Nun at the Helfta Abbey watching as the fish pond was refilled. Photo: DPA

One tonne of fish dead after dairy farmer protest

Published: 21 Sep 09 15:24 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20090921-22059.html

Dairy farmers who dumped truckloads of milk in protest of EU policies last week in Saxony-Anhalt are now under investigation after more than a tonne of fish died in a nearby pond over the weekend, a police spokesperson told The Local on Monday.

Some 200 farmers gathered in the eastern German state at the Helfta Abbey in Eisleben on Friday to draw attention to their plight during meetings of German agriculture officials. Media reports said they intentionally disposed of some 14,000 litres of milk at the site.

“They dumped the milk in front of the abbey where it flowed through the drainage system into the pond,” police spokesperson Siegfried Koch in the nearby city of Halle told The Local. “By Saturday evening it was clear there was a problem.”

According to Koch, the fire brigade and other municipal workers tried to save the fish by removing them – but of the 1.5 tonnes they caught, two-thirds in the pond at the picturesque medieval Cistercian abbey had already died. The fish included goldfish, koi and pike.

“The entire pond had to be pumped out and now it will have to be cleaned,” he said. “It’s a tonne of dead fish and it likely smells like it too.”

Public prosecutors are investigating the farmers for negligent water pollution, he added.

On Friday the state agriculture ministers encouraged more support for dairy farmers from the European Union, saying EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s plan to give them a one-off payment and have countries buy up excess milk insufficient.

According to the National Union of Farmers (DBV), dairy farmers earn between €0.20 and €0.27 per litre of milk, but need twice as much to cover their costs.

The protest in Eisleben was part of a series of protests across Germany last week where more than 100,000 litres of milk were spilled onto fields and down gutters.

Germany’s 90,000 dairy farmers have been fighting for more than a year – staging delivery boycotts, strikes and large demonstrations – to gain recognition for their situation.

Kristen Allen (kristen.allen@thelocal.de)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Fark It! Digg This Facebook  Share everywhere
Send to a friend Printable version Twitter This

Your comments about this article:

#1
15:35 September 21, 2009 by grampus
I told you fish and dairy don't mix! Oyyyyy...
Report abuse »
#2
17:19 September 21, 2009 by West_Indian
1 tonne of Goldfish, Koi and Pike, ooooohh thats expensive. A good size Koi (1.5 kilo) goes for 15-25 Euro
Report abuse »
#3
17:26 September 21, 2009 by Meatman
I'm sure this will get the minister's support. Hey, let's dump all our milk onto the ground, we'll surely get more money if we waste it and create a shortage. Oh, by the way, let's spend a healthy chunk of our savings into buying back the fish we killed. Milk prices soar, beer prices go down. Hop farmers reap profit, dairy farmers reconsider dumping and killing. Guess I'm missing the logic here.
Report abuse »
#4
18:18 September 21, 2009 by Chelle63
What a waste when people are dying of hunger in Africa and Asia...senseless!!
Report abuse »
#5
19:00 September 21, 2009 by West_Indian
So tru Chelle63. There goes 60,000 mouths denied a cup of milk.
Report abuse »
#6
20:51 September 21, 2009 by auniquecorn
of course they need twice as much to cover their cost,, Look at those ?500,000€ tractors they drive. and most of them only have 20 cows.....

A bunch of Idiots
Report abuse »
#7
10:47 September 22, 2009 by subhendra
Instead of wasting so much milk, they could have arrange to send this to malnutrition children in Afrika/Asia. Do some charity man!!!
Report abuse »
#8
10:53 September 22, 2009 by SpiderPig
What a waste when people are dying of hunger in Africa and Asia...senseless!!
But isnt this Natural selection?
Report abuse »
#9
10:54 September 22, 2009 by thefirelane
What a waste when people are dying of hunger in Africa and Asia...senseless!!
No one starves due to lack of food production.

