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As Spanish authorities kept up their hunt for the killers behind the March 11 terror bombings in Madrid, Germany's political leaders worked this week to find legal ways that could prevent such attacks from occurring within the country. The effort took place in two main forums - in negotiations between coalition and opposition leaders, and in the media. 
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Authorities plan to reopen an investigation into a 2002 killing spree in which in an expelled student gunned down 16 people at an eastern German high school before committing suicide, a state interior minister said on Thursday.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Karl Peter Bruch, a high-ranking state official in Germany, jetted off to Washington last week in a bid to save U.S. military bases in his region that he fears could be shut during a future withdrawal. The goal of the trip was to sell officials in the Pentagon and the White House a plan that could help improve the training opportunities and housing conditions of U.S. forces in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Official concerns about a chemical plant near Frankfurt's airport are threatening to delay the expansion of the facility, continental Europe's busiest hub that is bursting at the seams. The German government on Tuesday received an official warning from the European Commission that said plans for the new runway, scheduled to be completed by 2007, violated European environmental law.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
While the politicians focused on Afghanistan's future this week in Berlin, German designer Wolfgang Joop kept his eye on the country's leader. And he liked what he saw of Hamid Karzai, the man who was clad in flowing green robes and a dull gray cap.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
The arrival of the 132 Iraqi police officers was part of a journey surrounded by secrecy. Not even one picture was allowed to be taken at the oasis city of al Ain when they pulled up.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Just before the latest conference on the future of Afghanistan began in Berlin on Wednesday, Germany's minister for economic cooperation and development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, discussed the problems facing the country as it works to rebuild.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
The meeting on Monday evening was designed to help rekindle the warm relationship that the Social Democrats once enjoyed with Germany's unions. But after the session broke up, it appeared that a chill remained in the air.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Federal Education Minister Edelgard Bulmahn and the 16 state ministers for education have worked out a joint concept to promote outstanding universities and excellent research facilities. The plan approved on Monday will set up a competition that will award more than EUR250 million in funding annually over a five-year period to the winning universities.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Two million tons of carbon dioxide a year: That is all Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin of the Greens was able to squeeze out of Economics Minister Wolfgang Clement, making critics wonder if the big bureaucracy needed to manage emissions trading for industrial plants will be worth the effort.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Federal Prosecutor General Kay Nehm has filed charges against a man suspected of assisting a major spy for the Soviet bloc.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
A Hamburg court will decide on Friday whether Mounir Motassadeq should be released after an appeals panel overturned his conviction and 15-year prison term in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
A court has granted the second wife of an Iraqi living in Germany the right to a regular residence permit.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
The state of Baden-Württemberg is the first to ban head scarves worn by Muslim teachers at public schools.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics |
Turkish police have captured a man suspected of killing five people in Augsburg, Germany.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Society |
Three months after the introduction of a new medical fee, the number of visits to doctors is down significantly, health insurance companies and doctors say.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Society |
A train accident involving two high-speed ICE trains and a tractor left one person seriously injured on Thursday in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Society |
Christoph Gottschalk, head of media broker Dolce Media and brother of entertainer Thomas Gottschalk, spoke with Helmut Aurenz, founder of ASB Grünland (ABS Greenworld), about how he became rooted in the potting soil business.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
As German shareholders are bracing to confront allegedly underperforming and overpaid corporate bosses in the upcoming general meetings of Germany's blue-chip companies, telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom this week announced plans to bring its management remuneration system more in line with recently introduced standards of good corporate governance and for the first time published the individual salaries of all board members.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Responding to last year's spectacular collapse of the Mannheimer Leben life insurance group, the German government on Monday presented plans to force German life and private health insurers to pay into an obligatory bankruptcy protection fund. The aim is to prevent a loss of the savings of insurance takers, similar to a system already enforced in the banking sector.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
You can always rely on U.S. consumers. The recovery on the other side of the Atlantic may still be a jobless one, but that optimistic breed is still out buying. Germans, on the other hand, have bucked the government's best efforts to create a nation of carefree shoppers. But market participants haven't been that choosy.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Could this have been it? Even before the fledgling upswing ever really got under way, German economic indicators are looking disconcertingly glum again. After the latest data releases this week showed the euro-zone business and consumer climate stagnant and business confidence on the slide for the second consecutive month in the region's biggest economy, Germany, economists have warned that this recovery is still very fragile, with some calling on the European Central Bank to loosen its already expansive monetary policy still further.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
