Exports and factory data lift economic outlook

German national basketball team point guard Jack Kayil will be returning to Bundesliga champions ALBA Berlin this season, despite being selected in this year’s NBA draft in the United States. 

The Houston Rockets drafted Kayil with the 39th pick in this year’s rookie draft and then traded his rights to the new NBA champion New York Knicks. 

Kayil played Summer League pre-season games in the US, but struggled to impress. It did not appear that the Knicks would have a place for him in their senior roster at the start of the regular season. 

The 20-year-old is therefore returning to another champion team, ALBA Berlin, on a contract that’s valid through the 2030-31 season. 

“Last season was super successful and a lot of fun for me, which is why I’m even more excited to stay in Berlin,” Kayil said in a statement translated from German. “I can’t wait to get back and pick up right where we left off.” 

The young guard said his return to the Bundesliga did not change his ultimate goal of playing in the US, rather, it represented him picking the German capital over playing in the NBA’s developmental G-League. 

“The NBA remains my ultimate ​dream  — and ALBA is the perfect place for me to continue pursuing that ​path. The club ‌has already helped me take crucial steps in this direction. I’m simply happy and grateful to ​be back in ⁠this incredible environment,” he said. 

The Knicks will retain Kayil’s draft rights and the ability to sign him if they wish. Kayil struggled in the Summer League, averaging fewer than 10 points and 5 assists per game on low-percentage shooting. 

Spanish police have arrested and extradited a 70-year-old man suspected of involvement in a bank robbery almost 12 years ago in the western German city of Aachen. 

Aachen police said the Spanish national was arrested in July and handed over to German authorities on Friday. 

The man is alleged to be one of at least five people who robbed the PAX-Bank in November 2014. 

They hauled off more than €400,000 (more than $460,000 at today’s exchange rate) in the armed robbery.

They first overpowered cleaning staff in the building’s stairwell, then threatened 16 bank employees with firearms at the entrance and bound them with cable ties. Two employees were ultimately forced to open the safe at gunpoint. 

The robbers wore disguises and discarded them as they fled the scene.

A woman was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

The man is the only other suspect detained so far. Police believe at least three other people involved in the crime remain at large. Initial reports at the time had spoken of six possible robbers.

Police say their investigation suggests that the robbery was orchestrated and conducted by a far-left criminal group with members across Europe.

Russia’s Embassy in Berlin has issued a first response to the drone discovery at Leipzig/Halle Airport, two days after the news broke. 

It says Moscow rejects any and all responsibility for the explosive-laden drone and adds that it is “concerned about a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany.” 

The Russian-language statement refers to any suggestion of a potential attempted attack involving Russia as a “sham provocation, which only serves the interests of the regime in Kyiv and the military wing of the European political establishment.”

“The biggest danger that Germany is exposed to today cannot be found in supposed ‘hybrid attacks’ from Russia, which do not exist,” the statement continues. Rather, the embassy writes, the danger lies “in politicians who enthusiastically develop scenarios for a war with Russia and who want the German people to take part in them.” 

It alleged that such reports were attempts by European politicians to justify their support for Ukraine.

Germany’s Bundeswehr military says it sighted two drones late on Thursday over the Mechernich base in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Officers investigated the case and also alerted police in nearby Euskirchen, a small city not far west of Bonn, the military said. 

The incident was first reported by public broadcasters NDR, WDR and daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, with the Bundeswehr later confirming it to the dpa news agency. 

The case follows the discovery of what investigators say was an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport earlier this week, an incident that has prompted a federal investigation. 

The Mechernich base also has a rare European team working on the upkeep and repair of US Patriot missile defense systems, an important weapons system for Ukraine defending itself against Russian air attacks.

As shipping along the Rhine River hits a level about as low as the water itself (see entry below), leaders in two German states have moved to lift a ban on heavy vehicle freight transport along German roads on Sundays. The rule, one of many addressing what activities are permitted on Sundays and bank holidays,  applies to both domestic and foreign haulage companies.

But the government has permitted states to lift these restrictions for the transportation of certain goods on a temporary basis to offset the reduced carrying capacity on rivers. 

The western states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have now said they intend to make use of this, starting this weekend. 

