Cologne

After reports of women being harassed and groped on the streets of Cologne, Germany, on New Year’s Eve, mostly by men of Arab descent, German officials are promising changes. They’ve beefed up the police presence in public areas and vowed to deport migrants convicted of serious crimes. And Arab and Muslim migrants in Germany say the welcoming atmosphere is starting to change.

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.

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.

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 […]