Germany edition

Raf

The following articles have been tagged with "Raf":

Germany signs €3 bln in deals with Kazakhstan

National: 8 Feb 12
Germany and Kazakhstan signed agreements Wednesday worth €3 billion ($4 billion) to cooperate on raw materials, industry and technology in Berlin. 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 »

Frozen kraut jam leaves autobahn drivers sauer

Society: 7 Feb 12
An accident involving two trucks, a car and a large quantity of sauerkraut caused a 10-kilometre traffic jam on the A5 motorway in the German state of Hesse on Tuesday morning after the German delicacy froze solid on the road. READ »

'White Rose' founder declared a saint

Society: 5 Feb 12
The Russian-Orthodox Church canonised one of the founders of the anti-fascist group the "White Rose," Alexander Schmorell, over the weekend in Munich, nearly 70 years after his execution by the Nazis. READ »

Westerwelle hammers China, Russia over veto

National: 5 Feb 12
Germany's foreign minister heaped criticism on Russia and China on Saturday over their veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending the violence in Syria, calling it a "veto against the Syrian people." READ »

Thousands of US troops leaving Bavaria

National: 3 Feb 12
The US military will close bases at Bamberg and Schweinfurt in the German state of Bavaria by 2015 as part of a planned drawdown of its forces stationed in Europe. 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Gigantic crack spooks officials on Baltic island

National: 25 Jan 12
A crack over two kilometres long and up to a metre deep has been discovered on the Baltic island of Hiddensee. Large areas of the German island’s coastline have been blocked off amid fears of a huge landslide. READ »

Leftists suggest legal cannabis clubs

Politics: 25 Jan 12
Germany’s socialist Left party is calling an expert hearing on “legalizing cannabis through the introduction of cannabis clubs” in the German parliament on Wednesday. The idea has met widespread rejection. READ »

IMF boss throws down gauntlet to Merkel

Politics: 23 Jan 12
IMF head Christine Lagarde set out Monday a raft of proposals to fight the eurozone crisis likely to irk German Chancellor Angel Merkel, including a bigger rescue fund, lower ECB rates and joint eurobonds. READ »

Three Germans held in global piracy raid

National: 20 Jan 12
Three Germans, including a millionaire notorious for his hacking and embezzlement schemes have been arrested in New Zealand on American charges of running a massive global piracy website. 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 »

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 »

Thousands of US soldiers to leave Germany

National: 13 Jan 12
The US military will withdraw thousands of soldiers from Germany as the American military takes half of its troops out of Europe as part of a forces redeployment to focus more on the Middle East and Asia. READ »

Immigrants stop 8-year population decline

National: 13 Jan 12
A large number of new immigrants pushed up Germany's population in 2011 for the first time in eight years, the national statistics office, Destasis, said on Friday. 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 »

T-mobile phones to get Groupon offers

Business & Money: 10 Jan 12
People with T-Mobile phones could soon find Groupon offers popping up on their phones for shops they are walking past, as Deutsche Telekom confirmed it had entered a marketing deal with the US-based discount website. READ »

Three children die of injuries each day

Society: 9 Jan 12
Three children die each day in Germany from accidents, violence and suicide, according to new figures released Monday which show that the dangers increase as adulthood approaches. READ »

Chicken infected with antibiotic-resistant germs

Society: 9 Jan 12
Chicken sold in German supermarkets is often contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a spot test carried out by environmentalists who said the over-use of antibiotics in farming posed a danger to human health. READ »

Tattletale keeps records on parking violators

Society: 6 Jan 12
A retiree in the Lower Saxony state of northern Germany with an obsession for parking regulations has drawn new public ire after it was revealed that he’s kept private records on all 30,000 parking violators he’s issued “tickets” to. READ »

Ruhr ruins invite tourists for highwire hijinks

Travel: 5 Jan 12
The Ruhr Valley's Landschaftspark, once Germany's decrepit industrial armpit, has become a spectacular adventure park. David Sharp makes a hair-raising climb onto a disused furnace. READ »

A voice for all of Germany's Jews

National: 3 Jan 12
A brand-new English language newspaper hopes to shed new light on Germany’s burgeoning Jewish community. Moises Mendoza speaks to the man behind the Jewish Voice from Germany. READ »

Two arrested in hunt for cop killers

National: 29 Dec 11
Police have arrested two men suspected of shooting dead a policeman and injuring another after dramatic chase through the woods in Bavaria two months ago, they announced on Thursday. READ »