After the sudden sacking of its outspoken chairman Ulrich Schumacher last Thursday, Germany's showcase chipmaker Infineon made concentrated damage-control efforts this week to counter fears that nasty surprises may be lurking in the company's balance sheet.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Continental, the world's fourth-largest tire maker, this week made an unexpected takeover bid for the smaller automotive supplier Phoenix, just days ahead of presenting what is being read as a glowing report card for 2003.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Threatened with considerable fines, Wal-Mart has finally agreed to publish figures for its German operations. The first-ever numbers in the Bundesanzeiger, a federal publication for company data, showed that Wal-Mart lost EUR26 million on four of its super stores in 2000.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The business climate in Germany may be depressed, but German companies continue to suffer from a lack of engineers.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Health and cosmetics maker Beiersdorf saw sales contract by 1.5 percent to EUR4.67 billion last year as a result of negative currency effects.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The military contractor Rheinmetall, which also specializes in automotive supplies, said the restructuring program begun in 2000 is now complete.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Tour operator Tui posted a EUR913 million net profit in 2003, up from EUR575 million in 2002.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of a draft directive on gender equality, which would outlaw gender-based discrimination in the provision of financial services.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance |
I have no idea whether it was Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.“
It was a Monday, July 19, 1982. Matthias Behr, a foil fencer from Tauberbischofsheim, had done poorly in the individual competition at the World Championships in Rome and was knocked in the round of 24. But he was fortunate to be competing at all.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Sports |
Anybody who ever has anything to do with Sven Ottke learns one thing. The world champion boxer from Germany knows how to deliver a punch. Late Saturday evening, the aging Ottke delivered an unusual beating to his ring opponent, Armand Krajnc of Sweden, in his 22nd title defense.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Sports |
Going into this week's test game against Belgium, the head coach of Germany's national soccer team was plagued by one question: Who could do the scoring at this summer's European Championships?
One of coach Rudi Völler's biggest threats, Kevin Kuranyi of VfB Stuttgart, hadn't scored in 742 minutes of play in Germany's top soccer league. That amounts to just more than eight games.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Sports |
The small violin workshop seems somewhat of an anachronism in this bland sea of one-family houses thrown up between the late 1950s and the mid-1970s on the outskirts of suburban Langen. A country cottage, perhaps transported here from the rocky coast of southern England along with the lanky Englishman making the stringed instruments, would have seemed a more appropriate setting.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Arts & Leisure |
How did Carl Benz, Gottfried Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach think this would work? Benz developed the first German car in 1886, the others followed his lead and before the turn of the century, 2,500 companies were manufacturing automobiles for those who could afford to trade in their horse carriage for substantially more horse power.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Living in Germany |
Spring is here at last. And with the onslaught of warmer weather the number of happy bicycle riders here increases with every degree the temperature racks up. The streets are alive with the sights of cyclists.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Living in Germany |
Germany's most prominent TV show host, Thomas Gottschalk, who celebrated the 100th airing of his popular game show Wetten, dass (Wanna bet?) on Saturday night, was confronted afterward by one of his most uncompromising critics.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Living in Germany |
With terrorism casting a wider shadow of death, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared on Thursday that his government would step up efforts to wipe out the threat. His comments came shortly before TV station n-tv reported that three Moroccans suspected of planning the recent terror attack in Madrid had lived in the Rhine-Main region close to Frankfurt and had been known to the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation as “potentially violent Islamists.“
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
Government and business representatives this week quarreled over who is to blame for increasing job exports from Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder called the transfer of jobs to cheaper foreign locations “unpatriotic“ after comments from a prominent business lobbyist were interpreted as a call on German companies to seek their luck elsewhere.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Since Sunday, the SPD has two chairmen - one for the party, and one for the people and the government. After his election at the special party conference in Berlin, Franz Müntefering is the man for the party; Chancellor Gerhard Schröder the man for the people. By mutual agreement, Müntefering is in charge of internal party affairs; he is supposed to manage, contain and stroke the SPD and its parliamentary group.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
The appointment with the orthodontist was supposed to be a routine matter for Sarah. But it did not turn out that way once she got to the office. The doctor had an urgent problem that she had to discuss with the girl's parents: She suggested that she could give their daughter the best care only if they ventured beyond the normal method of payment through the public health funds and paid for the care themselves.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
A year after spelling out his politically explosive reform package, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder stepped to the podium of the German parliament on Thursday to praise the strides he said the country had made. “Germany looks better today than it did 12 months ago,“ Schröder said.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
Talk about forming a new left-wing party in Germany has sent a shudder through the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. But this is not the first time in recent German history that such an effort has created a stir. Since the late 1980s, one party or another has burst onto the scene, burned brightly for a brief time and flamed out. Here is a look at three of them.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
Dr. Oscar Gabriel, a political scientist at the University of Stuttgart, has watched small parties like the Schill party in Hamburg come and go. Here are excerpts from an interview in which he discussed the reasons that fuel the rise and fall of such groups.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
