Ninety-six years ago, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, which precipitated the start of the War to End All Wars, World War I. And today, we can finally put that Great War to rest: Germany paid back the final installment of reparation payments set in 1919's Treaty of Versailles. The Allied victors, particularly Britain, France and America, agreed to an initial sum for war damages, around £132 billion by today's equivalency. Hitler stopped the payments in the 1930's, which helped propel him to power. Germany paid over £60 million today in a bond to erase the debt. Today is also the 20th anniversary of reunification in Germany. Hopefully now they will think twice before starting WWII. more ›

Paul the Psychic Octopus from Germany's Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium correctly predicted that Germany would win its third-place World Cup match against Uruguay yesterday, making it his sixth correction prediction. As Der Spiegel explains, "He 'predicts' by choosing a mussel from one of two possible containers, both marked with national flags." However, Paul is not popular in his home country, with people threatening to grill him. Spain's environmental minister said Spain might offer asylum "so that the Germans don't eat him." After all, Paul did predict that Spain would beat the Netherlands in today's match (on ABC at 2:30 p.m.!); video of his prediction after the jump. Update: Spain defeated the Netherlands, 1-0. Long live, Paul! more ›

Argentina fans packed into a Hell's Kitchen bar to watch the Germany-Argentina game yesterday were furious to find one fan dressed as what the Post calls "their opponent's biggest fan": Adolf Hitler. Fan Steve Staso allegedly walked into Café Andalucia with a taped-on mustache and a swastika armband, saluting fellow Germany supporters. One bar-goer said, "I said, 'Why are you doing this?' and he said it was funny. I said, 'Is genocide funny? Is history funny?'" History can be funny sometimes, but genocide is not. more ›

After Germany's 4-0 win over Argentina earlier today, Avenue C was flooded with German fans, many presumably partying at Zum Schneider. When a fire truck arrived at the scene, most thought it was to clear the crowd, but the FDNY was just there to join in the celebration! more ›

The majority of New Yorkers want to see Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists put to death, according to a study by Marist and the Daily News. If found guilty, 73 percent of locals want Mohammed to be executed, while 67 percent of New Yorkers support the death penalty for the other suspects, the poll reveals. more ›

Yesterday, the Health Department announced two more New Yorkers died from swine flu, only noting that they were between 25 and 65 years old. So far, 32 people in NYC have died from the H1N1 virus and the Health Department believes the disease is waning, stating, "Community transmission of the H1N1 virus appears to be declining in New York City, as emergency departments report lower numbers of visits due to influenza-like illness." However, Reuters reports, "Germany's federal agency for infectious diseases said on Tuesday there were signs the H1N1 swine flu virus had started to mutate and warned it could spread in the coming months in a more aggressive form." The head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases Joerg Hacker said there was concern about swine flu's development in Australia and South America, "It's possible the virus has mutated. In autumn the mutated form could spread to the northern hemisphere and back to Germany." more ›