Skirmishes as 750 neo-Nazis demonstrate in Berlin

September 23rd, 2009 Polar bear Knut's friend Giovanna meets the pressBERLIN — Giovanna, the new companion of Berlin's favorite polar bear, Knut, has star quality as well. The female polar bear from Munich delighted photographers and visitors at the Berlin zoo Wednesday by plunging into her pool for a swim while exploring her outside enclosure for the first time — but without Knut.

September 20th, 2009 2 people die in poisoning at German therapy groupBERLIN — Two people died and 10 others were hospitalized after being poisoned while taking part in a group therapy session in Berlin, German police said Sunday. One person is in critical condition in a coma.

September 2nd, 2009 Climate spotlight: 1,000 ice men melt in BerlinBERLIN — A thousand miniature people have slowly melted away in a Berlin square in an effort by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to melting ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica. Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved the figures out of ice and placed them on steps in the central Gendarmenmarkt square where they began to melt within about half an hour.

August 28th, 2009 BERLIN - Germany has handed over 29 yellowing blueprints of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The blueprints give chilling details, with gas chambers, crematoria, delousing facilities and watchtowers drawn to scale.

August 25th, 2009 GE in sale, leaseback deal with Air BerlinSTAMFORD, Conn. — GE Capital Aviation Services, the aviation financing unit of General Electric Co., said Tuesday it has entered into a deal with Air Berlin for the sale and leaseback of three Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - The plans of Germany's pro-Hitler party to open a Third Reich-style "youth camp" in a small village have been scrapped by a court ruling, which directed Neo-Nazis to evict the hotel premises. A court in Lower Saxony cleared the way for the debt-ridden hotel owner Jens Wilhelm to throw out the Neo-Nazis, who had been occupying the premises amid a tense standoff with police and local anti-Nazi protesters, The Telegraph reports.

July 22nd, 2009 Court ups compensation for Nazi victimsBERLIN — A German appeals court has ordered greater compensation for the American heirs of a Jewish businessman forced to sell his company stock under the Nazis' "Aryanization" program — a ruling that could set a precedent for dozens of others, their attorney said Wednesday. The Federal Administrative Court ruled July 17 that the heirs of businessman Bernhard Hirschmann should be compensated based on the fact that he and his brother lost their company, not just shares, said Berlin attorney Robby Fichte, who represented Hirschmann's heirs.

July 21st, 2009 Psychiatric care ordered for Obama protesterBERLIN — A court has ordered psychiatric care for a man who staged a short-lived protest before Barack Obama's speech in Berlin during his campaign for the U.S. presidency. The 41-year-old German man drove through barricades around Berlin's Victory Column the day before Obama was to speak in July 2008 and poured red paint from his car.

July 7th, 2009 Berlin zoo: Knut money dispute settledBERLIN — The Berlin Zoo says it has resolved a financial dispute with another German zoo over celebrity polar bear Knut. A zoo statement says the zoo reached an agreement with its counterpart in Neumuenster and will hold a news conference Wednesday.

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 29th, 2009 Pa. legislative staffer accused of child sex crimePITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania attorney general says a legislative staffer wanted to dress up in a panda costume and have sex with a 15-year-old boy. Attorney General Tom Corbett says 40-year-old Alan David Berlin, of Carlisle, was charged Thursday with attempted sexual exploitation of children and related crimes.

May 12th, 2009 Berlin Airlift marked as Cold War turning-pointBERLIN — Berlin is paying tribute to the veterans of the 1948-49 airlift, marking the 60th anniversary of a key moment in the Cold War when the allied effort to supply the city by air forced the Soviets to lift their blockade. An estimated 150,000 people are expected for ceremonies Tuesday at Tempelhof Airport, the key hub for the U.S.

May 12th, 2009 Man fined for beheading wax HitlerBERLIN — A Berlin court has fined a 42-year-old man $1,220 (euro900) for beheading a wax figure of Adolf Hitler at the Berlin branch of Madame Tussauds. A Berlin district court convicted Frank Lachner of property damage and bodily harm for lightly injuring a security guard on July 5 when he jumped over a desk behind which the Hitler figure was seated and knocked off its head in what he said at the time was an act of protest.

April 24th, 2009 Apparent suicide at US Embassy in BerlinBERLIN — The U.S. Embassy in Berlin says a German contractor apparently has committed suicide inside the embassy building.

April 24th, 2009 BERLIN - About 1,500 Germany-based Tamils demonstrated Friday near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin for a halt to the fighting in Sri Lanka, where civilians are caught in the cross-fire in a government offensive against Tamil rebels. A spokeswoman said: 'We are demonstrating again to press for the German government to do more to help Tamils in Sri Lanka.' The Brandenburg Gate is a central-city landmark which is much visited by tourists.