Starvation is the result of either political problems or transportation difficulties, neither of which these farmers are in any position to solve.
Report abuse »
#10
10:56 September 22, 2009 by MajorBummer
But isnt this Natural selection?
You wouldn't be seeing it like that if you were the one starving. All you had to be was to be born unlucky.
Report abuse »
#11
13:57 September 22, 2009 by kato
Look at those ?500,000€ tractors they drive. and most of them only have 20 cows.....
Actually most smaller farms got rid of their cows (and often pigs too) ages ago, because EU subsidies are faltering and have been rearranged to pretty…[/quote]We're already ruining the economy in Africa with chicken drumsticks now. Donating food of any kind is a short-term measure that ensures that the region never gets on its feet.
Report abuse »
#12
14:02 September 22, 2009 by Steven192
Sounds just like my old mum "Don't waste it, there are starving children in XXXXX who would be grateful for that".

I always did wonder just how I was supposed to get a couple of peas and a pile of left over sprouts to where ever it was - in an envelope perhaps?

As has been said above it is not a lack of food worldwide that is the problem.
Report abuse »
#13
14:16 September 22, 2009 by Derekbeggs
(attached image)

I think the nun must be lactose intolerant judging by the projectile vomiting.
Report abuse »
#14
14:21 September 22, 2009 by chimpansi
Well this recession is not enough for Deutschland. They need more of this atleast 1000 times, for them to know the real value of food & money. It really makes me sick to know that Government supports this madness. Now whats next? Killing the cows? Few years back we had mad cow disease. Now we have mad farmer disease!!
Report abuse »
#15
16:34 September 22, 2009 by Steven192
Well this recession is not enough for Deutschland. They need more of this atleast 1000 times, for them to know the real value of food & money. It …
Do you actually know what the farmers are getting paid for their milk?

Ca 20 cents a litre and this at a time when everything they need to produce that milk is getting more expensive.

Now I know what you are going to say, they should do something else then but it is not that easy when you have every single penny you own plus of course any amount of bank loans and the like tied up in diary farming. They can't change and they can't sell so what can they do?

The problem is that the public are either unaware or don't give a that the dairy farmers are going to the wall. The price you pay in the shop for a liter of milk (90cents?) is the only thing most of us care about so this sort of in your face protest is needed to get their message across.
Report abuse »
#16
16:41 September 22, 2009 by 8420PR
?0.42 for a litre of milk in aldi.

bargain.
Report abuse »
#17
16:45 September 22, 2009 by thefirelane
but it is not that easy when you have every single penny you own plus of course any amount of bank loans and the like tied up in diary farming.
This is different than any other small business owner how exactly?
Report abuse »
#18
16:52 September 22, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
Do you actually know what the farmers are getting paid for their milk?

Ca 20 cents a litre and this at a time when everything they need to …
so what are you suggesting? Government price fixing? Farmers have been riding the CAP gravy train for decades now. It's about time their ranks were thinned out a little to stop all this nonsensical over-production which is the cause of the 20cts a litre wholesale price.
Report abuse »
#19
16:56 September 22, 2009 by Chocky
No one starves due to lack of food production.
Right, so the burgeoning famine in Kenya is nothing to do with drought, but is in fact caused by the fact that they don't decent roads or HGVs?
Report abuse »
#20
17:02 September 22, 2009 by Steven192
I am not saying that the Government has to step in and agree that market pressures should be allowed to work but all the "oh how dare they demonstrate to try and save their lives work" and "they shouldn't be allowed to do such things" is annoying.

They have exactly as much right to destroy their own property as anyone else plus they have the right to demonstrate to try and force change and influence public opinion- the same rights as anyone else who marches in the street, at least the farmers are only destroying their own stuff and not smashing up other peoples shops or setting fire to cars or threatening death to anyone who disagrees.
Report abuse »
#21
17:06 September 22, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
so i guess you missed the bit where they managed to kill a tonne of someone else's fish then?
Report abuse »
#22
17:07 September 22, 2009 by Darkknight
If the Germans don't want to buy all this excess milk, then the Milk/farmers unions should think about exporting it to other country's that may need it.
Report abuse »
#23
17:09 September 22, 2009 by Steven192
Right, so the burgeoning famine in Kenya is nothing to do with drought, but is in fact caused by the fact that they don't decent roads or HGVs?
Exactly right. There is more than enough suplus food in the world to feed every single person - IF you can get the food to the people who need it before it rots.

