Germany edition

Aachen

The following articles have been tagged with "Aachen":

Elderly Nazi killer begins life prison term

National: 16 Dec 11
As a last drive to arrest elderly Nazi war-criminals heats up, a 90-year-old former SS assassin began his life jail sentence Thursday handed down by a German court for shooting dead three civilians in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. READ »

Finance Minister wins major European prize

National: 11 Dec 11
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has won the 2012 Charlemagne Prize, one of Europe's highest honours, for his work toward EU integration, said a statement released Saturday. READ »

Thalidomide victims protest 50 years on

National: 25 Nov 11
Saturday marks 50 years since the deformity-causing drug thalidomide was banned in Germany. Thousands of victims will protest in Berlin to call for greater compensation and recognition of their suffering. Jessica Ware reports. READ »

Eight die in mass pile-up and head-on collision

National: 19 Nov 11
Eight people were killed in road accidents in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday night - three in a mass pile-up on an Autobahn near Münster involving more than 50 vehicles, and five in a two-car collision near Aachen. READ »

11/11/11 a big day for weddings in Germany

Society: 5 Nov 11
November has never been a very popular month for matrimony, but civil registry offices in Germany are dealing with a crush of couples hoping to get married on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 2011. READ »

Soldiers' remains found in World War I tunnel

Society: 19 Oct 11
Twenty-one German soldiers have been discovered in a World War I tunnel in Alsace, France, 93 years after they were buried alive during battle. READ »

Businessman on hunger strike outside Foreign Ministry

Society: 14 Oct 11
A businessman is camping out in front of the German Foreign Ministry on a self-styled hunger strike, in fury at the government’s refusal to help him after a deal went sour in the United Arab Emirates. READ »

Foreigners face pricey prep for universities

Education: 30 Aug 11
Germany’s affordable universities have long attracted foreign students, but free language and introductory classes could soon be a thing of the past. Erin Huggins explores the trend toward pricey preparatory courses. READ »

Unpopular tuition fees could soon be history

Education: 24 Aug 11
German universities have been allowed to charge tuition fees since 2007. But many states have decided to ditch them, soon leaving only Bavaria and Lower Saxony still taking money from their students. Hannah Cleaver reports. READ »

Storms chaos hits North Rhine-Westphalia

National: 19 Aug 11
Violent storms felled trees and flooded roads and basements throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, leaving emergency workers struggling to make it to all the calls for help. READ »

Aachen employs smart phones to bust illegal parkers

Science & Technology: 27 Jul 11
Authorities in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Aachen are clamping down on illegal parking by using cameras on smart phones to make it almost impossible to challenge a citation. READ »

Police give all clear at Aachen clinic after hostage and bomb threat

National: 24 Jun 11
Police gave the all-clear on Friday night after searching the Aachen University clinic for a man who threatened to take a child hostage and detonate a bomb if he was not given money. READ »

After violence, fearful Wuppertal tries to ban Facebook shindig

Science & Technology: 22 Jun 11
A week after a similar Facebook party turned chaotic, authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia are desperately trying to ban a July 1 bash organized on the social networking website that they fear could become unsafe. READ »

Firefighters quench huge forest blaze near Aachen

National: 27 Apr 11
More than 300 firefighters near Aachen on the Belgian border fought back the region's biggest forest fire in 60 years early this week. READ »

Unlikely cities become 'secret stars' for real estate investing

Society: 17 Mar 11
Forget betting on Berlin – Aachen, Bremen, Hamm, and Ludwigshafen are apparently where the real money is. Cities neglected by property investors are turning out to be worth a second look thanks to unexpected demographic growth. READ »

Schalke's Magath gets revenge as struggling Bayern exit Cup

Sport: 3 Mar 11
Another piece of silverware slipped from Bayern Munich's grasp on Wednesday as the title holders were dumped out of the German Cup after a 1-0 semi-final home defeat to Schalke 04, coached by former Bayern boss Felix Magath. READ »

Guttenberg gets carnival medal for 'courage of his contradictions'

Society: 20 Feb 11
Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was awarded a medal at the weekend – the Order Against Dead Seriousness – by the Aachen carnival association at its gala event which will be broadcast on state television on Monday. READ »

Wiesbaden tops real estate investment ranking

Business & Money: 18 Feb 11
For those investing in real estate, forget the sexy, better-known cities like Munich and Hamburg. The biggest rate of return on property is in Wiesbaden, according to a new ranking just published in manager magazin. READ »

