Sascha Riether

The Dutchman is targeting new signings at Craven Cottage

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword

War In The Balkans - Diplomacy: A bomb-strewn road that leads to imperfect peace

IT WAS as Tony Blair posed for the "family photo" with European leaders at yesterday's summit in Cologne, that the news came through from Belgrade that the Serbs had finally caved in.

Hague goes for broke on euro

WILLIAM HAGUE provoked a new Tory civil war over Europe yesterday by urging the Government to scrap its plans for business to prepare for Britain to join the single currency.

A SUMMER GUIDE TO EUROPE'S THEME PARKS, NO: 1 PHANTASIALAND, GERMANY

Phantasialand, Germany's best known theme park, is eight miles (13 km) from Cologne. The park has different themes from around the world; you can stroll through life-size mock-ups of Mayan Mexico, Petit Paris, China and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. At the Silverado Theatre you can watch a spaghetti western in German or, at the Arena de Fiesta, an ice show on the miniature indoor ice rink.

Travel: Simon Calder's column

Ring Rail Europe and be prepared for the Housemartins' greatest hits

Hockey: Bronze for sloppy Slough

ROTT-WEISS COLOGNE won the women's European Club Championship in the Netherlands yesterday in a remarkable steal from the host club, Den Bosch, who had led 2-0. The Germans came back to score twice in the closing five minutes and then win the penalty shoot-out 3-1, with Scotland's Susan Gilmour scoring both the equalising goal and winning penalty.

Government acts to save Ford plant

THE GOVERNMENT has entered confidential talks with Ford amid serious concerns that the car giant might close its Bridgend plant in Wales.

Travel: Dress code: fishnets and half a tie

As Cologne gears up for Carnival, Darius Sanai puts Kolsch, customs and costumes to the test

Worldwide: City To City

Barcelona

Bitter German hosts pull the plug on beer

THE ANNALS of German history froth with attempted crimes against the nation's favourite tipple, but never have mores sunk so low as now. In a protest against a hike in beer prices, 200 landlords in the Rhineland are resorting to the ultimate weapon - by staging Germany's first beer strike.

Travel: Overture of the great Danube

The source of Europe's mightiest river is in a back garden - albeit a duke's. From such small beginnings it gathers pace to wend its way through Germany.

Books: Meteorites and circuses

Visible Worlds

German villages swamped

SWOLLEN BY a week of uninterrupted downpour, the Rhine and its tributaries burst their banks, claiming at least six lives and inundating historic towns in western Germany.

Obituary: Bernhard Minetti

"THEATRE HAS become more difficult." In a recent interview, the 93-year-old German actor Bernhard Minetti said that not age but the increasing distraction of other media, the refined vocabulary of the acting profession and the demands made by writers such as Harold Pinter and Thomas Bernhard had made his profession more challenging.

Drink: Make mine a chocolate stout

Thirst-quenchers, comforters, a midnight tipple ... the perfect beers for every mood, and any occasion. Illustration by Madeleine Floyd
Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more
California and the golden west
14 nights from £1,499pp Find out more
Venice city break
Two nights from only £199pp - third night free on selected dates Find out more
Blu St Lucia, St Lucia, Caribbean
Up to 42% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Hotel Savoy, Rome, Italy
Up to 61% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Spa day at Nutfield Priory Hotel, Redhill, Surrey
Up to 30% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death