Half a million kilometres of traffic jams this year

National: 29 Dec 11
Far from effortlessly zooming down Autobahns at limitless speeds, German drivers are increasingly sitting in traffic– with nearly half a million kilometres of jams recorded this year. 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 »

'Tis the season for severe traffic jams

National: 23 Dec 11
Motorists association ADAC has warned of serious traffic jams that could cause hundreds of kilometres of tailbacks on Friday and into Saturday as Germans begin their Christmas holidays. 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 »

Baby foreskins could cut animal testing

Science & Technology: 20 Dec 11
A research organization is growing human skin in the hope of using it to trial cosmetics and medicines, reducing the need for animal testing. The synthetic skin is made using cells from infant foreskins. READ »

Saxony’s Christmas woodcarving tradition

Lifestyle: 20 Dec 11
Nutcrackers and propeller-topped pyramids abound in Germany at Christmas time. Erin Huggins explores the woodcarving tradition from Saxony’s Erzgebirge region. 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 »

Winter storm ‘Joachim’ snarls transport

National: 16 Dec 11
The fierce winter storm dubbed ‘Joachim’ has caused the suspension of rail services and snarled road traffic in the western part of Germany. A severe weather alert has been issued for the southern parts of the country. 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 »

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 »

Priceless medieval armour up for sale

Society: 13 Dec 11
A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armour under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros. READ »

Germany's weirdest Christmas markets

Lifestyle: 12 Dec 11
Christmas markets are an intrinsic part of the holiday season in Germany. But for those fancying an odd twist on the standard stalls offering Glühwein, The Local has uncovered markets with erotic, nautical and various other themes. READ »

Time slipping away for Durban climate deal

National: 10 Dec 11
Time is fast running out for a deal at the UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa, the German environment minister warned on Saturday as the conference went deep into an unscheduled 13th day. READ »

Step back in time at ye merry olde Christmas market

Society: 8 Dec 11
Ever wonder what the holidays were like in mediaeval Germany? Tracy Moran goes back in time to investigate Esslingen’s historic Christmas market. READ »

The Local's guide to German Christmas markets

Lifestyle: 7 Dec 11
Put on your mittens, don your cap, and join The Local for a tour of Germany’s best-loved Christmas markets. Frohe Weihnachten! READ »

Wintry weather causes road chaos

National: 6 Dec 11
This winter's first snap of snowy and icy weather led to dozens of car accidents throughout Germany Monday night and into Tuesday morning, leaving one woman seriously injured. READ »

Hitler's prestige arena blown to bits

National: 3 Dec 11
Another piece of Berlin’s Nazi past disappeared on Saturday as demolition crews blew up the Deutschlandhalle, the massive arena built by Hitler's regime in 1935 ahead of the Olympic Games the following year. READ »

Germany 'more corrupt than thought'

Business & Money: 2 Dec 11
Though a new survey of perceptions of corruption in countries around the world rates Germany rather well – 14th out of 183 countries – anti-graft group Transparency International says country still has much work to do. READ »

Pope escapes German seat belt fine

Society: 1 Dec 11
Pope Benedict XVI will not face charges for not wearing a seat belt in his popemobile during a visit to Germany, after officials confirmed normal traffic rules had been suspended for him. READ »

Holiday jeer for 'ugliest' German Christmas tree

Society: 29 Nov 11
Dubbed Germany's “ugliest” Christmas tree, a 12-metre-tall, fire belching metal tannenbaum erected in central Berlin has dismayed many of the capital city's residents. READ »

British WWII bomb forces evacuation of Koblenz

National: 28 Nov 11
Plans are being made to evacuate nearly half the residents of Koblenz next weekend so that a 1.8 tonnes British WWII bomb found in the Rhine River can be defused. Two hospitals and a prison are within the evacuation zone. READ »

New Berlin airport gearing up for summer opening

National: 26 Nov 11
The new Berlin airport, expected to start operations in a little more than six months, has entered a key test phase and authorities are determined to figure out problems ahead of the June 3, 2012 opening. READ »

Scientists find secret of limb regeneration

Science & Technology: 24 Nov 11
Scientists at the University of Konstanz in southern Germany announced Thursday they have worked out how some animals can re-grow amputated limbs, successfully completing three decades of research. READ »

What's on in Germany: November 24 - 30

Lifestyle: 24 Nov 11
This Week's Highlights: Brazilian film in Berlin, Dickens in Frankfurt, and chocolate in Tübingen. READ »

3D Moon a 'roadmap' for lunar missions

Science & Technology: 23 Nov 11
German researchers have created a stunning 3D model of the Moon, using 70,000 images from NASA. They hope it will help lay the groundwork for future manned and unmanned lunar missions. READ »

