Last week, the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn, and the German ambassador to Ireland welcomed the launch of a new website that promotes German in Ireland.

Tens of thousands of Greek protesters filled the streets of Athens to greet German chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered sympathy but no promise of further aid on her first visit since the euro crisis erupted three years ago.

Masked gunmen torched a German cultural centre in Togo today, leaving the main library building gutted and a van in ashes in the latest violence gripping the country since disputed presidential elections.