From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:30 PM

It’s almost become a ritual: when business is good, industry associations and politicians complain about the lack of skilled employees, and welcome those from foreign countries. Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle is now calling for premiums to attract specialists from abroad — but Chancell...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:30 PM

The welfare debate continues to rage in Germany. In coming months the government is set to recalculate welfare payments that will guarantee a dignified minimum income.But it will be a difficult balancing act to ensure that those in work are better off then those who are unemployed. People & Polit...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:29 PM

When times are tough and banks pose higher hurdles for loans, local communities are forced to become creative in their search for extra funds. Some are too small to issue the municipal bonds normally used to fund public projects. The town of Willich in western Germany is now approaching its pote...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:29 PM

The government had long been dragging its feet but has now finally accepted that the German military presence in Afghanistan is a question of war.German soldiers in the Hindu Kush are involved in fighting on almost a daily basis - and the casualties are mounting. After distancing herself from the...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:29 PM

Rammstein are one of Germany’s most successful cultural exports. The six band members grew up in communist East Germany, and have built a musical career on exploiting German cultural stereotypes.The band combines brutal rhythms with monotonous vocals. Some of their songs have been periodically b...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

One in eight marriages in the EU today involve bi-national couples. When they end in divorce, things can get really messy. The European Union is planning to make things easier and fairer.Often when bi-national couples split, it can lead to an undignified contest between the two parties as they e...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

Teacher training courses have traditionally focused on the subject matter, whether mathematics, Latin or religious studies. Often the issue of pedagogy — or how to convey this knowledge to students -- was neglected. Now the School of Education at the Technical University of Munich is intro...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

No former German President is as well known and well-remembered as Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker. On April 15th, he celebrates his 90th birthday. He still speaks out sometimes on current affairs in Germany.His moving address in 1985, marking the anniversary of the end of World War Two, is...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

Participants in the International Four Day Marches Nijmegen, also known as the Vierdaagse, can expect to wind up with smelly socks and sore feet. Some 45,000 people take part in The Netherlands' largest — and arguably most strenuous -- sporting event.Marchers spend up to 10 hours a da...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

Historically, the train link between Belgrade and Sarajevo was probably the most important one in the Balkans. Today the service lacks some of the comforts of yesteryear.The restaurant car is Serbian, but both of the other cars are Bosnian: one comes from the Serb-dominated political entity Repu...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:28 PM

Ole von Beust, mayor of Hamburg, is now the sixth CDU state premier to resign within a year. Chancellor Merkel is now rapidly running out of staff. The opposition are rubbing their hands, while the alarm bells are ringing for the CDU leadership.

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:27 PM

Hassen Chalghoumi is the only imam in France to publicly support the government’s plans to banning full facial veils. But he's paid a heavy price for that view.Chalghoumi has received death threats and his mosque in a north-eastern suburb of Paris has been stormed by extremists. But the imam...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:27 PM

France is taking a strong stance against Internet piracy. Offenders face high penalties, prison and even a comprehensive online ban.An owner of a peer-to-peer website for swapping music was recently hit with a 20,000 euro fine. Several Internet user groups are trying to resist France’s new legis...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:26 PM

There has been worldwide shock at the tragedy in Duisburg, where mass panic in a tunnel leading to the Love Parade left more than 20 dead and hundreds injured. The authorities are investigating claims that the disaster could have been prevented. Even though the organizers’ safety concept had bee...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:26 PM

Angela Merkel is not only Chancellor of Germany, but – as a Protestant from a religious family – she has also been the Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union for the last 10 years. As Chancellor, she is Germany’s best-liked politician.But as party chairwoman she is controversial, because h...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:26 PM

On Sunday, the decision will be taken. Hamburg will go to the polls to decide whether to leave the old primary school system in place, or completely revise it.The CDU/Greens senate are trying to push through the reform, but middle-class parents don’t want to let go of the old system. The dispute...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:25 PM

The smallest Canary Island, El Hierro, is focusing on eco-tourism. Instead of high-rise hotels and shopping malls, visitors can enjoy unspoiled countryside and coastline.El Hierro can’t begin to rival Gran Canaria and Tenerife as a holiday destination - but it doesn't even want to. Resident...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:25 PM

A year ago, Hungary almost went bankrupt. Since then, the country has been following a strict austerity plan. Institutions for the mentally ill have been closed, and now many are homeless.Hungary’s biggest psychiatric hospital has been sacrificed to the savings plans. It was first opened in the ...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:25 PM

Thinking ahead is particularly important when it comes to education. We look the deprived Hamburg suburb of Steilshoop, where the children who attend primary school here have very little chance of moving ahead in life.Their families are often poor and cannot afford to finance or support their ed...

From: sevenload on Sun, Aug 22 2010 9:25 PM

For Germany’s soldiers in Afghanistan, April 2nd was one of the worst days of the whole mission. Three of them were killed in a firefight near Kunduz that lasted several hours. Now even Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg is calling the situation a war.But it is becoming increasingly cle...