The German army is due to suspend a member of its elite KSK force on suspicion of far-right extremism, local media reported Sunday, in a new scandal to hit the armed forces.

Bild am Sonntag newspaper said the army has been covertly investigating him and two other soldiers and was prompted to take action against the man after its probe leaked.

Of the other two suspects, one has been stripped of the right to wear a German army uniform while the other has been classed as a suspicious case.

Both had allegedly made the banned Hitler salute during a private party hosted by the suspect who is to be suspended next week, according to the newspaper.

The elite KSK is charged with the sensitive and risky missions including hostage rescue operations or anti-terror action abroad.

But suspicions that some members are far-right leaning have always plagued the force.

The head of the military's counter-intelligence service Christof Gramm had said that there are around 20 suspicious cases at the KSK.

The armed forces has over the years repeatedly come under fire over embarrassing associations with Germany's militaristic past.&nbsp;

Last year, then defence minister Ursula von der Leyen ordered the military to cleanse itself of all links to the Wehrmacht, after learning that steel helmets and memorabilia of the Nazi-era army were openly displayed at one of its barracks.

She also ordered barracks still named after World War II figures, like field marshal Erwin Rommel, to be stripped of their names.&nbsp;

The German army is due to suspend a member of its elite KSK force on suspicion of far-right extremism, local media reported Sunday, in a new scandal to hit the armed forces.

The German army is due to suspend a member of its elite KSK force on suspicion of far-right extremism, local media reported Sunday, in a new scandal to hit the armed forces. Bild am Sonntag newspaper said the army has been covertly investigating him and two other soldiers and was prompted to take action against the man after its probe leaked. Of the other two suspects, one has been stripped of the right to wear a German army uniform while the other has been classed as a suspicious case. Both had allegedly made the banned Hitler salute during a private party hosted by the suspect who is to be suspended next week, according to the newspaper. The elite KSK is charged with the sensitive and risky missions including hostage rescue operations or anti-terror action abroad. But suspicions that some members are far-right leaning have always plagued the force. The head of the military's counter-intelligence service Christof Gramm had said that there are around 20 suspicious cases at the KSK. The armed forces has over the years repeatedly come under fire over embarrassing associations with Germany's militaristic past. Last year, then defence minister Ursula von der Leyen ordered the military to cleanse itself of all links to the Wehrmacht, after learning that steel helmets and memorabilia of the Nazi-era army were openly displayed at one of its barracks. She also ordered barracks still named after World War II figures, like field marshal Erwin Rommel, to be stripped of their names.

German army to suspend elite force member over far-right suspicion

US&nbsp;investigators probing Mercedes maker Daimler have found that its cars were equipped with software which may have helped them to pass diesel emissions tests, a German newspaper reported on Sunday, citing confidential documents.

There has been growing scrutiny of diesel vehicles since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to installing secret software on 580,000 US&nbsp;vehicles that allowed them to emit up to 40 times legally allowable emissions while meeting standards when tested by regulators.

Daimler, which faces ongoing investigations by US&nbsp;and German authorities into excess diesel emissions, has said investigations could lead to significant penalties and recalls.

The Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that the documents showed that US&nbsp;investigators had found several software functions that helped Daimler cars pass emissions tests, including one which switched off emissions cleaning after 26 km of driving.

Another function under scrutiny allowed the emissions cleaning system to recognise whether the car was being tested based on speed or acceleration patterns.

Bild am Sonntag also cited emails from Daimler engineers questioning whether these software functions were legal.

A Daimler spokesman declined to comment on the content of the documents, saying the German company was fully cooperating with the US&nbsp;authorities and had agreed upon strict confidentiality with the Department of Justice.