Rhineland-Palatinate’s junior minister for transport, Markus Wolf, said that with limited transportation on the Rhine, as well as other rivers, other freight companies needed to be able to provide flexible support.

“We are now creating the necessary breathing space for this,” he said. 

In the neighboring state of Saarland, Petra Berg, the minister for environment, climate, mobility, agriculture, and consumer protection, said the move was particularly important for her state given its busy industrial sector’s reliance on goods and raw materials reaching their destinations on time.

Major German trade union Verdi, meanwhile, spoke out against the new allowance on Friday, with Uwe Köpke saying the proposal “puts into doubt the legally protected status of Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and recovery.”

Rhine River water levels have reached new all-time lows at the four main measuring stations in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

In the state capital, Düsseldorf, the measuring station level dipped to 15 centimeters, lower than the previous record of 20 centimeters recorded a few days earlier. 

At the Duisburg-Ruhrort station, a figure of 145 centimeters was 3 centimeters shallower than the previous low point from Sunday. 

These levels do not indicate the absolute depth of the river at its mid-point, but rather are measured nearer the banks and used as references to help shipping companies calculate their carrying capacity and clearance. They are also not directly comparable as they do not have the same levels for their nominal zeroes.

Cologne’s reading dipped another 7 centimeters lower than its previous low-point, to 60 centimeters.

And in Emmerich, the standard measuring point has been useless for several days now, as it is currently entirely dry. But the special replacement probe being used instead now registers the level at 6 centimeters below the typical yardstick.

German slaughterhouses have produced just under 3.4 million metric tons of meat in the first half of 2026, down 0.4% from the same period last year.

That represented a decline of around 14,700 metric tons, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office.

Around 24 million pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and horses were slaughtered, along with 343.2 million chickens, turkeys and ducks.

Pork remained, by far, Germany’s biggest meat category, accounting for 63.7% of total production.

Output rose 0.5% to around 2.2 million metric tons, while the number of pigs slaughtered increased by the same percentage to 22.2 million.

Poultry meat production dropped 3.2% to around 755,000 metric tons, despite the number of birds slaughtered falling by a smaller 0.8%.

Beef production was virtually unchanged, slipping 0.1% to 462,200 metric tons.

Poultry accounted for 22.3% of German meat production and beef for 13.7%.

Police are carrying out a large-scale search at Leipzig/Halle Airport as the investigation into an explosive-laden drone continues.

Around 100 officers were moving on foot in a line across the area near the northern runway, according to a DPA news agency reporter at the scene.

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that investigative measures were underway at the airport, but officials did not say what officers were specifically looking for.

The northern runway has been closed since 10 a.m. because of the search. Passenger flights are not affected.

The investigation began after a drone carrying an explosive device was found on the southern runway overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

A second flying object subsequently collided with a cargo aircraft that had been forced to abort its landing because of the runway closure.

The aircraft was diverted to Hanover, where minor damage was discovered.

Federal police specialists defused the explosive device found overnight Tuesday.

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has upheld the detention of convicted left-wing extremist Lina E. after she refused to testify in a separate trial.

The Karlsruhe court rejected her appeal against six months of coercive detention ordered by the Higher Regional Court in Dresden to compel her to give evidence.

The judges found that E. could not invoke a blanket right to refuse to answer questions because she had already been definitively convicted over the acts she was being asked about.

Giving evidence, therefore, posed no risk of her being prosecuted again for the same offenses, the court said.

Lina E. and three co-defendants were sentenced to several years in prison in 2023 over attacks on actual or suspected right-wing extremists in Germany. The remainder of her sentence was suspended on probation in May.

At the end of June, she was called to testify in a separate Dresden trial involving seven suspected left-wing extremists accused of offenses including membership in or support for a criminal organization.

E. refused to give evidence, prompting the court to order six months of coercive detention and take her into custody immediately.

The Federal Court’s rejection of her appeal means that the detention order is now final.

Bayern Munich has renewed its call for other Bundesliga clubs to do more to build the league’s profile abroad as the German champions wrap up a tour of South Korea and Hong Kong.

“Internationalization cannot be a solo effort by one club. We all have to do it together in the Bundesliga, and the Bundesliga has to step up significantly,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said in Hong Kong.

