Germany news: Last day of campaigning before state election

A passer-by in the German town of Gießen called police after finding 35 human teeth on a pavement.

The teeth were largely intact, but it remains unclear why they had been left there.

They were sent for forensic testing and it was then determined the teeth once belonged to human beings.

An investigation has been launched and police are asking the public to come forward with more information about the teeth's origin.

German authorities coincidentally found a drug lab while being called to provide medical help to a person in the western German city of Essen, German public broadcaster WDR reported.

This came after a 22-year-old woman called an ambulance after a 35-year-old man she knows collapsed after coming into contact with an unknown liquid.

As emergency personnel arrived at the scene to provide medical help to the man, they found several chemical substances that are used to produce drugs, and then notified the police.

After investigating the scene, police found a drug lab in a flat of another suspect, with both men being taken into custody.

A court in Bremen ruled that a police trainee will be allowed to wear his turban along with his uniform while on duty in public.

The trainee is a practicing Sikh, with the turban being worn for religious reasons.

The president of the local police force and the trainee's superiors had told him to remove his turban while facing the public during the practical part of his studies.

After he refused to do so, he had to complete the course's practical part in an internal role, without dealing with the public, and the trainee said this violated his freedom of religion, education and occupation.

The Bremen Administrative Court then accepted his urgent application against his superiors' decision, which means he will be able to wear his turban on a provisional basis until a final ruling is made.

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has said the government is preparing a new law to criminalize pornographic deepfakes, accelerating efforts to tackle digital violence against women.

The move follows a complaint by actress Collien Fernandes, who has spoken out about deepfake pornography and filed a case alleging identity theft and sexualized digital abuse against her former husband.

Hubig's ministry spokesman Eike Hosemann said a draft law is "practically finished" and will be presented "very soon," aiming to close gaps in current legislation.

Creating and distributing such content should be explicitly punishable, the minister said, warning perpetrators that they must expect to be identified and prosecuted.

The draft also includes civil measures to make it easier for victims to act against platforms, including rights to obtain information on perpetrators and enforce account suspensions.

Officials say enforcement remains complex due to international networks and rapidly evolving technologies.

Politicians across parties have backed stronger protections, while advocacy groups warn Germany's legal system is not yet equipped to deal with this form of violence.

The German Women's Council said the Fernandes case shows urgent need for reform, arguing the legal system is not yet equipped to handle this form of abuse.

Fernandes has also made serious allegations against her ex-husband, actor Christian Ulmen, accusing him of creating and distributing AI-generated pornographic images of her. Ulmen denies the accusations.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sharply criticized Hungary for blocking progress on a major EU loan to Ukraine, calling it a breach of trust.

Merz described Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's stance as a "serious violation of member state loyalty" that damages the EU's credibility and ability to act.

He said the dispute has deeply angered many leaders and warned it could leave lasting political consequences.

Germany is backing the previously agreed €90 billion ($104 billion) loan for Ukraine, which had been unanimously approved, including by Hungary before Orban's U-turn.

A major international men's handball tournament featuring German side Füchse Berlin has been moved from Las Vegas to Europe due to political uncertainty.

The event had been scheduled for August 1 to 9 in Las Vegas, with top clubs including France's HBC Nantes, Denmark's Aalborg Handbold, and Hungary's Pick Szeged set to take part, alongside a parallel women's tournament.

"Given the current unpredictable political climate between the US and Europe, we have decided to host the first event in Europe," said organiser Mads Winther, CEO of organising company Pro Handball USA.

"We have assessed the situation and must acknowledge that, given the current circumstances, the risk of encountering unforeseen challenges that could have a negative impact on the project is too great."

The new European host location has not yet been announced, while future editions in 2027 and 2028 are still planned for the US.

German authorities say they have shut down two of the world’s largest "botnets" as part of a joint three-nation operation. 

Each of the networks hijacked millions of compromised everyday devices to conduct cyberattacks.

German investigators on Friday said they had worked with partners in the US and Canada to shut down infrastructure linked to the "Aisuru" and "Kimwolf" networks.

