DW's top-clicked articles 2017

1. Czech Republic nuclear power station hosts bikini contest to choose interns

A Czech nuclear power plant sparked outrage by organizing a bikini contest via Facebook to choose its next intern.

2. Austria burqa ban: Man dressed as shark runs into trouble with police

A PR agency in Austria admitted it told one of its employees to dress as a shark to challenge the country's new anti-burqa laws.

3. Berlin school installs anti-prostitution fence 

With a construction boom in Berlin pushing sex workers into the side streets and onto the doorsteps of schools, one school took action to keep them out of sight.

4. The main difference between Catholics and Protestants

As Germany celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, DW examined why painful divisions between Protestants and Catholics still remain to this day.

5. US reporters praise German journalists for questioning Trump

US journalists were "shocked" by the pointed questions asked by their German colleagues during a White House press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump.

6. Protest over Russian Crimea map in German textbooks

A publisher stepped on a minefield of international politics after it issued a textbook with a map that depicted Crimea as part of Russia. German authorities eventually withdrew their approval for the book.

7. Iraqi army cuts off last 'Islamic State' supply line to west Mosul

Before US-backed Iraqi forces retook the city of Mosul from the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) group in July, they severed the last supply route into the city, effectively trapping IS militants — as well as hundreds of civilians — inside.

8. Egypt extends Yemen military participation

The ongoing conflict in Yemen has sparked a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations described as the worst in the world in 2017. Earlier this year, the first US drone strike under Trump was carried out in Yemen as Egypt announced it was extending its military participation in the conflict. 

9. Poachers kill one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal

Large numbers of rhinos once roamed parts of Nepal, but poachers and a civil war decimated the population. Now the country is working to protect existing rhinos while trying to grow the population.

10. Brexit deal must be worse than the terms of EU membership

Despite the endless media coverage and fevered political rhetoric, no one yet knows for sure what is ultimately going to happen when in March 2019, the UK leaves the EU, and probably the Customs Union and Single Market.