Cologne

forest

How a forest became Germany’s poster child for a coal exit

Environment

For decades, RWE has been slowly razing the forest and surrounding towns to expand its adjacent coal mine, among Europe’s largest producers of lignite coal and greatest sources of carbon dioxide pollution. And earlier this fall, the company moved to start cutting a new section that protesters have been occupying.

A section of the Hambach lignite mine in Germany's Rhineland coal fields, whose coal-fired power plants, run by power giant RWE, are one of Europe's largest sources of CO2 emissions.

Germany talks a good game on climate, but it’s still stuck on coal

Environment

Persecuted Chinese writer escapes to the U.S.

Arts, Culture & Media
Caitlin Duncan (right), Hesham Ahmad Mohammad (center) and Caitlin Duncan's boyfriend (left) on New Year's Eve.

This Syrian refugee rescued an American student after she was assaulted in Cologne

Conflict
Flowers and handwritten signs for the sexual assault victims have been left on the steps of Cologne's Gothic cathedral. Hundreds of women reported being victimized in this area during a chaotic New Year's Eve.

Men of Arab descent not finding Germany as welcoming as they used to

Justice

Germans angered over Catholic Church’s decision to deny sacraments for church tax scofflaws

Lifestyle & Belief

Germany has long required people who are members of a church or a synagogue to pay a tax that supports the church and its operations. But as more Catholics decline to pay, the church is telling them if they don’t pay, they won’t be allowed to receive church sacraments.

The World

Steve Reich’s WTC 9/11

Arts, Culture & Media

Even though Reich is no stranger to difficult subject matter (Different Trains, from 1988, is a meditation on the Holocaust), it took him nearly a decade to write about the attacks that hit so close to home. His new work WTC 9-11 is an unusual hybrid.

The World

Germany’s Green Results

In Germany, a new political coalition is making history. After last month’s elections, the Social Democrats led by Gerhard Schröeder are being asked to form a government. To have a majority Mr. Schroeder is reaching out to the Green Party. If the talks underway are successful, Germany will become the first major international power with […]

No-Car Day, European-Style

Host Laura Knoy talks with Radio Deutsche Welle reporter Sabina Casagrande in Cologne, Germany about Car Free Day in Europe. The European Union sanctioned the event, with over 20 countries participating.

The World

Iranian rock band Kiosk’

Global Politics

Cyrus Farivar profiles an underground Iranian rock band that is using the Internet as a primary means for getting its music into Iran.