http://www.spiegel.de Daily news, analysis and opinion from Europe's leading newsmagazine and Germany's top news Web site. en Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:50:09 +0100 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:50:09 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/logo_120x61.gif http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,814586,00.html#ref=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:19:09 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,814586,00.html ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,814587,00.html#ref=rss Hindered in the festival's ability to draw star power, Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlin International Film Festival, is instead focusing on presenting new discoveries, including German films and the best from abroad. The biggest star in town this week is Angelina Jolie, but Kosslick is also set on creating new ones. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:07:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,814587,00.html Hindered in the festival's ability to draw star power, Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlin International Film Festival, is instead focusing on presenting new discoveries, including German films and the best from abroad. The biggest star in town this week is Angelina Jolie, but Kosslick is also set on creating new ones.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,814530,00.html#ref=rss Gerhard Richter, the world's most expensive living painter, turned 80 on Thursday, and Germany is paying tribute to its art superstar with a number of major exhibitions. Two shows in Berlin explore six decades of Richter's work, while an exhibition in Dresden gives a glimpse into the source material for the artist's trademark photo paintings. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:10:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,814530,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813022,00.html#ref=rss In Germany, Jürgen Klinsmann's success as a football trainer was limited. But as the coach of the US national team, he can experiment as much as he likes. He wants his team to reflect America -- and he wants to win. Eventually. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:58:34 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813022,00.html In Germany, Jürgen Klinsmann's success as a football trainer was limited. But as the coach of the US national team, he can experiment as much as he likes. He wants his team to reflect America -- and he wants to win. Eventually.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814575,00.html#ref=rss It was the first successful Islamist attack in Germany. Almost a year ago, Arid U. shot and killed two US servicemen at Frankfurt's airport. On Friday, he was sentenced to life in prison. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:27:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814575,00.html It was the first successful Islamist attack in Germany. Almost a year ago, Arid U. shot and killed two US servicemen at Frankfurt's airport. On Friday, he was sentenced to life in prison.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814106,00.html#ref=rss Is it acceptable to destroy cultural objects as if they were land mines? This is a question faced by archivists in Germany, where many of the country's historical films were shot on explosive nitrocellulose. A bitter fight has broken out in Germany over whether the film should be preserved or destroyed. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:01:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814106,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814523,00.html#ref=rss The European Union is demanding even greater sacrifices from Greece, despite the deal reached by politicians in Athens on Thursday. Facing more painful cuts, Greek citizens are back on the streets as resentment boils over. German commentators say it's time to finally face the truth. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:47:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814523,00.html The European Union is demanding even greater sacrifices from Greece, despite the deal reached by politicians in Athens on Thursday. Facing more painful cuts, Greek citizens are back on the streets as resentment boils over. German commentators say it's time to finally face the truth.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814500,00.html#ref=rss Many economic experts agree that Portugal may be the next Greece. On Thursday evening, a senior European official seemed to confirm such fears. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was caught on camera offering Portugal "adjustments" to its bailout program. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:29:31 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814500,00.html Many economic experts agree that Portugal may be the next Greece. On Thursday evening, a senior European official seemed to confirm such fears. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was caught on camera offering Portugal "adjustments" to its bailout program.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,813635,00.html#ref=rss It's where Marlene Dietrich made her name, Fritz Lang created "Metropolis" and Quentin Tarantino and Roman Polanski sat in director's chairs. Studio Babelsberg, the world's first major film studio, turns 100 on Sunday. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,813635,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814464,00.html#ref=rss Greek political leaders announced on Thursday that they were bowing to all European Union austerity demands. But euro-zone finance ministers are skeptical, saying several details need to be clarified. Even if Athens ultimately receives a new bailout package, however, its debt problems will not be solved. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:11:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814464,00.html Greek political leaders announced on Thursday that they were bowing to all European Union austerity demands. But euro-zone finance ministers are skeptical, saying several details need to be clarified. Even if Athens ultimately receives a new bailout package, however, its debt problems will not be solved.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,813852,00.html#ref=rss Cancer has struck nearly every household in Wewelsfleth, a village of 1,500 inhabitants in northwest Germany near the mouth of the Elbe River. Residents feel not only cursed, but also abandoned by authorities in their search for an elusive answer. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:07:49 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,813852,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814370,00.html#ref=rss Anxieties are mounting as nuclear weapons make their way into unstable regions. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, US disarmament expert Richard Burt discusses the growing risk of their use, why allowing Iran to get the bomb could trigger a Sunni-Shiite arms race and how an attack could make citizens demand a police state. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:24:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814370,00.html Anxieties are mounting as nuclear weapons make their way into unstable regions. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, US disarmament expert Richard Burt discusses the growing risk of their use, why allowing Iran to get the bomb could trigger a Sunni-Shiite arms race and how an attack could make citizens demand a police state.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,814364,00.html#ref=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:08:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,814364,00.html ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814007,00.html#ref=rss Chinese director Zhang Yimou was long considered a critic of his country's regime. Lately, though, he has focused on sumptuous period pieces -- and Beijing hopes his new film, "Flowers of War," will establish the country as a cultural world power. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:59:43 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814007,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814363,00.html#ref=rss For days now, top politicians in Athens have been seeking to reach a deal on austerity measures required for a new multibillion euro bailout package. They ended the impasse on Thursday and it appears the country will agree to most of the stringent requirements laid out by the EU and IMF for additional aid. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:41:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814363,00.html For days now, top politicians in Athens have been seeking to reach a deal on austerity measures required for a new multibillion euro bailout package. They ended the impasse on Thursday and it appears the country will agree to most of the stringent requirements laid out by the EU and IMF for additional aid. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814125,00.html#ref=rss A gold rush is underway in Poland, where international energy companies are scrambling for the right to drill for shale gas. Poland's government sees the extraction as a ticket to independence from Russia's Gazprom, but some residents near the drilling sites are wary of the risks.  Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:40:08 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814125,00.html A gold rush is underway in Poland, where international energy companies are scrambling for the right to drill for shale gas. Poland's government sees the extraction as a ticket to independence from Russia's Gazprom, but some residents near the drilling sites are wary of the risks. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814344,00.html#ref=rss Nazi flags are hardly a rarity at Greek demonstrations these days. Anti-German tirades on primetime television have likewise become a staple. In Greece, a consensus has developed as to who is to blame for the country's economic misery. Age old stereotypes are flourishing. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:37:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,814344,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814327,00.html#ref=rss Germany has expelled four Syrian diplomats, apparently in connection with the arrest of two suspected Syrian spies earlier this week. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also called Thursday for a new attempt to reach a UN resolution on the ongoing violence in the country. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:30:37 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814327,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814084,00.html#ref=rss Russia's young people are growing up with more freedom than ever. Twenty years after the end of communism, the first post-Soviet generation is transforming the country -- whether the once and future president likes it or not. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814084,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814294,00.html#ref=rss German exports reached an all-time record in 2011, a development that may lead to increased criticism of its trade surplus, with many countries arguing it worsens global imbalances. Editorialists say the country's economy is already slowing and such criticism may be shortlived. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:19:49 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,814294,00.html