor, is the new face of Germany’s
ruling conservatives.

Her election to the leadership board of the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU) represents a facelift for a party that
has for decades been dominated by white, Christian,
predominantly male politicians.

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) – Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) put on a show of total unity at a congress on Tuesday, re-electing Angela Merkel as party leader by a record margin as she prepares to fight for a third term as chancellor.

Merkel, at the height of her popularity, was returned unopposed as CDU chairwoman with 97.9 percent of votes from delegates who stood and applauded her for nearly eight minutes after she lauded Germany’s economic resilience in the euro crisis and promised to fight for jobs and prosperity.