Germany news: Lufthansa air crew strike after pilot walkout

Fuel prices at filling stations have dropped fairly substantially from their record highs in the past week, according to the trackers at Germany's biggest motorists' club the ADAC. 

By April 14, a liter of diesel cost an average of €2.286 nationwide. That equates to $10.21 per US gallon. 

However, it's a marked improvement on a nationwide average of €2.447 per liter on April 7, the high point for prices. 

For the cheapest variant of petrol or gasoline, Super E10, the reductions were slightly more modest. 

A liter cost an average of €2.107 on April 14. That's $9.41 per US gallon, and it compares to €2.188 per liter on April 7. 

ADAC, however, said it was still observing what the German cartel office dubbed the "rocket and feather effect," whereby fuel stations increase prices like a rocket taking off if the oil prices rise and then bring them back down like a feather falling to earth if they drop. 

The German government is moving to reduce its taxes on fuel by 17 cents per liter, a contentious move but one that's found favor with the ADAC, but this is unlikely to come into effect before the start of next month at the earliest. It's not clear what the status of the conflict in the Gulf or the shipping situation in the Strait of Hormuz will be by then. 

The co-leader of the socialist Left Party (die Linke), Jan van Aken, has announced that he will not seek re-election to the role at the party's annual conference in June. 

"For health reasons, I must step down from my position," van Aken said. "There's no cause for very great worry about me, it is not a life-threatening illness. Nevertheless I must look after myself."

The 64-year-old, a biologist and longstanding lawmaker with a background in foreign policy in particular, first applied for the role in October 2024. 

"I will not be dropping out completely," he said in his online statement. "I will continue to fill my position as lawmaker in the Bundestag [parliament] and will remain at my party's disposal, within the bounds of whatever will be possible." 

Van Aken also said he would continue in his role until the June conference alongside Ines Schwerdtner. 

"This step is not an easy one for me, because it is not the path I'd planned," he said. "I find it a particular shame that I cannot continue to work with Ines. We're a great team and I always greatly valued the trusting cooperation with Ines."

He said he believed the party was on a good path and expressed confidence that it would "play an ever greater role in this country in the coming years."

Die Linke claimed 8.8% of the vote in the last nationwide elections in February 2025. It's currently polling slightly higher, at between 10 and 11% depending on the survey. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Paris on Friday to discuss a European naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters and AFP news agencies. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are also expected to attend the meeting. Many of the other participants will attend via videolink.  

Starmer said over 40 nations will convene for the talks. Macron, meanwhile, said a "defensive" mission is being prepared to reopen the Strait.   

A man convicted of murdering his grandmother attempted to jump from a courtroom window in Munich, German media has reported.

A court spokesperson told the DPA news agency that the 24-year-old sprang up at the end of the verdict hearing and managed to open a window, but was immediately overpowered by police. The story was initially reported by Germany’s Bild newspaper, which had a reporter at the scene.

The Munich Regional Court had just sentenced him to life imprisonment for the 2025 killing. Judges found he strangled his 76-year-old grandmother, then tried to stage her death as a suicide and empty her safe deposit box to finance an escape.

The court cited treachery as the key element of murder, noting the victim did not expect an attack from her grandson. Prosecutors had also examined a financial motive, as the victim had threatened to cut off support.

The grandmother had demanded her apartment key back from her grandson after he had entered her apartment without her permission and taken bananas and mangoes.

The defendant admitted the killing but said he acted in the heat of the moment after the argument escalated. He told the court he lost control during the confrontation.

Investigators said he attempted to cover up the crime by staging injuries and placing the body in a bathtub. He was arrested days later at a hotel in Munich after falling under suspicion.

Germany's Green Party has renewed calls for a nationwide speed limit to ease pressure from high fuel prices.

Party lawmaker Irene Mihalic says a limit could be introduced quickly and would reduce fuel consumption.

A proposal to be debated in the Bundestag on Thursday calls for a general speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour (about 80 mph) on major highways between cities. Lawmakers argue it would reduce fuel demand, lower consumer costs, and cut carbon emissions as well as traffic deaths.

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 Greens also proposed lowering electricity taxes for consumers, while criticizing the coalition's planned fuel tax relief as a repeat of earlier measures that mainly benefited oil companies.

The current government has announced temporary cuts to fuel taxes of about 17 cents per liter for two months to ease pressure at the pumps.

A leading trade union-linked foundation has warned Germany's government against raising sales taxes as households face rising costs.

The Hans Böckler Foundation said such a move would add a "value-added tax shock" to the ongoing energy price crisis.

Research by the economic institute found that higher sales taxes would disproportionately hit lower-income households and families. The foundation's Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research said cutting reduced rates on essentials like food would not fully offset the imbalance.

