Robert Pattinson set for Berlin premiere
Feb 17th
Twilight actor Robert Pattinson is to walk the red carpet in Berlin later at the premiere of period drama Bel Ami. The 25-year-old will be joined by US co-star Christina Ricci at the event, one of the last major screenings of this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Competition entry Barbara is tipped to become the first German film since 2004 to win the prestigious Golden Bear.
Berlin Film Festival Bets on Fresh Blood
Feb 10th
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.
Group breaks into Syrian embassy in Berlin
Feb 3rd
Berlin police say 20 people forced their way into Syria’s embassy in the German capital and damaged offices there.
Police say the men — all of them Syrian or of Syrian origin — destroyed furniture in the building Friday afternoon and sprayed slogans on the facade.
They were briefly detained as they left the embassy.
Berlin resists pressure to give Greece more
Jan 27th
Ahead of next week’s EU summit, pressure on Berlin is coming from all sides to dig deeper into its pockets to help Greece, but it is putting up fierce resistance. More >
Paris and Berlin look to bring back tax
Jan 20th
France and Germany are both considering the reintroduction of stamp duty on stock exchange transactions – along the lines of the tax that already exists in the UK – as a first step towards a fully-fledged financial transaction tax in Europe.
Although Berlin and Paris insist that they are set on eventually introducing a tax covering a much wider range of financial trading, including derivatives and high-frequency trading, officials in both capitals confirmed on Friday that the levy on share trading alone might be a sensible first step.
Berlin theatre stages first live play on Facebook
Jan 13th
Pistol duelling in print and energetic postings of “applause” accompanied the Facebook premier of Theodor Fontane’s “Effi Briest”, which organisers said was the first live staging of a play on the social networking site.
Fontane’s classic work, first published as a serial novel in 1894, was specially adapted to be performed on the Maxim Gorki Theatre’s “online Facebook stage” on Monday.
Merkel to hold talks with Monti in Berlin next week
Jan 6th
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will travel to Berlin next Wednesday to hold talks on the euro zone crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the German government announced. More >
Cairo raids spark ire in Berlin
Dec 30th
Germany and the US have expressed great concern over Egyptian raids on non-government organizations. Human rights groups are describing the raids as a campaign against them by the country’s military rulers.
Berlin has summoned Egypt’s ambassador over raids carried out by Egyptian police on offices of pro-democracy and human rights groups in Cairo.
Paris and Berlin revisit tax base plan
Dec 9th
FRANCE AND Germany have revived their clamour for the alignment of Europe’s corporate tax systems, an initiative long resisted by Dublin.
In a joint proposal for a toughening of Europe’s budget rules, the two countries called for the escalation of efforts to forge a common corporate tax base and other measures to deepen economic co-ordination among single currency countries.
Mike Leigh to chair Berlin film festival jury
Dec 2nd
British director Mike Leigh will chair the jury of next year’s 62nd Berlin film festival, one of Europe’s top cinema showcases, organisers said on Friday.
The 68-year-old veteran film-maker, a master of bittersweet realism in hits such as “Secrets and Lies” and “Happy-Go-Lucky”, will lead a panel vetting contenders from around the world for the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes.
