Skip next section Alleged online child abuser ‘White Tiger’ on trial in Germany
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Alleged online child abuser ‘White Tiger’ on trial in Germany
The trial of the suspected online offender known as “White Tiger” began behind closed doors in Hamburg.
Prosecutors accuse the 21-year-old defendant of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
He is alleged to have coerced vulnerable teenagers online into harming themselves; in one case, a 13-year-old is believed to have died by suicide.
The defendant, a German-Iranian national, is believed to have been the head of a group of cybercriminals called “764,” which for their own sexual gratification, forced children aged between 11 and 15 to use violence against themselves on the internet.
In total, prosecutors list 204 offenses said to have been committed when the accused was a minor or young adult, involving more than 30 child and teenage victims.
In one case, prosecutors say the suspect influenced a 13-year-old through another minor until the boy took his own life during a livestream. Additional cases involve attempted suicides.
The alleged offenses took place between January 2021 and September 2023.
Editor’s note: If you are suffering from emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, seek professional help. You can find information on where to find help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: www.befrienders.org
https://p.dw.com/p/56b0a
Skip next section German trade surplus falls in November
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
German trade surplus falls in November
German exports fell 2.5% month on month in November 2025, while imports rose 0.8%, according to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
Germany exported goods worth €128.1 billion ($149.2 billion) and imported goods to the value of €115.1 billion in November 2025.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of €13.1 billion in November 2025, having stood at €17.2 billion in October.
Imports increased in particular from China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The calendar and seasonally adjusted export figure was also 0.8% lower than a year earlier, in November 2024.
https://p.dw.com/p/56aqp
Skip next section READ – Why Germany struggles to fight financial crime01/09/2026January 9, 2026
READ – Why Germany struggles to fight financial crime
The German justice system is understaffed and plagued by complex structuresImage: Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance
Germany lacks thousands of state prosecutors to effectively fight organized crime, the German Association of Judges has warned. But others say the judicial system’s problems run much deeper than that.
“State governments are missing out on billions of euros because they are too fixated on the personnel costs of law enforcement,” DRB Director Sven Rebehn told the Funke Media Group newspapers in late December.
Rebehn said Germany was 2,000 state prosecutors short, and that there were around 1 million open cases still waiting to be investigated, effectively giving mafia organizations and financial embezzlers an easy time.
Read more in this DW article.
https://p.dw.com/p/56alH
Skip next section Calls for national emergency power plan
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Calls for national emergency power plan
Tens of thousands of people in southwest Berlin were plunged into darkness after a power cut cause by arsonImage: Lisi Niesner/REUTERS
There have been calls among Germany’s utility providers for emergency planning of people and resources in the event of another major power outage as seen in Berlin this week.
“The aim of a national reserve and crisis intervention measures must be to ensure that the power is provisionally restored within 24 hours if possible,” German news agency DPA quoted Ulf Kämpfer — mayor of the city of Kiel and president of the Association of Local Public Utilities (VKU) — as saying.
Kämpfer praised the response from Berlin’s electricity grid operator as tens of thousands battled a power cut after a major power cable was targeted by arson.
The mayor warned there was a “changed threat situation” and that “a new intensity of attacks cannot be ruled out in the future.”
Kämpfer said the emergency plan would need to go far beyond having backup generators.
He said so-called island grids were one of the only ways of ensuring emergency supply in the short term.
https://p.dw.com/p/56ah4
Skip next section Germany’s top diplomat to meet with Rubio in Washington on Monday
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Germany’s top diplomat to meet with Rubio in Washington on Monday
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will head to the United States for talks with US counterpart Marco Rubio.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said bilateral relations would be discussed along with “relevant foreign and security policy issues.”
Wadephul is expected to leave on Sunday afternoon and will make a stopover in Iceland where he will meet Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir.
The trip comes amid a climate of tension relating to US threats to annex Greenland which belongs to NATO ally, Denmark.
On the question of whether Greenland would also be a topic of discussion during Wadephul’s meeting with Rubio, Deschauer replied that the German government had already commented on this in recent days.
“We were very clear on this,” said the Foreign Office spokeswoman.
The future of the strategically important island lies “in the hands of the Greenlanders alone,” Deschauer said.
