Worldcrunch
SchülerVZ, a youth portal, has introduced a new app for young school children to rate their peers. While the company says it’s safe and fun, some experts and parents say it encourages the worst kind of child social pressures that can have lasting conseque
We already knew that stress, alcohol, coffee and mental disorders could affect the quality and duration of our sleep. Research now suggests that genes play a role as well. European scientists recently isolated a gene that may affect a person’s ni
Going vegan may be a healthy choice, but it’s not an easy one, particularly when it comes to squinting at labels to ferret out the animal byproducts hidden within. But in Berlin, at least, vegan shopping just got a lot easier thanks to Veganz, a pioneer s
By acting more like its American counterpart, the European Central Bank (ECB) can help calm the continent’s shaky markets. But don’t expect it to “solve” the crisis – at least not without cooperation from Europe’s stingy commercial banks.
Peter Priller was a Catholic town chaplain in Germany until he fell in love with a male parishioner, and was subsequently excommunicated. Though many closeted gay Catholic priests live in “secret societies,” Priller says there are other choices.
The Federal Administrative Court in Germany has ruled against an 18-year-old Muslim student involved in a drawn-out legal quest for permission to pray openly at school. The decision, however, does not rule out all prayer at school, which pleased activists
German authorities interrupted a gathering of right-wing extremists in Cologne, and took the notorious former KKK leader into custody, and told him to leave the country. Though he is persona non grata in Europe, he continues to try to spread his message t
Users of “Bath Salts” – a trendy new designer drug that’s all the rage in Germany’s club scene – say the substance can be hit and miss: often a rush of euphoria, sometimes an attack of paranoia. In a few cases, users ha
A new study about adolescents in Germany finds reading on the rise, with 42% of teens polled saying they read a daily paper. Still, while e-books have yet to break through, Internet consumption dominates overall.
Police in Munich are scratching their heads over a bizarre rash of dog poop attacks involving the city’s mailboxes. So far they have no idea who is dumping excrement into the mail, nor what the malodorous attacks are supposed to mean.
Op-Ed: The euro zone can’t survive intact without Germany. And yet the more Europeans count on Germany, the quicker they are to criticize. Germany may now be to Europe what the United States has long been to the rest of the world: the powerhouse
Among the most influential living thinkers, Jürgen Habermas has a timely new treatise on Europe. He sees beyond the “crisis” a Europe leading the way for a coming world based on supranational institutions.
Germany has registered a rise in pet owners shelling out big bucks for complicated procedures like organ replacement or chemotherapy. Not surprisingly, dog and cat life expectancy is on the rise.
Germany had been seen as a healthy heart in the troubled body of the euro zone. But when not enough buyers lined up for its 6 billion euro debt auction, it was seen as yet another sign that the single-currency union is facing a fight for its survival.
Besim Kabashi, the Kosovo-born, Munich-based world heavyweight kickboxing champion, is alleged to have let loose a flurry of punches and kicks on a waiter who’d told him to leave a table under an Oktoberfest tent. Kabashi says he was too drunk to
Op-Ed: Except for soccer and the Eurovision Song contest, there isn’t much common ground holding Europe’s diverse nations together. Then there are problems like trust, language and mobility – plenty of reasons, in other words, why the euro was a bad idea
It’s been a year since Google Street View became available in Germany – and very little of the negative stir that greeted its initial arrival has survived. The service has come to be seen as a useful tool, and some former opponents even want their homes i
A trio of German entrepreneurs is hoping to convert an old industrial building in Berlin into the world’s largest rooftop farm. Plans for the self-sustaining organic spread, which should be up and running by 2013, include a fertilizing fish farm
Just because something’s new doesn’t mean it’s better — or even different. According to the German Medical Association, most “new” drugs are little more than repackaged – and re-priced – versions of their predcessors.
Nutella may be tasty, but the creamy chocolate spread is not nearly as healthy as its labels would suggest. A court in Frankfurt has ruled that Ferrero, Nutella’s parent company, needs to change its labels, which consumer groups call downright deceptive.
Around Germany’s Eichstätt region, unemployment hovers just above 1%, with industry booming despite the euro debt crisis. Across southern Germany, the overall economy has largely recovered, especially as the auto sector is rebounding. A good sign for the
The architect of Cologne’s not-quite-completed new mosque has been fired, accused among other things of having hidden Christian symbolism in various places in the new structure. At the very least, we have the first Da Vinci Code conspiracy plot with a mod
A German court has ruled in favor of a mineral water company hocking their H2O as “bio,” or organic. Next to come: organic air?
Amazon is using free labor: unemployed Germans receiving state benefits. The German trade union Ver.di smells scandal while the American e-commerce giant and public job centers insist that the practice is the best way to match the unemployed with the righ
German authorities had plenty of info on a far-right terror group accused of killing immigrations, robbing banks and building bombs. Yet for more than a decade, the neo-Nazis operated freely. People now want to know why investigators were unable to put tw
She worked late hours for meager pay, and suffered constant abuse. But in the end, the case of the Berlin-based Indonesian housekeeper went nowhere – thanks to her alleged tormentor’s diplomatic status. Is it time to change the longstanding practice of di
Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute have calculated the average CO2 emissions per capita by age and have found that the most emissions are produced by people in their early to mid-60s.
What do leaked U.S. Embassy documents say about Germany’s original reaction to the developing euro zone crisis? That the German government refused to take the situation seriously, and were all too happy to keep its citizens in the dark.
A new study on forced marriages in Germany has some disturbing findings: 30,000 such cases may exist and 30% of the girls were younger than 18. The youngest victim was nine years old.
A new German television series takes a look at some of Adolf Hitler’s lesser transgressions, which included charging royalties to the state for using his image on postage stamps. Before his rise to power, the future Führer racked up more than 400
An orthodontist in Munich has given her clinic an extreme and rather unusual makeover, turning a normal medical office into something akin to a Bavarian beer hall – minus the beer. Staff wear tight-fitting dirndls and lederhosen rather than white smocks t
Analysis: after a turbulent weekend in Athens, all eyes turn to the new Greek government of national unity, charged with the Herculean task of fixing the country’s finances and maintaining social order.
Profit losses have forced Germany’s Beiersdorf to scale back. The company will stick with its classic core products – including its iconic Nivea hand cream – but plans to dump some of its more expensive items. Everything over 20 euros must go.
Weißwurst, yodeling, glockenspiel: Berliners are suckers for all things Bavarian. And now they can drink and sway to their hearts delight in what is being dubbed the biggest beer hall in Europe. The 6,000 square-foot Hofbräu Berlin may be the biggest such
During his life and work, the painter Paul Klee was surrounded by music and musicians. It follows that the unique rhythms and expressions in the artist’s work — and his intellectual musings — would eventually influence generations of composers
In a new German government report on families, experts suggest a greater public role in helping families better manage their time. The Minister of Families wants “family-friendly” regulations. Will this lead to more flexible working hour
Analysis: The pause for air after last week’s EU summit has abruptly ended with the Greek government’s announcement of plans to hold a referendum on the debt bailout. This view from Germany says all bets are off. Again.
People laughed when Stefanie Fuchs opened her specialty butcher shop in Munich. But little by little, the canine nutritionist’s idea – top quality, custom-made dog food with no chemical additives – caught on. And there’s one special bonus at the
Weltbild, one of Germany’s largest publishing companies, happens to be owned and operated by the Catholic Church. But that has not stopped it from publishing books that many of the faithful find offensive.
Op-Ed: Germany’s relative economic strength and Angela Merkel’s steady leadership on the debt crisis are being lauded around the world. Now it’s time that Merkel gets some overdue respect from her own citizens.