Security tight at Batman film screenings
Two German cinema chains said on Tuesday that they would beef up security at screenings of the latest Batman movie following the deadly shooting rampage during a midnight show in Colorado.
Day: July 24, 2012
Germany
Sweden
Swedes hail long-awaited summer sunshine
After weeks of mild temperatures, forecasters are finally promising some summer heat for the sun-starved Swedes, as warmer winds are en route for the country.
Norway
Many Thai wives end up as prostitutes: report
Every year some 670 Thai women marry Norwegian men, but many end up working as prostitutes after their husbands leave them, a church charity has found.
Germany
Sinti Auschwitz victim’s widow denied pension
An Auschwitz victim’s widow has been denied a pension after authorities questioned medical reports from more than 40 years ago which said his ill-health was caused by the two years in Nazi camps.
Germany
Half of field birds gone, modern farms to blame
Intensive farming methods have halved the number of field birds in Europe over the last three decades, with more than a million skylarks gone from German skies since 1990, new figures show.
Solar plane on final leg of intercontinental flight
The Swiss sun-powered aircraft Solar Impulse took off from south-western France on Tuesday on the final leg of its first intercontinental trip that took it from Europe to North Africa and back.
France
French police recover paralympian’s stolen limb
French police have saved the day for a long jumper planning to take part in the London Paralympics after the athlete had his prosthetic arm stolen by a pair of assailants, officials said Tuesday.
Sweden
Swedbank CEO demands amortization law
Swedbank CEO Michael Wolf has proposed that Sweden adopts a law requiring mortgage amortization to ward off the threat of spiralling household debt to the Swedish economy, according to a report in the Dagens Industri (DI) daily.
Sweden
Pickers ‘dumped’ in forest after poor harvest
Many foreign berry pickers want to return home after the scant berry harvest has caused employers to simply dump them in the woods. Many haven't eaten for days.
Sweden
Swedish police apologise for Roma tweet
Stockholm police have apologised for tweeting the words "Romani appearance" on an official Twitter account in connection with a reported theft on Sunday.
Switzerland
Men’s rights campaigner quits amid child porn row
The head of a Swiss local government department promoting men's rights has resigned in the wake of a newspaper interview in which he appeared to call for children to be shown pornography.
Germany
Aldi gets just desserts in pudding war
German discount supermarket chain Aldi scored a victory against food manufacturer Dr Oetker Tuesday in what has being dubbed as a "pudding war".
Sweden
‘Zlatan can have my shirt, if he asks me in French’
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to claim his favoured number 9 jersey at his new club PSG on one condition - that he asks for it in French.
Norway
Naked key hunt lands groom-to-be in jail
A hunt for the keys to a booze-filled shed led a naked Norwegian all the way to the drunk tank last weekend after a hankering for a snack got him out of bed and into trouble.
Germany
Berlin tenders local train service contracts
Berlin authorities have issued a Europe-wide tender to operate a chunk of the capital's suburban train system in the hope of reducing costs and improving the heavily criticised service in the impoverished city-state.
Germany
Afghan Bundeswehr aides ‘must get help’
Hundreds of Afghans who have been working for German police officers and soldiers in Afghanistan must be offered the chance to come to Germany when the mission ends in 2014, a government politician says.
France
Fish allowed to ‘come and go as they please’
A court in Nantes has ruled that fish should have the right swim in rivers freely, outlawing the use of man-made devices to control their movements.
Germany
Most Germans ‘have had an office romance’
Germans are more than happy to mix work with pleasure – more than half say they have had an office romance, according to recent survey. Getting amorous in the actual office was still a no-no, though.
Sweden
Malmö sniper Peter Mangs found guilty
Peter Mangs has been found guilty of two counts of murder and several other charges, Malmö District Court announced on Tuesday.
France
Toddler found out alone while mother parties
A three-year-old boy was found wandering round the town of Valence, near Lyon, and his one-year-old brother was left home alone while his mother was at a party this weekend.
Norway
Mass killer Breivik moved to different jail
Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway last July, has been temporarily transferred to another prison while work is done on the facility he is normally held at, a prison official said Tuesday.
France
Our meat could be next: Minister fights California foie gras ban
France has ruled out going to the World Trade Organisation but will continue to oppose a ban on French speciality foie gras, a minister said on Monday.
Sweden
Swarm of homeless bees claims woman’s bike
A swarm of relocating bees in southern Sweden chose to leave an overcrowded hive to squat on a bicycle parked on a central square in Kristianstad.
Switzerland
Swiss hospitals shun Zurich circumcision ban
A decision by a Zurich hospital to stop performing circumcisions is not finding any followers at other Swiss healthcare facilities.
France
Summer gigs pull crowds to French wine country
Fresh air, fine wine and world-class performers are pulling the crowds to Bordeaux's wine country for an ever-rising number of summer jazz and classical concerts in the French region.
Sweden
Fake cop jailed after failed pick up attempt
A man who in April pretended to be a policeman and asked a “cute” Swedish woman for her phone number was jailed for 16 months on Monday for impersonating a police officer.
Sweden
Swedish man falls off Finland-bound ferry
A Swedish man had to be saved from the bracing Baltic Sea waters after falling overboard while travelling on a Finland-bound ferry out of Stockholm.
Switzerland
Hoopla called off for Swiss Batman premiere
The new Batman movie premiered at cinemas around Switzerland on Monday under heightened security following the mass shooting in the US at a midnight screening of the film in Colorado.
Switzerland
Offices empty as firms flee Zurich’s city centre
Large companies are abandoning offices in the centre of Zurich in favour of cheaper, more modern premises in the suburbs, where land prices are lower.
Sweden
New wave of arson attacks hits Ystad
A fire broke out on Tuesday morning in a house in Ystad in southern Sweden, the fifth of a spate of suspected arson attacks in the past week which have raised fears of a new "dusk and dawn" pyromaniac.
Germany
Fake kidnapping stunt sparks police hunt
German police launched a hunt for a pair of balaclava-clad kidnappers who were seen bundling a bound woman into their car, and called on the public for help, only for one of those involved to confess it was all a stunt.
Germany
Moody’s cuts Germany’s outlook to ‘negative’
The eurozone crisis took a fresh turn for the worse on Tuesday after ratings agency Moody's threatened to cut Germany's coveted top credit rating amid fears the bloc's difficulties could pull it apart.
Germany
Munich opera defends Nazi tattoo singer
The Munich opera hit out on Monday at the organisers of the Bayreuth Festival over their handling of a row about a Russian singer with a Nazi tattoo who had been scheduled to perform.