Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Federal police defused an explosive device found on a drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport
- nvestigators are also examining a second object that hit a cargo aircraft
- A lightning strike disabled two railway crossing barriers, effectively splitting a German town in two
- A German employers’ organization warns against the watering down of government pension reforms
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Wednesday, August 5, 2026:
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Skip next section German Interior Minister Dobrindt cuts short holiday over Leipzig drone incident08/05/2026August 5, 2026
German Interior Minister Dobrindt cuts short holiday over Leipzig drone incident
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has interrupted his holiday to travel to Leipzig/Halle Airport for security talks following the drone incident.
He is due to meet Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster and senior federal and state security officials at the scene, his ministry said.
The head of Germany’s federal police Dieter Romann and domestic intelligence chief Sinan Selen are also expected to attend.
Dobrindt is then due to brief the media later in the day.
Schuster earlier warned of a “very serious security incident.”
He said state and federal security agencies were working closely together, including Germany’s joint center for countering hybrid threats and the federal police’s drone defense unit.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IKtPSkip next section Explosive-laden drone defused at Leipzig airport08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Explosive-laden drone defused at Leipzig airport
German federal police specialists have defused a drone carrying an explosive device after an overnight security incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Officials said the detonator has been removed from an as-yet unidentified explosive device. Authorities say they are not ruling out a political motive, noting that the airport in eastern Germany forms part of the country’s critical infrastructure.
The drone carrying the explosive device was found late on Wednesday by an airport employee on the southern runway, according to investigators.
Another flying object later apparently collided with a cargo aircraft, which was taxing on the ground.
Minor damage was discovered after the aircraft landed in Hanover.
Flight operations were initially halted completely after the drone was found.
The northern runway was eventually reopened following a large-scale security sweep overnight, while the southern runway was due to remain closed on Wednesday for maintenance.
Investigators said there was no danger to passengers or airport staff and that passenger flights were not affected.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IKejSkip next section Court rules owner can criticize restaurant online after her dog ate mouse poison there08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Court rules owner can criticize restaurant online after her dog ate mouse poison there
A German court has ruled in favor of a woman who publicly criticized a restaurant after her dachshund ate mouse poison while she was dining there.
The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court rejected the restaurant operator’s attempt to stop her from describing the incident on Instagram and a review platform.
The woman had visited the restaurant in the Rhine-Main region in spring 2026 with her dachshund, which was lying under a bench inside.
The dog ate mouse bait from a pest-control bait station that had somehow been left accessible and later needed treatment at a veterinary clinic.
That same day, the owner posted about the incident on her own Instagram account and on an account she ran for the dog.
She described what happened as “shocking” and a “massive failure of safety and hygiene.”
The court found that readers would understand those remarks as referring to a single incident rather than suggesting the restaurant had permanent or structural hygiene problems.
Judges said the woman was entitled to describe the fact that her dog had been able to reach poison as a “massive” failure, even if her wording was emotional and somewhat exaggerated. They also found that her inaccurate description of the harmful substance as “rat poison” was not so serious a mistake as to warrant restricting her comment.
The statements were therefore protected expressions of opinion, it ruled.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IKInSkip next section German court jails members of far-right youth terror cell08/05/2026August 5, 2026
German court jails members of far-right youth terror cell
A court in Hamburg has handed down prison sentences of up to five years to eight alleged members and supporters of the far-right group “Letzte Verteidigungswelle” (Last Line of Defense).
The Higher Regional Court convicted the young defendants on charges including membership in a terrorist organization and attempted murder.
Prosecutors said the group had planned bomb and arson attacks targeting refugees and left-wing activists and had already carried out several attacks.
Seven defendants received juvenile prison sentences ranging from two years and four months to five years. Another was given an 18-month suspended sentence. Three defendants were also convicted of leading the group.
The presiding judge said they had aimed to “create chaos.”
Authorities dismantled the group in May last year after investigations spanning several German states.
Prosecutors said members carried out an overnight arson attack on an occupied cultural center in Altdöbern in October 2024 and a pyrotechnic attack on a refugee accommodation center in Schmölln, Thuringia, in January 2025.
No one was injured, although investigators said that was partly down to chance.
The group had also been planning another attack on a refugee center in Senftenberg, Brandenburg.
Several suspects were arrested in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Hesse. They were between 14 and 21 years old at the time.
Because some defendants were minors, much of the trial was held behind closed doors. The verdict was delivered publicly.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IJt0Skip next section Low water levels in the Danube reveal Nazi shipwrecks08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Low water levels in the Danube reveal Nazi shipwrecks
Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube, has reached levels so low that sunken German battleships from World War II have emerged from the dried-out riverbed.
