Merkel nominates Wulff for president
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition on Thursday nominated Lower Saxony’s premier Christian Wulff to be Germany’s next president.
Day: June 3, 2010
Germany
Germany
Aigner unfriends Facebook
German Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner said Thursday she was deleting her Facebook account in protest because the social networking site's new privacy settings announced last week do not go far enough.
Germany
Schäuble moots hiking ‘solidarity’ tax to help rescue budget
As the German government scrambles to rein in the ballooning deficit, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has reportedly proposed a hike in so-called 'solidarity' surcharge - the unpopular reunification tax.
Sweden
Organizer: ship deaths ‘premeditated murder’
The Swedish organizer of the Ship to Gaza has accused Israel of using disproportionate military force against a peaceful aid operation. Mattias Gardell said the Israelis had committed “premeditated murder” and were guilty of piracy.
Sweden
Zorn painting sold at record price
An Anders Zorn painting fetched a record price for a Swedish work when it was sold at auction in Stockholm on Thursday. Anders Zorn's "Sommarnöje" ("Summer Delight") sold for 26 million kronor ($3.35 million).
Germany
States aim to block cuts to solar energy subsidies
A majority of Germany’s 16 states are set to block the federal government’s planned cuts to solar energy subsidies in the upper house of parliament on Friday.
Sweden
What do the Swedish Gaza activists hope to achieve?
The Ship to Gaza incident was, to say the least, badly handled by Israel. The blockade of Gaza is wrong. But Swedish activists need to ask themselves tough questions about the consequences of their actions, says Stockholm-based Israeli journalist David Stavrou.
Sweden
Opposition mounts to euro adoption in Sweden
Opposition to joining the euro adoption is growing in Sweden, with an increasing number of people fearing that businesses would lose out if the country scrapped the krona and joined the single currency, a poll showed on Thursday.
Sweden
Nuclear plant heads propose armed security
The heads of Sweden's nuclear power plants have called for the installation of armed rapid reaction forces to be put in place in order to increase security.
Germany
Talk turns to Christian Wulff for president
Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff has replaced Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen as the favourite to become Germany's new president after an abrupt shift in the feverish speculation about the post, media outlets reported Thursday.
Germany
Thousands of WWII bombs found on sunken German ship
Russian authorities have found a sunken German ship in the Baltic Sea with more than 10,000 World War II-era munitions aboard, an emergency official said on Thursday.
Sweden
Swedes prefer text to telephone calls
Swedes sent a total of 16.3 billion text messages in 2009, an increase of 65 percent on 2008 and more than the number of calls made on the country's mobile telecom networks, a new report from the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (Post- och telestyrelsen - PTS).
Germany
Paraffin spill pollutes Baltic beaches
Clean-up crews are taking to beaches in the state of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania to remove clumps of paraffin that leaked into the Baltic Sea from an unknown source, German maritime authorities said on Thursday.
Germany
Persecuted by the Nazis, former Berliners visit their hometown
A programme offering people persecuted by the Nazis a chance to visit their former hometown Berlin is slowly winding down. Julia Lipkins speaks with some of the last survivors.
Sweden
Christian Democrats propose jury duty
The Christian Democrats have proposed kicking out politically appointed lay judges in the court system and introducing jury duty for all citizens, emulating the model used in many common law countries like the US, England and the Commonwealth nations.
Sweden
21-year-old confesses to Halmstad killing
Police have confirmed that a 21-year-old man has confessed to the killing of a 73-year-old woman found dead in a woodland area outside Halmstad on Saturday, according to the officer in charge of the murder investigation, Lars Hamrén.
Germany
Heavy rains threaten Bavaria with flooding
As floodwaters recede in northeast Germany, heavy rains in the south have raised flood alarms to their highest level in Bavaria on Thursday, the state environmental authority said.
Germany
What’s on in Germany: June 3 – 9
This Week's Highlights: Art studios open to the public in Cologne, it's culture night in Hamburg, and there's opera for all in Berlin.
Germany
Summer temperatures finally on the way
After the grey and chilly weather of recent weeks, summertime temperatures will slowly arrive in Germany over the weekend, the German Weather Service (DWD) said on Thursday.
Sweden
Bildt on hand to welcome deported Swedes
Sweden's foreign minister was at Istanbul airport in the early hours of Thursday morning to assist Swedes deported following their participation in the Gaza aid convoy.
Germany
‘Grand coalition’ talks break down in Rhineland
Talks between the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) to form a so-called “grand coalition” in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ended without an agreement late on Wednesday night, leaving the future of the state government unclear.
Sweden
Lagerbäck: Nigeria can beat anyone
Lars Lagerbäck, the Swedish coach leading Nigeria at the World Cup, has said that his adopted nation can beat anyone as the team arrived in South Africa on Wednesday.
Germany
Ballack urged to retire from national team
Injured Germany captain Michael Ballack has been urged to retire from international football by Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß and forget about leading the national team at Euro 2012.
Sweden
Royal Court: Princess Lilian has Alzheimer’s
Princess Lilian, the 95-year-old widow of Prince Bertil, an uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf, has Alzheimer's and will thus not be able to attend the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling in June, the Royal Court has confirmed.
Sweden
What’s On in Sweden: June 4th – June 10th
What’s on in Sweden: Ambassadorial football in Stockholm, picnic for unity in Gothenburg and Canadian poetry in Malmö.