Beekeeper, Mary O’Riordan is amazed at the amount of honey produced by bee farms in Lower Saxony, Germany, which she recently visited.

Volkswagen is set to escape fines from the German government even after cheating on emissions tests for years, reflecting a softer political stance that’s increasingly drawing ire following a generous deal for US drivers.

Volkswagen chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch bore the brunt of investor dissatisfaction over the carmaker’s handling of the emissions cheating scandal during a raucous shareholder meeting, with some even trying to remove him as host of the gathering.

Volkswagen shareholder Lower Saxony wanted to withhold its backing for the carmaker’s top management at a supervisory board meeting but relented to avoid further damaging the firm, a source close to the German federal state said.

Stephanie Baker looks at the complicated family behind automaker Volkswagen AG, which has been at the centre of a diesel emissions scandal, and the possibility of future leadership within it

As Volkswagen’s first dividend cut in six years looms in the wake of the diesel-emissions scandal, the car maker must balance the interests of government, labour, and family power brokers against those of investors who have felt short-changed for years.

Louis van Gaal has backed Anthony Martial to end his goal drought and help Manchester United avoid an embarrassingly early Champions League exit.

Many of Germany’s top figures have a history with the car industry, including the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and regulations have been lax as a result, writes Noah Barkin.

The revelations about Volkswagen’s emissions fraud, added to recent scandals at Siemens and Deutsche Bank, show a German corporate establishment that is out of step with a society that is actively trying to atone for 20th-century sins, writes Leonid Bershidsy

The software at the centre of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in the US was built into its cars in Europe as well, though it is not yet clear if it helped cheat tests as it did in the US.

Resignation comes a day after asking the staff and public for trust

Martin Winterkorn’s days as head of Volkswagen appeared numbered yesterday after the German car maker said a scandal over falsified vehicle emission tests in the US could affect 11m of its cars worldwide.

Volkswagen lost almost a quarter of its market value after it admitted to cheating on US air pollution tests for years, putting pressure on chief executive Martin Winterkorn to fix the damaged reputation of the world’s biggest car maker.

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.

German police, prosecutors and forensics experts are facing a mystery after a 10-year-old boy found a human mummy in a sarcophagus in a corner of his grandparents’ attic.

Pep Guardiola will make his competitive debut as Bayern Munich manager on July 27 as the reigning Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Pokal holders face Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup.

Germany’s education minister resigned today after a university decided to withdraw her doctorate, finding that she plagiarised parts of her thesis – an embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government as it prepares for elections later this year.

Investors piled into equities sending markets to two-year highs yesterday as most of the major macro-economic risks that threatened to derail the recovery now appear to be receding.

Germany’s centre-left opposition won a wafer-thin victory over chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition in a major state election, dealing her a setback as she seeks a third term in office.

Twitter says it has for the first time blocked an account with its “country withheld content” function, shutting out a banned German neo-Nazi group.

To produce a performance they can stand over is St Patrick’s Athletic’s goal in Lower Saxony tonight.

German officials have found the bodies of four children whom they suspect were killed by their father before he tried to take his own life.

A special assembly of the German parliament will vote on March 18 for a successor to former president Christian Wulff, who resigned abruptly on Friday over growing allegations that he had received favours from friends.

German President Christian Wulff has announced his resignation in a scandal over favours he allegedly received before becoming head of state.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called off a trip to Italy as signs increase that president Christian Wulff will resign amid a scandal over favours he allegedly received before becoming head of state.

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.

GERMAN President Christian Wulff personally called the editor of Bild, the country’s top-selling newspaper, last month and threatened legal action if it published a story on a private home loan he received at cheap interest rates.

GERMAN bean sprouts caused the E coli outbreak that has killed 31 people and sickened more than 3,000, investigators announced after tracking the bacteria from patients in hospital beds to restaurants and then farm fields.

Locally-grown bean sprouts are the cause of the European E.coli outbreak that has killed 29 people, German experts say.

GERMANY has stepped up efforts to trace the source of a bacteria outbreak that has killed 22 people amid warnings it might never be found.

German beansprouts are the likely cause of the E.coli outbreak that has killed 22 people in Europe, German officials have said.

GERMAN agricultural authorities yesterday identified locally-grown beansprouts as the likely cause of an E coli outbreak that has killed 22 people and sickened over 2,200 others in Europe.

It is being reported that German-grown beansprouts are the likely cause of the E.coli outbreak, according to health authorities investigating the crisis.

Fake census forms asking rude questions have been arriving in people's post boxes in Germany.

German authorities have banned sales of eggs, poultry and pork from a further 934 farms amid new fears that livestock feed has been tainted with the cancer-causing chemical dioxin.

IRELAND has had a tough time over the last few weeks with the IMF, EMU, snow, black ice and a severe budget.

FREEZING temperatures and snowstorms killed 12 more people and caused travel chaos across northern Europe yesterday as some of the worst floods in a century devastated parts of the Balkans.

The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing a tough test with today's election of the country's new president.

GERMANY’S first designated Muslim state minister wants to ban crucifixes from classrooms.

Germany’s first designated Muslim state minister wants to ban crucifixes from classrooms.

DAMIEN DUFF is hoping to bury his memories of World Cup heartbreak by guiding Fulham to Europa League glory.