Germany news: Baltic summit plans hybrid-threat task force

A German court on Friday sentenced an 81-year-old man to life in prison for the rape and murder of a US tourist over 30 years ago.

Amy Lopez was 24 when she was raped and killed by the convicted man in 1994.

Hans S., whose last name is not given as per Germany’s privacy laws, was only arrested earlier this year, when police were finally able to identify him using new DNA technology.

Read more on the 81-year-old’s trial and how police managed to arrest him over three decades after the crime here.

German Bundesliga sides Bayer Leverkusen, TSG Hoffenheim and SC Freiburg have found out their opponents in European competition for this season.

In the Europa League, Europe’s second-tier international club competition, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim will both face French giants Olympique Lyon, Turkish side Besiktas and OFI from the Greek island of Crete. 

The final of this year’s Europa League will take place in Frankfurt — extra motivation for the German clubs to reach a final on home soil.

In the third-tier Conference League, SC Freiburg will also face Greek and Turkish opposition in the form of Panathinaikos and Trabzonspor respectively. The latter made headlines this summer when they signed Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

Last season, Freiburg reached the final of the Europa League in Istanbul, where they lost to Aston Villa. Coincidentally, this season’s Conference League final will also be in Istanbul, in the same stadium, so Freiburg will be aiming for redemption.

The full draws:

Bayer Leverkusen (Europa League):
Olympique Marseille (h)
Olympique Lyon (a)
RB Salzburg (h)
Dinamo Zagreb (a)
NK Celje (h)
Lech Poznan (a)
Besiktas (h)
OFI Crete (a)

TSG Hoffenheim (Europa League):
Olympique Lyon (h)
Olympiacos (a)
Ferencvaros (h)
Anderlecht (a)
Sturm Graz (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Besiktas (h)
OFI Crete (a)

SC Freiburg (Conference League):
Panathinaikos (h)
Monaco (a)
FC Twente (h)
Trabzonspor (a)
FK Jablonec (h)
FK Kauno Zalgiris (a)

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the eastern German state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, failed on Friday in an attempt to topple State Premier Mario Voigt of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) with a vote of no-confidence.

Standing himself for the position of state premier, Höcke received only 33 votes in the 88-seat state parliament, while 49 lawmakers voted against him. There were three abstentions.

It was the second time this year that Höcke, who a German court ruled in 2019 may legally be described as a “fascist,” has attempted to unseat Voigt in the Thuringian state parliament, or Landtag.

Like on the first occasion, Höcke once again argued that Voigt’s recently revoked doctorate renders him unsuitable to head up the state government. Voigt had an appeal rejected by the University of Chemnitz last month, prompting Höcke’s latest no-confidence vote.

“You are a plagiarist,” he told Voigt, and described his coalition with the center-left  Social Democrats (SPD) and the left-wing populist BSW as a “plunder gang.”

Voigt, on the other hand, said the vote in his favor was a strong show of support and told Höcke: “I won’t allow you to drag me down.”

The vote in Thuringia came a week ahead of key local elections in the neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD have a significant lead in the polls and could potentially form a majority far-right government.

European 200 meter champion Owen Ansah plans to challenge the German Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) proposal to suspend him for failing to provide a sample on demand. 

Ansah faced a 20-day deadline to accept a doping ban of four years, with a possibility of it being shortened to three, or to seek a court hearing at Germany’s sports arbitration court. 

NADA announced Ansah’s decision on Friday as the deadline expired but said it could provide no further information on the trial or its timeline. 

The case is unusual as Ansah is not accused of failing a doping test. He’s accused of refusing to provide a sample, which is treated as a direct indication of guilt. 

But Ansah has previously argued that the tester came to his hotel room out of the agreed timeframe, when he was running late for a plane, and so he refused to comply. He also argues that him providing a clean sample the next day to the World Anti-Doping Agency in a separate test rendered the issue moot. 