German Interior Minister Otto Schily finds his country faced with an escalating terrorist threat. In the following interview, he discusses the meaning of the March 11 bombings in Madrid for Germany and Europe.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
The weekly German newspaper had its eye on some dynamite spy stories. “Now, it's the West's turn,“ the headline in Die Zeit proclaimed last year. But the editors apparently can forget about the possibility of exposing some high-ranking West German spy. That is because the potential treasure trove of intelligence revelations that had drawn the editors' interest has turned out to be a largely empty chest.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
About 10 million employees will see higher net payouts on their paychecks as of April when nine public health funds reduce their premiums. One of Germany's largest funds, BEK, said it would reduce premiums for its 5.5 million members to 14.7 percent from 14.9 percent, meaning that someone with a gross income of EUR3,487 or more would save EUR3.49 per month.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
The U.S. military plans to cut its force of 71,000 service members stationed in Germany by half, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
The number of HIV cases in Germany jumped for the second year in a row in 2003, according to a report by the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Society |
An international arrest warrant has been issued for a man suspected of killing five people, including his wife, earlier this week in Germany.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Society |
An international arrest warrant has been issued for a man suspected of killing five people, including his wife, earlier this week in Germany.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Society |
The world's biggest computer fair, CeBIT 2004, is sending out at least one clear sign: The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, or UMTS for short, is ready to go. Despite all the setbacks and hype, the four network operators offering third generation appliances appear to be serious about getting the network up and running at least in most metropolitan areas this year.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Postbank had a few pieces of good news for the investor community this week. Net profits of Germany's largest retail bank nearly tripled last year. And while yet another stock market aspirant shelved its listing plans in a shaky market environment, Postbank Chairman Wulf von Schimmelmann on Wednesday announced that the Deutsche Post World Net subsidiary would pull its planned listing forward to before mid-July from autumn.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Amid the downturn in the German retailing sector, Metro, the world's fourth-largest retailer by sales, outperformed its domestic rivals as improved margins at its key Cash & Carry and consumer electronics chains helped it lift full-year net profits by close to 14 percent to EUR571 million.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
As this year's general meeting season really gets under way, the small shareholder lobbying group DSW this week criticized the disbursement policy of Germany's blue-chip companies. “The earnings of the companies included in the Dax-30 index increased by about 30 percent in 2003, but dividends unfortunately failed to keep up,“ DSW Managing Director Ulrich Hocker said. “Shareholders are getting just 6 percent more than last year.“
In contrast to U.S. companies, which pay a quarterly dividend, German companies make annual payouts.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Battered by warnings of attacks on civilians in the United States and Europe, the Dax continued its descent most of this week. The spate of losses saw the index of Germany's 30 biggest companies drop to an interim low of 3,692 on Wednesday before taking a bumpy ride back up to 3,812 on Thursday, down from 3,827 the week before.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Better late than never: That's how many have summed up Frankfurt Stock Exchange operator Deutsche Börse's decision to stop using “soft criteria“ when drawing up the list of companies included in Germany's Dax blue-chip index. From now on, only two criteria will count: trading volume and market capitalization.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Analysts were rattled late Thursday afternoon after Ulrich Schumacher, the chairman of the Munich chip manufacturer Infineon, resigned with immediate effect and absent of any sort of explanation. Parent company Siemens was also keeping hush about the reason for Schumacher's sudden departure.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
After two disappointing years, CeBIT again fulfilled the expectations of visitors and trade fair organizer Deutsche Messe. But while visitor attendance of 510,000 exceeded expectations, it was still below the visitor count last year when 560,000 gadget-loving fans stormed Hanover.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Bourse candidate Siltronic has put its initial public offering on ice. The microchip maker would have been the first listing this year, after competitor X-Fab put its stock market plans on hold late last week.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The dire economic situation in Germany took its toll last year, causing more companies than ever before to file for insolvency. Nearly 40,000 companies had to file for bankruptcy in 2003 according to the Federal Statistics Office, an increase of 4.6 percent over 2002.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Karstadt Quelle, Europe's largest department store and mail order group, posted a record drop in net profits in 2003.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The finance ministry's annual check from the central bank in Frankfurt is a disappointment this year. The dollar's slide knocked the Bundesbank's 2003 profit to EUR250 million, down from EUR5.3 billion last year and EUR11.2 billion in 2001.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
Public prosecutors have stopped their investigation of the head of Deutsche Bahn after concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove Hartmut Mehdorn was involved in a corruption case.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
A bribery investigation that was being conducted against the chairman of Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, Wilhelm Bender, and his deputy, Manfred Schölch, has been dropped.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
The railroad company Deutsche Bahn plans to eliminate ticket counters located in rural regions of Germany. Without naming concrete numbers, a company spokesman confirmed comments made by the railway union Transnet in the Westfalen-Blatt newspaper that all ticket counters in rural regions would be shut down.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Business & Finance |
You'll be seen and heard at the World Championships in the coming weeks as an expert analyst and co-commentator for the ARD public broadcaster. When your own country hosts the World Championships, is the event something special?
