Utility EON to sue over fuel rod tax
Germany's largest energy company, EON, said Tuesday it would sue the government over plans to maintain a tax on spent fuel rods despite plans to do away with nuclear plants by 2022.
Day: May 31, 2011
US chopper flights whip Bavarians into fury
Residents around the US Army base at Katterbach in Bavaria are locked in an escalating feud with the American military over late-night helicopter flights and so-called “Rambo attitudes” of the soldiers, media reported on Tuesday.
Activists agitate against rising Berlin rents and gentrification
Activists angry over Berlin’s rising rents came out in force this week, occupying an apartment building and storming a press conference. Other groups in the German capital are attempting to co-opt tourist into making protesting gentrification part of their holiday.
Adidas speaks out in FIFA controversy
Amid growing calls for the sleaze-tainted presidential election at football’s global body FIFA to be postponed, Germany-based Adidas said on Tuesday it feared for the image of the sport.
Jobless figure sinks below three million
Fewer than 3 million Germans are now unemployed, official figures revealed Tuesday, breaking a key psychological barrier as Europe’s largest economy continues to forge ahead.
Germany in 2011: Economic giant, political dwarf
Consigned to minor role at last week’s G8 summit, the economic power Germany is in danger of being sidelined politically, argues Gerd Appenzeller from Der Tagesspiegel.
Expectant mothers face midwife shortage
Low wages, long hours and rising insurance premiums are driving midwives out of the baby-delivering business and making it difficult for expectant mothers to find the help they need, a Tuesday media report said.
Weatherman Kachelmann acquitted of rape
After a 14-month legal drama in which lawyers were sacked, the impartiality of judges challenged and the accuser’s story changed, German TV weatherman Jörg Kachelmann was cleared on Tuesday of charges of raping his former girlfriend.
Spanish cucumbers not behind E. coli outbreak
German health authorities were forced to restart their search for the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak, after researchers Tuesday declared Spanish cucumbers were not infected with the same lethal bacteria.
Iran sparks row by delaying Merkel flight
The government of Iran temporarily denied Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plane the right to fly over its territory on her way to India, creating a minor diplomatic incident and angering the German leader.
Mixed signals from European allies on nuclear issue
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany could serve as a global trailblazer with its decision Monday to phase out nuclear power by 2022 but France, Europe's biggest producer, said it will not follow suit.