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Austrian poised for Lufthansa takeover
Austria's national carrier has been recommended to seek a takeover by German rival Lufthansa to ensure survival

German paedophile with HIV jailed
A German man has been jailed after traveling to the far east for underage sex tourism and infecting people with HIV knowingly

Good times could be over for footballing millionaires
A landmark ruling by Germany's monopoly commission has demanded that football be freely available on public television, spelling an end to huge contracts for exclusive rights

Germany sees Obama speech as "positive signal"
Following US presidential hopeful Barack Obama's Berlin address, the German government has said that the event bodes well for European-American relations

Lufthansa staff strike to add to airline woe
A strike by Lufthansa ground and cabin crew looks set to reduce many of Germany's busiest airports to a skeleton service from Monday

‘Obamamania’ hits Berlin
Hundreds of thousands turn out to see the American Democratic presidential candidate who declared himself "a world citizen" at an event resembling a rock concert

Multi-billion German football TV deal on verge of collapse
A high profile football TV deal is close to falling apart

German business confidence slumps, analysts forecast
German business confidence slumps in time of economic crisis

Former RAF member cleared by DNA report
30 years after she was arrested for murdering a high court judge, former left wing radical Verena Backer has been proved innocent using DNA analysis

German woman on trial in Sweden for brutal murder
A German woman has been charged with the brutal murder of two children in central Swede

No progress with LNG terminal
 Plans to build Germanys first import terminal for liquid natural gas LNG from Algeria and the Middle East are being held up by negotiations with regulators the main investor E.ON said on July 18. The European Union has urged Berlin to import LNG by ship so as to...

Bertelsmann to sell more book clubs
 German media multinational Bertelsmann which disposed last week of its US bookclub businesses put direct-sale operations in more nations up for sale on July 14. But it said it would keep book-club operations in Italy and several other profitable European markets. The pullout underlines the major...

German bank workers increase pressure for more pay
 Workers in the German banking sector embarked on brief token strikes on July 17 in support of demands for higher pay. In the main banking centre of Frankfurt some 500 clerks held a demonstration called by services union Verdi. Verdi Germanys second-largest union with some...

3G iphone launches in UK and Germany
As the 3G iPhone launched in Germany and the UK comScore M:Metrics reports that more than 80percent of iPhone users in France Germany and the UK browse the mobile web compared to 32 percent of other smartphone users the industry...

Lufthansa and German union fails strikes ahead
German carrier Lufthansa faced a possible all-out strike at the height of the holiday season after wage talks with the large Verdi services sector union broke down on July 10 Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa reported. The two sides restarted talks...

Energy companies move to extend nuclear plants lives
Germanys oldest nuclear power plant still in operation will shut down for good in autumn next year Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa reported on July 10. That date was determined not so much by the plants age - Biblis A went...

Lufthansa is sticking to its good profit forecast
German airline Lufthansa has said it expects to meet its operating profit target this year despite rising fuel price. Lufthansa said earlier this year that it hoped to match the previous years 1.38 billion Euro and possibly improve on it....

Worlds biggest solar plant goes on stream in Germany
A solar power plant described by its operators as the biggest in the world began generating electricity at the site of a former East German air base on June 22. Built on a surface area equivalent to 200 soccer pitches...

VW sales slump despite strong markets in China and Brazil
Despite a surge in demand in China and Brazil Europes biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG reported a 0.8 percent worldwide fall in VW-brand car sales in May as surging oil prices kept auto buyers away from showrooms. German-based Volkswagen said it...

Hannover Re links up with Indian reinsurer GIC Re
The German reinsurance company Hannover Re said it had signed an exclusive cooperation agreement in Mumbai on June 20 with Indias government-owned reinsurer GIC Re the companies said. The two companies are to jointly develop market and underwrite life-reinsurance business...

BASF and Monsanto have soybean fungicide deal
BASF SE and Monsanto Company have signed an exclusive agreement for a new fungicide seed treatment solution for soybeans in the United States the companies reported. The new product contains BASFs top-selling fungicide F 500 the same active ingredient found...

German business sets out growth and jobs plan
German industry has laid out a 10-point plan for boosting growth and creating new jobs in Europes biggest economy as it tries to stay competitive in a globalised world. Speaking at a major business conference in Berlin Juergen Thumann the...

Bayer sees Brazil as a growing market will invest more
Bayer plans to invest roughly 100 million Euro at its Brazilian sites through the end of 2009 Group CEO Werner Wenning announced at a press conference held in Belford Roxo near Rio de Janeiro to mark the 50th anniversary of...

BB Wind buys wind farms accross Germany
Babcock amp; Brown Wind Partners has acquired four wind farms in Germany with a combined capacity of 19.6 megawatts the company said. The wind farms are based in the towns of Coswig in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt Eschweiler in Northrhine-Westphalia...

