Air France warns over Saturday strike turmoil
Air France has warned that strike action by flight attendants could cause disruptions on up to 20 percent of its flights on Saturday.
Day: October 27, 2011
France
Switzerland
Switzerland and Greece consider tax negotiations
Bern and Athens are looking at opening formal negotiations for a tax accord that would allow heavily-indebted Greece to obtain taxes from assets hidden by Greek taxpayers in Switzerland.
Switzerland
Powerful franc prompts WHO to mull job cuts
The World Health Organisation may cut more jobs at its headquarters in Switzerland as the strong Swiss currency bites into the budget of the UN health agency.
Germany
Nervy Checkpoint Charlie stand-off remembered
Fifty years ago on October 27, 1961, US and Soviet forces took the world to the brink of war at Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie. Hannah Cleaver takes the temperature of the legendary Cold War flashpoint today.
France
French Christian group besieges Jesus excrement play
Paris police have arrested around 20 Christian fundamentalists who burst into a theatre and threw stink bombs to protest against a play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement.
Sweden
Dawit Isaak ‘may be dead’: report
Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned in Eritrea since 2001, has been moved from prison and may be dead, according to Swedish journalist Lars Adaktusson.
Germany
Art swindler quartet jailed for forgery scam
A German court sentenced a ring of four art forgers Thursday for copying Expressionist artworks by masters such as Max Ernst and Max Pechstein and selling them in a Europe-wide scam.
Sweden
No punishment for Swedish cop who called gays a ‘cancer on society’
The police officer from southern Sweden who called homosexuals a “cancer on society” in reference to a lesbian colleague, will not face any disciplinary measures, according to a decision from the Skåne county police.
Sweden
Facebook’s ‘coolest’ data hub coming to Sweden
Facebook announced Thursday that it would immediately begin building a massive data centre -- its third globally and first in Europe -- in the Swedish town of Luleå, near the Arctic Circle.
Norway
Statoil bumps up output amid profit slump
Norway's Statoil announced on Thursday it had managed to turn around its year-long production slump, but its third quarter earnings fell below analyst expectations.
Switzerland
Swiss woman cleared of father’s murder
A judge has said a 24-year-old woman acted in self-defence when she shot and killed her aggressive dad at their home in Oberrieden, near Zurich, two years ago.
Germany
Merkel: No apology to Berlusconi for smirk
Angela Merkel's spokesman on Thursday denied Germany's chancellor apologized to Silvio Berlusconi for supposedly sharing a smirk at an EU summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Italian leader's expense.
Sweden
Indian dance troupe in rare Sweden show
While "Slumdog Millionaire" brought Bollywood music to the movie-going masses, the Indian embassy is aiming to broaden Swedes' appreciation of the culture of the sub-continent with a programme of classical dance.
Switzerland
Singing Geneva banker: ‘The global economy is about to crash’
A tuneful banker is causing a stir in Switzerland with his infectious and disarmingly jolly song about impending global financial doom.
Germany
Daimler, VW stay revved up despite slowdown
German automakers Volkswagen and Daimler shrugged off fears of a looming economic downturn Thursday, insisting strong global demand would enable them to sharply increase full-year profits.
France
Millionaire hotel magnate murdered in Paris home
A wealthy hotel owner and art collector was found dead in his smart Parisian villa on Tuesday morning after being shot three times in the neck.
France
‘Angel of Death’ gets life sentence in Argentina
An Argentine court sentenced ex-naval officer Alfredo Astiz on Wednesday to life in jail for torture, murder and rights abuses including his murder of two French nuns during the country's 1976 to 1983 dictatorship.
Sweden
Swede shocked by backyard elk ‘threesome’
A man in western Sweden was greeted by an unusual sight on Wednesday morning when he saw three elk engaged in what appeared to be group sex in his backyard.
Germany
Schlecker man insults customers’ intelligence
German drugstore Schlecker is trying to stem a public relations disaster after a spokesman said a derided advertising slogan had been chosen to fit the chain’s poorly educated customers.
Germany
Police investigating more miniature railway child abuse claims
Police are slowly uncovering a group of paedophiles who worked as volunteers at a Berlin park miniature steam train ride – and used the opportunity to sexually abuse boys who came to help.
Germany
A global education – a Bavarian community
An international school near Munich provides so much more than a quality education. For many expat children and parents it also provides a vital sense of belonging to a community.
Sweden
Sweden ‘not wrong’ to okay genocide suspect extradition: court
Sweden's decision to extradite a Rwandan national facing war crimes allegations in his home country is not against the European convention, according to the European Court of Human Rights.
