https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed A row has broken out in Germany over the term "race" in the country's constitution as the George Floyd killing in US police custody spills over into national politics. https://www.thelocal.de/20200612/why-a-row-has-broken-out-over-the-term-race-in-germanys-constitution Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:51:52 +0200 why-a-row-has-broken-out-over-the-term-race-in-germanys-constitution The Constitutional Court ruled the Grundsteuer (land tax) for obsolete on Tuesday. Since almost everyone in Germany is affected by the tax, it is worth understanding its relevance. https://www.thelocal.de/20180410/germanys-top-court-just-made-a-landmark-ruling-that-affects-us-all-heres-how Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:36:06 +0200 germanys-top-court-just-made-a-landmark-ruling-that-affects-us-all-heres-how On Friday the Bundestag (German parliament) is set to vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. Despite large public support, a change in the law is still far from certain. https://www.thelocal.de/20170629/why-the-attempt-to-legalize-gay-marriage-could-still-fail Thu, 29 Jun 2017 11:23:51 +0200 why-the-attempt-to-legalize-gay-marriage-could-still-fail The Church in Germany still has a relationship to the state much closer than in many other western democracies. But the public showing of a British comedy classic could change that. https://www.thelocal.de/20160603/how-life-of-brian-is-starting-a-revolution-against-the-church Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:31:33 +0200 how-life-of-brian-is-starting-a-revolution-against-the-church Germany's top court decided on Tuesday that people's right right to know their parents is not unconditional, when it rejected an attempt by a woman to make the man she believes is her father take a DNA test. https://www.thelocal.de/20160419/men-cannot-be-forced-to-take-fatherhood-tests-top-court Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:48:53 +0200 men-cannot-be-forced-to-take-fatherhood-tests-top-court Chancellor Angela Merkel overstepped her constitutional powers by letting over a million refugees into the country, one of Germany’s most senior former judges has said. https://www.thelocal.de/20160113/merkel-breached-constitution-on-refugees-top-judge Wed, 13 Jan 2016 16:27:19 +0100 merkel-breached-constitution-on-refugees-top-judge A teacher from central Germany has been ordered to pay a €1,000 fine after he painted over swastikas which had been sprayed on public property. https://www.thelocal.de/20151125/teacher-ordered-to-pay-fine-for-covering-swastikas Wed, 25 Nov 2015 12:13:09 +0100 teacher-ordered-to-pay-fine-for-covering-swastikas Three German journalists announced on Thursday they are taking the police in the American town of Ferguson to court after they were arrested while covering race riots there in August 2014. https://www.thelocal.de/20150402/german-journalists-take-us-police-to-court Thu, 02 Apr 2015 20:02:57 +0200 german-journalists-take-us-police-to-court The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Essen will distribute the German Constitution in response to Salafists' plans to give out free copies of the Koran in the city on Saturday. But Muslim residents say they're creating a false opposition. https://www.thelocal.de/20150212/cdu-angers-muslims-with-move-against-quran Thu, 12 Feb 2015 17:45:07 +0100 cdu-angers-muslims-with-move-against-quran The newest census, which listed 1.5 million fewer Germans than thought has sparked outrage in states whose apparently shrinking population could lead to a cut in federal funding. As criticism mounts, the entire study is being questioned. https://www.thelocal.de/20130806/51231 Tue, 06 Aug 2013 10:52:00 +0200 51231 Police and security officials are relieved after Germany's highest court ruled on Wednesday that the nation's database of terrorism suspects is in line with the constitution, but needs to be tweaked to ensure greater security. https://www.thelocal.de/20130424/49343 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:40:00 +0200 49343 Germany's military was given the right to conduct combat operations within the country in case of a terror attack of "catastrophic proportions" after the country’s top court ended a post-war taboo. https://www.thelocal.de/20120817/44421 Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:24:00 +0200 44421 Saarland State Premier Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said that Germany's constitutional restriction on allowing debt to go above a certain level has been made redundant by the financial crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20110928/37863 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:18:00 +0200 37863 Germany's highest court is so overloaded with cases it is considering introducing special fees of up to €5,000 to keep people from submitting appeals deemed frivolous and unlikely to succeed. https://www.thelocal.de/20110822/37109 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:34:00 +0200 37109 Convicted sex offenders and murderers held in preventive detention to protect society may have to be released by the end of the year after Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday their detention was unconstitutional. https://www.thelocal.de/20110504/34793 Wed, 04 May 2011 14:10:00 +0200 34793 Despite Germany's recent easing of anti-terror measures, the head of the country's domestic intelligence service said in an interview published on Friday that the terror threat is still serious. https://www.thelocal.de/20110218/33189 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:14:00 +0100 33189 Germany's native minority groups, such as the Sorbs, Frisians and Danes, have reacted to calls for the German language to be enshrined in the constitution by demanding that their own languages be included as well. https://www.thelocal.de/20101110/31069 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:56:00 +0100 31069 Teachers, professors and other people who keep a second office at home are in for a windfall after a court ruled Thursday that tax deductions on home offices should be expanded. https://www.thelocal.de/20100729/28823 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:23:00 +0200 28823 In a victory for privacy advocates, Germany’s highest court on Tuesday knocked down an anti-terrorism law that allows authorities to store all phone and internet records of private citizens. https://www.thelocal.de/20100302/25603 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:02:00 +0100 25603 Senior government figures defended the maligned Hartz IV welfare system on Wednesday as political fallout continued following the German high court's ruling that the programme is unconstitutional. https://www.thelocal.de/20100210/25161 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:33:00 +0100 25161