…ut in the decree are similar to excommunication from the church, German observers say the word is carefully avoided in the decree. Tax on Germany’s Christians: • 25 million Catholics • Tax worth 5 billion euros (2010) • 24 million Protestants • Tax worth 4.3 billion euros • German population 82 million …
Jewish and Muslim groups living in Europe have joined forces to defend circumcision for young boys on religious grounds after a German regional court ruled it amounted to bodily harm. A joint statement says the practice is fundamental to their faiths and calls for it to be awarded legal protection. The ruling by the Cologne court – also criticized by the Israeli parliament – does not…
Germany’s army will in future be able to use its weapons on the country’ streets in an extreme situation, the Federal Constitutional Court says. The ruling says the armed forces can be deployed only if Germany faces an assault of “catastrophic proportions”, but not to control demonstrations. The decision to deploy forces must be approved by the federal government. Germany’s army will…
A young man who turned up in Berlin last year saying he had been staying in woods for years is a Dutch 20-year-old who was living in the Netherlands until last September, German police say. According to German police, his Dutch stepmother identified him from police photos. His real name is said to be Robin. The boy called himself “Ray” and was dubbed the “forest boy” by Ge…
German media revealed thar Russian PM, Vladimir Putin has been accused of being a wife-beater and philanderer by German spies. Vladimir Putin allegedly had several affairs while he was himself a spy in Dresden, former East Germany in the late Eighties. Files from West German spy agency BND published in the German media claim an interpreter agent befriended Putin’s wife Lyudmila, now 53, who poure…
The German economy returns to growth in the first quarter of 2012 with a better-than-expected 0.5% rise in GDP, official figures have shown. In Q4 2011, the German economy contracted by 0.2%, its first dip since 2009. Meanwhile, the French economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter, after growth of 0.1% at the end of 2011. Figures released later on Tuesday are expected to show that the eur…
…idden southern eurozone countries. Some 37,000 people have signed a petition to the court asking it to block the ESM, and make it subject to a referendum. Since Germany is due to contribute 27% to the 500 billion-euro rescue fund, it cannot proceed without German ratification. In addition to its ESM verdict, the Constitutional Court is also due to rule on a new fiscal treaty aimed at forcing euroz…
doctor Max Danz – president of the West German Athletics Federation – that doping tests at the World Cup 1966 had uncovered the illegal use of ephedrine. England famously beat West Germany 4-2 in the Wembley Stadium world Cup 1966 final. The news that three German team members were under the influence of a banned stimulant has shocked the surviving England winners. Defender George Cohe…
German Development Minister Dirk Niebel who sent home a big Afghan carpet free of charge aboard an intelligence service plane has drawn criticism from opposition politicians. A spokesman for Minister Dirk Niebel says the customs duty required for the carpet will be paid. Dirk Niebel bought the 30 kg (66-pound) carpet for himself in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Spiegel news website reports. It co…
German economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2012, helped by exports and domestic consumption. Earlier, France announced its economy had recorded zero growth in the period, which was better than had been expected. The French economy had also posted zero growth in the previous two quarters. Official gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the whole of the eurozone are due out from the st…
…d: “Everyone should weigh their words very carefully.” Earlier, Christian Social Union leader Alexander Dobrindt, an ally of Angela Merkel, said he expected Greece to leave the eurozone in 2013. He said he saw “no way round” a Greek exit. He also called the European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi “Europe’s currency forger”. His party, a junior coali…
Susanne Lothar, one of German best-known film actresses with roles in such international hits as The Reader and The White Ribbon, has died aged 51. A lawyer for Susanne Lothar’s family announced the actress had passed away on Wednesday, without specifying the cause of death. Many associate her with the dark films of Austrian director Michael Haneke, such as Funny Games and The Piano Teacher, as w…
…cluding awards for cinematography and costume design. The film, which played at the London Film Festival last autumn, marked the first time Roland Emmerich had filmed in his home country for more than 20 years. The Hollywood-based director is best known for effects-laden blockbusters such as Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and, more recently, 2012. Anonymous starred a host of British actors incl…
The 2012 International German Beard and Moustache Championships have been held in Bad Schussenried. Beards from around the world have travelled to Bad Schussenried and took part in 18 categories, including Imperial Moustaches, Dali Moustaches and Chin Beard Freestyle. A total of 163 of the world’s most interestingly decorated faces paraded through the town before the competition got under w…
in when the eruption occurred. In an advisory, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology called the eruption a “small phreatic event” that lasted about 73 seconds and sent ash 500m into the air. No intensification of volcanic activity was observed, it said, and the alert level would not be raised. It said small steam and ash ejections could occur with little or no warning…