Most recently his lawyer said the sprinter would be making no further comments on the issue amid the likelihood of an appeal. 

Ansah has continued to compete this summer amid the dispute, winning gold in the 200 meters at the European Championships and bronze in the 100 meters, as well as 100 and 200 meter gold in the German championships. Accepting the ban would disqualify him from these competitions retroactively.

The German with Ghanaian heritage is 25, so a lengthy suspensions could effectively mean the end of his career — making it prohibitively difficult for him to maintain his performance level, and with his physical peak potentially passing amid the ban. 

A low double-digit number of German nationals are still missing after devastating flash floods along the Nepal-China border, Germany’s Foreign Office said on Friday.

A German family of four has meanwhile been rescued from the disaster zone in Nepal and flown by helicopter with other survivors to an army camp in Battar Bazar, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).

German embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing are working with the families of those missing and local authorities to establish their whereabouts.

“The full extent of these flash floods is still very difficult to assess,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said in Berlin, adding that the situation in the affected region remained “very, very unclear.”

Nepal’s tourism authorities had earlier reported eight German nationals missing. Four were part of a group of foreign pilgrims returning from a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet when contact with them was lost.

The death toll from Wednesday’s flash floods has risen to at least 543.

Germany is on course to miss its legally binding climate target this year, according to preliminary calculations by the Agora Energiewende think tank.

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by only around 7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the first half of 2026, a decline of about 2% compared with the same period last year.

Agora estimates that Germany will emit around 635 million tons of CO2 equivalent over the full year. That would exceed the country’s 2026 limit of 625 million tons.

Germany emitted 648.9 million tons in 2025.

Agora said the decline so far this year was driven largely by weak economic activity and high fossil fuel prices rather than structural progress on cutting emissions.

The think tank said the energy price shock triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had pushed up oil and gas prices and contributed to lower fossil fuel use.

Germany is required to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 65% from 1990 levels by 2030, equivalent to annual emissions of no more than 439 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Agora said meeting that goal would require emissions to fall by an average of around 40 million tonnes a year.

German prosecutors have charged a man with two counts of murder and 85 counts of attempted murder, nearly four months after a deadly car-ramming attack in the eastern city of Leipzig.

The 33-year-old German suspect is accused of driving a car at high speed through a busy pedestrian area in central Leipzig in early May.

A 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man were killed, while eight other people were injured.

Prosecutors said on Friday that the suspect is considered criminally responsible. A preliminary forensic psychiatric assessment found no evidence that he was incapable of criminal responsibility or that his responsibility was diminished.

The man had initially been placed in a psychiatric facility on suspicion that he was suffering from psychosis. Prosecutors have now asked for that order to be lifted and for an arrest warrant to be issued instead. Leipzig Regional Court has yet to decide on the request.

He has also been charged with 91 counts of serious dangerous interference with road traffic and eight counts of dangerous bodily harm.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has paid tribute to Norway’s King Harald V following the monarch’s death at the age of 89.

In a letter of condolence to Harald’s son and successor, King Haakon VIII, Steinmeier described the late monarch as a great friend of Germany and a force for reconciliation in Europe.

“The strength and devotion that he dedicated to his country every day were unparalleled,” Steinmeier wrote.

Harald had devoted his entire life to serving his country and its people, the German president said.

“Germany is losing a great friend, and Europe is losing a great reconciler,” he added.

Harald died on Friday morning after more than 35 years on the Norwegian throne. He became king on January 17, 1991, following the death of his father, King Olav V.

Steinmeier’s description of Harald as a “great reconciler” reflects the king’s role in deepening the close relationship between Norway and Germany after decades of postwar rapprochement following Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway from 1940 to 1945.

Read more here about the death of Norway’s King Harald V.

The number of unemployed people in Germany remained above three million in August despite signs of an improving economy, official figures showed on Friday.

Germany’s Federal Employment Agency said 3.061 million people were unemployed, 54,000 more than in July and 36,000 more than a year earlier.

