Germany in Brief
March 19, 2003
Lufthansa continues Middle East flights
The German airline Lufthansa will continue its scheduled flights to the Middle East despite the threat of war against Iraq. A Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday the airline would continue to operate its routes to Amman, Jordan, Beirut, Lebanon, Riad, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. During the 1991 Gulf War, all Western Airlines cancelled their flights to Israel, and Lufthansa was also forced to cancel some of its flights to Iran, Jordan, Israel and Kuwait. However, the airline said it would make changes at short notice if war breaks out. Meanwhile, British Airways has announced it will cease all its flights to Kuwait from today and to Tel Aviv from Wednesday onwards.
Clement: Jobless must make an effort
Germany's Minister for Economics, Social Democrat Wolfgang Clement, said jobless people would face sharper sanctions if they refused to take a job or enroll in extended vocational training. According to a proposal issued by Clement, anyone who rejects a reasonable job will get their unemployment benefits cut by one-third. For unemployed people under 25, benefits will be cancelled if they refuse to work. As a compensation for these measures, the German government wants to guarantee jobs or apprenticeships for all young people. According to Clement, the benefit cuts will be balanced out by work incentives and job guarantees. Clement wants the sanctions, as well as the incentives, to be included in a new bill regulating unemployment and social welfare benefits.
German vicar accused of sexually abusing disabled women
A German vicar has denied to a German state court in Karlsruhe that he sexually abused three disabled women. In December 1999, another state court in Mosbach had convicted the man to three years prison, but the Federal High Court rescinded the ruling, because the plaintiff was excluded from hearing the testimonies of the women. The 63-year-old vicar had been a board member of the home for disabled people where the women lived until 1998. The new trial will include 20 witnesses and two experts. A ruling is expected on April 1.
Group criticizes sexist ads
The number of complaints about advertising campaigns in Germany increased significantly in 2002. Around 2000 complaints reached the German Advertising Council, the committee investigating said on Tuesday. However, half of the complaints concerned a single campaign by the tabloid newspaper Bild, which ran ads depicting womens' sexual desires. The main concern of consumers in this and many other cases was sexist representation of women. Another concern of consumers and the German Advertising Council was playing down violence in advertising. The music channel MTV and hire car company Sixt were reprimanded for violent TV spots. According to Advertising Council data, a total of 270 different campaigns were asssessed last year, but only six were publicly reprimanded.