Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Anti-immigration AfD holding two-day party conference in eastern city of Erfurt
- Police remove protesters attempting to block roads in Erfurt
- Germany’s foreign minister warns China over reports of training Russian soldiers
- Large fire in Stuttgart remains out of control hours after first reported
We will be bringing you the latest news from Germany on Saturday, July 4, and Sunday July 5 in this live blog.
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Skip next section Football legend Jürgen Klopp confirms he is in talks to become Germany’s coach07/04/2026July 4, 2026
Football legend Jürgen Klopp confirms he is in talks to become Germany’s coach
One of most popular football coaches in the world, Jürgen Klopp, told Germany’s MagentaTV that he was offered to lead the German national team.
The country’s football association is scrambling to find the successor to Julian Nagelsmann following the humiliating World Cup loss to Paraguay, which caused Germany to be knocked out of the tournament.
“Julian has resigned, and the DFB is looking to appoint a successor; as part of their deliberations, they approached me,” Klopp said.
“German football is now naturally at a turning point. We now have to fundamentally change things.”
Klopp also said he was “ready” to take over the German side but noted he was still bound by his contract with Red Bull and a solution would need to be found. According to the contract, the former Liverpool coach is to serve as the brand’s Head of Global Soccer until 2029.
For a full story on Klopp’s long-running flirtation with the top job and the possible impact he might have as the Germany’s head coach, click here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GZX4Skip next section Germany rebukes China over reports of Beijing training Russian soldiers07/04/2026July 4, 2026
Germany rebukes China over reports of Beijing training Russian soldiers
The German government held urgent talks with the Chinese ambassador to Berlin, Deng Honbo, following reports that hundreds of Russian troops were secretly trained on China’s territory.
Some of these soldiers, according to German media, were later deployed to the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday morning, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said those reports caused “great concern” in Berlin.
“China has to know that Russia’s offensive war in Ukraine threatens our core interests, and Europe is of course ready to defend such core interests,” Wadephul said, responding to a question by DW.
“This war needs to be brought to a close and there must really not be a single move to continue the war, including the moves taken from the outside,” he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GZQcSkip next section AfD convention opens in Erfurt despite blockades07/04/2026July 4, 2026
AfD convention opens in Erfurt despite blockades
Rosalia Romaniec reporting from Erfurt
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opened its party convention in Erfurt on schedule Friday, overcoming protester blockades that had shut down roads around the venue since early morning.
Demonstrators had hoped to prevent the convention from taking place at all. But hundreds of the roughly 600 delegates were already en route by 4 a.m. local time (0200 UTC), traveling by bus under police escort. By 10 a.m., the hall was full and proceedings began on time.
“The Antifa rioters slept through their own disruption attempt,” AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla told delegates in his opening remarks, drawing laughter from the hall.
Police had braced for as many as 50,000 demonstrators over the weekend, though turnout so far appears well below that figure. Protests have remained largely peaceful.
In his address, Chrupalla declared the party ready to “assume governmental responsibility,” pointing to what he described as newfound unity within the AfD and record poll numbers nationwide. “Perhaps we will be governing soon,” he said.
The choice of venue and timing has drawn sharp criticism. The convention falls exactly 100 years after the Nazi Party (NSDAP) held its first national gathering following its refounding — a 1926 Erfurt event that historians credit with reenergizing Hitler’s movement at a critical juncture. AfD officials reject any suggestion of a link between the two events.
Critics see it differently. The party’s decision to convene in Erfurt sends what one observer called a “very clear signal.” Jens Christian Wagner, who leads the nearby Buchenwald Memorial, argued the AfD is “not — at least not yet — the ‘NSDAP 2.0,’” but said its rhetoric increasingly echoes the ethno-nationalist, authoritarian ideology of the 1920s and ’30s, alongside a pattern of minimizing and reframing Nazi-era crimes.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GZX6Skip next section Fire in Stuttgart rages on despite large-scale response07/04/2026July 4, 2026
Fire in Stuttgart rages on despite large-scale response
Two industrial halls at Stuttgart’s wholesale market were ablaze on Saturday morning, with firefighters failing to control the fire in southwestern Baden-Württemberg’s state capital despite hourslong efforts.
There were no immediate reports of causalities.
The emergency response to the fire which broke out on Friday evening in the industrial section of the city is the biggest in years. Some 200 firefighters, Red Cross officers and emergency response officers were at the scene.
Firefighters were pumping water from the nearby Necker river to douse the flames, while emergency officials deployed construction equipment to tear down parts of the threatened buildings.
It was not clear what had been stored in the halls that caught on fire.
Residents within four kilometers (2.5 miles) of the blaze were advised to keep their windows closed. At the same time, authorities said there was no danger to the public as no polluting chemicals have been detected at hazardous levels.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GZOnSkip next section AfD meets in Erfurt to elect party leaders07/04/2026July 4, 2026
AfD meets in Erfurt to elect party leaders
Hundreds of AfD delegates have travelled to Germany’s Erfurt for a two-day conference which will include them voting on party leadership.
Current leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to keep their seats.
The latest polls indicate the anti-immigrant AfD is now Germany’s most popular political party nationwide, with between 27% and 29% support, and clearly ahead Friedrich Merz‘s ruling conservatives.
Even so, the AfD faces enormous pushback from other political camps, who see the faction as far-right extremists.
Thousands of protesters marched through Erfurt on Saturday morning, with some of them attempting to block roads and cut off access to the conference venue.
Thuringia an AfD stronghold
Erfurt is the state capital of eastern Thuringia, which shows some of the highest polling for the AfD in Germany.
The far-right party is the largest faction in Thuringia’s regional parliament, although the state is governed by a broad coalition of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the left-wing populist BSW.
Thuringia is also seen as a major stronghold of the more extremist wing of the AfD, centered around lawmaker Björn Höcke. The AfD’s state branch in Thuringia was classified as an extremist organization by Germany’s federal constitutional protection agency in 2021.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GZITSkip next section Welcome to our coverage07/04/2026July 4, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Darko Janjevic with AFP, dpa, Reuters, EPD, KNA | Saim Dušan Inayatullah Editor
A very Guten Morgen from DW’s online team!
You join us as Germany’s biggest opposition party, the AfD, is holding a party conference in the eastern city of Erfurt.
Thousands of anti-AfD protesters were on streets to show their opposition to the event, decrying it as a sign of rising fascism.
Also, over 200 firefighters and other emergency responders were battling an out-of-control blaze at a market in the southwestern city of Stuttgart.
And German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told DW Berlin was greatly concerned about reports that China is training Russian soldiers.
“China has to know that Russia’s offensive war in Ukraine threatens our core interests, and Europe is of course ready to defend such core interests,” he said.
More on these and other news from Germany in this weekend blog.
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