Deutsche Bank needs no cash injections yet
Deutsche Bank said it expected to post a second-quarter profit and would not require extra capital after shares in the biggest German bank plunged earlier in the week on rumours it would issue a profit warning. Based on its current...

Hungarys Raba seals a major deal with Claas
Raba Futomu Kft. the axle unit of Hungarys listed automotive group Raba has signed a basic supply agreement with German Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschienen GmbH. The deal valid until September 30 2009 with extension options can result in annual sales of...

Strikes target Lufthansa at German airports
Air carrier Lufthansa was forced to cancel short-haul flights and delay long-haul departures on being targeted by brief warning strikes in support of a pay demand on July 1 the company said. Lufthansa said it had cancelled 44 inner-European flights...

President suspends ratification of EU treaty
President Horst Koehler said Germany would not yet take up the question of ratifying the EUs Lisbon Treaty following a request to wait from Germanys constitutional court aides said in Berlin. Opponents of the reform treaty went to the court...

Siemens may slash another 6 400 jobs in Germany
Engineering giant Siemens battered by a series of bribery and malfeasance scandals in EU countries is planning another huge wave of layoffs in Germany with some 6 400 jobs to be cut media reports said.Siemens Chief Executive Officer Peter Loscher...

Inflation hits 15-year record of 3.3% in June
German consumer inflation continued its upward path in July hitting a 15-year high of 3.3 percent on the year the Federal Statistics Office said. Heating oil and transport fuels were the main drivers of the rise while food prices also rose strongly the...

Milk producers reach out for some EU aid
German farmers asked for European Union aid in the face of rising production costs at the German Farming Day - an agricultural gathering - in Berlin on June 30 saying they felt they are being covered by an avalanche of...

Deutsche Post beats EU for a billion Euro
Germanys former postal monopoly Deutsche Post DP has won a six-year-old legal battle with the European Commission after a European Court backed the companys right to claim up to one billion Euro from the government media reports said.In a statement...

German FM meets Chinese civil society leaders there
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met recently with representatives of Chinas civil society for talks in Beijing before flying to the countrys earthquake- stricken southwestern region. Details of Steinmeiers talks in the German embassy were not divulged but it was...

Adidas will sue Wal-Mart for alleged copying
German sportswear maker Adidas said on June 18 it had initiated legal proceedings against US retailer Wal-Mart in relation to the selling of shoes bearing similar markings to the threestripe Adidas trademark. A spokeswoman for the company which has its headquarters in Herzogenaurach...

MT sues Deutsche Bank for fraud in CDO affair
A US bank part-owned by AIB and billionaire Warren Buffett is suing Deutsche Bank over risky financial investments of the kind that caused the sub-prime crisis media reports said. Mamp;T Bank in which AIB has a 24 percent stake is suing Deutsche...

BASF will hike prices for paper and board dispersions
BASF SE Ludwigshafen will as contracts allow raise prices by up to 20 percent for all paper and board dispersions in Europe the Middle East and Africa. This is due to the significant escalation of the raw material energy and freight costs...

Ashok Leyland invests in Albonair
Indias second-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd said on June 17 that it had made a strategic investment in the German firm Albonair GmbH for the development of vehicle emission treatment products. The Indian firm did not disclose any financial or other details...

Bosch Samsung SDI a battery joint venture
German auto components group Robert Bosch and the SDI unit of South Korean group Samsung said on June 16 they were forming a joint venture to develop and make lithium-ion batteries for cars. German automotive groups have recently rushed to obtain advanced battery technology...

This deal thaws out Orkla Brands sells Guseppe
Orkla ASA Orkla Brands said it is selling its shareholding in the Czech company Guseppe which produces frozen pizzas and frozen ready-to-use products primarily for the Czech and Slovak markets. The company acquiring the shares is Dr Oetker. Under the agreement Dr Oetker will take over 100 percent of...

Daimler looks toward Eastern Europe for factories
Daimler is studying plans to build a car factory using low-cost labour in eastern Europe especially Hungary with options to be presented to its board on June 16 two German magazines have reported. Poland Romania and Hungary were under consideration as locations said the fortnightly Auto Motor...

Germany passes 2nd phase of energy-climate package
The German cabinet approved the second phase of a major energy-saving and climate-protection package on June 18 aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020. Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel billed the measures which have...

Qimonda Japans Elpida have become partners
Qimonda AG a subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG and Japans Elpida Memory Incnbsp;said they have signed the final contracts for their strategic partnership under which they will jointly develop 40-nanometre memory chips the companies said. Launches of 40-nanometre products will start in 2010 the...

