Troubled billionaire Merckle takes own life
German billionaire Adolf Merckle, who was in talks with banks to save his troubled industrial empire, has committed suicide by stepping in front of a train.
Day: January 6, 2009
Commerzbank mulls state-backed bond issue
Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, may raise fresh funds via what would be the first government-backed German bond issue within the framework of a banking sector rescue package, a spokeswoman told AFP on Tuesday.
2008 marks worst year for new car sales since reunification
Last year was the worst for Germany's auto sector since the country was reunified in 1990, with sales down very sharply in the later months, the auto manufacturers federation VDA said Tuesday.
Give Gaza hope
The international community must help avert a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, argues Wolfgang Gehrcke, the parliamentary foreign policy expert of German political party The Left.
Berlin to host talks on Russia-Ukraine gas row
A minister from the Czech Republic, current holder of the EU presidency, will hold talks in Berlin with Gazprom's vice-president Tuesday on an escalating gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, a diplomatic source said.
Dutch museums to root out Nazi-looted art
The Netherlands Museums Association (Museumvereniging) has announced it will take on a final effort to root out artwork in its collections that was confiscated from Jews by the Nazis.
Famed East German MZ motorcycle factory to close
Cult East German motorcycle manufacturer MZ is shutting down after 86 years of production, daily Sächsische Zeitung reported on Tuesday.
Drinking buddies save 220-kilo man stranded for a week on floor
An overweight diabetic man was saved by his drinking buddies after lying helpless on the floor for seven days, police in Mannheim reported on Tuesday.
Steinmeier calls for memorial to German unity in Leipzig
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday called for a memorial to German reunification in the eastern city of Leipzig – the scene of mass demonstrations leading to a peaceful revolution in communist East Germany.
Germany wakes up to coldest day of winter
After getting pummelled with snow on Sunday and Monday, Germany experienced its coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures dipping to -26 degrees Celsius (-14.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday in the state of Saxony.
Passau police chief headed back to work after neo-Nazi stabbing
Passau police chief Alois Mannichl will return to duty on Wednesday after almost three weeks after what appears to have been an attack by a neo-Nazi in December, city officials have announced.