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4 dead, 40 injured, in horror coach crash
The wreckage of the Rexer coach Photo: DPA

4 dead, 40 injured, in horror coach crash

At least four people have been killed, and more than 40 injured, in a coach crash north of Frankfurt on Tuesday, police said. READ  

Berlin condemns Russian opposition sentences
The Navlany brothers in court in Moscow Photo: DPA

Berlin condemns Russian opposition sentences

Germany labelled Russian court sentences against top opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his brother on Tuesday "another blow against outspoken civil society" in the country. READ  

2014 was warmest year on record: official
Warm memories of 2014? Photo: DPA

2014 was warmest year on record: official

It may not feel like it as you huddle into your winter wear, but Germany's warmest year in recorded history ends tomorrow – amid extreme snowfall warnings for New Year's Eve in some areas. READ  

Where to celebrate Silvester 2014
Photo: DPA

Where to celebrate Silvester 2014

New Year's Eve is upon us and 2014 is a year that was certainly worth giving a proper send off to for Germany (remember the time we won the World Cup?). Here are some options for a big Silvester, as the evening is known in Germany, night out in your city. READ  

HoGeSa demo planned for Essen
Police vs Hooligans at the October Cologne march Photo: DPA

HoGeSa demo planned for Essen

The violent "Hooligans Against Salafists" (HoGeSa) movement have announced plans for a major rally in Essen in January - just two months after a similar rally saw 44 police injured. READ  

Polite Porsche driver wreaks collision havoc
Photo of the scene courtesy Munich Police.

Polite Porsche driver wreaks collision havoc

Consideration for other road users has its downside, as a Munich driver found when she yielded to oncoming traffic – and took out five parked cars and a building site. READ  

'Ben' and 'Emma' top baby names for 2014
Photo: DPA

'Ben' and 'Emma' top baby names for 2014

"Emma" has dethroned the reigning "Mia" as the favourite baby girl name in Germany, it was announced on Tuesday, as a list of top baby names of 2014 was published. Mia had held the top spot for five years, in an increasingly internationalised-sounding list. READ  

Tugce's parents to found institute in her name
A makeshift memorial to Tugce Photo: DPA

Tugce's parents to found institute in her name

The parents of good samaritan Tugce Albayrak are to found an institute name after their daughter, who died after intervening to stop a fight in a McDonald's restaurant. READ  

News Feature
Eight celebs you didn't know spoke German
Sprechen Sie Deutsch, Frau Bullock? Photo: DPA

Eight celebs you didn't know spoke German

Is your New Year's Resolution to improve your German? It's a tricky language, but keep trying and you could be making small talk with these Hollywood stars and world leaders who also secretly speak a bit (or a lot) of German. READ  

Hundreds stranded on faulty ICE train
File photo> DPA

Hundreds stranded on faulty ICE train

More than 500 train passengers were stuck on the rails for hours on Monday afternoon in Saxony-Anhalt, causing knock-on delays across the region. READ  

Features
Your top stories of 2014
German footballers' girlfriends were a sure-fire hit in 2014. Photo: DPA

Your top stories of 2014

Germany has had a busy year of news and we've loved bringing it to our Local readers. We checked our stats and picked out stories that most people enjoyed reading in 2014. READ  

Fall of the Wall - 25 years
Escaping of the 5,000 from East Berlin
A mural of Schumann's and Meixner's escapes from East Berlin at the East Side Gallery. Photo: Nick Allen

Escaping of the 5,000 from East Berlin

They swam, crawled through sewers, flew in balloons, dug tunnels and rammed through the Berlin Wall. The courage and ingenuity of the 5,000 East German escapees later inspired novels, movies and one of the world’s longest tunnels. READ  

Opinion
'What next? A tourist tax on pavements?'
Photo: DPA

'What next? A tourist tax on pavements?'

A road toll targeted at foreign drivers is a rare backward step for Germany. Anti-European, anti-open borders, anti-tourism; it is a terrible way to fill the black hole in the infrastructure budget, argues Tom Bristow. READ  

Fall of the Wall - 25 years
Berlin Wall? Ring the bell and come through
Ringing the bell to cross the Wall. Photo: Hendrik Pastor

Berlin Wall? Ring the bell and come through

More than 150 kilometres of concrete, wire and guard towers ringed West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. But it’s not easy to carve up a city - and construction of the Wall threw up many freak instances. READ  

Fall of the Wall - 25 years
East German retro: A slap in the face?
David Hasselhoff signs a model Trabant in Berlin. Photo: DPA

East German retro: A slap in the face?

