Germany

Unemployment in Germany hit a surprise new low in September, newly-released official data show, the latest in a string of sunny indicators as the upswing continues in Europe’s top economy. The proportion of people out of work fell to 5.6 per cent this month, the Federal Labour Agency said, while analysts had expected the figure to hold steady at 5.7 …

German movies, cultural and media workshops are part of celebrations marking 60 years of co-operation between Germany and Ghana, reports Isaac Kaledzi  from Accra. For Yibor Kojo Yibor, a Ghanaian cultural analyst, Saturday, 30 September’s event in Accra offered an opportunity for Ghanaians to reflect more on Germany’s culture and way of life. “I think that what is interesting for Ghanaians is …

Chancellor Angela Merkel has the backing of nearly 60 per cent of voters to form a ruling coalition with the Greens and FDP, a new survey says. However, Germany may have to wait until the New Year for a new government. Fortunately for Chancellor Angela Merkel, the most likely option when it comes to forming a governing coalition in the …

bankomo is an account that’s open to absolutely anyone – there’s no minimum deposit amount and there’s no credit check. All you need is an appropriate piece of ID. And a smartphone or Internet access. bankomo isn’t free, of course. It costs 4.90 euros a month in 2017, with the monthly fee rising to 8.90 euros from 1 January 2018. …

Angela Merkel looks set to govern Germany for another four years together with liberals and greens, but there is a new troublemaker – the far-right AfD party – on the scene, reports Andrew Rettman. The likely CDU/CSU-FDP-Greens coalition emerged after exit polls on Sunday (24 September) said Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU party won with 32.5 per cent and the centre-left SPD …

German voters go to the polls on Sunday, 24 September, to elect the 19th Bundestag. Here are some important facts and figures about the election. Polling Time Polls are open from 8am to 6pm The Electorate About 61.5 million German adults are eligible to vote. According to official numbers there are 400,000 less voters than in 2013. The breakdown of …

With opinion polls suggesting a third of the electorate is still undecided about who to vote for a day before the federal parliamentary election, candidates have been out and about doing some last-minute campaigning. While Angela Merkel is widely predicted to be re-elected chancellor, her conservative CDU party seems to have taken a last-minute dip in support. It has slipped …

The number of voters with a migration background, meaning that they or their parents were not born as German citizens, is growing. The SVR Forschungsbereich, a research group, presented an investigation in November 2016 that shows the parties with the strongest appeal among Germany’s migrants, providing a hint on how they will vote as the nation goes to the polls to …

A German court on Monday fined three people for failing to help a pensioner lying unconscious on the floor of a bank, instead walking around and even stepping over him. In the nearly one-year-old incident captured on video camera, the 83-year-old man had collapsed and hit his head. He then fell unconscious on the floor of a cash machine room …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on track to win a fourth term in Sunday’s national election despite a dip in support for her conservatives, a poll showed on Tuesday, and she shrugged off calls to quit from far-right hecklers. Merkel has been repeatedly booed during the election campaign, particularly in Germany’s formerly Communist east, where support is strongest for the …

The Ambassador of Ghana to the Federal Republic of Germany, Her Excellency Mrs Gina Ama Blay, presented her letter of credence to His Excellency Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s President, at Schloss Bellevue on 29 August 2017 in Berlin. To mark the occasion, a reception attended by many dignitaries was held at Maritim Hotel. It was a colourful occasion since most …

Angela Merkel has been judged by viewers to be the more credible candidate following the election debate with her SPD rival, Martin Schulz. DW looks at the candidates’ positions on the key domestic and global issues. Chancellor Angela Merkel made the more convincing case to lead Germany for the next four years in Sunday’s television debate against her election rival, …

After several years of waiting, a new substantive ambassador from Nigeria to Berlin arrived during the week. Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, a former member of the Federal House of Representatives, takes charge of the embassy which has been headed until now by the Deputy Head of Mission, Ambassador Mobolaji Sakirat Ogundero. Hon. Yusuf Tuggar, who was born on 12 March …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was confronted by whistling and screaming protesters during a campaign speech for the second time in a little more than a week. The defiant chancellor told the anti-refugee hecklers Germany still welcomes asylum-seekers. Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term as the chancellor in the 24 September election, spoke on Saturday to a crowd of 1,500 …

Voters in Germany will head to the polls for a general election on 24 September, with surveys giving Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU a double-digit lead over their closest rivals, the Social Democrats. But the race for third place is wide open, and in Germany’s coalition system the smaller parties could tip the balance of power.  Here’s a look at the …

Karamba Diaby, Germany’s first African-born Bundestag member, has filed charges against racist Facebook commentators. The far-right NPD questioned his right to represent German people on its page. Karamba Diaby, German MP for the eastern city of Halle, has filed criminal charges against people who made racist comments on a Facebook post by the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) on Monday. …

The Turkish president has called on Turks living in Germany not to vote for “enemies of Turkey.” Will his call be heeded or ignored? DW’s Christoph Ricking went to the heart of Cologne’s Turkish neighbourhood to find out. Cologne’s Keupstrasse, the main street for Turkish life in the city’s Mülheim district, bustled with Monday morning business activity: trucks made shop …

In an unusual intervention in Germany’s coming general election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Turkish-origin Germans to give a “slap” to both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition in September polls. Erdogan has caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote neither for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner …

 All refugees arriving in Germany have a right to medical aid. However, the facilities and services they can access are limited – at least for the first 15 months. Manasi Gopalakrishnan reports. When refugees first enter Germany, doctors examine them for communicable diseases. For this purpose, experts carry out an x-ray of the lungs. For people below 15 years of …

Who orders and who carries out deportations? And why do some people who get told to leave get to stay anyway? Jefferson Chase of Deutsche Welle (DW) untangles Germany’s complex and multilayered rules about who can be deported under what circumstances. ———————— Who decides whether someone should be deported? You might think that would be the task of the Federal Ministry of …