EU leaders at Brussels summit say they are committed to tackling tax evasion and will push for global action to curb banking secrecy. The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said there was a “strong political will” in Europe to make tax systems fairer. He said the EU would draft tougher rules this [...]
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich says his country will not allow Bulgaria or Romania to join the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone if the issue is put to a vote in the EU on Thursday. “If Romania and Bulgaria insist on a vote, the attempt will fail because of a German veto,” Hans-Peter Friedrich said. Both [...]
German Education Minister Annette Schavan has resigned after Heinrich Heine University stripped her of her doctorate for plagiarism. Duesseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University voted last Tuesday to remove her doctorate following a review. Annette Schavan, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, had insisted she would fight the ruling and not resign. In 2011, Defence Minister [...]
University of Duesseldorf in Germany has voted to strip Education Minister Annette Schavan of her doctorate after an investigation into plagiarism allegations. The University of Duesseldorf’s philosophy faculty decided on Tuesday that she had carried out “a deliberate deception through plagiarism”. Annette Schavan has denied the claims and said she will appeal. An earlier plagiarism [...]
University of Duesseldorf is to investigate allegations that German Education Minister Annette Schavan plagiarized parts of her doctoral thesis in 1980. The University of Duesseldorf has voted to back the inquiry into Annette Schavan’s philosophy thesis on the formation of conscience. Annette Schavan has denied the claims first raised by an anonymous blogger. But the [...]
Voters in the German state of Lower Saxony are going to the polls in a regional election seen as a bellwether for national elections later this year. The state is currently controlled by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in coalition with the pro-market Free Democrats. But opposition parties are hoping to make gains [...]
European Union leaders have agreed on a roadmap for eurozone integration beyond the deal on centralized banking supervision, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Specific dates have not yet been agreed for the phases of integration. But the EU summit chairman, Herman Van Rompuy, said a deal should be reached next year on a joint resolution [...]
EU budget summit held in Brussels has ended without agreement on the 27-strong union’s next seven-year budget. Another meeting will have to be called to sort out the difficulties but it is unclear how differences will be resolved. European Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said he was confident a deal would be reached early next [...]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she doubts an agreement can be reached on the European Union’s 2014-2020 budget at the summit taking place in Brussels. Angela Merkel spoke after negotiations on the 2014-2020 budget were adjourned until midday on Friday. The opening of the summit was delayed for three hours because of stark differences over [...]
EU leaders are to begin talks on the bloc’s 2014-2020 budget, with many of them calling for cuts in line with the savings they are making nationally. Countries that rely heavily on EU funding, including Poland and its ex-communist neighbors, want current spending levels maintained or raised. The UK and some other net contributors say [...]
European Union leaders have agreed to set up a single eurozone banking supervisor – a major step towards a banking union. A legislative framework is to be in place by January 1st 2013, with the body starting work later next year. The European Central Bank-led mechanism will have the power to intervene in any bank [...]
Germany has called on countries using the euro to take decisive steps to bring about closer fiscal integration. Berlin wants the EU’s 27 countries to consider pooling more economic sovereignty at a summit in Brussels which begins on Thursday. French President Francois Hollande says an end to the eurozone crisis is “very close” and wants [...]
Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged Germany’s continuing support to Greece, during her first visit to Athens since the eurozone crisis erupted nearly three years ago. Angela Merkel said Greece had made good progress in dealing with its vast debt but that it was on a “difficult path”. Thousands of people who blame Germany for forcing [...]
France President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are marking the 50th anniversary of an historic speech seen as a key moment in the post-WWII reconciliation between the two countries. Addressing an audience of young Germans in their own language in 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle said they were “children of a great [...]
Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to repeat his plea for more time to implement reforms when he meets French President Francois Hollande. The talks in Paris come a day after Antonis Samaras asked for his country to be given “breathing space” during talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Angela Merkel said she wanted [...]
EU leaders at Brussels summit have agreed to use the eurozone’s bailout fund to support struggling banks directly, without adding to government debt. Speaking after 13 hours of talks in Brussels’, EU chief Herman van Rompuy also said a eurozone-wide supervisory body for banks would be created. Officials said the plans could be finalized during [...]
EU leaders at Brussels summit are examining how to ease the eurozone debt crisis amid competing visions about how to revive the worst-hit economies. As the Brussels summit opened, French President Francois Hollande made a new plea for EU solidarity and Spain warned that its borrowing costs were too high. German Chancellor Angela Merkel scorned [...]
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 [...]
George Soros warns European leaders they have a “three-month window” to save the euro. The billionaire investor said he believed Greece would elect a government willing to abide by loan conditions imposed by the EU in this month’s elections. But George Soros said the German economy would begin in weaken in the autumn, making it [...]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had telephone contact with Greece’s President Karolos Papoulias, amid continuing speculation that his country may have to leave the eurozone. Greek officials said Chancellor Angela Merkel had suggested Greece could hold a referendum on the euro when it votes in national elections next month. However, their German counterparts denied she [...]
France’s President Francois Hollande has arrived in Berlin for key talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after his plane was apparently hit by lightning. Presidential plane was forced to turn back to Paris and Francois Hollande later completed his journey on a second plane. During his inauguration speech earlier in the day, Socialist Francois Hollande [...]
Francois Hollande is set to be sworn in as French president, before travelling to Berlin to discuss the future of the eurozone with Chancellor Angela Merkel. He will be the first Socialist leader since 1995 to occupy the Elysee Palace. Francois Hollande will later try to “find a compromise” with Angela Merkel over the German-led [...]
Ukraine denounces a threatened EU boycott of next month’s Euro 2012 football championship as “destructive”. In a statement, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the move would undermine the image of the tournament and be detrimental to millions of Ukrainians and Poles. Poland – which is co-hosting Euro 2012 – has also criticized any boycott. Several European [...]
Twenty five out of 27 EU leaders have signed a new treaty to enforce budget discipline within the bloc. The “fiscal compact” aims to prevent the 17 eurozone countries again running up huge debts. It must now be ratified by individual parliaments and, in the case of the Irish Republic, a referendum. UK Prime Minister [...]
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 [...]
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Chinua Achebe funeral held in NigeriaThousands of mourners are attending the funeral of renowned author Chinua Achebe in his Nigerian home town of Ogidi in Anambra state. Chinua Achebe's body arrived back in…
John Lennon guitar sells for $408,000 at Julien's AuctionsA guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles has sold for $408,000 at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by the VOX company, was bought…
Arne Svenson: TriBeCa residents threaten to sue artist for secretly photographed them in their own apartmentsResidents at a luxury TriBeCa apartment block in Lower Manhattan are very furious after discovering that artist Arne Svenson, who is their neighbor at a nearby building, has…
Monika Pon-su-san: The Chinese Girl in Vladimir Tretchikoff's paintingEarlier this year Vladimir Tretchikoff's portrait Chinese Girl, often referred to as The Green Lady, was sold for almost £1 million ($1.5 million) at auction in…
Bob Brozman suicide: Guitarist and ethnomusicologist found dead aged 59 at his Santa Cruz homeGuitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman was found dead aged 59 at his home in Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County, CA, on April 23. Bob Brozman’s death was ruled a suicide,…
Harper Lee sues literary agent Samuel Pinkus over To Kill A Mockingbird copyrightHarper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has sued literary agent Samuel Pinkus, who she says tricked her into assigning him the copyright on the Pulitzer Prize-winning…