Germany edition

Asse

The following articles have been tagged with "Asse":

What's on in Germany: February 9 - 15

Society: 9 Feb 12
This Week's Highlights: The star-studded Berlinale film festival kicks off in Berlin, Munch goes on view in Frankfurt, and a ukelele orchestra sets up in Munich. READ »

Drunken Munich U-Bahn train driver busted

National: 8 Feb 12
A drunken train driver for Munich’s U-Bahn metro has been relieved of his duties after being busted driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.2 percent. READ »

Action! Babelsberg film studio fêtes 100 years

Lifestyle: 8 Feb 12
The world's oldest major film studio celebrates its 100th birthday this month with Hollywood stars and European players ready to toast Germany's mythic Studio Babelsberg outside Berlin. AFP's Deborah Cole reports. READ »

Children sit in front row at bloody sex opera

Society: 6 Feb 12
One of Germany’s most famous opera houses, Dresden’s Semperoper, gave teenagers front row seats to the premiere of its new production of Alban Berg’s “Lulu” – which centres on a murderous prostitute. READ »

De Maizière urges more military might in Europe

National: 4 Feb 12
German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière said Europe should not fear a renewed US focus on Asia and must increasingly look after its own backyard militarily, in remarks made during the 48th annual Munich Security Conference. READ »

Dortmund top table after win at chilly Nuremberg

Sport: 4 Feb 12
Defending champions Borussia Dortmund went top of the German league on Friday night with an impressive 2-0 win at Nuremberg in sub-zero temperatures. READ »

Public transport fare dodging an 'epidemic'

Society: 3 Feb 12
An alliance of public transportation providers in Germany has called fare dodging a national epidemic and is demanding higher fines up to €120 for repeat offenders. READ »

Football legend makes Alzheimer admission

Society: 2 Feb 12
Macho German football legend Rudi Assauer says he has Alzheimer’s Disease, an admission one expert told The Local could help stoke discussion of an illness still considered taboo in many circles. READ »

What's on in Germany: February 2 - 8

Lifestyle: 2 Feb 12
This Week's Highlights: Burlesque in Hamburg, children's theatre in Nuremberg, and an exhibition in Berlin examines the dark side of technology. READ »

US football star hopes to inspire fellow Germans

Sport: 2 Feb 12
Germany's Sebastian Vollmer is hoping his exploits at Sunday's Super Bowl showdown between his New England Patriots and the New York Giants might inspire some young Germans to join him in the NFL. READ »

Tub of lard found fit to eat after 64 years

Society: 1 Feb 12
A 64-year-old tub of American lard has been deemed fit for human consumption by food safety authorities in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. READ »

Arty Argentine meteorite exhibit falls to earth

Society: 1 Feb 12
An unlikely alliance between an indigenous tribe and leading Argentine scientists has thwarted plans to ship the world's second largest meteorite to Germany's prestigious Documenta art show. READ »

Westerwelle demands 'urgent' action on Syria

National: 31 Jan 12
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on Tuesday for the UN Security Council to act "urgently" on Syria, telling a Cairo news conference a strong text on the crisis was "absolutely important." READ »

Bahn investing €800 mln to improve stations

National: 31 Jan 12
German railway operator Deutsche Bahn has announced that some €800 million will be invested this year to improve accessibility at sometimes dingy train stations and install technology to keep passengers better informed. READ »

Art explores discount shopping culture

Society: 30 Jan 12
A shopping trolley immersed in white sugar, 2,000 vacuum-packed sausages littering the floor and thousands of slices of bread forming little houses are all part of a modern art display exploring Germany's discount shopping culture. READ »

Police arrest 70 in left-wing Berlin riots

National: 29 Jan 12
Around 70 people were arrested and 30 police officers injured during riots in Berlin early on Sunday after several incidents blamed on left-wing activists escalated. READ »

'Muslim taxi' offers gender-segregated rides

Society: 27 Jan 12
A German man has created a new website to arrange shared car trips with a twist – it’s targeted toward Muslims, and drivers can only offer transport to members of the same sex. READ »

What's on in Germany: January 26 – February 1

Lifestyle: 27 Jan 12
This Week's Highlights: Hitchcock in Frankfurt, indie rock in Munich, and an homage to an electronic music pioneer in Berlin. READ »

Germans confront latent anti-Semitism

National: 27 Jan 12
As Germany commemorates the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz on Friday, Miriam Widman explores just how widespread anti-Semitism continues to be nearly 70 years after the Holocaust. READ »