Bosch may move its French capacity to Hungary soon
German technologies group Bosch has recently unveiled a plan to revamp its braking systems business which will affect five French production sites. One of these will be moved to Hungary Portfolio Hungary reported citing Les Echos as the source. The closure-slated Beauvais factory...

German solar sector pulls in big investors
Subsidies for Germanys solar energy industry will see smaller cuts and the sector is set for consolidation in what many say is the crucial next step in its development media reports said. Global electronics group Bosch was first off the mark announcing the purchase...

Solar subsidies cut wind and tele-heating boosted
Germanys parliament has passed legislation that trims crosssubsidies for the booming solar-power industry while boosting other methods of cutting carbon emissions when generating electricity. With an election due next year the legislation has been controversial because the extra costs will be loaded onto householders and...

Siemens to supply Iraq with electricity equipment
Iraqs deputy electricity minister said on June 11 that leading German company Siemens will provide Iraq with equipment to strengthen its power grid media reports said. Iraq has agreed with Siemens that the company will share in the building of a total of 16 power plants with a...

Merkel Sarkozy want EU deal on energy climate
French President Nicolas Sarkozy came to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on cooperation on a range of issues ahead of Frances assumption of the European Union presidency next month. Energy policy including the soaring prices of oil and gas and climate change topped the...

German car industry likes French emission compromise
The German car industry has welcomed a deal between France and Germany on setting European limits for vehicle emissions as an acceptable compromise although less than ideal media reports said. The agreement was announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy following a joint ministerial meeting between the two dominant powers...

CVC buys stake in German chemicals and electricity group
Capital Partners CVC a British private-equity fund has bought just over 25 percent of Evonik a German chemicals and electricity company the vendor said. The sale for 2.4 billion Euro advanced plans to completely close down Germanys uneconomic deep coal...

High gas prices hit car sales Asian model sales fall flat
Surging oil prices and tax changes hit German car sales in May with figures released on June 3 showing a big slump in new registrations in Europes biggest auto market with Asian carmakers leading the fall. New registrations fell by...

Bayer buys up Sagmel Incs OTC business eyes the CIS
Bayer HealthCare BHC announced that its consumer care division has successfully closed the acquisition of the over-thecounter OTC brand portfolio and related assets of the USbased Sagmel Inc. The Sagmel OTC business will become part of Bayer HealthCare in Russia...

Solar shares flare as Bosch launches a bid for Ersol
Shares in Germanys Ersol Solar Energy AG surged by more than 60 percent after auto-parts maker Robert Bosch said it was planning to buy a majority stake in the sun-power group. The move by Bosch helped to trigger a steep...

Sasken takes over Nokias RD unit in Germany
Telecommunication software solutions provider Sasken Communication Technologies of India has taken over Nokias Ramp;D unit in Bochum Germany the companies reported. The Ramp;D centre which focuses on adaptation software for Nokia employs about 35 people. Sources said Nokia decided to...

SAP says business okay despite US market difficulties
German-based SAP AG is planning to expand its business to help shore up its position as Europes biggest software group company Chief Henning Kagermann said. Speaking at the groups annual general meeting in the West German city of Mannheim Kagermann...

UK-German merger forms worlds 2nd largest data firm
In what was billed as merger of equals two European market-information companies GfK and Turner Nelson Sofres TNS said on June 3 they would form the secondbiggest company in an industry dominated by Nielsen of the United States.They had been...

Parliament ready to privatise rail
After long debates the Parliament has cleared the way for the privatisation of the railway company Deutsche Bahn AG by agreeing to a contentious plan to sell off shares in Europes biggest rail group. Chancellor Angela Merkels ruling coalition pushed...

The list of bidders for stake in IKB grows short
Four bidders are interested in buying German bank IKB which has reported a nine-month loss of about one billion Euro a spokesman for its dominant shareholder KfWsaid. KfW a stateowned development bank that holds 45.5 percent of the equity in...

BASF to build plant for sodium methylate in Brazil
BASF is planning to construct a production plant for sodium methylate in Guaratingueta Brazil its largest site in South America the company reported. The plant which will have a capacity of 60 000 metric tonnes per year will be the...

Dairy farmers went on strike for higher prices
German farming leaders on May 26 called a milk protest strike saying 88 percent of dairy farmers would refuse to supply milk to dairy factories until the matter was settled. The farmers were angry at EU plans to increase output...

Toyota lending company marks 20 years in Germany
Toyotas financial services arm which lends to buyers of Toyota cars said it has increased its German business four percent in the past year and would this year mark 20 years of loans in Germany the company said. Toyota Kreditbank...

Lufthansa strike could see Olympians stranded
A general strike by Lufthansa's staff could have repercussions for Germany's Olympic team flying to Beijing, but the air carrier says it will do all it can to get German athletes to China.

