The Local Germany

Dane becomes first foreigner elected mayor of major German city

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:25:56 +0200

Danish businessman Claus Ruhe Madsen became the first non-German to win the mayor's office in a major German city Sunday with his election victory in Rostock.

The Dane who wants to be mayor of a German city – and how he plans to modernize it

Tue, 28 May 2019 12:01:06 +0200

46-year-old Dane Claus Ruhe Madsen has won the first round of the election to become lord mayor of the city of Rostock in northern Germany.

250 kg World War II bomb found in Rostock causes city centre shutdown

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 10:30:35 +0100

About 10,000 people had to leave the centre of the northern city of Rostock on Wednesday morning because of the planned disposal of an aerial bomb from World War II.

Update: 16 injured after Flixbus travelling from Stockholm to Berlin tips over in crash

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 11:13:41 +0200

Several people have been injured after a long-distance bus to Berlin crashed on Friday morning.

Police seize 'enormous' weapons stash linked to suspected G20 plot

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 13:04:59 +0200

Police in northern Germany detained one man suspected of plotting "significant" crimes against the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg, after finding numerous weapons at his home.

Two-headed rattlesnake adds bite to Rostock Zoo

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 13:21:49 +0100

It is a biological rarity, experts say. Now visitors to Rostock Zoo can view the spectacle of a snake with two heads.

Sweden tells refugees to stay in north Germany

Thu, 05 Nov 2015 18:42:18 +0100

Sweden's Migration Minister Morgan Johansson has urged refugees in northern Germany to stay put, after declaring that the Nordic nation is now unable to guarantee beds for all asylum seekers.

Theatre director fired over Isis outburst

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:18:25 +0200

Sewan Latchinian, the ex-director of Rostock state theatre, is taking his former employers to court after they fired him for comparing their cultural policies to those of Isis, it was announced on Wednesday.

German cops arrest American for Nazi insults

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:27:00 +0200

German police arrested an American man after he allegedly called prison officers Nazi pigs, and said they were using Gestapo methods - criminal insults in Germany.

App reunites owners with stolen bikes

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:10:00 +0200

A group of German students have developed a computer app to reunite cyclists with stolen bikes and hinder theft. A year after launching, Fahrradjäger was on Monday picking up speed.

Latest ever recorded triplets born in Rostock

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:28:00 +0100

Having triplets is always something special, but a woman in the Baltic city of Rostock has managed the latest birth to three babies ever recorded.

Kidnapped teen escapes four-night rape ordeal

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:08:00 +0200

A man with a long history of sexual violence was arrested in northern Germany after a teenage girl he had kidnapped and repeatedly raped managed to escape and raise the alarm.

Anti-fascists axe Rostock remembrance oak

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:39:00 +0200

An antifascist group has claimed responsibility for chopping down a tree planted at the weekend to mark Germany’s worst xenophobic attack in Rostock 20 years ago, saying the tree was a “slap in the face” to the victims.

'Society failed to change the climate of 1992'

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:30:00 +0200

Thousands gathered in Rostock at the weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the country’s worst xenophobic attack since the war. The Local’s media roundup shows how the president failed to impress by sticking to the past.

Man answers door - finds newborn baby

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:31:00 +0200

A young man hears his doorbell late at night and finds a newborn baby on his doorstep – this not the start of a third-rate Hollywood comedy, it happened in Germany on Wednesday.

Sex helps 'keep you young' in old age

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:14:00 +0100

Staying sexually active in old age keeps your brain ticking, according to a recent study in which 70 percent of those Germans over 75 said they were happy with their antics between the sheets.

Detentions had 'chilling effect' on G8 protests

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:05:00 +0100

Two German anti-globalisation protesters detained for five days in 2007 to prevent them from demonstrating against a G8 summit won a victory at the European Court of Human Rights on Thursday.

Nuclear fuel transports prompt fury in Rostock

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:26:00 +0200

Nuclear material and dangerous chemicals for the nuclear power industry are reportedly being shipped through the Baltic port city of Rostock without anyone being informed.

Drinks wagon fight led to fatal Rostock beating

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:19:00 +0200

Police said on Friday that the man who was beaten to death in Rostock on Thursday was killed in a senseless argument over whose drinks wagon was better-looking.

Government threatened with anti-EU revolt

Sat, 14 May 2011 16:01:00 +0200

Up to 50 MPs in Germany's ruling coalition may vote against the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism (EFSM), according to a eurosceptic MP in the government's junior partner, the Free Democratic Party.