Police officers killed in motorway crash

National: 27 Jan 12
Two police officers were killed in a horrific crash near Würzburg in northern Bavaria Thursday evening. Two more officers and one civilian were also injured. READ »

Print Mein Kampf to fight neo-Nazi extremism

Analysis & Opinion: 26 Jan 12
The proposed publication of Hitler's Mein Kampf in Germany has sparked outrage and worries it would give voice to neo-Nazis. But The Local’s Moises Mendoza argues it is time for the country to fight extremism by supporting free speech. READ »

Ice queen Witt provokes UK tears after 'big' jibe

Society: 26 Jan 12
Germany's former ice-skating Olympic champion Katarina Witt has made peace with British skier Chemmy Alcott after making her cry by calling her a “pretty big woman” on a UK television show. READ »

Cops allowed to film on Reeperbahn

National: 26 Jan 12
Germany’s Federal Administrative Court ruled Wednesday that police can film on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn red light district for crime prevention purposes, ending a legal dispute closely watched by privacy advocates. READ »

Business confidence gets early 2012 boost

Business & Money: 25 Jan 12
The German economy, Europe's biggest, got off to a good start in the new year, with business confidence rising for the third month in a row, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday. READ »

Kim Dotcom denied bail in New Zealand

Society: 25 Jan 12
Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom will stay behind bars awaiting possible extradition to the United States after a New Zealand judge Wednesday said the Internet millionaire poses a serious flight risk. READ »

Germany joins European oil embargo against Iran

Politics: 24 Jan 12
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany late on Monday called on Tehran to immediately suspend its nuclear activities after the EU slapped an embargo on Iran's oil exports as part of tough new sanctions. READ »

12 cop cars burnt out

Society: 23 Jan 12
Twelve police cars were set on fire in the eastern German town of Magdeburg early Monday morning. While investigators suspect arson, the exact circumstances of the fire remain unclear. READ »

German victim on Italian shipwreck identified

National: 22 Jan 12
Italian authorities have identified a German man among the 12 bodies recovered from the Costa Concordia cruise ship which ran aground off the Tuscany coast on January 13. READ »

Costa passengers seek damages after wreck

National: 21 Jan 12
Five German passengers who were on the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship when it ran aground off the Tuscan coast are demanding thousands of euros in compensation. READ »

30 vehicles ensnared in mass crash

National: 21 Jan 12
A huge pile-up on the A1 motorway near the town of Cloppenburg in northern Germany left 13 people injured on Friday, with the crash trapping several passengers inside their vehicles. READ »

Munich baby elephant first to get heart surgery

Society: 20 Jan 12
A baby elephant in Munich will be the first in the world to undergo heart surgery, after vets at the zoo realised she had a congenital defect which will kill her within weeks if nothing is done. READ »

Green Week: Animal-friendly food costs more

Society: 19 Jan 12
The biggest agriculture show in the world opens in Berlin on Friday, with the dominant message being: Animal-friendly agriculture is possible, but it costs extra. READ »

UN envoy urges more action on Syria

Politics: 19 Jan 12
German's UN envoy has accused Russia of preventing the UN Security Council from taking decisive action over the deadly crackdown on anti regime protests in Syria. READ »

Banks 'stashing money in fear of meltdown'

Business & Money: 19 Jan 12
Germany’s economy is still in the danger zone, with banks stockpiling money in the European Central Bank (ECB) instead of lending it, Jürgen Fitschen, next in line to lead Deutsche Bank, warned on Thursday. READ »

What's on in Germany: January 19 – 25

Lifestyle: 19 Jan 12
This Week's Highlights: An open-air ball in Dresden, music and movies at the Berlin Cathedral and lots of interesting new art in Frankfurt. READ »

Fiery German heads European Parliament

Politics: 17 Jan 12
Fiery German socialist Martin Schulz was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday, replacing outgoing conservative former Polish premier Jerzy Buzek. READ »

Airports still stingy with their wireless internet

National: 17 Jan 12
German airports are slowly offering more free internet access, but progress is slow, with only Cologne Bonn Airport providing unlimited free surfing. READ »

Women discover thrill of the hunt

Society: 16 Jan 12
Germany has seen a tenfold jump in the number of women who hunt over the last 15 years, according to the German Hunting Association, heralding the fall of another male bastion. AFP's Kate Millar reports. READ »