The amount of fresh food thrown away by one supermarket chain daily would be enough to feed a HUGE amount of people (can't be bothered to research how many by lots and lots) but there is no way to get the food to those that need it in time,.

So the food is available but the lack of transport means people die.
Report abuse »
#24
17:10 September 22, 2009 by Steven192
so i guess you missed the bit where they managed to kill a tonne of someone else's fish then?
That was an accident/oversight.

Not a deliberate act. Thought you might have realised the difference.
Report abuse »
#25
17:26 September 22, 2009 by William Thirteen
stop the crying - milk is for babies!
Report abuse »
#26
03:59 September 23, 2009 by interplanetjanet
stop the crying - milk is for babies!
Yeah, there's no sense in crying over spilt milk!
Report abuse »
#27
09:59 September 23, 2009 by chimpansi
Steven192, how do you know that it was not a deliberate act?

Probably they wanted to manipulate the fish price as well!! who knows!! Remember they were expensive variety of fish. Your theory on milk farming is skewed. The source of problem is nothing but greed. EU is better off not caring about this. As they say the system will correct itself. Sorry to be rude these farmers should consider other source of income and match their produce with demand.
Report abuse »
#28
10:16 September 23, 2009 by moistvelvet
They say that they only earn between €0.20 and €0.27 per litre of milk, would this be partly due to too many farmers jumping on the EU subsidy gravy train and becoming dairy farmers making a surplus of milk? Poverty is recognised as living on $1 a day, each cow receives more than that in subsidies from the EU, therefore sadly a cow in the EU is financially better off than someone living in poverty in Africa.
Report abuse »
#29
10:24 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
Steven192, how do you know that it was not a deliberate act?

Probably they wanted to manipulate the fish price as well!! who knows&…
Fish price! Twit.

What exactly is my "theory on milk farming"? I didn't even know I had one - I just mentioned the facts behind the protests.

You seem to be full of good ideas so maybe you can come up with a way for a diary farmer to change when he can't get any credit, can't sell his livestock, can't even sell his buildings or land to generate some cash. How exactly is this person going to be able to "consider other source of income and match their produce with demand"?

Or would you rather he just slaughter the cows and then claim bankruptcy and start living on hartz4 and the dole?

The point is that the farmers protest has done what it set out to do. People are more aware of what is going on.
Report abuse »
#30
10:27 September 23, 2009 by thefirelane
You seem to be full of good ideas so maybe you can come up with a way for a diary farmer to change when he can't get any credit, can't sell hi…
And again I ask, how is this situation different than any other small business owner in an over-saturated market?
Report abuse »
#31
10:29 September 23, 2009 by Small Town Boy
?0.42 for a litre of milk in aldi. bargain.
This is the attitude that I hate. Some people are so focused on low prices that they don't care who they screw to get it. Milk deliveries to the doorstep died in Britain because Sainsbury's sold the milk 4p cheaper. Too many people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Report abuse »
#32
10:38 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
And again I ask, how is this situation different than any other small business owner in an over-saturated market?
No difference - never said there was. Would you get all upset and outraged if your local widget maker started throwing his widgets away in protest at loosing his job?
Report abuse »
#33
10:41 September 23, 2009 by thefirelane
Would you get all upset and outraged if your local widget maker started throwing his widgets away in protest at loosing his job?
If the "protest" where to pour ones product into a local water supply and kill a bunch of fish, then yes. I just hope gas stations never feel they aren't making enough money.
Report abuse »
#34
10:42 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
I won't get upset and outraged about farmers not getting fair prices until they stop milking the tax-payer through the CAP.
Report abuse »
#35
10:43 September 23, 2009 by moistvelvet
Small Town Boy, agreed it is people who only see low prices as a bargain for themselves that have a narrow view of the effects that low price has on others, same sort of people complain and feel robbed when paying airport tax on a 1 euro flight with Ryan Air!
Report abuse »
#36
10:45 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
If the "protest" where to pour ones product into a local water supply and kill a bunch of fish, then yes. I just hope gas stations never fee…
Why do you think this was a deliberate act? According to the report it is much more likely just an accident.
Report abuse »
#37
10:46 September 23, 2009 by Pas
Why should they be protected from going bankrupt any more than anybody else? If the product they sell doesn't raise enough income then the market will decide.

