Germany news: Police search AfD politician's property

The German government is planning to introduce a state-subsidized industrial electricity price, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday evening.

Merz described the plans as important building blocks of his government's energy policy.

The new, subsidized electricity price of €0.05 ($0.058) per kilowatt-hour will be introduced from 2026 to 2028. 

Merz also said a strategy would be developed for the construction of new gas power plants, which should be operational by 2031. 

The coalition is also planning to reduce the ticket tax in air travel from July next year, Merz said.

The air travel tax was significantly raised in May 2024, which potentially makes passenger flights from German airports more expensive.

Reversing the hike was part of the coalition agreement between Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

The US State Department said on Thursday that it was moving to designate four self-styled "antifa" (anti-fascist) groups as terrorist organizations, citing Germany-based Antifa Ost by name. 

It also said it was pursuing "three other violent antifa groups in Italy and Greece." 

The State Department intended to designate all four groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations as of November 20, it said. 

"The designation of Antifa Ost and other violent Antifa groups supports President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum-7, an initiative to disrupt self-described 'anti-fascism' networks, entities, and organizations that use political violence and terroristic acts to undermine democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental liberties," the State Department wrote. 

"Groups affiliated with this movement ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies, including anti-Americanism, 'anti-capitalism,' and anti-Christianity, using these to incite and justify violent assaults domestically and overseas," it said.

Among other things, the designation makes it illegal for US citizens to seek membership or to support the groups, for instance by donating funds.

Trump has been vocal in his criticism of "antifa" organizations in the US and beyond in recent years.

The US government didn't mention specific incidents or reasons for the designation. 

One high-profile court case involving Antifa Ost in Germany in recent years was the 2023 prison sentence for Dresden student Lina E., deemed the ringleader of a group of people who would seek out and retaliate against groups they deemed to be far-right extremists.

Another suspected member, Johann G., believed to be the leader of a group within Antifa Ost that calls itself the "Hammer Gang" (Hammerbande), was arrested late last year. Prosecutors are seeking to try him and several other suspects on charges including attempted murder.

Police searched the properties of an AfD politician in Ilmenau in the eastern state of Thuringia as part of an investigation into an alleged far-right terrorist plot, state prosecutors said on Thursday. 

A spokesperson for Thuringia public prosecutors in Jena said that the man's apartment and two other properties were searched for evidence. The spokesperson said an arrest was not currently planned or sought and did not identify the politician. 

The searches are connected to investigations into an alleged, foiled plot to kidnap former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

Lauterbach is a Social Democrat and a physician who became a prominent and in some circles controversial figure during the coronavirus pandemic as a leading voice advocating vaccinations and shutdowns. 

The AfD politician under investigation is suspected of having supported an organization calling itself the "Kaiserreichgruppe" (roughly, "German Empire Group") that's one of the fringe "Reichsbürger" groups that claim not to recognize the fall of the German Empire after World War I or the validity of the modern German state. 

Four leading members of this group were sentenced to lenghty jail terms by a court in Koblenz earlier this year.

Thuringia is an eastern state and a stronghold of the AfD; the leader of the party's state chapter, Björn Höcke, is among the AfD's most controversial members. He has been convicted twice of knowingly quoting banned Nazi slogans in his political speeches.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ensure  fewer young Ukrainian men seek to emigrate to Germany, saying they should instead "serve their country." 

Merz told a crowd at a business event in Germany on Thursday that he had told Zelenskyy the young men were "needed" at home.

Recent changes to wartime emergency laws prohibiting Ukrainian men aged 18-22 from leaving the country led to an uptick in young men looking to move to Germany.

The chancellor also voiced support for his government's plans to remove the automatic eligibility for social benefits that had been granted to Ukrainian refugees in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. 

Going forward, they would be entitled to the same system of state support afforded to typical asylum-seekers rather than that of German residents.

Merz also said there would be "concrete changes" going forward designed to push for Ukrainians in Germany to seek work rather than to receive state support.

According to recent German media reports citing government sources, Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (a Social Democrat) and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (a member of the conservative Bavarian CSU) recently agreed on plans to change Ukrainian's entitlement to German benefits, although the details have not yet been formally presented.

