Germany news: Fridays for Future revive climate protests

Cologne main train station, one of Germany's busiest and most importance rail hubs, was closed to long distance (ICE/IC/EC) and regional (RB/RE) trains on Friday for construction work which will last until the morning of Monday, November 24.

Until then, the station will only be served by the local underground (U-Bahn), suburban commuter trains (S-Bahn) and one regional connection, the RB25.

However, the originally planned construction work on a new signal box won't actually take place in this period after rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) identified a string of last-minute software errors which will have to be fixed first.

Instead, the installation of the new signal box has been postponed until the new year, necessitating a second, shorter closure of the station "after carnival" in February.

"What we can already promise passengers is that the second closure will be shorter," said Matthias Gramer, regional head of the DB's infrastructure subsidiary InfraGo, insisting that no one could have foreseen the software error.

"It's like something out of a madhouse, there's nothing else you can say. It's a mystery to me how something like this could happen," criticized Oliver Krischer (Green Party), the regional transport minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), on local public broadcaster WDR.

"We've been planning this for a long time and then I'm told two days before: April fool! The software doesn't work. You can't make it up," he added.

Cologne: how will my journey be affected?

For travelers whose journeys pass through Cologne, long-distance and regional trains will run to and from Deutz (Köln Messe/Deutz) on the other side of the River Rhine, with others calling at suburban stops Cologne-Ehrenfeld or Cologne South (Köln-Süd).

Key regional lines such as the RE1 (Aachen-Hamm) and RE5 (Koblenz-Wesel) will circumvent not only Cologne but also Leverkusen and Düsseldorf-Benrath.

Germany are just one point away from qualification for the 2026 World Cup after a 2-0 win in Luxembourg on Friday night.

Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade scored twice in the second half to secure victory, but the performance was anything but convincing.

In a goalless first half, Julian Nagelsmann's team struggled against the minnows from tiny Luxembourg.

The hosts even had good chances themselves through Laurent Jans, who played in Germany's third division last season, and Aiman Dardari, who plays for Bundesliga side Augsburg's reserves.

But in the end, Woltemade's brace secured all three points, leaving Germany needing only to avoid defeat against Slovakia in Leipzig on Monday to confirm qualification.

Thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Germany on Friday to criticize the German government's handling of the climate crisis and for continuing to back fossil fuels.

The rallies, organized as part of the Fridays for Future movement, saw protests in more than 70 towns and cities in Germany, including Hamburg and Berlin.

The action coincided with the annual UN COP30 climate conference, being held in Belem, Brazil.

The remains of 39 soldiers from the Soviet Union's Red Army have been buried at a war cemetery in the state of Brandenburg.

The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge Landesverband, the group that tends to war graves in Germany, said the remains had been recovered from several locations in the eastern German state that surrounds the city of Berlin over the past few years.

The burial on Friday was part of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of fighting near the Oder River during World War II.

Heavy battles took place in the area as Soviet forces advanced westwards in the spring of 1945, during the final days of the war.

Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev attended the event, although not as a formally invited guest. Western nations have cut off relations with Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Volksbund's managing director, Oliver Breithaupt, said they were "legally required to cooperate" with the Russian Embassy.

"The quiet nature of this event is due to the general political situation," Breithaupt said, pointing out the poignancy of its timing, given Russia's war in Ukraine.

"At a time when war has returned to Europe, these graves remind us how precious peace is," Breithaupt said.

"Our mission remains to give all victims of war a dignified grave — regardless of their origin. Humanity must never be overshadowed by current conflicts," he added.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to impose tougher travel restrictions on young Ukrainian men.

Merz said "a considerable proportion" of men aged between 18 and 24 were fleeing Ukraine for Germany to avoid getting called up to fight against the Russian invasion. Military service in Ukraine begins at the age of 25.

"I have asked him to ensure that these young men remain in the country because they are needed there and not in Germany," Merz said after a meeting in Berlin with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

Travel restrictions on Ukrainian men were relaxed in August.  There has been a noticeable increase in arrivals to Germany in recent months.

The chancellor said he had spoken to Zelenskyy by phone on Thursday.

During their call, Merz said he also urged the Ukrainian leader to thoroughly investigate a corruption scandal in Kyiv.

The German government said Zelenskyy had promised "complete transparency and long-term support for the independent anti-corruption authorities."

Merz also addressed the issue of using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defense. The chancellor said Berlin is ready to "assume corresponding guarantees on a pro-rata basis."

Zelenskyy has been urging European nations to agree on a stalled initiative to use the seized assets. 

Cypriot President Christodoulides said his country was not opposed to using the frozen funds, but insisted that a legally workable solution be found.

Turkish authorities have detained four suspects after a German mother and her two young children died from suspected food poisoning while on holiday in Istanbul. Investigators say the family had eaten street food.

Turkish prosecutors arrested four people on suspicion of negligent homicide in connection with the deaths in Istanbul, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Friday.

The family — a couple and their children aged six and three — had traveled to the city on Sunday and reportedly ate at several street vendors in the Ortaköy district, a busy tourist area on the Bosporus.

Shortly afterward, all four fell ill with symptoms of food poisoning.

They were taken to a hospital on Wednesday but later discharged. The children died shortly after being readmitted, followed by their mother.

The father remains in intensive care, according to Turkish media.

A 27-year-old man was seriously injured after being struck by a train while standing on a station platform in the western state of North Rhine–Westphalia.

The man was looking at his phone and standing too close to the platform edge in the town of Leichlingen when the train approached, federal police said on Friday. The driver sounded a warning horn and initiated an emergency brake but could not prevent the impact.

The man was airlifted to a hospital with severe head injuries. Rail traffic on the line was temporarily suspended following the incident on Thursday.