Aachen jailbreak convicts imprisoned for life

National: 9 Feb 11
The two men who escaped from an Aachen prison in 2009 sparking a desperate police manhunt have been sentenced to long prison terms. They will likely spend the rest of their lives behind bars. READ »

Love stunt ends in tragedy

National: 7 Feb 11
A romantic gesture went tragically wrong in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday, when a man fell to his death trying to affix a sign on a motorway bridge to mark the 10th anniversary of his relationship. READ »

Bayern Munich scores win despite losing captain van Bommel

Sport: 27 Jan 11
German Cup holders Bayern Munich booked their semi-final berth on Wednesday with a comfortable 4-0 win at second division Alemannia Aachen as the Bavarian giants began life without Mark van Bommel. READ »

Teen rising star shoots Schalke into semis

Sport: 26 Jan 11
Teenage super-sub Julian Draxler on Tuesday put Schalke 04 into the semi-finals of the German Cup after scoring an extra-time winner to seal a 3-2 victory over Nuremberg, just minutes after coming off the bench. READ »

European court rules preventive detention of sex offenders unjust

National: 13 Jan 11
The European Court of Human Rights delivered another blow to Germany’s controversial “preventive detention” system on Thursday, ruling that four convicted sex offenders’ rights to freedom have been breached. READ »

Importing talent for an export-driven future

National: 10 Dec 10
A new law should help 300,000 foreigners in Germany have their qualifications recognised. But as David Wroe reports, much more needs to be done to safeguard the German economy from a looming demographic implosion. READ »

Mediaeval graffiti casts light on everyday workers at nunnery

Science & Technology: 16 Nov 10
Historians in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia announced on Tuesday that they have deciphered mysterious 500-year-old graffiti left in an old abbey attic. The etchings are likely drawings made by handwork apprentices. READ »

Storm 'Carmen' capsizes boat, fells trees and dumps snow

National: 12 Nov 10
The storm system “Carmen” ripped through Germany on Thursday night, bringing high winds, heavy rain and some snow in the first big storm of autumn. READ »

Aachen stinks

Science & Technology: 1 Nov 10
A mysterious stench has plagued the western German city of Aachen for much of the past year, but neither city officials nor scientists have been able to determine the foul odour's source. READ »

Mainz and Dortmund edged out of German Cup in surprise defeats

Sport: 28 Oct 10
Bundesliga leaders Mainz crashed out of the German Cup on Tuesday night when they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at second division Alemannia Aachen, while Dortmund also exited in the second-round. READ »

Rapist admits 1,000 sex offences, gets 10 years

National: 11 Oct 10
A Düsseldorf court on Monday sentenced a serial rapist, who had admitted to committing more than 1,000 sex offences over two decades, to 10 years behind bars. READ »

Rape suspect confesses to 1,000 sex offences

Society: 27 Sep 10
An alleged serial rapist admitted before a Düsseldorf court on Monday to having committed more than 1,000 sex offences over two decades, usually luring his victims by faking a disability. READ »

Neo-Nazi rally provokes outcry in Dortmund

Society: 5 Sep 10
At least 160 people were arrested or held by police in Dortmund on Saturday as up to 15,000 people tried to block a neo-Nazi rally in the city to mark the anniversary of the start of the Second World War. READ »

Rusty Germany manages 1:0 against Belgium

Sport: 4 Sep 10
The German football team managed to squeeze a 1:0 victory over Belgium on Friday night with a goal in the 51st minute, after a performance which seemed creaky when compared with the stellar performance in the World Cup. READ »

Bayern Munich still the team to beat as Bundesliga kicks off

Sport: 19 Aug 10
With Bayern Munich starting the defence of their Bundesliga title on Friday at home to 2009 champions Wolfsburg, the question on fans' lips here is can anyone stop their march to the title? READ »

Hacker arrested for spying on schoolgirls via their own webcams

Society: 17 Jul 10
A man has been arrested for spying on more than 150 girls in their bedrooms by hacking into their computers and using their webcams to watch them, provoking warnings that others will be doing the same thing. READ »

What's on in Germany: July 8 - 14

Lifestyle: 8 Jul 10
This Week's Highlights: An underground catwalk in Berlin, free theatre in Munich's English Garden, and Regensburg jazzes it up. READ »

