Skip next section 32 hurt at school, police suspect irritant gas released intentionally
11/05/2025November 5, 202532 hurt at school, police suspect irritant gas released intentionally
The incident occurred in Spiesen-Elversberg in southwestern GermanyImage: Thorsten Kremers/dpa/picture alliance
Three teachers and 29 students required medical attention at a school in Spiesen-Elversberg in Saarland on Wednesday, police said, when “an irritant gas was seemingly released.”
Police said there were roughly 170 people in the building at the time of the suspected crime, at around 11:30 a.m. local time.
The injured people suffered irritation of the airways and eyes.
“Many of the injured were given medical attention on site, a few were taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment,” police from the larger nearby town of Neunkirchen said in a statement.
Police said they were launching investigations against an as yet unknown suspect on suspicion of intentionally releasing the gas and causing dangerous bodily harm.
“The exact material used in the crime is not yet clear and is a subject of the ongoing investigation,” police said. They appealed to potential witnesses who might have seen suspicious activity at or near the Albert-Schweitzer School in Saarbrücken near the French border to get in touch.
https://p.dw.com/p/539gv
Skip next section Longest-ever US shutdown affects troops stationed in Germany
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Longest-ever US shutdown affects troops stationed in Germany
The US Army Garrison Bavaria published “shutdown guidance” for its membersImage: home.army.mil
Signs of the ongoing US government shutdown causing difficulties or uncertainties for US soldiers appeared, and then were swiftly removed after drawing attention, on the US Army Garrison Bavaria website this week.
“The shutdown will impact services provided by the Garrison at installations across Rose Barracks, Tower Barracks, Hohenfels and Garmisch,” it said on a web page to provide guidance to members of how to deal with the government shutdown.
The web page also contained a “running list of German support organizations for your kit bags” that included charities like Foodsharing e.V and Essen für Alle (Food for All), as well as the app Too Good To Go.
At the top of the list was Tafel Deutschland, which it described as “the umbrella organization distributes food to people in poverty through its more than 970 local food banks.”
On Wednesday, the garrison removed references to these German food banks and other free or discounted food provision services from its web page.
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https://p.dw.com/p/539aF
Skip next section Police union hails ‘Muslim Interactive’ ban, calls for deportations
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Police union hails ‘Muslim Interactive’ ban, calls for deportations
The German Police Union (DPolG) welcomed the news that the “Muslim Interactive” group, which advocated the overthrow of the German government, has been banned.
DPolG chair Rainer Wendt said that the government was “implementing…the active protection of our democracy and our constitution.”
The Islamist association had called for a caliphate to replace the German state.
Wendt also said that membership of “Muslim Interactive” should be grounds for the deportation of non-citizens.
“We now expect the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to review the respective residence status of the association’s members in order to subsequently justify a special interest in expulsion,” he said.
Deportation continued to be a hot topic in Berlin on Wednesday, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul openly disagreed as to whether it is safe for refugees to return to Syria.
https://p.dw.com/p/5393o
Skip next section Nobel laureate Herta Müller to receive German Culture Prize
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Nobel laureate Herta Müller to receive German Culture Prize
Herta Müller, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature, will be given the German Culture Prize next week.
The award honors her entire body of work, which includes renowned novels like “The Hunger Angel” and “The Passport” as well as poetry and essays.
Born in 1953 as part of the German minority in Romania, much of her work focuses on the terror and persecution faced by ordinary people under the Iron Curtain.
Stiftung Kulturförderung, the foundation who presents the German Culture Prize, hailed Müller’s “literary fearlessness” and her “unwavering commitment to freedom.”
Müller will receive the prize at a ceremony in Munich on November 14.
‘The Hunger Angel’ by Herta Müller
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https://p.dw.com/p/5390N
Skip next section Nurse sentenced to life in prison for killing patients
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Nurse sentenced to life in prison for killing patients
A 40-year-old palliative care nurse was given a life sentence by a court in Aachen for the murder of 10 patients and the attempted murder of 27 others.
The prosecution claimed the man was playing “master of life and death” over those in his care, and that he showed a distinct lack of empathy for patients who required a higher level of attention.
Though the acknowledged that he suffered from a personality disorder, they said he purposefully gave elderly patients extremely high doses of medication in order to reduce his workload on night shifts.
