The Local Germany

German reporter faces sabotage in China

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:10:00 +0100

A German reporter investigating a case of five children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in southwest China says his computer and smartphone were recently sabotaged after his hotel room was broken into.

Religious offence - hate speech or free speech?

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:51:00 +0200

Germany is split on a possible screening of the film which sparked violence in several Islamic countries. It is a free speech versus religious sensibility debate – with fear of violence mixed in. Have your say.

China correspondents ask Merkel for help

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:34:00 +0200

German journalists working in China on Sunday called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge Beijing to improve reporting conditions when she arrives for talks in the Chinese capital this week.

Jihadist songs loved by US airmen's killer banned

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:33:00 +0100

A series of extreme Islamist songs sung by a convert whose most infamous fan shot dead two American soldiers at Frankfurt Airport last year, have been put on the German censorship index, it was reported on Friday.

Artist told to cover willy in ad row

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:14:00 +0200

Organisers of an art exhibition in Baden-Württemberg have been told to cover up the penis of a sculpture depicting a naked man before posters advertising the show will be allowed to go on public display.

Police demand tougher powers to fight child porn on web

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:08:00 +0200

Police are struggling to keep the internet clean of child pornography, with four out of 10 offending sites still accessible in Germany a week after they are posted, media reported Thursday.

Gory 'death metal' teacher too gruesome for school

Fri, 07 May 2010 13:26:00 +0200

A trainee high school teacher in Stuttgart who moonlights in a gory death metal band that includes naked, blood-smeared women in its live act, is being threatened with dismissal unless he gives up his music career.

EU plan to block web child porn sparks German opposition

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:03:00 +0200

The debate over whether child pornography websites should be blocked or shut down reignited in Germany on Tuesday, as the EU Commission moved to censor offending content.

Belarus declares Rammstein an enemy of the state

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:29:00 +0100

Not content to oppress the country’s democratic opposition or rail against Western imperialism, the autocratic regime of Belarus has declared the German industrial rock band Rammstein to be an enemy of the state.

Köhler refuses to sign controversial internet child porn law

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:01:00 +0100

German President Horst Köhler has hammered another nail in the coffin of a controversial law to block child pornography on the internet by refusing to sign it, news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday.

Sexed-up Rammstein record banned for sadomasochism

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:49:00 +0100

The latest album from German industrial band Rammstein has been banned from sale to minors for sexually charged lyrics and artwork allegedly inciting sadomasochistic violence.

Censorsula can’t stop child porn

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:15:00 +0200

In the latest installment of Portnoy’s Stammtisch, our column about life in Germany, Portnoy slams the government’s attempt to block child pornography online as a ham-fisted assault on civil liberties.