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 Germany's 16 states have proposed special rules for the festive season. From calling on employers to offer company holidays to allowing groups of up to 10 people to meet, here are the draft proposals. https://www.thelocal.de/20201124/groups-of-10-and-no-general-fireworks-ban-german-states-agree-on-christmas-and-new-year-rules Tue, 24 Nov 2020 10:13:19 +0100 groups-of-10-and-no-general-fireworks-ban-german-states-agree-on-christmas-and-new-year-rules Berlin brought in the New Year with a dazzling display of fireworks over the Brandenburg Gate, with the Berliner Sea Dogs later taking their first icy dip of 2020. https://www.thelocal.de/20200101/berlin-brings-in-2020-with-a-dazzling-fireworks-display Wed, 01 Jan 2020 18:21:42 +0100 berlin-brings-in-2020-with-a-dazzling-fireworks-display From Saturday until New Year's Eve, fireworks will be sold throughout Germany. But as warnings over safety and pollution intensify, are fireworks still a big part of German culture at Silvester? https://www.thelocal.de/20191227/majority-of-germans-back-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban Fri, 27 Dec 2019 10:27:05 +0100 majority-of-germans-back-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban Pyrotechnic-mad Germany loves to see in the New Year with a bang but concerns about climate change have prompted several major retailers to take fireworks off the shelves this year, local media said Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20191227/german-fireworks-sales-fizzle-on-climate-anxiety Fri, 27 Dec 2019 13:26:06 +0100 german-fireworks-sales-fizzle-on-climate-anxiety This year there will be a ban on fireworks on Hamburg's Jungfernstieg, a promenade that stretches through the centre of the city. https://www.thelocal.de/20191205/hamburg-to-ban-fireworks-in-city-centre-on-new-years-eve Thu, 05 Dec 2019 11:30:30 +0100 hamburg-to-ban-fireworks-in-city-centre-on-new-years-eve Fireworks are to be banned in two ‘hotspots’ in the German capital on New Year’s Eve, the state interior senator Andreas Geisel has announced. https://www.thelocal.de/20190121/berlin-to-impose-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban Mon, 21 Jan 2019 12:31:12 +0100 berlin-to-impose-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban If you found it difficult to draw breath around midnight on New Year's Eve in the Hauptstadt, you were not alone. https://www.thelocal.de/20190103/berlins-new-years-eve-air-quality-worst-in-germany Thu, 03 Jan 2019 01:19:59 +0100 berlins-new-years-eve-air-quality-worst-in-germany German police said Sunday they confiscated 850 kilos of fireworks and firecrackers from a 23-year-old man in Hamburg, ahead of New Year's festivities. https://www.thelocal.de/20181230/german-police-seize-850kg-firework-stash Sun, 30 Dec 2018 14:24:51 +0100 german-police-seize-850kg-firework-stash It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that New Years Eve in the German capital - with fireworks flying vertically and horizontally all across the city - resembles a war zone. Berlin’s ruling coalition, fed up with widespread injuries and attacks on emergency services, have forecast a limit or even a ban to fireworks in the city. But would such a move be effective? https://www.thelocal.de/20181207/whats-happening-on-berlin-streets-cannot-be-tolerated-politicians-float-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban Fri, 07 Dec 2018 17:07:02 +0100 whats-happening-on-berlin-streets-cannot-be-tolerated-politicians-float-new-years-eve-fireworks-ban After several attacks on police officers and fire brigades at the turn of the new year involving fireworks and bottles being thrown, politicians have warned that those responsible could face harsh penalties. https://www.thelocal.de/20180102/politicians-condemn-new-years-eve-attacks-on-police-and-firefighters Tue, 02 Jan 2018 10:36:33 +0100 politicians-condemn-new-years-eve-attacks-on-police-and-firefighters Firecrackers left two people dead, a child injured and five people requiring amputations during New Year celebrations in Germany, police and emergency services said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180101/german-new-year-firecrackers-kill-two Mon, 01 Jan 2018 14:50:32 +0100 german-new-year-firecrackers-kill-two A young girl has been treated in hospital after a teenager friend put a lit firework down the neckline of her jumper. https://www.thelocal.de/20161230/7-year-old-badly-injured-after-friend-puts-firework-down-top Fri, 30 Dec 2016 15:48:35 +0100 7-year-old-badly-injured-after-friend-puts-firework-down-top German police Friday found a tonne of fireworks allegedly stashed in cellars by a Berlin resident after they were alerted by neighbours who noticed the man was unleashing an unusually large amount of pyrotechnics on New Year's Eve. https://www.thelocal.de/20160102/berliner-probed-for-hoarding-tonne-of-fireworks Sat, 02 Jan 2016 11:03:24 +0100 berliner-probed-for-hoarding-tonne-of-fireworks German supermarket chain Aldi Süd weathered criticism Tuesday for offering a New Year's Eve fireworks set called "Paris", six weeks after the deadly jihadist attacks in the French capital. https://www.thelocal.de/20151230/aldi-under-fire-after-paris-fireworks-gaffe Wed, 30 Dec 2015 09:35:02 +0100 aldi-under-fire-after-paris-fireworks-gaffe After some children killed a beaver with a firecracker near Berlin, animal protectionists called for people celebrate new year without using fireworks. https://www.thelocal.de/20151228/beaver-death-raises-fear-over-festive-fireworks Mon, 28 Dec 2015 18:02:24 +0100 beaver-death-raises-fear-over-festive-fireworks A Green party MP has suggested that powerful bangers should be banned this New Year so that nobody confuses them with a terrorist bomb attack. https://www.thelocal.de/20151202/ban-bangers-to-stop-terror-panic-green-mp Wed, 02 Dec 2015 16:44:44 +0100 ban-bangers-to-stop-terror-panic-green-mp Germany's football chief Thursday urged fans to refrain from setting off fireworks at matches after a bomb threat forced the cancellation of a friendly with the Netherlands this week. https://www.thelocal.de/20151119/please-no-fireworks-at-bundesliga-games Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:14:44 +0100 please-no-fireworks-at-bundesliga-games Sometimes it's hard to explain to outsiders just how crazy Berlin goes on New Year's Eve. https://www.thelocal.de/20150102/warzone-berlin-new-year-video-goes-viral Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:54:00 +0100 warzone-berlin-new-year-video-goes-viral At least a million people peacefully rang in 2013 at Germany’s largest New Year’s party in Berlin on Monday night. https://www.thelocal.de/20130101/47069 Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:06:00 +0100 47069 Germans can start stocking up on New Year's fireworks as of Friday, but they're being advised to revel with care: The case of a man who bled to death, apparently due to an illegal firecracker, has police warning of the dangers of contraband pyrotechnics. https://www.thelocal.de/20121228/47021 Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:07:00 +0100 47021