📰 Breaking News: News Archive for May 2009 | Latest Updates from Germany 2025

01 May
- Merkel in her underpants stops traffic
- dm recalls baby food after bits of wood found in dinner
- German nurse catches swine flu
- Arrests and parties mark start of May 1
- Unions call for security for those who lose out in financial crisis
- Police shoot axe-wielding maniac to free teenage hostage
- Fears more poor swimmers will drown this summer
02 May
- 'Ivan the Terrible' suspect could be extradited any time
- Porsche clan to decide sale question on Wednesday
- Runners to mark unification by tracing former border
- Somali pirates keep German ship as elite force is withdrawn
- May Day turns violent in Berlin and Hamburg
- Rain and storms expected after perfect weekend
03 May
- Lightning injures 26 at football match
- New car inducement scheme only works for one in four
- Germany's most wanted criminal dodges police on bike
- Winnenden shooter's family will not return to community
- Germany checking Gitmo inmates for US
- Bayern Munich want charismatic older coach
04 May
- Bureaucracy thwarts commando mission
- Fiat boss wants Opel to join European car giant
- Tired German doctor accidentally kills patient in the UK
- Tax-cut debate engulfs Merkel's conservatives
- Steinbrück: tax dodgers threaten society
- Doctors bristle over new swine flu rules
- Walking off the crisis
- Pop idol contestant demands redo after voting cock-up
- One-fifth of underage Germans get drunk once a month
- Fiat woos Berlin and commits to Opel plants
- New Deutsche Bahn boss holds onto railway stock market listing
- Merkel thanks Eastern Europe for helping break the Iron Curtain
05 May
- Earthquake rattles southern Germany
- Hypo Real Estate posts major first-quarter loss
- Adidas profits tank 97 percent
- Germans have more free time than most of the world
- Court upholds triple surname ban
- Düsseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt ranked best places for expats to live
- High-tech thieves blocking remote car door locks
- The best of Berlin in May
- Manchester United offer Bayern €70 million for Ribéry
- Coastal town fights swinger sex parties on Baltic beach
- Ninth swine flu case confirmed in Germany
- Merkel honours Stasi victims in Berlin
- Steinbrück compares Switzerland to Burkina Faso in tax row
06 May
- US asks Germany to take in Uighur inmates from Gitmo
- Cryptic list of British POWs surfaces near Auschwitz
- Obama planning to visit Germany soon
- Warming climate making spiders bigger and more fertile
- Fiat denies Opel merger to spark huge job cuts
- Pirates hijack another German cargo ship
- MAN offices raided on bribery suspicions
- English language movies in Germany: May 7 - 13
- Drunk Ukrainian politician detained at Frankfurt airport
- Mass deportation of Vietnamese nationals planned
- Police arrest would-be school attacker
- Wolfsburg's Magath to coach Schalke despite title dreams
- Germany cannot refuse Guantánamo inmates
- BMW reports first-quarter loss, but shares surge
- 19,000 German daycare workers go on strike
- Overstretched Porsche agrees to VW merger
07 May
- Berlin court refuses to ban brothel near posh neighbourhood
- Tiefensee says former East Germans get no respect
- Germany confirms tenth swine flu case
- Boris Becker bares private life on internet TV channel
- ECB cuts rates to historic low
- Winnenden massacre could lead to paintball and laser tag ban
- Bringing boundary-breaking art books to Berlin
- Exhibition with corpses having sex riles Berlin
- Special forces nab major Taliban leader
- What's on in Germany: May 7 - 13
- Opel cuts executive pay
- EU to probe Germany's rescue of Hypo Real Estate
- Pensioner gets life in prison for killing neighbours
08 May
- Supreme Court denies extradition appeal by ex-Nazi guard
- Bremen win breaks hearts in Hamburg
- Taliban leader won't be tried in Germany
- Israeli foreign minister's visit irks German politicians
- Mecklenburg mulls free birth control to lower abortion rate
- Archaelogists may have found oldest human figurine ever
- German industrial output numbers a reason to hope
- Commerzbank reports sharp loss
- Whistling orangutan brings out CD of songs
- No double jeopardy for German doc who killed UK patient
- Recession sparks German angst
- Obama to visit Dresden, Buchenwald in June
09 May
- Unions warn of mass job losses in autumn
- Topography of Terror starts last stage to completion
- Weakened Helmut Kohl appears in public after operation
- Hamburg police hunt cross-dressing armed bank robber
- Lufthansa moves to take over Austrian Airlines
- Berlin girds for conflict in Afghanistan
10 May
- Four hospitalised after plane hits turbulence
- Thousands turn up to boo racists in Cologne
- Medic sheds doubt on Tamiflu strategy against swine flu
- Small parties rule out three-way coalitions after election
- Bayern, Hertha and Stuttgart chase Wolfsburg in Bundesliga
- Hot temperatures, storms and hail all expected next week
11 May
- Merkel attacks British eurosceptics
- 83-year-old held hostage in cellar over land dispute
- Dairy farmers threaten strike over retail pricing
- Berlin exhibition brings East Germany alive for kids
