Germany news: ESA plans for German astronaut to head to moon

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected US interference in German migration policy.

"We don't need admonitions from outside," Merz said, adding, "migration policy is our business, and we decide on it as we see fit."

He was responding to a directive from the US State Department to civil servants in Western countries to push for stricter immigration rules in Europe, Canada and Australia.

Merz said migration decisions are for Europeans alone, and Germany is on the right path.

His comments follow a State Department directive urging diplomats to push for stricter immigration rules in Europe, Canada and Australia.

"Mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization and undermines the stability of key American allies," a text from the US State Department published last week on X stated.  

Merz's government has pledged to curb irregular migration to Germany, and has sought to accelerate deportations for people who asylum claims have been rejected.

Merz has also come under fire in recent weeks for remarks about migration in Germany.

The German president honored football legend Toni Kroos with the country's highest civilian award.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented him Germany's Federal Order of Merit at Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium, where Kroos spent a decade with Real Madrid.

Besides his time at Real Madrid, Kroos also won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, and six Champions Leagues.

"You have thrilled soccer fans in Germany, Spain, and around the world with your technical brilliance, your precision, and your unique understanding of the game," Steinmeier said. "Today we honor one of the most successful German athletes of all time."

The German president also praised Kroos for his calm leadership and charity work. The football star's foundation supports seriously ill children and their families.

"It's extremely special for me, not only to receive this award, but also where I'm receiving it. This stadium has been my home for the
last 10 years and I believe it always will be," Kroos said. 

He ended his football career last year by winning the Champions League and participating in the UEFA European Championship.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he will try to persuade US President Donald Trump to reverse his decision to exclude South Africa from next year's G20 summit in Florida.

"In my view, the G7 and G20 are formats that should not be made smaller without good reason," Merz told reporters in Berlin.

"The American government is needlessly relinquishing influence, including influence in a part of the world that is becoming increasingly important," Merz added.

Trump said Wednesday he is barring South Africa, a founding G20 member, from next year’s summit over what he calls genocide of white people there, a claim that's widely discredited.

The US also boycotted the G20 leaders' meeting in Johannesburg earlier this month.

South Africa condemned what it calls Trump's "punitive measures... based on misinformation and distortions about our country."

The two nations have also clashed over South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Trump also imposed 30% tariffs on South African imports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

Germany, Italy, France and Britain condemned the "massive increase in settler violence against Palestinian civilians" in the occupied West Bank. 

"These attacks must stop. They sow terror among civilians, they are harmful to the ongoing peace efforts and for the lasting security of the State of Israel itself," the countries said in a joint statement.

They insisted Israel uphold international law and "protect the Palestinian population of the occupied territories."

"We therefore urge the Government of Israel to hold accountable those responsible for these crimes and to prevent further violence by addressing the root causes of this behavior," the countries said.

In August, Israel approved a controversial plan to allow new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Under the plan, 3,000 housing units have been approved over the last three weeks, bringing the total to 28,000 new units since January.

"We call upon the Government of Israel to reverse its policy," the four countries said.

They also said Israel's continued withholding of tax revenues belonging to the Palestinian Authority is unjustifiable.

European nations are boosting the European Space Agency (ESA) to nearly €22.1 billion ($25.6 billion) over the next three years. 

That's about five billion more than member states pledged in 2022, and almost matches the agency's proposed figure.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher thanked the 23 member nations for their support, saying it shows space is an "economic sector that is growing very fast."

"It is also more and more important for security and defence, and it is a domain where Europe has to catch up," he added.

Germany, one of the largest contributors, plans to raise its share to over € 5 billion, up from just under €3.5 billion last time.

Berlin says the extra funding will strengthen satellite communications, Earth observation, and navigation, areas seen as vital for jobs and security amid global tensions.

German Space Minister Dorothee Bär said, "an incredible number of jobs depend on space travel, but so does our security."

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel called reports that she partially blamed Poland and the Baltic states for Russia's war on Ukraine "fake news."

Speaking to German public broadcaster Phoenix, the former German chancellor said a passage from her autobiography was taken out of context.

Merkel explained that while those countries opposed her proposed dialogue with Moscow in 2021, this was never about assigning blame.

"None of us, everyone, me, everyone else, was able to prevent this war," Merkel said. 

She stressed the war in Ukraine is Russia's aggression under President Vladimir Putin.