Germans' fuss for bubbly 'forces plane to land'

Society: 16 Jan 12
A German couple allegedly forced a Delta Airlines jet to make an unscheduled stop in Florida on Sunday – after making inordinate demands for champagne and food and refusing to sit down despite being told to by plane staff. READ »

Tighter 'Made in Germany' rules criticised

Business & Money: 16 Jan 12
New rules being planned by the European Union which would limit the use of the label “Made in Germany” could cause “immense damage”, Germany’s industry lobby group warned on Monday. READ »

Westerwelle: Germany 'still stands by Greece'

National: 16 Jan 12
Greece and Europe belong together, Germany's foreign minister said Sunday after meeting the debt-crippled country's leaders ahead of a week of tough talks for Athens with its creditors. READ »

Twelve Germans missing from cruise liner

National: 16 Jan 12
Twelve Germans are missing from the huge cruise liner which ran aground and partially sank off the Italian coast on Friday night, killing at least six passengers and leaving scores injured. READ »

Restored Stasi HQ opens doors to public

National: 14 Jan 12
More than two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall the former headquarters of East Germany’s feared secret police, the Stasi, has opened its doors to the public following an €11 million restoration project. READ »

Ashton Kutcher invests in Berlin start-up Gidsy

Business & Money: 14 Jan 12
Hollywood heartthrob Ashton Kutcher has invested in yet another Berlin start-up, taking a stake in event marketplace Gidsy. READ »

Merkel: Europe faces 'long road' to restore confidence

National: 14 Jan 12
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that Europe still had a "long road ahead" to restore investor confidence, after a raft of credit rating downgrades of EU countries. READ »

One woman tackles neo-Nazi graffiti

Society: 12 Jan 12
While the recently-discovered Neo-Nazi murders dominated the German media for weeks, the drip, drip, drip of xenophobic graffiti rarely gets much attention. AFP’s Deborah Cole meets a woman tackling it personally. READ »

Banks test touch-free payment cards

Business & Money: 12 Jan 12
Germany’s Sparkasse group of banks is testing a new touch-free payment system that promises to revolutionise the way regular people do their everyday shopping. READ »

At least 25 Germans have burst boob implants

National: 11 Jan 12
At least 25 German women have suffered ruptures of breast implants made by the discredited French company PIP, according to the regulatory Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). READ »

Scared Germans 'wasting money on insurance'

Society: 10 Jan 12
Scared Germans are wasting hundreds of euros every year on insurance policies they do not need as salesmen play on people’s fears, a consumer group warned this week. READ »

Merkel sticks by embattled president

Politics: 9 Jan 12
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she was not considering who might replace embattled President Christian Wulff, despite public offers from opposition politicians to work together to find a non-partisan successor. READ »

Merkel, Sarkozy vow to solve eurozone crisis

Business & Money: 9 Jan 12
The leaders of Germany and France put aside their differences on a controversial tax of financial market transactions and promised to speed up various measures to ease the eurozone crisis, as the euro flirted with new market lows Monday. READ »

German automakers eye US market

National: 8 Jan 12
German automakers have big plans for the US market, several news reports suggested on Sunday. READ »

Germany calls for PIP breast implant removal

National: 7 Jan 12
Germany and the Czech Republic have advised women to have potentially faulty breast implants made by French firm PIP removed, but Britain said it was not convinced of the need. READ »

France heads for Tobin tax without Germany

Business & Money: 6 Jan 12
France will decide on a financial transaction tax by the end of the month to set an example for Europe, even if Germany does not follow suit, an aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday. READ »

Disasters made 2011 most expensive year ever

National: 5 Jan 12
Giant earthquakes, tsunamis and flooding made 2011 the most expensive year on record in terms of damage caused by natural disasters, according to German insurance experts. READ »

What's on in Germany: January 5 - 11

Lifestyle: 5 Jan 12
This Week's Highlights: Buster Keaton films in Munich, Alexander McQueen fashions in Hamburg, and contemporary dance in Berlin. READ »

Germany ravaged by New Year's storms

National: 4 Jan 12
People in Germany awoke after Tuesday night’s storm to scenes of destruction. The system of low pressure, known as “Ulli,” caused high winds and violent seas across the north of the country. READ »

Randy cop sentenced for half-price brothel bribe

Society: 3 Jan 12
A policeman has received a two-year suspended sentence and a €3,000 fine in the eastern German state of Brandenburg for accepting a 50-percent rebate in an illegal brothel in exchange for police information. READ »

