Germany

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Birkenstock: Our Sandals Are Art. German Court: Nope

Shoemaker loses court case claiming that its shoes 'are copyright-protected works of applied art'

(Newser) - Birkenstocks: ubiquitous in summer, comfy, and very German. Sometimes they look chic and sometimes shabby. But can these sandals be considered art? That's the question Germany's Federal Court of Justice wrestled with Thursday, and it ruled they're just comfy footwear, reports the AP . Birkenstock—which is headquartered...

Vance Meets AfD Leader After Scolding Europe on Far Right

Alice Weidel is running for chancellor of Germany

(Newser) - Vice President JD Vance met the leader of a German far-right party in Munich on Friday, nine days before a German election and after scolding European leaders about the state of democracy. Vance met with Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party and candidate for chancellor,...

Tilda Swinton Stepping Away From a 'Merciless Mistress'

After scathing speech at Berlinale on world's issues, actor says she's taking a break from work

(Newser) - There are few actors who take on quirkier roles than Tilda Swinton, but apparently working that hard at being weird can take its toll. This week at the Berlinale international film fest in Berlin, the 64-year-old Oscar winner received the Golden Bear lifetime achievement honor, and she used her acceptance...

Islamic Extremism Was Apparent Motive in Munich Attack

But authorities haven't found a link between radical networks and man accused of injuring 36

(Newser) - The suspect in the car-ramming attack in Munich that injured at least 36 people on Thursday appears to have had an Islamic extremist motive, but there's no evidence that he was involved with any radical network, authorities say. The 24-year-old Afghan, who arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker...

Vance to Europe: Your Biggest Threat Is From 'Within'

VP accuses European leaders of 'shutting down media,' ignoring the people's will

(Newser) - European leaders were looking to clarify President Trump's approach to Russia and Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. But Vice President JD Vance only mentioned Ukraine in passing during a speech in which he scolded Europe's leaders for opposing anti-immigration parties, while signaling support for political...

Doc Charged With Murdering 10 Patients

Unnamed German doctor showed 'lust for murder,' say cops

(Newser) - A doctor in Berlin who was first arrested in August on suspicion of killing four elderly patients is now suspected of killing a total of 10 patients and, in five cases, trying to cover up the evidence by starting fires, investigators said Tuesday, per the AP . The unidentified doctor, who...

Tesla Sales Plunge in Europe
Tesla Sales
Plunge in Europe
Feb 6, 2025 1:25 PM CST

Tesla Sales Plunge in Europe

After a bad 2024, 2025 starts out much worse—and Musk's politics may be at play

(Newser) - While Elon Musk is busy hacking away at various government programs vis a vis DOGE, Europe, it seems, is busy hacking away at his Tesla sales. As the New York Times reports, after a rough 2024, the automaker stared down even more losses in January—and notably in countries in...

Unique Contest Involves Bellowing Like a Stag

German competition goes back to centuries-old tradition of calling a male deer

(Newser) - German hunters tried to convince the jury at a national stag calling championship that they can imitate a bellowing red deer most realistically. The unique tradition goes back hundreds of years and was initially aimed at feigning a stag's rival during the rutting season so the deer comes out....

Thousands Protest AfD as Musk Addresses Its Rally

Organizers call Berlin demonstration a 'sea of light against the right turn'

(Newser) - Thousands of Germans on Saturday protested in Berlin and other cities against the rise of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party ahead of a Feb. 23 general election. At Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, participants lighted up their phones, blew whistles, and sang anti-fascist songs, and in Cologne, protesters...

Musk Hosts, Backs Far-Right Leader on X

Alice Weidel appears on audio livestream, praised as 'very reasonable'

(Newser) - Elon Musk further involved himself in Germany's politics on Thursday, hosting a leader of a far-right party for an audio livestream on X and urging its citizens to cast their ballots for Alice Weidel's Alternative for Germany party in the elections next month. "I'm really strongly...

Death Toll Rises Again After 'Dreadful' Attack in Germany

6th person dies after tragedy at Magdeburg Christmas market

(Newser) - A sixth person has died more than two weeks after a car attack on a Christmas market in Germany last month. The 52-year-old woman had been critically injured in the Dec. 20 attack, DW reports. Authorities say at least 299 people were injured after the suspect plowed into the crowd...

Musk Goes Further in His Support of Far-Right Party

He claims party with neo-Nazi links is Germany's last hope

(Newser) - Elon Musk on Saturday endorsed Germany's far-right AfD party for the second time in little more than a week, this time going further than his initial X post backing the party , which has links to neo-Nazis. In a guest opinion column for the Welt am Sonntag, a major German...

He Awaits Societal Collapse. Just Don't Call Him a Doomer
'The Collapse of Society
Is ... Imminent'
longform
Dec 21, 2024 11:30 AM CST

'The Collapse of Society Is ... Imminent'

Hazlitt magazine visits Ben Green at his unusual retreat in Germany

(Newser) - At the start of dinner with his guests, Ben Green offers this pick-me-up of a toast: "We're here because it's already too late," he tells them. "The collapse of society is inevitable, and it's imminent. There's absolutely nothing we can do about it....

Musk Endorses Germany's Far-Right Party

Scholz points out that free speech rights apply to bad political advice

(Newser) - Elon Musk, already busy with US politics , stepped into Germany's on Friday, drawing the attention of millions of X users and leaders who don't share his support of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. "Only the AfD can save Germany," Musk wrote in response to a...

Car Drives Into Christmas Crowd at German Market

Suspected attack, which killed two people and injured scores, echoes one from 2016

(Newser) - A car drove into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, per the AP . The BBC reports that at least two people, including a child, were killed. Officials said 15 people were seriously injured and another 53 were less seriously...

Scholz Loses in Parliament, Setting Up an Election

Lawmakers deny chancellor on confidence vote

(Newser) - Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February. Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted...

German VW Workers Go on 'Warning' Strike

Struggling automaker wants to close 3 plants in Germany, cut worker pay by 10%

(Newser) - Volkswagen workers launched rolling two-hour strikes Monday at nine plants across Germany to underscore their resistance to pay cuts and factory closures the company says are necessary to cope with a slack European auto market. The work stoppages included the company's base plant at Wolfsburg, where workers rallied against...

Sabotage Suspected After 2 Cables in Baltic Sea Are Cut
Chinese Ship Suspected
in Baltic Cable Sabotage
UPDATED
Nov 21, 2024 11:36 AM CST

Chinese Ship Suspected in Baltic Cable Sabotage

Yi Peng 3 being monitored by Danish navy

(Newser) - Swedish authorities have labeled a Chinese ship "part of the sphere of interest" after two fiber-optic cables were cut in the Baltic Sea. The Yi Peng 3 is believed to have passed over the undersea cables around the times they were severed on Sunday and Monday, the Guardian reports....

IKEA Paying $6.5M to Compensate Prisoners for Forced Labor

Company is putting money into fund Germany is establishing

(Newser) - In what CNN is describing as a "landmark move," IKEA will pay about $6.5 million to compensate the former prisoners who were forced to build furniture for the company in communist East Germany during the Cold War era. The money will be put in a government fund...

Far-Right Party Wants to Buy 'Haunted' Nazi Castle

Germany's AfD plans to use Sanatorium Schwarzeck as a 'patriotic center'

(Newser) - Germany's far-right AfD party is trying to get its hands on a crumbling castle long rumored to be haunted. The Nazis used the Sanatorium Schwarzeck in eastern Germany as a training academy for Luftwaffe pilots, the Telegraph reports The building, later used by East Germany's Communist government, fell...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>