Leading conservative German politicians assailed President Christian Wulff on Tuesday for comments intimating Islam had gained a status comparable to Christianity and Judaism in Germany.

As with most cultural festivals that go global, Oktoberfest has branded, packaged and exported Bavaria’s culture of drinking beer at long trestle tables, playing oompah music, eating pretzls and pork-knuckle, and wearing Lederhosen and Dirnln, the frilly women’s dresses.

Vocational students in Germany are given a rare chance to be in the spotlight through a partnership with an American dance organization that works with disadvantaged youth.

Germany largely has China to thank for its current economic upswing, given the Asian powerhouse's demand for German machine tools and other such products. But many German industrialists are asking themselves how long the symbiotic relationship can go on, given Beijing's ambition to become a high-tech economy itself.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is openly gay and likes his partner to accompany him on foreign trips. However, he now says that he will travel alone to countries where homosexuality is an offence. He wants to promote tolerance, but not "imprudently."

The founder of Morocco's first contemporary dance group takes a taboo-breaking look at the world of Morocco's wedding dancers. Her work is part of a German festival that aims to cross national boundaries on stage.

Great Britain, France and Germany are the most active in promoting their cultural relations with Georgia, according to The Financial’s study. British Council, Goethe-Institute Georgia and A. Dumas Centre conducted the majority of cultural awareness events since 2008. Germany generally spends the most.