Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Germany’s Social Democratic Party wants sexual identity added to Article 3 of the German constitution
- The article already bans discrimination on grounds such as race, religion and sex
- The conservative CSU wants talks on ankle tags for extremist threats after a deadly attack on a Berlin LGBTQ+ event
- The suspect in that attack had been sentenced in May for trying to join “Islamic State,” but was not immediately jailed
- Mercedes-Benz vehicle group profits rose for the first time in three years, despite a slump in China sales
Here is a roundup of some of the top headlines from and about Germany on Tuesday, July 28, 2026:
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Skip next section Low Rhine levels could push German economy into stagnation07/28/2026July 28, 2026
Low Rhine levels could push German economy into stagnation
Persistently low water levels on the Rhine River could shave as much as 0.2% off Germany’s economic output in the third quarter, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Prolonged dry weather has continued to lower levels on the river, one of the world’s busiest inland waterways.
“The effects could be strong enough to reduce gross domestic product in the third quarter by 0.1% to 0.2%,” Stefan Kooths, director of the institute’s business cycle and growth research group, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Many economists expect growth of no more than 0.2% during the summer months, meaning the disruption could push Europe’s largest economy into stagnation.
At Kaub, a crucial bottleneck between the cities of Koblenz and Mainz, the gauge fell to 30 centimeters (12 inches) on Tuesday. Germany’s waterways authority expects it to drop to around 25 centimeters by Friday, matching a record low reached in October 2018.
“As water levels are unlikely to rise suddenly above the critical threshold at the beginning of August, transport capacity is likely to remain impaired for some time next month,” Kooths said.
The Rhine carries key commodities including grain, minerals, ores, coal and petroleum products such as petrol.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HsIGSkip next section Mercedes profit rises, but car business slumps07/28/2026July 28, 2026
Mercedes profit rises, but car business slumps
Mercedes-Benz has reported its first rise in quarterly group profit in three years, although its main car business suffered a sharp fall as sales in China weakened.
The German carmaker‘s overall net profit rose 13.5% to €1.09 billion ($1.24 billion) between April and June, up from €957 million in the same period last year.
The increase was driven by stronger results from Mercedes’ vans and financial services businesses.
But earnings at the company’s core passenger-car division fell 26% to €909 million as intense competition and weak demand continued to hit sales in China.
Mercedes also wrote €704 million off the value of its Chinese investments. The non-cash charge indicates that the company expects the difficult market conditions to persist.
Once that write-down is included, profit at the car division fell by almost 94%.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HrvzSkip next section Bavarian conservatives seek ankle tags for extremist threats07/28/2026July 28, 2026
Bavarian conservatives seek ankle tags for extremist threats
The conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) has called for talks within Germany’s ruling coalition on using electronic ankle tags to monitor people deemed extremist security threats.
The call follows an attack near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day LGBTQ+ Pride parade on Saturday.
Alexander Hoffmann, the head of the CSU group in parliament, raised the proposal in an interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, also of the CSU, has previously floated the idea.
The CSU is the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats, who rule with the backing of the center-left Social Democrats.
A woman was killed and 29 people were injured, some seriously, when a vehicle was driven into people near the CSD event.
The 21-year-old suspected attacker, Abdul B., was sentenced in May 2026 to one year and 10 months in juvenile detention for attempting to join the “Islamic State” militant terror group.
However, the sentence was imposed with a provisional form of suspension under juvenile law, so he was not immediately sent to prison. The judgment was also not yet final because prosecutors had appealed
Abdul B. died the day after the attack after being shot by police officers who confronted him.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5Hrw0Skip next section SPD renews push for constitutional protection of LGBTQ+ people07/28/2026July 28, 2026
SPD renews push for constitutional protection of LGBTQ+ people
Germany’s Social Democrats have renewed calls to add sexual identity to the constitution’s anti-discrimination protections following the deadly attack near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations.
Center-left Social Democrat (SPD) co-leaders Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil, as well as the party’s General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf said they would put the proposed amendment “firmly back on the political agenda.”
“We want to further strengthen the political protection of queer people,” they said in a statement seen by the DPA news agency.
The SPD has previously called for sexual identity to be added to Article 3 of Germany’s constitution, known as the Basic Law. The article prohibits discrimination on grounds including sex, ancestry, language, origin, faith and political beliefs.
Left Party leader Luigi Pantisano made a similar demand on Monday, saying his party was ready to help secure the two-thirds majority needed in parliament.
Changes to Germany’s constitution require a two-thirds majority in both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, the two chambers of the German parliament.
The governing coalition, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc, would not have enough votes on its own.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HrvRSkip next section Welcome to our coverage07/28/2026July 28, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Richard Connor | Dmytro Hubenko Editor
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn, where the sun is shining.
You join us as Germany’s Social Democrats revive calls to strengthen constitutional protection for LGBTQ+ people.
Meanwhile, Bavaria’s conservative CSU is pushing for talks on whether electronic ankle tags should be used to monitor people deemed extremist security threats.
Both proposals follow the deadly attack near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebrations, in which a woman was killed and 29 people were injured.
Stay with us for these stories and more of the things that Germany is talking about today.
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