Germany news: AfD trip to Russia sparks 'treason' accusation

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After facing strong criticism from Germany's conservative parties, the CDU and the CSU, over the planned visit to Russia by several far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) politicians, the first secretary of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Bernd Baumann, has defended the visit.

"If contacts with Moscow were now treason, then CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß would have committed treason when he flew to Moscow in 1987 in a plane he piloted himself for talks, in the midst of its war of aggression against Afghanistan, which was contrary to international law," Baumann told the Handelsblatt business newspaper. 

He also emphasized that the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag had unanimously passed a resolution "unequivocally condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine as a war of aggression contrary to international law."

The trip in question involves Bundestag members Steffen Kotre and Rainer Rothfuss, Saxony's AfD state leader Jörg Urban, and member of the European Parliament Hans Neuhoff, who plan to attend a conference of the BRICS countries in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The AfD parliamentary group supports the trip and, according to a spokesperson, will cover the costs. The goal, they said, is to keep communication channels with Russia open.

Between 10 and 15 pro-Palestinian activists entered the public entrance area of the German public broadcaster ZDF studio building in central Berlin on Friday morning, police said.

According to police reports, the incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. and the activists shouted pro-Palestinian slogans inside. After officers escorted them out, the activists gathered in front of the building for a demonstration that lasted until 1:00 p.m.

A ZDF spokesperson told the dpa news agency that the attempts by a representative of the editorial team to start a dialogue were drowned out by the protesters' chanting.

The protesters also refused to comply with a security request to leave the building, prompting the broadcaster to call the police. Police are investigating 12 activists for trespassing.

According to the German publication Focus, protesters outside distributed flyers bearing slogans such as "Gaza is your fault, too."

A planned visit to Russia by several politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has triggered fierce criticism from conservative lawmakers.

The General Secretary of Bavaria's Christian Social Union, Christian Martin Huber accused the far-right party of treason.

"AfD lawmakers are traveling to Russia to talk with the Kremlin about advancing Russian interests. That is treason," he told the Handelsblatt business newspaper.

Huber added that the AfD had long been the "mouthpiece of Moscow."

"Anyone who lets Putin's henchmen dictate their policy is not a patriot but a puppet and a risk to our country," he said.

Conservative Christian Democrat foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter also reacted with shock. He called Russia a "terrorist state," saying the AfD politicians were deliberately making themselves tools in Russia's hybrid war against Germany and Europe.

According to Kiesewetter, Russia is deliberately supporting the "establishment of pro-Kremlin parties such as the AfD" in order to weaken German democracy, he told Handelsblatt.

The trip in question involves Bundestag members Steffen Kotre and Rainer Rothfuss, Saxony's AfD state leader Jörg Urban, and member of the European Parliament Hans Neuhoff, who plan to attend a conference of the BRICS countries in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The AfD parliamentary group supports the trip and, according to a spokesperson, will cover the costs. The goal, they said, is to keep communication channels with Russia open.

As the Atlanta Falcons visit Germany for Sunday's NFL matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, head coach Raheem Morris has prepared a special history lesson for his American Football players.

Speaking Friday at the training center of Bundesliga club Union Berlin, Morris said he made a short video about Black US track legend Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of Adolf Hitler. The clip will be shown to the team Friday evening.

Morris said the goal was to give players "a really good, prideful feeling" about Owens' achievements and their connection to Berlin, where the Falcons will play at Olympic Stadium — the same arena where Owens defied Nazi racial ideology nearly 90 years ago.

Owens led 18 Black US athletes who together won 14 medals at the 1936 Games. Morris said he wanted his players to appreciate that legacy as they compete in Germany.

Germany's former Foreign MinisterSigmar Gabriel has called his misjudgment of Russian President Vladimir Putin a major error.

Testifying Friday before a state inquiry in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, Gabriel said he and others underestimated Moscow's intentions. The committee is investigating possible Russian influence over a regional foundation linked to the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Misjudging Putin and his intentions was "one of the biggest mistakes in German foreign policy that I have been involved in," Gabriel, from the center-left Social Democrats, said. He added that it had been "a bitter realization."

Gabriel, who served under former chancellor Angela Merkel from 2013 to 2018, denied that the federal government had closely coordinated with the foundation but acknowledged serious errors in handling relations with Russia.

