German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder has adopted a Russian orphan, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Three-year-old Victoria, from St Petersburg, has been living at the Schroders' family home in Hanover in northern Germany for several weeks.
The chairman of Schroder's Social Democrat party, Franz Muentefering, confirmed the reports.
"I wish them all the best together," he told reporters.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Schroder's intention to adopt a Russian child.
"The decision was made fully in line with Russian law based on the decision of a Russian court," a Kremlin source told the Russian news agency Interfax, adding that Doris Schroder-Kopf, the chancellor's wife, was present in court for the final decision. It has been an emotional month for Schroder, who turned 60 in April and is facing almost weekly street demonstrations against his attempts to reform the flagging German economy.
Last week he visited for the first time the grave of his father, who was a conscript in the Nazi army and was killed by Romanian villagers during World War II.
It is not clear when Victoria arrived at the Schroder's home. Neighbors say that Schroder-Kopf has been seen carrying the toddler in the garden for several weeks, according to the German daily Bild.
It appears that the whole Schroder family flew to Russia a few weeks ago to collect the toddler.
The addition to the family was such a closely guarded secret that the German secret service that provides Schroder's bodyguards was told "the Schroders will be four" just before arriving at the plane to fly them home, Bild reported.
Schroder's last official visit to Russia was on July 8, when he led a delegation of about 30 top German businessmen on a one-day trip to meet Putin.
Victoria is the couple's second child. Schroder-Kopf, a 41- year old former journalist and the chancellor's fourth wife, has a 13-year-old daughter, Klara, from a previous relationship.
A successful children's author, Schroder-Kopf has dedicated herself to promoting children's causes and published a book of essays explaining politics to young Germans, called The Chancellor Lives in the Swimming Pool.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number