Men are not obliged to wear jackets during the orchestra's end-of-season performance this weekend. Meanwhile, a court has sentenced the defendent in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack to life. Follow DW for more.
What you need to know
The Berlin orchestra will perform in a less strict dress code amid the heat
The defendant in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack has been sentenced to life
Thuringia’s interior minister has called for proceedings to ban the AfD
Carmakers are stepping up efforts to boost combustion engine vehicles' sales
Below, you can follow the latest headlines coming out of Germany on Friday, June, 26:
Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add us as a Preferred Source on Google. Then tap the "Star" or "Preferred" to keep DW News at the top of your feed.
Germany pushes back against EU's planned methane emissions rule
The European Union is introducing a rule requiring the monitoring and verification of methane emissions for fuel deliveries to the bloc. The new regulations are due to go into effect next year, and the continent's biggest gas market, Germany, is unhappy.
"As it stands, the methane regulation would prevent not only gas imports into Germany — LNG — but also petroleum products from being imported from 2027 onward," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said ahead of an EU meeting of ministers on Friday.
The blocs' ministers will discuss an initiative put by a dozen EU governments, including Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, to delay the rules coming into effect by three years.
"We need at least a postponement or a suspension of the methane regulation so that the Federal Republic of Germany can reliably secure its supply of gas imports, as well as petroleum products such as kerosene," Reiche said.
Methane is the second-biggest contributor to global warming behind carbon dioxide.
German hospitals lagging behind on airconditioning
Air conditioning is still uncommon in patients' rooms at German hospitals, a leading medical association said on Friday.
"Most intensive care units in Germany are now air-conditioned, but that's about as far as it goes. Only a third of hospitals have air-conditioned patient rooms," Susanne Johna, chair of the Marburg Association, told public broadcaster ZDF.
At the same time, there are clear guidelines for installing air conditioners for operating rooms or radiology departments, where equipment cannot withstand the heat.
"We often ask relatives to bring things like ice packs from home, which provide temporary relief," Johna said, calling on politicians, architects and hospital chains to take into account the rise in temperature when designing and planning buildings.
"Even with new buildings, we're seeing that sometimes appearances seem to matter more than common sense," Johna said, stressing the amount of risks the heat poses on patients.
"We simply have to be realistic and acknowledge that people die more frequently during such heatwaves. Statistically, this is clearly the case, and it also applies to the people in hospitals," she said.
Germany now one of Europe's top transit hubs for ketamine, UN report says
Germany has become one of Europe's main transit hubs for illegal ketamine , according to a United Nations report highlighting the rise in drug use on the continent.
The World Drug Report , published by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), put Germany as second only to the Netherlands when ranking ketamine transit nations in Europe.
The drug has long been used by medical professionals as an anaesthetic and painkiller. In recent years, however, ketamine has also been widely consumed as a recreational drug, often combined with other substances.
UN experts said most of the illegal ketamine on Europe's illicit market comes from legal production channels in India.
The number of ketamine-related deaths in Germany has grown recently, with the report warning that the drug was being sold through social media.
Can ketamine and LSD cure depression?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Volkswagen plans up to 100,000 further job cuts — media reports
Germany's struggling car giant Volkswagen is reportedly planning even more job cuts than previously announced, news reports suggested on Friday.
Volkswagen might cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide, the German-language Manager Magazin reported on Friday, adding that the plans were part of the new 2030 cost-cutting strategy.
The supervisory board has yet to make the final call.
As part of the cost-cutting measures, VW could close four German plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden and the Audi site in Neckarsulm.
VW's German sites are bound by an employment guarantee agreed with the IG Metall trade union until at least 2030.
Volkswagen in crisis: Why is the German carmaker struggling?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
"Should such plans be pursued, we would do everything in our power to stop them," said IG Metall leader Christiane Benner, regional director Thorsten Gröger and VW works council chair Daniela Cavallo in a joint statement on Friday.
"The renewed media reports are, quite rightly, causing concern among our workforce and in the regions where our sites are located," the statement read.
VW has already announced 50,000 job cuts by 2030.
German companies planning more job cuts, think tank says
Companies in Germany are planning further job cuts, think tank ifo said on Friday, with its employment barometer falling to 92.3 points in June, down from 93.9 in May.
