US troops to stay in Germany

THE German government has welcomed President Joe Biden’s decision to formally halt the planned withdrawal of US forces from Germany, arguing that having the troops stationed there is “in our mutual interest”. Last year, then-president Donald Trump announced he was going to pull out about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 US troops stationed in Germany, but the withdrawal never began. Mr Biden said this week that the pullout would be halted until defence secretary Lloyd Austin reviews America’s troop presence around the globe.