Germany – News Stories About Germany - Page 68

Merkel Holds Cabinet Meeting in Jerusalem

Mar 17, 2008 6:18 AM CDT

Merkel Holds Cabinet Meeting in Jerusalem

German celebrates Israeli statehood with 3-day trip

(Newser) - When Angela Merkel holds her weekly cabinet meeting today, it will meet not in Berlin but in Jerusalem—a special gesture to mark the 60th anniversary of Israeli statehood. Only a few decades ago Israelis marched in protest when the country welcomed its first German ambassador, but now the chancellor...

GI Killed by German Police

Mar 15, 2008 8:02 AM CDT

GI Killed by German Police

Soldier held former girlfriend hostage, threatened cops with assault rifle

(Newser) - A US Army soldier stationed in Germany was shot and killed by local police after holding his ex-girlfriend hostage, the New York Times reports. The unnamed soldier was located after the woman escaped; when he threatened a SWAT unit with an assault rifle, he was shot, and later died at...

Snowflake
Almost Ready
for Adoring
Public

Mar 14, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Snowflake Almost Ready for Adoring Public

Germany's new polar cub sensation is growing up fast

(Newser) - Nuremberg’s favorite polar bear club is growing up fast and should be ready for her public debut by April, Der Spiegel reports. Little Snowflake has already passed through such coming-of-age rituals as her first bone, her first trip outdoors, and a much-needed first bath. Before the bath, Snowflake was...

Merkel Crushes Sarkozy's Plans for 'Club Med'

Mar 14, 2008 11:59 AM CDT

Merkel Crushes Sarkozy's Plans for 'Club Med'

German opposition forces reversal on Mediterranean Union

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy has been forced to abandon his proposal for what detractors have called a French-led Club Med—a Mediterranean Union of southern European, Middle Eastern, and North African states—under fierce opposition from Germany. Angela Merkel has been a consistent opponent of the scheme, and she threatened a boycott...

Café-Loving Kids Cash In
on Laptop Ads

Mar 12, 2008 2:00 PM CDT

Café-Loving Kids Cash In on Laptop Ads

German firm pushes screen-back billboards at universities

(Newser) - A German company has a solution for university students who spend their time in cafés and need extra cash for coffee: laptop advertisements, Der Spiegel reports. Just slap a sticker on the back of your screen and you could earn $320 for a few months of public studying. Berlin-based...

Serbia's PM Dissolves Government

Mar 8, 2008 11:47 AM CST

Serbia's PM Dissolves Government

Kostunica cites infighting over Kosovo, calls for new elections

(Newser) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica dissolved the government today, saying it had become paralyzed over disagreements on how to deal with Kosovo and EU membership. He proposed new elections for May. "We are lacking government unity,” said Kostunica, charging that his pro-Western coalition partners aren't being adamant enough...

Germany Torn Over Reviving Iron Cross

Mar 7, 2008 3:40 PM CST

Germany Torn Over Reviving Iron Cross

Controversy rages over 19th-century medal linked to Nazi regime

(Newser) - German officials are debating whether to bring back the Iron Cross, a military insignia closely associated with the Nazi era, the Independent reports. Some 5,000 Germans signed a petition last year calling for the reintroduction of the decoration for "outstanding bravery," which was eliminated in 1945. Others...

Blood Thinner Woes Hit Germany

Mar 7, 2008 8:32 AM CST

Blood Thinner Woes Hit Germany

100 may have been sickened by heparin not tied to Baxter

(Newser) - Heparin blood thinners may have sickened as many as 100 people in Germany, health officials report. The FDA is currently investigating the drug after it was linked to 19 deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions in the US, possibly due to contaminants from China. The agency is now recommending that...

German Soldiers Too Fat: Study

Mar 6, 2008 12:19 PM CST

German Soldiers Too Fat: Study

'Compared to the British, we're viewed as pathetic,' soldier complains

(Newser) - The German army is fat. It’s also unfit, smokes too much, and eats badly, according to a recent parliamentary update, the Guardian reports. About 40% of German soldiers are overweight—8.5% seriously so—and 70% smoke. “This has much to do with poor equipment and lack of...

Strike Cripples German Airports

Mar 5, 2008 7:23 AM CST

Strike Cripples German Airports

Scores of flights canceled; Berlin transport also shut

(Newser) - Thousands of German airport workers have walked off the job on the first day of a strike, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations across Europe's largest country. Frankfurt International Airport, a key European hub, was picketed by more than 2,000 employees from baggage handlers to check-in counter workers and...

