Lufthansa: Vacation sun or money back

Sunshine-seeking travelers whose vacations are spoilt by wet weather will be able to claim compensation under a new scheme introduced by Germany airline Lufthansa in a bid to head off the gray clouds settling over the aviation industry. Under the “sunshine insurance” scheme, passengers who book flights to any of 36 destinations on offer will be entitled to €20 ($28.8) per day up to a maximum of €200 ($288) for every day of rain. To take advantage of the offer, passengers must book before August 18 to travel in either September or October

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Former England manager Bobby Robson dies

Former manager of the England football team, Bobby Robson, has died aged 76 after a long fight with cancer. The coach led the national side of his home nation between 1982 and 1990 , guiding the team to the semifinal of the 1990 World Cup, where his side were defeated by Germany in a penalty shootout. Robson’s curriculum vitae as a club coach was long and successful including spells with Fulham, Ipswich and Newcastle United in England, PSV Eindhoven in Holland, Sporting Lisbon and Porto in Portugal and Barcelona in Spain.

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What Kind of Beer is Served at the White House?

“Let’s grab a beer.” That was the invitation extended by President Obama, who is seeking to dial down the racial tension surrounding black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s July 16 arrest by a white police officer. On July 30, Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt

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Phelps beaten as swimsuit dispute rumbles on

Multiple Olympic champion Michael Phelps suffered his first defeat in international competition for four years when Paul Biedermann convincingly beat him in the 200 meters freestyle final at the world swimming championships in Rome. Phelps, who has won 14 Olympic gold medals in his glittering career, last failed to get gold when he was edged out by fellow-American Ian Crocker in the 100m butterfly at the worlds in Montreal

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Contador wins Tour as Cavendish makes it six

Alberto Contador has been crowned Tour de France champion for the second time in three years, as Mark Cavendish won his sixth stage of this year’s race with victory in the 21st and final stage, finishing in the center of Paris. Briton Cavendish again proved he has no equal in the bunch sprints by powering away from his rivals, after being giving a perfect lead-out by Columbia teammate Mark Renshaw, to add the ‘blue riband’ sprinters stage on the Champs-Elysees to his growing list of big race victories. Cavendish had always stated that winning on the Parisian avenue was his lifelong ambition, although his numerous victories did not prove enough for him to take the green points jersey, which was won by Norway’s Thor Hushovd — who finished sixth on the day — for the second time in his career.

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Deutsche Bank in ‘spying’ claims

Deutsche Bank confirmed Tuesday that it is facing a possible criminal investigation into spying allegations. According to media reports, the German banking giant is accused of spying on a small group of managers and a “critical shareholder” during a probe into possible breaches of data security

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