In the latest gaffe for German authorities, one which could further impact Merkel adversely if confirmed - something the Euro confirmed when it just tumbled to fresh 13 years lows - moments ago Die Welt reported that according to German police, the man from Pakistan who was arrested as a suspect in the attack on a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people on Monday was not the actual perpetrator.
With Facebook having announced last week the launch of measure to flag and eliminate fake news from appearing on its website, Germany does not think the process is fast enough, and according to Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas, German judges and state prosecutors need to crack down straight away on fake news disseminated through social media platforms such as Facebook. Interviewed by Bild am Sontag, Maas, a Social Democrat in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, has repeatedly warned the U.S.
Authorities in Germany may make it a criminal offence for websites to publish anything deemed to be ‘fake news’ – resulting in prison time for offenders. Following widespread reports that Russian hackers influenced the outcome of the U.S. elections, German MPs have called for ‘fake news’ campaigns to be made into a crime, citing fears that Russia will affect the German elections in a similar way.
Back in March, when the ECB unexpectedly announced it would begin buying corporate bonds, while the German population was rather angry, its media was furious. The best example of the fury came from Germany's Handelsblatt, which in an article titled "The dangerous game with the money of the German savers", the authors provide a metaphorical rendering of what is happening in Europe as follows:
The publication also painted a caricature of the man behind Europe's monetary policy:
European and Asian markets rose, while U.S. index futures were little changed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pushing for yet another record, as traders digested the Italian referendum news, await the ECB's Thursday announcement and reflect in a notably quieter overnight session. Oil slipped from a 16-month high after 4 straight days of gains, as doubts emerged about how OPEC will implement the first supply curbs in eight years. European bonds gained with stocks.