Germany updates: Iran's envoy summoned over suspected spy

Travelers on Germany's rail service, Deutsche Bahn, had to deal with major disruptions to service in the north on Tuesday.

A World War II bomb disposal operation near the central train station in the northwestern city of Osnabrück, located on the main line from Hamburg, resulted in many trains being rerouted. 

Bushfires brought on by a heat wave near Hamburg and in the states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt also caused rail service disruptions.

Long-distance InterCity Express (ICE) trains on the Mannheim-Frankfurt-Braunschweig and Berlin routes were delayed by 70 minutes after being diverted.

Express trains between Hanover and Berlin were also being diverted and delayed by about 90 minutes. 

Germany's Federal Police on Tuesday said that since the introduction of more stringent border checks on May 8, there were 7,960 unauthorized entries registered at Germany's land borders.

Police immediately turned back 6,193 people. 

Among them were 285 people who had expressed a request for asylum.

Since taking office in May, Germany's government has taken a tougher stance on irregular migration. 

Unlike the previous government, the current government allows for asylum-seekers to be turned away if they enter from what is considered to be a safe country. As it is surrounded by EU member states and Switzerland, also deemed a safe country by the German government, this policy enables authorities to turn away asylum-seekers at all of Germany's land borders.
Exceptions exist for people from particularly vulnerable groups.

German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider has called climate change the biggest social issue of the 21st century as Europe — including Germany — struggles through a heat wave.

"If one considers that the richest 1% of the global population causes as much in greenhouse gas emissions as the poorest two-thirds taken together, this poses serious questions of distribution," Schneider said.

He argued the heat was exposing social inequality. "People with less money are able to protect themselves less well against the consequences of heat. Poor people more frequently live on busy roads and in densely built homes where heat builds up," the minister said, noting that those with money can afford air-conditioning or cooling gardens.

Schneider said the federal government was supporting local authorities and social institutions with advice and funding to expand cooling measures. He said €73.5 million ($86.5 million) had been approved for almost 500 projects since 2020, with at least €11.5 million available for this year and next.

Berlin has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Germany over the arrest in Denmark of a Danish national accused of spying on Jews in Germany for Iran.

"We will not tolerate any threat to Jewish life in Germany," the German foreign ministry said in a post on X, adding that the allegations needed to be "thoroughly investigated."

According to German prosecutors, the man's suspected aim was to collect information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin.

The man allegedly spied on three properties in June 2025 and prepared for further intelligence activities, possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.

A regional court in Braunschweig has suspended the criminal trial over the VW diesel scandal against former CEO Martin Winterkorn because of his ongoing illness.

The court said his condition currently prevents the trial from continuing. It said Winterkorn was unfit to stand trial for now, leaving it unclear whether the case can ever be concluded.

The economic crimes chamber will continue to monitor his health with the help of an expert to assess if he might become fit to appear in court again. If that happens, proceedings against the 78-year-old would resume.

The VW emissions scandal broke in September 2015 when the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed the company had manipulated emissions tests on diesel vehicles. VW admitted to the cheating shortly before the announcement. Days later, Winterkorn resigned and the company faced one of the biggest crises in its history.

The trial began in 2024, with Winterkorn denying the allegations and arguing that the affair had damaged his successful career. A serious accident led to the trial being interrupted just days after it opened.

Following an altercation in a bar in Stuttgart, police shot an 18-year-old in the upper body, who died on the spot, despite resuscitation attempts.

The 18-year-old is said to have injured a 29-year-old man in the neck with a sharp object, according to police and the public prosecutor's office in the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The suspect then fled while the victim was taken to hospital.

The suspect was then confronted by a police officer in a backyard.

The exact sequence of events is the subject of an ongoing investigation, the statement continued. The investigation into the use of firearms has been taken over by the State Office of Criminal Investigation.

Stuttgart is the capital city of the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.

Poland said it would impose temporary checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania starting on July 7.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the measure was aimed at reducing irregular migrant crossings.

"We consider the temporary restoration of controls at the Polish-German border necessary to limit and reduce to a minimum the uncontrolled flows... of migrants back and forth," Tusk said, adding that similar checks would be imposed on the Lithuanian border.

"We are aware that this decision entails certain consequences regarding the freedom of movement of people... There is no other way," he said.

A Danish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

According to the prosecutors, the man's suspected aim was to collect information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin.

The man allegedly spied on three properties in June 2025, with him preparing for further intelligence activities, possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.

In accordance with the German privacy law, the man was identified only as Ali S.

*Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases.

Twenty-seven people were arrested across Germany in suspicion of growing and selling cannabis illegally. 

They are suspected to have generated millions of euros of income through the illegal sale of the drug.

Some 30 buildings across three German states were searched as part of the investigation.

Several arrested were suspected of belonging to an illegal gang, according to police.

Among the states were North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west and Hesse in central Germany.

One person was killed and two were seriously injured by a man with a sharp object at a company in the southern state of Bavaria, police said.

The stabbing took place in the town of Mellrichstadt in the Lower Franconia region, with a 21-year-old German man being arrested in connection with the incident.

Neither the motive nor the company involved have been named by police, who said there is no further danger to the public. 

A wildfire broke out in the largest forest in the city of Dresden in Germany's eastern Saxony state.

Around one hectare of forest went ablaze, with the fire already largely being under control.

Twenty-six firefighter teams are on site and have already managed to reduce the fire to about 8,000 square meters, the local fire brigades told local outlet Tag24.

In light of the heat wave in Germany, with expected temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, education trade unions have called for nationwide heat protection regulations in schools.

"There must be uniform occupational health and safety regulations for students and school employees," said Anja Bensinger-Stolze, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW), in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) newspapers.

In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, Bensinger-Stolze continued, a "nationwide supply of free drinking water" is necessary for all children, young people, and employees.

Additionally, first aid and safety training on how to deal with heat must be offered across the board, she added.

Gerhard Brand, the head of the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE), suggested that spaces outside the school should be used more often during hot times of the year "if it fits with the curriculum."

Brand also believes that school authorities have a duty to equip existing school buildings so "learning can be guaranteed even during high outside temperatures."

Due to the ongoing heat wave, German hospitals are requesting additional funding to retrofit clinics.

"Severe heat poses challenges for hospitals and staff. Due to a lack of investment funds, only a few hospitals have air-conditioned rooms, offices, and waiting rooms," said Gerald Gaß, the head of the German Hospital Federation (DKG), in an interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper.

"In the long term, we need a climate protection and adaptation program to renovate old buildings," he said, adding that this is the only way clinics can protect patients and staff from the consequences of climate change.

Currently, hospitals rely on measures such as shading facades and cooling packs, Gaß explained.

Europe is currently experiencing an early and extreme heat wave. Temperatures as high as 40 degrees are expected in Germany by the middle of the week.

Guten Tag, and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany, from sunny Bonn where we have been feeling the current heatwave that looks set to continue through Tuesday.

Temperatures across Germany are set to rise. According to the German Weather Service, it will peak on Wednesday, with local temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and widespread temperatures between 34 and 38 degrees.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will receive Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, in Berlin on Tuesday.

The meeting will begin with a reception and military honors at the Federal Chancellery, followed by talks expected to cover foreign and European policy issues, as well as bilateral cooperation.

For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.