Terrified lover calls police from wardrobe

Society: 24 Jun 10
Police have rescued an Aachen man from a wardrobe after he fled there to escape his girlfriend’s angry ex-partner and then used his mobile phone to call for help, the authorities announced Thursday. READ »

Getting toddlers to like bikes

Lifestyle: 14 Jun 10
The Local’s series “Made in Germany” presents the best the country has to offer, including the innovative toddler training bikes by Kokua. READ »

Where to watch World Cup matches in Germany

Lifestyle: 10 Jun 10
Want to know where to catch all the action for the 2010 World Cup? Check out The Local’s list of places in Germany to watch the football and submit your own suggestions. READ »

Police put dent in neo-Nazi websites

National: 9 Jun 10
The number of illegal German neo-Nazi homepages on the internet has fallen in the past year, delivering authorities their first victory in combating right-wing extremism on the web, media reported Wednesday. READ »

Trial over Aachen jailbreak begins

National: 8 Jun 10
Court began proceedings started on Tuesday against two inmates who staged a dramatic jailbreak from a maximum-security prison in the Aachen area last year, keeping Germany on edge for five days as fugitives. READ »

Merkel: EU facing biggest threat since communism

Politics: 13 May 10
Europe's currency crisis constitutes its “greatest test” since the collapse of communism, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Thursday, as she called for the eurozone’s economic policies to become more tightly meshed. READ »

What's on in Germany: May 13 - 19

Lifestyle: 13 May 10
This Week's Highlights: John Malkovich plays a serial killer in Hamburg, Rufus Wainright sings in Munich, and electric Smart cars buzz around Berlin. READ »

Löw mulls future ahead of World Cup prep match

Sport: 13 May 10
Germany start their World Cup preparations with a friendly against Malta on Thursday, but coach Joachim Löw has admitted he may walk away after next month's tournament in South Africa. READ »

Löw announces World Cup squad

Sport: 6 May 10
German Coach Joachim Löw has selected seven players from Champions League finalists Bayern Munich for the World Cup squad including recalling veteran goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt. READ »

Adler ruled out of World Cup with broken ribs

Sport: 4 May 10
Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler was on Tuesday ruled out of next month's World Cup in South Africa as he is set to undergo an operation to repair damaged ribs. READ »

Priest says he was bullied into taking fall for Pope in abuse scandal

National: 18 Apr 10
The church official who initially said it was his fault that a paedophile priest was given succour in Pope Benedict XVI’s former diocese has broken ranks, alleging he was bullied into taking responsibility to protect the pontiff. READ »

Sharing the steering wheel

Lifestyle: 6 Apr 10
Germany might be a car-crazy country, but it can also be a prohibitively expensive place to have your own ride. Rhea Wessel reports on the growing interest in car-sharing services. READ »

Former SS hit man given life sentence

National: 23 Mar 10
An 88-year-old former SS hit man was given a life sentence Tuesday for shooting dead three civilians in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in 1944. READ »

Dutch populist Wilders 'unwelcome' in Eifel town

Society: 16 Mar 10
The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders has been told he is “not welcome” in the western German town of Monschau after he spent the weekend in the Eifel region. READ »

Cities tighten their belts after tax cuts

Politics: 19 Jan 10
German cities complain they are bearing the brunt of deep tax cuts by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and nowhere is feeling the pain more sharply than the rust-belt town of Wuppertal. READ »

Courts hear business cases in English

National: 10 Jan 10
Courts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have offered to handle business cases in English for a pilot project under keen observation by other courts, which could soon follow their example. READ »

Two people put each other in hospital over shopping cart

National: 13 Dec 09
A row between a 74-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman over a supermarket cart in Aachen escalated into a violent altercation in which two people required emergency treatment. READ »

Former Nazi SS hit man admits to Dutch murders

National: 8 Dec 09
One of the last alleged Nazi war criminals to stand trial, 88-year-old Dutchman Heinrich Boere admitted in court on Tuesday to killing three of his countrymen as a hit man for the Waffen-SS in 1944. READ »

Elder statesman Graf Lambsdorff dies

Politics: 6 Dec 09
Count Otto Lambsdorff, an elder statesman of German politics and the architect of a historic reparations accord for thousands of people forced to work for the Nazis, has died. READ »

