Skip next section Three people die in icy motorway crashes in western Germany
01/23/2026January 23, 2026
Three people die in icy motorway crashes in western Germany
Three people have been killed in a series of accidents caused by black ice on motorways in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police said early Friday.
Black ice triggered multiple crashes in the early morning hours on the A44 motorway. Police said a truck collided with a semi-trailer loaded with paper, which caught fire. The truck driver died at the scene, while the semi-trailer driver was taken to hospital.
In a separate crash on the same stretch of road, two more people were killed. Police said a total of 17 accidents occurred in both directions due to icy conditions. The A44 was closed in both directions in the area.
Earlier Friday, black ice also caused a major pileup on the A42 motorway near Essen. An initial car skidded on a bridge over the Rhine-Herne Canal, triggering a chain-reaction crash involving 26 vehicles, police said.
Emergency services said 25 people were slightly injured, five of whom were taken to hospital as a precaution. Traffic backed up for several kilometers during the morning rush hour, police said.
There were 17 crashes on the A44 alone amid difficult driving conditions Image: Christian Müller/dpa/picture alliance
https://p.dw.com/p/57HzS
Skip next section Freezing rain shuts schools and caused crashes in Lower Saxony
01/23/2026January 23, 2026
Freezing rain shuts schools and caused crashes in Lower Saxony
Bitterly cold rain and extreme ice have disrupted daily life across the northern state of Lower Saxony, forcing school closures and triggering widespread traffic accidents.
Police said Friday morning conditions on the roads were “catastrophic,” with hundreds of ice-related crashes reported from the Teutoburg Forest to the East Frisian Islands. Most accidents caused property damage, though some people were lightly injured, and trucks were seen jackknifed in several areas.
The German Weater Service (DWD) has warned of rain or drizzle freezing on contact with cold ground, especially west of the Weser River. The alert covered much of northwestern Germany, with police urging residents to stay home.
https://p.dw.com/p/57J74
Skip next section Very good girl — Police dog Pixel catches burglar
01/23/2026January 23, 2026
Very good girl — Police dog Pixel catches burglar
Police in western Germany have arrested a suspected burglar after a police dog tracked him down inside a warehouse in the town of Hagen.
Officers said Friday that the 30-year-old had broken into the building through a roof hatch before police surrounded and searched the site. The suspect hid inside a wardrobe, where the police dog Pixel located him.
Police said the man refused to come out and could not be ruled out as armed, prompting an officer to order the dog to intervene. Pixel bit the suspect on the arm and pulled him out of the wardrobe onto the floor.
The man was lightly injured, taken to a hospital for treatment, and later placed in temporary custody. Police said he is suspected of having previously broken into the same warehouse.
Need a break? Little Joe’s got you
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https://p.dw.com/p/57Iai
Skip next section Retailer giant Aldi Süd confirms hundreds of job cuts in Germany
01/23/2026January 23, 2026
Retailer giant Aldi Süd confirms hundreds of job cuts in Germany
Supermarket giant Aldi Süd has confirmed that several hundred jobs will be cut at its German headquarters over the coming years.
The company told the DPA news agency that the layoff process began last year. Industry sources have put the number of affected positions at up to 500, mainly in accounting, human resources, and purchasing. The story was first reported by Germany’s Lebensmittel Zeitung.
Aldi Süd did not give specify the number of affected jobs or provide detailed reasons for the cuts.
About 2,000 people are currently employed at Aldi Süd’s Germany headquarters in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The retailer also employs around 50,000 people nationwide, operates roughly 2,000 stores across Germany, and is one of the country’s largest grocery chains.
In Germany, Aldi operates as two separate companies — Aldi Nord (North) and Aldi Süd (South) — while simply bearing the name Aldi in other countries.
Less is more: Aldi’s recipe for success
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https://p.dw.com/p/57Iws
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage01/23/2026January 23, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
You join us as news comes in that three people were killed in crashes caused by black ice in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In one incident, a truck hit a semi-trailer and caught fire, killing the truck driver. Two more people died in a separate crash amid icy conditions, and a 26-vehicle pileup injured 25 people and snarled rush-hour traffic near the city of Essen.
In the town of Hagen, a police dog named Pixel made headlines by pulling a suspected burglar out of a wardrobe after he was cornered by police officers.
Stay with DW for more stories from Germany!
https://p.dw.com/p/57ITO
