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The prospect of a united left electoral challenge has thrown the establishment parties in Germany into panic.

Stop the War Coalition convenor, Lindsey German, and chair of CND, Kate Hudson, have issued calls for anti-war protests during the G8

Following a disastrous defeat for the governing SPD, the equivalent of Britain’s Labour Party, in its North Rhine and Westphalia heartland, it has called for early elections in a desperate move to ward off rebellion in its ranks.

A new left wing party is contesting the regional elections in North Rhine and Westphalia in Germany this Sunday.

Lindsey German, Respect’s candidate for West Ham, won loud applause when she told a student hustings that we have to fight in the coming election to "make poverty history, make war history".

New Labour is facing a strong challenge from Respect in Newham, east London. Lindsey German is contesting West Ham for Respect and Abdul Khaliq Mian is standing in East Ham.

German filmmakers are making a new cinematic effort to come to terms with the Nazi years. In the last three months, two big productions have been box office hits — Downfall, which was released in Britain last week, and Sophie Scholl.

The Stop the War Coalition publicly launched its 19 March demonstration on Tuesday. Lindsey German was joined by Ray Hewitt (right), who joined the army at 16, fought in the first Gulf War, and is now a reservist in the British army. He has told the ministry of defence that he now wishes to be a conscientious objector, because he "will not fight in an illegal war in Iraq." George Solomou (left), the former TA soldier who refused to go to Iraq, also endorsed the march

Herschel Grynszpan, a young Jewish man, assassinated a Nazi diplomat in the German embassy in Paris on 7 November 1938.

The arrest of one of the most prominent Kurdish officials by Germany, at the request of Turkey, signals a new era of co-operation between Turkey and the EU, within a framework set by the US.

Respect kicked off its election campaign in Newham, east London, last weekend with street stalls and a walkabout by Lindsey German and Abdul Khaliq, prospective parliamentary candidates for the borough.Lindsey and Abdul pledged support for the campaign to save Queens Market, which Newham’s New Labour council wants to sell to private developers.

A recent meeting of activists met and decided to officially launch a new left wing political party called Arbeit & Soziale Gerechtigkeit—Die Wahlalternative (The Work & Social Justice Election Alternative).