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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 () »
Germany has agreed to provide vocational training and jobs for young Spaniards starved of opportunities in their crisis-hit home country. READ () »
Justin Bieber's pet monkey, which was seized by German customs in March, officially became German property this week after the Canadian pop star failed to claim the animal, officials said. READ () »
A wild bison has been born in Germany for the first time in centuries. The lead female of a herd released from captivity in April gave birth to the calf on May 5th, it was revealed on Tuesday. READ () »
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 () »
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 () »
Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) called on Tuesday for symbols associated with the totalitarian socialist regime of former East Germany to be banned, in the same way that it is illegal to display Nazi memorabilia. READ () »
German state interior ministers are hashing out a plan to lower the amount of alcohol cyclists can legally consume before getting on their bikes. The measures come as figures show one in 10 bike accidents are the result of drunk riders. READ () »
Ray Manzarek, co-founder of legendary 1960s rock band The Doors and creator of their signature organ sound, died on Monday in Germany after a long battle with cancer, his manager said. He was 74. READ () »
German tech company SAP said on Tuesday it wants to hire hundreds of people with autism to work as software testers and programmers. The search has, it said, begun for people “who think differently from others.” READ () »
The new jersey for England’s national football team has sparked the ire of English fans for looking too much like the kit archrivals Germany wore when they won the World Cup in 1974. READ () »
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 () »
Germany has called for "visible" progress in implementing a landmark deal between Serbia and Kosovo before securing Berlin's backing for Belgrade's bid to join the European Union. READ () »
Rain in the west, sunshine in the east - Germany's weather was divided on Monday, as the German Weather Service (DWD) warned of an unsettled week ahead. READ () »
More than 20,000 Goths from all over the world gathered in Leipzig in eastern Germany over the Whitsun weekend to celebrate all things dark and Gothic. READ () »
Germany's energy transition project - in which nuclear power will be phased out and replaced with energy from renewable sources - is facing the challenges of cheap coal, unresolved energy storage and an out-of-date electricity grid. READ () »
With two Bundesliga clubs in the Champions League final, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund supporters are rushing to London for this weekend's Wembley showdown. READ () »
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn deepened diplomatic tensions with Germany after comparing the policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Nazi military invasion of his country ordered by Adolf Hitler. READ () »
Visitors to Berlin's iconic Reichstag parliament building will continue to face long queues before they can enter through a temporary container, after politicians scrapped plans for an expensive underground visitor centre. READ () »
The Federal Criminal Police Office is warning of a new type of Islamist terrorist threat from the air that could attack both passenger and cargo planes as well as airport facilities, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported. READ () »
European Union proposals to eliminate one and two cent euro coins is annoying some Germans, including a few at the Bundesbank, while others think an EU idea to introduce one and two-euro notes is a good one. READ () »
A 15-year-old boy died on Saturday at the popular “Tropical Islands” swimming and entertainment centre outside of Berlin, the Bild newspaper reported. READ () »
Eurovision Song Contest favourite Denmark won the competition on Saturday night, while Germany plunged to 21st place – the worst showing in five years – amidst speculation that it was payback for Angela Merkel’s hated policies. READ () »
As the musical world lavishly celebrates Richard Wagner's bicentenary, the composer's great-grandson insists he is no spoilsport by denouncing the German master as a narcissist, woman-hater and an anti-Semite. READ () »
If Saturday’s play was any barometer of what may happen at the Champions League final this coming Saturday, then Borussia Dortmund should be very nervous indeed. READ () »
Although less than 50 percent of Germans are optimistic about their current situation, more than half think their future will be better and the number of pessimists in the country dropped, a survey released on Saturday showed. READ () »
Organic food and health stores are undergoing a hefty expansion in Germany, with the Vitalia chain taking over several locations from the bankrupt Schlecker drugstore chain in Munich alone. READ () »
Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has called for the expulsion of Islamic religious leaders who preach hate and said Germany’s laws must be changed to accomplish that. READ () »
The number of asylum seekers in Germany rose once again in April and was nearly three times higher than last year, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said on Friday, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. READ () »
While a third of Germans would rather pay with the old Deutsche mark than the euro, economists warn that a German exit from the currency union would result in a disaster. READ () »
Nearly 50 percent of German lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents reported being harassed and/or discriminated against last year, a study on the European Union’s LGBT community released on Friday and published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung showed. READ () »
After a freighter went up in flames at the start of the month while carrying radioactive material into Hamburg's harbour, it has emerged that the German port city receives such hazardous cargo up to seven times a month. READ () »
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have installed a automated teller machine for political donations up to €100 at their HQ. The election campaign gag attracts tourists paying a few euros for the receipt it spits out. READ () »
Germany said Friday that French President Francois Hollande's proposal for a eurozone economic government was "interesting" but reacted coolly to his call for strengthened European budgetary powers. READ () »
Foreign families will soon be able to officially engage au pairs from outside the European Union, as long as they speak German at home, as the government prepares to change the law. READ () »
As the trial of a German woman accused of being part of a murderous neo-Nazi terror cell adjourned until next month, when two of her alleged accomplices will speak, excruciating details emerged of how the security services failed to stop them. READ () »
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 () »
With national elections just months away, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has begun to reveal more about her personal life, from her Polish roots to her weakness for men with "nice eyes." READ () »
German authorities have launched an investigation after a prisoner swapped identities with a cell-mate who was due to be released, and simply walked out of jail. READ () »
The German state will not pay to support a child if its father was an anonymous sperm donor, a court ruled this week. READ () »
For anyone looking to take a trip over this long Pentecost holiday weekend, getting there likely won't be half the fun. German drivers' association ADAC has warned of packed roads and traffic jams, particularly on Friday and Saturday. READ () »
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 () »
Germany will not publicly criticize France over economic policy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble insisted on Thursday, amid differences between Berlin and Paris over growth versus austerity in battling the eurozone debt crisis. READ () »
Warm in the east, cool in the west - and wet all over: Low-pressure conditions are creating a weather divide in Germany, meteorologists said Thursday. This should make for a mixed forecast over the long Pentecost holiday weekend. READ () »
A German food industry watchdog singled out drinks-maker Capri-Sun for its annual advertising "award" on Thursday, for what the group described as "shameless" marketing of sugary drinks to children. READ () »
Revelations that Western drug companies colluded with East Germany's communist regime to use more than 50,000 people as "human guinea pigs" in 1980s medical trials has sparked widespread outrage. READ () »
Top Japanese chef Miki Nozawa has died after apparently being attacked by two German men who were unhappy with the fried noodles from his restaurant on the North Sea island of Sylt. READ () »
An American appeals court has denied a fundamentalist Christian family from Germany the right to asylum in the US. The family claimed they were being persecuted for not being allowed to homeschool their children. READ () »
Singletons living alone, combined with people flocking from country to city are just some of the reasons Germany has a dwindling amount of empty housing, according to a new survey. READ () »
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 () »
Singapore has named former East Germany coach Bernd Stange as head of the national team, replacing Serbian Radojko Avramovic, who led the city-state to three Southeast Asian championships. READ () »
The German army is considering new ways to prevent soldiers suffering mental breakdowns on foreign missions, an internal report has revealed. Traumatized soldiers have also long criticized the length of time it takes to get therapy. READ () »
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