The Local Germany

Court: Cuckolds can take back gifts to wives

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:32:00 +0100

A woman who returned to her former profession as prostitute and had an affair with her pimp has been forced to return a house given her by her former husband - on the grounds of "gross ingratitude."

Neo-Nazi ban compared to persecution of Jews

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:07:00 +0100

A conservative city councillor in the northern German town of Anklam has caused outrage for comparing the marginalization of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) with the persecution of Jews under the Nazis.

States in conflict over unified school exam

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:25:00 +0100

Germany's 16 states disagree over whether the country should introduce a unified Abitur examination for graduating high school pupils.

Exodus deprives state of voting district

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:05:00 +0100

In yet another sign that people are leaving the economically troubled northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Bundestag decided Friday to reduce its number of electoral constituencies.

Tub of lard found fit to eat after 64 years

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:52:00 +0100

A 64-year-old tub of American lard has been deemed fit for human consumption by food safety authorities in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Child poverty decreases

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:35:00 +0100

The number of children living on state benefits in Germany has dropped significantly in the past five years, it was reported Thursday.

Gigantic crack spooks officials on Baltic island

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:28:00 +0100

A crack over two kilometres long and up to a metre deep has been discovered on the Baltic island of Hiddensee. Large areas of the German island’s coastline have been blocked off amid fears of a huge landslide.

Girl missing after cliff fall

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:55:00 +0100

Rescue workers are searching for a 10-year-old girl who is missing after a large piece of chalk cliff slipped into the Baltic Sea from the German island of Rügen on Monday.

Bullets – and bones – found in Soviet tank

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:00:00 +0100

Construction workers near Rostock made an unusual discovery Thursday, when they unearthed half of a Soviet World War II-era tank with skeletal remains inside. Experts believe the other half of the tank is buried across the street.

Website offers cow killing options for tastier beef

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0100

A German website is offering its carnivorous customers the option of having cows slaughtered in the field while they graze for supposedly more delicious beef.

Scientists begin eel-tagging project

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:19:00 +0100

In an effort to understand more about the life-cycle of the endangered European eel, scientists in northeastern Germany are implanting the animals with electronic tracking devices.

Jedi the hippo fails to use the force - and returns to the circus

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:01:00 +0200

Police in Germany foiled the plans of Jedi the hippo who tried to flee a circus visiting the northern city of Schwerin this week.

'Something is deeply wrong when the NPD is more successful than the FDP'

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:46:00 +0200

Is Chancellor Merkel’s centre-right alliance heading towards political oblivion? Commentators in The Local’s media roundup examine the impact of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania vote.

SPD wins Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania vote

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:33:00 +0200

The governing centre-left Social Democrats on Sunday trounced Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in her home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The SPD now has a choice of coalition partners.

Northeastern state election gets underway

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:18:00 +0200

Voters go to the polls in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's home state Sunday, with surveys showing her conservatives are likely to cling on to power after a campaign dominated by the euro debt crisis.

Merkel's father dies, chancellor cancels appearances

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:53:00 +0200

Horst Kasner, the father of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, died on Friday at the age of 85, a government spokesperson said. The chancellor canceled all appointments scheduled for Saturday.

Merkel campaigns to the last in north-east

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:21:00 +0200

Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) hopes to turn the page on a string of electoral defeats in a poll in the north-eastern German state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday.

Neo-Nazi cartoon stork irritates far-right

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:04:00 +0200

He's a stork with a small moustache and a side-parting. Meet Storch Heinar. The cartoon parodying the far-right has been annoying the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) in the state election campaign in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Social Democrats warn leftists after Wall praise

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:41:00 +0200

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats have warned members of the hard-line socialist Left party they would be rejected as state coalition partners unless they condemn the building of the Berlin Wall.

Steady rain causes flooding in eastern Germany

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:12:00 +0200

The continuous rain over the last few days has led to overflowing rivers and flooded streets in parts of eastern Germany. Emergency services have been called out and sand bags distributed to some residents.