The June reading is among the worst since the COVID-19 pandemic .
"The labor market remains weak," says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. "Germany is currently still a long way from a sustained recovery in employment."
The labor market in manufacturing remains struggling, with job cuts on the rise in wholesale and retail.
The barometer saw a considerable fall among service providers, with the tourism sector also struggling.
However, construction seems to be largely intact by the downturn, ifo said.
Carmakers promoting combustion engine cars over electric cars — market study
German carmakers are offering higher discounts on combustion cars than on electric cars for the first time in a year, according to a market study by the private research organization Center Automotive Research (CAR).
Their research shows the average discount offered on the 20 best-selling electric vehicles at 17.8% of the listed price. This marks a noticeable fall from 19.5% in January.
In contrast, the average discount for combustion engine vehicles was 18.4%.
Mercedes: Iconic german brand or fallen star?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
That makes combustion engine vehicles on average €1,997 (roughly $2,277) cheaper than electric models, at least in terms of purchase price. In December, the price difference was just over €1,300.
Thuringia interior minister calls for new attempt to ban AfD
Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier of the Social Democrats (SPD) has called for a fresh attempt to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
"In my view, the time has now come, at the very latest, to take concrete steps toward initiating proceedings to ban the party," Maier told the financial daily Handelsblatt, warning that any further delays would run counter to the principles of a robust democracy."
Maier's calls come on the heels of an expert report suggesting that proceedings to ban the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court would have a good chance of success. The report was presented by the non-profit Society for Civil Liberties (GFF).
When can a political party be banned in Germany?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
"The report provides well-documented and legally sound evidence of violations, for example, of human dignity as guaranteed by the Basic Law," he said.
Stuttgart firefighters rescue young kestrels stuck in chimney
Firefighters in Stuttgart have managed to rescue four young birds trapped behind a metal cladding on a chimney.
The emergency services in the capital of Germany's southern state of Baden-Württemberg were called to the scene by the environmental agency. The cladding's temperature had reached around 65 degrees Celsius.
They arrived to find one of the young kestrels had already fallen onto a canopy, where it was rescued. The three other birds were freed by gently bending the metal.
The four falcons were handed over to the municipal animal rescue service.
Berlin orchestra relaxes dress code for end-of-season concert amid heatwave
Berlin's Philharmonic Orchestra will perform its famous end-of-season concert on Saturday evening in a relaxed dress code due to the scorching heat , a spokeswoman for the orchestra has announced.
"The men will perform without a jacket, but will wear a black shirt as their top," said the spokeswoman, adding that they may also roll up their sleeves.
For the women, their tops do not have to be long-sleeved as long as they reach the elbow.
Despite the ongoing heat wave, with temperatures forecast to rise as high as 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) in the German capital on Saturday, the spokeswoman emphasized that the stage in the Waldbühne will be in the shade in the evening.
"We're used to playing outdoors," she said.
How Europeans cope with the record-breaking heat wave
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Magdeburg Christmas market attacker sentenced to life
The Magdeburg Regional Court on Friday sentenced a Saudi man to life for carrying out an attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market in 2024, leaving six people dead.
The 51-year-old psychiatrist Taleb A. drove a hire car at high speed through the market, hitting several people, including a nine-year-old boy and five women between the ages of 45 and 75 who all died.
Many others were injured.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has said the defendant acted out of personal motives.
Who is the suspect in the German Christmas market attack?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Taleb A. arrived in Germany in 2006. He had previously accused German authorities of failing to adequately protect Saudis fleeing their country for religious or political reasons.
During the trial , he admitted to having planned the attack and driven the car, yet denied he deliberately ran people over, a claim the prosecution has found implausible.
Welcome to our coverage
Good morning from yet another scorching hot and potentially record-breaking day from our DW newsroom in Bonn.
If you catch the Berlin orchestra playing this weekend, don't be surprised if they're not in their usual dapper attire — they have been allowed to relax their outfits while performing.
Also, the country's rail service Deutsche Bahn offered people a full refund should they cancel their weekend train trips.
Meanwhile, a German court found a psychiatrist guilty of killing six people in an attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market in 2024.
We will bring you all of this and more here on our blog on all things Germany! Stay tuned!
Your feedback