Germany's encounter with Islam began in the 1960s as Turkish labourers flowed into the country as 'guest-workers'By Mark John / Reuters Dortmund - Tolerated, if never really accepted, the converted mosque next door to a dental surgery in the Dortmund suburb of Eving held its daily prayer meetings without incident for some 20 years. Then, this January, it became one of the first mosques in this industrial Ruhr town to start proclaiming Islam's public call to prayer from the loudspeakers on the roof. In

Grand Slam Cup: Swede Bjorkman crushes Becker to ruin what is probably the German's major tournament farewell Reuters Munich- World number one Pete Sampras began what could be his most lucrative week of the year, overcoming a brave challenge from Felix Mantilla to reach the second round of the Grand Slam Cup. Sampras, appearing for the sixth time in the $6 million event for the top performers from all four grand slams, beat the in-form Spaniard 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to make sure of at least $750,000 in prize

TDN with wire dispatches The European Court for Human Rights has condemned Turkey in a torture case brought by a 21-year-old Turkish woman of Kurdish origin, the German Press Agency reported from Strasbourg. The court's verdict, which was publicly read on Thursday, also charged Turkish justice authorities with grave negligence in the investigation of her case. The woman from Derik in southeastern Anatolia had testified to the Strasbourg court that she was tortured and raped by Turkish security forces

Speaks out: German Foreign Minister Kinkel says world can't ignore Algeria killings Reuters New York- The United States and France agreed to discuss possible joint steps on Algeria, where massacres are creating new panic in a country that has been wracked by five years of bloody civil strife. State Department spokesman James Rubin said that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright raised the issue at a breakfast with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine. The two ministers "agreed that this is a

TDN with wire dispatches The European Court for Human Rights has condemned Turkey in a torture case brought by a 21-year-old Turkish woman of Kurdish origin, the German Press Agency reported from Strasbourg. The court's verdict, which was publicly read on Thursday, also charged Turkish justice authorities with grave negligence in the investigation of her case. The woman from Derik in southeastern Anatolia had testified to the Strasbourg court that she was tortured and raped by Turkish security forces

Speaks out: German Foreign Minister Kinkel says world can't ignore Algeria killings Reuters New York- The United States and France agreed to discuss possible joint steps on Algeria, where massacres are creating new panic in a country that has been wracked by five years of bloody civil strife. State Department spokesman James Rubin said that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright raised the issue at a breakfast with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine. The two ministers "agreed that this is a

Blank decree From a Sept. 25 article by Milliyet's Yalcin Dogan: On Tuesday Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit put before the ministers a blank paper and asked them to sign it. The note merely said that this was going to be a government decree "pertaining to an economic decision to be taken." The "blank decree" now reportedly envisages postponement until end of the year implementation of the decision to check "suspicious transactions involving

New-look Intertoto Cup could attract interest from big clubs which currently ignore what they consider a summer inconvenience Reuters Helsinki- The crowded soccer calendar must be revised and streamlined globally to protect the future of international teams and competitions, European soccer's governing body UEFA says. UEFA have issued a number of proposals to "guarantee the future of national representative teams" as the main item for discussion at a conference today of its association

Reuters Burgos, Spain- Jan Svorada clinched his third Tour of Spain stage victory and his second in two days to send his team's tally to five in the countdown to the Madrid finish. With five days to go the Czech sprinter was again too fast for the opposition as Marcel Wust, who also has three wins, stayed upright for his second successive second place with fellow German Sven Teutenberg

London- Toddlers who attend day care or nursery school are twice as likely to develop asthma, Norwegian researchers said on Wednesday. They studied 2,196 children aged between seven and 17and found more asthma sufferers among the students who had attended day care before the age of three. In their report, presented to the European Respiratory Society conference in Berlin, they said the same children were also more likely to have airway infections. "One possible reason for the increased asthma

