Germany's president dissolves parliament, sets national election for Feb. 23
Voice of America
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech on his decision to dissolve the parliament at Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Dec. 27, 2024. FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Dec. 16, 2024.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered parliament dissolved and set new elections for Feb. 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition.
FILE - This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021.
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government patrols an area near to a security checkpoint in Homs, Syria, Dec. 26, 2024.
This handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on Dec. 26, 2024, shows firefighters putting out a fire after an explosion in a residential building from a Russian shelling in Bilozerka village, Kherson region.
FILE — North Koreans on a bus say goodbye to their South Korean relatives after the Separated Family Reunion Meeting in North Korea, Aug. 26, 2018. The U.S. Congress did not pass a bill that would have reunited Korean Americans with their families in North Korea.
FILE — Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki attends a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 15, 2023. Afwerki and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia met in Asmara, Eritrea, on Dec. 25, 2024, and discussed issues of mutual concern.
Rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, on Dec. 26, 2024, after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau. An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashes near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 25, 2024, in this image from video. (Social media via Reuters) Damage in the wreckage of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 25, 2024, is seen in this image from video. (Social media via Reuters)
Ten people were killed in a Nigerian military airstrike in Sokoto state on Dec. 25, 2024.
Security forces of the newly formed Syrian government man a checkpoint in downtown Homs, Syria, Dec. 26, 2024.
FILE - Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, current chairman of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community, SADC, is pictured at Mount Hampden in Zimbabwe, Nov. 2024, during a SADC meeting. Mnangagwa said the post-election violence in Mozambique must end. FILE - Protesters burn tires after Mozambique's ruling party, FRELIMO, retains power in contested election in Maputo, Oct. 24, 2024.
People wait for the arrival of the Ocean Queen train carrying family members of people killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, for a memorial service in Peraliya on Dec. 26, 2024, on the 20th anniversary of the disaster.