Complaints were upheld about a Reed recruitment website commercial, which had an angry boss speaking in German. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it could cause serious offence to some listeners and was found to be offensive because it used a negative stereotype, reports BBC News. The ad used a German speaker, rather than someone speaking English, to portray the boss as 'a bit of a tyrant' and the humour derived from a stereotype at the expense of German people. The advert was fo ...read more
The trial of John Demjanjuk in Munich may not be Germany's last major war crimes prosecution. Authorities are investigating Samuel K., 88, a retired German civil servant accused of being a death camp guard in World War II and of helping to kill at least 430,000 Jews, reports Spiegel Online. Germany may stage a further spectacular Holocaust trial in addition to the one currently taking place in Munich against alleged SS helper John Demjanjuk. Samuel K., a former member of staff in the West Ger ...read more
Two partners in Germany's ruling coalition have been accused of accepting large donations from the hotel industry in return for tax breaks. Germany's business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) came under fire on Monday for accepting large donations from the hotel industry, which critics say is linked to political support for major tax breaks, says Deutsche Welle. The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) say there is a connection between ...read more
Leading US magazine Time has acclaimed Angela Merkel as ‘Frau Europa’ in its latest European edition. The German leader was described in the publication as the "emboldened leader of Europe's most populous nation and most powerful economy". She got high praise for crisis management, popularity and energy. But at the same time there are taxation disagreements, health controversy, CSU against FDP, both against the CDU and a constant back and forth – the coalition leaders seem to have made a fal ...read more
The German Government and German aid organizations are providing immediate help and support to the people of Haiti in response to the devastating earthquake there. The Federal Foreign Office made available one million euros for emergency humanitarian aid, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development made available 500,000 euros in emergency food aid on January 13, the day after the earthquake struck. The food aid will be provided through the local GTZ, the federally owned ...read more
What irritates conservatives in her conservative party about Ursula von der Leyen is that she possesses what in modern Europe passes for impeccable conservative credentials: She is married, says grace every evening and has seven children.
So when this popular minister complements the father to care for children, or taps her bottom when asked by the Munich newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung what body part she looks at first in a man, it is that much harder to attack her. Ms. von der Leyen, 51 ...read more