The mysterious visit From a Sept. 24 article by Hurriyet's Ertugrul Ozkok: Recently I received a piece of curious information from a reliable source according to which the number one official of Al Muhabarat, Syria's legendary intelligence organization, has secretly visited Ankara and had talks. But the foreign minister, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) undersecretary and the military officials say no such visit has taken place. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, on the other hand, said,

Grand Slam Cup: What Munich fans would love to see is Becker meet world number one Pete Sampras in a quarterfinal clash on Friday Reuters Munich- Boris Becker will survey stands packed with thousands of adoring fans and one empty seat when he enters Munich's Olympic Hall for what could be his last appearance in a major tournament. The defending champion accepted a wild card for the Grand Slam Cup which started on Tuesday to pay tribute not only to his fans but also to his late friend Axel

Rising star: McManaman, who grabbed crucial UEFA Cup first leg first round equalizer at Celtic last week with a brilliant solo goal, scores another in the same style in the 79th minute Reuters London- Steve McManaman scored a superb individual goal and England teammate Robbie Fowler grabbed his first of the premier league season as Liverpool overran Aston Villa 3-0 at Anfield. Fowler, in the starting lineup again after injury, got the scoring underway with a 56th minute penalty. McManaman, who grabbed

Stage winner: Czech sprinter Svorada lifts his teammates with his second success in the Tour of Spain cycling classic and vows there will be more Reuters Santander, Spain- Tour of Spain organizers are calling on cycling's governing body the UCI to consider action over the withdrawal of Russian Pavel Tonkov. Tonkov notched his second stage victory in three days on a rain-drenched day on Sunday but withdrew before the 16th stage with a bronchial infection. The stage was won his Mapei teammate Jan

By Janet Northcote / Reuters Hong Kong-German Finance Minister Theo Waigel said on Tuesday that those countries which meld their currencies in the euro will need to intensify their coordination on economic policies. Waigel said in a speech to the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund: "Responsibility for economic policy will continue to rest with the individual governments of member states in economic and monetary union. "However, there will have to be a more

Two worries for Kohl: Strong showing of the far-right German People's Union, which has tapped into working class fears of unemployment, immigration and rising crime, and the eclipse of his coalition partner, the liberal Free DemocratsBy Robert Mahoney / Reuters Bonn- His party lost but German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was beaming. The voters of Hamburg had just given the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) their worst drubbing in Germany's second city since World War II. Kohl latched on to the result of

Founded in 1847 by Werner Siemens and Johann Georg Halske, the Siemens company has been a pioneer in the telecommunications and electronics industry Turkish Daily News Istanbul - The German conglomerate Siemens A.G. is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Founded by Werner Siemens (1816-1892), an army officer who discovered the display telegraph and brought it to commercial use, and Johann Georg Halske (1814-1890), a control engineer, in a tiny workshop in 1847, Siemens has now developed into

The convenient if cramped and, in summer, sweltering dolmus ride between these places means there is a considerable crossover of tourists. Forget taxis. They make Istanbul prices look like discount-day at the Genpa supermarket I've found shopkeepers to be polite and helpful, if pushy, but on occasion I have witnessed one or two of them incensed and shouting at the unwary tourist who displayed interest in the goods but subsequently decided not to buy Where I come from, you just don't find 2,000-year-old

Chicago- Cats and dogs can carry at least 30 infectious diseases that may be transferred to humans but pet owners and health care workers are often unaware of the threat, according to a new U.S. study. "Fortunately, despite close contact with these pets the number of (such) illnesses in humans is relatively low," said the report from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio. "There are more than 110 million pet dogs and cats in the United States," the study

Tight race: Man. United tops League table with 17 points, with Blackburn, which drew at Tottenham, second on 14, ahead of Leicester on goal difference Reuters London- Top two Manchester United and Blackburn both drew 0-0 in English Premier League soccer action and with Chelsea and Arsenal playing later on Sunday it was Leicester City who claimed a rare share of the limelight by beating Leeds 1-0 away to move into third place. United were held to a goalless draw at Bolton and, on FIFA's designated world