Germany in Brief

Germany to send 350 soldiers to Congo

German Defense Minister Peter Struck said Friday Germany would send up to 350 soldiers to take part in the EU-led peacekeeping mission in civil war-torn Congo. The minister however made clear the troops wouldn’t be involved in military combat, but would reinforce the mission with logistics, food and paramedics. The minister added the German army would provide five Transall military planes for the peacekeeping mission and that a German base camp was already being constructed in neighboring Uganda. The German parliament is expected to discuss the mandate next week. With 1,400 troops, France is providing the lion’s share of the EU operation "Artemis" that is expected to secure the violence-scarred town of Bunia in north eastern Congo.

Suitcase bomb in Dresden was explosive

The head of the State Criminal Authority in Dresden, Peter Raisch confirmed Friday that a suitcase bomb discovered a week ago at the city’s main railway station was fully functional. Raisch told the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that the bomb was meant to be exploded at the station with the help of a timed detonator. Raisch said that all the required components including explosives containing traces of TNT, commercial tripwires and two electric fuses were found in the suitcase, which was blasted by security officials using water cannons. The police still didn’t have clues to possible motives. "We are considering all the possibilities from an irrational culprit to a politically-motivated crime," German Interior Minister Otto Schily also announced Friday that video monitoring on German railway platforms would be stepped up in the future.

German soccer national 11 under fire

The German national soccer team, which narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat against the largely amateur Faroe Islands in their Euro 2004 qualifier on Thursday, is heading into summer vacation with stinging criticism ringing in their ears. The top-selling tabloid Bild said Friday it was a mystery why professionals with salaries amounting to millions weren’t in a position to outplay a group of ice-cream sellers, shepherds and students. Flak also came from Franz Beckenbauer, former captain and President of Germany’s 2006 World Cup organizing committee. "We are back to where we were before the World Cup. I really doubt that we can make it in 2006," Beckenbauer told soccer magazine Kicker. Germany needed 89 minutes to score against the north Atlantic side when Miroslav Klose scored on a header. He was followed two minutes later by an insurance goal by Fredi Bobic.