What’s on in Germany: June 2 – 8
This Week's Highlights: Chekhov in Frankfurt, short films in Hamburg, and an exhibition on container architecture in Düsseldorf.
Day: June 1, 2011
Germany
Germany
Germany home to growing ‘super rich’ class
Germany is now second only to the United States when it comes to "super rich" households worth more than $100 million (€70 million), according to a study published this week.
Sweden
Norwegian set to launch Stockholm-New York flights
Budget airline Norwegian is planning to launch direct flights from Stockholm to New York from the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013, the company has confirmed.
France
Unemployment falls slightly
France's unemployment rate fell slightly from 9.3 to 9.2 percent of the active population in the first quarter of 2011, the state statistics agency INSEE announced Wednesday.
Germany
Super-fast mobile internet set to expand
Mobile internet surfing in Germany is set to become much faster with the construction of fourth-generation mobile networks beginning this year in over 100 cities, Deutsche Telekom announced Wednesday.
France
Ferry: child sex ‘hushed up by officials’
Still digesting news of sex assault charges against a presidential contender and allegations against a minister, French voters are now confronted with rumours of a high-level paedophile cover-up.
France
French windfall for Hong Kong consulate
The home of France's top diplomat in Hong Kong, located in one of the Chinese territory's glitziest districts, has sold for a whopping €51.6 million, the consulate said Wednesday.
Switzerland
UBS faces French tax probe – report
French authorities have opened a preliminary probe into the business practices of Swiss banking giant UBS, a judicial source said Wednesday.
Sweden
Government rules out royal truth commission
The Swedish government has rejected calls for the establishment of a truth commission to investigate the King, his friends and their alleged contacts with the criminal underworld.
Germany
Alarm spreads as E. coli cases rise sharply
The number of E. coli cases has risen dramatically in northern Germany, authorities announced Wednesday, with at least 180 new cases emerging in the past 24 hours in Hamburg and Lower Saxony alone.
Germany
Warm and sunny weather set for Ascension Day
The Ascension Day holiday on Thursday should bring warm and cheery weather to Germany, with the German Weather Service (DWD) forecasting sunny skies and temperatures of up to 25 degrees Celsius for much of the country.
Sweden
Three men held for human trafficking
Police in Gothenburg have detained three men on suspicion of trafficking Romanian women.
Sweden
‘Danish Marmite ban, be damned’: British ex-pat
The news that Denmark has recently banned Marmite caused widespread panic among British ex-pats there, leaving UK native and Marmite lover Tim Harvey wondering whether the decision may have even more far-reaching consequences.
Sweden
Charges filed against sex chamber suspect
The 47-year-old man suspected of holding a woman prisoner in an underground sex-chamber in western Sweden was charged on Wednesday of kidnapping and aggravated rape.
Switzerland
Drugged-up bodybuilder causes road carnage
A Swiss amateur bodybuilder has caused a series of accidents as he drove on the wrong way down a motorway in the Czech Republic.
Switzerland
Swiss weatherman not guilty of rape
A Swiss weatherman who is one of Germany's best-known television personalities was acquitted of raping a girlfriend Tuesday in a case that riveted the country and raised questions about media coverage of high-profile trials.
Germany
Spain threatens to sue Hamburg for E. coli scare
Spain threatened Wednesday to sue Hamburg for damages after health officials in the northern German city pointed to Spanish cucumbers as the source of a lethal E. coli outbreak.
Sweden
IMF warns of Swedish house price decline
Sweden's housing market shows signs of a bubble and is on the verge of a sustained price decline, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in a new report.
Switzerland
Two Britons die in Swiss motorbike crash
Two British citizens were killed in a motorbike pile-up in southern Switzerland that involved nine vehicles, reports have said.
Sweden
Swedish woman dies after ambulance no show
A Swedish woman died in hospital after being forced to call for an ambulance four times, according to a report filed with the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Germany
Football boss calls for Qatar bribery probe
The head of Germany's football federation, Theo Zwanziger, called on Wednesday for FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar over bribery allegations.
Germany
China’s Lenovo to buy PC firm Medion
The Chinese computer giant Lenovo announced Wednesday it was planning to take over German electronics firm Medion – best known for making low-budget PCs for supermarket chain Aldi – for about €629 million.
Sweden
Experts cast doubt on Bergman DNA claims
The Swedish experts who carried out the DNA tests used as a basis for the claim that deceased film director Ingmar Bergman was switched at birth, have disputed the conclusions, according to a report in the Ny Teknik weekly.
Sweden
King Carl XVI Gustaf: the complete interview
The denials offered by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in an interview on Monday night have much of the country talking about the future of the King and the monarchy. See and read the interview and form your own opinion.
Sweden
Swedish school in million kronor bullying lawsuit
A school in western Sweden has been sued for almost a million kronor ($160,000) by four families who claim that not enough has been done to help bullied children.
Germany
Pressure grows on Left over anti-Semitism
Pressure is growing within Germany's Left party to take decisive action against alleged anti-Semitic tendencies among the socialists.
Sweden
Gang rivalry leading to more violence: police
An increase in the number of criminal gangs in Sweden is behind a rise in violent crime in the last two years, according to police.
Germany
Kachelmann case sparks backlash against media
Weatherman Jörg Kachelmann’s acquittal on rape charges has prompted a backlash against the German media, with some politicians demanding journalists police themselves or face stricter regulation.
Sweden
Man found shot near isolated pedestrian path
A man in his fifties with life-threatening gunshot wounds was found lying near a walking path in south central Sweden late Tuesday night in what police have classified as attempted murder.
Germany
German faces stiff competition for US language students
With Spanish dominating US language instruction and Chinese classes on the rise, are American schoolchildren still bothering to learn German? Miriam Widman reports.
Sweden
Alleged King pics to be released: ex-gangster
Ex-porn club owner and reputed gangster Mille Markovic said on Tuesday he plans to publish compromising pictures of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf he claims to have in his possession.