August Hanning, who ran Germany's BND from 1998 to 2005, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, treason and working for foreign intelligence services, prosecutors say. The case has landed as Berlin pushes to give its spy agencies broader powers.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine and show willingness to negotiate during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, saying strikes on civilians must stop. The trip was marked by drone alerts and new pledges of German military aid.
Wind and solar drove Germany’s renewable electricity share to a record of almost 61% in the first three quarters, industry data showed Thursday, even as hydropower and biomass slipped. Berlin still faces a steep climb to its 80% by 2030 target.
Prosecutors in Dresden say four Iraqi men, ages 27 to 43, are accused of serving as Islamic State fighters or border guards in Iraq about a decade ago. No involvement with the group after their arrival in Germany has been established, they said.
Germany has finalized a roughly €1.5 billion plan to turn Bremerhaven into a key NATO logistics hub, with work due through 2031.
Organizers said about 175,000 people demonstrated in 15 German cities on Saturday, pressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition to protect jobs, pensions and social benefits amid mounting economic and political pressure.
The four-day Euro Defence Expo in Essen has drawn 360 manufacturers from 28 countries, while a parallel Security Essen show and a NATO air power conference underscore the growing overlap between defense, security and civil-military cooperation.
The far-right AfD has won a state election in northeastern Germany, but its premier candidate says the party is unlikely to enter government because all other parties refuse to work with it.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urges leaders at the UN General Assembly to move beyond stock-taking, calling for serious negotiations with Russia and new attention to maritime security.
Exit polls show damaging losses for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, while the far-right AfD surges in the northeast.
Police in Bad Salzuflen say a burglar broke into a café early Saturday and took a cake and two packs of ice cream, bypassing the cash register. Investigators are still searching for the suspect and trying to determine the motive.
A new UN report by Special Rapporteur Surya Deva says income and wealth inequality in Germany has grown since 2010, leaving women, immigrants, people with disabilities, East Germans and Ruhr residents especially exposed. It calls for more childcare funding, stronger inheritance taxation and warns that business lobbying is weakening human rights due diligence rules.
Germany’s education minister, Karin Prien, said the latest PISA data are deeply concerning, pointing to a widening social gap and warning that schools are failing to deliver on the promise of social mobility.
The far-right Alternative for Germany won a sweeping victory in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, more than doubling its nearest rival's vote share. Still, the party fell short of an absolute majority, and Germany's mainstream parties again closed ranks against it.
Elon Musk congratulated Germany’s AfD on its Saxony-Anhalt state election victory, and the party’s lead candidate responded with a pitch for investment and cooperation.
Exit polls in Saxony-Anhalt show the far-right AfD winning the state election with about 44 percent of the vote, a record result for the party. But the projected seat count leaves it short of the outright majority it would need to take power, raising the prospect of weeks of difficult coalition talks.
Projections put the AfD at 44.5 percent in Saxony-Anhalt, far ahead of the CDU on 18.5 percent. State leader Ulrich Siegmund called the result a mandate to govern, but an outright majority remains uncertain.
Alice Weidel has welcomed the first projections in Saxony-Anhalt as a “historic” result, saying the AfD now has a “clear mandate” to form the state government. Her claim is likely to sharpen the debate over how Germany’s mainstream parties respond to the far right.
The four German states along the Rhine are urging the federal government to sharply increase annual investment in inland waterways, warning that chronic underfunding is worsening the impact of low-water disruptions on river freight.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Moscow’s decision to close Goethe-Institut branches will deepen damage to bilateral ties. He called the Russian move unjustified and pointed to Germany’s own closure of the Russian House in Berlin as a response to a drone incident at Leipzig airport.