The foundation acted as a buffer, allowing contractors to continue work indirectly, without being exposed to US sanctions.

Gabriel also defended the government's earlier decision to continue with the Nord Stream 2 project after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, arguing that halting construction could have undermined diplomatic talks.

The Nord Stream pipelines were built to deliver Russian gas to Europe through Germany. Nord Stream 2's parallel pipelines were never activated, while supplies through the two Nord Stream 1 conduits stopped after Western sanctions. Three of the four pipelines were later damaged by explosions in 2022, with one of the Nord Stream 2 ones remaining intact but unused.

Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to testify before the inquiry on November 21, with the panel set to release its findings next year.

Germany has condemned North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile on Friday, saying the test threatens regional and global security.

"We urge the DPRK to immediately stop the unlawful development, test & transfer of ballistic missiles, as requested by multiple UNSC [United Nations Security Council] Resolutions," the German Foreign Office wrote in a social media post.

South Korea and Japan said the missile was fired toward the sea off North Korea's east coast, marking the latest in a series of launches in recent weeks. The test came shortly after US President Trump renewed his call for talks with Pyongyang.

A local politician from the western German state of Saarland has been ordered to begin serving his prison sentence for serious child sexual abuse after Germany's Federal Court of Justice rejected his appeal.

The Saarbrücken Regional Court had sentenced the conservative Christian Democrat in March to three years and eight months in prison for two counts of sexual abuse of children. The verdict was not final until the appeal was dismissed, prosecutors confirmed Friday.

According to the local Saarbrücker Zeitung newspaper, the convicted man is a former mayoral candidate. He had reportedly been convicted in 2022 for possession of images of child sexual abuse.

Germany's chief of defense, Carsten Breuer, has warned that Russia must never believe it can win a war against NATO or any of its members.

Speaking to senior military officers in Berlin, Breuer said lessons from the war in Ukraine must be analyzed and adapted to strengthen NATO's own structures.

He noted that Moscow had expected a quick win when it invaded its neighbour in 2022.

"We must prevent Russia from another miscalculation like this. Russia must never come to the assumption that it can win a war against NATO or a single NATO country."

The number of Syrians moving to Germany has fallen by 46.5% this year following the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024, according to provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office.

From January through September, authorities recorded about 40,000 new arrivals, down from 74,600 during the same period in 2024.

At the same time, departures of Syrians from Germany have risen by more than a third to around 21,800. That compares with about 16,100 in the previous year.

Overall net migration fell sharply to 18,100 between January and September 2025 — less than one-third of the 58,500 recorded a year earlier.

Asylum applications have also dropped steeply. Between January and September 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees registered about 19,200 first-time asylum claims by Syrians, 67% fewer than in 2024. Despite the drop, Syrians still made up the largest group of asylum seekers in Germany this year, accounting for 21.9% of all 87,800 first-time applicants.

At just under 22% of the total 3.30 million asylum seekers, Syrians were the second-largest group after Ukrainian nationals (33%).

Germany's exports have risen for the first time since June, driven by a sharp rebound in trade with the United States after months of tariff-related declines, official data showed Friday.

Exports to the United States — the world's largest economy — were up nearly 12% in September from the previous month, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office. The increase followed five consecutive monthly drops, though volumes remained well below those of September 2024.

Overall exports climbed 1.4% to €131.1 billion ($151 billion), exceeding analysts' expectations of a 0.5% gain, data provider FactSet said.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski noted that the data showed "German exports are not falling off a cliff."

"However, half a year after US President Trump's 'Liberation Day,' German exports have still not fully recovered," he added.

The broad US tariffs have weighed heavily on Europe's largest economy, which depends on exporting cars, machinery, and pharmaceuticals to the American market.

Meanwhile, exports to China fell 2.2% in September, reflecting weaker demand and growing competition from domestic Chinese manufacturers. Imports from China increased more than 6% compared with August, making it Germany's largest source of goods that month.

Guten Tag from DW's newsroom on a beautiful autumn day in Bonn and Danke Schön for joining us.

There's some good news as Germany's exports appear to have risen for the first time since June, driven by a sharp rebound in trade with the United States.

Official data show shipments to the US jumped nearly 12% in September after months of tariff-related declines. Overall exports climbed 1.4% to €131 billion — well above expectations.

ING's Carsten Brzeski said the figures show exports are "not falling off a cliff," though trade volumes remain below last year's levels.

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