On a bridge outside Berlin one gloomy morning 50 years ago Friday stood Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of a CIA spy plane that was shot down over the Russian Ural mountains. He had waited 21 months for this moment. He had survived a plane crash, weeks of harsh interrogation and the brutal conditions of a Soviet prison. He was on the threshold of freedom, and his heart was thumping heavily. Read full article > >

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A spy swap’s legacy persists, 50 years on

In Berlin, there is a deep consensus among policy makers and economists — bordering on orthodoxy — that austerity and growth are not enemies. They are comrades.

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News Analysis: Germany Resists Europe’s Pleas to Spend More

BERLIN — A man dressed as Santa drugged a 15-year-old girl at a Berlin Christmas market over the weekend — the latest such attack that has seen holiday revelers left either sickened or unconscious, police said Monday. At about 10 p.m. Saturday the suspect approached the girl and her friend at Berlin’s downtown Alexanderplatz Christmas market, offering both of them what he said was a shot of alcohol in a paper cup, police said. Read full article > >

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Man dressed as Santa drugs teen at Berlin Christmas market, 9th victim in a week

LONDON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday that the only solution to Europe’s debt crisis was a drawn-out process to alter or create new European Union treaties, a process that will take years. Her statement underscored the gap between Berlin’s long-term timeline for a cure for the crisis and the immediacy of action being demanded by investors. Merkel, who will be in Paris on Monday to unveil a Franco-German plan for deepening financial integration in Europe, suggested that critics calling for faster action by European leaders needed to be patient, and that the region would operate at its own pace. Read full article > >

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Merkel warns solution to Europe’s crisis will take years

German police find another explosive device on the high-speed line between Berlin and Leipzig – the eighth such find in recent days.

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Berlin police find new firebomb

Police in Germany say they have found another explosive device designed to derail trains in the capital, Berlin – the third in two days.

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German police find railway bombs

Makau runs Berlin course in 2:03:38.

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Kenyan Sets New Marathon Record

Paula Radcliffe beats UK Athletics’ qualifying mark for London 2012 at the Berlin marathon as she finishes third, while Patrick Makau sets a new men’s world record.

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Radcliffe inside London 2012 time

Two men in Berlin were arrested Thursday on suspicion of planning a bombing attack after the police tracked their purchases of bomb-making materials.

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Two Men Arrested in German Bomb Plot

DAEGU, South Korea — Usain Bolt won his heat Sunday in 10.05 seconds and qualified for 100-meter final at the world championships. The final is set for later Sunday. Bolt, who set world records in the 100 and 200 at the 2008 Beijing Games and then again at the 2009 worlds in Berlin, is looking to defend his 100 and 200 titles in Daegu. The Jamaican great will also run in the 4×100 relay team. Read full article > >

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Usain Bolt reaches 100-meter final at world championships; will go for gold later Sunday

Germany marks the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall, with the city’s mayor saying it must not be forgotten.

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Germany marks 50 years since Wall

The lasting psychological effects of living next to the Berlin wall

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Wall sickness

Almost 20 years after he was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Timothy Brown, “The Berlin Patient,” is essentially cured. A transplant that transferred a rare genetic bone marrow variation to Brown gave him resistance to HIV. It’s difficult to grasp the sheer…

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Hope of AIDS Cure 30 Years Later

A cloud of volcanic ash will force all airports in Berlin to cancel all flights in and out starting at 11 a.m., the German aviation safety agency said Wednesday.

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Volcanic ash closes Berlin airports

People in Berlin are growing used to the sight of wild boar in the streets, as increasing numbers of them come into the city to look for food.

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VIDEO: Berlin suffers wild boar invasion