Merkel hails eurozone rescue deal for Greece
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed a new rescue package for Greece and other heavily indebted eurozone countries late on Thursday, calling it crucial to ensuring Europe’s future.
Day: July 21, 2011
Germany
Sweden
Swedish citizen jailed in Serbia released
The Swedish citizen remanded into custody in Serbia last week suspected of war crimes has been released, according to information from the foreign ministry.
Germany
Stuttgart 21 passes test as opponents baulk
The conflict over the Stuttgart 21 railway project flared up again on Thursday when opponents to the plan said they would not take part in the presentation of a ‘stress test’ report on how it would function, branding it nothing more than a show.
Sweden
Centre party reveals leadership candidates
The Centre party on Thursday named Annie Johansson, Anna-Karin Hatt and Anders W Jonsson as the official candidates to succeed outgoing party leader Maud Olofsson.
Sweden
Nurse used medical records for laundry note
A nurse from Lund, in southern Sweden, is in trouble after using a page from confidential medical records for a scribbled note she stuck up in the laundry room in the house where she lives.
Germany
Thais refuse to pay guarantee on prince’s seized jet
Thailand's foreign minister on Thursday ruled out paying a multi-million dollar bank guarantee to secure the release of the Thai crown prince's jet, which has been impounded in Germany.
Germany
Porsche mulls update of James Dean’s 550 Spyder
German luxury carmaker Porsche is mulling a reissue of the iconic 550 Spyder model owned by US actor James Dean, boss Matthias Müller told the business daily Handelsblatt on Thursday.
Germany
Ships turn to private security to fight pirates
German ships braving the waters off Somalia will now be able to officially employ private security firms to fight off attacks by pirates, after the government admitted it could not provide the protection itself.
France
Le Pen: France could expand to include part of Belgium
The leader of the far-right Front National has said that the French-speaking area of Belgium, known as Wallonia, could eventually become part of France.
Sweden
Getting inked: Sweden’s tattoo trend laid bare
As more and more Swedes roll up their sleeves and trouser legs to get tattoos, contributor Emy Gelb takes a look at what inspires Swedes to let their bodies become walking works of art.
Germany
Woman killed in Hesse house explosion
Police have found the body of a 62-year-old woman killed in an explosion that tore apart her house in the southern Hessian municipality of Münster, police said on Thursday.
Sweden
Bachelor party ‘kidnap’ prompts police probe
Police in western Sweden were surprised to find out on Wednesday that the dramatic abduction they were investigating was nothing more than bachelor party prank.
Germany
Groundswell grows to name new tunnel for spaghetti western star
Officials in Schwäbisch Gmünd in Baden-Württemberg have been surprised to discover their public search for name for a new tunnel has been hijacked by an online campaign hoping to honour spaghetti western actor Bud Spencer.
Switzerland
Snobby, hip and pretty: Swiss rate their cantons
A new survey has mapped out what Swiss residents think of the country’s 26 cantons.
Sweden
Ericsson shares slump despite profits boost
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson on Thursday reported a 65 percent rise in net profit in the second quarter on the back of strong sales, but its shares dropped by nearly 7 percent as figures fell short of analyst expectations.
Sweden
Firefighters fear female ‘threat’: study
Many firefighters fear that letting women into the profession will undermine the camaraderie necessary to do a god job in a work environment full of risk, a new study from the University of Gothenburg shows.
France
Belgian tourist murdered in front of his children
A Belgian man was shot dead in a deserted lay-by in the east of France while his two young children watched from the family car.
France
Bungling ex sees revenge plan go up in smoke
A man in Nantes who set out to take revenge on his ex-wife ended up in even more trouble when he set fire to the car of a neighbour.
France
Pre-accord key to ending euro crisis: France
An agreement reached between France and Germany on the eve of Thursday's summit on a new bailout for Greece was a prerequisite to ending the eurozone debt crisis, the French government said.
France
Germany, France reach pre-euro summit deal
Germany and France broke their deadlock over a new bailout for Greece ahead of an emergency eurozone summit on Thursday aimed at saving the euro from the worst crisis in its 12-year history.
Germany
UN initiative declares global warming a threat to world peace
The United Nations Security Council has declared that global warming is a threat to world peace and stability, in what has been greeted as a diplomatic triumph by the current council chair Germany.
Switzerland
Jail eco-terrorists for 3 years: prosecutors
Prosecutors have recommended a minimum of three years in prison for three environmental activists on trial for plotting a bomb attack against an IBM research centre.
Switzerland
Mountain snowfalls quell Swiss summer
A cold front bringing low temperatures and snowfalls in the Alps has interrupted summer in Switzerland.
Sweden
AstraZeneca heart drug given US approval
Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca announced on Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Brilinta heart drug for use on patients in the United States.
Germany
What’s on in Germany: July 21 – July 27
This Week's Highlights: Pyrotechnics in Munich, silent film in Hamburg, and sound art in Berlin.
Germany
Germany ‘missed its chance’ to attract skilled eastern Europeans
Germany is not attracting enough immigrants, despite lifting work restrictions in May, latest figures show, leading to criticism of a chance wasted in 2004 when other European countries opened their borders to eastern neighbours.
Switzerland
Roche blames strong Swiss franc for profit dip
Swiss pharma giant Roche on Thursday blamed the strong Swiss currency for a 5.0-percent drop in its first half net profit to 5.259 billion francs ($6.410 billion).
Germany
Nazi Heß exhumed, ashes to be scattered at sea
The body of Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Heß has been exhumed from the Bavarian cemetery where it was buried in the 1980s, in an effort to deprive neo-Nazis of a pilgrimage site.
Switzerland
ABB profits surge 43 percent
Swiss engineering group ABB on Thursday posted a 43 percent increase in second-quarter year-on-year net profits to $893 million (625.7 million euros), meeting investors' expectations.
France
Homeless families seek refuge in hospitals
An increasing number of homeless families are turning to hospitals to house them in the absence of any other provision, according to a report from the public health body of the Ile-de-France region.
Germany
Germany, France break euro bailout deadlock
Germany and France broke their deadlock over a new bailout for Greece ahead of an emergency eurozone summit on Thursday aimed at saving the euro from the worst crisis in its 12-year history.
Sweden
Man arrested for murdering mother
A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his 73-year-old mother in a summer house on an island in Lake Mälaren in eastern Sweden late on Wednesday night.
Sweden
Swedish church wants to recycle cremation waste
The Church of Sweden wants to be able to recycle the metallic waste left after human cremations and which is currently buried each year in cemeteries across the country, according to a report by Sveriges Television (SVT).
Sweden
Man dies after high-speed police chase
A 22-year-old man died when he crashed his motorcycle in Stockholm late Wednesday following a police chase at speeds of up to 250 kilometres/hour.
Germany
Seeking a salty soaking
Summer in Germany is lovely, except for when it isn’t. Never fear: if you’ve hit a grey and rainy patch, a trip to the spa is sure to warm you up. Sally McGrane checks out the WerratalTherme in Hesse.