&quot;The authorities know the documents and no complaint has been filed,&quot; the spokesman said. &quot;The documents available to Bild have obviously selectively been released in order to harm Daimler and its 290,000 employees.&quot;&nbsp;

There has been growing scrutiny of diesel vehicles since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to installing such software in 580,000 US vehicles

US investigators probing Mercedes maker Daimler have found that its cars were equipped with software which may have helped them to pass diesel emissions tests, a German newspaper reported on Sunday, citing confidential documents. There has been growing scrutiny of diesel vehicles since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to installing secret software on 580,000 US vehicles that allowed them to emit up to 40 times legally allowable emissions while meeting standards when tested by regulators. Daimler, which faces ongoing investigations by US and German authorities into excess diesel emissions, has said investigations could lead to significant penalties and recalls. The Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that the documents showed that US investigators had found several software functions that helped Daimler cars pass emissions tests, including one which switched off emissions cleaning after 26 km of driving. Another function under scrutiny allowed the emissions cleaning system to recognise whether the car was being tested based on speed or acceleration patterns. Bild am Sonntag also cited emails from Daimler engineers questioning whether these software functions were legal. A Daimler spokesman declined to comment on the content of the documents, saying the German company was fully cooperating with the US authorities and had agreed upon strict confidentiality with the Department of Justice. "The authorities know the documents and no complaint has been filed," the spokesman said. "The documents available to Bild have obviously selectively been released in order to harm Daimler and its 290,000 employees."

Daimler may also have used secret software to pass US emissions tests: Report

Audi&#39;s head of development, Stefan Knirsch, will be suspended this week for his involvement in the Volkswagen emissions scandal, Bild am Sonntag reported.&nbsp; 
 
Audi is owned by Volkswagen.&nbsp; 
 
Knirsch knew about the use of cheat software fitted to some of Audi&#39;s, Porsche&#39;s, and VW&#39;s 3.0 litre diesel engines but gave a false promise under oath, investigations by international law firm Jones Day revealed, the German paper said today.&nbsp; 
 
Audi has admitted that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine was fitted with the cheat software to dupe emission tests.&nbsp; 
 
The scandal hit last year when US authorities accused VW of installing the device in order to make its cars seem less polluting, reported AFP.&nbsp; 
 
The auto company has confessed that 11 million disesel cars across the world had been fitted with the device, inlcluding cars by other VW companies like Audi, Skoda, and Seat.&nbsp; 
 
The cars were recalled and customers in the US were offered a buy-back and compensation. No such compromise was made for the European market.&nbsp; 
 
Nearly a year later, Volkswagen is still coping with ongoing litigation.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Stefan Knirsch knew about the use of emissions-control software in VW's 3.0 litre diesel engines but gave a false promise under oath

Audi's head of development, Stefan Knirsch, will be suspended this week for his involvement in the Volkswagen emissions scandal, Bild am Sonntag reported. Audi is owned by Volkswagen. Knirsch knew about the use of cheat software fitted to some of Audi's, Porsche's, and VW's 3.0 litre diesel engines but gave a false promise under oath, investigations by international law firm Jones Day revealed, the German paper said today. Audi has admitted that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine was fitted with the cheat software to dupe emission tests. The scandal hit last year when US authorities accused VW of installing the device in order to make its cars seem less polluting, reported AFP. The auto company has confessed that 11 million disesel cars across the world had been fitted with the device, inlcluding cars by other VW companies like Audi, Skoda, and Seat. The cars were recalled and customers in the US were offered a buy-back and compensation. No such compromise was made for the European market. Nearly a year later, Volkswagen is still coping with ongoing litigation. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Audi R&D head to be suspended over VW emissions scandal: Bild am Sonntag

bild-am-sonntag

Bild Am Sonntag, News on Bild Am Sonntag, stories on Bild Am Sonntag, articles on Bild Am Sonntag, Bild Am Sonntag stories at Wion, Bild Am Sonntag news, Bild Am Sonntag latest news

bild am-sonntag

German army to suspend elite force member over far-right suspicion

Daimler may also have used secret software to pass US emissions tests: Report

Audi R&D head to be suspended over VW emissions scandal: Bild am Sonntag