Germany updates: Huge turnout for Berlin Pride march

Berlin police on Saturday dispersed an Internationalist Queer Pride for Liberation rally in the Kreuzberg district of the city.

The rally took place concurrently with the Berlin Pride parade but is independent of it.

The gathering was disbanded "due to ongoing unrest, including repeated attacks on law enforcement officers and the shouting of antisemitic slogans," Berlin police posted on X. 

Police also said bottles were thrown and officers were hit with flagpoles, adding that police had to use physical force to arrest individuals.

Officers estimated that around 10,000 people joined the pro-Palestinian demonstration.

Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung national daily in remarks published on Saturday that Germans need to work for longer and harder.

"Demographic change and increasing life expectancy make this unavoidable. Lifetime working must rise," she said. "We have to work harder and longer."

Reiche added that spending two thirds of adult life working and then living off a pension for a third of a person's life was not possible over the longer term. Too many people had been denying demographic reality for too long, she added.

While many people are working in physically arduous jobs, there were also many who could and wanted to work for longer, according to the economy minister. 

Reiche noted that companies were reporting that employees worked 1,800 hours per year in the United States and only 1,340 in Germany. She believes reforms agreed by the new government in its coalition deal would not suffice over the longer term.

"Social security systems are overloaded. The combination of non-wage labour costs, taxes and deductions are making the labour factor in Germany uncompetitive over the longer term," Reiche said.

However, Reiche's comments drew immediate criticism from worker representatives.

Christian Bäumler, who heads the workers association within Reiche's own Christian Democrats, expressed criticized the minister's remarks and noted that they had no basis in the coalition deal with Social Democrats.

"An economy minister who does not realize that Germany has a high part-time working ratio, and thus a low average annual working time is the wrong choice for the position," he said.

The annual BerlinPride parade saw another bumper turnout as hundreds of thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Germany's capital in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) rights.

Some 80 floats and around 100 walking groups were taking part in the rally from Berlin Mitte to the Brandenburg Gate, where a program of stage events has been planned.

Amid rising homophobic attacks in Germany, the motto for this year's event is "Never be silent again."

Berlin Pride, which is better known in Germany as Christopher Street Day (CSD), marks the birth of the modern gay and lesbian movement.

The parade commemorates June 28, 1969, when police stormed the Stonewall Inn gay bar on New York's Christopher Street, sparking days of clashes between activists and security forces.

A counter-demonstration, organized by far-right activists, was also due to take place in Berlin around the same time, with police mounting a large security operation to keep the rival protest groups apart.

Germany's ports require an additional €15 billion ($18 billion) for refurbishment and expansion over the next decade, the head of the ZDS seaport association has warned.

ZDS chief Angela Titzrath told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the country's ports suffer from "decaying quays" and a lack of "surfaces that can handle heavy loads."

Titzrath said the additional funds would make up just 3% of the government's new budget for upgrading the country's infrastructure.

"With that [amount], we could fully and sustainably implement all urgent modernization within 12 years," she told the newspaper.

In March, the German parliament approved a historic €500 billion infrastructure fund, with €100 billion earmarked for clean energy and climate mitigation projects.

Out of the latter budget, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government approved an additional €400 million over four years to help modernize shipping and ports in a way that protects the planet.

But Titzrath called on Berlin to play a bigger role in port investments by raising the current subsidies from €38 million to €500 million "so that the shortcomings of the past are not repeated."

Southern Germany could see up to 150 liters of rainfall per square meter in the next few days, forecasters have warned.

The German Weather Service (DWD) said heavy rain and severe thunderstorms were forecast for the weekend and early next week.

DWD said the area from the upper Danube River to Augsburg would be hit hardest on Saturday, before spreading to a wider area including Lake Constance and the mountainous Allgäu region, as well as the southern Black Forest.

The agency warned of possible flooding in some places.

DWD said the 150 liters of rainfall only occur every decade or so.

Southern parts of Germany were hit by severe flooding last May and June, while eastern Germany was struck in September.

The country is still reeling from devastating floods that hit western states in July 2021, particularly the Ahr Valley, as well as neighboring countries.

At least 189 people died in Germany, while another 700 were injured.

Those floods caused €33 billion ($40 billion) in economic losses.

An injured seal, weighing over 100 kilograms, has been rescued from the banks of the Elbe River in Germany's northern city of Hamburg.

The marine mammal was discovered late Friday evening by witnesses who alerted authorities.

According to a fire brigade spokesman, the seal had a minor injury to its fin.

Rescuers initially planned to transfer the seal to an animal shelter, but it was already full. The animal was then taken to a local wildlife caretaker.

Seals are typically found in coastal areas like the North Sea or Wadden Sea, which are over 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Hamburg.

The Elbe River is a freshwater environment far inland, not their natural habitat.

Navigating the river to Hamburg, seals must travel through strong currents, locks, and human-made obstacles.

Germany's renowned Bayreuth Festival of operas by Richard Wagner kicked off on Friday with a new production of "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and former Chancellor Angela Merkel graced the red carpet for opening night, with both political figures reported to be great admirers of Wagner's music.

Accompanied by his wife Charlotte, Merz described the evening as a "great production" featuring fantastic stage design and wonderful performers.

The chancellor also used the occasion to reaffirm his commitment to the arts in Germany, emphasizing that this includes not only theatre, music and opera but also architecture and modern art.

"We will defend this against all those who want it to be different," Merz said.

Hundreds of thousands are expected in Germany's capital on Saturday to celebrate Berlin Pride or Christopher Street Day (CSD).

A huge parade featuring 80 trucks is expected to pass through the city, starting at Leipziger Platz, then heading to Potsdamer Platz and Schöneberg, before ending at the Brandenburg Gate.

The German Police Union (GdP) said Berlin authorities would mount a huge operation to protect the parade in the wake of several car ramming and terrorist attacks and due to the LGBTQ+ community being targeted by far-right extremists.

Around 1,300 Berlin police officers will be deployed, supported by hundreds more from other German states.

Two counterdemonstrations with an expected 400 participants have also been registered with the Berlin authorities.

The Pride celebrations began on Friday with the unfurling of a massive rainbow flag outside the Reichstag building — the home of Germany's parliament.

CSD organizers decided to display their own flag after the government rejected a request to hoist an official rainbow flag.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended the decision, saying, "The Bundestag is not a circus tent," referring to Germany's lower house of parliament.

Christopher Street Day is a reference to the location of the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, where a protest against police discrimination in 1969 kick-started the gay liberation movement.

Guten Morgen! Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in Germany on Saturday, July 26.

Here you'll find breaking news, business, culture and sports as well as commentary from DW's team of correspondents.

Berlin hosts one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ Pride events, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to turn out for a glitzy parade through the streets of the German capital.

The Bayreuth Festival, an annual summer music festival dedicated primarily to the operas of Richard Wagner, got underway on Friday night.