Germany

Germany Wins Soccer Thriller After World TV Feed Fails

Associated Press  |  Jun 25, 08 5:09 PM CDT

(Newser) - Soccer fans around the world missed a thrilling finish today as the international TV feed pooped out during a Germany-Turkey matchup that featured two goals in the last 5 minutes, the AP reports. Germany scored a goal in the 90th minute to win 3-2 and advance to the finals of the European Championship. Turkey, an underdog unexpected to advance as far as it did, had tied the game just minutes earlier.  More »

Want to Skirt Smoking Laws in Germany? Join the Club

Associated Press  |  Jun 20, 08 11:44 AM CDT

(Newser) - Smoking in a bar is verboten in much of Germany, so many watering holes have decided they’re not “bars” anymore—they’re private clubs where members are free to light up. The dodge appalls anti-smoking groups, but one club owner says cigarettes are essential to his business. “I wanted to offer three things: smoking, drinks and good music,” he said. “Without one, it doesn't work.” More »

Leaders Press for Berlin Cold War Museum

Der Spiegel  |  Jun 18, 08 3:21 AM CDT

(Newser) - Berlin would finally get a museum dedicated to the Cold War if a group of high-profile politicians get their way. Led by former Czech President Vaclav Havel, the group is urging Germany to build the structure at Checkpoint Charlie, the infamous crossing point that connected the city when it was split by the Berlin Wall. More »

Germans Get Engineers Started Young

Financial Times (UK)  |  Jun 17, 08 12:49 PM CDT

(Newser) - With a personnel shortfall that's serious and getting worse, Germany wants to get its next generation of engineers started as soon as possible, the Financial Times reports. Hundreds of companies are sending materials and experts to kindergartens to try interest youngsters in technology and science. They hope getting the tots interested early will preserve Germany's reputation as a land of engineering. More »

Raccoon Checks Into Berlin Hotel

Der Spiegel  |  Jun 17, 08 11:42 AM CDT

(Newser) - The talk of the town in Berlin is a raccoon who's taken up residence in a hotel garage and can't legally be removed. Under German law, a wild animal can't be removed from private property unless it poses a threat, Der Spiegel reports. One wildlife expert says he thinks the animal, a rarity in Germany, may have grown up at the Brandenburg Gate. More »

German Crafts Obama Doll

Der Spiegel  |  Jun 11, 08 7:00 AM CDT

(Newser) - A master German dollmaker and Barack Obama fan has paid tribute to the candidate with a doll, Der Spiegel reports. The craftsman admits that the creation—his first attempt at making a black doll—is far from an exact Barack-plica, but says it works on a more symbolic level. The 14-inch doll sports the oft-debated Stars-and-Stripes lapel pin and the kind of blue tie Obama favors. More »

Dementia Sufferers Get Unusual Help

Deutsche Welle (Germany)  |  Jun 6, 08 5:00 PM CDT

(Newser) - German retirement homes have found a new way to help patients: building fake bus stops. Dementia sufferers who insist they have somewhere to go now have a destination, giving them a sense of control. That helps calm them, even if they forget where they're "going" after spending some time in the waiting area, Deutsche Welle reports. More »

German Paper Slammed for Obama Slur

Der Spiegel  |  Jun 5, 08 3:15 PM CDT

(Newser) - A German newspaper ignited a firestorm of controversy this week when it printed a photograph of the White House bearing the headline "Uncle Barack's Cabin." "The headline is intended to be satirical," the Berlin-based daily Die Tageszeitung 's deputy editor-in-chief explained to Der Spiegel, adding that it was supposed to make people think about racial stereotypes. More »

Germany Pledges Billions for Rainforest Protection

Der Spiegel  |  May 28, 08 2:33 PM CDT

(Newser) - Germany will spend billions of euros protecting tropical rainforests in an effort to halt global warming. Chancellor Angela Merkel said today at the United Nations' biodiversity conference that Germany will increase its funding for the conservation of rainforests from $330 million to $1.1 billion in the next three years and an additional $785 million per year after that. More »

German Telecom Spying Ignites Privacy Uproar

New York Times  |  May 27, 08 4:35 PM CDT

(Newser) - German phone giant Deutsche Telekom has ignited a privacy firestorm by admitting it tracked board members’ phone calls to root out the source of embarrassing press leaks. The dominant national fixed-line provider revealed “severe and far-reaching” misuse of private information, generating anger in a country sensitive to civil liberties abuses, the New York Times reports. More »

Germany Seizes 'eBay Baby'

BBC  |  May 24, 08 6:53 PM CDT

(Newser) - Germany has taken a seven-month-old baby from his parents after they tried to sell him on eBay, the BBC reports. The yet-unnamed child was advertised as “nearly-new” and had a starting price of one euro. “It was only a joke,” the child’s mother said. “I just wanted to see if someone would make an offer.” More »

Skinheads Dupe German Mail, Make Stamp of Nazi Hero

Der Spiegel  |  May 21, 08 5:51 PM CDT

(Newser) - Neo-Nazis in Germany pulled a fast one on the national postal service by tricking the agency into making stamps featuring one of Hitler’s senior deputies, der Spiegel reports. The skinheads used a Deutsche Post service that allows people to upload images for custom stamps online to create about 20 with images of Rudolph Hess. "The Hess stamp is out there," gloated one magazine. Deutsche Post says it's reviewing its policies. More »

Helmut Kohl, 78, Marries Girlfriend in Hospital

Independent (UK)  |  May 14, 08 2:34 PM CDT

(Newser) - Helmut Kohl, the chancellor first of West Germany and then of a reunified Federal Republic, has married at the age of 78. But the wedding, to an economist 30 years his junior, took place in a hospital amid fears that he is in deteriorating health. As the Independent reports, Kohl's new bride, Maike Richter, has been standing in for him at public events, and the ex-chancellor has no plans to leave the clinic. More »

Group Makes Last Hunt for Top Nazis

Associated Press  |  Apr 30, 08 8:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - A doctor at barbaric Mauthausen concentration camp heads the list of the 10 most-wanted Nazis sought by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, AP reports. Aribert Heim, 93, is believed to be living in South America, and has a $485,000 reward on his head. One witness recalled how the physician-butcher decapitated a teenage Jewish athlete and saved his skull for display because of his perfect teeth. More »

Deutsche Bank Posts $220M Loss—First in 5 Years

Financial Times (UK)  |  Apr 29, 08 6:41 AM CDT

(Newser) - Deutsche Bank posted its first quarterly loss in 5 years today, reflecting the impact of the credit crisis on its investment banking activities. Germany's largest bank reported a net loss of $220 million and admitted that the short-term outlook for the firm remained highly uncertain. Deutsche also took $4.2 billion in writedowns, writes the Financial Times . More »

Germany's Dry Rieslings Go Down Sweetly

New York Times  |  Apr 24, 08 6:00 PM CDT

(Newser) - The dry rieslings Eric Asimov sampled a decade ago in Germany were “tart and shrill,” he writes in the New York Times. So "how did they get so good" since? Lower-quality wines aren’t shipped to America, hypothesizes one wine importer, who nevertheless concedes that the country's great dry rieslings are more plentiful than they were 10 years ago. More »

Wikipedia Goes to Print —in German

Associated Press  |  Apr 24, 08 4:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - Wikipedia will soon hit bookshelves, the AP reports: German giant Bertelsmann AG is publishing a condensed print edition of the user-generated encyclopedia. The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia will contain 50,000 of the most-searched-for German entries this year—and it could be the first in an annual series. “A yearbook really can be a documentation of the zeitgeist,” said a publishing exec. More »

No More Expense-Account Hookers for Deutsche Bank