Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Temperatures in some parts of Germany are forecast to soar to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) in the course of the week
- German business leaders and politicians want climate targets pushed back from 2045 to 2050 in line with the EU
- The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is to present a 100-day plan outlining its intended actions if it wins power in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in September
- Police in the capital, Berlin, are responding to a hostage situation at a supermarket
DW brings you the top stories from and about Germany on Saturday, July 11, 2026:
Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add us as a Preferred Source on Google. Then tap the “Star” or “Preferred” to keep DW News at the top of your feed.
Skip next section Berlin hostage situation: Man holds woman in supermarket07/11/2026July 11, 2026
Berlin hostage situation: Man holds woman in supermarket
An hours-long police operation is underway in Berlin, where a man has taken a woman hostage in a supermarket. The man reportedly “pulled out” a big knife before the supermarket closed on Friday evening.
Get the latest on the hostage situation in Berlin in our report.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Gv6hSkip next section Unions, businesses call for delay in Germany’s climate target — report07/11/2026July 11, 2026
Unions, businesses call for delay in Germany’s climate target — report
Several representatives from business, trade unions and politics say Germany should push back its goal of reaching climate neutrality by five years, media reported on Saturday.
The Sunday edition of the Welt newspaper cited the CEO of energy giant RWE, Markus Krebber, as saying that postponing the 2045 goal to align with the EU’s target date of 2050 could decrease the pressure on German industry.
Krebbers told the paper that Germany’s current aim of becoming climate-neutral five years earlier than the bloc made it more expensive to do business in, without any benefit to the climate.
Michael Vassiliadis, head of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IGBCE), told the Welt that the target should be pushed back to give industry more time to reduce its CO2 emissions and thus retain its competitiveness.
Gitta Connemann, who heads the small and mid-sized business group (SME) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s Christian Democrats (CDU), also spoke out in favor of a “more realistic” timetable.
“We want less CO2, not less industry, so emissions trading must fit reality,” she said.
Their remarks echo those made earlier this year by Merz, who said climate-protection measures must not put undue pressure on the economy.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GuxESkip next section Germany braces for new heat wave07/11/2026July 11, 2026
Germany braces for new heat wave
Temperatures in Germany are set to rise steadily over the weekend to reach a possible high of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) early next week in the southwest of the country, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).
On Saturday, the mercury is already forecast to climb to 35 C in the country’s south and west, while northern and eastern regions will remain slightly cooler, at around 30 C.
The weather is forecast to cool down again toward the end of next week.
The heat wave, the third of the summer, is not expected to bring the record temperatures of more than 41 C measured in some regions at the end of June, and less humidity this time round will make the heat more bearable.
According to the public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute, at least 5,100 people died of causes related to the hot weather last month.
Despite the lower temperatures, the Federal Institute of Public Health (BIÖG) has still issued warnings, saying that rooms should be kept as cool as possible and that physical activities should be confined to morning and evening hours.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/5Gv0TSkip next section Welcome to our coverage07/11/2026July 11, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Timothy Jones | Karl Sexton Editor
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn, where the air conditioners will be going full blast as another heat dome settles over Germany.
Although temperatures are not forecast to rise to the record levels seen at the end of last month, experts say the hot weather will significantly increase the risk of wildfires and pose a grave danger to people’s health.
But despite the unprecedented heat events in Europe, driven partly by human-induced climate change, business leaders and politicians are calling for Germany to delay its goal of becoming carbon neutral to maintain industrial competitiveness.
In political news, the far-right Alternative for Germany party is to outline its initial planned actions if it succeeds in taking power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September elections.
The party is being monitored by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for alleged right-wing extremist tendencies, with many fearing that it could pose a danger to democracy in the country.
And police in Berlin have been dealing with a dramatic hostage-taking at a supermarket.
Read on to find out more about the latest events in and concerning Germany.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Guv1Show more posts
About The Author
