Prince Charles meets massacre survivors
Britain's Prince Charles on Tuesday met survivors of Norway's island massacre last year as he and his wife Camilla visited Oslo as part of a Scandinavian tour.
Day: March 20, 2012
Germany
German house of horror: bodies dissolved in acid
A family of five used a house of horror in Germany to cut up the bodies of two men they had killed – one stabbed with an ice pick, the other shot to death - and dissolve them in acid, before flushing the remains away, a Dutch court heard.
Sweden
Swedes back Obama in US election: survey
If Swedes could vote in US elections, President Barack Obama would handily beat either Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum, according to a new survey, which also reveals Swedes can't seem to get enough of US politics.
Norway
Sun shines as Charles and Camilla land in Oslo
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived to glorious sunshine at Oslo’s Gardermoen airport on Tuesday afternoon as they were welcomed to Norway by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Sweden
Princess Estelle baptism revealed by Royal Palace
Princess Estelle’s baptism date has been announced by the Royal Family, quashing rumours that came through an admin slip up by a Swedish county governor on Monday.
Sweden
‘I wasn’t allowed to cry on the street’: prostitute
A 24-year-old woman from Romania gave evidence on Tuesday as the case against the Gothenburg prostitution ring unfolded, explaining the horrors that she faced under the iron grip of her pimps.
Sweden
Dutch author Kuijer wins Astrid Lindgren lit prize
Dutch children's author Guus Kuijer on Tuesday won the 2012 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, named after the Swedish creator of Pippi Longstocking, said the fund that awards the prize.
Norway
We don’t believe in ghosts, buster: Norway court
A court in eastern Norway has found no evidence to support a home buyer’s claim that his new house was a local hotspot for ghosts and ghouls.
Germany
Kaiserslauten’s Kuntz kicks out Kurz
Bundesliga bottom club Kaiserslautern sacked coach Marco Kurz on Tuesday to avoid relegation, with just eight games left this season.
Switzerland
Swiss woman seized in Yemen ‘safe’: tribal chief
A Swiss woman being held hostage in eastern Yemen is safe and in good health, a tribal chief told AFP on Tuesday, offering to mediate with the kidnappers for her release.
Switzerland
The Weather Frogs – Swiss prophets with sizzling secrets
Taking their cues from wind and snow, and from their observations of plants, mice, foxes, and even ants and pine cones, six Swiss elders apply their top-secret knowledge to predict the forecast for the months ahead.
Germany
Pensioners will be allowed to earn more
As the German population ages, leaving fewer working people to support the growing number of pensioners, rules governing how much they can earn on top of their pension are set to be relaxed.
Germany
Politician’s ‘sandwich dash’ sparks online jokes
Video of a German politician rushing out of last weekend’s presidential election – just as it was announced that the post-vote buffet was open - has become a hit on the internet, with viewers suggesting she was keen to get the first sandwich.
Germany
BMW and Guggenheim scared off Berlin project
German car maker BMW and New York's Guggenheim Museum have axed plans to bring an urban design showcase to a Berlin district over threats of attacks, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.
Sweden
Ten Swedish words you won’t find in English
Whether Swedish is the world's richest language or not, it can lay claim to at least ten very common words that are sorely lacking from English. We’ve compiled a list of the top ten here, and you may be surprised what’s NOT in the list…
Switzerland
Swiss aid survivors after Norway avalanche
An avalanche that claimed the lives of four Swiss hikers and their French guide on Monday was the deadliest snow-slide in Norway in 26 years.
Norway
Five dead in worst avalanche since 1986
An avalanche that claimed the lives of four Swiss hikers and their French guide on Monday was the deadliest snow-slide in Norway in 26 years.
Sweden
Infant joins queue for senior flat in Stockholm
It has become increasingly common for Swedes to secure old age accommodation early in life, but the addition of a one-year-old infant the queue for one of Stockholm's more popular assisted living facilities queues has taken the trend to new levels.
Sweden
Dog blocked from attending owner’s funeral
The final wish of a Swedish man who died last week will never be realized, as his pet dog won't be allowed to attend his dead owner's funeral.
Sweden
Sweden’s ‘immigrants’ find Big Apple success
Frustration with being shut out of the Swedish job market has prompted several Swedes with immigrant backgrounds to seek – and find – success in the melting pot that is New York City, contributor Rafaela Stålbalk discovers.
Norway
Buy and sell site named Norway’s best employer
For the second year running, Norwegian employees have named buy and sell website Finn.no the best large company in the country to work for.
Germany
Germany’s top myths and legends
This week’s Local List explores the more mysterious side of Germany’s dark and winding past, as we share with you our favourite myths and legends.
Germany
Crumbling Cologne cathedral drops stones
Cologne cathedral, one of Germany’s most famous landmark buildings, is crumbling and dropping stones on people’s heads – leaving one man with cuts to his head which needed hospital treatment on Monday.
France
La Poste aims to halt wave of suicides
A string of suicides at the state-run post office, La Poste, has led its boss to announce new measures in an effort to restore calm, although unions are angry he did not go further.
Sweden
Swedish girls think shorn body hair is ‘natural’
Swedish girls believe that body hair makes them appear less female compared to when they have shaved, with youth centres receiving queries from girls about shaving as young as ten.
Germany
Most fertilizers ‘contain too much uranium’
Fertilizers used in German gardens and farms contain up to 27 times the recommended levels of the radioactive and toxic heavy metal uranium, which easily reaches drinking water, according to a report on the ZDF television station.
Switzerland
Swiss trader DKSH shares open at 51 francs
Shares at trading group DKSH opened on Tuesday on the Swiss stock exchange at 51 francs, slightly above its listing price of 48 francs, which valued the group at 3 billion francs ($3.2 billion).
France
Worldwide condemnation of school killings
The United Nations and Israel led world condemnation of the shooting of three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in France on Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it "despicable murder".
France
Media unites to condemn school shootings
TV, radio and print media were united in their condemnation of shootings which killed four people, including three children, at a school in Toulouse on Tuesday.
Sweden
Secret documents reveal further arms cooperation
Sweden was in talks with Saudi Arabia about providing a state of the art public security system, according to information in a secret letter sent from the Swedish minister for trade and revealed by daily Expressen.
Sweden
One injured as blaze damages eight buses
A fire that broke out in a bus station in Gothenburg on Monday night left several city buses in flames and one person injured.
Norway
Father lifts lid on India-Norway child custody row
The Indian father of two children who were taken into care by Norwegian social services, sparking a diplomatic row with New Delhi, told a newspaper on Tuesday his wife had a "psychological problem".
France
Feminists line up against football veil ruling
A number of feminist organisations have criticised a ruling by international football body FIFA that would allow female players to wear veils.
Germany
Deutsche Börse disputes NYSE merger veto
German stock market operator Deutsche Börse said on Monday it would challenge a European Union veto against a merger with NYSE Euronext that would have created the world's largest exchange operator.
Germany
East German payments ‘no longer needed’
Mayors in the struggling Ruhr area in west Germany want to end their “solidarity” payments to eastern Germany, saying the east no longer needs the money and their cities are heavily in debt, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Tuesday.
France
‘Scarlet’ alert level for south west
President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday he was putting the country's southwestern Midi-Pyrenees region on "scarlet" alert, the highest terror level, after the deadly school shootings in Toulouse.
Sweden
Security raised at Jewish schools in Sweden
Security has been tightened at Jewish schools in Sweden after the murder of three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in France is suspected to be the work of a serial killer.