Germany edition

Opera

The following articles have been tagged with "Opera":

Brutal cold triggers reserve power plants

National: 9 Feb 12
After exporting power to France earlier this week, Germany has switched on reserve energy plants amid surging demand for electricity due to the ongoing deep freeze hitting Europe. READ »

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 »

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 »

Minister calls for school 'Facebook lessons'

Science & Technology: 8 Feb 12
Family Minister Kristina Schröder has called on Germany’s high schools to teach the dangers of social networks on the internet. 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 »

Politician slammed for remarks on Sharia courts

Politics: 4 Feb 12
The justice minister in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has sparked outrage after proposing that Germany could permit Sharia courts, which operate according to Islamic law, to preside over some civil cases in the country. READ »

China doesn't want to 'buy Europe'

Business & Money: 3 Feb 12
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up her visit to China on Friday, the Asian giant’s leaders promised they had no intention to "buy Europe," amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. READ »

Should fines rise for fare dodgers?

Analysis & Opinion: 3 Feb 12
Germany’s public transportation largely operates on the honour system, which makes fare dodging easy. Should fines be raised for freeloaders riding without a valid ticket? Have your say. READ »

Ramstein to host NATO missile shield command

National: 2 Feb 12
NATO will locate the command centre for its missile shield at the US airbase Ramstein in Germany, a base spokesman confirmed on Thursday. READ »

Merkel urges China to press Iran over nukes

Politics: 2 Feb 12
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Beijing Thursday to put pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme as she began an official visit to China on Thursday. READ »

EU blocks Deutsche Börse merger with NYSE

Business & Money: 1 Feb 12
Deutsche Börse, which runs the Frankfurt stock market, said Wednesday that the EU Commission in Brussels had told it that its planned merger with NYSE Euronext has been blocked. READ »

ThyssenKrupp sells stainless steel business

Business & Money: 31 Jan 12
German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its stainless steel unit Inoxum to Finnish group Outokumpu in a deal which valued the business at €2.7 billion ($3.6 billion). 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 »

Robust economy leaves long-term jobless behind

Business & Money: 31 Jan 12
Long-term unemployed people are still having difficulty finding a job despite Germany’s robust economy in recent years, according to a media report on Tuesday. READ »

Gritty Reeperbahn faces growing gentrification

Lifestyle: 31 Jan 12
With a four-star hotel soon joining the brothels on Hamburg’s legendary Reeperbahn strip, Stephen Lowman reports how the city’s “sinful mile” is changing. READ »

Founder of bankrupt Schlecker chain 'ruined'

National: 30 Jan 12
The insolvency of German drugstore chain Schlecker has also ruined its founder Anton Schlecker, who is said to have lost nearly all of his wealth, according to a his daughter. READ »

China's Sany to buy Putzmeister

Business & Money: 30 Jan 12
Putzmeister, a German family-owned engineering firm, is to being taken over by Chinese construction equipment giant Sany Heavy Industry, the German company said on Monday. READ »

Railway wants free ICE train from Siemens

National: 30 Jan 12
German railway operator Deutsche Bahn is demanding a free ICE train worth €30 million from Siemens to compensate for delays in delivering the next generation its high-speed rolling stock. READ »

Cops 'quizzed neo-Nazi terror cell woman' in 2007

National: 29 Jan 12
Police questioned a member of a neo-Nazi terror cell just months before the gang killed a policewoman – but asked her about water damage to a flat, having no idea she was connected to a string of shootings, it emerged on Sunday. 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 »

Hope dwindles for NYSE- Deutsche Börse merger

Business & Money: 26 Jan 12
The proposed merger of Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, which would create the world's largest market operator worth over €13 billion is in trouble, a senior executive was reported as saying on Thursday. 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 »

Cruise survivors unable to board train home

National: 24 Jan 12
German railway operator Deutsche Bahn is apologising after a conductor refused to allow a couple to board a train home, despite the fact their tickets and money had been destroyed in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster. READ »

Siemens suffers profit collapse

Business & Money: 24 Jan 12
German industrial giant Siemens took a massive hit at the end of last year, the company reported Tuesday. Profits were down all of 17 percent between October and December 2011. READ »

Hamburg has most delayed trains

Society: 24 Jan 12
Hamburg’s main railway station has been named the worst for train delays in a new survey of 20 German stations. The best was Stralsund in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 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 »

German 'spies' detained in Pakistan

National: 23 Jan 12
Three alleged German spies have been detained in Pakistan by police and released to German diplomats, according to media reports. READ »

Minister: Markets trust eurozone again

Business & Money: 23 Jan 12
Financial markets are gradually regaining confidence in the eurozone, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Sunday. READ »

Munich baby elephant dies before operation

Society: 22 Jan 12
A three-month old elephant at a zoo in Munich died on Saturday of a pulmonary embolism, just before she was due to receive a heart surgery for a congenital defect. 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 »

Would you pay more for green grub?

