IMF boss throws down gauntlet to Merkel
IMF head Christine Lagarde set out Monday a raft of proposals to fight the eurozone crisis likely to irk German Chancellor Angel Merkel, including a bigger rescue fund, lower ECB rates and joint eurobonds.
Day: January 23, 2012
Germany
Sweden
Neglected horse had half-metre-long hooves
A farm-owner in northern Sweden has been reported to police after a horse was found to have overgrown hooves measuring an "unprecedented" 50 centimetres in length.
France
Bakers at war over forced one day closure
A decision by authorities in Lyon to force all bakeries to close for at least one day a week has divided opinion among the city's baguette-makers.
Norway
India to Norway: Reunite kids with parents
India urged Norway on Monday to act quickly to reunite two Indian children with their parents after Norwegian child welfare services put them into foster care eight months ago.
Germany
Young feel brunt of age discrimination
Roughly one in five Germans believes they’ve been discriminated against because of their age – with the nation's youths feeling harder done by than its pensioners.
Norway
Record interest in Barents Sea oil and gas
Norway's government said on Monday it had seen record interest for new oil and gas prospecting in the Barents Sea, considered an Arctic "promised land" for an industry facing dwindling reserves in the North Sea.
Norway
God’s wrath may have sparked attacks: writer
Christian Democrat leader Knut Arild Hareide has described as “unacceptable” a speech made by a writer at a party event last week suggesting the July 22nd terror attacks may have been God’s punishment for Norway’s poor diplomatic relations with Israel.
Sweden
‘We’ll have a decision on Friday’: Jämtin
No concrete decision about the future leadership of the Social Democrats will be made until Friday, party secretary Carin Jämtin announced on Monday afternoon, as speculation mounted about who might take over following the resignation on Saturday of Håkan Juholt.
Sweden
Social Democrats still ‘deeply divided’: expert
The turbulence within the Social Democrats, which climaxed at the weekend with the resignation of party head Håkan Juholt, is just the latest symptom of a party suffering from deep internal division, according to political scientist Nicholas Aylott at the Södertörn University in Stockholm.
Germany
Cathedral usher caught stealing cash donations
An usher in Cologne’s famous Gothic cathedral is under investigation for stealing money from the collection boxes, possibly over several years.
Sweden
‘Gomorrah’ author wins 2011 Olof Palme Prize
Roberto Saviano, author of Italian mafia exposé 'Gomorrah', and Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho, who has exposed high-level corruption in Mexico, were named the 2011 recipients of the Olof Palme memorial prize in Stockholm on Monday.
Sweden
Ikea puts India expansion plans on ice
Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has put off plans to open stores in India due to local sourcing requirements despite a recent loosening of rules about foreign ownership of single brand retailers.
Switzerland
Storm Gisela sweeps over Switzerland
A storm nicknamed “Gisela” gave rise to gale force winds of up to 145 km/hour on the Pilatus and Säntis mountains on Sunday night.
Norway
Norway’s Höegh picked for Lithuanian terminal
Lithuania announced on Monday it had picked Norwegian company Höegh LNG to build a liquefied natural gas terminal aimed at reducing the Baltic state's dependence on Russian supplies.
Norway
Statoil to snap up chunk of Greenland block
Scottish explorer Cairn Energy on Monday said it had agreed to sell about a third of its interest in the Pitu oil and gas block off Greenland to Norwegian major Statoil for an undisclosed amount.
Germany
Secret files: Communist Honecker cheated on wife
East German communist leader Erich Honecker had a difficult marriage with his wife Margot, new intelligence reports reveal, with both partners having affairs.
Sweden
Staffing firm used ‘fake’ jobs to dupe workers
A Swedish staffing firm has come under fire for offering workers temporary job assignments that didn't actually exist.
France
DSK wife says private life separate from HuffPo editorship
The editor of the new French version of news website the Huffington Post insisted Monday that her private life as wife of shamed IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will not affect its coverage.
France
Hard-hitting campaign to cut road deaths
A new TV campaign has been launched to get road deaths down from the stubborn 4,000 mark.
Switzerland
Radical Muslim group to launch TV station
The Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) has announced plans to set up an internet TV channel, while it is also in talks with various companies to provide its members with a Swiss-Muslim discount card.
