Germany sends 120 fresh troops to Afghanistan
Germany said it would send 120 extra soldiers for Afghanistan on Friday, but Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to increase troop levels any higher before an international conference early next year.
Day: November 13, 2009
Unitymedia buy expands Liberty Global in Europe
US giant Liberty Global announced on Friday a further expansion of its European presence with the acquisition of Germany's Unitymedia, Europe's third-biggest broadband cable operator.
SPD looks to regroup as Müntefering bows out
The end of an era arrived for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday when veteran political operator and party chairman Franz Müntefering stepped down with a speech attempting to rally his beleaguered party at a conference in Dresden.
1970s film on private Hitler rediscovered
A documentary panned at Cannes in the 1970s for depicting Hitler’s personal life is now being shown in Germany for the first time. David Wroe speaks with the director about the film's vastly different reception nearly four decades later.
Russian Orthodox breaks ties with Protestants over female leader
The Russian Orthodox clergy is threatening to cut ties with Germany’s Protestants for electing a divorced woman, Margot Käßmann, as the head of their church.
Imagining a new future for Berlin
The German capital has changed dramatically in the 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Julia Lipkins reports on a festival bringing together artists and urban planners this weekend hoping to share their visions for the city’s future.
Comet-hunting probe to explore origins of the solar system
A German-made space probe that will explore the surface of a giant comet and help scientists understand how the solar system formed was preparing on Friday to use Earth’s orbit to sling itself into deep space, the European Space Agency announced.
Westerwelle embroiled in row over displaced Germans in WWII
The delicate issue of ethnic Germans displaced after World War II sparked a political row on Friday, when a conservative Christian Democrat claimed Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was buying off Germany's eastern neighbours.
German man charged in Cindy Crawford blackmail plot
A German man has tried to blackmail former supermodel Cindy Crawford out of €67,000 with a picture of Crawford’s 7-year-old daughter gagged and bound to a chair, US media reported on Friday.
Berlin tries to torpedo EU deal with US for bank data exchange
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said on Friday Berlin would try to stop an EU agreement to transfer bank information to the United States.
Economy continues rebound from recession
Germany's economy continues to rebound from its worst post-war recession, as official data on Friday showed GDP growing for the second quarter in a row amid recovering exports and investment.