Germany news: Merz campaigns, defense minister to Asia

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on the campaign trail in a state election that sees his CDU tied with the SPD, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius departs for Asia to meet counterparts. Follow DW for the latest.

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to join his party's candidate to lead Rhineland-Palatinate on the final day of campaigning before parliamentary elections in the state
• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will travel to Asia on Friday for a one-week trip to visit his counterparts in Japan, Singapore and Australia
• Pistorius has also said that he sees no reason to bar the US from using its airbase in Ramstein, Germany, to conduct military operations in Iran after Tehran demanded answers about the situation from Berlin
• A state prosecutor accused of giving classified information to international drug gangs in exchange for cash awaits a verdict in Hanover

Below, you can review headlines from across Germany from Friday, March 20: