Merkel slams dearth of female executives
Chancellor Angela Merkel called the dearth of women executives at German companies a “scandal” on Tuesday, as she oversaw the signing of a charter aimed at improving “family-friendly” working conditions.
Day: February 8, 2011
Germany
Germany
Priest charged with embezzling over €1 mln
A former Catholic priest in Bavaria is awaiting trial following after being charged with embezzling Church funds totalling over €1 million.
Germany
Mild weather expected to last most of the week
Spring-like conditions are expected to last across much of Germany through Thursday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD). But winter could return to the eastern part of the country this weekend.
Sweden
Sweden mulls raising retirement age
Sweden's social insurance minister has announced that the government has appointed a new committee to investigate whether the country should consider raising the retirement age from the current 65.
Sweden
Swedish judiciary ‘independent’: Reinfeldt
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Tuesday said the description of Sweden's judiciary system presented by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's defence lawyers was untrue.
Germany
Speed skater Pechstein set on Olympics despite doping ban
German speed skater Claudia Pechstein has said she is determined to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, although technically she remains banned after serving a two-year suspension for doping.
Germany
Cologne residents weary of Karneval craziness
Cologne may be the traditional heartland of Germany’s Karneval festivities, but city residents these days are looking a little less kindly on its booze-fuelled shenanigans. Some are even saying the Rhineland has lost some of its renowned tolerance.
Sweden
Swedbank bounces back into the black
Swedish bank Swedbank surprised analysts on Tuesday with 2010 figures showing that the country's fourth largest bank was back in profit.
Sweden
Outrage over Swedish teens’ sex dream essays
A class of grade eight students in southern Sweden was asked to write essays about their sexual fantasies and experiences for a school assignment.
Sweden
Wolf hunt saves animals from inbreeding: minister
Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren defended the licensed wolf hunt in Sweden's parliament, the Riksdag, on Tuesday, claiming that it would help bring in new wolves and save the wolf population from inbreeding.
Sweden
Lawyers: no need for Assange to go to Sweden
Lawyers representing WkiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a British court on Tuesday that there was no need to extradite the Australian to Sweden as he could just as well be interviewed over rape allegations by videolink.
Sweden
Cocaine killed Swedish beer dynasty heir: father
Jon Spendrup, of the Spendrup brewing dynasty and personal friend of Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, died last week of a cocaine overdose, his father has confirmed.
Germany
Support grows for hosting Mubarak
More German politicians are supporting allowing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to come to Germany for medical treatment in the hopes it might calm the turmoil his country. But a human rights activist is preparing to press charges against him.
Germany
Volkswagen agrees to 3.2 percent pay hike
Carmaker Volkswagen said Tuesday it had agreed to a 3.2 percent wage hike with trade union IG Metall, setting a key benchmark for Germany's booming economy.
Sweden
Assange: Swedish rape case ‘an empty black box’
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is on Tuesday to face his second day in a British court to continue his fight against extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and molestation.
Sweden
US state issues alert over Swedish email scam
The historic ties between Sweden and the US state of Minnesota play a central role in a new email scam targeting Swedish citizens.
Germany
Meet the 2011 Berlin Film Festival jury
The Berlinale jury, this year led by Isabella Rossellini, decides who takes home the Golden Bear, Silver Bears and the Alfred Bauer Prize in the competition. Meet the members, who are often as quirky as the films they choose to honour.
Sweden
Swedish girl crushed to death in hospital bed
A six-year-old girl has died after she became trapped in a hospital bed at a health care clinic in western Sweden.
Germany
Sailor who died on Gorch Fock was unfit for duty, report says
The 25-year-old female cadet who died after falling from rigging on the German training ship Gorch Fock was unfit for duty because of her weight, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Germany
Tourist forced to buy laptops for Filipino police
Five policemen in the Philippines forced a German tourist to buy them laptop computers by threatening him with false drug and terrorism charges, a police chief said Tuesday.
Germany
Art-house 3D to feature at Berlinale
Art-house cinema in 3D, Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut and new thrillers starring Liam Neeson and Kevin Spacey will headline the 61st Berlin film festival starting Thursday.
Germany
United Nations wants more German soldiers
United Nations General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon has called on Germany to provide more soldiers for its international peacekeeping missions.
Germany
New protests erupt over Stuttgart 21 rail project
Police and opponents of the Stuttgart 21 rail project clashed early Tuesday morning as work began to transplant trees to make way for a new building. Police used force to remove demonstrators who blocked equipment.
Sweden
Swedish preschooler left asleep in snowdrift
A five-year-old was left unnoticed in a snow drift for several hours at a pre-school in Norrköping in eastern Sweden, while a four-year-old boy managed to walk home by himself from a pre-school in central Gävle on Monday.
Sweden
Power cut as storms batter southern Sweden
Stormy weather swept across southern Sweden on Monday night, blowing trees onto roads and leaving over 35,000 customers of electricity utility Eon in Skåne, Blekinge, Halland and Kronoberg without power.
Sweden
SVT reporter: I could have been killed
Bert Sundström, the Sveriges Television (SVT) reporter who was stabbed, beaten and dumped in a Cairo hospital, talked yesterday evening for the first time of his harrowing ordeal.