Germany news: Dobrindt vows to fight left-wing extremism

A vigil took place at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to commemorate Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman killed by an ICE officer in Minnesota. 

Several people joined the vigil and gathered near the US embassy in central Berlin.

One of them was holding a banner, calling for "justice for Good."

Renee Nicole Good's death triggered protests across the US, calling for ICE officers to stop operating against migrants.

US President Donald Trump and his administration claimed Good tried to run over the officer, and that he had acted in self defense, but video footage suggests their claim is false.

Germanywould like to take a bigger part in contributing to military security in the Arctic, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a visit to Iceland.

According to Wadephul, of the conservative CDU party, the NATO framework should be kept as part of any solution.

"The North Atlantic is geostrategically enormously important for our alliance, for NATO and Iceland is at its centre," Wadephul said.

The German minister made a stop in Reykjavík on his way to the US, where he will meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio for talks about Greenland.

Since the return of PresidentDonald Trumpinto office, the US has repeatedly said it believes Greenland should be controlled by Washington.

Germanyand Israel will expand their security cooperation, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said during a visit to Israel.

According to Dobrindt, the cooperation includes increased protection for infrastructure against attacks.

A cyber and security pact was also signed between the German minister and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Infrastructure security made headlines in Germany after a power cable was targeted in an arson attack, leading to tens of thousands of people staying without electricity in Berlin.

This comes as Israel's military methods have been under ever growing international scrutiny after the country's two-year war in Gaza, as well as its continued occupation of the West Bank, considered illegal by international law.

After a sunny Sunday, fresh weather chaos is expected to set in overnight as low-pressure system Gunda moves in from the west, bringing snow and then rain that freezes in subzero air or on cold ground, Germany's weather service has said.

The German Weather Service (DWD) warned of "a widespread severe black ice situation," with meteorologist Oliver Reuter saying conditions would be hazardous across large areas.

The ADAC urged drivers to avoid unnecessary trips, warning that in cases of flash ice it is better to leave cars parked. The weather service has issued severe weather warnings for black ice in several states.

Schools have been closed in multiple regions. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the country's most populous state, schools have switched to remote learning on Monday, with only emergency care offered, the state government said.

In the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony, in-person classes have also been canceled. All districts and independent cities in Lower Saxony suspended regular lessons, citing the inability to guarantee safe transport for students, with exceptions only on the East Frisian islands.

Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder urged continued caution. "The dangerous situation is not over yet," he told the mass-circulation Bild newspaper, while adding that overall conditions had not turned out as severe as feared.

Gunda arrives after storm Elli brought heavy snow, ice, and strong winds that disrupted travel nationwide.

Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in the northern town of Wedel after the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb.

Police and city officials said about 6,000 households within a one-kilometer radius were affected on Sunday, with about 12,000 people evacuated.

Experts from the Schleswig-Holstein state criminal police defused the 250-kilogram (roughly 550-pound) US-made bomb.

The device was found during routine analysis of wartime aerial photographs in an industrial area near the border with Hamburg.

The evacuation zone included businesses and allotment gardens. With winter temperatures, residents were offered emergency accommodation at a local school.

The bomb disposal operation was completed about three hours after the evacuation began.

Such incidents are not rare. More than 80 years after the war, Germany remains littered with unexploded ordnance, often uncovered during construction work.
 

Germany's national team will not allow political debates to overshadow its World Cup campaign this summer, according to DFB sporting director Rudi Völler.

Speaking to broadcaster Sport1, Völler said there would be ban on free speech but ruled out last-minute controversies.

"Of course there will be no gag order," Völler, one of Germany's top strikers of his era, said. "But it cannot happen, like with the so-called armband disaster in Qatar, that there are discussions practically on matchday."

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Germany's squad was caught up in days of debate over the planned "One Love" armband amid criticism of the host country’s human rights record.

After FIFA banned the armband, Germany's players covered their mouths during the team photo before the opening defeat to Japan.

Völler said the timing of those debates was damaging. "That must not happen again. And it will not happen again," he said. "Of course everyone can have their own opinion, but it does not have to be on the day before a match."

With the tournament set to take place in the United States, political issues are again expected to surface under US President Donald Trump.

Thousands of people have gathered in Berlin to commemorate communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht more than a century after their murder.

Police said about 8,000 people took part in the main demonstration, which was largely peaceful and saw no major clashes, unlike previous years.

Berlin police said eight people were detained on suspicion of offenses including the use of symbols of unconstitutional or terrorist organizations, resisting officers, and insults. "One officer was injured," police said, adding that about 500 officers were deployed.

Leaders of the socialist Left Party laid red carnations at the Socialists' Memorial at Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery. Those attending included party co-leaders Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken, as well as Berlin state election lead candidate Elif Eralp.

Who were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht?

Luxemburg and Liebknecht were shot dead in 1919 after the failed Spartacist Uprising. Liebknecht, a co-founder of the Communist Party of Germany, had declared the Social Democratic government of Friedrich Ebert deposed before the revolt was crushed.

They had wanted to set up a council republic similar to the one established by the Bolsheviks in Russia.

Both leaders went into hiding but were later captured and interrogated. Right-wing Freikorps soldiers shot Liebknecht in Berlin's Tiergarten, while Luxemburg was killed after.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has spoken of the importance of fostering trans-Atlantic ties in a time of global uncertainty.

Relations between European governments and the United States have been strained, with Germany and its allies expressing profound differences with the Trump administration on a range of issues.

"This summer, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence," Wadephul said in a statement ahead of a trip to Reykjavik and Washington.