Murdered cop had ties to neo-Nazi killers

National: 22 Nov 11
The National Socialist Underground (NSU) deliberately targeted policewoman Michele Kiesewetter in 2007 because of a connection between her family and the neo-Nazi terrorist cell, according to the German authorities. READ »

Referee's suicide attempt not football-related

Sport: 22 Nov 11
A German top-flight referee who attempted to kill himself hours before a major Bundesliga match last weekend did not have football-related motives for the act, a report said on Monday. READ »

Referee attempts suicide before Bundesliga match

Sport: 19 Nov 11
The German league match between Cologne and Mainz was called off 40 minutes before kick-off on Saturday after the Bundesliga referee tried to commit suicide. 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 »

What's on in Germany: November 17 - 23

Lifestyle: 17 Nov 11
This Week's Highlights: African film in Berlin, computer art in Dresden, and Al Di Meola plays Stuttgart. READ »

Germans defend Greek honour amid debt crisis

Society: 16 Nov 11
Popular opinion in Germany holds that the Greeks have only themselves to blame for their country's crushing debt crisis. But Germans who have made Greece their home are now fighting ugly stereotypes on both sides. READ »

Germany hammer the Netherlands 3-0

Sport: 16 Nov 11
Veteran striker Miroslav Klose rolled back the years with a goal and two assists on Tuesday evening as Germany hammered Euro 2012 rivals the Netherlands 3-0 in a friendly in Hamburg. READ »

Germany tackles Holland with confidence

Sport: 15 Nov 11
Germany coach Joachim Löw has insisted his side have nothing to fear ahead of Tuesday's friendly in Hamburg against World Cup finalists the Netherlands, as Die Mannschaft looks to finish 2011 in style. READ »

British troops to start pullout in January

National: 10 Nov 11
British soldiers stationed across Germany are preparing to leave in as soon as a few months, after the UK Ministry of Defence on Thursday released details of its mass withdrawal of forces from the country. READ »

Man wins jackpot, then causes fatal car crash

Society: 10 Nov 11
A German man won a huge casino jackpot but less than a day later allegedly caused a horrific car crash that left two people dead and him facing homicide charges. READ »

Economy seen slowing sharply next year

Business & Money: 9 Nov 11
The eurozone debt crisis looks set to slam the brakes on growth next year in the German economy, Europe's biggest, a panel of economic advisors to the government warned on Wednesday. READ »

Butchers force Aldi Süd to drop handmade sausages claim

Society: 9 Nov 11
Discount supermarket Aldi-Süd has agreed to stop calling its sausages handmade after a bitter dispute with traditional butchers who said its marketing was misleading. READ »

Trade surplus hits 3-year high on record exports

Business & Money: 8 Nov 11
Record exports pushed Germany's trade surplus to a three-year high in September, data showed on Tuesday, as Europe's biggest economy remains resilient to the eurozone debt crisis – at least for now. READ »

Mourners remember slain Augsburg officer

National: 8 Nov 11
Police in Augsburg have offered a reward of €55,000 for help leading to the arrest of two men responsible for the murder of an officer in Augsburg 10 days ago. Nearly 2,000 people gathered to remember the victim on Monday. READ »

Economy spluttering as industrial output slumps

Business & Money: 7 Nov 11
The German economy, Europe's biggest, looks set to slow dramatically later this year as the eurozone debt crisis increasingly takes its toll, slumping industrial output data showed Monday. READ »

Germany to boost growth and balance trade flows

National: 4 Nov 11
The world's most successful exporters, led by China and Germany, will take new measures to boost domestic consumer demand, according to a draft statement debated at the G20 summit Thursday. READ »

Kitting out babies the German way

Lifestyle: 4 Nov 11
Motherhood in the Fatherland follows mum Sabine Devins as she navigates the cultural quirks of having a baby in Germany. In the latest instalment, she outfits her baby the German way. READ »

Transport minister plays Mozart for harried drivers

Society: 3 Nov 11
German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer is releasing a CD of himself playing Mozart on the piano in the hope that it will calm angry drivers on Germany’s motorways. READ »

NATO leader praises German role in Libya

Politics: 2 Nov 11
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has praised Germany’s role in the transatlantic alliance’s military operation in Libya, even though the German government refused to support it at the United Nations. READ »

Huffington Post sets sights on Germany

Society: 2 Nov 11
The US news and opinion web portal Huffington Post is planning to launch an German-language edition within the next six months, it was revealed this week. READ »