Autobahn crash kills one, injures three

National: 31 Dec 11
A man was killed and several other people severely injured in a car smash on the motorway near Wuppertal early Saturday morning. READ »

A New Year's dinner for one watched by millions

Society: 30 Dec 11
Nobody cares to eat alone, but in Germany few people can imagine ringing in the New Year without watching a little-known British comedy skit "Dinner for one." The Local explains a Teutonic tradition READ »

Berlin's spirits come in small batches

Society: 29 Dec 11
As the drinks flow over the days and nights leading up to January 1, spare a thought for the bumper crop of potatoes which introduced northern Germany to large-scale spirit making. Caitlan Carroll looked at what has evolved. READ »

Top court to decide if 'organic water' exists

National: 27 Dec 11
An ongoing legal struggle over whether the label Biomineralwasser, "organic mineral water," misleads consumers will go all the way to Germany's top court, it emerged Tuesday. READ »

Drunk neo-Nazi fined €600 for Hitler salute

Society: 24 Dec 11
A drunken neo-Nazi in the central German town of Kassel fell foul of Germany's law forbidding the Nazi salute this week. READ »

Nuke shutdown could force energy asset sale

Business & Money: 24 Dec 11
German energy giant RWE has put its assets in Egypt up for sale in a bid to raise about one billion dollars to counter Germany's impending nuclear power shutdown. READ »

Talking to self not evidence, court rules

Society: 23 Dec 11
Germany’s highest court has ruled that an overheard soliloquy cannot be used as evidence against a suspect, meaning that a two-year-old murder case will have to be re-tried. READ »

RWE abandons Gazprom joint venture talks

Business & Money: 22 Dec 11
German energy giant RWE said on Thursday it had failed to agree with Russia's Gazprom on a project to jointly build and operate power plants in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands. READ »

What's on in Germany: December 22 – January 4

Lifestyle: 22 Dec 11
The highlights over the holidays: Shadow puppets in Hamburg, Bonnie and Clyde in Berlin, and Belarus ballerinas fluff their feathers in Munich. READ »

Islamic studies gain foothold in state schools

Education: 22 Dec 11
German Education officials are making moves to establish Islamic studies as a regular subject in North Rhine-Westphalia's public schools, in line with other religious courses about Catholic or Protestant Christianity. READ »

Sandra Bullock smuggles sausage for Christmas

Society: 21 Dec 11
Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock has admitted to smuggling delectable sausage from Germany into the United States for Christmastime. READ »

Energy firm EnBW sells Polish assets

Business & Money: 21 Dec 11
German energy supplier EnBW said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its shareholdings in two Polish power plants to French giant EdF for €301 million ($395 million). READ »

Celebrating a German Christmas down under

Lifestyle: 21 Dec 11
Germany is transformed into a winter wonderland during the holidays, but what happens when a German family has to celebrate the Yuletide during summer down under? Jeff Kavanagh reports on a very kiwi Christmas. READ »

The Local's guide to skiing in Germany

Lifestyle: 21 Dec 11
There’s more to skiing in Germany than the northernmost bits of the Alps. As the new season begins, The Local introduces some alternative slopes that just might be closer than you think. READ »

Economic 'good tidings' brighten eurozone gloom

Business & Money: 20 Dec 11
Two leading sentiment indicators in Germany released good news Tuesday, bringing a touch of Christmas sparkle to the pall of gloom currently enveloping the eurozone. READ »

Suspected thief made police recruitment poster boy

Society: 19 Dec 11
A €50,000-recruitment campaign recently launched by the Hamburg police took an ironic turn after one of the models hired to pose as an officer turned out to be a suspected thief. READ »

Bird-killer rips heads off homing pigeons

Society: 19 Dec 11
An unknown perpetrator broke into a bird-breeding station over the weekend in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein and beheaded 17 homing pigeons. READ »

Arab airline throws lifeline to Air Berlin

Business & Money: 19 Dec 11
Germany's second-largest airline Air Berlin said Monday that United Arab Emirates carrier Etihad Airways had become its largest shareholder with a 29.21 percent stake. READ »

Germany praises Czech leader Havel, dead at 75

National: 18 Dec 11
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the late former Czech president Vaclav Havel on Sunday as a "great European" who fought tirelessly for freedom on the continent. READ »