The study argued that meaningful tax revenue gains would require a significant increase in the standard rate, which would weigh more heavily on poorer households than on higher earners.

It also warned that a sales tax hike could push inflation higher and dampen consumer spending and construction activity. This could also prompt the European Central Bank to respond with interest rate increases, it said, potentially harming growth further.

Police have arrested a fugitive linked to the so-called Reichsbürger movement in the eastern town of Lucka after more than a year on the run.

Authorities in the state of Thuringia said the 60-year-old was taken into custody Monday without resistance.

Earlier, a 59-year-old woman had asked the man to leave her apartment, where he had been staying temporarily. When he refused, she called the police.

During checks on the man, it emerged that there were eleven outstanding location inquiries from ongoing criminal proceedings against him. 

Officers also discovered three outstanding warrants against the man, including for fraud and defamation. He had been in hiding since August 2024.

The man was taken to prison, where he is expected to serve outstanding sentences totaling around one year and three months.

Germany's top court has ruled that stricter labor protections in the meat industry are constitutional.

The Federal Constitutional Court rejected a complaint by a company challenging rules that ban the use of contract workers to avoid social security obligations.

Judges said the restrictions interfere with professional freedom but are justified by higher-ranking concerns, including worker protection and health standards.

The law was introduced in 2021 after widespread abuses in slaughterhouses came to light. It was tightened in 2024 under the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, extending the rules to fully ban the use of temporary agency workers in the sector.

The war in Sudan is entering its fourth year with international attention focused on other conflicts.

A conference in Berlin is aiming to bring back some attention to help fund urgent projects.

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Most people in Germany do not believe the government is playing a meaningful role in easing tensions in Iran, the Gulf and the wider Middle East.

A YouGov survey for the German news agency DPA found 42% see Berlin's influence on peace efforts as "not strong at all," while 35% rate it as "rather not strong."

Only 7% believe the government led by Friedrich Merz has a "rather strong" influence, and just 2% see it as "very strong." Another 14% said they could not assess the situation.

Military backers of Ukraine are meeting in Berlin for a new round of talks on continued support.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is hosting the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, with his Ukrainian opposite number Mykhailo Fedorow, UK counterpart John Healey, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attending in person.

The talks focus on further military assistance following recent German-Ukrainian agreements on new bilateral projects.

Germany and the United Kingdom have been jointly leading the contact group since April 2025, coordinating international support efforts for Ukraine.

Berlin and Kyiv agreed on Tuesday to deepen their military and political cooperation as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Berlin.

Officials in western Germany have said two people died when a small plane crashed near the city of Düren.

Mayor of the  Hürtgenwald municipality Stephan Cranen said the aircraft had taken off from Aachen-Merzbrück Airfield before it went down in a forested area.

Hikers discovered the wreckage near a reservoir, prompting a large emergency response. Authorities said no other people were injured.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, police said, with investigations ongoing. The Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation has been deployed to examine the site in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the strongest force in a new national poll, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with Germany’s centrist coalition government.

The survey by YouGov put the AfD at 27%, up one point from the previous month, ahead of all other parties.

The conservative bloc CDU/CSU fell three points to 23%, its lowest level in this poll since late 2021. The center-left Social Democrats dropped to 13%, while the Greens and the socialist Left Party each gained one point, reaching 14% and 10% respectively.

The business-focused Free Democrats and populist-left BSW both stood at 4%, below the threshold to enter parliament.

The poll also showed rising frustration with the government, with 79% of respondents saying they are dissatisfied with the current coalition. That figure is up sharply from 55% in mid-2025.

Other recent surveys show a tighter race. Polling by Insa and Infratest dimap has also placed the AfD narrowly ahead or close behind the CDU/CSU, underscoring volatility in voter sentiment.

Cabin crew at Lufthansa have begun a two-day strike following a pilot walkout, disrupting flights across Germany.

The Independent Flight Attendants' Organization (UFO) said departures from major hubs including Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport were affected, with further cancellations expected through Thursday night.

The union cited a lack of progress in negotiations over a new collective agreement as the reason for the strike. A rally is also planned in Frankfurt during celebrations marking Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to attend.

A one-day cabin crew walkout last week forced hundreds of cancellations at Germany's flagship carrier.

Meanwhile, the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit has announced additional strikes on Thursday and Friday, citing a deadlock in talks. Union chief Andreas Pinheiro said there had been no movement from the employer.

The planned pilot strikes will affect most Lufthansa departures from German airports, as well as flights by subsidiaries, including Lufthansa Cargo and CityLine, with limited exemptions for routes to parts of the Middle East.