Skip next section Berlin airport warns of days of delays after cyberattack
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Berlin airport warns of days of delays after cyberattack
Berlin airport is still battling to restore its check-in and baggage handling systemsImage: Carsten Koall/dpa/picture alliance
Berlin’s main airport has said passengers should expect major disruptions for several days after a cyberattack hit an IT service provider that processes the check-in and baggage systems.
It is expected that several more days will be needed to restore secure software. With many check-ins and boardings still handled manually, travelers face long waits, delays and flight cancellations.
The outage stems from a cyberattack on US aviation supplier Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of defense and technology group RTX. Its systems are used by airlines and airports worldwide, and the attack has caused check-in and baggage failures at other airports, including London’s Heathrow Airport.
https://p.dw.com/p/50zrd
Skip next section German couple found dead in Costa Rica, robbery suspected
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
German couple found dead in Costa Rica, robbery suspected
Costa Rican investigators say a German couple has been found dead near their property on the Pacific coast, with robbery believed to be the motive.
The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered buried near the couple’s Finca Cerros estate in Quepos, the Judicial Investigation Department said. The pair had been reported missing a day earlier.
According to Germany’s Bild newspaper, citing local media, the couple had lived in Costa Rica for about two years and purchased the farm during that time. Neighbors last saw them on Saturday.
https://p.dw.com/p/50zrA
Skip next section Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night included joke about job offer in Germany
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night included joke about job offer in Germany
Kimmel’s show returned to late-night TV after a six-day suspension over comments he made regarding the killing of Charlie KirkImage: Randy Holmes/Disney via AP/picture alliance
US comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joking reference to Germany as he returned to ABC’s late-night lineup Tuesday after a brief suspension over comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Starting his show to loud applause, Kimmel thanked supporters “from Ireland and from Germany,” and quipped: “The guy in Germany offered me a job. Can you imagine this country has become so authoritarian, the Germans are like, ‘come here’?”
The remark appeared to nod to German comedian Stefan Raab, who invited Kimmel to take over his RTL show, calling himself a fan of “uncensored entertainment.”
While ABC reinstated Kimmel, some local affiliates, including those owned by the Nexstar media group, said they would keep his show off their schedules for now.
https://p.dw.com/p/50zkL
Skip next section German business sentiment slips
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
German business sentiment slips
Business confidence in Germany has weakened in September after months of improvement, with companies less satisfied with current conditions and more cautious about the outlook, according to the Munich-based Ifo Institute.
The Ifo business climate index dropped to 87.7 from 88.9 in August, dampening hopes for an economic recovery. Sentiment in the services sector fell sharply, with expectations hitting their lowest level since February and current assessments also declining, especially in transport and logistics.
Manufacturing firms rated both their present situation and future prospects slightly worse, and new orders declined. Retailers grew more pessimistic despite a slightly better view of current conditions, while construction confidence rose after a previous dip.
KfW bank chief economist Dirk Schumacher called the drop a “clear disappointment.”
Meanwhile, the ING bank analyst Carsten Brzeski said optimism faded not only because of new US tariffs and a strong euro but also due to domestic policy concerns, warning that few structural reforms may follow the planned fiscal stimulus.
Auto suppliers struggle with US tariffs and uncertainty
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https://p.dw.com/p/50zjI
Skip next section Green lawmaker makes history with baby at Bundestag podium
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Green lawmaker makes history with baby at Bundestag podium
The 32-year-old Berlin-Mitte representative spoke on the Housing Ministry’s budgetImage: Agentur Wehnert/M. Gränzdörfer/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance
Germans saw a first on Wednesday when Green Party lawmaker Hanna Steinmüller delivered a speech at the Bundestag’s plenary podium while carrying her baby.
The 32-year-old Berlin-Mitte representative spoke about the budget for the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building with her child asleep in a front carrier. Steinmüller, who announced the birth in December, had previously brought the baby to the chamber but not to the lectern.
“Wild day. We’ll enjoy the evening first and share thoughts on balancing family and work tomorrow,” she wrote later on Instagram.
