Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier travelled to Ukraine on December 19 for political consultations. During his trip, Steinmeier stressed the importance of the Ukraine Contact Group for the implementation of the Minsk Protocol.
Steinmeier in Kiev
The German Bundeswehr is to train Iraqi and Kurdish security forces in Northern Iraq in support of the fight against the terrorist militants ISIS, under a plan adopted by the Federal Cabinet on the initiative of Foreign Minister Steinmeier and Defense Minister von der Leyen.
Cabinet Decision
For the second year in a row, Germany was ranked fifth and continues to improve, particularly in when it comes to training IT experts. It jumped from 6th to 4th in the world for STEM education and is also placed 6th for accessibility of high tech training.
Digital Economy
In Germany, plenty of children believe in Santa Claus - or the Weihnachtsmann, as they call him. And as the countdown to Christmas begins, they start writing their wish lists, asking Santa and his elves to bring them the new toys they've been dreaming of all year.
Himmelpfort
Germany’s economy is closing out the year on a positive note, with economic and investor sentiment reaching the highest levels since May. After seven months of steady decline, the ZEW indicator of Economic jumped 23.4 points in December, settling at 34.9.
ZEW Index
As part of its cultural outreach, the German Embassy sponsored a trip to Germany for authors in the YA genre. The trip included stops in Berlin, Dresden and Munich and meetings with publishers and German authors. The ultimate goal was to offer an impression of the modern German publishing world.
Authors in Germany
Germany is continuously expanding its assistance and support for the countries affected by the Ebola virus. The objective is to isolate Ebola, not the affected countries.
Fight Against Ebola
Women’s National Team coach Silvia Neid was in Canada last week to draw for the World Cup group stages. The team landed in Group B alongside Thailand, the Ivory Coast, and longtime rival Norway.
Women's World Cup
In the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, they have installed two small screens on each side of the street on which walkers can play Pong, the iconic video game from the 1970s. The opponent is the person waiting on the other side of the road, and the game goes on until the light turns green.
StreetPong
If you're American, you've probably heard of "Secret Santa" or "White Elephant" gift exchanges. In Germany, however, we have what's called Schrottwichteln, which basically means "the exchange of crap".
Word of the Week
German Missions
