Germany

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Stasi Ordered to Shoot First
Stasi Ordered to Shoot First
Aug 12, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

Stasi Ordered to Shoot First

Defectors stood little chance at Berlin Wall

(Newser) - During the Cold War, East German border police were ordered to shoot all attempted defectors, a newly discovered Stasi document confirms. “Do not hesitate with the use of a firearm, including when the border breakouts involve women and children, which the traitors have already frequently taken advantage of,”...

German Leaders Reject Scientology Ban

Stumbling block is procedural, not philosophical

(Newser) - German leaders say they won't press for a ban on Scientology—not because they're against it, but because they don't think it would succeed. The German government officially considers the organization a cult, Der Spiegel reports, but politicians from both major parties say that they probably don't have enough evidence...

Woman Has Pencil Removed From Brain After 55 Years

Carry your pencils eraser-side up!

(Newser) - A German woman had a pencil removed from her brain after living with it for 55 years. Margret Wegner fell down while holding a pencil when she was four years old, jamming it into her brain and leading to a lifetime of headaches and nosebleeds. Surgeons finally removed most of...

Germany Steels for Rail Strike
Germany Steels for Rail Strike
Aug 7, 2007 6:17 AM CDT

Germany Steels for Rail Strike

Drivers' union action promises major roadblock for summer travelers

(Newser) - A rebellious union of German train drivers has voted overwhelmingly to strike on Thursday, setting the stage for the country's largest industrial action in over a decade, reports the Financial Times. Travelers began canceling trips as the railway dug in, refusing to negotiate with workers and insisting that it could...

Rent-a-Yanks Push Goodwill Abroad
Rent-a-Yanks Push Goodwill Abroad
Jul 27, 2007 10:03 AM CDT

Rent-a-Yanks Push Goodwill Abroad

German schools book young US speakers to combat anti-Americanism

(Newser) - American exchange students in Germany are so bombarded with broadsides against the US government and lifestyle that one university has started a program called "Rent an American." Yanks visit German schools to answer questions about the Bush administration, climate change, and the death penalty, all in an effort...

Taliban Claims 2 German Hostages Killed

Demand German troop pullout, threaten South Korean captives

(Newser) - Two German citizens abducted in Afghanistan have been shot to death, a Taliban spokesman claimed today. The Taliban had demanded the withdrawal of the more than 3,000 soldiers Germany has stationed in Afghanistan, a demand to which they did not accede. The Germans were working on a dam project...

Children of Holocaust Survivors Sue Germany

Suit seeks money for psychological treatment

(Newser) - An Israeli group is about to file a class action lawsuit against Germany on behalf of 15,000 children of Holocaust survivors in need of psychological treatment. The children suffer from depression and other problems stemming from being raised in dysfunctional homes. The suit, to be filed Sunday in Tel...

Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off
Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off
Jul 16, 2007 6:02 PM CDT

Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off

Two ambitious heads of state struggle for European dominance

(Newser) - French president Nicolas Sarkozy is stepping up to challenge German chancellor Angela Merkel for the leadership of Europe, Der Spiegel reports, and the result  will be first-rate political spectacle. The two alpha heads of state, who met today in Toulouse, have very different styles: Merkel is restrained and accute; Sarkozy...

Germany Weighs Civil Liberties Against Security

New world order prompts government, society to reevaluate

(Newser) - Sensing a growing threat from Islamic terrorists, Germany's top security official is pushing for new measures to monitor suspects and deal with attacks, the Times reports. But the interior minister's moves have ignited a firestorm of controversy in a country overly familiar with authoritarian rule. Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed...

Zebrula Kills at German Zoo
Zebrula Kills at German Zoo
Jul 5, 2007 2:36 PM CDT

Zebrula Kills at German Zoo

Offspring of horse and zebra is a crossover hit

(Newser) - Perplexed onlookers are flocking to a to a zoo in Germany to see a zebrula—the rare but not unprecedented offspring of a male zebra and a female horse, AFP reports. The animal, named Eclyse, has the head of a zebra, the body of a horse, and a coat split...

