Angela Merkel

Merkel criticizes executive bonuses

Angela MarkelHamburg - German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined in Saturday in criticism of big bonuses being paid to the executives of banks which are receiving government aid during the financial crisis.

"It's incomprehensible that banks which the state is propping up are in many cases paying out enormous bonuses," she told the news weekly Der Spiegel, adding that the subject would be up for discussion at a summit of the G20 nations in London in April.

The G20 group comprises the world's largest economies.

German chancellor immortalized as Barbie doll

German chancellor immortalized as Barbie doll Berlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spends her days in the male-dominated world of politics, is joining the ranks of iconic women by being recreated as a Barbie doll, the manufacturer Mattel announced Monday.

A specially produced honorary Barbie has been made in the chancellor's likeness, Mattel spokeswoman Stephanie Wegener said at the Nuremberg Toy Fair.

"You can argue about politics, but the fact that we have a female chancellor in Germany is surely something special in the eyes of other countries," Wegener said.

Merkel, pope clear up differences in phone call

Angela Merkel and Pope Benedict XVIBerlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Benedict XVI chatted on the phone Sunday to set aside their differences over the Holocaust outburst by an arch-conservative bishop.

"It was a good and constructive talk, carried by the deep and constant reminder that the Shoah holds for humanity," said a joint statement released by the Vatican and German government spokesmen.

The pope and the chancellor explained their views "with the greatest of mutual respect," the statement said.

Merkel said to reject economics minister's resignation bid

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Berlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her deputy were reported Sunday to have turned down an offer from Economics Minister Michael Glos to resign.

The newspaper Bild am Sonntag said the chancellor and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier wanted Glos to remain in office until general elections are held on September 27.

Glos, a member of Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), offered to resign on Saturday, but the offer was promptly turned down by his party boss, Horst Seehofer.

Barbie doll modelled on Angela Merkel to mark 50th b’day

Angela-MerkelLondon, Feb 7 : German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been used as the model for a Barbie doll to mark its 50th birthday celebrations.

The doll, which is based on the 54-year-old German leader, was presented at the international toy fair in Nuremberg and will go on sale for 17 pounds.

"She''s simply a good role model for girls around the world," the Telegraph quoted a spokesman for Mattel, the company that makes Barbie dolls, as saying.

Merkel faces party backlash over Vatican criticism

Chancellor Angela Merkel of GermanyBerlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced criticism from within her Christian Democratic (CDU) party Thursday over her call for the pope to take a clearer stand on Bishop Richard Williamson's anti-Holocaust views.

The speaker of parliament, Norbert Lammert, told the daily Hamburger Abendblatt that "much of what is being imputed to the pope is almost malicious, and certainly not fair."

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