Europe | Germany | Politics

EU CHAOS: Merkel is ready to CAVE IN and GRANT Turkey visa-free travel, ambassador reveals

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ANGELA Merkel is ready to cave in to the Turkish government and grant visa-free travel to 75million people despite Turkey’s failure to meet EU’s demands, a British ambassador has claimed. Leaked documents from Britain’s ambassador to Germany, Sir Sebastian Wood, claim the German Chancellor is ready to make a “compromise” on Turkey’s terrorism law. Turkish president Recep Erdogan has been at loggerheads with the EU after he refused to change laws used to prosecute academics and journalists, one of the conditions to the deal. The controversial deal sees Turkish authorities t
Europe | Germany | Society

Study: The Biggest Offenders in the Gender-Stereotyping Department Are Women Themselves

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We have met the sexist enemy. And it is us. For decades feminists have blamed the evil advertising industry for its "gender stereotyping" of women as passive, weak, overly emotional, girly-girlish, and obsessed with pleasing men. But it turns out that the biggest offenders in the gender-stereotyping department are women themselves. According to a recent German study, advertising moguls are sexist pikers compared to females taking pictures of themselves on their phones and sharing them online. After all, when taking a selfie, lady, you alone have total control over both the subject ma
Europe | Germany | Politics

Angela Merkel Is Losing Her Refugee Bet

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David Folkerts-Landau, Deutsche Bank’s chief economist, last month described the arrival of more than a million refugees from the Middle East in 2015 as “the best thing that could happen to Germany.” He said the event would allow the country to remain forward-looking. That remark belongs to a German world that is no more. Following the New Year’s Eve sexual attacks on women in Cologne, largely committed by migrants and asylum-seekers, Germany has become a troubled, markedly less-confident place. It is diminished in its role as Europe’s unassailable and often patronizing leader, an
Europe | Germany | Politics

Angela Merkel faces outright rebellion within her own party over refugee crisis

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Angela Merkel is facing an outright rebellion within her own party after two of her most senior ministers directly challenged her “open-door” refugee policy. The German chancellor’s office was forced to intervene at the weekend to block an unauthorised attempt by Thomas de Maiziere, the interior minister, to change the asylum rules for Syrian refugees. But Wolfgang Schäuble, the influential finance minister, has since come out in support of Mr de Maiziere’s initiative, alongside a host of senior party figures.
Europe | Germany | Ethics

Faulty rifle puts minister in crosshairs

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Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen is struggling to maintain her credibility as critics have blamed her for lobbying and cover-ups within the ministry over the army's faulty G36 rifles. A scandal has been brewing around the weapon for months after von der Leyen admitted in March that the rifle loses accuracy at high temperatures. In April von der Leyen announced that the G36 had “no future” in the Bundeswehr. In the meantime the media have been reporting that the Bundeswehr covered up information, based on internal reports that showed the weapons had shortcomings. It is said i
Europe | Germany | Ethics

Is Merkel working for Germany’s National Interests?

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The claims that Merkel's government knew about German state intelligence spying on behalf of the Americans against the country's own industrial interests raise disturbing questions about the integrity of German government leaders. The apparent betrayal of German national interests by Chancellor Angela Merkel is not only evident over the recent industrial spying scandal on behalf of America. The slavish pursuit by Merkel of Washington's anti-Russian policy over Ukraine -- in contradistinction to her country's national interests -- also cogently suggests that the chancellor is serving a for
Europe | Germany | Culture

70 women, including 9 schoolgirls, left Germany to join ISIS – report

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More than 70 German women, nine of whom are schoolgirls, have left their home country for Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State, the president of the German Domestic Intelligence Service (BFV) said. According to Hans-Georg Maassen, 40 percent of those women are under the age of 25. While the recruitment of young girls and women by the Islamic State is not a rare phenomenon, Maassen warned that jihadists have lately focused on luring females to join the 'caliphate' via social networks. Jihadists blog on the internet and are active on forums, where they look for women showing an intere
Europe | Germany | Business

Why women in Germany need Equal Pay Day in 2015

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Despite legal support and public visibility, women are still paid less than their male colleagues in Germany - and at an alarming rate. On Equal Pay Day 2015, Germans took to the streets in protest. Germany doesn't seem to shy away from tackling women's issues - after all, there's a healthy amount of parental leave guaranteed by the government, and at an average rate of pay that's higher than most countries. There's also a new quota for women in boardrooms to tackle the drastic gender gap in top level management. And equal pay, regardless of gender, is enshrined in Germany's 1949 Basic Law.
Europe | Germany | Politics

Angela Merkel: Crimea must be returned Ukraine

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin that Germany and its allies would not calm down until Crimea is returned to Ukraine. "Today is a day we should remember the illegal annexation of the Crimea. We must not forget that this act has endangered the post-war order in Europe. We will not rest until, until you have fully restored the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine", - said Angela Merkel, speaking to the press after meeting with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. Petro Poroshenko said after the meeting that at the summit, which will take place on March 19, he exp