Germany
Third Lufthansa plane forced to land in a week
A Lufthansa plane had to land at Frankfurt airport much quicker than expected Wednesday evening after the crew noticed a strange smell in the cabin, an airline spokesman confirmed.
Switzerland
Mother and daughter die in Swiss gas blast
One of the victims of a gas explosion in southwest Switzerland that killed two people on Tuesday has been identified as a 31-year-old mother named as Yassouda.
Norway
New fighter-bombers to lack Arctic radio: report
The 48 American F-35 fighter-bombers Norway intends to buy from Lockheed Martin for 42 billion kroner lack key software that ensures radio communications in Arctic northern Norway, according to newspaper Aftenposten.
Sweden
Reinfeldt: danger not over for the euro
Sweden's prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has warned that the settlement among eurozone leaders over the writing down of the Greek debt, has not removed the risks facing the single currency.
France
Brest falls out over Miss France contest
A political row has broken out in the scenic Brittany town of Brest after a payment was made from public funds to host this year's Miss France beauty pageant.
Sweden
Cunning linguists in Sweden crack 300-year-old occult code
Two Swedish linguists at Uppsala University have deciphered a handwritten manuscript dating from the mid-18th century, written by a secret society known as “the Occultists”, obsessed with eye surgery and spying on the Freemasons.
Norway
Tromsø is ‘world’s best cruise destination’
The central Norwegian town of Tromsø, the gateway to northern Norway, has been voted the "world’s best cruise ship destination" by popular travel publisher Frommer’s.
Germany
Government reconsiders Israel sub sale
Germany is reconsidering its sale of a sixth submarine to Israel in the wake of new tensions over Jewish settlement construction, an Israeli newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Norway
PM ‘snubs’ king to thank Swedes
In what is being seen by conservatives as a royal snub, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has decided to sit with a popular TV presenter on Thursday evening instead of feasting with King Harald and Queen Sonia at the annual palace dinner.
France
Jobless total highest for over ten years
Unemployment was up by 26,000 in September, taking the jobless figure to 2.78 million, a rise of 0.9 percent on the month and 3 percent on the year.
Sweden
Riksbank leaves base rate unchanged
Sweden's Riksbank has left the main repo rate unchanged at 2 percent and has delayed any rises well into 2012, meeting market expectations.
France
Summit deal saved euro: French finance minister
A deal reached at a summit of eurozone leaders has saved the single currency, French Finance Minister François Baroin said on Thursday.
Switzerland
Federer gets votes in Swiss election
Tennis fans around the world have cheered Roger Federer's talents, but he's most celebrated in his native Switzerland, where some backed him in Sunday's election, even though he wasn't on the
ballot.
France
Euro-crisis: Sarkozy set for TV debrief
President Sarkozy will take command of the airwaves on France's two main TV channels on Thursday evening to talk about the EU's latest deal on the debt crisis.
Sweden
Dad forced daughter to feign mental illness
A Swedish father stands to face charges for having cashed in over 25,000 kronor ($3,850) a week to take care of his daughter based on a faked diagnosis for mental illness.
Sweden
Ericsson and Sony go separate ways
Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson confirmed on Thursday that it would sell its stake in mobile phone joint venture Sony Ericsson to Sony for €1.05 billion ($1.47 billion).
Germany
What’s on in Germany: October 27 – November 2
This Week's Highlights: Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations in Berlin, A 3D tribute to Pink Floyd in Hamburg and the Frankfurt Marathon.
Germany
Turkish, German or both? ‘Guest worker’ families have everything
Germany signed the "guest worker" agreement with Turkey 50 years ago which allowed companies to fill empty workplaces with Turks and changed the country forever. Süleyman Cözmez was one of the thousands who came - and and stayed.
Germany
Missing link in Roman conquest of Germany a ‘sensational find’
Archaeologists are celebrating the find of a Roman military camp which was a crucial link in Emperor Augustus’ conquest of Germany – after more than a century of looking for it.
Germany
Merkel pleased by euro debt solution
German Chancellor Merkel said she was happy that eurozone members agreed to leverage the bailout fund to €1 trillion and banks accepted a 50 percent loss on Greek debt in order to overcome the continent’s debt crisis.
Germany
Cunning linguists crack 300-year-old occult code
Cryptologists have cracked a mysterious code used by a German Freemason-like group, opening what they describe as a window on the history of secret occult societies 300 years ago.