Germany

Boateng considered Bayern exit

Boateng, who joined Bayern from Manchester City in 2011, has been a key member of the Bayern side that are on a run of five consecutive Bundesliga titles.

But a thigh injury sustained at Euro 2016 preceded a campaign ravaged by fitness problems last time around, with the 29-year-old restricted to 13 Bundesliga appearances.

In an interview with Kicker, Boateng explained he was left pondering whether it was time for a fresh start and took his concerns to the Bayern board during Carlo Ancelotti's time in charge.

Carrot-coloured car damaged by hungry donkey

On 15 September last year, Markus Zahn left his bright orange McLaren Spider in a car park bordering a paddock in Vogelsberg, a district in Hesse state.

A donkey called Vitus then chomped on the back of his car, he said. The court found Vitus's owners liable for €5800 of paintwork damage.

Police said Vitus may have confused the car with a carrot.

The donkey's owners could still appeal.

The owners argued that Vitus may not have been the culprit and that Mr Zahn should not have parked his car - reportedly worth €310,000 - next to the paddock.

Fij praised for taking on COP23 presidency

Germany is hosting the UN climate change meeting this November in Bonn.

At a side event this week at the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Flasbarth linked the possibilities that can be derived when two different nations work together to build awareness on climate change.

At the same event, the Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama reiterated the importance of working closely with Germany.

Trump-shaped ecstasy pills seized

The drugs were confiscated over the weekend, police say, and an Austrian father and son have been arrested.

It is thought the drugs would have been sold on the internet under the slogan "Trump makes partying great again".

Ecstasy pills can sometimes kill drug takers but more commonly induce nausea, panic, paranoia and agitation.

Experts in the UK have warned the drug is getting stronger, leading to a rise in the number of people going to hospital for treatment for mental and behavioural issues.

Charlize Theron shines in sexy, violent, beautiful Atomic Blonde

An action thriller of hyper-stylised visuals and a catchy 80s soundtrack, it raises your heartbeat to fight-or-flight levels.

It's also a film that reflects a pattern in Charlize Theron's career, a kind of bratty rejoinder to the demure beauty she embodies as the face of a Dior perfume.

Set in Berlin on the eve of the collapse of Soviet communism, it's the story of MI6 operative Lorraine Broughton (Theron), who is sent to track down a defecting Stasi spy (Eddie Marsan) in possession of a file that could blow the cover of the entire allied spy network in East Germany.

World champions Germany top Confederations Cup group amid more VAR confusion

Chile's 1-1 draw against Australia means Germany top Group B and the world champions will now face Mexico in Sochi in the semis on Thursday, avoiding Euro 2016 winners Portugal.

Following a tepid first half Germany opened the scoring with a moment of magic shortly after the interval, Demirbay completing a finely crafted one-two with Julian Draxler by blasting home.

Australia 2 Germany 3: Goals galore as world champions get off to winning start

Stindl opened the scoring early on with a tidy finish after some good work from Julian Brandt, but the Asian Cup holders somewhat surprisingly restored parity shortly before the break when some poor goalkeeping from Bernd Leno allowed Tom Rogic to net.

The world champions, however, were back in front just three minutes later as Draxler converted a penalty, with Goretzka adding a third early in the second half.

Rock am Ring festival evacuated in Germany over terror alert

Fans hoping to see German rock giants Rammstein streamed out of the Nuerburg arena after organisers asked them to leave in a "calm and controlled" way.

"Due to a terrorist threat the police have advised us to interrupt the festival," they said.

bomb at a concert in Manchester claimed 22 lives last month.

Some 85,000 people were expected to visit the three-day festival, Efe news agency reports. It falls on the Pentecost holiday weekend.

This hydrogen-powered train emits only water

That train is a reality.

In March, Germany conducted successful tests of the world's first "Hydrail" -- a hydrogen powered, zero-emission train.

"The new train is 60% less noisy than a traditional diesel train, completely emission free," said Jens Sprotte of Alstom, the French producer of the train. "Its speed and the possibility to transport passengers match the performance of a diesel train."

"The only sound it gives off comes from the wheels and air resistance," Sprotte added.

Here's how the new technology works:

Social media firms to face huge hate speech fines in Germany

The proposed law would give the companies 24 hours to block obviously criminal content after it had been reported, and seven days for other offensive material.

However, a plan to state explicitly that penalties could be imposed after a single infraction has been dropped.

Facebook has voiced concern.

"We work very hard to remove illegal content from our platform and are determined to work with others to solve this problem," a spokeswoman told the BBC.