German politician dies in parachute jump

Juergen Moellemann, a prominent German opposition politician accused of campaigning on anti-Semitic themes in last year’s national election, died in a parachute jump, just as prosecutors stepped up a finance investigation against him.

Authorities said they were investigating a possible suicide after the former Cabinet minister and deputy chancellor – an experienced skydiver known for parachuting to campaign events – plunged to his death in a barley field near the western town of Marl.