Google extends opt-out deadline for Street View
Responding to a firestorm of protest in Germany over its disputed Street View navigation service, Google said Thursday it would extend a deadline for allowing people to opt out.
Day: August 19, 2010
Germany
Germany
Ex-lover says No Angels singer admitted to HIV
No Angels pop star Nadja Benaissa confessed this week to having unprotected sex with three partners without telling them of her HIV status, but on Thursday a former boyfriend told the court that she was honest with him about her infection.
Sweden
Swedish feels the squeeze in Finland
Swedish has been spoken in Finland for hundreds of years, yet declining numbers of speakers and a lack of support from many Finnish speakers mean the language is under pressure like never before, writes Carina Chela.
Sweden
Zoo antelope may have starved to death
A bongo antelope at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna may have starved to death, newspaper Eskilstuna-Kuriren wrote on Wednesday.
Germany
Bundeswehr closes probe against Klein for Kunduz air strike
The Bundeswehr on Thursday ended its disciplinary investigation of Col. Georg Klein, the German officer who called a controversial air strike in Afghanistan last year leaving scores of civilians dead.
Sweden
Agent: Ibrahimovic is staying at Barcelona
Sweden and Barcelona star Zlatan Ibrahimovic is going nowhere, his agent Mino Raiola said on Thursday, pouring cold water on reports linking the Swedish forward with a move from Barcelona to AC Milan.
Germany
Bundesbank sees 3 percent growth in 2010
The German economy should grow by 3.0 percent this year, the country's central bank said on Thursday, raising a previous forecast of 1.9 percent following record second quarter growth.
Germany
Germany increases aid to Pakistan by €10 million
Germany's has increased its humanitarian aid to Pakistan by €10 million to €25 million to help the millions of flood victims struggling to survive, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Sweden
Aide moved over ‘Islam is like Nazism’ comment
A civil servant working under Integration Minister Nyamko Sabuni will be assigned new duties after writing a blog saying that there are no good adherents of Islam and comparing the religion to Communism or Nazism.
Germany
German angst alone cannot stop Google
Google Street View is still harmless, says German consumer protection expert Falk Lüke, but that doesn’t mean the current discussion surrounding it is unnecessary. Instead, we should be focused on creating international rules for online privacy.
Sweden
Ex-police chief appeals jail term for sex offences
Göran Lindberg, the former Uppsala county police chief convicted in July for a string of sex crimes, has appealed his six and half year prison sentence.
Sweden
Svenska Spel chair to repay expenses
Svenska Spel chair, former deputy prime minister Margareta Winberg, will repay more than 22,000 kronor ($2,982) that she received erroneously in expenses for her role, according to the company's report to the Ministry of Finance.
Germany
Toddler attacked by bear after climbing zoo fence
A father saved his three-year-old daughter from a bear attack after the girl managed to climb a fence into the animal’s zoo enclosure, police in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said on Thursday.
Sweden
Sweden set for worst grain harvest in 15 years
Sweden is set to experience the worst grain harvest in 15 years due to adverse weather conditions during the sowing season and the summer, according to a new forecast from the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket).
Germany
German-born Roma teens face tough new life
For two teenage Roma sisters, life has turned into a nightmare since they were expelled from Germany, the only home they had ever known, and forced to settle in Kosovo, a country they had never seen.
Germany
Welfare kids to get voucher cards for educational and extracurricular needs
Children of families on Germany's Hartz IV welfare benefits will be given special voucher credit cards to access educational and extracurricular activities rather than their parents being handed cash, under a government scheme detailed this week.
Sweden
What’s On in Sweden: August 20th – 26th
What’s on in Sweden: Magnificent men and their flying machines in Stockholm, midnight runners in Gothenburg, and it's festival time in Malmö.
Germany
Police remove hundreds of Stuttgart 21 protestors
Police dragged away hundreds of protesters at the Stuttgart central train station on Wednesday night to clear the way for work on the controversial “Stuttgart 21” project to turn the site into a major European transportation hub.
Sweden
Woman left with one foot in a grave after rainfall
A woman tending to a family grave in a churchyard in southern Sweden on Wednesday was left three feet under after her leg sank through soil rendered sodden by the recent heavy rains.
Germany
‘Ethical’ bank frozen for ballooning debt
An alternative German bank whose stated mission was to give customers democratic control over how their deposits were used was shut down late on Wednesday because of its runaway debt.
Germany
What’s on in Germany: August 19 – 25
This week's highlights: Pop in Cologne, Argentine stories in Frankfurt, dragonboat races in Hamburg and a palace festival in Potsdam.
Sweden
Two candidates caught buying sex in union flat
Two Social Democratic election candidates from central Sweden were caught by police having sex with prostitutes in a Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen i Sverige, LO) flat in Stockholm.
Sweden
Liberals: Link free school funding to quality
Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund announced on Swedish public radio's P1 channel on Thursday morning that the dividends to the owners of privately run free schools should be stopped if the schools experience a drop in quality.
Germany
Bayern Munich still the team to beat as Bundesliga kicks off
With Bayern Munich starting the defence of their Bundesliga title on Friday at home to 2009 champions Wolfsburg, the question on fans' lips here is can anyone stop their march to the title?
Sweden
Party leaders, not issues, will determine election
Elections in Sweden tend to be decided over issues rather than candidates, but with the upcoming September 19th vote for the first time pitting two blocs against each other, personal politics are playing an unprecedented role, writes AFP's Rita Devlin Marier.
Germany
Banks threatened with withdrawal fee caps
Cash machine withdrawal fees could be capped by the government under a plan being hatched to stop banks stalling on an industry-wide agreement to slash soaring fees, a media report said Thursday.
Sweden
Sweden probes swine flu vaccine for narcolepsy
The Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket) began an inquiry on Wednesday into vaccinations for swine flu made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline suspected of provoking narcolepsy.
Germany
Duisburg fails to block Love Parade files
The city of Duisburg was forced late on Wednesday to abandon its effort to block the release of confidential documents on the internet detailing the recent Love Parade tragedy that killed 21 people.