German voters to revert to pen and paper, court rules

September 25th, 2009 German president signs EU's Lisbon treatyBERLIN — German President Horst Koehler's office says he has signed the European Union's reform treaty — completing its ratification by the 27-nation bloc's most populous nation. Spokesman Martin Kothe says Koehler signed the ratification document for the so-called Lisbon Treaty on Friday.

September 2nd, 2009 German court lets boy be named 'Djehad' _ holy warBERLIN — A Berlin court has upheld rulings in favor of parents who sought to name their son Djehad, a variation on the Arabic "jihad," or holy war. The superior court upheld two lower court rulings allowing the name on grounds that it is recognized for males in Arabic-speaking countries.

August 13th, 2009 German court rules on display of Nazi symbolsBERLIN — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that people can be prosecuted for displaying Nazi slogans in Germany only if they are in the German language. The Federal Court of Justice overturned a lower court's ruling convicting a neo-Nazi of transporting a shipment of 100 T-shirts with the slogan, "Blood and Honour," written in English.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - While scientists have been aware of the fact that cognitive function among humans declines as they get older, a research team in Germany have found that ageing honeybees can keep their learning ability intact or even improve it by switching their social roles. Experts at Technische Universitat Berlin are now planning to use honeybees as a model to study general ageing processes in the brain, and hope that they may provide some clues on how to prevent them.

June 23rd, 2009 German court orders Lehman compensationHAMBURG — A German court ruled Tuesday that a bank must compensate a retired teacher for his investment in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. certificates that became worthless with Lehman's collapse.

June 3rd, 2009 German court: Jewish forced workers due pensionsBERLIN — A German federal court ruled Wednesday that two Jews who were forced by the Nazis to work in ghettos have a right to a pension for their labor, setting the stage for thousands of others to receive payments. The Federal Social Affairs Court in Kassel ruled that the two qualified for pensions because, although they did not receive financial compensation for their work, they received food and other items — meaning the German government was responsible for them.

May 23rd, 2009 BERLIN - Voting for the largely ceremonial post of German president began in parliament Saturday in what was expected to be a close contest between incumbent Horst Koehler and his main contender, a retired female professor. Backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, Koehler, 66, is seeking a second five-year term as head of state.

May 6th, 2009 German court rejects Demjanjuk appealBERLIN — A Berlin court has rejected an attempt by suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk to block his deportation from the United States. Berlin administrative court spokesman Stephan Groscurth says the court ruled Wednesday there was no case for Demjanjuk to make in Germany.

May 2nd, 2009 Judge rules Galveston schools integratedGALVESTON, Texas — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the Galveston school district is desegregated, ending a civil rights lawsuit initiated in 1959. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake of Houston issued the ruling Friday.

April 30th, 2009 PANAJI - A children's court here has ordered framing of charges against Rohit Monserrate, son of Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate. Rohit is accused of raping and sending vulgar messages to a minor German girl.

April 30th, 2009 German beer sales down 6.8 percent on year in 1QBERLIN — German beer sales were down 6.8 percent on the year in the first quarter, with exports to other European countries showing a particularly sharp decline, according to official figures released Thursday. Germany's brewers sold 4.37 billion pints, or 2.07 billion liters, of beer from January to March, the Federal Statistical Office said.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Scamster Abdul Karim Telgi and nine others were Thursday convicted in yet another multi-million rupee fake stamp paper case by a court here. Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Bansal pronounced the conviction.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Scamster Abdul Karim Telgi and nine others were Thursday convicted in yet another Rs.212 crore fake stamp paper case by a court here. Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Bansal held Telgi guilty after he deposed before the court via teleconferencing from a jail in Bangalore.

April 7th, 2009 LANDSHUT - Two people were killed and an undetermined number injured when a gunman went on a rampage in a German court building Tuesday, police said. A police spokesman said the gunman opened fire in different rooms of the district court in Landshut, 70 km north-east of the Bavarian capital Munich.

March 18th, 2009 GEORGE TOWN - A Malaysian Islamic Court has upheld an earlier order made by the High Court here to allow a Muslim convert, Siti Fatimah Abdullah, to revert to Buddhism. A three-member panel who presided over the case found that the respondent did not practise Islam from the start of her conversion, which began after she took an oath of allegiance and recited holy words in Arabic.