As I said before, I have family who were dairy farmers and they can't believe how few cows each farmer has here. Yes it's sad for the farmers who lose their livelyhood and as a society we should do everything to help them find something else but we can't keep protecting industries. It doesn't help in the long run.
Report abuse »
#38
10:51 September 23, 2009 by thefirelane
I don't think they deliberately killed the fish, obviously, but they did deliberately inject massive amounts of a foreign substance into the local water supply. Yes, I was joking with my gasoline example... but what exactly makes one substance acceptable? Would Olive Oil be ok? What about Beer? Anthrax is natural, why not that?
Report abuse »
#39
10:53 September 23, 2009 by Pas
They are farmers. It's their job to understand the freaking land. If they couldn't work out that dumping loads of milk in the environment could have a bad effect elsewhere then they really shouldn't be farmers anyway.
Report abuse »
#40
10:55 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
I am NOT saying that the farmers deserve saving or that they deserve protection. I know the market decides in the long run.

It is the fact that some posters are all enraged that the farmers dare to protest by throwing milk away is what get me as if every other grouping/sect/proclivity are allowed on the streets to protest against/for whatever oddity they want but not when it comes to farmers.

Ah well at least they haven't started setting fire to the cows yet - or are they too soggy to burn?
Report abuse »
#41
10:57 September 23, 2009 by parnell
Why should they be protected from going bankrupt any more than anybody else? If the product they sell doesn't raise enough income then the market …
uh??? Average dairy size in Germany is well over 100 cows.

http://vbs.psu.edu/ext/resources/pdf/dairy-cow-nutrition/fertility-German1.pdf
Report abuse »
#42
11:04 September 23, 2009 by Small Town Boy
we should do everything to help them find something else but we can't keep protecting industries. It doesn't help in the long run.
Tell that to Merkel, who has poured away billions trying to save a few unskilled jobs in the automobile industry.
Report abuse »
#43
11:15 September 23, 2009 by eviz
I think that most farmers who grew up on the land don't take lightly the idea of destroying their own product and this form of protest is simply the strongest way they can think of to draw attention to the issue. We had doctors recently offering their services for free in protest at the new contracts with the Krankenkasses, maybe it would have been more constructive (and better publicity?) if the farmers had tried this. Whether it was an accident or not, I doubt they could have been unaware of the potential damage to the water, so it is disappointing that this happened.

But yes, there is a big difference between milk and widgets. The situation is complicated by the history of subsidies and quotas, but the countryside is a common good, managed by farmers but from which all of society benefits. I certainly don't want to see all the farmland covered in widget factories and widget dispatch call centres because it's become the only way for families to secure an income from the land. Nor do I want to see all the dairy farmland converted to growing biofuel crops or rapeseed.

Farmers have already been successfully diversifying for years to reduce their reliance on the price-dumping supermarkets, into areas like Urlaub auf dem Bauernhof, organics, direct sales, farm shops, specialist products like onsite artisan cheesemaking etc. Ok some of these are still tied up with subsidies and others are complicated by bewildering regulations, and it's still bloody hard to make a living. But more support for these activities has to be the way forward.
Report abuse »
#44
11:17 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
uh??? Average dairy size in Germany is well over 100 cows.

http://vbs.psu.edu/e...ity-German1.pdf
that link you provided doesn't state that the average dairy herd size in Gemany is over 100 cows. Perhaps you have another source.
Report abuse »
#45
11:19 September 23, 2009 by Pas
And I'm quoting her. Their herd is about 5 cows now though and they belong to somebody else. Very sweet they are too.
Report abuse »
#46
11:25 September 23, 2009 by jeremy
This is the attitude that I hate. Some people are so focused on low prices that they don't care who they screw to get it. Milk deliveries to the d…
Said STB.

Last night Wife brought home 1 euro milk from Norma. Real Bayern Milch and it tasted better than the UHT rubbish from the other supers here.

