IN THE coming days, Bettina Wulff will testify in the trial of her estranged husband, Christian Wulff, the former president of Germany who stands accused of taking bribes.

GERMANY’S president and its biggest-selling newspaper traded blows last night over whether he tried to prevent it from publishing a report on a controversial private loan, adding to the embattled head of state’s troubles.

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel returns from a two-week break to the front line of the debt crisis amid a clamour over the conduct of Germany’s president that threatens to damage her own standing and detract from her efforts to defend the euro.