Genealogist finds Obama's German roots
As evidenced on his recent stop in Berlin, Barack Obama is so loved by Germans that many perhaps wish he were German. Now, they can comfort themselves in the knowledge that he is a little bit German – 4.6875 percent, to be exact.

Big German parties bleeding members, expert says
For the first time in its history, Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) may have more members than the Social Democratic Party (SPD) but both major parties are suffering from declining membership rates.

Steinmeier examines Afghan security commitment
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier continued his four-day visit to Afghanistan on Saturday with talks in Kabul about German and EU efforts to increase security through better policing.

Curtain up on Wolfgang Wagner's last Bayreuth
Germany's political and social elite arrived in Bayreuth on Friday evening for the gala opening of opera's Bayreuth Festival -- the last under the direction of the composer's 88-year-old grandson, Wolfgang Wagner.

Drunken British women ground flight in Frankfurt
A UK charter flight was forced to land in Frankfurt after two drunken British women attacked cabin staff with a vodka bottle and tried to open the emergency exit at an altitude of 10,000 metres, police said on Friday.

Air Berlin alleges Dresdner Bank stock manipulation
Troubled carrier Air Berlin has alleged that Dresdner Bank profited at the airline's expense by manipulating its share price, in a letter sent to German stock market watchdog BaFin.

Germany set for muggy hot weekend
After weeks of unseasonably cool temperatures and showers, much of Germany is set to have a muggy and hot weekend.

Disabled man kept in Essen cellar for years
A mentally disabled German man has been kept in the cellar of a family home in Essen for years, according to witnesses in a trial that will decide whether the man becomes a ward of the state.

Infineon to cut 3,000 jobs amid heavy quarterly loss
German semi-conductor group Infineon posted a sharp quarterly loss on Friday and announced the loss of thousands of jobs.

Reinsurer Munich Re's shares plummet after profit warning
German re-insurance giant Munich Re warned Friday that its 2008 net profit would miss previous forecasts although it would be "still well above €2 billion" ($3.14 billion).

Berlin senior nabbed cruising autobahn in wheelchair
German police stopped a 96-year-old wheelchair driver who left his retirement home in Berlin and took to the autobahn to pick up flowers for his apartment, tabloid daily B.Z. reported on Friday.

Germany cheers Obama's Berlin visit
A day after Barack Obama's wildly successful public appearance in Berlin, German politicians and media lauded the US presidential candidate's speech on the challenges facing Europe and America.

Lufthansa braces for massive strike on Monday
Workers for Lufthansa have announced a massive strike of to begin on Monday that could last for weeks, but the German airline says it has a detailed emergency service plan.

Steinmeier lands in Afghanistan for surprise visit
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier landed in Afghanistan on Friday for a surprise four-day trip to visit troops and inspect reconstruction efforts.

Dollar mixed against major currencies
The dollar was mixed against other currencies Thursday, after reports showed eroding business confidence in Germany and France, the euro zone's biggest economies, amid pessimism over economic prospects.

View from the top of Germany
One of my favorite places to be in Europe is atop the Zugspitze -- the highest point in Germany. Standing on this 9,700-foot peak, you can't help but marvel at the thought that you are above everyone else in the entire country -- No. 1 out of 82 million. From here, facing south, I feel like a maestro conducting a symphony of snow-capped peaks, as the mighty Alps stretch seemingly forever to the right and left.

Dollar plumbs new low vs. euro
The euro surged to a new record against the dollar Tuesday, rising as high as $1.6038 in European trading.

2 competitors die in German mountain race
Police say two competitors died of hypothermia and lack of oxygen during an endurance race up Germany's highest mountain. Six other people were hospitalized.

Date-rape drugs police raid 600 premises
German investigators say police searching for chemicals used to make the date-rape drug GHB have raided some 600 homes and offices in Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

Clippers' Kaman set to debut with Germany
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman may play his first minutes for Germany's national basketball team on Wednesday after gaining a passport from the country.

Grant Wahl: Breaking down the Euro final between Germany and Spain
Let's count the reasons why Germany has no business beating Spain for the Euro 2008 championship on Sunday (ABC, 2:45 p.m. ET):

Green roofs cool cities, combat climate change, say Germans
If your neighbor mentions their green roof you might think they have a moss problem. Maybe they are simply referring to the color. But you're unlikely to think that they have just had a mini ecosystem installed.

Euro 2008: Germany Defeats Austria
The pre-tournament favorites put an end to the co-hosts' hopes in a fixture that is always about more than just football

Gabriele Marcotti: UEFA has tilted the Euros off-center yet again
BERN, Switzerland -- OK, I could have made this point before the tournament, but it's worth making again, because something isn't quite right here. Arrigo Sacchi, who led AC Milan to two European Cups said he'd love to see "Marco and Roberto meet in the final."

Gabriele Marcotti: Five-minute guide to Euro 2008
SI.com's Gabriele Marcotti is in Switzerland and Austria for the 2008 European Championship. Here's his primer for the tournament.

Germany's Corporate Spying Scandal
Germany's latest corporate scandal seems like the stuff of a Cold War espionage novel. But as merely the latest in a series of corporate shenanigans, it may actually reflect the newly sordid style of business at Germany Inc.

Multimedia Guide Tracks Berlin Wall
History buffs seeking the last vestiges of the iconic wall no longer have to consult old maps or guidebooks. A new multimedia guide offers individualized walking tours connecting the key points where the 103-mile barrier once separated west from east

Germany strike hits scores of flights
Airlines Wednesday morning canceled more than 200 flights operating out of Frankfurt and Munich, Germany's two largest airports, because of a public workers' strike, airport spokesmen said.

Treasure hunters dig for Hitler's gold
Digging has resumed at a site in the southeastern German town of Deutschneudorf, where treasure hunters believe there are almost 2 tons of Nazi gold and possibly clues to the whereabouts of the legendary Amber Room, a prize taken from a Russian castle during World War II.

Tax Probe Jolts Germany
An investigation of alleged German tax evaders has fueled angst not only among wealthy Germans, but also among politicians facing an angry public

Germany suspects arson in attack on Turks
German police said Friday they suspect arson caused an overnight fire at a house inhabited by three Turkish families in southern Germany.

Police sift ruins of deadly German fire
Investigators in southwest Germany are continuing to search the ruins of a building where nine people, including five children, were killed in a weekend fire.

Arson considered in German immigrant fire
Police have refused to rule out arson as the cause of a blaze that killed at least nine people - including five children -- at a southwest Germany apartment building Sunday.

Germany's Polar Bear Cub Quandary
Should zookeepers intervene when a mom wants to eat her offspring? That's the question being debated by Germany's polar bear lovers

Germany's Battle Against Scientology
A new state-level probe is aimed at banning the organization. But legally and politically, that remains a difficult task

Germany's Coalition Takes A Hit
The resignation of the Vice Chancellor won't improve relations between Germany's two biggest parties

No More Fun on the Autobahn?
Germany is in an uproar as the Social Democrats suggest putting a limit on how fast cars can go on the limitless autobahn

Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?
German researchers are testing a controversial theory, using a low-carb, high-fat diet to help the sickest of cancer patients

Dirk rescues Germany at Euro championships
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki hit a clutch basket with 12 seconds to play as Germany rallied for a 69-65 win over Slovenia at the European basketball championships that gave the Germans a chance to qualify for next summer's Olympic Games.

Europe: Dirk, Germany advance to quarterfinals
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday to lead Germany over Italy 67-58 and into the quarterfinals of the European Basketball Championship.

9/11 bomb threat at U.S. air base
A U.S. Air Force base in Germany received a bomb threat hours before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, military officials said.

Militants threaten to kill hostage
Iraqi militants holding a German man hostage demanded Germany's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan within 10 days to ensure his safety.

Terror suspects 'were tipped off'
The three terror suspects arrested last week in Germany may have sped up their bombing plot after a loud-talking police officer inadvertently alerted them that they were on a federal watch list, an unnamed source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

Euro: Parker, France knock off Germany
Tony Parker scored 23 points and France defeated Germany 78-66 Saturday, moving closer to a berth in the quarterfinals of the European basketball championship.

U.S. tip-off unraveled terror plot
Initial intelligence regarding an Islamic Jihad cell -- which led to the unraveling of a terror plot aimed at American military installations and other Western targets in Germany -- came from U.S. intelligence officials, German authorities said Friday.

German terror police have suspects list
German authorities are tracking a list of people believed to have a connection to a foiled terror plot against American military installations and other Western targets in Germany, according to prosecutor and Interior Ministry officials.

German Terror Suspects Fit Patterns
The arrests this week in Germany confirm a trend investigators have been noting: lone wolves are replacing large networks

Germany: 'Massive' attacks foiled
German police arrested three suspected Islamic militants who were planning "massive" and "imminent" attacks on American targets in Germany, authorities said Wednesday.

German Plot Signals al-Qaeda Revival
Two plots foiled in a single day suggests that extremist terror networks are growing more active in Europe

Dirk rescues Germany in Euro opener
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points and pulled in 11 rebounds as Germany needed overtime to beat the Czech Republic 83-78 Monday on the opening day of the European basketball championships.

