A herd of bison are gathered from across Europe for release into the wild in Romania. The animals were shot with a tranquiliser gun to immobilise them, then loaded onto a truck to drive to Romania. In all 17 bison were collected from wildlife parks and breeding centres across Europe Continue reading... ...
More than 30 foreign exchange traders around the world have been put on leave, suspended or fired as forex probes expand Germany's financial watchdog has discovered clear evidence that market participants attempted to manipulate reference currency rates, widening the probe to include many more banks and saying international investigations into the matter were far from over. Regulators globally are...
Angela Merkel ally casts doubt over prime minister's pledge to avoid ever closer ties with Europe Is outright general election victory finally in sight for Tories? Nick Cohen: Ukip's running scared Ukip byelection candidate backed voluntary repatriation One of German chancellor Angela Merkel's closest allies has firmly rejected David Cameron's proposal to extricate the UK from the EU's commitment to...
The financial crisis led to a eurozone shaped by Germany's narrow interests as a creditor. We need a freer, fairer Europe The European Union was often unpopular even before the financial crisis. But the long slump and eurozone policymakers' blunders have created a political firestorm. Support for the EU has plunged to all-time lows . Most Europeans now associate it with austerity, recession and German...
Berlin architects honour Walter Gropius with new take on the meisterhäuser The most striking Bauhaus designs, such as Marcel Breuer's tubular steel chair or the Wagenfeld table lamp, have been endlessly copied and mass produced. But the architecture of the design school has left a more complicated legacy in Germany. Continue reading... ...
German court rules late American psychologist is author of book she claimed was dictated to her by Jesus via 'waking dreams' Jesus Christ does not hold copyright for works published in his name, a German court has ruled. Frankfurt's higher regional court this week ruled that the late American psychologist Helen Schucman, and not Jesus Christ, should be regarded the legal author of a book that Schucman...
Eurozone recovery takes a knock as economy grows just 0.2% in last quarter, with many countries disappointing Latest: Dr Kristin Forbes to join MPC Euro growth misses forecasts Summary: France flat, Germany strong 2.16pm BST Over to Greece, where the countdown to European and local elections (the first round of the latter taking place this weekend) has sent passions skyrocketing. The mood outside...
Prolific poet whose work combined technical panache with extraordinary linguistic range Hidden Identities, the first full collection from the poet John Hartley Williams, who has died aged 72 from cancer, made ripples when it was published by Chatto & Windus in 1982. The next, Bright River Yonder (1987), this time from Bloodaxe, became a Poetry Book Society recommendation. After that, collections...
Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier aims for quick launch of dialogue after two eastern regions declare independence The German foreign minister has arrived in Ukraine saying he hopes round-table talks between politicians and civil groups this week will help disarm pro-Russia separatists and improve the atmosphere for elections in the country later this month. Frank-Walter Steinmeier met the acting...
Rupert Murdoch is eager to unite his European pay-TV businesses and turn BSkyB into a £22bn television giant. It would, says the Sunday Times, give the broadcaster "enhanced clout in the battle for football rights." But a Sunday Telegraph report claims that Ofcom "is poised to obstruct" any such deal "based on media plurality concerns." Continue reading... ...
Crackdown on Muslim-turned-Christians has seen an increasing number seek refuge, giving religious life a small boost in one of the most 'godless' places on earth On a breezy Sunday morning, 17 Christian converts are being baptized into a Berlin congregation just in time for Christmas. The yellow, stained-glass windows, situated high enough to catch the suns beams, are glowing. The old wooden pews...
The subtitled mini-series about five friends in the Third Reich, which drew to a close at the weekend, caused controversy and had its flaws. But did it also show a different side to war? Does drama have to be an accurate depiction of history? Generation War , the third part of which concluded on Saturday night, took a Mauser C96 to this question and shot it in the head, while murmuring a Marlene Dietrich...
Twenty-five years after reunification community spirit is stronger where there is greater diversity, reports Bertelsmann Foundation Twenty-five years after reunification, Germany's western regions have a considerably stronger community spirit than those in the former east, a study suggests . Researchers at the Bertelsmann Foundation , a liberal thinktank, found that while Germany as a whole had become...
Henning Conle, who has reputation for shabby buildings and disgruntled tenants in Germany, has snapped up almost £2bn of prime London real estate A German landlord with a reputation for shabby buildings and disgruntled tenants has emerged as one of the biggest investors in London property in recent years. Henning Conle, 70, has snapped up almost £2bn of prime real estate, including a series of...
1945-2014: the evolution of a union that grew from the ashes of the second world war In 1945 western Europe was a scene of devastation after almost six years of world war. French foreign minister Robert Schuman and diplomat Jean Monnet drove the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, a proto-common market overseen by a supranational authority. The aim was to bind the states together economically,...
France and Germany warn Vladimir Putin Sunday's separatist referendum in east is illegal and call for 'national dialogue' Germany and France have threatened Russia with further sanctions if the 25 May election in Ukraine does not go ahead as planned. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, urged the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to do more to calm the situation, warning that a separatist referendum...
Eighteen months ago we, Judy and Simon, sold our three-bedroom apartment of 34 years in West Kensington and used the money to help fund a joint purchase in south London a four-bedroom house in Norwood/Tulse Hill. We have the ground floor, consisting of loo, double front room we use it like a 70s bedsit and large back kitchen; while our daughter, her husband and their little daughter have the two top...
French and German economy ministers to discuss potential counterbid from Siemens for Alstom's energy arm France's economy minister Arnaud Montebourg flew to Berlin on Friday to urge Siemens to make a counterbid for the energy division of Alstom and keep the business out of the hands of its US suitor, General Electric (GE) . The visit is another desperate bid by François Hollande's Socialist...
Churches continue to offer a foothold in another world from which we can safely judge this one I saw a placard advertising a brothel on Christburger street on a lamppost in Berlin, a little south of the old site of Checkpoint Charlie . The name of the street in German means the Christian citizens' street, but read as Globish English it becomes a blasphemously post-Christian fast food: do you want fries...
Formula One boss comes face-to-face with Gerhard Gribkowsky, whom he is accused of bribing, in German court The Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone was brought face-to-face with the man whose testimony could make his life's work come crashing down around him in a Munich court on Friday. Continue reading... ...