Major raids carried out against Hells Angels

A large-scale police operation in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia has targeted biker gang crime.

Meanwhile, Germany is to bid again for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

DW has more.

Here is a roundup of the top headlines and human interest stories from Germany on Tuesday, April 28, 2026:
Trump says Merz 'doesn't know what he's talking about' on Iran
US President Donald Trump has slammed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his comments on the US-Israel war with Iran.

Merz said on Monday that Washington appeared to lack a clear strategy and questioned what kind of exit the US might pursue.

He added that Tehran was in the process of "humiliating" the United States in the ongoing conflict.

In his response on Tuesday, Trump said the German chancellor "doesn’t know what he’s talking about" and that if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, "the whole world would be held hostage."
"I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago.

No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Germany's Wadephul: Global community united in push to reopen Strait of Hormuz
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who is in New York City for talks at the United Nations, said the global community is united in the belief that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened for navigation.

Wadephul said he got this impression from his meetings at the UN, including with Argentinian Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno.

"It's a good sign," Wadephul said, while adding that the "international community is also clearly of the opinion that Iran must be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon."
"This world does not not need new nuclear powers; rather, this world needs fewer nuclear weapons," Wadephul said.

Germany's birth rate reached lowest level on record in 2025
The birth rate in Germany fell to its lowest post-WWII level last year.

According to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) , around 655,000 live births were recorded in 2025, compared to around 680,000 in 2024.

Last year, the country recorded more than one million deaths.

This brings the birth deficit to around 350,000, setting yet another record.

As the number of women of childbearing age declines in Germany, birth rates are projected to continue falling.

The German Family Association says family-unfriendly structural policies are to blame.

Read more about the story here .

Rescuers move stranded humpback whale into barge
A stranded humpback whale off Germany's Baltic coast has entered a barge in a last-ditch rescue attempt to return it to open waters.

The animal moved through a previously dredged channel into the barge after helpers had pulled it in that direction with straps.

Live footage showed crews guiding the weakened animal into the vessel, which is set to tow it toward the North Sea or Atlantic.

The whale, native to the Atlantic, had been roaming near the German Baltic coast since early March, stranding multiple times and becoming entangled in nets.

For the past four weeks, it had been stuck in a shallow inlet near the Wismar Bay area.

After several initial attempts failed, two entrepreneurs came forward to finance the latest rescue bid.

Many uninvolved experts have rejected the late rescue effort as pointless, but the authorities have allowed it to proceed.

Bavaria delays its own state net zero target 5 years, to 2045
Bavaria's state government is delaying its own CO2 neutrality target by five years, now aiming to reach "net zero" by 2045.

The previous goal of reaching the landmark by 2040 was implemented as recently as 2022.

Under Tuesday's change, Bavaria is abolishing a target of its own and instead adopting the federal government's nationwide target date of 2045.

Bavaria is one of Germany's wealthiest states per capita as well as a major industrial and agricultural producer.

The state had previously lauded its plans for more ambitious goals than the nationwide targets.

It's not yet clear when the new target will come into force, as it will still need to secure approval from the responsible authorities and clear the state parliament.

Government plans for sugar tax reportedly progress
According to off-the-record comments from the Finance Ministry, the coalition government's debate about introducing a so-called sugar tax on soft drinks has made progress.

German news agencies cited sources in the ministry as saying that the government had agreed to introduce such charges in the coming year.

The policy idea has met with resistance from Christian Democrat party members and some federal and state ministers.

Similar charges for plastics were also reportedly under consideration, but with clarification of the details still necessary.

A special commission looking into Germany's creaking finances — with borrowing and spending increasing despite attempts by the government to make cuts — recommended a tax on sugary drinks modeled on a similar law introduced in the UK.

It recommended a tax of €0.26 (roughly $0.30) per liter on drinks with more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 mililiters, and €0.32 for more than 8 grams.

Other tax changes under consideration include increasing taxes on alcohol and tobacco products.

Given the government's plans to reform income taxes and reduce the income tax burden for low- and middle-earners, coupled with the fuel tax breaks issued in response to the war in Iran , the need to balance the books with other stealth taxes or welfare cuts could intensify.

