Suu Kyi arrives in Norway for Nobel speech
Burma democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Norway on Friday to finally deliver her Nobel lecture, more than two decades after winning the peace prize for her dogged campaign to free her people.
Day: June 15, 2012
Norway
Switzerland
Swiss French: ‘Same dish but different spices’
To an Anglophone, the French spoken in Switzerland may sound much like that used in France, but don’t say that to a Parisian.
Sweden
Sweden links with US in ‘net-activist alliance’
Sweden and the United States are in talks to create a common fund to support internet activists as part of a developing alliance between the two countries.
France
Tymoshenko’s daughter to France: help my mum
The daughter of Ukraine's jailed and ailing ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday urged France to keep up pressure on Ukrainian authorities for her release.
Germany
‘Forest boy Ray’ actually Dutch man Robin
The forest boy known previously as 'Ray' has been identified as Robin van Helsum from the town of Hengelo, the Netherlands, Dutch police confirmed on Friday morning.
Germany
Greeks rail against ‘crude’ German editorial
Greek parties reacted with outrage on Friday after the German edition of the Financial Times made a front-page call on Greeks to vote for the New Democracy conservatives in the upcoming election.
Sweden
Swedish working week hits historic 26 hour high
Swedes are working more hours today than at any point in the last two decades, according to a new study, which found that Swedes today work nearly one hour more per week on average than they did in 2006.
Sweden
Swedish bank predicts Greek eurozone exit
Swedish bank SEB wrote in a newsletter on Friday morning that everything points to Greece leaving the eurozone ”within the immediate future” regardless of the results in Sunday’s general election.
Sweden
Swedish bikini models in steamy support video
A Swedish web magazine has released what it claims to be the best thing to happen to Swedish football in years: a “scandalous” and bikini-clad music video in support of Sweden at the Euro 2012 football championships.
Switzerland
Standing ovation for Suu Kyi at Swiss parliament
A rapturous standing ovation greeted Aung San Suu Kyi at the Swiss parliament on the second day of her landmark European trip on Friday, after she cancelled her engagements the night before due to
exhaustion.
Norway
‘The Scream’ boosts Norwegian trade surplus
Norway's trade surplus leapt by an annualized 44.5 percent in May in the wake of bigger oil exports and the record sale of Edvard Munch's iconic painting "The Scream," official data showed on Friday.
Germany
Schlecker closure means hefty bill for jobs agency
Germany's Federal Employment Agency (BA) has paid out €133 million since drug-store chain Schlecker filed for bankruptcy and will face further costs as it helps 25,000 people affected by the closure, a newspaper reported on Friday.
Germany
Government fumes at opposition debate trick
German opposition parties managed to prevent a vote on controversial childcare benefits when they interrupted a parliament session on Friday morning. The government is said to be furious.
Germany
Father kills four children in marital row
A father is suspected of murdering his four children in the German town of Ilsede, Lower Saxony, after police found the bodies of three boys and a girl aged between five and 12 on Thursday.
Switzerland
Baywatch babe graces Art Basel
Pamela Anderson, the former Baywatch babe, appeared at Art Basel on Thursday to the delight of several hundred male fans.
France
More suicides at France Telecom
A 30-year-old pregnant woman, and a 54-year-old man, both employees of France Télécom, have killed themselves in the past two weeks.
France
Sarkozy ‘asked MP for sex acts’
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused by a former colleague of asking for sexual favours while he was in office.
Sweden
Swedish meatballs made easy in Stockholm
Swedes and tourists alike go crazy for Swedish meatballs - and when a Stockholm youth hostel offered lessons on how to make the perfect batch, contributor Susann Eberlein went along to find out more.
Switzerland
Euthanasia rivals slam mercy ‘propaganda’
Opponents of assisted dying have gathered in Zurich to hold an alternative conference to the three-day right-to-die conference currently underway.