Environmental groups and the opposition Green Party reacted with dismay on Friday to the German government's plan to cut air passenger taxes, warning that the move undermines climate policy at a critical moment.

The measure was part of a broader policy package unveiled late Thursday by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition, which also included a subsidized industrial power price, a new "Germany Fund" to spur investment and a strategy to build additional gas-fired power plants.

Felix Banaszak, leader of the opposition Greens, said the tax cut would do little to revive Germany’s sluggish economy.

"To believe that the economic crisis can be ended by slashing air traffic taxes and creating a Germany Fund is extremely presumptuous," he said.

Greenpeace issued an even sharper warning, calling the reversal of the tax — which was raised in May 2024 — a damaging signal while nations are negotiating emissions reductions at the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belem.

"While the international community is struggling to reduce CO2 emissions at COP30 in Belem, the German government is handing out tax and subsidy gifts to the fossil fuel industries," Greenpeace Germany chief Martin Kaiser told the DPA news agency. He said the move fuels global warming and weakens Germany's credibility.

Aviation groups welcomed the decision, saying high taxes had been stifling growth. 

Germany's parliament has approved a law sharply limiting access to laughing gas, aiming to curb rising misuse among teenagers.

The Bundestag passed the bill, drafted by the Health Ministry, in a Thursday night session. Medical, scientific and industrial uses of the substances will remain permitted.

Under the law, laughing gas may no longer be sold to minors, distributed through vending machines or shipped via private online delivery.

Use of the gas, which is used in medicine as a mild anaesthetic, has become increasingly common among young people.

Health Minister Nina Warken said the regulation was needed because laughing gas "is not a toy and not a harmless party drug," warning of risks ranging from frostbite and loss of consciousness to lasting neurological damage.

The law also seeks to restrict access to date-rape drugs, which offenders use to incapacitate victims for assault or robbery. These substances are largely tasteless and can alter perception, rendering victims helpless. 

Germany's federal drug commissioner, Hendrik Streeck, said they were "a means of targeted chemical violence."

Germany's regular insolvency filings increased by 6.5% in October 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to preliminary figures released by the Federal Statistical Office.

The agency noted that filings appear in the statistics only after an initial court ruling, meaning most applications were actually submitted around three months earlier.

In August 2025, local courts recorded 1,979 corporate insolvencies, a 12.2% increase from August 2024. Creditors' claims linked to these cases amounted to roughly €5.4 billion, more than double the €2.3 billion reported a year earlier.

Measured per 10,000 companies, Germany registered 5.7 corporate insolvencies in August. The transport and storage sector was affected most heavily with 10.1 cases per 10,000 firms, followed by construction with 8.9 and the hospitality sector with 8.2.

Consumer insolvencies also rose. Courts counted 6,132 cases in August, an increase of 8.1% compared with August 2024.

The statistics office emphasized that the insolvency statistics only reflect closures that occur through formal insolvency proceedings and do not include business shutdowns for other reasons or before acute financial distress sets in.

German authorities have launched a major overnight operation targeting suspected people smugglers and tax evaders in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin, officials said.

Between 600 and 700 officers from customs, federal police and tax investigators were deployed, according to the federal police office in Offenburg. Several properties were searched, and the raids concluded after several hours, a Stuttgart police spokeswoman said on Friday.

Police said they had no immediate information on arrests but confirmed that initial evidence had been secured.

The operation focused on multiple sites in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg — including Baden-Baden, Böblingen, Lörrach and several surrounding districts — with additional searches in Berlin.

Prosecutors in Baden-Baden initiated the investigation, which centers on suspected smuggling of people from non-EU countries and organized tax and wage fraud. Authorities said more details would be released later Friday.

Cannabis consumption in Germany has continued to climb, according to new data.

The survey found that 9.8% of respondents said they had used cannabis in the past 12 months — up from 8.8% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2012.

The 2024 data was collected between August and December from 7,534 adults aged 18 to 64, just months after the drug's partial legalization.

The Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA) researchers said the increase was small and not statistically significant, noting it is still too early to identify clear effects of the legal changes. They said usage patterns changed only minimally following the easing of legislation.

Germany's coalition government introduced partial legalization on April 1, 2024, allowing adults to smoke and grow limited amounts of cannabis under strict conditions. Individuals can cultivate up to three plants at home, store up to 50 grams (about 1.8 ounces), and carry up to 25 grams in public. Consumption near schools or playgrounds and in front of minors remains banned.

The law also permits non-commercial cannabis clubs with up to 500 members.

Fridays for Future climate activists are staging more than 60 demonstrations nationwide as part of an international day of action tied to the UN climate conference underway in the Brazilian city of Belem.

In Berlin, protesters plan to gather at Pariser Platz with lanterns and an illuminated "Keep your Promises" sign, the group said.

The organizers say that a decade after the Paris Agreement — and after 30 rounds of global climate talks — there has been "no sufficient progress on climate protection."

"Even in 2025, emissions have risen again, and the habitability of the planet is in a poor state," activist Luisa Neubauer told the DPA news agency. 

"Germany has taken on the role of the aimless blocker in the global fight against the existential climate crisis," she said.

Neubauer accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of deliberately making climate-friendly technologies such as heat pumps and electric cars more expensive. 

"At the same time, the jobs and locations of the future are emerging in other places with bolder governments," she said.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, commits countries to limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UN climate conference runs through November 21.

Guten Tag from DW's newsroom in Bonn and Danke Schön for joining us as the city's preparations for the Christmas market season are already underway.

All across Germany, Fridays for Future activists are staging more than 60 protests to coincide with the UN climate summit in Brazil.

In Berlin, demonstrators are to gather with lanterns and a glowing "Keep your Promises" sign before marching through a government district.

Organizers are warning that ten years after the Paris Agreement, real climate progress remains too slow.

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