He was arrested in 2024 while working at a hospital in the town of Wuerselen, where he had been working since 2020.
The judge ruled that due to the “high severity of guilt,” he will not be eligible for parole for at least 15 years.
https://p.dw.com/p/538Md
Skip next section Far-right AfD lawmakers planning Russia trip
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Far-right AfD lawmakers planning Russia trip
German public broadcaster ARD reported on Wednesday that Bundestag members from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are planning official trips to Russia.
According to official party documents, on top of regular trips to Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and the US, two AfD lawmakers will visit Sochi, Russia, on November 13.
Party members Steffen Kotre und Rainer Rothfuss are due to give talks at a symposium for Europeans looking to forge connections with the BRICS. BRICS is a summit group that includes Russia and China that seeks to counter Western-led alternatives like the G7.
It is not the first recent trip to Russia for either lawmaker, who have also traveled to Moscow.
Vice-parliamentary chief for the AfD, Stefan Keuter, told ARD he believed it was “time to intensify contact with Russia.”
The AfD has repeatedly come under criticism for forging ties with authoritarian leaders, and has been labeled extremist by German intelligence services, but the label has been put on hold pending an AfD appeal.
https://p.dw.com/p/5389F
Skip next section China appoints Bundesliga veteran Shao Jiayi as national team coach
11/05/2025November 5, 2025China appoints Bundesliga veteran Shao Jiayi as national team coach
After several years with a pair of coaches from the former Yugoslavia, China is returning to a homegrown national team coach, albeit one who spent his playing days in GermanyImage: Wang Lili/Xinhua/picture alliance
China’s Football Association has turned to a homegrown former player who spent most of his career in Germany, Shao Jiayi, to take over stewardship of the national team.
The world’s second-most populous nation recently missed out once again on World Cup qualification, dismissing Croatian Branko Ivankovic as coach as a result in June. The team had lost seven of 10 qualifying matches.
China’s CFA said in a statement that the decision was made with a view to “the current situation for Chinese men’s football and the long-term construction of the national team.”
Shao spent several years competing in Germany’s Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga in his prime, in stints at 1860 Munich, then Energie Cottbus and finally MSV Duisburg.
Shao played 100 league games for Energie Cottbus, scoring 15 goalsImage: Revierfoto/dpa/picture alliance
The midfielder also competed for China in the 2002 World Cup — still the only time China ever made it to world football’s biggest competition. The country is still seeking its first points and goals at a World Cup.
Shao has spent some of his coaching career with China’s national setup already, training the youth teams and as assistant coach for the seniors. Most recently, he was coaching Chinese Super League team Qingdao West Coast.
https://p.dw.com/p/537fa
Skip next section German Left welcomes Mamdani victory
11/05/2025November 5, 2025German Left welcomes Mamdani victory
Germany’s far-left party hailed Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral election, saying his victory could provide momentum for Berlin next year.
“His campaign is like a blueprint for next year’s elections in Berlin,” said Jan van Aken, leader of the Left Party, which has bounced back in support in the past year after a decade of relative obscurity.
The Left Party faces an uphill battle in the race for Berlin’s city hall, as the more residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of town tend to support the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), and the environmentalist Green Party also remains popular.
Indeed, the CDU took power in the Berlin senate for the first time in two decades in 2023 from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who remain in government as junior coalition partners.
https://p.dw.com/p/537VF
Skip next section Hamburg government welcomes ‘Muslim Interactive’ ban
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Hamburg government welcomes ‘Muslim Interactive’ ban
The center-left government of Hamburg, which is also its own federal state, welcomed the news that the Muslim Interactive organization had been banned.
The group, which had called for the German government to be overthrown and replaced by a caliphate, was particularly active in Berlin and Hamburg.
Senator for the Interior Andy Grote called it a “strike against modern TikTok-Islamism.”
Hamburg intelligence chief Torsten Voss stressed that the move protected religious freedom, as the ban “was not against Muslims, but against enemies of the constitution who are exploiting Islam for political reasons.”
https://p.dw.com/p/537HV
Skip next section BMW reports major profits in 3rd quarter
11/05/2025November 5, 2025BMW reports major profits in 3rd quarter
As other German auto giants are making moves to slash costs amidst plummeting sales, the BMW group announced on Wednesday that it had done robust business in the third quarter of 2025.