Italian police arrest 32 over 'Mafia' shootings
Hundreds of police raided a small town in southern Italy on Thursday and arrested 32 suspected members of organized crime clans believed to be involved in a feud that killed six Italians in Germany earlier this month.

Viewing brain cells -- without a scalpel
Physicist Hans-Ulrich Dodt, a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, has figured out how to see nerve cells deep in mice brains as clearly as little neon motel signs.

Businesses take dim view in Germany
German business sentiment fell a shade less than expected in August as firms took a dimmer view about the coming six months following recent market turmoil, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

Subprime hits another German bank
The owners of stricken state lender SachsenLB aim to sell the German bank quickly after its near collapse under heavy losses from U.S. subprime mortgages and other risky debt, sources familiar with the matter said.

Cloudy Germany unlikely hotspot for solar power
It rains year round in Germany. Clouds cover the skies for about two-thirds of all daylight hours. Yet the country has managed to become the world's leading solar power generator.

Burial for suspected Mafia victims
Relatives wailed and others threw red roses during the funeral Thursday for two brothers, killed in a suspected Mafia in Germany slaying that left four other Italians dead.

Minister: Nazi ideas haunt Germany
Support for Nazi ideas in Germany is making people fear for their lives, a government minister said Tuesday.

Eastern Germany's sunny future
The former East Germany, once one of the world's gloomiest places, has become home to one of the world's brightest industries: solar power.

U.S. officials in Germany get terror warning
An alleged plot by a group of Islamic extremists against U.S. facilities in Germany led officials to increase security last month, a senior federal official told CNN on Friday.

Protests fail to stop Berlin mosque
An Islamic group laid the foundation stone for east Berlin's first mosque on Tuesday to protests reflecting Germany's difficulty in integrating its 3.2 million Muslims.

Transrapid: The levitating train
Following are some facts about the Transrapid high-tech train that crashed on a test run in Germany on Friday:

Al Qaeda suspect held in Germany
Germany's federal prosecutor's office announced Saturday it has arrested a German of Moroccan descent on charges that he recruited suicide bombers for Iraq and financially supported the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Excerpts from the writing of John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith died in April at the age of 97. Always the enemy of inequality, he left a lasting legacy of economic thought and social commentary.

France reports 11 new H5N1 cases
France reported 11 new cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild birds on Thursday in an area already hit by the lethal virus.

Dead German cat had bird flu
A cat in Germany has been infected with bird flu, health authorities said Tuesday.

Bird flu reports spread in Europe
Three new countries on Tuesday reported they had detected the deadly strain of bird flu as public health officials battled the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on various fronts across the globe.

Germany pressures Russia, Ukraine on gas
German officials Monday pressured Russia and Ukraine to agree on a new natural gas contract, but also said Germany has 2-1/2 months during which it can find other means to fill any gap caused by the dispute.

Sylt: Northern Germany's hidden haven
Often referred to as the "St. Tropez of Germany," and best known as a getaway for affluent northern Germans, Sylt is a rare gem most of Europe's holiday makers never discover.

Germany charges 3 for Iraq PM plot
Three suspects have been charged in Germany over an alleged December 2004 plot to kill then-Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during a visit to the country.

World War II
Use this explainer to help students understand the history of World War II, a topic relevant to current news.

FORTUNE GLOBAL 500 INDEX
GLOBAL 500 RANK

Germany says terror arrest illegal
Germany's high court has ordered the release of a Syrian-born German man whom Spain wanted extradited in connection with the 2003 Madrid bombings.

Football fans dazzled by new arena
Brazil may have won this week's Confederations Cup final, but the tournament has been an architectural triumph for hosts Germany.

Germany backs EU charter
Germany has become the ninth country to ratify the EU constitution when the upper house of parliament voted in favor of the treaty.

Man releases German schoolgirls
Four schoolgirls taken hostage in northern Germany by a knife-wielding man and held in a cellar for more than five hours have been released, police say.

Probe into 'abuse victims' claims
British defense officials are investigating accounts given by five men who claim to be the victims of an abuse scandal at a British base in Iraq.

Germany: Never say never on Iraq
Germany's defense minister said Wednesday his country cannot rule out getting involved in Iraq in the long run, though it could take years for that to happen.

Troop plan to hit Germany hardest
U.S. President George W. Bush's troop redeployment may have its biggest effect on Germany, once a potential Cold War battlefield.

Critics attack U.S. troop move
Germany's defense minister has expressed regret about U.S. plans to restructure its forces abroad -- changes expected to hit Germany the hardest with the pullout of two heavy divisions. Japan and Australia said they embraced the changes.

