EU warns France over Roma camp purge
The European Commission is keeping a close eye on a new French purge on Roma camps to ensure expulsions are not arbitrary and discriminatory, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
Day: August 10, 2012
France
Serial rapist ‘preying on girls at French campsites’
A suspected serial rapist is preying on young girls holidaying on campsites in the Ardèche region of central France, local police said Friday.
Germany
Olympic targets revealed – and missed by a mile
The German Interior Ministry has admitted that Germany has missed its medal targets for the Olympic Games in London by a long way, after finally releasing the sports federations' aims following an unseemly legal fight.
Sweden
One held for Stockholm jewellery store robbery
One person has been arrested after several armed thieves robbed a jewellery store in central Stockholm on Friday afternoon; however police have still not managed to track down the others involved in the crime.
Germany
Merkel shows deadpan comic genius
Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed what could be described as deadpan comedy genius. Either that or her answers to a string of non-political questions showed an almost complete refusal to offer any insight into her personality.
Germany
Do not tattoo your pony, court tells German man
A German man has been banned from tattooing a 15-centimetre Rolling Stones “tongue” logo onto his pony. He had planned to use it as an advert for a pet tattoo business.
Sweden
Student Exchanges in Sweden: the international edge
With competition in the professional jobs market tighter than ever, gaining international experience as part of your degree can help give you that crucial extra edge.
Sweden
Gareth Jones: cooking up success in Sweden
Welshman Gareth Jones, chef and co-owner of Stockholm-based British butchers and sausage-makers Taylors & Jones, speaks with The Local about language, "country-house culture" and what it takes to do your own thing in Sweden.
Sweden
Bildt accused of aiding Russia in legal dispute
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is suspected of interfering with the work of an independent Swedish agency to help Russia in a legal dispute in Sweden, a parliamentary committee said Friday.
Germany
Woman must pay €40 for electrician’s 40-metre trip
A woman who was charged more than €40 by an electrician for a trip of around 40 metres to her house has been told by a German court she will probably have to pay the fee.
Sweden
Law and technology: playing catch-up
The in-roads that computing has made into all aspects of our lives has left the law scrabbling to catch up. Stockholm University was one of the earliest institutions to specialize in this issue.
Sweden
Belarus asks Lithuania to probe teddy bear claims
Lithuania on Friday was mulling a request by Belarus to probe claims by Swedish human rights activists that they flew across the border to make a drop of freedom teddy bears, angering Minsk.
Switzerland
Swiss report reveals hundreds of forced marriages
Around 1,400 women in Switzerland were the victims of forced marriages or unwanted family interference in their relationships with partners over the past two years, a new report reveals.
Germany
Germany’s triumphs and disasters at London 2012
It's been an eventful Olympics for Germany - or Team BRD, as the German media has not dubbed them - with triumphant beach boys, damp squib swimmers and a neo-Nazi scandal. The Local surveys the highs and lows.
Sweden
Complaint about ‘hooker’ kids clothes goes viral
Swedish high street fashion chain Lindex has been hit by an online storm after a woman’s complaint about their “hooker-like” clothing range for young girls went viral.
Switzerland
Vaud launch hunt for missing man
A search is under way for a 22-year-old man from the canton of Vaud who went missing more than three weeks ago.
Sweden
23-year-old charged for shooting axe victim
A 23-year-old man has been charged with the murder of 51-year-old Esa Rano, known in Sweden for surviving a vicious axe attack in a village feud in 2008.
Norway
Woman nabbed with 42-inch TV under her skirt
A woman was arrested in Oslo on Thursday after walking out of a shopping centre with a 42-inch flat screen television between her legs.
Germany
Craft guild: euro rescue cost must have a limit
Germany’s craft guild has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to step back from recent pledges to save the euro at any cost, while most Germans think the worst of the euro crisis is yet to come.
Switzerland
Faulty paper blamed for new banknote delay
The introduction of new Swiss banknotes has been postponed for a second time because of technical problems linked to the paper to be used, a new report says.
France
Speed cameras make record profits for state
Speed cameras in France are set to make a record yield this year, bringing in an estimated €700 million for the French government.
Germany
Economic clouds gather despite strong GDP
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is still growing but the outlook is becoming increasingly clouded by "substantial risks" from the debt crisis, the economy ministry warned Friday.
Germany
Facebook ‘should help pay for illegal parties’
German state interior ministers want to make Facebook help pay for illegal mass parties organised via the network. Costly police operations have recently been launched to clear such parties.
France
Toulouse gunman ‘was being watched’
French security services had watched Toulouse shooter Mohamed Merah since the end of 2009 and judged his behaviour "worrying" in late 2011, according to declassified documents seen by AFP.
France
Tiny French club eyed by confused Premiership
An amateur football club in Angers has complained after being regularly confused with its professional counterpart, mainly by English clubs looking to recruit.
Sweden
Swedish experts baffled by ‘mystery’ elk illness
A unexplained illness has been plaguing the elk community of southern Sweden, with experts perplexed as to why so many are being found dead or dying.
Norway
Swedes jail drunk Norwegian ‘superhero’
A Norwegian man found prowling the streets of Luleå in northern Sweden clad in a Superman costume was brought down to earth on Wednesday night after police took him into custody in order to sleep off his drunken endeavours.
France
French joy as women reach basketball final
As the last seconds ticked away in France's 81-64 victory over Russia to reach the Olympic women's basketball final, French captain Celine Dumerc began dancing as she dribbled the ball on court.
Norway
Facebook assists in search for missing teen
Social networking site Facebook has confirmed that it is assisted Oslo police in their inquiries into the disappearance of 16-year-old Sigrid Giskegjerde Schjetne, after initially refusing access to her account.
Germany
Trucker swerves past cyclist and hits 30 others
A man died when a truck driver swerved to get around a cyclist on a road near Hamburg – only to plough into a group of other cyclists coming the other way.
France
‘No need to change constitution’ over pact
France's Constitutional Council ruled on Thursday that no change to the country's constitution was necessary to adopt the EU's fiscal pact, a key element in efforts to overcome the eurozone's debt crisis.
Sweden
‘This is how Cubans are treated everyday’: Modig
Swedish politician Aron Modig, the current chair of the Christian Democrats youth wing (KDU), was interrogated by Cuban authorities for five days after the car crash that claimed the lives of two renowned critics of the Castro regime.
Sweden
Swedes lock up drunk Norwegian ‘superhero’
Police in northern Sweden on Wednesday detained a highly inebriated man wearing a superman costume, who had been spotted prowling the streets of Luleå.
Sweden
Preschooler left alone at day care for hours
A 4-year-old boy in Malmö was left on his own for several hours after the pre-school staff took the other kids to the theatre and forgot about him.
Germany
New Berlin airport ‘cannot service its loans’
A row has broken out over Berlin’s new – and very late – airport, after it was revealed that the corporation building it only has financing to last until the end of the year and is not considered credit worthy.