France
Louvre’s Da Vinci restoration ignites art world row
Delicate work to restore a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, to be unveiled in March, has turned into a headache for the Louvre, after experts accused the Paris museum of putting the precious oil work at risk.
Germany
German ‘spies’ detained in Pakistan
Three alleged German spies have been detained in Pakistan by police and released to German diplomats, according to media reports.
Switzerland
Axpo to axe 140 staff as profits slump
Top Swiss energy company Axpo Group has reported a significant decline in profits in the last financial year, resulting in a dramatic need to restructure.
France
Could neckties be cool again?
Now that older men have ditched it to look cool, the stylish young are reclaiming the necktie as their own, with the once-derided accessory making a stealthy comeback on the menswear runways.
Norway
Police ignored orders to drive past Utøya
Two police units from Southern Buskerud ignored orders from their superiors in a neighbouring district last July 22nd not to make their way straight to Utøya, the island where 69 mostly young people were shot dead by a right-wing extremist.
France
Afghan soldier ‘killed French troops over US abuse video’
An Afghan soldier who shot dead four French troops has said he did it because of a recent video showing US Marines urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban insurgents, security sources told AFP.
France
French Huffington Post goes online
The French version of US millionaire Arianna Huffington's news website, the Huffington Post, went online Monday, edited by the journalist wife of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Sweden
Swedish ‘egg snatcher’ sought by Interpol
Police in Sundsvall, in northern Sweden, recently received a tip-off from Interpol in the UK about a Swedish resident suspected of snatching rare bird’s eggs and nests to sell to collectors worldwide.
Sweden
‘God only knows’ what could have been: Juholt
Recently departed Social Democrat head Håkan Juholt said his inability to quickly put together a solid staff was one of his three biggest regrets from his ten-month tenure as head of the party.
Germany
12 cop cars burnt out
Twelve police cars were set on fire in the eastern German town of Magdeburg early Monday morning. While investigators suspect arson, the exact circumstances of the fire remain unclear.
Sweden
Zlatan’s two goals help shoot Milan to victory
Strike pair Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho scored the goals as AC Milan emerged with a 3-0 victory from their trip to Novara on Sunday and remain hot on the heels of league leaders Juventus.
Germany
Megaupload founder had ‘lavish’ lifestyle
Megaupload.com's German detained founder Monday denied wrongdoing after US authorities shut down his file-sharing website, as new details emerged of a rock-star life featuring "fast cars" and "hot girls."
Switzerland
Davos elites want reform of ‘outdated’ capitalism
Economic and political elites meeting this week at the Swiss resort of Davos will be asked to urgently find ways to reform a capitalist system that has been described as "outdated and crumbling."
Germany
Klum and Seal split
German supermodel Heidi Klum has separated from British singer Seal after seven years of marriage, the couple confirmed Sunday.
Sweden
Swedish consumers ‘less happy’ in 2011
Swedish consumers were less satisfied in their relation to companies, organizations and government agencies in 2011 than in 2010, according to a new report from the quality measurement organization Svenskt Kvalitetsindex (SKI), thereby breaking an increasing “happiness-trend” which had been going strong since the 1990s.
Germany
German takes over Blackberry makers
German businessman Thorsten Heins became the surprise choice on Sunday to replace previous heads of the Canadian-based Research in Motion (RIM), struggling makers of the Blackberry smartphone.
France
Wife of education minister commits suicide
The wife of education minister Luc Chatel committed suicide at her home in a Paris suburb on Sunday, police and political sources said.
Sweden
‘We will have an answer on Monday’: Jämtin
When the Social Democrats' crisis meeting broke up for the evening just before midnight on Sunday night, the executive committee had not yet decided whether to choose an acting party leader to take over the party until their congress next year, or to call an extraordinary general meeting and choose a new leader straight away.
Germany
Minister: Markets trust eurozone again
Financial markets are gradually regaining confidence in the eurozone, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Sunday.
France
Socialist contender promises ‘change’ at rally
Three months ahead of France's presidential election, Socialist frontrunner François Hollande has attacked the "faceless" world of finance at his first campaign rally.
Sweden
Hip fat indicates lower health risk: study
An international group of scientists, led by cardiology specialist Stefan Söderberg of Umeå University, in northern Sweden, show that health risks for people with broad hips and narrow waist are significantly lower than for those with narrow hips and broad waist