Brits Used Astrologer Against Hitler

Mar 4, 2008 9:10 AM CST

Brits Used Astrologer Against Hitler

Declassified files tell of 'star wars' strategy in WWII

(Newser) - Some British strategists saw the outcome of World War II written in the stars, according to newly declassified documents that reveal the role of an astrologer in predicting Adolf Hilter's moves. An intelligence agency employed a colorful character who claimed to be able to use astrological readings to, as one...

World's Biggest Tech Show Goes Green

Mar 3, 2008 8:19 AM CST

World's Biggest Tech Show Goes Green

Top IT companies will display environmental friendliness at CeBIT

(Newser) - Greener tech solutions are a focus of this year’s CeBIT technology trade fair, which opens tomorrow in Germany. Tech companies from around the world will showcase products like servers that use less electricity alongside their hot new gadgets, AP reports. The emphasis on green ideas sets the tone for...

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Mar 3, 2008 6:30 AM CST

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Documentary follows star bear cub from tiny fluffball to frightening teen

(Newser) - Once celebrity polar bear Knut got big and his fluffy fur gained a yellowish-gray tint, public attention turned to younger, cuter bears. But now the spotlight is back on the Berlin Zoo's most famous orphan, with the premiere of a new documentary called Knut and Friends, the Canadian Press reports.

Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

Mar 1, 2008 8:40 PM CST

Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

Rendering is based on a cast, portrait, and papers from his time

(Newser) - Forensic artists have re-created Johann Sebastian Bach’s head based on a cast of his skull and documents from the composer’s time, the BBC reports. The model, built at Scotland’s Dundee University, is “the most complete face that can be built from the available reliable information,”...

Anne Frank's Lost Love Revealed

Feb 27, 2008 4:08 PM CST

Anne Frank's Lost Love Revealed

Childhood friend of diarist's darling 'Petel' donates photo

(Newser) - Anne Frank's sweetheart now has a face to go along with his pet name. A photo of 12-year-old Lutz Peter Schiff, or Petel, as she sometimes called him, has been donated to the Anne Frank House by a childhood friend, reports ABC News. Frank wrote that she loved so strongly...

Hedgehog Lobby Sways McD's

Feb 27, 2008 2:26 PM CST

Hedgehog Lobby Sways McD's

German group convinces giant to replace McFlurry lids that trapped spiky critters

(Newser) - Under fire from environmental groups in Germany, McDonald's plans to replace lids on its McFlurry dessert so as not to threaten hedgehogs—which were getting their heads trapped in the lids and starving to death, Der Spiegel reports. "We needed to find an opening that was big enough for...

Paris-Berlin Relations Turn Sour

Feb 27, 2008 10:08 AM CST

Paris-Berlin Relations Turn Sour

Tempers fraying in Merkel's camp after 2 high-level cancellations

(Newser) - Only a week after Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel called off a scheduled meeting, France and Germany's finance ministers canceled their own summit yesterday, reports AFP. While nobody wants to say that the leaders of Europe's two largest countries are getting testy with each other, disagreements over economic policy and...

Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan

Feb 26, 2008 7:36 PM CST

Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan

EU's high court rules against German cheese makers

(Newser) - Europe's high court ruled today that only Italians can call their cheese Parmesan, Bloomberg reports. The judges shot down an argument by German cheese-makers that the term is generic. "This is absolutely wonderful news," said the author of an Italian cheese guide. "There is no more risk...

German Tax Case Reads
Like Spy Thriller

Feb 26, 2008 5:34 PM CST

German Tax Case Reads Like Spy Thriller

Informant's tale rife with code names and kidnappings

(Newser) - Code names, kidnappings, secrets sold to international intelligence agencies: these staples of a thriller movie come from the real life of Heinrich Kieber, the whistleblower who for $7.4 million sold German authorities the information that exposed a huge tax-evasion ring. Kieber has been given a new identity and is...

Siemens to Slash 4,000 Jobs

Feb 25, 2008 6:31 PM CST

Siemens to Slash 4,000 Jobs

Troubled telecom sparks fear of union anger over cuts

(Newser) - Siemens is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs and moving 3,000 workers away from its troubled telecom equipment unit, sparking fears of union outcry in Germany, the Wall Street Journal reports. Once a $30 billion annual revenue giant, the business has been trailing competitors in cheap-labor countries like China and...