Venezuela: US ‘not giving a damn’ about European interests
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https://p.dw.com/p/56a8d
Skip next section IN PICTURES: Winter storm sweeps through northern Germany
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
IN PICTURES: Winter storm sweeps through northern Germany
https://p.dw.com/p/56ZzH
Skip next section Greenland: German vice chancellor says ‘international law applies’
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Greenland: German vice chancellor says ‘international law applies’
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has spoken out against US threats to annex Greenland.
“International law applies. The law that only the strongest survive cannot apply here. And that is why Denmark has our full solidarity and we will make this clear to the US at every point,” Klingbeil said on Friday at a meeting of lawmakers of his Social Democrats (SPD).
On Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark and the rest of Europe of failing to protect Greenland from Russia and China.
“I guess my advice to European leaders and anybody else would be to take the president of the United States seriously,” Vance told journalists at the White House when asked about Greenland.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, but Trump has been eyeing it since his first term in office.
Majority of Germans condemn US intervention in Venezuela
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https://p.dw.com/p/56ZwQ
Skip next section Snow warning for Brandenburg and Berlin lifted
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Snow warning for Brandenburg and Berlin lifted
The German Weather Service (DWD) said that initial forecasts of heavy snowfall in large parts of Brandenburg and Berlin did not materialize.
“We do not see any danger to life and limb,” said a spokesperson for the DWD.
The severe weather warning for heavy snowfall was lifted for Berlin and Brandenburg because significantly less snow had fallen than earlier predicted.
Berlin is located further to the east from where the heaviest snowfall was recorded in the state of Lower Saxony on Friday morning.
A warning remained in the the district of Prignitz in the northwest.
However, temperatures in and around the German capital are set to be frigid. Strong wind gusts have been forecast in some parts and the wind chill could plummet to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit).
https://p.dw.com/p/56ZtB
Skip next section Highways blocked by stuck trucks in central Germany
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Highways blocked by stuck trucks in central Germany
Travel was also affected in nearby Saxony, where trucks here are seen waiting for a snow plowImage: André März/IMAGO
Winter weather conditions have caused delays on highways in eastern parts of Hesse state, located in central Germany, with local authorities reporting that three highways have been blocked in the region.
Police said that the A7, the A4 and the A5 had been blocked by trucks that have become stuck.
Cars brave wind and snow on a road in Saxony Image: André März/IMAGO
“The problem is heavy goods traffic,” German news agency DPA quoted a police spokesperson as saying. Truck drivers were being asked to leave the highways and make use of rest areas until conditions improved.
According to the spokesperson, the focus is currently on the A4 after four semi-trucks “buried themselves next to the lane.”
Traffic had initially been able to move slowly, but traffic jams then began to form.
Snowplows and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) have been deployed.
It will be a long day for truckers in east and northern Germany Image: André März/IMAGO
https://p.dw.com/p/56Z1w
Skip next section Germany’s train operator halts service in northern Germany
01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Germany’s train operator halts service in northern Germany
Germany’s Deutsche Bahn said long-distance rail travel in northern Germany was no longer possibleImage: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa/picture alliance
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) said it was temporarily halting long-distance services in northern Germany as winter storms swept across Europe.
“Long-distance rail travel in northern Germany is no longer possible,” said Deutsche Bahn in a statement.
DB said that rail traffic in the greater Hannover area would be suspended until at least noon today, impacting one of the operator’s most important hubs in the north.
The rail operator said that connections between Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia and also Berlin and Hamburg would be impacted.
DB said that it was in the interests of passenger and employee safety.
The German Weather Service (DWD) said that there could be about 10-15 centimetres of snowfall, in northern parts of the country while heavy rain was more likely in the southern parts.
DWD meteorologist David Menzel said on Friday that it was not such exceptional weather: “It’s a wintry storm and — if you look at the big picture — nothing particularly unusual.”
A village near Hannover blanketed in white on Friday morning Image: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance
The inclement weather has not had a major impact on operations at Germany’s biggest air traffic hub, Frankfurt Airport. There were no restrictions on take-offs and landings in the early morning.
https://p.dw.com/p/56YzO
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage01/09/2026January 9, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the newsroom in chilly Bonn!
Today, we are covering winter storm Elli that is disrupting travel across northern Germany.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn has halted long distance services with various routes countrywide impacted.
The German Weather Service (DWD) has forecast snowfall in the north of up 10 15 centimeters (six inches), while temperatures could plummet to as low as -20C in some parts.
Stay with us as we bring you news and analysis from Germany with our updates throughout the day.
https://p.dw.com/p/56YzE
