Japanese companies have started to move their European headquarters from London to Germany to escape Britain's high costs, poor transport infrastructure and rising crime rates.
The Daily Telegraph | December 27th, 2008
Buoyed by the soaring yen, Japanese businesses have also been put off the United Kingdom as a hub of their operations by Britain’s decision not to join the euro. A further black mark has been the sense of the UK’s “geographical isolation” from the rest of the continent. Read more »
Posted in Economy.
Newsweek | December 8th, 2008
He was chief of staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the leading voice behind Germany’s refusal to fight in Iraq. Now German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the Social Democratic Party candidate for chancellor in next year’s elections, running against the popular Christian Democrat incumbent, Angela Merkel. In his first major interview with the U.S. press, Steinmeier sat down with NEWSWEEK’s Michael Levitin to discuss German troop engagements in Afghanistan, Russia’s recent aggression, the global financial crisis and how Germany might work alongside the United States. Excerpts: Read more »
Posted in Politics. Profiles
Germany's foreign minister has warned Russia must not try to drive a wedge between western Europe and America but respect his country's historic alliances.
The Daily Telegraph | November 24th, 2008
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Russia should recognise Germany’s close relationship with the US.
“Russia knows that we have uniquely close relations with the United States,” he said. “We are a member of EU and Nato and we are acting together with our allies.” Read more »
Posted in Politics. Profiles
New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind, the master designer of the new World Trade Centre, has announced plans to build a new synagogue in the not-always-welcoming Bavarian capital.
The Daily Telegraph | November 14th, 2008
Notorious for its lingering sentiments about the Nazi years, Munich has been mixed up before in controversies involving Jewish remembrance, such as Mayor Christian Ude’s refusal in 2004 to allow the brass-plated Stolpersteine, or Stumbling Stones, to be installed in streets as individual memorials to Jews killed in the Holocaust. Read more »
Posted in Architecture. Jewish issues
Newsweek | November 7th, 2008
With far-right anti-immigrant parties strengthening in Austria, and growing opposition to the mosques and minarets shooting up from Berlin to Cologne, xenophobia is in the air in Europe. Pending job losses from the financial fallout may soon make matters worse. That’s why, when violinist Daniel Hope got the idea of hosting a 70th anniversary concert for Kristallnacht in Berlin, he wanted it to be more than a remembrance of the Holocaust and World War II. “It’s also about now, about violence against foreigners and any kind of racism,” he said. “We’re at a time, in an unstable atmosphere, where we can’t afford to be looking away and watching again.” Read more »
Posted in Jewish issues. Society