- Surprise strike delays flights from Düsseldorf
- German gamer gets life for murdering British student
- Steel and iron production plummets to below 50 percent
- Man gets six years for selling missile material to Iran
- SPD rejects amendment for military's anti-piracy ops
- Steppin' out for a smoke
- Teen girl who stabbed student planned arson
12 May
- Ex-Nazi guard deported to Germany for trial
- Böhmer says low naturalisation figures need explanation
- Nazi guard Demjanjuk lands in Munich
- German Jews slam Pope Benedict’s Yad Vashem visit
- Tongues wagging over 'torture' sheikh's Bavarian second home
- Former cop fined for decapitating Hitler wax figure
- Berlin thanks airlift pilots 60 years later
- Study says teens familiar with pornography and alcohol
- Homemade bomb found in teen school attacker’s room
- Porsche under investigation for market manipulation
- Low income earners face high tax, social contribution burden
- Demjanjuk vows to fight death camp charges
13 May
- US investor Ripplewood looking into Opel purchase
- Health insurance sold patient data illegally
- Holocaust denier jailed in Australia
- SPD claws to highest poll rating this year
- Wolfsburg stays on top as Bayern and Hertha keep pace
- Daycare workers to strike nationwide Friday
- Severe storm leaves knee-deep hail
- Berlin approves 'bad bank' for toxic assets to boost economy
- Marching to America's tune in Saarland
- Demjanjuk deemed fit enough for prison
- Bavarian tops list of best loved German dialects
- Schaeffler considering axeing 4,500 jobs
- Goebbels swastika tapestry sparks row
- Simon Rattle to head Berlin Philharmonic until 2018
- US Army to consolidate soldiers at Grafenwöhr base
- Van Gaal picked to replace sacked Klinsmann at Bayern Munich
14 May
- Stuttgart beats Schalke to stay in title race
- Stone Age 'Venus' sets scientific hearts aflutter
- Man loses €23,000 in cash during convertible test drive
- Berlin tightens rules on late-term abortions
- MPs rush new gun law but back down from paintball ban
- English language movies in Germany: May 14 - 20
- Lost Metropolis film scenes headed back to Germany
- Reality TV show with borrowed babies causes outcry
- Recession blows hole in German budget
- What's on in Germany: May 14 - 20
- Swedish neo-Nazi makes Berlin new base
- Survey says German consumers aren't that green
- Guttenberg moots trust to save Opel
15 May
- Day care workers begin nationwide strike
- Dairy farmers go on hunger strike outside chancellery
- Missing German tourist sparks French manhunt
- Stuttgart polar bear Wilbär headed to Sweden
- States pushing for tougher penalties for rotten meat
- Man run over by two trains escapes with scrapes and bruises
- Germany suffers worst economic contraction in four decades
- Art historian calls Berlin's Nefertiti bust a fake
- Saudi files for 'killer' tracking chip patent
- Dortmund police arrest serial bunny butcherer suspect
- 'He was a part of the team at the Sobibor'
16 May
- NPD fine cut in half
- Worker cooked to death at soup factory
- Copycat tries to blackmail BMW heiress again
- Sauerland cell terrorist suspect writing memoirs in jail
- Sunny and warm weather ahead
- Hertha player buys beer for 74,000 fans
17 May
- Podolski says only a 'miracle' will stop Wolfsburg
- Germany fizzles at Eurovision song contest despite Dita
- Volkswagen breaks off talks with Porsche
- Milk maids end hunger strike outside Merkel's office
- AC/DC concert shakes Munich neighbours all night long
- Guttenberg calls for major tax reform
18 May
- Formerly kidnapped German 'mad' for returning to Somalia
- Day care workers broaden strike
- Tamil demonstrators block Frankfurt train traffic
- 'The whole point was to throw a few bombs'
- Critics not impressed with Merkel's first town hall meeting
- Verheugen slams German banks for risky investments
- Obese man acquitted for squashing wife to death
- Dita disaster sparks Eurovision revamp
- One-fifth of Easterners threatened by poverty
- Hamburg considers Google Street View ban
19 May
- Germany tries to clobber first Ultimate Fighting event
- Day care strike enters third day
- State help for Arcandor in doubt
- German business sentiment reaches three-year high
- Obama's top pick for ambassador to Germany: Phil Murphy
- Knut custody battle fails before Berlin court
- EU backs tight control of German pharmacies
- Probe against soldier for Afghan civilian deaths dropped
- Klinsmann speaks out after getting sacked
- Merkel defends her East German past
- Neo-Nazi crime spikes
- Singing and dancing Hitler a hit in Berlin
- Daimler buys into electric carmaker Tesla
20 May
- German cargo ship released by Somali pirates
- Skeleton found in Germany believed to be 'missing link'
- Telekom spied on applicant's sex life
- Neo-Nazi leader banned from German military association
- Russia and China spying on German firms
- Bundesbank workers hurt by strange vapour
- UEFA Cup's 'Paper Wad of God' up for auction on Ebay
- Neukölln: Beyond the hype
- German chosen for new crop of European astronauts
- English language movies in Germany: May 21 - 27
- Oktoberfest beer Maß prices bubble over