Analysis & Opinion: 20 Jan 12
The food industry gathering in Berlin for the annual Green Week convention says conditions for farm animals can be improved – but the products would be more expensive. Would you pay more for humanely produced food? Have your say. 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 »

Police raid president's ex-advisor's house

Politics: 19 Jan 12
Police have raided the home of President Christian Wulff’s former spokesman Olaf Glaeseker as well as the offices of an event manager who was closely connected to the president when he was state premier of Lower Saxony. READ »

Music site ends German business on a sour note

Business & Money: 19 Jan 12
A free online music streaming service, Grooveshark, has closed its German operations, saying the music industry is charging too much for access to songs. 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 »

Germans join internet blackout protest

Science & Technology: 18 Jan 12
German political and tech groups blacked out their websites on Wednesday, in support of protests against proposed American laws critics say could hamper the free exchange of information online. READ »

Five siblings suspected of killing Kurdish woman

National: 15 Jan 12
Police in northern Germany think they have found the body of an 18-year-old Kurdish woman who had gone missing in November. The police suspect that the woman’s family abducted her because they disapproved of her relationship. READ »

Sarkozy wants France to be more like Germany

National: 15 Jan 12
As the German economy shines, next door France plunges into recession, shedding jobs and losing its top credit rating. But President Nicolas Sarkozy has a plan to save the country, by making it more like Germany. READ »

Deutsche Börse-NYSE merger heads for rocks

Business & Money: 15 Jan 12
The merger of Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, which would create the world's largest market operator worth over $17 billion (€14 billion), looks seriously compromised just weeks from an EU competition decision. 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 »

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 »

Doctors: law must cover breast implants

National: 12 Jan 12
Germany’s doctors are calling for tighter laws on medical products after it was revealed that at least 25 women in the country had burst breast implants – and an unknown number will have to have theirs removed. READ »

Internet users 'should check for blackout virus'

Science & Technology: 12 Jan 12
The German government says all internet users should check their computers for a virus which could stop them going online from March 8. 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 »

Lufthansa positive on biofuel but delays use

National: 11 Jan 12
German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday it would not start using biofuel despite positive results from a six-month testing period on flights between two German cities. 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 »

Police hacked after top cop rows with daughter

National: 9 Jan 12
A hacker attack which infiltrated Germany’s federal police computer system using Trojan programs and a system of routes via Russia last summer was due to a row about internet usage between a top cop and his daughter. READ »

Many seek switch to public health insurance

National: 8 Jan 12
Shocked by premium increases of as much as 50 percent, many Germans with private health insurance are seeking to switch to a national health plan, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday. READ »

Renewables 'may not produce job boom'

Business & Money: 8 Jan 12
Predictions that Germany's decision to phase out nuclear energy will lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the renewable energy sector have met with scepticism. READ »

Football tournament scrapped after fans riot

Sport: 7 Jan 12
The second day of a football tournament in Hamburg was canceled after violent clashes Friday resulted in numerous injuries and the arrest of 74 fans, organizers announced. 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 »

Germany forced to buy Austrian electricity

Business & Money: 5 Jan 12
One of Germany’s energy providers was forced to use reserves from Austrian power stations on two days in December as a "precautionary measure," according to a newspaper report. READ »

Faeces-filled flat cleared by authorities

Society: 4 Jan 12
A German court ruled Tuesday that the police were within their rights to clear out a man’s home whose floor was covered with animal faeces and food remains. The man lived with 150 free-roaming rabbits. READ »

Germany and France end tussle over key ECB job

Business & Money: 4 Jan 12
The European Central Bank put an end Tuesday to a bitter battle between France and Germany over a key post within the bank by naming a Belgian to the highly coveted position of chief economist. READ »

Teachers 'need help to fight youth extremism'

Education: 2 Jan 12
Attempts to prevent young Germans from getting into right-wing extremism are failing because of poor coordination and sporadic financing say experts. READ »

'Anonymous' declares 'Blitzkrieg' on neo-Nazis

Society: 2 Jan 12
“Anonymous” hackers have declared “Blitzkrieg” on neo-Nazis for the New Year, disabling a number of their websites and publishing lists of extreme-right supporters. READ »

'Making it' by interpreting culture

Society: 2 Jan 12
The Local's series Making it in Germany presents John Magee, a Bonn-based consultant who bridges the gap between American and German business culture for large companies. READ »

Cruise ships pollute like millions of cars

National: 29 Dec 11
Those considering taking a cruise in the new year should choose carefully – in a single trip each ship operated by top German firms Aida Cruises and Tui Cruises creates as much pollution as five million cars, says environmental group Nabu. READ »