Germany
Widow granted pension after 19-day marriage
A German woman has been granted a widow’s pension despite being married for less than three weeks, a Berlin court said on Thursday. Normally a marriage must last a year for either party to claim a widow's, or widower's, pension.
Norway
Injured Canadian sends smoke signals after 3 days in wilderness
After lying alone in a tent for three days with a broken foot, a 25-year-old Canadian tourist started a brush fire on an island in northern Norway in a bid to get help.
Germany
Poisonous caterpillars plague Germany
A rapidly-spreading population of poisonous caterpillars is causing alarm all over Germany after migrating out of forests to build their nests in gardens, parks, and even streets.
Norway
Norway orders US jets in $10-billion deal
Norway said on Friday it had authorized orders for the first two F-35 fighter jets it plans to buy from the United States as part of its largest-ever government spending project.
Sweden
Zlatan takes over Big Ben in pre-game tabloid war
Swedish tabloids have launched a host of cheeky attacks on the English ahead of Friday's Euro 2012 clash, including mocking headline mock-ups and a mammoth display of Sweden's Zlatan projected onto London's Big Ben.
Sweden
Getaway car ‘too small’ for botched art heist
Art thieves in Stockholm escaped police but left their loot behind after a brazen burglary left a man in his sixties without his multi-million kronor paintings.
Switzerland
Swiss hold referendum referendum
Switzerland holds a referendum this weekend on whether to have yet more referendums in a country already famous for its high levels of direct democracy.
France
Socialists set for majority despite tweet row
French President François Hollande's Socialists look set to win a parliamentary majority Sunday after an election campaign most marked by an incendiary tweet fired off by the first lady.
France
France ‘not trying to shun Merkel’: PM
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday that France and Germany should work "hand-in-hand for a solution to pull Europe out of crisis," and called for stronger contacts with Berlin.
France
Credit Agricole reorganizes amid Greek euro worries
French bank Credit Agricole has taken control of assets in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania of its Greek subsidiary Emporiki Bank, it said in a statement, amid concern over a possible Greek euro exit.
Sweden
Manga images ‘not child porn’: Supreme Court
Japanese manga comics depicting children in sexual poses are not child pornography, Sweden's Supreme Court has ruled, overturning a high-profile conviction of a Swedish translator.
Germany
One in four Germans officially obese
Obesity levels have risen in Germany, after a study published on Thursday showed that nearly a quarter of German adults now have a body mass index (BMI) that is medically classified as obese.
France
Carrefour ditches Greece ‘due to economy’
France's Carrefour, one of the world's top retailers, said Friday it would cede its share of a joint Greek network to deal with "challenges posed by the Greek economic context."
Norway
Experts defend Breivik schizophrenia diagnosis
Two experts who examined Anders Behring Breivik defended on Thursday their diagnosis that the Norwegian self-confessed mass killer is psychotic and therefore not criminally responsible for his actions.
Sweden
Surgeon removes woman’s hip ‘by mistake’
An experienced surgeon in Gävle in eastern Sweden mistakenly removed the entire hip joint of a healthy 30-year-old woman and left it on the operating table during what was supposed to be a minor procedure to remove a small growth in the hip area.
Germany
Merkel: Do not overestimate Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that the eurozone crisis would dominate next week's G20 summit but warned leaders clamouring for her to take charge that she needed their help.
Sweden
Match preview: Sweden’s crucial England clash
Sweden face England on Friday night in their vital second Group D encounter in Kiev. The Local's Joe Lynskey looks at what Erik Hamrén's squad can expect from Roy Hodgson and his side.
Sweden
Swedish resident shot dead in Sarajevo
A 55-year-old resident of central Sweden was gunned down outside his rental property in Sarajevo late on Wednesday night after what police believe to be a botched burglary attempt.
Germany
Germany fined for firework-flinging fans
Germany is facing fresh disciplinary proceedings after fans set off and threw fireworks during the country's 2-1 Euro 2012 win over the Netherlands, UEFA said on Thursday, after fining the country for previous incidents.