- Berlin to pick favoured Opel suitor next week
- Retailer Hertie to close all stores
21 May
- Rolling science exhibition may travel as far as China and India
- Artists to get faster unemployment benefits
- Dachshund dies after adopting abandoned baby tiger
- Bridge murder suspect sentenced to life
- Mortician discovers live patient pronounced dead by mistake
- What's on in Germany: May 21 - 27
- Köhler favoured to win second term
- The German year
22 May
- Homes ravaged by tornado near Schwerin
- Klum crowns Sara 'Germany's Next Topmodel'
- Magna preferred for Opel takeover
- Milk price row moves Merkel to meet farmers
- Asse nuclear waste workers getting radiation scans
- Swine flu case closes day care centre
- Managers demand Merkel stop payment regulation plans
- 2,000 protesters expected for Germany’s 60th birthday
- National hockey team goalie dies after cancer battle
- Stefan Raab abandons German Eurovision
- Journalists condemn Bild’s coverage of shooting
- Stasi link made in infamous student death
23 May
- Red Bull Cola banned for containing cocaine
- Germany marks 60th birthday with Berlin street party
- Minister blasts reality TV show with borrowed babies
- Köhler re-elected German president
- Report says cash-strapped Porsche needs further billions
- Wolfsburg clinch first Bundesliga title
24 May
- Thousands demonstrate against coal plant in Mainz
- Customs officials seize millions of fake football shirts
- Suspect in Madeleine case treated in Aachen hospital
- Guttenberg says Opel better off bankrupt
- Dairy farms under threat as milk prices slide
- Israeli historian praises German democracy
25 May
- Pilot strike tangles traffic in Stuttgart
- Spy jailed for aiding Iranian missile programme
- German cities demand faster internet
- Business confidence reaches 6-month high
- Crows attack woman walking dog
- The Local's guide to EU elections
- Berlin urges UN action against North Korean missile tests
- Probe into former West Berlin cop's Stasi past opened
- Angry dairy farmers to get tax relief
- Porsche denies bankruptcy rumours
- Signs ease German-Polish nude bathing war
26 May
- Day care strike spreads to eastern states ahead of negotiations
- Woman knee-deep in toilet drain for hours after fall
- Berlin dismisses Opel liquidation talk
- Swabian Alb recognized as UNESCO nature haven
- Manager suing Deutsche Telekom for sex-life spy scandal
- Germany boots fastest supercomputer in EU
- Toasting times for Germany's leftists
- Health officials say cocaine in Red Bull Cola harmless
- Bayern poised to poach Stuttgart striker Gomez
- Germany lags Europe in social equality survey
- Severe storms close schools and flood roads
- Stasi files still revealing secrets 20 years on
27 May
- German mothers with full-time work most gratified
- Berlin restaurants urge foreigners to tip more
- Germans cringe at countrymen's tacky vacation conduct
- Bike couriers rolling into Berlin for championship
- Infant's body found in Erfurt freezer
- General Motors set to hive off Opel
- Stasi stole West German identities for sabotage ops
- Unions refuse offer for striking day care workers
- Raging storm wallops Germany, leaving one man dead
- Perfectly preserved 300-year-old broom found in monk latrine
- Inflation drops to 22-year low
28 May
- Kurras' Stasi past almost revealed by researcher six years ago
- Berlin miffed at US as Opel talks collapse
- Kindergarten strikes continue after failed wage talks
- Transrapid test track reopens after crash
- Unemployment rate drops amid dire labour market predictions
- Poland's Kaczynski bashes Germany in run-up to EU poll
- What's on in Germany: May 28 - June 3
- US Army offers literary lessons for warrior writers
- Berlin passes new anti-terrorism laws
- English-language movies in Germany: May 28 -June 3
- Opel's automotive onus
- Summery spring spoils Germany with sunshine
- Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally
- Obama to visit US soldiers at Landstuhl
29 May
- Teenager arrested for school shooting threat in Hesse
- Berlin passes synthetic heroin treatment law
- Germany's most-wanted fugitive arrested in Hamburg
- Poll sees Christian Democrats ahead in European vote
- Opel future uncertain as Berlin talks stall
- Police arrest drug dealing 81-year-old granny
- Merkel pips Dalai Lama for world popularity and power
- Retail sales up in April
- China hold Germany to a draw
- Rosa Luxemburg's body likely found 90 years after murder
- Greece issues arrest warrant for Siemens exec
30 May
- Berlin picks Magna to buy Opel
- Deutsche Bank spied on shareholders
- Freighter sinks in Hamburg port
- Dutschke family wants case reopened after Stasi discovery
- Arcandor bailout debate intensifies
- Merkel hails Opel deal but warns of rough ride
31 May
- Werder beats Bayer to hoist German Cup
- Russian role in Opel rescue could be politically risky for Merkel
- Bauhaus head trashes Berlin building plans
- New Bahn head doesn’t rule out more price hikes
- Personal ad led to arrest of Germany’s most wanted man
- Beatles museum opens in Hamburg
- Hofbräuhaus to open Manhattan beer hall
- Over 1,100 companies apply for state aid