Initiative seeks to halt country doctor drain
The German government unveiled measures on Wednesday to try to stop a drain of doctors from country to city amid concerns that an ageing population will require ever more health care.
Day: August 3, 2011
Germany
Germany
BMW buyers kept waiting amid high demand
BMW customers are waiting for around three months for their new car, as the Bavarian firm struggles to keep up with demand.
Sweden
Liberals push for end to sex change sterilisation
A Liberal Party MP is planning to present a motion to Sweden's Riksdag in the autumn to push for a removal of the requirement for compulsory sterilization for those undergoing a sex change.
Germany
Honour killings not rising
Researchers who have analysed more than 70 cases of so-called "honour killings" in Germany say they are not on the rise – and suggest that better integration of migrants could help in preventing such crimes.
Sweden
Vilnius mayor crushes car in wild tank ride for Swedish TV show
The mayor of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius has has been filmed driving an armoured vehicle over a parked car as both a prank for a Swedish TV show, and as a blunt warning to drivers to observe the city's regulations.
Sweden
Saab staff to be paid after new share issue
Employees at troubled Swedish automaker Saab are finally set to get paid salaries for July after Swedish Automobile, the troubled carmaker's Dutch owner, announed Wednesday it was issuing new shares.
Sweden
Fork attack not rape: Swedish court
A Swedish court of appeal has ruled that a woman who was penetrated by a grilling fork in a sexual attack is not a victim of rape because she wasn't drunk enough at the time of the incident.
France
French diver killed in Seychelles shark attack
A French tourist diving in the Seychelles died after a possible shark attack, officials said Tuesday.
France
Learn lessons from Nazi Roma killings: Council of Europe
The Council of Europe expressed concern Tuesday about discrimination against Roma, urging its member states to draw lessons from the Nazi massacre of gypsies during World War II.
Switzerland
Saudi man kills snake, thrown in jail
A Saudi man on holiday in Switzerland thought he was doing a good deed when he killed a loose snake in a park. But instead of getting a round of applause, he got jail time.
France
New arrest in Argentina tourist murders
Authorities have arrested a new suspect in the murders of two French women who were found shot to death in a nature preserve in northern Argentina, federal police announced Tuesday.
France
Societe Generale profits hit by Greek debt
French banking giant Societe Generale said on Wednesday its second-quarter net profit slumped 31 percent as it took a charge for its exposure to Greek debt and warned of a difficult 2012.
France
France to extradite Noriega to Panama: lawyer
France is about to extradite former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega – currently serving a French jail term for laundering drug money – to face charges in his home country, his lawyer said.
Switzerland
Swiss are world’s train champions – it’s official
Swiss residents are the world's most prolific railway riders, tracking an average of 2,258 kilometres (1403 miles) every year, the country's public transport association said Tuesday.
Germany
Muslim footballers allowed to eat during Ramadan
The Central Council of Muslims said it was advising professional football players in Germany that they need not fast during Islam's holy month of Ramadan ahead of the regular season resuming Friday.
Switzerland
Swiss man charged over US tax fraud
A Swiss man has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the US government after he allegedly helped clients evade taxes by stashing their money in Switzerland, US justice officials said Tuesday.
Switzerland
Police step up surveillance at socialist youth camp
After the massacre in Norway, police in Switzerland are increasing their presence at an international socialist political camp getting underway where thousands of young people are expected.
Switzerland
Accidents claim almost 2,000 lives a year
A study released Wednesday by the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention found that about one million Swiss are injured in non-occupational accidents every year. Of those, 1,900 die from their injuries.
Germany
Long-distance bus market to be liberalized
Germany is to liberalise long-distance coach transportation, allowing private bus companies to compete with the state-owned Deutsche Bahn rail service, the government said on Wednesday.
Sweden
One in ten young Swedish men addicted to gambling: study
Gambling problems among young men have doubled in the past decade, according to a new survey from the Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsöinstitutet - FHI).
Sweden
Woman attacks teens with bow and arrow
Police in Örebro in central Sweden are hunting for a woman who reportedly brandished a bow and fired an arrow at group of teenagers.
Germany
Attitudes toward German citizenship changing
What defines a modern German? More people believe it’s not race or national origin that matters, but whether a person can adjust to life in Germany and properly integrate into society, according to a new study.
Germany
Court forbids air traffic controller strike
A court ruled late on Wednesday that German air traffic controllers cannot proceed with a strike planned for Thursday morning. The labour dispute had threatened to disrupt thousands of flights.
Germany
Leadership troika helps SPD recover support
Germany's centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) appears to be pulling itself out of the political doldrums with a new three-man leadership troika, according to a poll published on Wednesday.
Switzerland
Swiss central bank acts to curb franc’s rise
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has unexpectedly cut its target interest rate on Wednesday to try to stop the surge of the franc, which the bank says is "massively overvalued."
Sweden
Foreign students easy prey for Stockholm rental scams
With no end in sight to the shortage of student housing in Stockholm, foreign students should be on the lookout for scam artists hoping to capitalise on their desperation, contributor Anita Badejo discovers.
France
Protestors rename Nice road ‘Burqa street’
Police in Nice have opened an inquiry after roads close to a mosque were given names that could "incite discrimination and racial hatred."
Sweden
Swedish PM’s son to flip burgers at McDonald’s
Gustaf Reinfeldt, the 18-year-old son of the Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has secured a job at US hamburger chain McDonald's, using his Twitter feed to invite friends in for a grilled patty, according to news website Nyheter24.se.
Germany
Facebook facial recognition called illegal
German data protection authorities say Facebook’s new facial recognition feature is illegal and have demanded the social networking site end its use and delete all related information.
Germany
Many eastern Germans sympathize with decision to build Berlin Wall
One in five eastern Germans have some sympathy for the communist regime's decision to build the Berlin Wall, according to a new poll, published nearly 50 years after the Cold War barrier was erected.
France
Aubry takes action against blogger
Former Socialist party leader Martine Aubry has followed up on her threat to take legal action against a blogger who published comments about her health and private life and made accusations about her husband's political views.
Germany
Teens arrested for Berlin U-Bahn assault
Two youths who left a man seriously injured after attacking him in a Berlin underground station earlier this week are just 13 years old, according to police.
France
Paris riot suburb turns tourist attraction
Tourists who want to see more of Paris than just the classic city centre sites are being invited to take trips to some of the city's more notorious suburbs.
France
Manchester trams to get a French accent
Paris-based RATP, which runs the city's metro and bus systems, has taken over the running of Manchester's tram network.
Sweden
Missing girl found after being kicked off train
An 11-year-old girl went missing near Kumla in central Sweden on Tuesday night after a conductor forced her to get off a train travelling from Örebro to Gothenburg because she was unable to show her ticket.
France
Girl’s teddy stuffed with cannabis
A young cannabis user in Nice thought he had found a safe place to stash five kilograms of the drug - reportedly to keep it safe for his dealer - by hiding it inside his sister's teddy bear.
Sweden
Young Social Democrats honour Norway victims
Sweden's young Social Democrats kicked off their congress Tuesday with emotional tributes to those killed in last month's attack on their sister organisation in neighbouring Norway.
Sweden
Suspect in Swedish bride killing may escape trial
The alleged hitman in Anni Dewani's honeymoon murder could escape prosecution, if a malignant brain tumour leaves him unfit for trial, a South African magistrate said Tuesday.
Germany
The Best of Berlin in August
In August, Exberliner, Berlin’s leading English-language magazine, explores an inner-city park oasis, peruses a new cultural space and stays fit with a hola hoop.