Germany | Common News Update

Jul52020 by adminNo Comments

250 soldiers arrive for nine-month rotation in Germany

July 2 (UPI) -- About 250 soldiers have arrived in Germany for a nine-month rotation to support Operation Atlantic Resolve, the Pentagon announced Thursday. According to the Department of Defense, the troops will spend their first two weeks at Camp Kasserine in Grafenwoehr, isolated in small groups to prevent the spread of COVID-19 before moving to forward locations alongside allies and partners. Advertisement While the soldiers are isolating, the aviation brigade will conduct lower-level, individual training at the base. ''With COVID being both present in the United States and Germany, we wanted to make sure, for our host nation partners, that we do not bring any infections into the area,'' said Army Lt. Col. Benjamin Ingram,the brigade surgeon for 41st Field Artillery Brigade, 7th Army ...

Jun292020 by adminNo Comments

‘The Enron of Germany’: Wirecard scandal casts a shadow on corporate governance

Finance

The Wirecard logo is seen at the payment company's headquarters in Aschheim near Munich, southern Germany, on June 24, 2020.Christof Stache | AFP via Getty ImagesWirecard's dramatic fall from grace has thrust corporate governance and industry regulation in Germany firmly in the spotlight.The Munich-based payments processor filed for insolvency on Thursday, reportedly owing creditors 3.5 billion euros ($ 3.9 billion). The company's collapse follows a series of investigative reports from the Financial Times into claims about accounting irregularities.The revelation last week that 1.9 billion euros had disappeared from Wirecard's balance sheet has seen the firm's share price collapse 98% and former CEO Markus Braun arrested on suspicion of falsifying accounts.The Wirecard saga and its broader...

Jun152020 by adminNo Comments

U.S. confirms plan for troop reduction in Germany

Business

June 12 (UPI) -- A plan to remove one-third of U.S soldiers currently stationed in Germany was confirmed this week by the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Germany. "American taxpayers no longer feel like paying too much for the defense of other countries," said Ambassador Richard Grenell in an interview on Thursday. Advertisement "There will still be 25,000 soldiers in Germany, that's no small number," Grenell said. "No one should be surprised that [President] Donald Trump is pulling troops and bringing them home. There has been a lot of discussion." He added that plans include U.S. troop reductions in Japan and South Korea. Earlier this month Grenell formally resigned as ambassador to join Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. There are more than 34,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Germa...

Jun72020 by adminNo Comments

German, American conservatives criticize plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany

Business

June 6 (UPI) -- Conservative German and American leaders have criticized President Donald Trump's proposed plan to remove about one-third of U.S. troops currently stationed in Germany. On Friday multiple outlets quoting an anonymous senior defense official reported that Trump has ordered the Pentagon to withdraw 9,500 of the 34,500 troops permanently assigned to Germany as part of a longstanding arrangement between the two countries. Advertisement In Germany, left-leaning politicians welcomed the proposed drawdown while conservative leaders described it as a wake-up call. "The federal government should accept it with gratitude and promptly start preparing the complete withdrawal of US soldiers with the Trump administration," said Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the parliamentary group of the l...

May152020 by adminNo Comments

Germany in recession as economy takes biggest hit since crash

Business

Germany is officially in recession after its economy shrank by 2.2% in the first quarter of the year as the global coronavirus shutdown began to bite.The latest official data gives an insight into the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to Europe's biggest economy, with worse expected to come. Chancellor warns of a 'significant recession' The fall over the three months to March was the second-biggest quarter...