Gay trips to Islamic countries anger Swiss Muslims
Swiss Muslim leaders have reacted angrily after it was reported that a travel agency specializing in holidays for gay people is organizing tours of Muslim countries.
Day: April 18, 2011
Switzerland
Germany
Deutsche Bahn spending €600 mln on diesel trains
Deutsche Bahn said on Monday it had ordered 200 diesel locomotives for passenger and freight trains – an investment of up to €600 million ($859 million).
Germany
Summer-like weather expected as Easter nears
Germany can expect balmy, summer-like weather over the Easter holiday weekend, the German Weather Service (DWD) said Monday.
Sweden
Russian backer secures Saab property funds
Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov has agreed a deal with an independent European bank to handle payments to Swedish carmaker Saab with regard to the sale of its property holdings, his spokesperson has confirmed.
Germany
Berlin urges Finland to back euro consensus
In the wake of the Eurosceptic Finnish party True Finns’ electoral gains at the weekend, Germany has urged the Scandinavian country to abide by European Union resolutions on the bloc's common currency.
Sweden
Stockholm agency touts ad space on out-of-office emails
A Stockholm ad agency is using the occasion of an art director's parental leave to launch a service selling ad space on out-of-office messages.
Germany
Schalke’s Neuer heading to Bayern
Bayern Munich executives on Monday gave the strongest hints yet that Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will soon be moving from Schalke 04 to the Bundesliga giants.
Sweden
Pirate Bay signs up to file sharing research study
Swedish file sharing website The Pirate Bay has agreed to participate with researchers at Lund University in a major survey of the habits and norms of those using the popular website.
Sweden
Green light for Swedish rail operator’s ‘graffiti database’
Swedish rail operator SJ has been given clearance by the Swedish Data Inspection Board (Datainspektionen) to open a "graffiti database" in order to assist police reports and damages claims.
Sweden
Libyan exiles protest as embassy drops rebel flag
A group of opposition exile Libyans have gathered outside the Libyan embassy in Stockholm on Monday to protest that the independence era rebel flag raised in February has been taken down.
Germany
Boom pours tax money into treasuries
The booming economy is pumping windfall money into German government purses, with the tax intake in March a whopping 16.5 percent higher than the same month last year, media reported Monday.
Germany
Rapper turned Islamist preacher faces weapons charges
Former Berlin rapper Deso Dogg, who quit music to become a radical Islamic preacher, is facing weapons charges after police raided his home and found ammunition.
Switzerland
Thieves steal 230 Zurich pigeons
Thieves have raided barn near Zurich and stolen birds worth 25,000 Swiss francs, according to reports.
Sweden
Volvo helps pioneer ‘hands-free’ driving
Swedish carmaker Volvo wants to let drivers kick back, take their hands off the wheel, and catch up on a little TV while barreling down the motorway, all in the name of improving road safety, The Local's Geoff Mortimore explains.
Sweden
Red Cross chief loses fraud appeal
Johan af Donner, the former Swedish Red Cross communications chief sentenced to five years in prison for swindling the organisation out of millions of kronor, has lost an appeal against his conviction.
Sweden
Sweden mulls impact of Finnish far-right rise
Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt has expressed concern over the possible impact of the Finnish elections on Nordic and EU countries, after the emergence of a nationalist party as a political force.
Germany
Flipped truck spills cattle onto A7 motorway
A truck carrying 24 cattle overturned on Bavaria's A7 motorway near Schweinfurt early Monday morning, spilling the animals into traffic and forcing its temporary closure, the police said.
Switzerland
Swiss deny help to recover Mubarak assets
Switzerland has denied legal aid to Tunisia and Egypt to recover the assets of ousted presidents Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, an official spokesman has said.
Switzerland
Missing twins: police search draws blank
Swiss police said Friday a massive operation to find missing twins kidnapped in January by their father had failed to uncover any new evidence.
Sweden
Stockholmers pay half of Sweden’s taxes: study
Roughly half of Swedish tax revenues are generated by residents in and around the capital city of Stockholm, according to a new study.
Germany
Road tolls canvassed in secret ministry paper
German motorists could be slapped with up to €365 a year in extra costs under a secret government study into the introduction of road tolls, media reported Monday.
Sweden
Swedish film crew arrested in Azerbaijan
A Swedish film team was arrested in Azerbaijan at the weekend while working on a documentary about freedom of speech.
Germany
Violent neo-Nazis on the march
Violent neo-Nazis are growing in number, the head of the domestic intelligence agency said Monday, confirming a troubling trend of recent years.
Sweden
‘Medical mistakes kill 3,000 Swedes a year’
Around 3,000 people die every year in Sweden because of deficient patient safety, according to two leading doctors, who argue that Sweden needs to follow other countries in debating how to address the problem.
Germany
Train drivers in fresh strike on Monday
Train drivers at five major private rail operators will again go on strike Monday afternoon and will not return to work until Thursday.