The Local Germany

Coronavirus: Berlin orders closure of bars, museums and gyms

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 18:38:26 +0100

Berlin's government has ordered bars, clubs, cinemas and sports facilities to close as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

How Extinction Rebellion is training up budding climate activists in Berlin

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:15:48 +0200

Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion is staging protests around the world to demand drastic environmental protection. Here's how they're training people to take part in civil disobedience in Berlin.

Postage costs set to spike in Germany

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 11:59:05 +0200

The cost for sending letters, cards and postcards in Germany is set to rise significantly next month.

Weekend Wanderlust: A walk through the Nobel trail of Göttingen

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 19:26:32 +0200

On this Nobel Prize awards week, we pay tribute to Germany’s Stadt, die Wissen schaft (city that creates knowledge): Göttingen. With every second street named after a famous scientist, the city is drenched with history, intrigue, and a culture that can only be described as a jigsaw puzzle of the whole world.

AfD calls for end to English in NRW primary schools so kids can focus on German

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 11:01:44 +0100

For education experts, English language lessons have proven valuable in primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the Alternative for Germany’s state parliamentary group in NRW have a rather different view.

Far-right AfD reach record high in national poll

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 12:14:35 +0200

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was backed by 16 percent of respondents in a new poll, which was a new high for the upstart populist party.

Stabbed Cologne mayor mourns Jo Cox death

Fri, 17 Jun 2016 12:14:02 +0200

The mayor of Cologne, who was stabbed in the neck by a far-right fanatic last autumn, has spoken of her pain at hearing of the murder of British MP Jo Cox.

Bavaria tries to coax migrants into police force

Tue, 24 May 2016 11:02:44 +0200

Bavaria’s interior ministry has started a campaign to encourage more migrants to join up as officers of the law - whether they have a German passport or not.

Lawyer can call politician 'product of inbreeding': court

Mon, 09 May 2016 11:01:34 +0200

A lawyer from southern Germany faced a fine for calling the Bavarian interior minister inbred. But a court has ruled that he is free to use the insult.

Train crash controller was playing phone game

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:32:20 +0200

Police have arrested the controller who was on duty at the time of a deadly train crash in Bad Aibling, Bavaria, that killed 11 people in February.

How Fukushima catalyzed Germany's energy revolution

Fri, 11 Mar 2016 11:48:37 +0100

Lauded by some as an example to the rest of the world, but heavily criticized by others, Germany's historic "energy transition" - an ambitious plan to switch from carbon fuels to clean energy by the middle of this century - still faces major challenges.

Woman throws away 1000s of euros in cash

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:05:37 +0100

A woman in southern Germany got rid of an old handbag at a recycling centre, little knowing that her husband had been keeping the large sum of cash inside.

E-Plus and O2 merger set to create phone giant

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:20:00 +0200

German mobile phone operator E-Plus has been sold to Spain's Telefonica, to be merged with the O2 brand, creating the biggest operator in Germany, it was announced on Tuesday.

Westerwelle 'outraged' at Egyptian court ruling

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:38:00 +0200

Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday he was "outraged and deeply concerned" about jail sentences imposed on German employees of the Egyptian branch of the Konrad Adenauer foundation.

Pensioner held for killing and dismembering wife

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:35:00 +0200

A 79-year-old man from the village of Nindorf in Lower Saxony has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his 72-year-old wife, dismembering her and leaving parts of her body on fire by the side of a road.

Dortmund star Sahin poached by Real Madrid

Mon, 09 May 2011 18:42:00 +0200

Nuri Sahin, the young midfielder who helped steer Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga title this year, has been signed on a six-year contract to Real Madrid for an estimated €10 million transfer fee.

Victims of deadly crash from 7 German states

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:06:00 +0200

A mass autobahn crash following a freak sandstorm south of Rostock involved people from at least seven different states in Germany, officials said on Saturday. At least eight people were killed and more than 130 injured.

No Angels singer not jailed for spreading HIV

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:46:00 +0200

Nadja Benaissa, an HIV-positive pop star who infected a former sex partner, avoided jail on Thursday after a German court handed her a two-year suspended sentence.

Prosecutors seek suspended sentence for No Angels singer

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:51:00 +0200

A prosecutor called Wednesday for a suspended jail term for German pop star Nadja Benaissa on trial for hiding her HIV status from her sexual partners and infecting one of them with the virus.

Ex-lover says No Angels singer admitted to HIV

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:48:00 +0200

No Angels pop star Nadja Benaissa confessed this week to having unprotected sex with three partners without telling them of her HIV status, but on Thursday a former boyfriend told the court that she was honest with him about her infection.