English

Nela Heidner

Europe News

Austria's new headscarf ban for under-14s sparks debate

Since 1 September, Austria has banned headscarves for female pupils under 14 at state and private schools. Repeated breaches of the rule could lead to fines of €150 to €800 for parents.

Europe News

Anaconda on the Danube: giant constrictor snake discovered in Bavaria

A walker made an unusual discovery on the banks of the Danube in Lower Bavaria: a snake more than two metres long. It turned out to be a South American anaconda, far from its natural habitat.

Europe News

Ulrich Siegmund: From CDU member to AfD lead candidate

Ulrich Siegmund is the AfD's leading figure in Saxony-Anhalt: 35, media-savvy and aiming to be minister-president. At the next state election he wants to lead his party into government.

Tech News

Berlin cyberattack: hackers leak highly sensitive data across dark web

A large amount of personal data has also been leaked, particularly relating to state civil servants, including birth certificates, what appear to be absence lists, telephone numbers and home addresses.

ADVERTISEMENT

Europe News

Improvised explosive devices found near German power plant, police say

According to media reports, a key installation near the Jänschwalde coal plant in Brandenburg was repeatedly targeted with rockets, which emergency crews later found and defused.

Earth News

Up to 1km-thick ice: Swiss meteorite offers new insight into the Ice Age

More and more fragments of the Twannberg meteorite are being found in the Bernese Jura; over 2,200 pieces are known, and the rare iron meteorite is highly valuable for research.

Europe News

Two dead in 'violent incident' at school near Berlin, local media says

Regional public broadcaster RBB and a local daily said the alarm had been raised at a secondary school in the town of Gosen-Neu Zittau, just outside the German capital.

Europe News

US comedy star trapped in Hermès toilet for 80 minutes

What started as a brief visit to a Hermès store ended badly for US comedian Zarna Garg: she was stuck for 80 minutes in the Berlin shop's toilet and now blames the retailer.

Europe News

Owner of Swiss bar in deadly blaze held for domestic abuse, media say

French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti have been the focus of intense scrutiny since the fire ripped though their bar Le Constellation, in the Crans-Montana ski resort in the early hours of 1 January.

Europe News

Raised in the wild: Spain's famous 'wolf boy' dies

Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, from Andalusia, died at 80 in Rante, a hamlet of San Cibrao das Viñas in Ourense, north-west Spain. He had lived there since 2001 and seemed to have finally found a home.

Europe News

Merz visits Hürtgen Forest fire site, met with boos and whistles

Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled to Hürtgenwald today, as firefighting in Belgium's High Fens continues. The blaze on the German border is out, but ahead of his visit he faced opposition criticism for 'doing nothing'.

Earth News

Squid take over the North Sea: What's behind the squid boom?

In the North Sea, cephalopods are appearing in growing numbers. Fishermen are catching more squid and octopus, a trend likely tied to rising sea temperatures.

Europe News

Missing in action: Ukrainian soldiers desert during Germany training

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Ukrainian soldiers are receiving military training in Germany. A recent investigation by the weekly news magazine Die Zeit reveals that some do not return to their units after their stay in Germany.

Europe News

Second Ukrainian arrested in connection with Nord Stream explosions

Prosecutors say the objective of the alleged attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was to "permanently disrupt gas supplies" and to stop Russia from using the revenue to finance its war effort in Ukraine.

Culture news

Pillory linden of Großpörthen: 900-year-old tree with a grim history

Up to 900 years old and nearly ten metres thick, the Prangerlinde in Großpörthen, Saxony-Anhalt, still bears an old iron collar on its trunk, a unique natural and historical monument.

Travel News

Crowds at Mont Blanc: will hiking soon require reservations?

The Tour du Mont-Blanc is one of Europe’s most popular long-distance hiking routes, a 170-kilometre circuit through France, Italy and Switzerland that some 80,000 people walk each year, creating mounting problems.

Culture news

Remains of two Wehrmacht soldiers found in Danube: one served in Waffen-SS

A Wehrmacht motorbike is recovered from the Danube; underneath are the remains of two German soldiers with ID tags, one likely Waffen-SS. Experts now study the bones: how old were they and did they drive over a mine?

Culture news

Striking images: Wehrmacht motorcycle from Danube looks almost 'new'

The discovery of a motorbike wreck and the remains of two German soldiers is making headlines worldwide. Low Danube levels in Budapest exposed the Second World War machine, now cleaned and remarkably well preserved.

Economy

Off sick for up to ten years: What lies behind Germany's teacher shortage

At the start of the new school year, many German schools face an acute staffing crisis, with teachers missing in several subjects and lengthy sick leave further tightening an already tense situation.

Space

14,000 UFO sightings in Germany: Reporting centre in Hesse investigates

Glowing spheres and mysterious lights are generating a wave of reports in Germany. As Pentagon files reignite debate, CENAP in Lützelbach has long sought to explain the sightings.

ADVERTISEMENT