THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
October 2024 brings new laws and regulations in Germany. Among other things, students will receive more financial support, winter tyres with a particular symbol will be mandatory, a new set of questions will be introduced for the driving test, support will end for Windows 11 versions and tenants will be allowed to install balcony power plants without permission. Here is an overview of the changes in October that you need to know:
New rules for checking heating systems
To ensure that a heating system works well and efficiently, owners should have it checked regularly. A change that will come into force on 1 October 2024 will require even more systems and buildings to have their heating systems checked. In all apartment buildings with at least six flats, ‘regardless of the fuel, all older heating systems that use water as a heat transfer medium must be checked and new heating systems must generally be hydraulically balanced’.
New regulations for winter tyres
From 1 October, cars in Germany may only drive on tyres with the Alpine symbol in winter weather conditions. The deadline for using winter tyres marked with ‘M+S’ ends on 30 September. ‘M+S’ stands for mud and snow. Anyone who continues to use the tyres in winter weather from October onwards must expect a fine. According to the ADAC, drivers who violate the winter tyre regulation must pay a fine of 60 euros. If they obstruct other road users, they will be fined 80 euros. There is also a penalty point in Flensburg. The owner must also expect to pay 75 euros and a point if someone else other than the owner of the vehicle was at the wheel and was caught.
New question catalogue for theoretical driving licence test
Twice a year, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport publishes a catalogue of questions for the theoretical driving licence test. The time has come again on 1 October. Some questions have been cancelled and new ones added to improve the test.
More BAföG and start-up grants for students
The new Bafög reform came into force on 1 August 2024. Students in need will receive more Bafög from the winter semester. The so-called basic needs rate will rise by five per cent to 475 euros from October at the start of the winter semester. For students who no longer live at home, the flat-rate housing allowance will rise to 380 euros. This means that the maximum amount of support will be 992 euros (previously 934). This is an increase of 6.2 per cent.
In addition, there is a study start-up grant of 1,000 euros for first-semester students from low-income households. This is intended to provide financial support for initial purchases such as laptops, teaching materials and a possible rent deposit for the first accommodation. The one-off payment is only available to eligible first-year students under the age of 25.
Night trains from Berlin to Paris again
The night trains from Berlin to Paris and Brussels will run again – as scheduled from 28 October. The connection had been cancelled since 12 August due to construction work.
Tenants may install balcony power stations without permission
Until now, the landlord’s consent was mandatory for the installation of a balcony power station. On 27 September, the Federal Council decided that tenants will be entitled to install a balcony power plant in future. The plug-in solar systems are considered ‘privileged projects’, the installation of which landlords/landladies may only refuse with good reasons.
The regulation will come into force in the course of October.
Windows 11: End of support for version 21H2 and 22H2
Support for Windows 11 version 21H2 (Enterprise and Education Edition) ends on 8 October. From this date, there will be no more security updates, as the company announces on its homepage. Anyone who does not want to lose support should update to a newer version. Support for version 22H2 (Home and Pro) will also end in October.
Time changeover: Winter time begins
This year, the changeover from summer to winter time will take place on the night of 26 October to 27 October – from Saturday to Sunday. At three o’clock in the morning of 27 October, the clocks will be set back from 3am to 2am. This means sleeping an hour longer. However, it will also get dark earlier in the evening.
Femi Awoniyi