Metro riders force attacking youths to flee

National: 17 Dec 11
Yet another incidence of violence in the Berlin U-Bahn was reported – this time four unknown youths attacked a 27-year-old metro rider early Saturday morning, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported. READ »

Pirate blackmails colleagues with sex tape

Politics: 16 Dec 11
One member of the Berlin Pirate Party, which spectacularly entered the German political firmament this year, has waged a bizarre sex tape blackmailing campaign against fellow party members. READ »

Truck drops 146-tonne crane on road

National: 15 Dec 11
The base of a crane weighing a massive 146 tonnes fell off the back of a truck in Hamburg on Thursday. The accident caused considerable damage to the road and destroying the vehicle escorting it, but no-one was injured. READ »

Berlin’s entire S-Bahn train network shuts down

National: 15 Dec 11
The German capital’s entire commuter train system broke down on Thursday afternoon, leaving thousands stuck in trains on the tracks. The Berlin authorities do not suspect an attack behind the S-Bahn malfunction. READ »

Plank-wielding bank robber takes €3

Society: 15 Dec 11
A man was charged with armed robbery in Berlin after he demanded three euros from a bank cashier while holding a piece of wood. READ »

Commerzbank execs face money laundering charge

Business & Money: 15 Dec 11
Frankfurt prosecutors have filed charges against five men – four of whom are current or former Commerzbank executives – for their involvement in an alleged money laundering case with Russian connections more than a decade ago. READ »

What's on in Germany: December 15 - 21

Lifestyle: 15 Dec 11
This Week's Highlights: Synagogue music in Berlin, horses in Frankfurt, and a French dance troupe rocks out in Munich. READ »

Beating the holiday bag blues at Frankfurt Airport

Lifestyle: 14 Dec 11
Long lines and lost luggage make travelling during the holidays as much fun as an eggnog hangover. Caitlan Carroll spoke with the experts at Frankfurt Airport to ensure you’ll at least arrive at your destination with your bag. READ »

Wind energy leaders eye US expansion

Science & Technology: 14 Dec 11
German energy companies, well-established leaders in harvesting wind power, are focusing on exporting turbines to the growing US market as European turf becomes scarce. Erin Huggins reports. READ »

Eurozone deal boosts investor confidence

Business & Money: 13 Dec 11
The outcome of last week's EU euro crisis summit has given German investor confidence an unexpected boost, data showed on Tuesday, but the positive surprise could prove short-lived, analysts warn. READ »

EON takes €3-billion charge as prospects dim

Business & Money: 13 Dec 11
EON, Germany's biggest power supplier, has taken a charge of some €3 billion ($4 billion) due to the diminished value of its assets because of the dim economic outlook in southern Europe. READ »

Berlin minister resigns after 11 days in office

Politics: 12 Dec 11
Berlin’s newly sworn-in Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister Michael Braun has been forced to step down following revelations about bad property deals during his previous job as notary. READ »

Germany dubbed 'master of Europe' in euro crisis

Business & Money: 8 Dec 11
Germany is emerging as the master of Europe, analysts said on Thursday ahead of a make-or-break summit on the euro – as the European Central Bank (ECB) set the scene by cutting its key interest rates. READ »

Crows pick holes in Berlin station roof

Society: 8 Dec 11
Passengers at Berlin’s main train station are being rained on – thanks to crows which are picking out the sealant between the panes of glass in the station's famous curved roof. READ »

What's on in Germany: December 8 - 14

Lifestyle: 8 Dec 11
This Week's Highlights: Choirs sing Bach in Leipzig, a rock opera in Frankfurt and a ballet rendition of "A Christmas Carol" in Dresden. READ »

Raphael 'copy' unveiled as authentic artwork

Society: 7 Dec 11
Frankfurt’s Städel Museum is preparing to display a work by Italian Renaissance master Raphael that was once considered a copy, but is now believed to be his authentic portrait of Pope Julius II. READ »

Increasing income gap 'due to poor education'

Business & Money: 5 Dec 11
The gap between rich and poor in Germany is widening dramatically, a new OECD report says, warning that investment in education and training were key to fighting inequality. READ »

A truly international education at the heart of Berlin

Education: 5 Dec 11
If you want to study, but dread the bureaucracy and red tape of a traditional academic institution, and fancy a spell in one of Europe’s most dynamic cities at the same time, the ECLA in Berlin could be just the place for you. READ »