By Jack Turner
Der Weltfrauentag wird in Deutschland mit Demonstrationen gefeiert
This Friday, Germany celebrated International Women's Day, which saw tens of thousands demonstrate in Germany for more equality, with rallies being held in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.
International Women's Day was made a public holiday in Berlin for the first time this year, which the Berlin senator for equality Dilek Kolat (SPD) described in the rbb as a "giant signal" from the capital, as "Berlin is the city of women”.
Deutschland hat eine geteilte Meinung zum neuen Feiertag
There was criticism of the new public holiday from FDP Secretary General Nicola Beer, however, who told the Südwestrundfunk, that while being a “nice idea”, it is ultimately a change in culture that is needed, not a public holiday. Such sentiments were echoed in an interesting opinion piece by Anja Brockmann, who feels the day “is missing a certain something: a concept, an idea, a movement”.
AKK will ‘Europa richtig machen’
Elsewhere, under the title "Making Europe right" (“Europa richtig machen”), Kramp-Karrenbauer has presented proposals for future cooperation in the EU. These proposals come after French President Macron set out his own plans for the EU on Monday, and while they agreed on refugee policy, AKK firmly rejected Macron’s push for an EU-wide minimum wage, claiming that "European centralism, European state-ism, the communitization of sovereign debt, [and] a Europeanization of social systems” is the wrong the way to go.
Erhöhte Zahlen and Rechtsextremisten in der Bundeswehr
According to a report, the ‘Military Counterintelligence Service’ (Militärische Abschirmdienst - MAD) has admitted that the number of uncovered and dismissed right-wing extremists in the Bundeswehr is much higher than previously believed. Each year since 2013, around 10 more "suspects with extremist attitude" are being unmasked and reported. The MAD is allegedly processing a total of 450 suspected cases of right-wing extremism.
25. Jahrestag zur Abschaffung des Paragraphen 175
Finally, this Sunday marked 25 years since the abolition of Paragraph 175 of the Criminal Code, which had criminalised homosexuality for over 120 years.