Germany

Citizens can now register online to indicate their willingness to donate organs after death; until now, people could only register such decisions on paper or on an organ donor card

In a long-running dispute over asylum policy between the German federal states and the central government, the states made a request to outsource asylum applications to third countries

The approximately seven million Germans - almost one-tenth of the population - who, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, habitually consume cannabis will be able to legally purchase cannabis 'for recreational use' from 1 April

A German court has rejected an injunction by the far-right Young Alternativ wing of the German AfD party seeking to have its classification as a 'certified' right-wing-extremist organisation dropped

An estimated one hundred thousand people took to the streets in dozens of large and small cities to express their indignation against the rise of the parliamentary ultra-right AFD and its alleged secret plots with neo-Nazis

The German drivers' union announced the start of nationwide strikes which will increase traffic chaos while the confrontation between farmers and the government over agricultural subsidies continues

The country's greenhouse gas emissions have dropped to their lowest level in 70 years; the decline is largely attributable to the decrease in coal-fired power plant production and the economic recession, which has led to less demand for energy

To boost the retention of foreign graduates of German universities and to attract foreign degree holders to work in Germany, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, with the German Academic Exchange Service, has introduced new initiatives

A major exhibition has been open at the Hamburger Kunsthalle to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840); Berlin and Dresden will also be dedicating thematically independent exhibitions next year

A severe shortage of talent and skilled labour is threatening the success and continuity of vital industries in Germany, according to an annual report by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce

The government pledged to invest €4 billion in African green energy projects until 2030; while not mentioning any specific projects, it said that the materials used for green energy should be processed in the African countries from which they originate

The reintroduction of the grey wolf in Germany, which began 23 years ago in Lusatia, is the subject of research published in the journal Diversity and Distributions by a team from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research