Berlin under pressure to fix pensions, health care and taxes
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German intelligence warns of potential attacks by pro-Iranian group
German intelligence authorities have said they believe a pro-Iranian group intends to carry out more attacks in Europe, and of a more violent nature than previously.

The little-known group, called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has already carried out a number of attacks, mostly arson attacks, on Israeli and US institutions in Europe since March 9, the BfV intelligence agency told the Handelsblatt daily.

It said the group's threat to "no longer limit itself to 'simple' attacks but to include more dangerous means in the long term" was new.

It said that meant the group might use explosives or firearms in future attacks.

"The organization uses various channels from the extremist Shiite and pro-Iranian sector in various social media to report on its activities," the BfV said.

The group had openly threatened "Israeli institutions and so-called enemies of Islam in Europe," it said.

Experts believe that Iran's Revolutionary Guards could be behind the group.

A third of people in Germany use AI at least once weekly — survey
One-third of people in Germany use artificial intelligence (AI) at least once a week, while almost a quarter reject its use entirely, according to a new survey.

A whole 15% of respondents in the survey by digital industry group Bitkom reported using AI applications daily, with a further 19% said they did so at least once a week.

But 22% of participants said they do not use or plan to use the technology.

Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) said they believe Germany is too dependent on the US when it comes to AI, however.

Only 11% of respondents said they have few or no fears in relation to AI.

Fears about AI included concerns that it could spread misinformation that is hard to detect (50% of respondents) and that it could gain too much power (49%).

Private usage included help with everyday issues (54%), shopping (21%), travel preparation (21%) and counselling on personal questions (44%) or those related to health or finances (34% and 21% respectively).

In the workplace, just under half (48%) of participants use AI, while 45% reject its usage, according to the survey.

The most popular AI platform was ChatGPT (71%), with Google's Gemini (50%) and Microsoft's Copilot (43%) also counting high numbers of users.

Elon Musk's Grok (6%), Anthropic's Clauda (5%) and Le Chat by European company Mistral (4%) trailed far behind.

The survey was conducted with 1,003 people aged 16 and over in Germany between March and April.

Why do people tell ChatGPT their problems?

Rescue attempt for Timmy the whale set to start
A millionaire-backed operation to free a humpback whale that has been stranded off Germany's Baltic Sea coast for weeks has been approved to begin.

The environment minister of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Till Backhaus, said the regional government had given the green light for the plan, funded by two entrepreneurs.

The attempt is to be made despite concerns from environmental organizations and marine wildlife experts that it could cause the animal more pain.

But Backhaus said that vets associated with the initiative had confirmed that the animal, said to be around 5 or 6 years old, is well enough to be transported.

Under the plan, straps will be used to guide the some 12-ton, 13-meter-long (40-foot-long) whale, dubbed "Timmy" by the media, through a dredged channel to a transport barge that could tow it towards the North Sea.

The whale has run aground in shallow water in the Baltic Sea five times.

The case has been making headlines in Germany for several weeks.

Humpback whale stranded again off German coast
Police seize up to €2.5 million of assets in biker scene raids — interior minister
Investigators seized as much as €2.5 million ($2.9 million) worth of assets in Tuesday's raids on premises associated with the Hells Angels biker group, according to the interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , Herbert Reul.

Reul told journalists that police had arrested the president of the Leverkusen chapter of the group, which was banned shortly before the raids took place.

Numerous Harley-Davidson motorbikes of unknown ownership had been found in the president's workshop, Reul said, while weapons had also been seized during the raids in his state.

"Initial indications also point to a profit-oriented cultivation of narcotics," he said, adding that biker groups had nothing to do with "motorcycle romanticism" but rather with organized criminality.

Anyone who was a member of such groups had to expect to find "the police standing in their bedroom one morning.

Not as a guest, but with a search warrant," he said.

Germany opens plant for rare earth magnet recycling and production
A plant has been opened in the southwestern city of Pforzheim that will recycle and produce rare earth magnets.

Rare earth magnets are used in many products, including electric vehicles, wind turbines and consumer electronics.

The opening of the plant, operated by start-up HyProMag, comes as Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on China for rare earths.