It's very important for the sport of ice skating.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Sports |
It was more a push than a shove. But it was enough to make German soccer history and to produce a five-game suspension for the coach of Eintracht Frankfurt as his team fights to avoid relegation to the second league.
Never before in the 41-year history of German professional soccer had a coach physically attacked a referee. The ruling that the German Soccer Federation issued on Wednesday evening against Willi Reimann was designed to send a clear message: Keep your hands off the referees.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Sports |
FC Bayern Munich has given up hopes of catching first-division leader Werder Bremen and set its sights on securing qualification to next year's Champions League, the team's manager says.
“Of course, I don't like the fact that we have to watch Werder Bremen cruise along alone,“ Bayern manager Uli Hoeness said in an interview with the Munich newspaper AZ this week.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Sports |
The German photographer August Sander died in 1964 without having realized his lifework, a project he had already planned in the early years of his career as a photographer. But that project is currently on display at Frankfurt's Städel museum. A cultural foundation in Cologne, the SK Stiftung Kultur, put it together for him: an extensive exhibition of 230 Sander vintage prints, taken between 1920 and 1950, and an accompanying publication which group his photographs of people into the categories The Farmer, The Skilled Tradesman, The Woman, Classes and Professions, The Artists, The City and The Last People.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Arts & Leisure |
As the Leipzig Book Fair opened its four-day run on Thursday, the German publishing industry hoped that this market-oriented marathon would stimulate sales, with more than 1,200 readings to put the spotlight on new titles.
Readings are what differentiate this booklover's book fair from its big brother held in Frankfurt each year. Almost 2,000 publishers and editors from 28 countries are presenting their latest spring program.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Arts & Leisure |
Germany has never had much luck when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest. Only once, back in 1982, did it manage to secure victory when a young German woman called Nicole sang a song about peace on her white guitar.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Arts & Leisure |
You might think that the Ostalgie fad, the enthusiasm for products in the style of the Old East Germany died with last summer's heat wave, but you'd be wrong. Now the historic “Ost“ car, the Trabi, is back for your driving pleasure.
Introduced on the market in 1957, the Trabant Sputnik, the plastic-bodied mini-car, was the first and cutest of its kind.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Living in Germany |
Moving to a new country can be a daunting experience. Simple daily tasks can make you feel confused especially when you don't know the country's rules and regulations. To help new residents find their feet in the complex environment of German social and public life, the government's commission for migration, refugees and integration has released “A Manual for Germany.“
Mar. 26, 2004 in Living in Germany |
Tell me what you eat or drink and I'll tell you which part of Germany you're from“ - this motto holds true according to a consumer goods study Reader's Digest European Brands. A good 13 years after unification, Germans still remain divided when it comes to product and brand preferences, the study reveals.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Living in Germany |
In a country where cars take pride of place, I wasn't too surprised to see that most Germans drive spotlessly clean cars. But how do they keep them so shiny and polished? It's not exactly like you see hordes of Germans out on the front lawn on a Sunday hosing down their hot set of wheels.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Living in Germany |
Fast cars and glamorous women seem to dominate the life off the playing field of many a famous soccer star. But, sometimes, bringing the two together can mean trouble, as was the case with FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, whose transition from pregnant wife Simone to “pierced party chick“ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) Verena Kerth was a media feast for months last year.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Living in Germany |
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 | Good judgment
Deutsche Bank Chairman Josef Ackermann was visibly relieved when the judge in the Mannesmann trial this week issued her preliminary opinion that she saw no signs of a criminal offense so far - and so were many who had feared that trial would become a public hearing on morality, not rightful business practices.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Business & Finance A federal boomerang effect
More transparency, greater efficiency, faster decision-making processes and a clearer assignment of responsibilities - those were the intentions of the German “commission for the modernization of the federal order.“ Representatives of the federal and state governments joined forces in proclaiming the benefits of a reform of German federalism; party-political differences were kept at bay.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics Brain down
Over four million Germans are unemployed. The country's leading economic institutes have started their annual sport of revising downward their growth forecasts. The economics ministry has stopped betting that recovery will come from a sudden burst of consumer spending. Exports will have to power what growth there is this year.
Apr. 2, 2004 in Politics Poor record
The timing of the chancellor's reform speech could have been better. Gerhard Schröder's proclamation that his Agenda 2010 reform project had helped turn Germany into a “modern nation of wealth and social justice“ that was in a much better position now than a year ago came after a week in which it appeared that more and more companies are fleeing the country.
Mar. 26, 2004 in Politics |
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