Steinmeier heads to Mideast for Gaza truce
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will travel to the Middle East Wednesday for the second time in a week in a renewed bid to help forge a truce in the Gaza Strip.
Day: January 14, 2009
Railway ticket machines crash nationwide
Customers of Germany's national railway operator Deutsche Bahn have been unable to use ticket vending machines after they crashed across the entire country on Wednesday afternoon.
Berlin mulls partial Hypo Real Estate nationalisation
The German government is considering partially nationalising distressed mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE), a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party told AFP on Wednesday.
German diplomat censured for graveside eulogy in Sri Lanka
A German ambassador has been censured by the Sri Lankan government for holding a eulogy for a murdered newspaper editor critical of the island’s government, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
Cabinet backs sweeping law punishing terrorist activity
The German cabinet on Wednesday backed legislation that makes involvment in terrorist activity – even with no clear intent to carry out an attack - punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Esso and Tchibo stop ad campaign with Nazi slogan
Petrol station chain Esso and coffee company Tchibo have stopped an advertising campaign after finding out the slogan also hung above the entrance to a Nazi concentration camp, daily Frankfurter Rundschau reported on Wednesday.
Merkel calls stimulus plan a ‘difficult decision’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the decision to adopt the country's biggest postwar economic stimulus programme was her most difficult since taking office.
Deutsche Bank loses nearly €5 billion in Q4
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, said on Wednesday it expected to incur a massive loss of nearly €5.0 billion in the fourth quarter after market conditions "severely impacted" its sales and trading operations.
China surpasses Germany as world’s third-largest economy
China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy, according to new figures released by Beijing on Wednesday.
Land mine scare turns out to be bed warmer
A police station in Bochum was evacuated after a woman brought in what she believed to be a land mine she had used as a doorstop for the last decade, authorities said on Wednesday. But the object turned out to be an antique bed warmer.
Althaus ski crash prompts run on helmets
The fatal ski accident that killed a Slovakian woman and seriously injured Thuringia’s state premier Dieter Althaus has dramatically increased the demand for helmets in recent weeks.
German growth slowed sharply in 2008
The German economy slowed sharply last year as exports were hit by the global slowdown and consumption failed to gain ground, the Federal Statistics office said on Wednesday.
Almost half of Germans consider Israel aggressive
Almost half of Germans believe Israel is an aggressive country, according to a poll released by news magazine Stern on Wednesday.
Citizenship test a breeze for immigrants
Some 98.9 percent of immigrants applying for German citizenship have passed a controversial new test that went into effect in September 2008, daily Rheinische Post reported on Wednesday.
Italian court rules Germany must pay damages in Nazi case
No exemption treaty with Germany can block the damages that Italy's highest court has ordered to be paid to the families of Italian victims of Nazi war crimes during the Second World War, a written judgement said Tuesday.