Parliament President Julia Klöckner praised the moment, saying Steinmüller handled the appearance “brilliantly” and added that allowing infants in the chamber can be appropriate under certain circumstances.
https://p.dw.com/p/50zeN
Skip next section Merz urges swift reforms amid economic slump
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Merz urges swift reforms amid economic slump
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for deep reforms to counter Germany’s economic slowdown and global instability, telling the Bundestag on Wednesday that the country faces one of the most challenging periods in its modern history.
“The entire Western community of values is facing perhaps its greatest test,” the conservative Christian Democrat leader said during the debate on the 2026 federal budget, warning that Germany’s export-driven economy depends on an open, rules-based world order.
“Only a growth-oriented economy generates the resources we need to fund infrastructure, show solidarity and ensure lasting social security,” Merz said, adding that unions and employers alike are deeply worried about jobs and investment. “That is why we must act, and act quickly.”
Merz skipped the UN General Assembly in New York to attend the budget session, which follows last week’s debate on the 2025 spending plan.
https://p.dw.com/p/50zBa
Skip next section AfD attacks government over debt in budget debate
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
AfD attacks government over debt in budget debate
The co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, has accused the German government of pursuing a “debt binge,” citing planned new borrowing of about €174 billion (roughly $204.8 billion) next year.
“You are recklessly wasting the capital of future generations,” Chrupalla said as he opened the Bundestag’s general debate on the chancellery’s budget, the first time he has led the opposition response in this session.
Chrupalla criticized high energy prices, the tax and levy burden, and spending on climate protection and the citizens’ benefit programs, as well as arguing that migration costs primarily strain the social welfare system.
His co-chair, Alice Weidel, led the opposition remarks during last week’s debate on the current-year budget.
Expert: Germany’s Nazi past raises alarm over far-right AfD
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https://p.dw.com/p/50z6I
Skip next section Merz to speak at budget debate, not UN
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Merz to speak at budget debate, not UN
While other world leaders address the United Nations General Assembly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is speaking as part of the Bundestag’s deliberations on Germany’s 2026 federal budget.
Leaders of the other parliamentary groups also plan to take the floor as part of the general debate, which is traditionally used for a broad confrontation over the federal government’s policies as a whole.
Later in the day, the individual budgets for the foreign, defense and development ministries are scheduled.
The budget debate began on Tuesday with the presentation of the draft by Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil from the center-left Social Democrats.
Another general debate in the Bundestag took place only last week. The focus then was still on the 2025 federal budget, which had been delayed because of Germany’s February election.
The Green Party on Tuesday criticized Merz for staying in Germany as the General Assembly opens in New York, where about 150 world leaders are gathering this week.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is representing Berlin as Merz instead focuses on the federal budget week and a key constitutional court election in the Bundestag.
Weidel mocks Merz as leading a ‘coalition of losers’
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While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
https://p.dw.com/p/50z2Z
Skip next section Court to rule on accident pension for TV stunt performer
09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Court to rule on accident pension for TV stunt performer
Nearly 15 years after his on-air accident, Germany’s Federal Social Court is set to decide whether actor Samuel Koch qualifies for a statutory accident pension.
Koch, then 23, was paralyzed during the December 2010 live broadcast of “Wetten, dass..?” when he attempted to leap over five moving cars on spring stilts and struck the fourth vehicle, driven by his father.
The show’s format was the basis for the British show “You Bet!” and the American show “Wanna Bet?”
Now 37, Koch applied in 2020 for an accident pension, arguing he was volunteering for a public broadcaster. A lower court rejected the claim, finding that he organized the stunt himself for personal publicity rather than as part of a public-service role.
https://p.dw.com/p/50z60
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/24/2025September 24, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
You join us with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz skipping the UN spotlight to spar at home over Germany’s 2026 budget.
The chancellor is set to face off with party leaders in the Bundestag’s big general debate before lawmakers dive into the foreign, defense and development budgets.
The opposition Green Party has grumbled about Merz’s absence from the general assembly in New York, where Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is representing Germany — returning to New York after flying to Berlin for the budget debate.
https://p.dw.com/p/50z5M
