Germany updates: Extra border checks unsustainable — police

A narrow majority of German residents support replacing the current daily working hours limit with a weekly cap, according to a new YouGov survey.

The poll, conducted for dpa, found that 38% of respondents are in favor of the proposed change, 20% are opposed, and 37% are neutral.

The proposal, part of the new German government's coalition agreement, would swap the existing eight-hour daily limit for a more flexible weekly model. Employees could then work longer hours on fewer days — for example, four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.

Supporters cited flexibility as a key advantage. Of those in favor, 82% said the model would allow for longer weekends. About 44% also noted potential benefits for employers, who would no longer be restricted by the daily cap.

Critics voiced concerns about productivity and worker well-being. Two-thirds of opponents said productivity drops after eight hours, and 61% warned that longer shifts could overburden employees. Around 40% also feared reduced time for family and leisure.

When asked to choose between four 10-hour days and five eight-hour days for the same pay, 37% preferred the four-day week, while 28% opted to stick with the current model.

A manhunt is underway in Germany after a knife attack outside a bar in the western city of Bielefeld that left several people injured. 

A police spokeswoman in the North Rhine-Westphalian city says the search for the 35-year-old is ongoing. There are currently no new findings. None of the four seriously injured are in critical condition, the spokeswoman said.

According to investigators, the man is said to have randomly attacked revelers outside a bar in downtown Bielefeld with a knife early Sunday morning, injuring at least five people. He then managed to escape. The suspect, who is from Syria, reportedly left behind a bag that contained personal documents and a bottle containing a liquid that smelled of gasoline.

Police and the public prosecutor's office said they are investigating "in all directions." 

According to a report in the Bild newspaper, investigators believe it is likely that the suspect did not act spontaneously, but had planned an attack.

Five people between the ages of 22 and 27 were injured in the attack. Four of those attacked were considered seriously injured, one of them temporarily in critical condition. 

The German news agency dpa said the revelers were soccer fans after the city's Arminia Bielefeld soccer club won its match on Saturday to become third division champions.
 

Working women in Germany are more than four times more likely to work part-time than men, with nearly half of the female working-age population doing so.

The 49% part-time rate is compared to only 12% of men who are not working full-time.

By 2024, a total of 29% of the working population in Germany will have worked part-time, the Federal Statistical Office announced in Wiesbaden on Monday.

The employment rate for 15 to 64-year-olds was just over 77% last year. For men, the rate was 81%, around seven percentage points higher than for women, at 74%. 

The gap between men and women has narrowed significantly over the past 20 years: For example, the employment rate for women has increased by around 15 percentage points since 2005, from just over 59%. The increase for men was less pronounced at just under 10 percentage points.

German Labor Minister Bärbel Bas called for better working conditions for women in Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper over the weekend. "Employers must shape the world of work so that more mothers can work full-time," she said.

An Iraqi man and his wife, both accused of being so-called "Islamic State" (IS) militant group members and enslaving two Yazidi girls, are set to appear in court in Germany.

The 43-year-old man and 29-year-old woman face charges at the Munich Higher Regional Court, including genocide, human trafficking, and crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors say that in 2015, the man bought a 5-year-old Yazidi girl as a dowry for his wife, at her request. The child was allegedly held captive by the couple in Iraq and Syria for over two years, during which she was subjected to forced labour, sexual abuse, humiliation, and torture.

In October 2017, the couple allegedly bought a second Yazidi girl, aged 12, who endured similar abuse.

Both girls were later transferred to other IS members in November 2017. While the older girl was eventually freed after a ransom was paid, the fate of the younger child remains unknown.

The couple were arrested in Bavaria in April 2024 and have been in custody since.

IS aimed to establish a theocratic state under Sharia law during the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

German prosecutors argue the couple's actions were part of IS's systematic rape of Yazidi women and girls — a strategy designed to dismantle the group's continuity and identity.

Germany has emerged as a key prosecutor of IS war crimes that took place in Iraq and Syria under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Germany's intensified border checks and the rejection of asylum seekers cannot continue for much longer, the country's police union has warned.

Andreas Rosskopf cited a lack of personnel and the suspension of training programs as the main reasons.

Rosskopf, chairman of the German Police Union (GdP) police union, told the Funke Media Group in comments published Monday that the current measures were only sustainable because duty rosters had been adjusted, training sessions paused, and officers' overtime leave canceled.

"The police can only keep up these intensive checks for a few more weeks," Rosskopf said, noting that more than 1,000 riot police officers had been deployed in border areas for several days.

Shortly after taking office earlier this month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered stricter border controls, allowing authorities to turn back migrants even if they seek asylum.

According to Dobrindt, the number of people turned away has increased by nearly 50% since the changes were introduced.

Rosskopf said the union supports the government's efforts to reduce irregular migration through enhanced checks by the federal police.

Guten Tag and welcome to our coverage of developments in Germany on Monday, May 19, 2025.

Germany's enhanced border checks cannot go on for much longer, the country's major police union has warned.

GdP police union chief Andreas Rosskopf says the measures are currently relying on temporary fixes, such as canceled leave and suspended training.

Germany's new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt recently tightened controls as part of the new conservative-led coalition agreement to cut irregular migration.

This blog will provide you the latest news, analysis, multimedia content and DW on-the-ground reporting in regards to events in Germany. Stay tuned for more!