The unemployment rate rose to 6.5% from 6.4% in July.

Adjusted for seasonal effects, unemployment increased by 4,000.

“Even in August, there is little momentum in the labor market beyond the usual seasonal pattern,” Federal Employment Agency head Andrea Nahles said, adding that the subdued trend of recent months was continuing.

Unemployment first climbed back above three million in July. Joblessness typically rises during the summer, while Germany’s weak economy has also weighed on employment.

There have recently been signs that the economic outlook is improving. The Ifo business climate index rose for a fourth consecutive month in August to its highest level in a year, while German exporters have also become more optimistic.

Germany’s grape harvest has begun earlier than ever recorded following an exceptionally hot summer, according to the German Wine Institute.

“It was the earliest start to the harvest ever in all wine-growing regions,” institute spokesman Ernst Büscher said. “Some winegrowers even cut short their holidays for it.”

The harvest has already included not only grapes for Federweisser — partially fermented young wine — and sparkling wine, but also the first grapes destined for premium wines.

Harvesting is expected to begin “on a large scale” next week.

Büscher said the main harvest was starting one to two weeks earlier than in recent years, which was already earlier than it was decades ago.

“Compared with 30 or 40 years ago, it’s certainly four weeks earlier,” he said.

The harvest could be completed as early as September because many grape varieties are ripening at roughly the same time.

“This will be a very fast harvest,” Büscher said.

Growers are also picking grapes early to prevent sugar levels from becoming too high. More sugar generally produces wines with a higher alcohol content, while demand is increasingly for lighter wines with less alcohol.

Prolonged heat can also reduce the fruit acidity characteristic of many German wines.

Germany’s Greens are calling on the government to take action over low gas storage levels ahead of the coming winter.

Michael Kellner, an energy policy expert for the Green Party, called for an urgent summit on gas supply security.

“It is frustrating to have to talk about empty gas storage facilities again, but the situation is serious,” Kellner said.

Germany’s gas storage facilities are currently around 52% full. Under existing rules, they are supposed to reach an average of 70% by November 1.

Kellner said it was unclear how that target would be achieved and warned that delays could push up costs for industry and households over the winter.

The Greens are supporting a call by the socialist Left Party for a special meeting of the Bundestag’s Economic and Energy Committee.

The Economy Ministry has said that, based on its current assessment, Germany is not expected to face a gas shortage this winter.

However, it acknowledged that the situation was more strained than during the previous two winters and that storage levels were significantly lower than in recent years.

Interior ministers and other senior officials from 10 European countries are meeting in northern Germany on Friday to discuss how to counter hybrid threats, with drone defense set to be a key focus.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) is hosting the Baltic Sea Security Summit at the German naval academy in Flensburg.

Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden are taking part, alongside Norway and Ireland, which currently holds the rotating EU Council presidency.

The talks will focus on joint “strategies for better intelligence, deterrence and defense,” according to Germany’s Interior Ministry.

Security authorities have recorded numerous suspected hybrid incidents in the Baltic Sea region, with Russia suspected of involvement in a number of cases.

The meeting follows the discovery on August 4 of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig Airport, a major hub for military aid shipments to Ukraine. Several Ukrainian cargo aircraft were nearby at the time.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said on Thursday that the government would soon identify those responsible. Dobrindt has so far referred only to “foreign powers,” although Russia is suspected.

Germany’s state interior ministers are also considering a separate meeting on drone defense, potentially in Hamburg in September.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as Germany hosts interior ministers and senior officials from 10 European countries to discuss hybrid threats.

The meeting comes after an explosives-laden drone was found at Leipzig airport on August 4, close to Ukrainian cargo aircraft used for military aid shipments.

Meanwhile Germany’s Green Party is urging action over low gas storage levels ahead of winter. The government admits the situation is more strained than in the past two winters.

Stay with us here for these stories and more of what Germany is talking about today.