Special forces officer Serhii Kuznetsov denies involvement in the 2022 blasts that left pipelines badly damaged

A Ukrainian soldier led a team of divers that, acting on the order of state authorities, laid explosives on the bed of the Baltic Sea to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a court has heard.

On the opening day of his trial in the German city of Hamburg, Serhii Kuznetsov, who was a special forces officer with the Ukrainian military at the time of the pipeline attacks in 2022, was accused by prosecutors of being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing an explosion, damaging property and disrupting public services.

August Hanning, 80, appears before judge after being accused of treason and espionage on behalf of foreign state

A formal arrest warrant has been issued against Germany’s former top spy, with a judge ordering him to be held in pre-trial detention, a day after he was arrested on suspicion of treason and spying on behalf of an overseas intelligence agency.

August Hanning, 80, is accused of buying secret documents from a former colleague and using them to advise a foreign intelligence service, according to the office of the federal prosecutor.

Tobias Rausch secures role of president in Saxony-Anhalt after AfD’s election breakthrough

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Alternative für Deutschland has become Germany’s first far-right party to secure the position of speaker of a regional parliament since the second world war.

Tobias Rausch, a former estate agent, was elected in the first round of voting on Tuesday in Saxony-Anhalt. He won 48 out of the 82 votes cast.

August Hanning served as president of federal intelligence service from 1998 to 2005

A former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service has been arrested on suspicion of treason and spying on behalf of an overseas intelligence agency, in what prosecutors suspect could be the most egregious national security breach since the cold war.

August Hanning, 80, was head of the federal intelligence service (BND) – which operates outside Germany to gather information across the fields of political, economic and military intelligence – between 1998 and 2005.

• Says social media claims are ‘nonsense’ and ‘idiocy’

• Coach sees ‘no reason to pay attention to these people’

Jürgen Klopp has reacted with disgust to a social media debate questioning whether the Germany team he is in the process of forming are “white enough”. Klopp said he believed there was no point in giving room to “such people and their utterances”, dismissing them as “complete nonsense”.

Asked to respond to the debate as to whether the national team were “not German enough” or “not white enough”, he said: “There is absolutely no reason to pay attention to these people. You won’t get my thoughts on this. I have little time in everyday life for idiocy – and even less on social media.

Man accused of being accessory to murders at Stalag 326 VI K amid race to prosecute suspects before they die

A 105-year-old man is under investigation on suspicion of being an accessory to multiple murders at a Nazi prisoner of war camp, German prosecutors have said.

The case, which is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund, centres on the Stalag 326 VI K camp in western Germany, in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Die Linke candidate, a lawyer affected by her experiences as the child of political migrants from Turkey, poised to head Berlin coalition government

Elif Eralp launched her election bid last autumn with the blunt statement: “People like me are actually not supposed to become mayor in this country.” So the fact that the 45-year-old lawyer and daughter of political migrants from Turkey is on the verge of becoming Berlin’s next mayor and the capital’s first leader of Turkish origin is quite the moment in German politics.

After last weekend’s city state election, in which her far-left party, Die Linke, came first with more than a quarter of the votes, Eralp has become a household name.

Merz seeks to shore up support after CDU loses two state elections and is ejected from Mecklenburg parliament

• Latest German election humiliation puts Merz on borrowed time as CDU unrest grows

Germany’s beleaguered leader, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to keep his fractious coalition government together for the good of the country’s “democratic future” after his conservative party suffered a drubbing at the polls in two state elections.

Merz, who has vowed to plough ahead with an unpopular reform agenda, dismissed speculation over his position, saying it was vital that he and his coalition government remained in place.

Far-right German party’s newly elected representatives face fresh scrutiny as it tries to form government in Saxony-Anhalt

• Why is the AfD’s state victory significant and what might happen next?

The Alternative für Deutschland is facing scrutiny over the suitability of some of its prospective new MPs – including a former Stasi officer and a former pornography actor – just days after its historic win in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Presented by the AfD’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, for a photocall in the state capital of Magdeburg on Thursday, some of the members-elect were revealed to have a range of questionable backgrounds, including criminal records, Stasi pasts and connections to far-right networks.

Alternative für Deutschland surges to victory in Saxony-Anhalt as Friedrich Merz’s CDU slumps to disastrous result

• Merz says ‘shock’ AfD victory ‘is an election result we cannot simply move past’ – live updates

• AfD thanks Elon Musk as France warns state election win a ‘serious moment’

The populist, far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has surged to a resounding victory in a crucial state election in Germany, but fell just short of winning a majority in its quest to form the country’s first far-right state government since the second world war.