World's Largest Corporations
REVENUES % change RANK from 2003 2002 $ mil. 2002

FORTUNE Global 5 Hundred Index
GLOBAL 500 RANK

German riots after Euro 2004 exit
About 150 German football fans went on the rampage in the northern city of Hamburg after their team was eliminated from Euro 2004.

Swiss apology for midair crash
A Swiss air traffic control firm has apologized for its errors in a midair collision that killed 71 people, including dozens of Russian schoolchildren, over southern Germany in 2002.

Global 5 Hundred Index
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Global 5 Hundred The world's largest corporations
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Global 5 Hundred The world's largest corporations
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Germany's Beer Baron Is (Gasp!) an American KEGGER AT THE AMERICAN'S PLACE!
It would be like finding out that the Mona Lisa was Dutch. Or that a Spice Girl was Russian. In one of those signs that the globalization apocalypse is truly upon us, Germany's largest beer baron i...

A Second Chance Globalization and its many benefits are not just latter-day blessings. In fact, the century was
Whatever baggage we are dragging with us into the new millennium, at least we have had the good sense to leave some of the century's most poisonous economic ideas behind. Communism is buried. Begga...

The FORTUNE Global 5 Hundred Ranked Within Industries
It was a banner year for the telecommunications sector, thanks to deregulation and exploding wireless markets. Leading the charge were innovative companies, many of which, like Britain's BT, once w...

Why Germany Kant Kompete
A while back various versions of a fake European Commission document began circulating via e-mail. The memorandum argued that once a common European currency had been established, the obvious next ...

America Vs. The New Europe: By The Numbers
With European monetary union only a couple of weeks away, the time has come to take stock of one of the world's great postwar transformations. The euro, of course, marks not the first but one of th...

The FORTUNE Global 5 Hundred Ranked Within Industries
It was a particularly good year for financial services institutions--like the newly merged Morgan Stanley Dean Witter--that benefited from global deregulation. Pharmaceuticals like Merck and Novart...

The World's Largest Corporations
[Complete text not available. The table below also provided Revenues ($ mil., % change from 1996), Profits ($ mil., Rank, % change from 1996), Assets ($ mil., Rank), Stock-Holders' Equity ($ mil., ...

THE FORTUNE GLOBAL 5 HUNDRED RANKED WITHIN INDUSTRIES
You reap what you sow, and industries that have plowed ahead with restructurings are starting to show results. Most notable are telecoms, where margins doubled, and pharmaceuticals. But a few compa...

THE FORTUNE GLOBAL 5 HUNDRED THE WORLD'S LARGEST CORPORATIONS THE BIG DIDN'T GET BIGGER LAST YEAR; THEY GOT
The restructuring wave that continues to sweep through the world's largest corporations is still paying dividends. One sign: U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford moved up to Nos. 1 and 2 on the ...

FORTUNE'S GLOBAL 5OO INDEX
COMPANY GLOBAL 500 COUNTRY RANK

LABOR GETTING THE BOOT AT BIRKENSTOCK
The popularity of Birkenstock sandals, the very unofficial footwear of the Woodstock Generation, has given the brand a sort of noncorporate, granola-crunching coolness. But in Germany, workers are ...

CONTENTS
THE 500 RANKED BY SALES Here are the world's largest industrial companies. Turn the page for an overview; the listings follow. Definitions, explanations, footnotes, and arrivals and departures can ...

WHEN WILL GERMANY COME BACK? Its recession may be almost over. But without major restructuring, the competitiveness of Europe's
GERMANY'S WORST recession in four decades is now nearly 15 months old, and forecasters increasingly believe the end may be in sight. But don't be fooled. Even after growth resumes, Europe's largest...

ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE MORE RECESSION IN GERMANY?
There's more bad news ahead in Europe -- particularly in Germany, says the chief economist of a German consulting firm that counts Mercedes-Benz among its clients. European central banks have indee...

Monthly results at a glance
October wasn't the jinxed month investors have come to expect in recent years. The S&P 500 index posted a respectable, if not spectacular, 1.7% gain for the four weeks that ended Oct. 22, and the a...

GERMANY TRIMS, AND STIRS
Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, may be getting ready to ease out of recession. Sky-high interest rates have been falling, and some indicators, such as West German industrial production, are...

GERMANY'S WHITE ELEPHANTS
Last call for the biggest business auction ever, the ongoing sale of thousands of formerly state-run companies and properties in what used to be East Germany. The Treuhandstalt agency, the governme...

HOW GERMANY IS ATTACKING RECESSION The deepest dip in decades has led managers to lay off tens of thousands of workers and move
THE NEWS grows worse by the week. Mercedes announced plans to cut 29,700 jobs over the next two years after parent Daimler-Benz reported a 95% drop in profits. Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest autom...

