An Irishman’s Diary

‘We have no explanation why the police acted like a US swat team,’ say his family

Media investigation claims Tikhonova, who is on EU sanctions list, travels under two names

Former leader a pariah in Germany after refusing to condemn Putin over Ukraine

Alliance members confident Turkish concerns blocking bids can be overcome

State is lost in confusion between military neutrality and passive pacifism

Chamber overwhelmingly approves plan to join alliance in wake of war in Ukraine

Realities of Nato obligations could dampen support for membership among the more ambivalent Swedes

Public support among Finns and Swedes for joining Nato at record levels since February

Shock over Ukraine has seen decades-old Swedish scepticism about Nato melt away

The Nazi record of a senior German official was supressed in Adolf Eichmann's 1960s trial

Joining Nato is ‘giving away our crown jewels – our influence and standing in the world’

Hans Globke worked on Nuremberg Laws but later sought to ‘ward off talk of his past’

Cross-party paper finds few realistic alternatives to joining alliance ahead of Sunday’s decision

Finland to announce decision on joining by Sunday, adding momentum to Swedish debate

If Sweden and Finland join alliance, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta will be the only other EU outsiders

UK agrees to provide support to Finland and Sweden in case of Russian aggression

War memorial events across Germany overshadowed by Russia’s brutal invasion

German prosecutors ‘sure’ convicted rapist and child sex abuser killed missing girl

Threat of Russian invasion, attack and erratic leaders prompted construction of lair

Swedish leader says decision on Nato membership will be made next week

Images of Bergman, author Astrid Lindgren and Ikea founder used in Moscow campaign

Pacifists, philosophers and media are all weighing in on Berlin’s policy shift

State needs to triple military spending to stand chance of defending itself, says general

Prospect of third world war awakens old ghosts in country once trapped between Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union

State to proceed with membership ‘before summer’ as support for move rises to 62%

Each council could be mandated to develop a significant housing centre in their area

US convenes meeting of 40 countries amid reports Finland and Sweden applying to join Nato

Merkel’s legacy unravels as Germany reckons with its gas dependence and war response

Chancellor says he is trying to prevent ‘escalation that would lead to a third World War’

Ukrainian ambassador says options provided by Berlin did not include heavy equipment

Germany to provide money to equip Kyiv amid mounting pressure over lacklustre response

Attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol cut short while Chernihiv faces ‘catastrophe’

One Warsaw resident on the dangerous route he takes across the border with supplies

Russia’s Gazprom to sell German gas companies to fend off nationalisation threat

German-Israeli singer Gil Ofarim accused of lying about anti-Semitism at hotel

US releases one-third of its oil reserves in effort to stabilise crude prices

Amid praise for helping Ukraine, Warsaw mired in rule of law and refugee apartheid

Moscow accused of breaking promises to scale back military action as barrage intensifies

Falling out in alliance of four central European countries could hamper EU investigations

Professor fears state’s efforts to minimise risk of exploitation are not enough

Ukrainian negotiators at talks in Istanbul flag territorial concessions for first time

Refugees in Warsaw queue for registration numbers to start a new life none of them wanted

Abramovich reportedly poisoned at earlier talks as Biden says Putin comments due to ‘moral outrage’

Talks under way to buy version of Israeli system for intercepting long-range missiles

With little fuss, one family packed three rucksacks and walked out on their lives

Biden says he is not seeking regime change in Moscow after Warsaw speech drew anger

Politicians of all hues support ‘dictator’ remark while Polish media praises US president

Russian leader ‘a dictator bent on rebuilding an empire’ says Biden in Polish speech

Russia announces shift in its war to eastern Ukraine as UN says 10m people displaced

US president meets paratroopers and Andrzej Duda in highly symbolic visit

Entangling Germany with the Kremlin via gas pipes no longer looks like ‘just business’

Rule-of-law concerns fade as US talks with Warsaw set to focus on Russia and security

German leader defends purchasing Russian energy to avoid ‘massive danger’ for Europe

Death of last eyewitnesses a ‘great emotional loss’, says Berlin memorial official

Laureate for Irish Fiction discusses Thomas Mann, his Brooklyn sequel and need for Nato

Electric car maker Tesla opens European factory after 22 months of construction

Survivors express optimism that senior German cleric grasps scale of issue

Scholz era being shaped by war as government adapts in real time to a rapidly shifting world

Centre recalls post-war wave of German refugees, but resonates strongly with today’s Ukraine migration

Tesla has shaken up the German establishment with its new factory and disruptive zeal

‘If he should ever show up here again, he can turn on his heel . . . I’ve banned him for life’

Sixfold rise in infections in last fortnight as politicians engage in furious finger-pointing

In 1990, the ousted East German leader and his wife were taken in by a pastor and his family

Shares in Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall up 51% on pre-war levels to ‘all time high’

Ukrainian president calls on country to match words with more decisive deeds

Berlin Letter: Violinist Daniel Hope understands forced emigration and violence

Ukraine war triggers growing awareness that EU’s largest economy needs to cut its energy umbilical cord to Russia

Ex-chancellor pinning what’s left of his reputation on diplomatic all-or-nothing mission

Poles have helped more than two million Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion

Invasion has triggered a radical shift in how smaller countries frame their neutrality

German capital has seen some 13,000 displaced people arriving in past three days

Far-right party dubbed a ‘suspected extremist group’ and potential threat to democracy

Covid cases rise 55% to reach new record of 48,000 people within 24 hours

Decision to continue buying Russian energy as before attacked by opposition CDU

PM announces vote to end state’s EU defence opt-out amid growing fears in Europe

An Irishman’s Diary

Bram Stoker’s widow set precedent in going after unlicensed German production of film

Leader follows in footsteps of Schmidt and Schröder in challenging postwar pacifism

On the platform people stand with signs offering spare rooms and lifts in all directions

Gerhard Schröder is a long-time friend of Putin and sits on two Russian boards

22,000 additional Nato troops and their military equipment have been moved into eastern Europe

Country’s post-war culture of military caution has followed fiscal caution out the window

Saxony has always been proud of its connections to Putin

Protests as Cardinal Woelki becomes focus of growing anger among German Catholics

Swiss-headquartered fuel line company lays off 140 staff as war in Ukraine changes vista

Swiss banks have long been a favourite with wealthy Russians, holding over €10bn of their cash

EU to buy arms for Kyiv and aim sanctions at banks, media, air travel and oligarchs

Chancellor Olaf Scholz presents radical rethink of German foreign and energy policy

‘Berlin listened to Russian lies and believed, either due to a lack of imagination or because of pure self-interest on a massive s(...)

Hours after invasion German politicians lined up to concede they had been ‘too trusting’ towards Moscow

Boris Johnson promises decisive response to Putin’s choice of ‘bloodshed and destruction’

EU calls emergency summit as US warns that Moscow’s troops are ‘ready’ to attack

Last pro-Russian elements in SDP’s leftist wing have had a rude awakening

First round of sanctions against Russia targets 27 individuals and entities

Martin ‘taken aback’ by Putin’s speech, which he says is based on ‘old thinking’

German journalists ignore Martin and press the chancellor to explain just how tough his response will be on Ukraine

Martin doesn’t ‘readily agree’ with many criticisms of Helen Dixon’s record

Minister of State says he has sympathy for those who lost jobs after ‘trial by media’ over event

Taoiseach mostly ignored by German journalists focused on Russia’s latest move