Mail order mogul Werner Otto dies at 102

Business & Money: 27 Dec 11
Werner Otto, a German trailblazer in the mail order catalogue business, whose Otto Group grew from selling a small range of shoes into an international retail and services venture, has died aged 102, his group said Tuesday. READ »

Gunman on the run after family fight

Society: 24 Dec 11
A young man was apparently shot and stabbed by his girlfriend's uncle following a family argument on Friday afternoon in the southern German town of Heilbronn. READ »

Thousands warned about French breast implants

National: 23 Dec 11
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has advised thousands of German women to seek doctors’ advice about their breast implants, following a French health ministry warning. READ »

Deutsche Börse must sell holdings for merger

Business & Money: 23 Dec 11
The US Justice Department has declared that Deutsche Börse needs to sell its stake in smaller exchange operator to gain approval for its merger with the New York Stock Exchange. 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 »

German Santa writes to thousands of good kids

National: 22 Dec 11
Germany’s version of Santa Claus has responded to more than 275,000 letters sent to him in at an address in the eastern state of Brandenburg from eager children around the world, according to Deutsche Post. 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 »

Americans mull Leipzig consulate closure

National: 20 Dec 11
A US Department of State report has recommended closing the American consulate in Leipzig and reducing staff at other missions in Germany. 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 »

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 »

Zschäpe lawyers may seek her release

National: 18 Dec 11
Defence lawyers for Beate Zschäpe, a key neo-Nazi suspect in a series of 10 murders, largely against foreign-born German residents, told Focus magazine that they may move to get her released from jail. READ »

'Stresstest' is German word of the year

Society: 16 Dec 11
The Society for the German Language (GfdS) has decreed that three of the top five most important German words of 2011 are related to the economy, settling on Stresstest as the big winner. 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 »

Goethe Institute sees surging interest in German

Society: 15 Dec 11
The Goethe Institute, which promotes German language and culture abroad, says interest in German is spiking around the world as Germany's economic and political clout has grown during Europe’s debt crisis. READ »

Teen fined for sitting on train's first class stairs

Society: 14 Dec 11
A German teen has been fined by railway operator Deutsche Bahn for sitting on a set of stairs that technically was part of a train's first class section. READ »

Bavarian ski slopes open

National: 14 Dec 11
Several ski resorts in Bavaria are preparing to open for the season this weekend after waiting patiently for enough snow. 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 »

Scorn for 'Googleberg’s' new EU internet role

Science & Technology: 13 Dec 11
Former German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who was dubbed Dr. Googleberg when caught plagiarizing his PhD thesis, has been appointed EU advisor on internet freedom, inviting much derision. READ »

Scientists create world's smallest steam engine

Science & Technology: 13 Dec 11
German researchers have developed a super-tiny steam engine that’s just a few thousandths of a millimetre wide. READ »

TV show exposes filthy German trains

Society: 11 Dec 11
The seats, arm-rests and door handles in German trains are infested with germs and bacteria, state broadcaster NDR revealed Sunday, pointing to serious hygiene problems. READ »

Apple fights to save Christmas sales

National: 10 Dec 11
Apple said Friday it would immediately appeal a German court ruling in favour of rival Motorola in a patent dispute that could see Apple's sales company prevented from selling iPhones and iPads in Germany. READ »

Bundesbank sees sharp economic slowdown

Business & Money: 9 Dec 11
Growth of the German economy will slow sharply next year as the crippling debt crisis puts the brakes on activity in Europe's economic powerhouse, the Bundesbank, said Friday. READ »

Duisburg mayor faces corruption probe

Society: 9 Dec 11
Adolf Sauerland, mayor of the Rhineland city of Duisburg, already under pressure for his alleged responsibility for the Love Parade tragedy, has been accused of knowing that a party donation "was meant to influence him in some way." READ »

Deutsche Bahn set to rake in record profits

Business & Money: 9 Dec 11
Germany's rail operator Deutsche Bahn is expecting to record its biggest-ever profits in the coming year, despite the threat of an economic downturn hanging over the country, a leaked report shows. 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 »

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 »

Deutsche Bank letter bomb was operational

National: 8 Dec 11
A suspected letter bomb addressed to Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann which was intercepted on Wednesday at the bank's Frankfurt headquarters, could have exploded, German police have confirmed. 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 »

Neo-Nazi killers sold fascist 'Monopoly'

National: 5 Dec 11
The members of the extreme-right terrorist cell suspected of slaying at least 10 people in Germany between 2000 and 2010 sold a neo-Nazi version of the board game 'Monopoly' in order to finance their murderous activities, authorities said. READ »