German news: Teacher group urges action over pupil violence

Strike action by pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa are well into their fourth day, with widespread flight cancellations.

Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport reported 656 cancellations out of 1,313 planned flights at the hub, mostly attributed to Lufthansa.

A mediation attempt between Lufthansa and the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit collapsed a day earlier after both sides failed to agree on negotiation terms. The ongoing walkouts have also overshadowed events marking the airline’s 100th anniversary.

Both pilots and cabin crew are staging walkouts on Thursday, as separate disputes with the company overlap.

Strikes are expected to continue into Friday for core Lufthansa operations, including Lufthansa Cargo and CityLine. At the low-cost airline Eurowings, industrial action is limited to Thursday. Despite this, the carrier still expects to operate more than 70% of scheduled flights.

Bayern Munich are already looking ahead after their dramatic Champions League win over Real Madrid, with a decisive few days looming in their treble chase.

Sporting director Max Eberl has said that sealing the Bundesliga title this weekend would be "a brilliant way to finish" the week after Wednesday's 4-3 win in Madrid secured a 6-4 aggregate triumph.

Eberl highlighted that the team had managed to fight back after going behind three times in the match. "That sums up the character of this team pretty well," said Eberl. "We can play football, but most of all, we can fight and stay firm. It just feels brilliant."

Bayern can clinch their 35th league title on Sunday against VfB Stuttgart if results go their way, before heading into a German Cup semi-final at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

The focus then shifts quickly back to Europe, with a Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain starting April 28 in Paris.

Bayern have not lifted the German Cup since their 2020 treble season, when they beat the Parisians in the Champions League final. This time, the French champions again stand in their way — widely seen as one of the toughest tests left in Europe.

One of those behind the latest effort is the founder of the electrical appliance giant MediaMarkt, Walter Gunz. "If you try something, then at least you have a chance of saving it," Gunz told the DPA news agency.

Coverage of the humpback's struggle for survival and efforts to rescue it has gripped the German public. There have been regular demonstrations in support of the stricken marine mammal, calling for renewed rescue efforts. Some online posts targeted officials with death threats.

Alongside Gunz in the bid is entrepreneur Karin Walter-Mommert, who is famed in the equestrian world. "We have no chance, but we're taking it," she told DPA. "Better an end with horror than a horror without end."

"This situation now is unbearable for all of Germany, for people with empathy and compassion," Walter-Mommert added.

German officials have approved an eleventh-hour rescue attempt to save a humpback whale that has been stranded on the Baltic Sea coast for weeks.

The effort, proposed by two entrepreneurs, involves lifting the whale using inflatable cushions and using pontoons to move it.

Till Backhaus, environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said there was a "chance" for the whale, but that it remained "seriously ill."

"We have decided that a rescue of the whale, while it is still alive, can go ahead. We are thus opening up the possibility, for the first time, of returning the animal to its natural habitat," Backhaus said.

Local authorities said two weeks ago that it would no longer be possible to save the animal, dubbed "Timmy" by the German media, which had already been seen floundering for more than a week.

The humpback was originally spotted stuck on a sandbank near the city of Lubeck on March 23, but freed itself. It later swam into an inlet of the small island of Poel, near Wismar, and became stuck again.

Germany's Green Party has proposed a nationwide speed limit on all autobahns to cut fuel use and emissions.

Green lawmakers said a 130 kilometer per hour (about 80 mph) cap would lower fuel consumption, ease costs for drivers, and improve road safety. 

A draft law is being debated in Germany's lower house, the Bundestag, on Thursday. 

Germany is famously one of the few countries with sections of its "autobahn" network still without mandatory speed limits, a long-standing feature often defended on cultural and economic grounds.

The proposal comes as fuel prices have surged in light of the Iran war. A speed limit is not included in the current coalition agreement between Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats.

Green co-leader Katharina Dröge said the measure would be a fast and effective way to reduce fuel demand, calling it a "matter of common sense."

Supporters argue that higher speeds significantly increase fuel consumption due to rising air resistance, making a limit an immediate tool that would curb demand and prices.

Backers include environmental and civil groups, as well as the police union and transport advocacy groups.

Violence against teachers in Germany is on the rise, prompting calls for urgent action from the German Teachers' Association (DL).

Police data showed that about 1,300 cases of bodily harm were recorded at schools in 2024, up from roughly 700 to 1,000 cases a year in previous years.

DL President Stefan Dull said incidents range from verbal abuse to physical attacks. In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, he described the trend as alarming.

Dull said slander and insults in school corridors have increased noticeably, while violence among students is also growing. While special education schools are particularly affected, he said, such problems occur across the school system.

He cited factors including violence in the home, the influence of social media, and negative public role models such as US President Donald Trump. Dull also pointed to broader societal trends, noting similar aggression in areas such as sports and attacks on emergency workers and politicians.

Dull called for stronger responses from schools, including more social workers and a greater focus on building relationships with students to counter disrespectful behavior.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in a rainy Bonn.

You join us as we await news of a new attempt to rescue the whale stranded off the port of Wismar in Germany's Baltic Sea.

In other news, Germany's leading teachers' association is urging action to counter a wave of pupil violence against school staff.

Meanwhile, in the Bundestag, the Green Party is launching a fresh push to impose a blanket speed limit on Germany's major highways. 

Stay with us here for these and more stories.