Merz has been trying to strike a tougher tone on migration and asylum amid the challenge from the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), the leader of the opposition in parliament and the second-largest party in the country since federal elections earlier this year.

Another suspect has been arrested by German police in connection with the alleged procurement of weapons for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday that the case of the man, who was arrested on a train traveling from Denmark to Germany, was linked to several other arrests in recent weeks.

Authorities said Thursday's suspect was believed to have transported weapons from one suspected Hamas member in the central German state of Hesse to another in Berlin.

"The weapons were to be used by Hamas for assassinations targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany," prosecutors said. However, there was no apparent concrete plan for an attack.

On Tuesday, a suspected Hamas member was arrested as he entered Germany from the Czech Republic.

Three more suspects were detained in Berlin last month, and last week another man was arrested in London on suspicion of transporting weapons to Austria, where a cache was uncovered in November. The British citizen is awaiting extradition to Germany.

Germany classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization. 

Protesters unfurled a banner reading "Never again genocide — freedom for Palestine" from Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate on Thursday.

Three activists climbed onto the 20-meter-high monument with the help of a lifting platform. They set off red smoke flares around the quadriga — the sculpture of four horses and a chariot that tops the gate.

They also displayed a Palestinian flag.

German police sent 75 officers, including climbing specialists from a technical unit, to apprehend the protesters.

The officers, with support from the fire brigade, brought down the three protesters — two women and one man — before taking them into custody. 

Three others who had operated the lifting platform were also arrested.

Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, has launched a new sticker campaign to promote the use of cash payments in shops, alongside paying by card.

Freely available stickers can be put up by shopowners on their doors next to stickers showing that they accept card payments. The stickers are available in different formats, including with slogans "Klar, auch bar!" (Of course, also in cash!) and "Einfach. Bargeld." (Simple. Cash.)

"The cash payment stickers signal to customers that cash is welcome," member of the Bundesbank executive board Burkhard Balz said.

Cash remains a popular payment method in Germany but has declined in recent years, falling to 51% in 2023, based on Bundesbank data.

"Cash can be used independent of technology, electricity and internet," Balz said.

The two co-leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have sought to give a show of unity in a joint letter following an apparent split over views regarding Russia.

"We will continue to work together on policies for Germany and its citizens," Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla wrote. "To this end, we maintain good relations with our European and international partners."

The anti-immigrant party has come under fire for its connections to Russia, with Weidel attempting to distance herself from some of the controversy.

She criticized several AfD lawmakers who were planning to travel to a conference in Moscow, saying she did not "understand what
they're supposed to be doing there."

At the same time, Chrupalla appears to have gone in the other direction, saying in a talk show earlier in the week that he saw no specific danger posed to Germany by Russia, arguing that any country could threaten Germany. 

He went on to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin "hasn't done anything to me."

Chrupalla's remarks drew criticism from the AfD's own defense spokesperson in the Bundestag — Rüdiger Lucassen, a former officer in the German armed forces.

German authorities announced on Thursday that wild type 1 poliovirus had been detected in wastewater in the German city of Hamburg.

Although the risk to the public is considered very low due to high vaccination rates and only low levels of virus detected, the discovery rang alarm bells, as it was the first time the deadly disease had been found in sewage in Germany in several decades.

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, can lead to permanent paralysis and death, according to the German Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG). Symptoms can also include nausea, fever, sore throat, abdominal pain, muscle pain, headaches and meningitis.

Germany last confirmed a case of polio caused by the wild type of the virus in 1990. The last imported case was recorded in 1992, according to BIÖG.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the German Environment Agency regularly test wastewater samples in Germany for traces of the poliovirus.

The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has given the green light for testing an autonomous shuttle in the northern city of Hamburg.

Holon, the company behind the fully electric, driverless vehicle, welcomed the approval, calling it a "milestone."

The "Holon urban" operates at what is known as level 4 autonomy. This means it does not require a driver and can stop independently in the case of an emergency.

During the testing phase, a safety supervisor will travel in the vehicle to monitor the autonomous driving.

The vehicle can transport 15 passengers, including nine seats and six standing places. It can reach a maximum speed of 60 kph (just under 40 mph).