The number of people unaware from where their food comes staggers me.
Report abuse »
#47
11:32 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
As I said before, I have family who were dairy farmers and they can't believe how few cows each farmer has here.
uh??? Average dairy size in Germany is well over 100 cows.

http://vbs.psu.edu/e...ity-German1.pdf
that link you provided doesn't state that the average dairy herd size in Gemany is over 100 cows. Perhaps you have another source.
And I'm quoting her. Their herd is about 5 cows now though and they belong to somebody else. Very sweet they are too.
average dairy herd size in Germany is about 40 cows per herd. In the UK it is about 65. In Denmark it is over 100.
Report abuse »
#48
14:06 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
Said STB.

Last night Wife brought home 1 euro milk from Norma. Real Bayern Milch and it tasted better than the UHT rubbish from the other s…
If you buy UHT milk then you deserve everything you get. Foul muck it is.
Report abuse »
#49
14:51 September 23, 2009 by jeremy
Sorry I must clarify. Aldi used to sell their ordinary bio milk which kept rather long. Then we discovered Penny was selling bio but better quality milk, but they recently converted their bio range to a longer life and more bland flavoured milk. I'm talking not about that "haltbar" stuff which I use time to time to make yoghurt, but the ordinary stuff.
Report abuse »
#50
14:56 September 23, 2009 by 8420PR
Small Town Boy, agreed it is people who only see low prices as a bargain for themselves that have a narrow view of the effects that low price has on o…
Each to their own. Nobody is stopping you paying ?1000 for a litre of milk. Others may have different priorities - should they not get a choice?
Said STB.

Last night Wife brought home 1 euro milk from Norma. Real Bayern Milch and it tasted better than the UHT rubbish from the other s…
This is the textbook solution for a small business that cannot compete on cost (against larger businesses with greater economies of scale), and I can think of a lot of examples where it has worked very well.

Most people are happy to pay extra for better quality/sourcing provenance, I don't know anyone that would just like to pay more.
Report abuse »
#51
14:59 September 23, 2009 by 8420PR
Sorry I must clarify. Aldi used to sell their ordinary bio milk which kept rather long. Then we discovered Penny was selling bio but better quality mi…
This seems to be a trend among all milk brands - from cheap to expensive. Only 2 years ago milk used to typically last only 4-5 days from purchase to best before date, but now everything seems to be at least 15 days (langerfrisch or something like that). I agree that the flavour has suffered. I also guess the retailers have pocketted the cost savings.
Report abuse »
#52
15:04 September 23, 2009 by Small Town Boy
Each to their own. Nobody is stopping you paying ?1000 for a litre of milk. Others may have different priorities - should they not get a choice?
We're talking about 10-20 cents extra on a litre of milk. This makes little difference to the average shopper, but a big difference to the farmer.…[/quote]Milk sold in bottles ? where you can still find it ? generally still has shorter best-before dates and tastes better as a result.
Report abuse »
#53
15:04 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
milk is disgusting anyway, no matter whether you buy ?1,50 litres or 0,40 litres. I can't understand why people drink it. I only ever use it to make my cereal wet on the odd occasion that i eat it.
Report abuse »
#54
15:06 September 23, 2009 by Small Town Boy
It's not just for drinking; it's used for cooking, baking, for cereal, tea and coffee, etc. etc. The only time I've sat down and drank a glass of milk in the past 20 years was at an Alpine hut where it had been produced.
Report abuse »
#55
15:08 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
so why you all going on about taste if you aren't going to drink it then? Do you really think you can tell the difference between ?1,50 bio milk and ?0,40 longer life milk once you've baked it in a friggin cake?
Report abuse »
#56
15:31 September 23, 2009 by Small Town Boy
No, for baking you won't taste the difference, but on your cereal you will.
Report abuse »
#57
15:35 September 23, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
not if it turns the milk chocolaty, won't. With the amount of sugar in most cereals i doubt you'd taste a difference.
Report abuse »
#58
15:45 September 23, 2009 by DanHessen
This thread makes me want to cry.
Report abuse »
#59
16:05 September 23, 2009 by Steven192
UHT milk tastes vile all the time whether baked in a cake put in your coffee or on cerals (with or without sugar).

