Germany updates: Police make massive Captagon bust in east

07/13/2025July 13, 2025

Top court to rule on German role in US drone strikes abroad

The Federal Constitutional Court will decide on Tuesday whether Germany has an obligation to protect third-country citizens from US drone missions that depend on data from US bases in Germany — specifically from Ramstein Air Base in the southwest.

The top court will rule in a case brought on appeal by two Yemeni citizens who say the German government did not do enough to prevent the killing of civilians in their village. Lower courts have been unable to definitively answer the question, though Berlin vehemently denies any negligence.

The men say Germany has an obligation to protect their right to life and that Berlin must investigate — and if necessary — stop the US from carrying out such missions.

Berlin says Washington has given guarantees that it is not violating international humanitarian law and that no US drones are launched, landed or controlled from Ramstein. The base, says the US, merely serves as a data relay point linking the Pentagon to drones at other sites — in this case Yemen — using satellite technology.

Berlin has said it has done enough and that to take further steps would put its EU and NATO relations into question.

The German government says that Berlin and Washington maintain "an ongoing and trusted dialog" when it comes to activities at Ramstein.

The Constitutional Court will now determine whether Germany has any such third-party obligations and whether Ramstein's role as a data relay represents a substantial enough German territorial tie to warrant German intervention.

07/13/2025July 13, 2025

Massive amphetamine find at eastern German green grocer

Police in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt say they have made what is likely one of the largest-ever discoveries of fenethylline in German. Better known under the brand name Captagon, the amphetamine was discovered hidden among pallets full of oil-producing fruits and vegetables at a grocery store in the city of Landsberg.

Police seized 20 pallets on Saturday.

Authorities say some 300 kilos of the drug — in the form of 1.7 million pills — has an estimated street value of €20 million ($22 million).  

Police and prosecutors said, "This is likely one of the largest single seizures of this substance in Germany," adding that investigations are ongoing.

07/13/2025July 13, 2025

Welcome to our Sunday coverage

Jon Shelton | Saim Dušan Inayatullah

Guten Tag from Bonn!

Following the pause, DW resumes its coverage of news and analysis from Germany.

On Sunday, German police announced the biggest discovery of Captagon amphetamines in the country's history. Authorities in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt say some 300 kilograms (around 661 pounds) of the drug were discovered in delivery pallets at a local vegetable shop. 

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court will also rule this Tuesday on whether Berlin has an obligation to halt US drone missions in third-countries that depend on assistance from US bases in Germany.

Stay tuned for more, and we hope you enjoy reading!

07/13/2025July 13, 2025

Starmer to discuss unauthorized migration with Merz

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the coming days to discuss border security, calling irregular migration "a global problem."

In an op-ed for the Sunday Express, Starmer wrote that Merz's visit will include talks on "what more we can do together to prosecute criminal networks and prevent people smuggling to the U.K."

"The networks of these criminal gangs stretch across countless countries and legal systems, showing no respect for our borders," he wrote.

"We'll go further to tackle this shared issue together," he added.

07/13/2025July 13, 2025

We're pausing our coverage

Saturday was a fairy tale for Germany’s castles, and a horror story for its women's football team. 

Let’s say the only thing getting defended well was Neuschwanstein.

What surprises does Sunday have in store? Join us again in the morning as we continue our coverage.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Sweden crushes Germany at the Euros

Sweden made the most of Germany defender Carlotta Wamser's expulsionImage: Miguel Medina/AFP

Sweden made a big statement at the Women’s European Championship with a dominant 4-1 win over Germany.

Both teams had already secured a spot in the quarterfinals, but this result gives Sweden a potentially smoother path to the final.

Sweden will face the runner-up of Group D in the quarter-finals, with Germany facing the team that tops that group. That will be France,
England or the Netherlands.

Read how it went wrong for Germany by clicking here.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Boat accident at Eibsee: Bodies of father and son found

Eibsee lake in southern Germany is popular among both tourists and localsImage: Elke Münzel/CHROMORANGE/picture alliance

One week after a father and his son went missing in Eibsee lake in southern Germany, rescue teams have recovered their bodies, German police reported Saturday.

Investigators believe that the 6-year-old boy fell into the lake while the family of four was out on the Eibsee, a Bavarian Alpine lake located at the foot of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze.

His 33-year-old father jumped in to rescue the child, but neither of them resurfaced, police said, adding that there are no signs of foul play.