The so-called botnets, made up of millions of infected devices, were used for large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that can overwhelm entire websites and online services.

Read Richard Connor's article here.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius departs for a one-week trip to Asia on Friday. 

Before returning on March 28, Pistorius will spend time with defense and security officials in Japan, Singapore and Australia as Germany and its partners seek to navigate shifting geopolitical realities and the consequences of global conflict.

At the moment, US President Donald Trump is pressuring allies to join in the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran, which has, among other things, led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — paralyzing global oil supplies and driving prices sky high around the world.

Pistorius on Friday said any German participation in operations ensuring the safe passage of vessels through the strait "would depend on the situation after a ceasefire, and whether we could participate within the framework of an international mandate."

He also addressed concerns that Iran has expressed about US military installations operating inside Germany, namely Ramstein Air Base, the largest US base in the country.

On Thursday, Tehran's ambassador to Germany formally asked Berlin to clarify the role that Ramstein plays in US operations in its war on Iran in order to ascertain whether Berlin may be in violation of UN Resolution 3314 by allowing the US to attack Iran from its territory.

The German Foreign Office has not responded to the query but Pistorius said, "There is currently no reason to doubt the legality of the use of Ramstein."

A state prosecutor and an accomplice await verdicts in a trial involving bribery and sensitive police information. 

A Hanover prosecutor is accused of providing international drug gangs with inside information to aid their criminal endeavors in exchange for cash. 

Another man on trial with him is accused of operating as a conduit between the lawyer and gangs in 12 instances.

In at least one such instance, the gangsters were warned of a pending police raid, allowing bosses to flee the country before authorities struck. 

One of the escaped men was reportedly arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this February. 

The information was provided to gangsters between June 2020 and March 2021. 

Police began an investigation into the case in 2022 but dropped it in October 2023 after failing to find incriminating evidence during searches of the accused lawyer's home and office.  

The case was reopened in June 2024 and went to trial in April 2025.

Days ago, an individual in charge of the gangs' logistics was sentenced to eleven-and-a-half years in prison. The man's testimony in a sentence-reducing appeal case is said to have opened the door for restarting the investigation of the bad lawyer and his accomplice in 2024. 

In his closing statement on Friday, the disgraced former-prosecutor admitted guilt in nine of the fourteen charges against him, saying he alone is responsible for his actions, adding, "I disappointed a lot of people and I deeply regret that."

State prosecutors in the case are calling for sentences of eight-and-a-half-years prison for the lawyer and a one-year-and-ten-month suspended sentence for his accomplice.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to travel to Rhineland-Palatinate on Friday afternoon, where he will join his party's candidate for the post of premier ahead of parliamentary elections in the western state on Sunday.

Merz will stump for his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and top candidate Gordon Schneider as they challenge the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) dominance in the state. 

The SPD, which got clobbered in Baden-Württemberg's recent state election, has seen its star fade over the past several years and looks potentially more vulnerable than at any time since it took control of the state 35 years ago. Voter polling currently has the SPD and CDU running neck-and-neck.  

Friday's campaign finale will see Rhineland-Palatinate's incumbent State Premier Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) campaigning in his hometown of Landau; while Merz and Schneider will try to drum up support in Bad Dürkheim, just a few miles down the road.

Guten Morgen from the Bonn newsroom. We start out this Friday with the sentencing of a state prosecutor on trial for aiding international drug gangs by passing them useful police information in exchange for cash. A second man is on trial for working as a middleman in the scheme.

Elsewhere, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to join his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party's final campaign rally in Rhineland-Palatinate before Sunday state elections. Merz will lend support to Gordon Schneider as he attempts to wrest control of the state from the Social Democrats (SPD), who have led it for the past 35 years.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also kicks off a one-week tour of Asia this Friday, where he will visit allies in Japan, Singapore and Australia. 

Stay tuned to DW throughout the day for more information on these and other stories making headlines in Germany this Friday, March 20, 2026.