Police ram bike to nab fugitive from Aachen

National: 1 Dec 09
Police on Tuesday apprehended convicted murderer Peter Paul Michalski after five days on the run following a dramatic escape from an Aachen maximum-security prison. They reportedly rammed him off of a bicycle to make the arrest. READ »

Police narrowly miss Aachen fugitive

National: 30 Nov 09
Police said on Monday they narrowly missed nabbing escaped convict Peter Paul Michalski in Mülheim an der Ruhr early, but called on the dangerous criminal to give himself up before someone is harmed. READ »

Police snare Aachen prison fugitive

National: 29 Nov 09
Police have caught one of the men who broke out of Aachen prison in a daring escape, authorities in Cologne announced Sunday afternoon. READ »

Guard accused of helping with prison breakout

National: 28 Nov 09
Police have arrested a prison guard on suspicion he helped in the dramatic escape of two violent inmates from the maximum-security Aachen jail, authorities announced Saturday, as the hunt for the two men continued. READ »

Two dangerous criminals escape Aachen prison

National: 27 Nov 09
Police have issued a warning to the public after two dangerous criminals escaped from an Aachen prison on Thursday night. The men, who were serving sentences for murder and kidnapping, are believed to be armed. READ »

Students stage education protests nationwide

National: 17 Nov 09
Tens of thousands of German students took to the streets on Tuesday to demonstrate against contentious reforms to the country's educational system and lacking funds for universities and schools. READ »

90-year-old charged for Nazi massacre

National: 17 Nov 09
German prosecutors on Tuesday charged a 90-year-old former SS soldier with 58 counts of murder for the cold-blooded killings of Jewish forced labourers in the final weeks of World War II. READ »

Former Nazi SS hit man goes on trial in Aachen

National: 28 Oct 09
One of Germany’s last Nazi war crime trials began on Wednesday in Aachen against 88-year-old Heinrich Boere, a Dutch-born former SS hit man accused of killing three of his countrymen. READ »

Filthy flat filled with 300 abandoned guinea pigs

Society: 26 Oct 09
Around 300 abandoned guinea pigs were rescued from a filthy flat in Aachen over the weekend, according to the police. READ »

Making it in Germany: An American fashion aficionado

Lifestyle: 19 Oct 09
The Local's series "Making it in Germany" presents Bruce Darnell, an American choreographer and model best known as an entertainment show judge on German television alongside Heidi Klum and Dieter Bohlen. READ »

German universities slip in world rankings

Society: 8 Oct 09
Four of Germany’s universities have made it into the top 100 of a new global higher education ranking, but the country’s overall standing has worsened compared to last year. READ »

Drunken erotic online chat from bathtub sparks call to police

Society: 16 Sep 09
A woman in Aachen was compelled to call the police after her drunken female friend slumped into a bathtub while the two were having an erotic chat online, the authorities reported on Wednesday. READ »

Aachen couples have highest national divorce rate

Society: 16 Sep 09
A new study by Men’s Health magazine shows that the key to a long-lasting marriage in Germany could simply lie in the town in which couples live. READ »

Man knifes teen girl and threatens to blow up building

Society: 1 Sep 09
An Aachen man injured a 15-year-old girl with a knife and then threatened to blow up his apartment building on Monday evening, police reported. READ »

Storms wallop Germany and injure three

National: 24 Jul 09
Continuing severe weather caused damage and injuries across Germany on Thursday evening with gale force winds and heavy rainfall, police said. READ »

States clean up amidst more severe weather warnings

Society: 22 Jul 09
Stormy weather walloped Germany Tuesday night causing heavy damage, including disruption to train services, fires and the death of 120 pigs. READ »

Schlager fans party away Hamburg's grey skies

Lifestyle: 13 Jul 09
Schlager, Germany’s own brand of schmaltzy pop music, faces plenty of ridicule. But as Jeff Kavanagh reports, that doesn’t stop thousands from celebrating its cheesy, good-time vibes each year in Hamburg. READ »

Court rules former SS officer not 'too old' for murder trial

Society: 7 Jul 09
A Cologne court ruled Tuesday that an 88-year-old former SS-member must stand trial in Germany for a triple-murder that took place in the Netherlands during World War II. READ »

Suspect in Madeleine case treated in Aachen hospital

National: 24 May 09
Two years after the famous disappearance of Madeleine McCann from Portugal, authorities in Aachen are to investigate a convicted British pedophile, being treated in a local hospital, suspected of involvement in the incident. READ »