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Two teachers called out far-right activities at their German school. Then they had to leave town.

Two teachers in eastern Germany say they spent months unsuccessfully trying to counter the far-right atmosphere at their small town high school BURG, Germany -- Two teachers in eastern Germany tried to counter the far-right activities of students at their small town high school. They counseled bullies who threatened to beat up immigrant classmates. They gave more lessons about their country's Nazi past. They invited in a Black rapper to talk about mutual respect. None of it helped. In desperation, Laura Nickel and Max Teske wrote a public letter in which they described an atmosphere of intimidation at Mina Witkojc School in Burg. They reported students greeting each other with the Nazi salute, scratching swastikas on their desks and playing music with racist lyrics in the hallways. “Teachers and students who openly fight against far-right students and teachers fear for their safety,” the two said in the letter they sent to local newspapers. "The problem has to be recognized an...

Finnish defense chief to take advantage of paternity leave

Finland’s defense minister has made a stirring argument for his country’s new gender-neutral parental leave system when he announced he would be stepping aside in few weeks to take care of his 6-month-old son HELSINKI -- Finland’s defense minister made a stirring argument for his country’s new gender-neutral parental leave system when he announced he would be stepping aside in few weeks to take care of his 6-month-old son, reassuring the nation that it would be in good hands amid a regional security crisis. While most Finns have shrugged off Antti Kaikkonen’s decision to take leave and the policy is in line with those in neighboring countries, it’s still not common for male politicians in Nordic states to make use of their parental leave. “Children remain small only for a moment, and I want to remember it in ways other than just photos,” Kaikkonen, a 48-year-old father of two, said on Twitter last week in making the argument for two months of parental leave starting Jan. 6. The news ca...