Cruise Can Film in Germany Despite 'Cult' Status

Berlin does an about-face on anti-Hitler movie

(Newser) - Tom Cruise will be allowed to shoot his new movie, about a German military officer who tried to assassinate Hitler, on German soil. Earlier reports said the megastar would be banned because of his ties to Scientology, which Germany regards as a threat to democracy and keeps under "official...

Extradite CIA Kidnappers, Germans Demand

Crackdown strains US-German relations

(Newser) - Germany is demanding the extradition of 10 CIA agents for the kidnapping of suspected terrorist Khaled el-Masri in 2004, Der Spiegel reports. The German citizen was flown to Afghanistan in what is known as as "extraordinary rendition." The case is similar to one in Italy in which 26...

Cruise Film Can't Shoot at German Sites

Berlin says nein because Tom belongs to 'Scientology cult'

(Newser) - The makers of a new Tom Cruise movie will be barred from filming at key German military sites, Reuters reports, because of the star's Scientology connection. Cruise is to play the lead in "Valkyrie," about a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. But the Germans don't recognize Scientology...

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton
Sarkozy Is Europe's
New Clinton
Jun 25, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton

French PM scored with diplomatic charm offensive at EU summit

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy was the star of the EU’s constitutional summit last weekend, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat with a virtuoso diplomatic performance reminiscent of the former president. The new PM displayed what Der Spiegel called ‘Clintonesque ease’ in solving big problems, returning France to her traditional...

German Privacy Laws Threaten Gmail Service

Facing new data rules, firm would rather switch than fight

(Newser) - Google will halt Gmail service in Germany next year if the country enacts aggressive surveillance legislation pending in the Bundestag. The law, which reflects EU regs on data retention, would compel telecom companies to keep records of Internet and phone activity for 6 months, Der Spiegel reports. A company consultant...

EU Members Spar Over Constitution
EU Members Spar Over Constitution
Jun 22, 2007 7:34 PM CDT

EU Members Spar Over Constitution

Conflict centers on voting power, market protections, more

(Newser) - Disagreement is widespread at the European Union summit meeting in Brussels, where the main goal is to produce a new treaty governing the 27-country group. The French have  tamped down language about free-market competition, the Brits don't want certain provisions to be legally binding, and the Poles are angling for...

Ex-UN Head Waldheim Dead at 88
Ex-UN Head Waldheim
Dead at 88
Jun 15, 2007 6:50 AM CDT

Ex-UN Head Waldheim Dead at 88

Military service under Nazis shadowed Austrian president

(Newser) - Haunted by his World War II German army service to the end, former UN secretary-general Kurt Waldheim died yesterday at 88. Reports that he served in a German army unit that committed atrocities during the war emerged in 1985, during his successful campaign for the Austrian presidency; at his death,...

G8 Protesters Clash With German Police

Demonstration ends with activists arrested, officers injured

(Newser) - Riot police and anti-globalization activists collided in the streets of the German port of Rostock today after an early show of opposition to next week's G8 summit degenerated into violence. Police used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators who showered them with bottles and stones, causing more peaceful protesters...

East German Women Are Heading West
East German Women Are Heading West
Jun 1, 2007 5:11 PM CDT

East German Women Are Heading West

And Neo-Nazi parties are courting the men left behind

(Newser) - Young, educated women are fleeing eastern Germany—and Neo-Nazi parties are flourishing in the vacuum  they leave behind. One-and-a-half million people, two-thirds of them women, have left left the economically stagnant east since the mid-1990s, a new study shows.

'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'
'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'
Jun 1, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'

As camera-ready polar bear grows more fearsome, the 'aww' factor diminishes

(Newser) - Anyone who's ever had a nightmare about stuffed animals coming to life can relate to what Thomas Doerflein is going through. The zookeeper who's been celebrity polar bear cub Knut 's surrogate mother since the little camera hog was an adorable ball of fluff finds himself on the business end...

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