The mother and the couple's daughter were also on the pedal boat at the time. The family is from the southern state of Bavaria, according to the police.

Emergency responders conducted an intensive, week-long search operation to find the pair.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Which Bavarian palaces have been added to the World Heritage list?

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Economy Minister Reiche calls for 'pragmatic' tariff solution

Economy Minister Katherina Reiche is calling for a pragmatic solution to the escalating trade warImage: Katharina Kausche/dpa/picture alliance

Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said that the US tariffs "would hit European exporting companies hard," following US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would impose 30% tariffs on all EU goods.

"At the same time, they would also have a strong impact on the economy and consumers on the other side of the Atlantic," Reiche said in an emailed statement.

"A pragmatic outcome to the negotiations must be reached quickly," she added.

You can read more about the reactions to Trump's tariff announcement on Saturday in our special blog.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

WATCH: What makes Neuschwanstein castle so fascinating?

The Bavarian castle, which inspired the young Walt Disney, is one of the most popular attractions in Germany.

Now it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What makes it so magical? 

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

UNESCO puts Bavarian castles on World Heritage List

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Saturday announced the newest additions to its list of designated World Heritage Sites during an annual meeting in Paris.

Several sites in Germany were added to the list, namely, the castles and residences of King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886).

Built in the 1800s in different historicizing styles and defamed as a fanciful if not mad waste of money at the time, the sites have been tourist magnets for nearly 140 years. 

The UNESCO designation will no doubt increase the number of people visiting the sites. Some 1.7 million individuals, many of them foreign tourists, visited the castles in 2024. 

Politicians in the southern German state of Bavaria have fought for the designation for a quarter century. 

Known around the world — in large part due to the Disney corporation's use of Neuschwanstein as a model for various castles, as well as the image of the palace perched on an outcropping and surrounded by Alpine forests — Neuschwanstein Castle, Herrenchiemsee Palace, Linderhof Castle and the King's House on Schachen were all added to the list Saturday. 

"The inclusion of the palaces on the World Heritage List is an outstanding tribute to these impressive places," said German Unesco Commission President Maria Böhmer.

"They are all architectural masterpieces and bear witness to the artistic imagination, but also the eccentricity of the fairytale king."
 
Prior to Saturday's additions, there were 54 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany. Globally, there are some 1,223 World Heritage Sites in 168 different countries.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Thyssenkrupp and IG Metall reach labor agreement

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and labor union IG Metall announced on Saturday that they have reached agreement over hard fought cost-cutting measures at the German industrial company.

A collective restructuring agreement came Saturday after three days of negotiations, with management and labor seeking to put the company back in the black by 2030.

ThyssenKrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, has struggled with rising energy prices and cheap imports from Asia of late.

In order to combat that trend, lay-offs — up to 10,000 of them — and the cancellation of various bonuses will be undertaken, with laborers taking home less pay in the future. 

"We are reducing excess capacity, improving efficiency, and can thus achieve a competitive cost structure," said Marie Jaroni, a member of the company's executive board, in describing the company's long-term viability.

Regional IG Metall leader Knut Geisler noted that concessions made by ThyssenKrupp regarding firings and investment had softened the impact of the agreement.

Now IG Metall union members at ThyssenKrupp must approve the deal.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Interior minister says spat over judicial appointments doesn't weaken Constitutional Court

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Saturday said recent parliamentary wrangling within the ruling coalition over the appointment of judges to the Federal Constitutional Court do not weaken the institution.

Dobrindt, of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), was reacting to criticism by opposition parties but also from coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD) who accused the CDU/CSU of "deliberately dismantling our highest German court and our democratic institutions."

Speaking with radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Dobrindt said, "I don't see any damage to the Federal Constitutional Court at all." 

Germany's Bundestag had been scheduled to vote on three appointments to the bench on Friday but the vote was torpedoed when the conservative CDU/CSU bloc unexpectedly withdrew support for a candidate put forth by the SPD over plagiarism accusations.

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

Welcome to our Saturday coverage

Guten Tag from Bonn!

Following the pause, DW resumes its coverage of news and analysis from Germany.

On Saturday, Germany awaits news from Paris, where the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO is expected to decide whether to grant World Heritage status to the castles of Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee, and Linderhof, as well as the royal residence on Schachen Mountain in Upper Bavaria.

Stay tuned for more, and we hope you enjoy reading!

07/12/2025July 12, 2025

We're pausing our coverage