The party of Germany’s unpopular chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democrats (CDU), slumped to a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Polling stations open in Saxony-Anhalt with anti-immigration party AfD predicted to gain 41% vote share

Polls have opened in the east German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the populist, far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is predicted to emerge on top in an election that could have a groundbreaking effect on Germany’s political landscape.

About 1.7 million people are eligible to vote. Polling booths opened at 8am local time and will close at 6pm, when exit polls are expected to deliver an initial indication of whether the AfD has secured enough votes for an absolute majority, enabling it to govern the state.

Sunday’s election could bring in Germany’s first far-right state government since the Nazi era

Germany is embarking on a crucial election period this month, with three key state polls that could markedly change the political terrain and make life decidedly harder for the federal government under the chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

All eyes are on Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, where about 1.7 million people are eligible to vote, followed by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin on 20 September. In all three contests, the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is expected to make strong gains.

Belarusian said to have had tourist visa issued by Italy is investigated over alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport

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Germany is urging its European partners to introduce tighter limitations on Russian citizens entering the EU on tourist visas, after recent sabotage attacks which Berlin has blamed on Moscow.

German authorities are investigating a Belarusian national, who also holds a Russian passport, over the alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport using drones and explosives.

The government’s tougher stance towards the Kremlin is drawing attacks from both the far right and far left

Even before the German government laid the blame this week on Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport, the topic of German ties to Moscow was high on the political agenda.

But the timing of the unsurprising yet explosive Leipzig announcement – days before a key regional vote – has exposed the extent to which German politics is polarised on the issue.

Government says ‘dangerous behaviour’ is part of effort by Moscow to cause damage with hybrid attacks

The German government has blamed Russia for the drone attack on Leipzig airport last month, calling it “dangerous behaviour” and part of a systematic and concerted effort by Moscow to “cause great damage” through a large number of hybrid attacks.

The interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, and the foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, ended weeks of speculation and the government’s hesitancy to blame Russia, saying in a brisk 10-minute briefing in Berlin that all indications were the Russian state had provided the knowhow and equipment for the planned attack and “low-level agents” were recruited to carry it out.

Berlin expected to outline response to incident this month widely speculated to have been coordinated by Russia

The German government is imminently expected to announce who it believes was behind a suspected drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane earlier this month and to outline its response to the incident in coordination with its European and Nato partners.

The chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told the public broadcaster ARD in an interview on Sunday evening: “We are in the process of concluding the investigations; we have reached a broad agreement within the federal government on how we will respond, and we will make this clear in the coming days. It won’t take much longer.”

Mosquito traps are set up at Germany’s biggest airport and doctors are asked to look out for symptoms of disease

German health officials are seeking to reassure the public after two workers at the country’s biggest airport died of malaria.

Mosquito traps have been set up at Frankfurt airport and a mosquito monitoring process is under way. A detailed investigation is being conducted to clarify how the workers contracted the disease.

Local media report discovery by German investigators after attempted attack on cargo and military logistics hub

German investigators uncovered a third drone and suspected military explosives thought to be connected to an attempted attack on Leipzig airport, local media have reported.

The drone was discovered in Kabelsketal, just to the west of the airport, along with about 50g (1.8oz) of a suspected military explosive on 14 August, 10 days after the unsuccessful sabotage. Leipzig airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used by Nato and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines for transporting military supplies.

Oliver Blume faces workforce at German HQ as carmaker struggles against Chinese competition and US tariffs

The chief executive of Volkswagen has faced boos and whistles of protest at the company’s headquarters after telling thousands of workers that a comprehensive reorganisation, which could include job losses and factory closures, is vital for its future.

As Oliver Blume urged more than 10,000 workers on Tuesday to “pull together”, saying drastic restructuring measures at the struggling manufacturer were essential, they held up banners and shouted slogans, including: “Our jobs are not your balance sheet adjustments”.

Kai Wegner admits poor communication in handling of power blackout overshadowed his other political work

Berlin’s embattled mayor has abandoned his campaign to stand for reelection after failing to recover from a row over his decision to play tennis while large parts of the German capital were hit by a power blackout in January.

Kai Wegner announced on Friday afternoon that he would not run in Berlin’s 20 September election after coming under huge pressure to step down from his party, the Christian Democrats (CDU). Some members wrote an open letter to Wegner this week in which they appealed to him to withdraw his candidacy.