“It cannot be that Bayern alone is pulling the cart,” he added, calling for much more active support from across the league.

RB Leipzig travelled to South Africa after last season, Borussia Dortmund visited Japan this summer and second-tier Paderborn is due to travel to the United States in September.

However, Bayern board member for marketing and sales Rouven Kasper pointed to attendance at the league’s internationalization commission, saying only 19 of 36 clubs turned up to its annual meeting.

“That already shows that many simply have no interest,” he said.

Germany’s National Security Council has met to discuss the explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig/Halle Airport earlier this week.

The talks were held by telephone on Friday and chaired by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said.

Merz, who is currently on holiday, has remained in “constant contact” with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and other members of the government over the incident.

The drone was discovered by an airport employee overnight Tuesday into Wednesday in a secure cargo area. Federal police specialists defused an explosive device attached to it.

Several Ukrainian cargo aircraft were nearby at the time. Leipzig/Halle Airport is used as a hub for military aid shipments to Ukraine.

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation on Thursday because of what it described as the case’s “particular significance.”

Suspicion has focused on Russia, but investigators have so far presented no evidence linking Moscow to the incident.

A huge fire at a farm near the city of Augsburg in the southern German state of Bavaria has killed more than 1,000 pigs.

The pig barn and a second building were fully engulfed in flames on Thursday evening, fire officials said.

Firefighters battled the blaze throughout the night and continued to extinguish hotspots on Friday morning. Local farmers joined the response, using tractors to bring large water tanks to the scene.

Heavy smoke initially prompted authorities to tell nearby residents to keep windows and doors closed, although police later said there was no longer any danger to the public.

A nearby state road remained closed, and motorists were asked to avoid the area.

Investigators have not yet worked out what caused the blaze and said there were no initial signs of arson.

The remains of the barn were initially too dangerous to enter, but officials said they believed none of the animals inside had survived.

Police, citing the farmer, said around 1,600 pigs had been housed there, while the fire service put the number at between 1,200 and 1,300.

German energy giant RWE has abandoned several planned offshore wind projects in the United States after reaching a $1.22 billion (just over €1 billion) settlement with the Trump administration.

Under the agreement with the US Interior Department, RWE’s American wind subsidiary will drop claims against the government and return offshore lease rights for sites off New York, California and Louisiana.

The Essen-based company said it had already invested more than $1 billion in developing the projects.

“After careful consideration, it was determined that these projects in the US have no realistic prospect of obtaining permits for the foreseeable future,” RWE said.

The company now plans to redirect investment toward liquefied natural gas and other gas projects in the United States.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked wind power, calling turbines ugly and describing green energy policies as a “green scam.”

German exports have climbed to a record high, with companies shipping goods worth €139.3 billion ($160.5 billion) abroad in June.

That narrowly beat the previous peak set in September 2022, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office.

Imports also rose strongly, leaving Germany with a trade surplus of €15.4 billion.

The United States remained Germany’s biggest export market, but shipments there fell sharply from May.

Exports to the UK increased, while those to China were broadly stable.

China remained Germany’s biggest source of imports, with purchases from the country rising strongly during the month.

Across the first six months of 2026, German exports were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, while imports rose 4.4%.

Germany still recorded a sizeable trade surplus of €105 billion over the period.

Germany’s industrial production has risen for a third consecutive month, adding to signs that the country’s struggling manufacturing sector may be stabilizing.

Output increased by 0.2% in June from the previous month, following a revised 0.7% rise in May, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Economists had expected production to remain unchanged.

The automotive industry provided much of the boost, with output rising 3.6% from May.

Production of other transport equipment, including aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles, jumped 8.4%, while mechanical engineering output fell 3.9%.

Overall industrial production was still 0.1% lower than in June last year.

“The industrial downturn now appears to be over,” said Jens-Oliver Niklasch, an economist at German regional bank LBBW. “We have achieved a certain degree of stability.”

Niklasch said recent economic data provided grounds for cautious optimism heading into the second half of the year, although energy supplies, geopolitical tensions and low river levels remained risks.

“All in all, however, things looked worse four or five months ago than they do today,” he said.