With KBA approval and €26 million ($30 million) in federal funding, the pilot project can run until October 2026, with the option to extend it. It aims to supplement public transport and reduce private vehicles on the road.

German car manufacturing giant Volkswagen is also testing its self-driving VW ID.Buzz AD ride pooling vehicles through its subsidiary MOIA.

Some 2,523 organs have been transplanted so far in Germany this year, up from 2,391 in 2024. However, the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO) called on more people to draw up wills to make their intentions clear and for family members to give consent, two factors that can greatly slow down the process.

Axel Rahmel, medical director of the DSO, said that while he welcomed the uptick, "this should not obscure the fact that this does not represent a fundamental change in organ donation.”

Only about 25% of families give consent for their loved ones organs being donated to those in need, and only 15% die with some sort of document declaring their intention to donate. 

Despite a lack of evidence, rumors persist that doctors are less likely to resusciate someone that is marked as an organ donor via a card that some Germans carry in their wallets. Other stigmas persist too. Some 2,127 donations from January to October 2025 had to be nixed due to lack of consent from families.

Germany has recently made it easier for living donors to provide kidneys to those in need, which doctors hope will also increase donation numbers. According to research firm Statista, the vast majority of people waiting on an organ donation in Germany in 2024 were waiting for kidneys.

The amount of people willing to donate varied widely by region, the DSO reported. In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, many more organs were donated that in the previous year at over 500. However, in central Hesse and in the northeast, the numbers fell.

According to the DSO, about 10,000 people in Germany are currently waiting on organ donations.

Google recently announced it would invest €5.5 billion ($6.37 billion) in Germany over the next four years, including the construction of a new data center in Dietzenbach, and expansions at existing sites in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin.

But not everyone is celebrating the move.

Read more: Why some in Germany are wary of Google's data center plans

An agreement between Germany's coalition parties seen by DW shows that the they have charted a path forward after a contentious debate over the future of the armed forces, the Bundeswehr. 

Chancellor Merz's center-right bloc (CDUand CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) have been discussing how to resolve the long-standing issue of flagging recruitment after conscription ended in 2011.

The paper opens by acknowledging that "the security threat situation has worsened significantly in recent years as a result of Russia's war of aggression."

"It is crucial that our armed forces meet the NATO capability targets that have been agreed upon in terms of structure, equipment, and, above all, personnel," it adds.

Currently the Bundeswehr has about 182,000 active duty troops. The goal is to increase that to 260,000 in order to meet "capabilities promised to NATO."

Beginning next year, at the age of 18 men will be called upon to fill out a questionnaire about their readiness to join the military —  "so that, in the event of defense, the Bundeswehr knows who it can call on if universal conscription is reinstated."

Salaries will also be increased for new recruits. There will also be perks, such as subsidized driving school — famously expensive in Germany.

Crucially, the statement says, there will be "no automatic mechanism for activating compulsory military service." This has been the most hotly debated measure, with critics saying the questionnaire will not be enough to gain the necessary troop numbers.

Germany is increasingly popular with Indian students who are drawn by affordable tuition, strong job prospects, and high-quality education.

But many have to work alongside their studies, often as delivery drivers.

Germany has witnessed a decline in internet freedom, an annual study by Freedom House said on Thursday.

The Washington-based democracy promotion group surveyed freedom on the internet in 72 nations for 2025, in a global landscape marred by persistent authoritarian repression and backsliding in western democracies when it comes to imposing growing curbs online. 

Freedom House said that Germany fell by three points in the internet freedom score to a total of 74. 

The study said that authorities in Germany sought legal action against people who pilloried politicians.

The report made a mention of criminal prosecutions in Germany over memes about politicians, seemingly pointing to the case of an editor of a publication affiliated to the far-right AfD. 

Deutschland-Kurier editor-in-chief David Bendels had received a suspended jail sentence and was fined for a social media post that included a manipulated image to criticize former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. In the image, she was holding a sign that said "I hate freedom of speech." The image was shared widely.

Freedom House also listed out factors like an increased self-censorship due in part to threats from far-right actors, and attacks by hackers with ties to the Russian state as contributors to Germany's internet freedom decline.