Retail sales post biggest drop since euro launch
German retail sales fell by 1.8 percent last year, final figures released Tuesday by the national statistics service showed, the biggest decline since euro notes and coins were introduced in 2002.
Day: February 2, 2010
Berlin to buy stolen Swiss tax dodger data
Germany said Tuesday it would pay for data on some 1,500 suspected tax dodgers with funds stashed in Swiss accounts, waving aside concerns that the allegedly stolen material would not stand up in court.
Social parasites with Swiss bank accounts
The German government should have no qualms about buying stolen Swiss information on rich tax dodgers, argues Ludwig Greven from Zeit Online.
Paying for info on tax dodgers is immoral
Buying stolen Swiss information on rich tax dodgers is wrong and puts Germany on shaky moral ground, argues Kai Biermann from Zeit Online.
Kurdish-German fights Iranian Interpol listing
An Iranian-born German citizen is fighting to have his name removed from Interpol’s most-wanted list after allegedly being placed there by Iran for his work with Kurdish activists opposed to the regime in Tehran.
German film ‘The White Band’ nominated for two Oscars
German film Das weiße Band, or “The White Band,” has been nominated for two Oscars in 2010, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed on Tuesday.
Siemens unveils ‘green’ investment in India
German industrial group Siemens said Tuesday it would spend 16 billion rupees ($346 million) in India, mainly in renewable energy, as part of a drive to step up investment in the country.
Germany grapples with relentless winter weather
Unrelenting winter weather forced the evacuation of a Baltic Sea island and caused hundreds of traffic accidents in Germany on Tuesday, as another storm threatened to dump more snow across much of the country.
French court examines deadly Concorde crash
Ten years after a fiery crash ended the dream of supersonic travel, a French court will Tuesday try to determine who was to blame for the Concorde disaster that killed 113 people – including 97 Germans.
Jesuit school sex abuse scandal spreads through Germany
The scope of a child sex abuse scandal that was uncovered at an elite Berlin Catholic school last week has spread to other parts of Germany and beyond, the provincial superior for the country’s Jesuit order Stefan Dartmann has revealed.
Dead infant found abandoned in Saarland snow
A dead baby has been found abandoned in the the snow in the southwestern German state of Saarland, the German Red Cross (DRK) and the police confirmed late on Monday.
Munich Re profits soar thanks to fewer natural disasters
The world's biggest reinsurer, Munich Re, reported Tuesday that net profit soared 62 percent last year, exceeding the group's own forecast owing to a sharp decline in natural disasters.
Cities face dire finances
German cities and municipalities say they have reached an emergency financial situation with soaring deficits following the worst recession since the Second World War.