German defence minister Rudolf Scharping leaves a news conference
following his dismissal in Berlin July 18, 2002. German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder who had called an SPD emergency board meeting said on
Thursday he had dismissed German defence minister Rudolf Scharping who
had come under fire over suspect income two months before the general
elections. Schroeder told a news conference in Berlin he would ask the
President Johannes Rau to relieve Scharping of his duties and replace
him with Peter Struck, parliamentary floor leader of the SPD.
REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch REUTERS

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