JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged on Sunday that her country would preserve its post-Holocaust commitment to Israel, which hailed her as a “moral compass” for Europeans at times divided over its Middle East conflicts.
Merkel, making her eighth and final visit to Israel as she concludes her 16-year term, met Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and was scheduled to tour the Yad Vashem memorial to the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World World Two.
Germany has been a leading postwar European ally of Israel and Merkel has sought to cultivate security and economic ties, though she has differed with Israel on policies concerning the Palestinians and Iran.
“I want to use this opportunity to emphasise that the topic of Israel’s security will always be of central importance and a central topic of every German government,” she told Bennett at a private meeting, according to a transcript issued by his office.
Reuters
2nd October 2026
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon, the latest in a series of faith-related changes he has made at the department.
Hegseth...
2nd October 2026
Riot police clashed with high school students in cities across France on Friday, as President Emmanuel Macron's government battled to contain increasingly violent protests over classroo...
2nd October 2026
Morning Briefing
Chief Justice urges political agreement on successor
Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti has urged political leaders to agree on his successor, while warning that delays, ...
1st October 2026
Updated 0930
Health centres need more staff, not longer hours, doctors say
Opening more health centres at night would not address the main pressures facing Malta’s healthcare syste...
25th June 2026
The European Commission has unveiled an ambitious package of tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax rules across the European Union, reducing compliance burdens for businesses and strength...
10th June 2026
The European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact enters into force on 12 June, ushering in the most significant reform of the bloc's migration framework in years and placing renewed em...
2nd October 2026
Authentic Brands Group has approached Mattel about a takeover that could value the Barbie maker at around $6 billion or more, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Authentic...
2nd October 2026
Oil prices fell about 3% and European gasoil futures dropped over 5% on Friday after reports of talks on additional diesel and crude stock releases, easing concerns over tight global e...
5th August 2026
Artificial intelligence has already transformed industries such as finance and education, but one of its most important tests may come in medicine: discovering new drugs.
Pharmaceutic...
2nd August 2026
Malta’s new pay transparency regulations, which came into effect on the 5th of June, aim to strengthen fairness and equality in the workplace, but employers are warning that the rushed i...
1st October 2026
The Malta Institute of Accountants held its 62nd Annual General Meeting on 24th September 2026 at Villa Arrigo, during which seven of its members were elected to its Council.
The elec...
1st October 2026
From today, Malta starts facing another major increase in the cost of moving goods to and from Europe, with the combined EU ETS, FuelEU and BAF surcharge set to reach an estimated annual...
3rd September 2026
Fears of renewed escalation gripped the Middle East on Wednesday after the United States and Iran exchanged their biggest barrage since July, with Washington striking Iran's southern co...
4th August 2026
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he had called off planned U.S. strikes on Iran, saying renewed negotiations had raised hopes of easing the conflict and reopening ship...
25th June 2026
At least 32 people have been killed and more than 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 — struck central Venezuela seconds apart, causing widespread destruct...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
14th September 2026
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he expected Moscow to escalate the war in "in the coming weeks", following Russian strikes that hit a Warsaw-bound train in Ukraine, just two kil...
10th September 2026
The departure from Moldova of a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Norway was delayed when authorities closed the country's airspace over a drone alert, a Moldov...