Funds for the plant's construction came from the EU as well as the German government.

The facility aims to produce 750 metric tons (827 US tons) of magnets a year by 2028.

Current EU demand is about 20,000 tons a year.

Rare earth mining puts people at risk
Far-right AfD meets vehement counterprotests in Düsseldorf
A "walk" through the inner city of Düsseldorf by the local chapter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Monday was forced to change its planned route amid lively counterprotests, local media have reported.

It said the "walk" aimed to give its representatives a better picture of the situation in the inner city.

Among other things, the AfD invited Lena Kotre , a party member who is a member of parliament in the eastern state of Brandenburg, to speak at a gathering in the evening
The 38-year-old politician, who also took part in the "walk," is seen as a radical advocate of "remigration" or the mass deportation of people seen by the AfD as undesirable.

Police were tasked with keeping the AfD representatives and the demonstrators opposing them apart, sometimes closing off streets to do so.

Counterprotesters used whistles and loud music to underline their cause.

The AfD has rapidly been gaining popularity across Germany, with one recent survey putting its support at 28% — ahead of the conservative bloc of Chancellor Friedrich Merz that leads the coalition government.

Survey: 4 out of 5 German businesses doubt government reform will deliver growth
German businesses are skeptical of the government's ability to boost the economy through reform, according to a poll conducted by the Civey Institute for the Economic Forum of the Social Democrats (SPD) and made available to Funke Media Group newspapers.

Among the 1,000 business decision-makers surveyed, only 18.3% were hopeful that the government would significantly increase economic growth through reforms, while 78.4% said it wouldn't.

The uncertainty and skepticism reflect a trend seen in similar surveys last year.

In August, 81.7% of business leaders said they did not believe the government would deliver noticeable financial relief in the coming year.

Companies ranked their top priorities in the survey, putting lower energy prices first (63%), followed closely by reducing bureaucracy (62.4%).

Other priorities included social system reform incentives (33.5%) and tax cuts, including income tax cuts (29.4%) and corporate tax cuts (17.4%).

SPD Economic Forum President Ines Zenke called the results a "warning signal," urging a comprehensive reform package rather than isolated measures.

She added that pressure on the economy was high and patience was running out, urging implementation of the coalition agreement.

The current German coalition of the conservative Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) took office in May last year, promising massive investment and a defense push, paired with promises to revive growth.

No contracts with Palantir for now, German military says
Germany's armed forces do not plan to enter into contracts with US data analytics and defence software company Palantir for ‌now, ⁠a ⁠leading military officer has told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

"I don't see that happening ​at all at the moment," Thomas Daum, who is reponsible for the German ​military's ‌cyber defence, was quoted as saying.

"As much ‌as we are interested in ‌the ​functionality for our own database, it is simply inconceivable at the moment to ​grant industry staff access to the national database," Daum said.

Palantir's artificial intelligence system can be used, among other things, to rapidly analyse battlefield data, allowing faster identification of potential targets.

Its technology is already used by several police forces in Germany for scanning publicly available data to help in investigations.

However, the company has come under scrutiny amid fears that its data-collection powers could be misused, among other things for dangerous state surveillance .

Palantir’s AI manifesto sparkes global debate on weapons
Man clings on to side of high-speed train after taking smoking break
A man who traveled several kilometers while clinging on to an iron bar between two carriages of a high-speed train has lived to tell the tale but faces possible criminal charges.

Police said the 46-year-old man from Munich was on an ICE train to Amsterdam on Sunday that stopped in the northwestern city of Osnabrück en route.

There, the man disembarked to smoke a cigarette and saw too late that the doors of the train had already shut, they said.

According to police, the man said that he jumped onto a running board between two carriages, as he was worried about his baggage on the train.

A railway staff member in Osnabrück saw what had happened, and the train driver was notified and stopped the train some 25 kilometers (15 miles) further on, in Ibbenbüren.

Police said the man was "slightly shocked but physically unharmed" after the incident.

They warned against such actions, saying that trains were allowed to travel at 140 kph (87 mph) on that route, which means that a fall would have likely been fatal.

The man is being investigated for having dangerously intervened in railway traffic.

Twelve trains were delayed because of the incident.