The election result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is an embarrassing defeat for Chancellor Merkel, but it does not mean the end of her political career, or the start of a political about-face, says Charlotte Potts.

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We are living in the 21th century. In this modern age we tend to think that men and women are equal. But are they really? Ahead of International Women’s Day 2016, DW spoke with activist and feminist Kristina Lunz about how far we’ve come and how far we’ve yet to go regarding gender equality.

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Germany has been facing huge problems in regard to refugees that have been arriving in the country since last year. One might say, all this is caused by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of accepting refugees and refusing to define a maximum number of refugees Germany will allow into the country. In this regard Germany stands very much alone in the European Union.

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Anyone who wants to say something on International Women’s Day this year has to say something about what happened on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany. The massive sexual assaults on women in front of Cologne central station – and also in other German and European cities – were reported in various international media. And it is abominable! In Germany this topic is now almost only discussed in the context of “foreigners and women” or “Islam males and their image of women” and “what this means for Germany.” These are of course very important and worthy of debate in the light of the gigantic wave of refugees currently arriving in Germany.

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The refugee crisis remains a hot topic in Europe. The sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve have made it even more complicated. Another sexual crime committed by a refugee was reported last week. Read a reader’s comment here. Another question that popped up: Do women have to vote for Hillary Clinton to become the next US president just because she is a woman? And the never ending debate: Who should do the household chores; only the wife, or the wife and the husband?

British Prime Minister called muslim women “traditionally submissive”, and in Rome the nude statues were covered when Iran’s president visited the country. What do readers say about it?

The sexual assaults that happened in Cologne Germany on New Year’s Eve have become more of a political issue than a crime against women. A similar thing can be seen in the case of an alleged rape of a Russian-German girl by refugees in Berlin. Now Germany has reacted after Russia demanded an explanation over Germany’s handling of the case. Read more here!