Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said there is an increased security threat, with attacks possible “at any time.”
- Dobrindt cited an increased volume of intelligence reports, with possible targets including infrastructure, individuals and institutions
- A Deutsche Bahn railway security guard has been critically injured after falling from a moving train during a confrontation with a passenger
- The incident happened during a ticket inspection and investigators are still trying to determine how the train door opened
Here is a roundup of of the latest headlines from Germany on Saturday, July 18:
Skip next section Ten injured in A5 crash near French border07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Ten injured in A5 crash near French border
Ten people have been injured in a collision involving two cars and a coach on the rain-soaked A5 motorway near Germany’s border with France.
Police said a car probably lost control because of aquaplaning on Friday evening near the town of Appenweier about 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles) northeast of the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
The vehicle struck another car, the guardrail and then the coach.
Ten of the coach’s 12 passengers suffered minor injuries, with five taken to hospital for treatment. Both car drivers were unhurt.
Traffic was temporarily diverted along the motorway’s emergency lane, causing a tailback stretching several kilometers.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HLhDSkip next section Rail worker critically injured after falling from train07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Rail worker critically injured after falling from train
A railway security employee has suffered life-threatening injuries after falling from a moving train during a violent confrontation with a passenger in southwestern Germany.
The incident occurred on Friday evening on a train travelling between Offenburg and Karlsruhe, police and prosecutors say.
Ticket inspectors had been checking a 36-year-old German passenger when a verbal dispute broke out. Two security employees were called to intervene after the passenger, who was reportedly intoxicated, allegedly insulted them.
A physical struggle then erupted between the passenger and one of the security workers.
“During the scuffle, both individuals fell to the floor. At that point, for reasons yet to be determined, the door of the moving train opened,” authorities said. It was at this point, they said, that the conductor fell out of the train.
Emergency services launched an extensive search along the railway line after being alerted.
The employee, a 26-year-old Bulgarian national, was found beside the tracks around two kilometers (about 1.25 miles) from where the train eventually stopped. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police provisionally arrested the suspected attacker while he was still on board the train.
Deutsche Bahn employees have repeatedly been targeted in violent attacks. In February, the death of a train attendant following an assault by a passenger without a valid ticket in western Rhineland-Palatinate caused widespread shock across Germany.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HLYISkip next section Dobrindt warns of heightened attack risk in Germany07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Dobrindt warns of heightened attack risk in Germany
Germany’s interior minister has warned of a heightened security threat, saying attacks could be imminent.
“The increased volume of reports and intelligence has prompted me to classify the previously described abstract threat as a high threat,” Alexander Dobrindt told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
“That means Germany must expect the risk of attacks at any time,” the conservative politician said.
Dobrindt, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) — the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) — said recognizable attack plans were directed not only at German infrastructure, but also at individuals and institutions.
The Cabinet is due to consider a sweeping reform of Germany’s intelligence laws on August 13.
The changes would explicitly allow intelligence agencies to intervene directly in certain dangerous situations instead of limiting their role to collecting and assessing information.
“My goal is to develop the intelligence services into genuine secret services so that we remain competitive and capable of working as partners with friendly services abroad,” Dobrindt said.
In an acute terrorism scenario, the expanded powers could allow domestic intelligence officers to enter and search homes when police are unable to arrive in time.
The minister stressed that the separation between intelligence agencies and the police would remain in place.
“Arresting people remains the responsibility of the police,” Dobrindt said.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HLY3Skip next section Welcome to our coverage07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten morgen from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
You join us as Germany’s interior minister warns that the country faces a heightened security threat.
Alexander Dobrindt said an increase in intelligence reports had led him to consider the previous “abstract” threat as a high threat.
In other news, a railway security guard was been critically injured after falling from a moving train in south-western Germany after a dispute.
Stay with us for these stories and more of the latest things that Germany is talking about today.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HLY4Show more posts
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