Solar plane completes 72-hour simulated flight
Swiss pilot André Borschberg completed a 72-hour non-stop flight Friday -- but in a simulator for the new Solar Impulse aircraft planned for a 2014 world tour using only solar energy.
Day: February 24, 2012
Switzerland
Switzerland
Police identify brain behind diamond theft
Swiss police say they have identified the man who organized a spectacular 8 million franc ($8.9 million) diamond robbery last year from the world's biggest watch and jewellery event in Basel.
Germany
Mayan ‘apocalypse’ codex goes on display
The famous Dresdner Codex, one of the original Mayan books that set the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012, went on display in Dresden on Friday as part of an exhibition on the apocalyptic prophecy.
Sweden
Parents charged for ‘exorcizing’ teen girl
The father and step-mother of a 14-year-old girl from western Sweden were charged on Friday with repeatedly beating and burning the girl because they “thought she was a witch”, according to the prosecutor.
Germany
VW more than doubles net profit in 2011
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, said on Friday it more than doubled net profit last year as worldwide sales topped the eight-billion mark for the first time.
Norway
Suspect’s prints found at 98-year-old’s home
Police revealed on Friday they had found the fingerprints of an 18-year-old suspect at the home in Os, western Norway, of 98-year-old murder victim Hilda Feste.
Switzerland
Cuche wins World Cup super-G
Didier Cuche of Switzerland won the men's alpine skiing World cCp super-G race on homer snow at Crans-Montana on Friday ahead of Jan Hudec of Canada and Benjamin Raich of Austria.
France
French pop song attacks downloading sites
French pop group Les Rois de la Suède (The Kings of Sweden) have recorded a controversial song criticising downloading sites such as Megaupload.
Germany
German-Iranian friction boosts Bratwurst prices
The beloved Nürnberger Bratwurst is the latest victim of escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. German butchers complained Friday that the diplomatic crisis was driving up the price of sausage casing.
Sweden
Live Blog: Sweden celebrates new princess
Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria gave birth to a daughter in the early hours of Thursday morning. The Local brings you all the latest news, reactions, and details surrounding Sweden's first royal birth in more than three decades.
Sweden
Swede’s parked car damaged in elk attack
Princess Victoria delivered in terms of Swedish news this week and therefore many other stories slipped under the radar. Here is a selection of our favourites, from elk attacks to bird-brained intruders.
Switzerland
Swiss environmentalists want nuclear plant shut
Switzerland's Beznau nuclear plant will soon boast the "dubious record" of being the oldest nuclear plant in the world and should be shut down, a group of environmental organisations said on Thursday.
France
Policeman attacks motorist: video
A police officer has been suspended after video footage emerged of an apparently unprovoked attack on a motorist.
Switzerland
Switzerland probes national news agency
Switzerland's competition watchdog said on Thursday it has launched an investigation into the Swiss news agency, SDA-ATS, due to evidence of illegal competition restrictions.
Sweden
‘Her name is Estelle’: King Carl XVI Gustaf
Sweden's new princess will be called Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary, Duchess of Östergötland, announced King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday in Stockholm.
Switzerland
Swiss to go after domestic tax cheats
The Federal Council is seeking to put tax evasion on a par with tax fraud so that both offences become criminal in Switzerland.
Sweden
Apple seeks ‘geniuses’ in Stockholm
Apple is set to open their first official store in Stockholm soon, and the company has put out the call for “geniuses” to apply for vacant positions.
Switzerland
Pay-what-you-like hotels in Fribourg
Hotels in Fribourg, western Switzerland, are offering customers the chance to determine the prices they want to pay for their rooms.
Sweden
‘Hot’ nurse ad slammed by ‘wrinkly’ limping man
The Swedish hospital that advertised for “hot” nurses has been forced to apologize after an international media frenzy and an official discrimination complaint from a 64-year-old man who claimed he was rejected because he was “too wrinkly” and has a "slight limp".
Switzerland
Youngsters deaf to town’s Beethoven tactics
Heerbrugg station in canton St. Gallen has tried to put off groups of young people from hanging out on its premises by playing classical music.
France
Le Pen refuses to debate with far-left candidate
Viewers were treated to a bizarre television confrontation last night between two presidential candidates, when one refused to respond to the remarks of the other.
Germany
Germans ditch Afghan base after Koran burning
Escalating unrest following the burning of the Koran by US soldiers has forced Germany to give up one of its Afghanistan bases earlier than planned.
Germany
Man admits giving gun to neo-Nazi terrorists
A suspected associate of the National Socialist Underground (NSU) extremist gang that terrorized minorities between 2000 and 2007 has admitted to supplying the gang with a weapon it used in the killings, according his lawyer.
Norway
Statoil makes major gas find off Tanzania
Norwegian oil group Statoil and US company ExxonMobil have together discovered a large natural gas field off the coast of Tanzania, Statoil announced on Friday.
Norway
Feminist funding woes mount for minister
Already weighed down by allegations of illegal funding, Norway’s equality minister, Audun Lysbakken, came under more pressure on Friday morning as records emerged of a potentially incriminating e-mail.
Germany
Robust growth, low joblessness slash deficit
Robust growth and record low unemployment enabled Germany to slash its public deficit last year, even though the economy shrank slightly in the last quarter, official data showed on Friday.
Sweden
‘Many great monarchs have been queens’
Leader pages across Sweden devoted space on Friday to congratulating Crown Princess Victoria and Sweden's newborn princess, while many also expressed the view that she should be able to choose her own path.
Germany
Bibliophile bureaucrat banged up for book burglary
A German official from the Hesse state culture ministry has been arrested for stealing more than 13,000 precious books from libraries across the country. He was caught red-handed, weighed down by 53 books found on him.
Germany
Cut in solar power support sparks row
Opposition parties accused Germany’s environment and economy ministers of endangering thousands of jobs as well as the country’s switch to renewables by cutting solar power subsidies.
Germany
Germany wants Serbia in European Union
Germany firmly supports Serbia's EU candidacy and would like to see it given a green light at next week's EU summit, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Thursday.
Germany
Company issued false ‘idiot tests’
A German company has been accused of running fake “idiot tests” – special examinations drivers accused of driving under the influence have to take before being allowed back behind the wheel.
Switzerland
Small quake shakes central Switzerland
A light earthquake shook Switzerland's central Zug region early on Friday, the Swiss Seismological Service in Zurich said.
Sweden
Swedish cannibal blogs from behind bars
Isakin Jonsson, convicted of murdering and eating his girlfriend in 2011, is blogging from behind bars about his life, new love and the murder.
Sweden
Löfven presents his ‘shadow government’
New Social Democrat leader Stefan Löfven on Thursday presented the team he calls his new “shadow government”, featuring both new and old names.
Sweden
Riksdag wants to halt Eritrean exile taxes
The majority of the Riksdag is against Eritrea collecting taxes from citizens resident in Sweden and MPs from the commitee on justice say that if current Swedish law is not enough to stop it, rules need to be tightened.
Germany
Bankruptcy hitting the young and elderly
Despite Germany’s continuing economic strength, the number of people declaring bankruptcy is increasing among the young and the elderly – a worrying sign according to one of the country’s top credit rating agencies.
France
France, China can learn from Fukushima: Minister
French Industry Minister Eric Besson said China and France could learn from Japan's nuclear disaster, during a Beijing visit on Thursday to discuss joint development of a medium capacity reactor.