NSU known as neo-Nazi 'terror cell' before killings

German intelligence services had identified neo-Nazi gang the National Socialist Underground (NSU) as a “terror cell” months before members killed their first victim in 2000, a secret document condemning the state's inaction has revealed. READ () »

Cop faces charges for punching woman

German state prosecutors filed on Wednesday charges against a policeman who punched a woman in the face, breaking her nose and eye socket while she was at a Munich police station in January. READ () »

• 22/05 Police raid suspected leftist extremists »
• 22/05 New in German cinemas: 'Fast & Furious 6' »
• 22/05 Justin Bieber's monkey becomes 'German' »

Police raid suspected leftist extremists

Police on Wednesday carried out raids across several German states at more than 20 properties, which they believe are connected to a network of leftist extremists responsible for carrying out attacks over more than a decade. READ () »

• 22/05 Cop faces charges for punching woman »
• 22/05 Rösler wants dual citizenship for IT talent »
• 22/05 New in German cinemas: 'Fast & Furious 6' »

'I hate Wagner but I hate him on my knees'

Germany is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner on Wednesday. Probably the country's most revered and reviled composer, the man considered an anti-Semitic musical genius is The Local's German of the Week. READ () »

Rösler wants dual citizenship for IT talent

German Economy Minister Philipp Rösler appealed to top US university students this week to consider Germany as the place to start their IT careers and called for tech entrepreneurs to be offered dual citizenship. READ () »

• 21/05 SAP to hire hundreds of autistic IT experts »

Social Democrats seek revival on 150th b-day

Germany's Social Democrats, trailing behind the conservatives in the polls just months ahead of the elections, are looking to relaunch themselves as they celebrate their 150th anniversary later this week. READ () »

New in German cinemas: 'Fast & Furious 6'

Find movies playing in English in Germany with The Local’s cinema guide. READ () »

Germans bathe easy in clear waters

German outdoor swimming spots are cleaner than ever, results from a European Commission survey showed on Tuesday. On the whole, the EU's water quality has, it said, significantly improved. READ () »

• 06/05 German lake full of dead carp baffles officials »
• 08/04 Lake Constance fishers fret: waters 'too clean' »
• 09/03 Greens call for 22 cent tax on plastic bags »

Spain and Germany fight youth employment

Germany has agreed to provide vocational training and jobs for young Spaniards starved of opportunities in their crisis-hit home country. READ () »

Car boss asks Merkel to rethink CO2 pledge

The president of the German Automobile Association (VDA) has written to Angela Merkel, asking her to retract her pledge to significantly reduce CO2 car emissions by 2025, it was reported on Tuesday. READ () »

• 20/05 Germany grapples with nuclear energy phaseout »
• 14/05 Volkswagen plans giant car plant in China »
• 08/04 'Germany is the Mecca of the car industry' »

Germany's collective blame phobia

The Germans have a particular phobia – they live in constant fear of being blamed for something. A commentary by Der Tagesspiegel's Malte Lehming. READ () »

'At his final heartbeat I knew I had to act'

The trial of a group of young men suspected of beating to death 20-year-old Jonny K. began in Berlin this week. His older sister's tireless campaigning for a safer capital in the wake of his death makes her our German of the Week. READ () »

'It's time Germany got over its speed fetish'

Suggesting speed limits for the autobahn is as politically toxic in Germany as gun control is in America. But it's time to hit the brakes on the country's reckless driving culture, comments The Local's Ben Knight. READ () »

'My friends call me travelling x-ray salesman'

In the latest installment of My German Career, The Local spoke with New Zealander physicist Graham Appleby about Hamburg's high intensity x-ray beams and life in Germany's scientific community. READ () »

'Lüneburg is a small and cosy city'

Get The Local flavour of Germany with our series offering an insider's take on their hometown. This week, Sathish Kumar Shanmugam talks about his adopted town Lüneburg. READ () »

Giant Barbie doll house opens amid protests

Harmless pink fun or a bad influence on young girls? A life-size Barbie dream house attraction opened in Berlin on Thursday to protests including a bare-chested woman burning a doll in effigy. Jessica Ware reports. READ () »