a neighbor tipped off the authorities. Police arrested the couple who enslaved the German girl in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Tuzla region after a neighbor tipped off the authorities Milenko Marinkovic, 52, and his wife Slavojka, 45, were detained on May 17 on suspicion of treating the woman in an inhuman way. The girl was found in a forest near the town of Kalesija. The couple had allegedly tried t…
Christian Wulff, Germany’s president, has announced his resignation, after prosecutors called for his immunity to be lifted. Christian Wulff, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel is embroiled in a scandal over a home loan that he accepted when he was premier of Lower Saxony. Chancellor Angela Merkel cancelled a visit to Italy on Friday to deal with the crisis, and she will give a statement shortly…
German health experts have been left baffled by a small village in their country where cancer has hit almost every household. Wewelsfleth, the German village which has a population of 1,500, has been labeled the “village of the damned” as new cancer cases are 50% above average. Researchers from the University of Lubeck who investigated the phenomenon, which includes breast, lung, oesophageal, wom…
Stefan Ramin’s teeth found in a cannibal fire camp on Nuku Hiva island. Stefan Ramin, a German round-the-world sailor is feared to have been eaten by cannibals during a visit to Nuku Hiva, a South Sea island of French Polynesia. Police found remains on a camp fire which are believed to belong to Stefan Ramin, a 40-year-old business adviser from Haselau in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. S…
On August 27, AFP announced that Goethe had been voted the greatest German of all time in a poll of 2,000 people. The survey was conducted by the Forsa institute for the daily Bild newspaper. Konrad Adenauer, West Germany’s first chancellor after World War II (1949-1963) was the second choice of the readers, while Albert Einstein was the third. There were only two living personalitie…
Father Andreas, a German Catholic priest has admitted 280 counts of sexual abuse involving three boys in the past decade, saying he did not think he was doing harm. Priest Andreas L., 46, told a court in Braunschweig that he had first abused the 9-year-old son of a widowed woman parishioner. After being banned by his diocese from making further contact with the boy, the priest abused two brothers…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that her country’s economic climate in 2013 will be “even more difficult”. In her New Year message, Angela Merkel also cautioned that the eurozone debt crisis was far from over. However, she did say that reforms designed to address the roots of the problem were beginning to bear fruit. Angela Merkel’s comments appeared to contradict German Fi…
The German economy slowed to “near stagnation” in March 2013, while France’s recorded its biggest contraction for four years, according to a Markit survey. The Markit composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which measures both the manufacturing and services sectors, declined to 50.6 in Germany last month, from 53.3 in February. Any figure above 50 indicates growth. Fra…
Belgium has sent a complaint to the European Commission regarding low wages at some German firms, described by Belgium as unfair “social dumping”. The Belgian government sent the letter alleging that Germany’s “mini-jobs” undermined EU competition rules. Some workers get just 3 or 4 euro hourly in such jobs, without any social protection, Belgium says. The Belgian g…
…ontinues to prosper despite Europe’s economic trouble. The country has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000 – though its population of about 510,000 people is still smarting from having lost the No. 1 spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and 120,000 jobs. For that reason, more than 43% of the people in Luxembourg are for…
Zahra Shahid Hussain funeral: Murdered PTI's vice-president buried in KarachiThe funeral of the murdered vice-president of Pakistan's PTI party, Zahra Shahid Hussain, has been held at a mosque in the country’s capital, Karachi. Zahra Shahid Hussain…
Madeleine McCann case: British cleaners and Portuguese manual workers among new suspectsBritish cleaners and Portuguese manual workers are among new suspects in the Madeleine McCann investigation, according to recent reports in UK’s media. Scotland Yard…
Imran Khan blames MQM's Altaf Hussain for Zahra Shahid Hussain's killing in KarachiFormer cricketer Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan's PTI party, has blamed one of his political rivals for the killing of PTI vice-president Zahra Shahid Hussain. Zahra…
Richard DeCoatsworth: Former police officer once hailed as hero arrested in Port Richmond Richard DeCoatsworth, a former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to First Lady Michelle Obama at a speech by President Barack Obama, has…
Obama administration knew IRS was targeting conservative groups since June 2012Obama administration knew since June 2012 about an investigation into complaints from conservative tea party groups that they were being harassed by IRS, and the probe was…
EU bans refillable bottles and dipping bowls of olive oil at restaurant tablesStarting with 2014, the European Commission will ban the use of refillable bottles and dipping bowls of olive oil at restaurant tables. From 1 January 2014, restaurants may…
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