Sweden's legal system is plagued by serious shortcomings, according to a new report, which argues that a lack of coordination between different agencies as well as “weak” government management are to blame for long clearing times for criminal cases.
An Utøya massacre survivor, a heroic tourist, and an environmental activist have been jointly awarded the "Norwegian of the Year" prize for 2011.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé argued on Thursday that Islam and democracy are not incompatible, insisting that the Arab Spring, which has already toppled three dictators, should open the way to political pluralism.
During a Bundestag debate on the German army’s future mission in Afghanistan Thursday, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said a planned draw-down of troops heralded a “turning point” in the ten-year NATO-led war in Afghanistan.
German President Christian Wulff has expressed “regret” for neglecting to mention a 2008 loan he received from a businessman’s wife in a statement to the Lower Saxony state parliament last year.
A small village near the ski resort Åre, in northern Sweden, is in two camps over plans to convert a traditional country inn, located between the church and the cemetery, into a strip club.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday upheld a decision by football's European ruling body UEFA to refuse FC Sion re-entry to the Europa League after the Swiss club breached player
recruitment rules.
The fastest-growing search term in 2011 in Switzerland was 'DSDS', the German version of 'American Idol', according to statistics released by search engine giant Google.
The far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) only has itself to blame for its failure to secure a second seat on the Federal Council , according to a near unanimous national press.
Enterprising Swedes are looking to capitalize on Norway's ongoing butter shortage by offering the sought-after spread on popular buy-and-sell websites, with one seller hoping to score a Gibson guitar in exchange for a pack of margarine.
The base of a crane, weighing a massive 146 tonnes, fell off the back of a flatbed truck en route to the Airbus base near Hamburg early Thursday morning. The accident caused considerable damage to the road and destroying the vehicle escorting it, but no-one was injured.
In the wake of a series of elderly care scandals in Sweden where one negligence allegation followed the next, the government on Thursday pledged to invest 4.3 billion kronor ($617 million) over the next few years to ”develop care for the most vulnerable elderly”.
Legendary musician Bruce Springsteen may be in line to play a concert next summer on the island of Utøya to mark the first anniversary of the July 22nd massacre there, sources have said.
The German capital’s entire commuter train system broke down on Thursday afternoon, leaving thousands stuck in trains on the tracks. The Berlin authorities do not suspect an attack behind the S-Bahn malfunction.
The head of the French central bank criticised the British economy on Thursday, arguing that ratings agencies are targeting the wrong country for a debt downgrade.
The head of the French central bank criticised the British economy on Thursday, arguing that ratings agencies are targeting the wrong country for a debt downgrade.
French actor Omar Sy, co-star in the French blockbuster "Intouchables", has declined to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy for lunch. Officially, Sy was shooting a film on poor Parisian suburbs.
A man was charged with armed robbery in Berlin after he demanded three euros from a bank cashier while holding a piece of wood.
The Norwegian word for ‘butter’ has lately become the most searched for term on a popular buy-and-sell website, as an acute shortage of the desirable dairy product threatens to give Christmas a bad taste.
Frankfurt prosecutors have filed charges against five men – four of whom are current or former Commerzbank executives – for their involvement in an alleged money laundering case with Russian connections more than a decade ago.
A 46-year-old father who forced his young daughter to pretend she had a mental illness in order to cash in on assistance benefits was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in western Sweden on Thursday.
The Swiss central bank said on Thursday it would continue to enforce its cap on the franc's exchange rate against the euro, pledging to buy "unlimited" foreign currency if necessary.
A school teacher from southern Sweden was charged on Thursday after the investigation into a sex-themed text message he sent to a 13-year-old student revealed over 6 hours of child porn material on his computer.
Germany's Free Democratic Party has picked 38-year-old Patrick Döring as its new general secretary, following the abrupt departure of Christian Lindner. Critics say it’s the last chance for party leader Philipp Rösler.
German second division football club Hansa Rostock is hawking tickets to the team’s Sunday match against Dynamo Dresden. The only hitch: Fans won’t be allowed inside to watch the game.
Eight women who have received faulty breast implants are suffering from cancer, says the French Health Ministry. It is feared 44,000 women carry defective breast implants which were produced in the south of France.
Popular former French president Jacques Chirac was convicted of graft on Thursday but escaped jail when he was handed a two-year suspended sentence for running ghost workers at Paris city hall.
Violent winds and massive waves are battering the Britanny coast and expected to hit the west of France over the next 24 hours. Eleven French departments have been put on orange alert.
This Week's Highlights: Synagogue music in Berlin, horses in Frankfurt, and a French dance troupe rocks out in Munich.
Natural and man-made catastrophes cost the world economy a record $350 billion this year, reinsurer Swiss Re said on Thursday.
Swedish footballer Alexander Gerndt has been suspended from the national team indefinitely after being convicted for assaulting his wife.
A British fantasist who sneaked into a French luxury villa to prepare it for a romantic night ended up facing charges after flooding the property, police said Wednesday.
A French court Wednesday charged a celebrity photographer with abusing his relationship with aged L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt after he was named a beneficiary in her will.
Paris judges are to give their verdict on Thursday in the unprecedented corruption case against aged ex-leader Jacques Chirac, the first time a former French president has faced charges in court.
The Swiss Football League (SFL) on Wednesday said it had docked top flight outfit Neuchatel Xamax four points for failing to provide financial details pertinent to the awarding of operating licences.
The terror allegations which caused police to break into the homes of two families in conjunction with a bomb threat against a Gothenburg shopping centre last autumn were based on “vague and confused” statements, according to a report by Sveriges Radio (SR).
German banks are closing US customers’ investment accounts because they say financial reporting requirements by American authorities are just too onerous.
Germany, as Europe's top economy, may be currently seen as the land of plenty but its senior citizens are increasingly being forced to take a part-time job in their twilight years just to make ends meet.
Prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's official residence, Sagerska Huset in Stockholm, which he was forced to leave due to extensive renovations in April, is now ready for the family to move back.
Legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman not only wrote riveting movie scripts: his 32 notes -- some angry and annoyed -- to his housekeeper were auctioned off Wednesday for 44,000 kronor ($6,300).
The Goethe Institute, which promotes German language and culture abroad, says interest in German is spiking around the world as Germany's economic and political clout has grown during Europe’s debt crisis.
