Bayern Munich backs Ribéry over sex charges
Bayern Munich have given their backing to embattled France winger Franck Ribéry, after he and compatriot Karim Benzema were sent for trial for allegedly soliciting an under-age prostitute.
Day: August 15, 2012
France
France
Amiens in riot clear-up as France asks ‘why?’
The northern French city of Amiens on Wednesday began a costly clean-up after two nights of rioting that left France again asking itself what to do about marginalised urban neighbourhoods that have regularly erupted into violence in the past decade.
France
Catholics mark festival with anti-gay prayer
French Catholics marked the Assumption holiday on Wednesday with prayers focused on the family and children that were designed to underline the Church's opposition to gay marriage.
Norway
Police enlist psychologist in search for mising girl
Police in Oslo have enlisted the help of an expert psychologist to help evaluate the huge volume of potential leads received from members of the public in the search for the missing 16-year-old Sigrid Giskegjerde Schjetne.
Party across the Adriatic with InterRail
If you thought InterRail was all about trains - well you would almost be right - but many journeys also involve ferries. Now, to mark the 40th anniversary of the InterRail Pass, travellers are taking to the water.
Sweden
Zlatan ruled out of playing Brazil friendly
Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out of Wednesday's friendly against Brazil on Wednesday after picking up a minor foot injury during club duty for Paris Saint-Germain last weekend.
Germany
Scary photos on tobacco ‘should be copied’ here
Cigarette packs should carry frightening pictures, German cancer experts say – and said the move taken by Australia on Wednesday to impose such rules should be followed here.
Sweden
Top police chief charged for beating teen daughter
One of Sweden’s top chiefs of police has been charged with beating his 14-year-old daughter, after he caught her and her friends drinking during a party, according to a report in daily Aftonbladet.
Germany
Wanted: a green, fair economic system
Most Germans would like a new economic system which focussed more on environmental protection and social justice, according to a new survey.
Switzerland
Switzerland forecasts 1.5 billion franc surplus
Switzerland is set to end the year with healthier finances than expected and a surplus of 1.5 billion francs ($1.5 billion), the government said on Wednesday.
Sweden
‘Today’s cheap might be costly tomorrow’
As summer fades and the so-called "cucumber time" or silly season comes to an end, contributor Ruben Brunsveld reflects on state agency spending and why it has got the Swedish press baying for more.
Sweden
Ikea to open 100 budget hotels across Europe
Swedish furniture giant Ikea is planning to build 100 budget hotels around Europe in its most recent push to join the property market.
Germany
Hamburg welcomes Olympians as heroes
Around 20,000 excited Hamburgers turned up to welcome Germany's Olympic athletes home on Wednesday morning. More than half of those who had competed in London came back to Germany on the MS Deutschland cruise ship.
Norway
Netflix on its way to Norway
US-based film streaming company Netflix announced on Wednesday that it will be launching its services in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland before the end of this year.
Sweden
Social Democrat MP dies after battling illness
Carina Moberg, the former group leader for the Social Democrats in the Riksdag died on Tuesday after battling illness for a number of years.
Sweden
Netflix set to launch in Sweden this year
Netflix, the US company which offers online film streaming and DVD delivery by mail, will launch its services in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden by the end of the year, it said on Wednesday.
Sweden
South African ‘hitman’ denies killing Dewani
A man accused of shooting Swedish honeymooner Anni Dewani pleaded not guilty to killing her as his murder trial opened in a South African court on Wednesday.
Germany
Berlin airport: new opening date in danger
The March 2013 opening date for Berlin’s new airport can pretty much be written off, it emerged on Wednesday, when it became clear that those struggling with the enormous project would not even name a date until September.
France
Woman ‘fell from cliff’ before Channel swim
A woman whose body was found washed up on a beach near Calais region is thought to have fallen from a cliff while changing to swim across the channel.
Germany
‘Free Pussy Riot’ call given a German accent
Berlin-based singer Peaches has released a free song in support of the imprisoned members of Russian feminist collective Pussy Riot - accompanied by a video filmed last week in the capital with the help of a balaclava-clad crowd.
France
Burger tooth ‘belonged to woman eating it’
A tooth found in a burger, which lead to a year-long investigation of a factory and supermarket, has been shown to have belonged to the woman who was eating it.
Germany
Late pay-day for 150,000 pensioners after errors
Tens of thousands of German pensioners will get an extra payout after the Federal Insurance Office (BVA) found they had been short-changed for years.
France
Sun creams ‘protect less than they claim’
A new French study into sun creams has put into question how much consumers can trust the factor given on the front of the bottle.
Sweden
Swedish paper falls for Thatcher death hoax
A Swedish news editor is blaming "bad fact-checking" after his paper announced on Tuesday that British ex Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died - a story that began as a hoax on Twitter.
Norway
Voters want Stoltenberg to stay: polls
Despite increasing calls for his resignation, a majority of Norwegians believe Jens Stoltenberg should stay on as prime minister, polls show.
Switzerland
Swiss boffins craft new toilet for world’s poorest
Swiss researchers have helped invent an award-winning new toilet for use in places without sanitary facilities, the federal government announced on Wednesday.
Germany
Berlin double-murderer is jailed for life
A man who shot dead the mother and sister of his former wife and injured several others when he sprayed their car with bullets has been jailed for life by a Berlin court.
Sweden
Stockholm woman held for stabbing man
A 23-year-old woman has been detained by police after a 29-year-old man was badly stabbed in Stockholm on Tuesday.
France
Paris finally falls for ‘love locks’
They say you can't beat City Hall, but Paris authorities who once took a dim view of the thousands of "love locks" adorning the bridges of the Seine river have had a change of heart.
France
‘Quiet night’ in Amiens after riots
Police in the northern French city of Amiens have reported that Tuesday night was "very quiet", with no repeat of Monday nights riots that left 16 police officers injured, a school severely damaged by fire and a sports centre destroyed.
Switzerland
Pepper-sprayed Geneva MP alleges assault
Geneva politician Eric Stauffer is courting controversy again after reports emerged that he was pepper-sprayed by a security official during the Fêtes de Genève summer festival.
Germany
Hamburg signs historic deal with Muslims
Hamburg authorities have signed a deal with the city's Muslim community groups guaranteeing Islamic holidays, school religion lessons, and burial rights. It's the first agreement of its kind in Germany.
Switzerland
Switzerland widens Syria sanctions
Switzerland widened sanctions against Syria on Tuesday, adding new names to a list of people and companies whose assets have been frozen, according to the foreign ministry.
Germany
Footballer defends right not to sing anthem
Germany midfielder Sami Khedira on Tuesday hit back against criticism of players, including himself, who do not sing their national anthem before matches.
Germany
Pocket urinals hit the streets of Cologne
Wee-splattered paving stones and smelly park corners could soon be a thing of the past in the proud, ancient city of Cologne, where a German company has begun marketing its "pocket urinal."
Switzerland
Manure load kills cycling pensioner
A 67-year-old woman died on Tuesday after being struck by a tractor towing a tank-load of manure while she was out cycling in a rural village in the canton of Fribourg.
Sweden
Lithuania warns Belarus and summons envoy
Lithuania summoned the Belarus ambassador Tuesday in protest after Minsk expelled Swedish diplomats in the "teddy bear" row, warning the move could further worsen relations with the European Union.
Sweden
Suspected bomb rocks Stockholm cinema
A suspected bomb exploded just outside of a cinema north west of Stockholm late on Tuesday night, but no one was injured and no one has been arrested.
Sweden
‘Assange asylum rumour is false’: Ecuador
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Tuesday denied a British media report that his country had granted asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.