Skip next section Man dies after mass brawl in Gelsenkirchen
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Man dies after mass brawl in Gelsenkirchen
A 56-year-old man has died from stab wounds following a violent clash involving up to 30 people in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen, police say. Three others remain in critical condition.
The fight erupted Sunday in the city’s Bismarck district, where knives, stun guns and baseball bats were reportedly used in what police described as a “riot situation.”
A homicide squad is investigating.
Three men aged 16, 29 and 52 and three women aged 25, 28 and 50 have been detained, while authorities work to determine each person’s role and the motive behind the confrontation.
Police cordoned off the area to collect evidence and deployed a helicopter during the evening search for suspects.
https://p.dw.com/p/51EA0
Skip next section Hamburg: Several injured in bus collision
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Hamburg: Several injured in bus collision
One bus crashed into the back of the other, reports sayImage: Bodo Marks/dpa/picture alliance
Twenty people have been injured, four of them seriously, after two city buses collided in the northern port city of Hamburg, the fire department said.
Four people were seriously injured and 16 sustained minor injuries.
Nine of the injured — including four slightly hurt children and a pregnant woman who was seriously injured — were taken to hospitals, while others were treated at the scene.
Local media reported that a primary school class was aboard one bus on a field trip to a science research center.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
https://p.dw.com/p/51DK8
Skip next section Man with knife detained after trying to steal sausage
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Man with knife detained after trying to steal sausage
Police in the northern German city of Rostock have detained a 19-year-old Ukrainian after a series of knife-related thefts and threats.
Authorities say the man stole kitchen knives from a TK Maxx store Saturday morning, then used one to rob an e-cigarette shop and threaten bystanders. He later demanded a bratwurst at knife point and fled when refused.
Officers arrested him and recovered the stolen goods nearby. They ordered a blood test, citing signs of alcohol and drug use.
Prosecutors charged the man with aggravated robbery, attempted extortion, threats and theft. A court issued a detention order Sunday, and he was taken to a correctional facility.
https://p.dw.com/p/51DMy
Skip next section German flag carrier Lufthansa announces big job cuts
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
German flag carrier Lufthansa announces big job cuts
Lufthansa is planning to cut 20% of its administrative positionsImage: Hannes P Albert/dpa/picture alliance
Lufthansa on Monday confirmed reports that it intends to cut 4,000 administrative positions by 2030.
The airline group said the cuts were part of moves to digitize, automate and consolidate processes.
The measures aim to “position the group for the future” while generating “sustainably attractive returns for shareholders,” it said.
The Lufthansa Group, which, alongside its core brand, also operates SWISS, Austrian and Brussels Airlines and holds a minority stake in Italy’s ITA, most recently had around 103,000 employees.
Lufthansa said it also plans to put its various airlines under tighter central control in a bid to boost profitability.
Among other things, it says it will strengthen the low-cost carrier Eurowings and the logistics and maintenance units, with the latter expected to expand into the defense sector.
https://p.dw.com/p/51D6O
Skip next section Wadephul visits Poland for NATO talks with allies
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Wadephul visits Poland for NATO talks with allies
The Weimar Triangle alliance was created in 1991Image: Kacper Pempel/REUTERS
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is visiting Poland on Monday amid growing tensions surrounding ongoing alleged provocations by Russia, including recent violations of NATO airspace.
Wadephul was first meeting with his counterparts Radoslaw Sikorski from Poland and Jean-Noel Barrot of France for talks in the so-called Weimar Triangle format.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is also expected to join the meeting.
Later, Wadephul will give a speech on European security and deterrence capabilities at a security forum.
The visit comes two and a half weeks after Russian drones entered NATO member Poland’s airspace during one of Moscow’s strikes on neighboring Ukraine.
Some of the drones were shot down by the Polish Air Force and other NATO allies.
Ahead of the trip, Wadephul said that while Poland and Germany were not going to allow themselves to be forced into any escalation, “we are leaving no doubt that we are determined and ready to fend off any threat together.”
https://p.dw.com/p/51D5u
Skip next section Far-right loses mayoral runoffs despite gains in state elections
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Far-right loses mayoral runoffs despite gains in state elections
The AfD failed to win any mayoral race, but it still tripled its vote share Image: Friso Gentsch/dpa/picture alliance
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has failed to take town halls in Sunday’s three runoff mayoral elections in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Candidates from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) beat their AfD opponents in the cities of Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg, while the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz won in Hagen.
According to preliminary state results, however, the AfD almost tripled its share of votes in councils and district councils to 14.5%, which put it in third place behind the SPD on 22.1%.
Almost 150 runoff elections were held on Sunday two weeks after local elections, including several mayoral contests and duels for district administrator offices.
The runoffs elections became necessary in cases where no candidate received more than 50% in the first round, with a simple majority sufficient to win in the second round.
https://p.dw.com/p/51D4N
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn!
Runoff elections in Germany’s most-populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have been topmost in many people’s minds. The failure of candidates from the far-right AfD to win mayoral contests in three major cities has come as a relief to those who fear that the party represents a danger to democracy.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to travel to Düsseldorf to celebrate his Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) win in the NRW capital city.
In other news, Germany’s national carrier Lufthansa is planning to slash 4,000 administrative positions over the next five years.
Meanwhile, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to dominate the agenda for European countries including Germany. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is in Poland to meet with his French and Polish counterparts to discuss measures in face of growing alleged provocations from Moscow.
Follow DW for news about these and other stories here in our blog.
https://p.dw.com/p/51DAK