"That reminds me of how strongly we are bound together by the idea of freedom and self-determination. Germany owes a lot to the long democratic tradition of the US and its efforts for peace and security," he said.

"It has never been more important to invest in the trans-Atlantic partnership in order to remain in a position to shape the world order amid global upheavals," he added.

What did Wadephul say about NATO and Greenland?

Wadephul said crises such as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine could be effectively responded to only within alliances, stressing that Germany had committed to meeting the 5% of GDP target of NATO to this end.

He said that it was necessary to hold dialogue on differences even with close partners "to do justice to our joint responsibility for peace and security," adding that he would be holding talks with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, for this reason.

He said the issue of security in the Arctic would be a focus of his talks, while referring obliquely to recent statements by US President Donald Trump seeming to indicate that a possible US military takeover of Greenland

Wadephul said he wanted "to discuss how we can best bear this responsibility in NATO," adding that "the legitimate interest of all NATO allies, but also the inhabitants of the region, must be central to our considerations."

"That, of course, also goes for Greenland and its people," he said.

Wadephul said reliability was a cornerstone of security, trade and investment "in Europe as in America."

"For Germany, reliability as an international partner very clearly includes a commitment to international law and international cooperation," he said, adding that he would also be holding talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Washington.

German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has said international law also applies to the United States.

His remarks on Sunday were a response to US President Donald Trump's suggestion that the United States is considering a military takeover of Greenland, a semiautonomous Arctic territory that is governed by Denmark.

"It is solely for Denmark and Greenland to decide Greenland's future," said Klingbeil before his departure to Washington for meetings in the US capital next week.

Klingbeil, who also serves as finance minister, said principles of international law such as respect for territorial sovereignty and integrity apply to everyone, "including the United States." 

"We increase security in the Arctic together as NATO allies, not in opposition to each other," Klingbeil said.

Trump has recently repeatedly threatened the seizure of Greenland by whatever means, claiming that his country needs the Arctic island for national security reasons, particularly with regard to possible Russian and Chinese territorial aggression.

 "I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump told reporters on Friday.

The US president has also appeared to put himself above international law, telling The New York Times on Wednesday that the only restriction on exercising his power was "my own morality, my own mind."

Just 22% of people in Germany are satisfied with the coalition government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and center-left Social Democrats (SPD), a survey found on Sunday.

The number of people who view the coalition negatively has grown by two percentage points to 71%, the highest rate shown by the Sonntagstrend survey in the weekly Bild am Sonntag since the government took office in May.

Merz himself has seen his popularity grow by 2 percentage points to 24% since the December edition of the survey but still thus remains unpopular with three-quarters of people in Germany.

According to the survey, conducted by the Insa polling institute, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would come out on top if elections were held now, receiving 26% of the vote.

The CDU/CSU bloc, known in German as the Union, would gain 24%, far outdistancing the SPD, the junior coalition partner, on 14%.

The Green Party would receive 12% of the vote and the Left Party 11%.

The business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) would again fail to gain seats in the German parliament or Bundestag as they did in the 2025 elections, falling a percentage point below the 5% hurdle for parliamentary representation.

Several train services have resumed in northern Germany on Sunday, although significant delays and disruptions were still expected.

National rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) said snowdrifts on previously cleared lines and frozen, blocked points were causing the disruptions.

On its website, DB said "only reduced services continue to be possible, and cancellations and part-cancellations can occur."

It said routes to cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Rostock were still not operating, and regional trains in the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony were still affected.

The speed limit on the high-speed route between Frankfurt and Cologne had also been reduced, it said.

Forecasters have, however, predicted a "picture-perfect winter's day" with frequent sunshine on Sunday, before rain overnight to Monday could cause problems with black ice on roads.

DB stopped long-distance train services in the north completely on Friday morning owing to the snowy weather.

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed that many doctors in Germany are facing legal action for issuing certificates of exemption from vaccines and masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

His accusations have been vehemently rejected by German Health Minister Nina Warken as lacking any basis in fact.

Read more on why the German health minister has rejected Robert Kennedy's COVID claims.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced a new package of measures to combat left-wing extremism after an arson attack on cables caused a five-day power outage in Berlin.

"We are hitting back — and will not leave the field to left-wing extremists and climate extremists," he said as he presented the package.

A left-wing extremist group, the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) claimed responsibility for the Berlin arson attack in a letter that authorities have deemed "credible."

According to Dobrindt, the measures include raising the number of intelligence personnel and granting more permission to gather digital information so as to gain a fuller picture of the extremist scene and be able to follow digital traces more quickly.

He did not name any concrete numbers or details.

Read more on the security failings the Berlin blackouts have revealed in this report by DW's Ben Knight.

Morgengrüße ("Morning greetings") from the DW newsroom in Bonn on another cold, wintry day as we resume our weekend coverage of the top stories in Germany.

That cold weather is continuing to cause problems for train services, with several routes in the north not operating due to snow drifts on the lines and frozen points.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced a package of measures to fight left-wing extremism after activists from a far-left group claimed an arson attack in Berlin that left many in the German capital in the cold earlier in the week.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, is on his way to India as he seeks to deepen collateral ties in a bid to decrease Germany's trade reliance on China.

And US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has raised hackles in Germany with unfounded accusations that doctors are facing legal penalities for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Keep on reading to stay up to date on the latest from Europe's biggest economy.

We are pausing our coverage for now. Join us again on Sunday morning for more coverage of the German news and analysis.