Germany offers help finding Libyan weapons

National: 1 Nov 11
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has offered to help Libya follow a United Nations resolution ratified on Monday that obliges the country’s new government to control and destroy small arms and chemical weapons. READ »

Germany tries to block Palestine UNESCO bid

Politics: 31 Oct 11
Germany joined the United States and Israel on Monday in protesting Palestine’s acceptance as full member of the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO, sparking a foreign policy rift within the European Union. READ »

Munich named Germany's fastest city

Society: 31 Oct 11
Munich’s motorists have the quickest commutes, a new survey revealed Monday. Düsseldorf, meanwhile, was deemed to have Germany's slowest transport network. READ »

Busted by police, drunken 'Yoda' is

Society: 31 Oct 11
German police called to a traffic incident were astonished to find themselves face-to-face with Jedi master Yoda from Star Wars, much the worse for wear after Halloween celebrations. READ »

Winter-time arrives on Sunday morning as clocks go back an hour

Society: 29 Oct 11
The clocks go back an hour early on Sunday morning, as summer time ends, making the night 60 minutes longer. READ »

Augsburg cop killers possibly drug dealers

National: 28 Oct 11
Police hunting two men who shot dead an officer after what was described as a “James Bond” type chase in Augsburg, say the suspects may have been involved in a big drug deal. READ »

Greens call for plastic bag levy to reduce use

Business & Money: 26 Oct 11
The Greens are calling for a compulsory levy to be imposed on plastic shopping bags, in an attempt to copy Ireland where such a rule has reduced the number of such bags in use by 90 percent. READ »

Calls grow for national design museum

Lifestyle: 25 Oct 11
Despite the worldwide acclaim German-designed products receive, there's no national museum for design. But that could soon change. READ »

CIA spied on allied BND

National: 24 Oct 11
American spies have been keeping tabs on their Teutonic counterparts for decades – not only the East Germans of the Cold War, but also allied West Germans, according to newly released documents. READ »

Bayern's league march halted by 2-1 defeat to Hannover

Sport: 24 Oct 11
German league leaders Bayern Munich saw their 13-match unbeaten run ended on Sunday when they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Hannover in a bad-tempered Bundesliga match. READ »

German satellite falling toward Earth

Science & Technology: 23 Oct 11
A German satellite the size of a car re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Sunday, officials said, adding they did not know yet if any debris had hit the Earth. READ »

Insurer covered terrorist wanted internationally

National: 21 Oct 11
German insurer Victoria ignored warnings from intelligence services and insured an internationally wanted terrorist for more than two years – with policies worth up to €2 million – according to the Handelsblatt newspaper. READ »

Bike revolution sparks clash with motorists

Society: 21 Oct 11
Germany might still be known for its high-speed autobahns, but in cities, bicycles are now so popular that a war of words has broken out between drivers and cyclists over who rules the road. READ »

What's on in Germany: October 20 - 26

Lifestyle: 20 Oct 11
This Week's Highlights: A French DJ in Cologne, Tori Amos in Frankfurt, and Hungarian chamber music in a Munich museum. READ »

Ramsauer: helmet law for cyclists could be inevitable

Society: 19 Oct 11
Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer has said a new mandatory bicycle helmet law is likely to be introduced in the near future to reduce the number of head injuries in bicycle accidents. READ »

US medic training on live pigs faces opposition

National: 18 Oct 11
A US company that trains military medics in field operations using live pigs is trying to bring its courses to Germany. Animal rights group PETA believes the company is using US Army protection to bypass German animal protection laws. READ »

East Germany's iconic traffic man turns 50

Society: 13 Oct 11
East Germany’s most enduring public figure is celebrating his 50th birthday this Thursday: The colourful little traffic light man has watched over millions of pedestrians and become an international design icon. READ »

What's on in Germany: October 13 - 19

Lifestyle: 13 Oct 11
This Week's Highlights: Lights in Berlin, "Dance" in Hamburg, and Kraftwerk's 3D installation opens in Munich. READ »

Berlin considers banning Hells Angels

Society: 11 Oct 11
Representatives across all major parties in the newly-elected state parliament of Berlin have spoken out in favour of banning the Hells Angels, a motorcycle gang linked with organized crime, in the German capital. READ »

Leftist extremists claim rail arson attacks

National: 10 Oct 11
Train services between Berlin and Hamburg were severely disrupted on Monday after a sabotage attack on rail lines claimed by leftist extremists. Police also said they had foiled an arson attack on the German capital’s main train station. READ »