The only thing worse is that "non-dairy whitener" powder stuff. That is truely horrific and one of the reasons I take my coffee black now.
Report abuse »
#60
16:09 September 23, 2009 by Pas
Milky milky.
Report abuse »
#61
16:36 September 23, 2009 by acquascutum
FARMERS ARE SCUM FOR DOING THIS
Report abuse »
#62
17:16 September 23, 2009 by Pas
A tad overreaction? Or did I miss the 1000's of farmers all lined up pouring out the milk?
Report abuse »
#63
17:20 September 23, 2009 by hughk
This is one of the reasons why we need CAP reform which is mostly being fought by the French and German small farmers. NZ has shown that it is possible to have agriculture without subsidies. The subsidies distort the market and result in over production which is rewarded rather than penalised.
Report abuse »
#64
13:36 September 24, 2009 by kato
The subsidies distort the market and result in over production which is rewarded rather than penalised.
Overproduction (above the milk quota, which is currently about 110% of demand in the EU) is penalised in the EU so far that even thinking of it already makes the entire remaining production unprofitable. The countries with the highest overproduction are Italy and Austria btw.

It's actually these quotas that distort the market - in the other direction. It's cheaper to just store or trash overproduction instead of selling it. The answer should clearly be that the milk quota needs to have tighter rules - push for a production quota instead of a sales quota. Of course the capitalists in the EU want to completely abandon the milk quota instead, which will lead to hundreds of thousands of farms collapsing after 2015.
Report abuse »
#65
13:42 September 24, 2009 by Pas
Flat fact is people (well outside of OG) like milk and it's a base product in much cooking. Thousands of farms won't collapse if there is a market. Many would but they would be merged into larger farms and the milk still produced.

Farmers deserve no more protection than any other industry. I can see some benefits in short term protection of some industries in times of need but the long term protectionism the farming industry gets is an insult to the rest of us.
Report abuse »
#66
14:51 September 24, 2009 by parnell
average dairy herd size in Germany is about 40 cows per herd. In the UK it is about 65. In Denmark it is over 100.
Over 100 in the UK as well :

http://www.dow.com/silage/trends/industry/uk_ie.htm

In Germany it appears to be about 35 now - the figures I had before are contradicted here :

http://www.dow.com/silage/trends/industry/de.htm

In any case from the above table Germany is producing less milk now than heretofore.
Report abuse »
#67
14:56 September 24, 2009 by Owain Glyndwr
here is the source of my figures:

(attached image)
Report abuse »
#68
13:18 September 25, 2009 by acquascutum
THESE FARMERS ARE SICK.

MAYBE THIS IS THEIR SECOND FAVOURITE PASTIME AFTER YOU KNOW WHAT. THE ONE THAT MAKES THEM HAVE EYES CLOSE TOGETHER AND BIG EARS.
Report abuse »
#69
17:41 September 25, 2009 by handy
if they were to start giving the milk away for free the supermarkets that make huge profits from milk would pressure the government to amend the laws, wouldn?t take very long for big business to change the laws. And the fish wouldn?t have to fear the wrath of simple farmer Joe!!

As for giving the milk away to the starving little kiddies of Africa, the sentiment is nice but the realty is far from nice. The main issue with this finger in the dike style of fix is that that little kid as sweet as he is grows up on aid agency support and has 10 kids of his own. When the next famine comes along now there are 12 hungry mouths to feed,

The population per square kilometer need to reflect the lands ability to produce food in the long term and not just in the last 3 years.

Oh and dose anyone know of a way to send 14,000 liters of milk to Africa?? And I think the average starving African would need slightly more then milk in there diet!

