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Refugee crisis

German right-wing supporters of Thügida on a march in eastern Germany. Photo: DPA

German far-right 'moving against migrants'

Germany's domestic intelligence chief warned Sunday of a radicalisation of right-wing groups amid a record influx of migrants, as xenophobic rallies and clashes shook several towns at the weekend.

Kipchoge failed to break the world record. Photo: DPA

Kipchoge wins Berlin marathon but no record

Eliud Kipchoge failed in his bid to set a third straight world record at the Berlin marathon on Sunday after winning in an unofficial time of two hours, 04.01 minutes.

Germany's Florian Reus wins Spartathlon

Volkswagen scandal

Photo: DPA

VW 'ignored warnings on 'illegal' cheat software'

Volkswagen ignored warnings from staff and a supplier years ago that the emission test rigging software that sparked the company's worst ever corporate scandal was illegal, news reports said on Sunday

Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: DPA

Another German minister hit by plagiarism row

Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has fiercely rejected allegations made on Saturday in media reports that she plagiarised portions of her doctoral thesis, a charge that has already brought down other high-level German leaders.

Volkswagen scandal

Photo: DPA

EU intends to tighten auto emission tests

The EU has decided to change its diesel car emission tests to prevent the sort of rigging used by German auto giant Volkswagen after discrepancies in the results, EU sources said.

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, speaking at the UN. Photo: DPA

Merkel: UN Security Council needs reform

German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined leaders from Brazil, India and Japan on Saturday to push for seats in a revamped UN Security Council that they said would do a better job of addressing global crises.

Merkel wants Assad at table for Syria talks

Refugee crisis

German chancellor, Angela Merkel, poses for a selfie with a refugee in Berlin. Photo: DPA

Poll: Merkel's popularity hit by refugee crisis

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity at home has been hit by her policy of openness towards the wave of migrants coming in from Syria and elsewhere, according to an opinion poll published on Saturday.

Florian Reus. Photo: Facebook

Germany's Florian Reus wins Spartathlon

German runner Florian Reus won the historic 245.3km Spartathlon race on Saturday for the first time, clocking 23 hours, 17 minutes and 31 seconds.

Volkswagen scandal

John Macdougall/AFP

Switzerland suspends sales of VW models

Swiss authorities said on Friday they had temporarily banned the sale of new Volkswagen brand diesel-engine models potentially equipped with software capable of tricking environmental tests.

Volkswagen scandal

Photo: DPA.

VW names Porsche chief Müller as new CEO

Embattled German carmaker Volkswagen named Matthias Müller, head of its luxury sports car brand Porsche, as its new chief executive on Friday, tasked with steering it out of the wreckage of its pollution test rigging scandal.

Features

Startups in Germany

Photo: Wear It Berlin.

'Glimpse of the future' at Berlin wearable tech fest

International startups at Berlin’s Wear It fest show this week that "wearable technology" is about more than just smartwatches - it’s also about turning your jacket into a solar panel, placing LED lights on haute couture fashion, and even controlling a wheelchair with your eyes.

Volkswagen scandal

The Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg in the 1940s. Photo: Volkswagen archive

How VW was rebuilt by a stubborn Englishman

There have been plenty of jokes about Volkswagen's origins in the Nazi era after news of its dodging emissions standards broke. But less well known is the role a British officer played in saving the company directly after the Second World War. 15 comments

The Local List

Photo: obs/Sky Deutschland/Jimmy King

Top songs foreigners sang about Germany

This week, The Local has hunted out some of our favourite songs by foreigners about Germany, from Bowie to Beirut.

Photo: Michael Scott Moore.

My Berlin 'safe haven' after 977 days' captivity

One year ago on Wednesday, Los Angeles native Michael Scott Moore was set free after being held hostage by Somali pirates for 977 days. The German-American journalist tells The Local how after his release Berlin became his sanctuary to recover from the trauma of captivity.

This Week in History

After 5000 years under ice, Ötzi is now on display in a cooling chamber at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. Photo: DPA

5000 years on ice: Ötzi, Europe's oldest celebrity

When German tourists Erika and Helmut Simons found a human body in the Austrian-Italian Alps, they had no idea what they'd stumbled upon. This iceman was over 5000 years old - and was something archaeologists had never seen before. 4 comments

More news

Startups in Germany

Photo: Wear It Berlin.

'Glimpse of the future' at Berlin wearable tech fest

This Week in History

Photo: NASA

The German astronomer who found Neptune

On a September night in 1846, a Berlin astronomer was the first person to directly observe Neptune - but he wasn't about to get full credit for the find. The Local spoke to Susanne Hoffmann from Berlin Planetarium to find out what made the discovery of Neptune so extraordinary.

Volkswagen scandal

Volkswagen workers' cars sit outside the company's Wolfsburg headquarters. Photo: DPA

2.8 million 'manipulated' VWs on German roads

Almost three million Volkswagen diesel cars included software that allowed them to foil regulators' emissions tests, the German government said on Friday.

Volkswagen scandal

The Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg in the 1940s. Photo: Volkswagen archive

How VW was rebuilt by a stubborn Englishman

15 comments

The Local List

Photo: obs/Sky Deutschland/Jimmy King

Top songs foreigners sang about Germany

This week, The Local has hunted out some of our favourite songs by foreigners about Germany, from Bowie to Beirut.

Read older articles »

From our other editions

Refugee crisis

An elderly man from Aleppo, Syria, waits for news of whether he can travel to Germany with his granddaughter. Photo: Kim Traill

Austria sends refugees to Slovakia

Just 18 of an agreed 500 Syrian asylum-seekers arrived in Slovakia on Thursday under a deal with EU neighbour Austria that has sparked protest in the village where they will stay temporarily.

EXPAT GUIDE | Presented by Geneva Relocation

Photo: Patrick Nouhailler

The biggest challenges of moving to Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the world’s best expat countries, with some of the highest living standards and a sophisticated, multilingual population. Yet moving to Switzerland can still be stressful and difficult if you don't do it right.

The body parts were found in the man's freezer (not pictured here). Photo: Peter Galvin/Flickr

Dane cut off women’s genitals in South Africa

South African police have arrested a Danish citizen after 21 pieces of female genitalia were discovered in his freezer.

The Spanish clowning group's protest has not gone down well with Palestinians. Photo: Pallasos en Rebeldía/Facebook

Spanish naked clown protest flops after sparking outrage in Palestine

A Spanish clowning group has caused controversy after stripping off in front off the wall separating Israel and Palestine in protest at Israeli policy.