HOLIDAY GRINCH STALKS EUROPE
Europe's recession-hit governments are nibbling at the number of mainly religious holidays they and private employers pay for each year. Estimated cost to Europe of these days off: $1.5 billion a d...

A SUBDUED YEAR FOR THE WORLD MARKETS
If you really want to make money in stocks, borrow the atlas you gave the kids for Christmas and check out countries that you usually think of only as exotic destinations. In 1992, people who inves...

THE PROFITS IN EUROPE'S CHAOS
If you can stop your head from spinning a moment, you'll find that all the craziness going on in European currencies could actually be good news for European stocks. The trouble for many of these c...

IN GOD, AND THE BUNDESBANK, THEY TRUST
''Not every German believes in God,'' a saying goes, ''but they all believe in the Bundesbank.'' For 35 years the central bank has defended Germany's currency from irresponsible fiscal policies, fo...

GUIDE TO THE GLOBAL 500
THE 500 RANKED BY SALES PAGE 179 Here are the largest industrial corporations in the world. Turn the page for an overview; the rankings follow. Definitions, explanations, footnotes, and arrivals an...

HAS GERMANY LOST ITS BUSINESS EDGE?
As the country cleans up the mess caused by the 11-day public sector strike, employers are girding for possible walkouts in the car, engineering, electronics, and printing industries. Few expect th...

YOUR NEXT HOME: A GERMAN CASTLE?
A half-dozen castles scattered throughout what was East Germany are on the auction block. They include the sprawling Schloss Boitzenburg, located in its own 15-acre park just 50 miles north of Berl...

GERMANY'S NEXT EXPORT: GERMANS?
Unemployment in the New Federal States, as Germans call the former East Germany, exceeds 11%, and underemployment could run much higher. Meanwhile, economic chaos continues to threaten the Soviets....

GERMANY LAUGHING AT THEIR FAMILY'S FATE
What's the standard of living like in the former East Germany, which was untouched by West Germany's postwar Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) during 45 years of Communism? Ask waggish Leonhard ...

THE WORLD'S LARGEST SERVICE COMPANIES INTRODUCING A NEW LIST
More and more, the whole world economy is dominated by services. From finance to telecommunications, from retailing to railroads, they now account for well over 60% of gross domestic product and mo...

Change Germans Can’t Believe In
It’s been hard to find a European who confessed to excitement about the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency.

Playing Innocent Abroad
It will take politics and power to address challenges, the two factors that dare not speak their name in Barack Obama’s lofty peroration in Berlin.

Auto Parts Maker Warily Embraces Offer From Rival
The German auto parts giant Continental warily embraced a takeover approach from the Schaeffler Group, but it rejected the current offer as inadequate.

1,600-Year-Old Bible to Go Online
More than 1,600 years after it was written in Greek, one of the oldest copies of the Bible will become accessible online for the first time this week.

Berliners Get a Crash Course in Glittery Celebrity Culture
Germany has long been funny about celebrity, which makes the show at the Helmut Newton Foundation a particularly fascinating and revealing exercise.

Sobriety, Herr Obama
The Obamania in Europe needs to be kept in check. There’s too much work to be done.

German Captives Freed
Three Germans seized by Kurdish rebels during a climbing expedition in eastern Turkey more than a week ago were released Sunday in good condition.

Berlin Ends Fashion Week, Eyes on Glamorous Past
Sunday marked just about the only time that Berlin, an aspiring fashion hub and perennial economic also-ran, could safely claim it was the center of the fashion world.

No Substitute for Victory
In Berlin, Barack Obama will surely pledge our commitment to victory in the struggle for freedom.

Poolside View of History at ’36 Games
The 93-year-old former Olympic swimmer Mary Lou Skok still marvels at the front-row seat she had for the 1936 Games in Berlin.

Tales From Divided Berlin, Where Angst Ate the Soul
In Julian Schnabel’s grimly majestic concert film “Lou Reed’s Berlin,” Mr. Reed wears the deadpan smirk of a Zen master who has endured punishing Buddhist training.

Obama at the Gate
When talk turns to Barack Obama’s possible appearance at the Brandenburg Gate, most Germans raise ironic eyebrows, because they find such symbolic events generally disconcerting.

Germany Convicts 3 in 2004 Plot to Kill Iraqi Leader
A state court in Germany convicted three men who it said were members of a terrorist organization of plotting to kill the Iraqi prime minister on a visit to Berlin in 2004.

Go to R.E.M. Show, See Art in Dresden
Those attending an R.E.M. performance in Dresden, Germany, will get free admission to select art museums.

Prospect of Obama at Brandenburg Gate Divides German Politicians
An invitation for Senator Barack Obama to speak at Brandenburg Gate has created an uproar and has exposed fissures in the German government.