Cologne gay pride carnival attracts 500,000

October 14th, 2009 Russian gays ask Clinton for supportMOSCOW — Russian gays called on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to support their rights as she unveiled a statue of American poet and gay pride symbol Walt Whitman in Moscow on Wednesday.

October 13th, 2009 Pope to visit Rome synagogue in JanuaryVATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will visit Rome's main synagogue in January as part of Catholic-Jewish dialogue. The announcement Tuesday gave no details of the Jan.

October 8th, 2009 Admitted Nazi hit man trial to begin this monthBERLIN — Germany's highest court said Thursday it has declined to hear the appeal of admitted Nazi hit man Heinrich Boere, clearing the way for his trial later this month for the execution-style killings of three Dutch civilians during World War II. Boere, 88, was initially ruled unfit for trial due to medical problems, but a Cologne appeals court in July overturned the decision, saying the trial could proceed.

September 16th, 2009 PANAJI - Casino employees in Goa have requested women's rights groups to take to task an activist who likened the employees to "pimps, prostitutes, whores and drug dealers". In a joint statement issued here, employees of Casino Royale, Casino Pride and Casino Carnival said the comment made by a senior member of an NGO Goa Bachcao Abhiyaan (GBA) and a frontline campaigner against casinos Anand Madgavkar was not only offensive to women working in the casino industry, but also "grossly insulting and disgusting to their families as well".

August 28th, 2009 EU clears Lufthansa's Austrian Airlines takeoverFRANKFURT — German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Friday the European Commission has approved its takeover of Austrian Airlines Group, allowing it start integrating the company in September. Cologne-based Lufthansa is taking over about 42 percent of the shares of Austrian Airlines owned by the government for about €336,000 ($480,000), according to the European Commission.

August 27th, 2009 Grenade-shaped cologne raises stink in BrazilSAO PAULO — Talk about making a stink. A grenade-shaped bottle left under a busy bridge closed a major thoroughfare and brought police to investigate — only to discover that it contained French cologne.

August 22nd, 2009 100 professors in bribery probe in GermanyBERLIN — Cologne prosecutors say they are investigating 100 professors across Germany on suspicion they took bribes to illegally help students with their doctorates. Prosecutors' spokesman Guenther Feld confirmed a report in Focus magazine Saturday that the professors are believed to have been paid through an intermediary firm.

August 1st, 2009 American-Dutch gay couples to wed in AmsterdamAMSTERDAM — The mayor of Amsterdam is officiating at the weddings of five American-Dutch homosexual couples on a boat during the city's Gay Pride festival, in part to challenge the United States to legalize gay marriage. Mayor Job Cohen also performed the first Dutch ceremonies after the Netherlands legalized same-sex marriage in 2001.

July 26th, 2009 LONDON - The last surviving British soldier to fight in the World War I Harry Patch died at the age of 111, the defence ministry has said. Patch had been unwell for some time and passed away peacefully at a care home, the ministry said Saturday.

July 7th, 2009 German court rules Nazi suspect fit for trialBERLIN — Admitted Nazi hit man Heinrich Boere will stand trial for murder in Germany for the execution-style killings of three Dutch civilians during World War II, a court ruled Tuesday after years of legal wrangling. A Cologne appeals court ruled that the 88-year-old is fit for trial despite medical problems, overruling a lower court's decision this year.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will contribute 500,000 dollars to the United Nations (UN) Trust Fund, for a UN commission enquiry into the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Presidential spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar said the UAE Embassy had already informed the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) of the decision.

July 4th, 2009 DHAKA - At least six people have died in landslides triggered off by heavy rains in Bangladesh's Habibganj District. Flash floods have stranded 500,000 people, officials said on Saturday.

June 13th, 2009 Gay pride activists march in Rome, Warsaw, ZagrebROME — Tens of thousands of gay rights activists demanding rights for same-sex couples marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday in a gay pride parade. Smaller marches wound through the capitals of heavily Catholic Poland and in Croatia, where counterdemonstrators shouted anti-gay and nationalist slogans.

April 24th, 2009 Lufthansa says it's prepared for difficult marketFRANKFURT — Airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Friday it expects the current difficult operating environment to continue in 2009, but that it was well prepared for the economic turbulence and the expected consolidation in the airline industry. At the company's annual general meeting, Cologne-based Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, reiterated the extent and duration of the current economic crisis can't be forecast.

February 23rd, 2009 COLOGNE - Sport is a healthy leisure pursuit provided the activity does not put an undue strain on muscles and joints, warn experts. Children are particularly prone to such hazards and if certain guidelines are not observed, playing sports can create undue stress and pain.