"This war broke out, it has changed our world, it is an aggression by the Russian Federation, the Russian Republic, [Russian President]
Vladimir Putin," Merkel said. 

She also dismissed claims the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if she were still in office, calling them "speculative."

A Ukrainian under suspicion of coordinating the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline has been extradited from Italy to Germany on Thursday, judicial sources told the German dpa news agency.

The 2022 attack targeted the pipeline bringing Russian gas directly to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Both Moscow and the West described it as an act of sabotage.

The suspect, identified under German privacy laws only as Serhii K., was arrested in Italy's Rimini in August on a European warrant.

The charges against him include collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.

His lawyer Nicola Canestrini has said he is confident of an acquittal following a trial in Germany, despite having fought extradition.

Another suspect, identified by German authorities as Volodymyr Z., was arrested in Poland in September. A Polish court ruled last month against his extradition.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) plans on sending a German astronaut to the moon as part of the "Artemis" mission.

This was announced by the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, on the sidelines of the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen.

"I have decided that the first Europeans to fly to the moon will be part of the Artemis program. We are looking for a German astronaut to join the crew," he said.

While it's not known who would make it to the moon, two candidates could be considered, German ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst (49) and Matthias Maurer (55).

It could still be years before the mission takes place, if at all.

The US is looking to send astronauts back to the moon with the Artemis program with four US astronauts scheduled to orbit the moon in the first half of 2026.

In 2027, Artemis 3 is expected to see astronauts land on the moon again after more than half a century.

A man who poured petrol on his wife before setting her alight on a tram in the eastern German city of Gera has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Georgian national was found guilty of attempted murder and aggravated assault. He was ordered to pay €75,000 ($87,000) in compensation.

Judge Uwe Tonndorf said the man tried to kill his wife because she wanted to end their marriage. She suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack.

"You have destroyed your family and your own life at the same time," Tonndorf said.

The convicted man immigrated to Germany in 2018, and his wife and children later followed.

The man knew that other passengers could be injured in the March attack, so he fled before attempting to take his own life. He later surrendered to the police.

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According to a survey published by Bild newspaper and conducted by INSA, 54% of respondents think the current German government is likely to collapse before the end of its legislative term in 2029.

The coalition, comprised of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), was formed following a general election in February that was triggered by the collapse of the previous government.

Of those polled, 29% said they believed the coalition government would last, while 11% of respondents provided no answer.

The majority of supporters of Merz's conservative bloc (56%) believed the coalition would last.

INSA said its survey involved interviewing over 1,000 eligible voters between November 21 and 24.

The survey comes amid an atmosphere of tension inside the coalition over planned pension reforms.

The proposal for Germany's pension system, which is facing the challenges inherent in an aging society, have come under criticism even from within Merz's conservative bloc.

At the heart of the issue is an agreement by conservatives and the center-left to prop up pensions until 2031 at the current level of 48% of the income of an average earner.

The CDU/CSU's youth organization has called on young conservative lawmakers not to approve the pension package in its current form, arguing that it is too expensive and puts an undue burden on younger workers and future generations. 

Authorities in Turkey confirmed that the death of a German family in Istanbul while on vacation was result of chemical poisoning.

Turkish prosecutors said a forensic report established that the cause of death of the family of four was insecticide used for pest control.

The German family with Turkish roots had been staying in a hotel in Istanbul's Fatih district when on November 12, they fell ill. They initially went to the hospital and then returned to the hotel. 

The following day, they were taken to the hospital by ambulance with both children, aged six and three, dying that day.

Their mother died on November 14, while their father died on November 17.

Food poisoning had initially been suspected and a number of street food vendors were detained. An autopsy, however, later confirmed the family members died of other causes.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency previously cited a preliminary report submitted to the prosecutor's office saying phosphine gas, an insecticide metabolite, was found on towels, masks and swab samples taken from various parts of the hotel room.

Six people who were arrested during the investigation, including the hotel owner and the owner of the pest control company, remain in
custody.

Guten Tag from the newsroom here in Bonn!

Today, there is news out of Turkey confirming the cause of death of a German-Turkish family who died while visiting Istanbul earlier this month.

Authorities have been in a race to establish the cause of death with food poisoning initially suspected.

There is also a survey of Germans who feel Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition government won't make it to the end of its term in 2029 as scheduled.

Stay with us as we bring you updates from the day's events in Europe's biggest economy on November 27.