?Here you go starving African kids you won?t die from starvation straight away but you will from the complication resulting from a gross intake of milk in your diet enjoy!!!?
Report abuse »
#70
21:53 September 27, 2009 by acquascutum
if they were to start giving the milk away for free the supermarkets that make huge profits from milk would pressure the government to amend the laws,…
Class!!! Finger in the Dike. Didn't think they were into that.....
Report abuse »
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
For comment quoting and other advanced formatting features,
try posting via this article's discussion forum page instead.
Today's headlines
TRAGEDY IN DUISBURG
Photo: DPA

Own party now turns on Duisburg mayor

Embattled Duisburg Mayor Adolf Sauerland faced demands to resign from his own conservative party on Friday over the Love Parade tragedy that left 21 people dead. READ »

Photo: DPA

Germany wins double-gold at European championships

Germany scored double-gold Thursday night at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, taking first place in both the women’s 100 metres sprint and the javelin throw. READ »

Photo: DPA

Skilled migrants urgently needed, says minister

With Germany industry facing a looming skills shortage, Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle revealed on Friday he was planning a major recruitment drive to attract skilled migrants. READ (1 COMMENT) »

Photo: DPA

Behemoth wine barrel to be tapped after 400 years

The world’s oldest giant wine barrel, held in a Saxony-Anhalt hunting mansion, has been refilled for the first time in its 400-year history and will be filling glasses at a festival beginning on Friday. READ (1 COMMENT) »

Photo: DPA

Elderly woman robbed by fake relative after weekend reunion

Police are searching for a woman who robbed a retiree after she claimed to be a relative and spent the weekend at her home along with a child and dog, police said on Thursday. READ »

Mothers with their children at the employment centre. Photo: DPA

Single-parent families on the rise in Germany

The number of single-parent families in Germany has risen over the past decade, with nearly one in five mothers and fathers now raising their children on their own, a national “microcensus” revealed Thursday. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Photo: DPA

Weatherman Kachelmann released from jail

Four months after he was arrested for allegedly raping his girlfriend, weatherman Jörg Kachelmann was released from custody on Thursday. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Photo: DPA

Home offices should be tax-deductible, court rules

Teachers, professors and other people who keep a second office at home are in for a windfall after a court ruled Thursday that tax deductions on home offices should be expanded. READ (2 COMMENTS) »

More National
More popular articles »
Highlights
Photo: El Pais
GALLERY »
Remembering the Love Parade victims: They came from across Germany and as far as Australia, Bosnia and China. Fourteen young Germans and seven foreigners died in the hellish crush at the Love Parade in Duisburg on July 24.
Photo:Warner Bros.
LIFESTYLE »
The Local's English-language movie listings for Germany
Photo: DPA
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Beyond Oktoberfest: A guide to German beer and wine festivals

See all ads | Join the Marketplace

Sponsored Links
Jobs in Germany, in English

799 jobs available
469 new jobs this week
6 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Latest news from The Local in Sweden
Blog
Essentials

Dating
Looking for your own blonde bombshell? Or is the strong, silent type more your style? Find a German sweetheart here.

Weather
"After clouds comes clear weather," say the Germans. But what about after that? Find out in The Local's weather section.

Blog
German stuff that's distracting us today.

Noticeboard
Whether you want to buy, sell, hire, announce or promote something, here's the place to do it - completely free of charge.

Discuss
Debate the news, ask for advice, make friends - or just let off steam.

Search News


Register

Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss

REGISTER FOR FREE »

News from the Goethe-Institut
News from Young Germany
News from DeutschlandOnline
Noticeboard
SHOW ALL NOTICES »
Toytown Germany
Germany's English-speaking crowd
Toytown Germany
FULL INDEX »
Sales managers - country wide
The Local is seeking talented and experienced media sales professionals for our online advertising sales in Germany
FULL JOB DETAILS
Flat rate internet + free calls to USA, UK, Canada and more
Surf‘n’Talk service from TKS offers a powerful combination of high-speed Internet connectivity along with an around-the-clock flat for calls to your “home country”. Find out more at the TKS website.
INFO > www.tkscable.com
JOB: Sales position @ Globe Business College Munich
GBCM is currently seeking an experienced sales person to work in the area of student recruitment in Germany and internationally
FULL JOB DETAILS
JOB: Customer Service Agent - Munich
Mr Lodge GmbH, Germany's biggest agency for furnished apartments, is looking for an English native speaker
FULL JOB DETAILS

The Local Europe GmbH
Linienstrasse 214
10119 Berlin
Germany