From spoof Communist comedy acts to Stasi bars, the GDR has generated a huge commercial culture since fall of the Berlin Wall. But is it disrespecting the East German regime's victims? READ  

More News
18 Germans were on blazing ferry
Photo: DPA

18 Germans were on blazing ferry

UPDATE: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said only crew remain on board a ferry that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea. Rescuers battled stormy conditions, including hail, to rescue hundreds of passengers, though at least seven are known to have died in the incident. There were 18 Germans on board, it was reported on Monday. READ  

Schäuble warns Greece: no alternative
German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble Photo: DPA

Schäuble warns Greece: no alternative

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Monday that Greece must stick to agreed economic reforms regardless of the results of a snap election due next month. READ  

Refugees take up home in Berlin 'container town'
The "container city" in Berlin Photo: DPA

Refugees take up home in Berlin 'container town'

The first refugees have begun taking up home in one of Berlin's new "container towns" - special emergency housing built out of stackable, portable blocks. READ  

Spy malware found on government computer
The Chancellery under heat vision. Photo: DPA

Spy malware found on government computer

The IT security team at the Chancellery in Berlin say that an employee was the target of an espionage attack through a computer virus that is associated with British and American spy agencies, it was revealed on Monday. READ  

Merkel to meet Putin in January over Ukraine
Photo: DPA

Merkel to meet Putin in January over Ukraine

Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with the leaders of France, Russia and Ukraine on January 15 to discuss ongoing peace efforts with the Moscow-backed separatist rebels. READ  

Too much snow for Ski Jumping
No action at the ski jump Photo: DPA

Too much snow for Ski Jumping

Heavy snows have caused one of the highpoints of the German sports calendar - the World Cup Ski Jumping - to be temporarily postponed, as deep snow also settled on the capital, Berlin, for the first time this winter. READ  

Allianz insured missing AirAsia plane
An arrivals board tells customers to "Go to info counter" at Singapore airport Photo: DPA

Allianz insured missing AirAsia plane

German insurance giant Allianz confirmed on Monday that the firm is the main insurance comapany for AirAsia, the operator a plane that has been missing since Saturday. READ  

New Year minimum wage for millions
Germany's first ever minimum wage will be set at €8.50 Photo: DPA

New Year minimum wage for millions

January 1st means not just New Year resolutions - and hangovers - but a pay increase for millions of hard-up Germans, as the country introduces its first ever minimum wage, set at €8.50. READ  

Manager blasts French Schumacher story
Formula One champion Michael Schumacher skiing. Photo: DPA

Manager blasts French Schumacher story

On the one-year anniversary of Formula One racing great Michael Schumacher's skiing accident in France, his manager is warning that reports on Schumacher's health in a French newspaper are false. READ  

‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ owner sorry for racism
Ralph Fiennes and stars of the Grand Budapest Hotel Photo: DPA

‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ owner sorry for racism

The businessman who owns the building used for Wes Anderson’s hit film “Grand Budapest Hotel” has apologised for a racist outburst in his local newspaper. READ  

Read older articles »

From our other editions:
Pig's head hung on Mosque door in Vienna
Photo: HaberJournal.at

Pig's head hung on Mosque door in Vienna

In a barbaric affront to Muslim sensibilities, part of a pig's head and some pork tripe was attached to the door of a Mosque in Vienna's 21st district on Christmas day. READ  

Novartis to launch psoriasis drug in Japan
Photo: Sebastien Bozon/AFP

Novartis to launch psoriasis drug in Japan

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis said on Friday it has won approval to market its Cosentyx psoriasis treatment in Japan, making it the first country to authorise commercialisation of the drug. READ  

The Local List
The Local Denmark's most-read stories of 2014
Here are hints about three of the stories that made the top ten. Photos: Ty Stange, Alex Berger, Scanpix

The Local Denmark's most-read stories of 2014

We might have not been around for the whole year, but we still had plenty of stories that resonated with readers. Recap the year with our ten most-read stories. READ  

Europe's brutal African borders 'a tragedy'
The border fence at Melilla. Photo: Jose Colon/AFP

Europe's brutal African borders 'a tragedy'

Just across the sea from the sunny tourist beaches of southern Spain where many Europeans spend their Christmas holidays, a violent crisis is intensifying on Europe's borders with Africa. READ  

Author provocateur
Inside Houellebecq's Muslim-ruled France
Michel Houellebecq's vision of France in 2022 is likely to cause a stir in the France of 2014. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

Inside Houellebecq's Muslim-ruled France

Polygamy, Islamic state schools, and a Muslim president - this is the vision of France in 2022 laid out by the country's most notorious author Michel Houellebecq in his new novel. The Local is the first to bring you details of a book set to cause a storm when it's published next month. READ  

The Local List
Ten traditions that make an Italian Christmas
If you're in Italy this December, you may come across some unusual traditions that come from the home of the Catholic Church. Colosseum photo: Shutterstock

Ten traditions that make an Italian Christmas

Did you know that cannons are fired in Rome to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, or that Italians ski down the slopes bearing flaming torches each Christmas Eve? For details of these and other festive traditions, check out The Local's list. READ  

Hearty Norwegians hit the gym at Christmas

Hearty Norwegians hit the gym at Christmas

Norwegians have a reputation for being fitness freaks - and many plan to keep up their good habits over Christmas, a new survey shows, with one in five planning to hit the gym. READ  

Sweden cancels snap election in March 2015
Stefan Löfven pictured with his parliamentary colleagues at the press conference on December 27th 2014. Photo: Maja Suslin/TT

Sweden cancels snap election in March 2015

Sweden's government has abandoned plans to hold a snap election in March 2015, after crisis talks between Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and the country's four centre-right parties known as the Alliance. READ  

RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER AND ALERTS
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Berlin
The Local's series on 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
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Gallery
See how Berlin has changed in 22 photos
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Business & Money
JobTalk: All you need to know about working in Germany
National
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