CEO Oliver Zipse announced profits of €1.7 billion (nearly $2 billion), compared to €476 million in the same period last year, when its cars were facing issues with their brakes.
Zipse also said that the company was “fully on track” to meet European Union emissions targets for 2025.
While other European carmakers have complained about unfair competition in the electric vehicle sector from China, BMW’s report highlighted its iX3 electric SUV in particular as having driven the increase in sales.
https://p.dw.com/p/5373y
Skip next section Police arrest 18 over international money laundering network
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Police arrest 18 over international money laundering network
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) announced late on Tuesday that it had arrested 18 individuals in connection with an online fraud network that was using German payment service providers.
The BKA said that between 2016 and 2021, the network amassed the credit card details of some 4.3 million individuals from 193 countries, stealing over €300 million ($344 million).
The raids that resulted in the 18 arrests were part of a coordinated law enforcement effort that also involved Canada, the US, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Singapore, German authorities said.
https://p.dw.com/p/536oy
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Pushing back on deportation, Wadephul reportedly says Syria worse than Germany in 1945
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has triggered fresh backlash within his own conservative block by reportedly saying that Syria today looks worse than Germany did in 1945.
Germany’s top diplomat made the remark during a meeting of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) on Tuesday afternoon, the German DPA news agency said.
One of the lawmakers described Wadephul’s appearance as “disastrous,” and that support for the politician was fading, DPA reported.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’ coalition has upped deportation efforts since taking office earlier this year, with plans to come up with a mechanism to deport Syrian criminal offenders in Germany. On Tuesday, Merz went as far as to say that Syrians no longer have grounds for asylum in Germany after the civil war in the country has ended.
Wadephul recently visited Syria and expressed doubt on sending Syrians back.
“It is barely possible for people to live here with dignity,” the minister said while visiting the neighborhood of Harasta. “In the near future, [Syrian refugees] can not return.”
Read more here on How Germany aims to increase deportations
https://p.dw.com/p/536fg
Skip next section What is Muslim Interactive?
11/05/2025November 5, 2025What is Muslim Interactive?
Germany’s security authorities already classified Muslim Interactive as extremist. The group calls for a worldwide caliphate, which rejects the democratic order enshrined in Germany’s Basic Law.
Founded in 2020, authorities believe the group is affiliated with the Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) organization, which was banned in 2003 after promoting violence and the killing of Jewish people.
“Put delicately, this is a revolutionary political movement pursuing a fundamental upheaval of the ruling order, not only in the Muslim world, but worldwide,” Andreas Jacobs, head of the division for societal cohesion at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told DW in 2024.
The association is prolific on social media with substantial followers. Their video posts look professional and portray their movement’s leaders as modern and eloquent.
The association views the Muslim community in Germany as a minority that is discriminated against and ostracized from society.
The group’s views intensified following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
https://p.dw.com/p/536OV
Skip next section Germany bans Muslim Interactive association
11/05/2025November 5, 2025Germany bans Muslim Interactive association
German authorities have banned the Muslim Interactive association and will confiscate its assets, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
“We will respond with the full force of the law to anyone who aggressively calls for a caliphate on our streets, incites hatred against the state of Israel and Jews in an intolerable manner, and despises the rights of women and minorities,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in the statement.
Authorities searched seven properties in Hamburg and 12 more in Berlin and the central state of Hesse since early morning. The raids also included preliminary investigations into two other organizations “Generation Islam” and “Realität Islam” (or Reality Islam), the ministry said.
The Muslim Interactive association came under scrutiny in April 2024 over a protest in Hamburg. Over 1,000 people attended the demonstration, with some carrying signs reading: “The caliphate is the solution.” Public outcry was quick to follow, with many calling for the organization to be banned.
https://p.dw.com/p/536Mn
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage11/05/2025November 5, 2025Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag and welcome to our coverage of all things Germany from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.
German authorities have banned the fairly new “Muslim Interaktiv” or Muslim Interactive organization, which has stirred much controversy by calling for a caliphate.
The Interior Ministry is also investigating other Islamist organizations including “Generation Islam” and “Realität Islam” or Reality Islam, conducting searches of their premises.
Join us as we bring you the latest on this and other headlines, videos and analyses from Germany today.
https://p.dw.com/p/536MN