Read more about the story here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IJn7Skip next section Low Rhine levels could push up German inflation08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Low Rhine levels could push up German inflation
Persistently low water levels on the Rhine could temporarily push Germany’s inflation rate up by as much as half a percentage point, economists have warned.
Low water levels are forcing ships to carry much lighter loads, driving up the cost of transporting chemicals, energy supplies and other industrial goods.
Traders said tanker and barge transport costs from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe have climbed to around €150-160 per ton, compared with about €45 at the end of June.
“The German inflation rate could temporarily rise by up to half a percentage point as a result,” Berenberg economist Felix Schmidt told the Reuters news agency.
ING chief economist Carsten Brzeski also said shortages and disrupted deliveries could make a wide range of goods more expensive.
“If ships can only be loaded to one-third of capacity or less, correspondingly more ships have to be used, or more expensive alternatives such as trucks or rail,” Hamburg Commercial Bank chief economist Cyrus de la Rubia said.
Economists also warned that the disruption could last for months. In previous years, Rhine water levels have often not recovered significantly until November.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IJ4lSkip next section German employers warn against U-turn on early retirement08/05/2026August 5, 2026
German employers warn against U-turn on early retirement
A German employer group has sharply criticized calls to preserve the country’s early retirement scheme as debate grows over a proposed overhaul of the pension system.
A government-appointed pension commission presented 33 proposals in June, including abolishing the option of retiring without deductions for people who have paid into the system for particularly long periods.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) leadership initially said they wanted to implement the package as closely as possible to the commission’s recommendations.
However, several state premiers from both Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union and the SPD have since pushed back against parts of the plan, with particularly strong criticism coming from eastern Germany.
Steffen Kampeter, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, told the Bild newspaper that Germany would not be able to protect jobs and remain competitive without reforming the welfare state.
“I am stunned that central elements of the pension package are already being called into question before they have even been implemented,” Steffen Kampeter, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, told the Bild newspaper.
“Anyone who at the same time sticks to retirement from 63 is ignoring the shortage of skilled workers, demographic change and the economic situation,” he said.
He warned that watering down the reforms could squander “perhaps the last chance” to make the pension system sustainable as Germany’s population ages.
“A future-proof pension system needs more employment, more contributors and solid financing – not ever more promises at the expense of the younger generation,” Kampeter said.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IINCSkip next section Unknown object briefly halts flights at Leipzig airport08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Unknown object briefly halts flights at Leipzig airport
Flights at Leipzig/Halle Airport were temporarily suspended overnight after an unidentified object was spotted near one of the runways.
Saxony state police said one passenger aircraft and several cargo planes were diverted to other airports during the disruption.
The incident began at around 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday, when an unknown object was seen and another item was later found near the southern runway.
State and federal police are investigating, and a bomb disposal robot was deployed. A police spokesperson told the AFP news agency it was still unclear what the object was.
“There is no danger to the public,” the spokesperson said.
Flights resumed at 1:55 a.m. and are now operating via the airport’s northern runway, while the southern runway remains partially closed as investigators search for evidence.
The diverted passenger flight was a delayed service from Palma de Mallorca, which was rerouted to Nuremberg.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IIFiSkip next section Lightning strike splits town in two08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Lightning strike splits town in two
A lightning strike has knocked out barriers at two railway crossings in the Bavarian town of Harburg, effectively splitting the town in two.
Police said the affected roads are the only direct links between the western and eastern parts of Harburg and can no longer be crossed by car.
Residents now face detours of several kilometers, while road crews were working on Wednesday morning to set up alternative routes.
It was unclear when the damage would be repaired. Police said the disruption could continue into the morning rush hour.
A Deutsche Bahn technician has been notified, but repairs may take time because of numerous other weather-related faults.
Until then, the barriers will remain closed.
Police also warned drivers not to use unofficial shortcuts or attempt to drive around the lowered barriers.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IIJ7Skip next section Welcome to our coverage08/05/2026August 5, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Richard Connor | Roshni Majumdar Editor
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
We’ve been enjoying some sunny weather here on the banks of the parched Rhine River, where the water level is at a record low after a long period of dry weather.
That said, parts of Germany have also seen the odd rumble of thunder.
A lightning strike in Bavaria that kept two railroad crossings jammed closed has cut one town in two, forcing drivers to make lengthy detours.
A storm is also brewing over pension reforms, with an employers’ group warning the government not to U-turn on a controversial new policy.
Meanwhile, flights at Leipzig/Halle Airport were briefly suspended overnight after an unidentified object was spotted near one of the runways.
Stay with us here for these stories and more of the things that Germany is talking about today.
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