German satellite to board 2025 mission to the moon

As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, a tiny German satellite is preparing to join the crew.

As part of the so-called Artemis project, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will orbit the Moon several times to scope out the techniques and technology needed for landing.

This mission – known as Artemis II – will take place in September 2025, ahead of the full mission in 2026.  

A small German satellite, the Tacheles CubeSat from the Berlin-based company Neurospace GmbH, will be on board the Artemis II mission. Its aim is to conduct important tests that will aid the development of  rover – or small robot – that can land on the moon’s surface. 

“German companies from the space sector are already making a key contribution to Artemis – and thus to humankind’s return to the Moon,” said Walther Pelzer, DLR Executive Board Member and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR.

“We are delighted to be able to pass on the opportunity to fly on Artemis II to a German start-up. This will strengthen Germany’s position as a centre for space travel in the long term.”

State leaders to debate hikes in broadcast licence fees

A sweeping reform of Germany’s public broadcasters is set to move ahead next week as state premiers meet to discuss ways to streamline operations and avoid job cuts.

Alongside plans to reduce radio programmes and cut niche TV channels from the schedule, one key topic on the table is whether to increase the Rundfunkbetrag, or licence fee, by around 60 cents per month. 

Currently, the fee, which households and businesses pay to fund ARD, ZDF, and Deutschlandradio, is set to rise from €18.36 to €18.94 per month, following a recommendation by the Commission for Determining the Financial Needs of Broadcasters (KEF).

While states are expected to follow KEF’s recommendations, some leaders have expressed reluctance, citing insufficient public support.

If the state premiers and regional parliaments approve the reform, there will be further consultations over funding and potential fee hikes in the coming months. 

Volkswagen ‘could cut up to 30,000 jobs’ in Germany

According to media reports, Germany’s ailing Volkswagen Group could cut up to 30,000 jobs in the coming months as it struggles to gain control of its finances.

The crisis-hit car manufacturer could also cut its investment plans from €170 billion to €160 billion over the next five years, Manager Magazin reports. 

Citing high costs in its core brand VW Passenger Cars, Volkswagen cancelled a decades-old job security agreement with the trade unions this month and raised the spectre of plant closures. 

Though the company has remained tight-lipped on potential job losses, the move has set it at loggerheads with Germany’s largest union: steelworkers’ union IG Metall. 

Negotiations to thrash out a new collective agreement are set to begin on September 25th. 

READ ALSO: Will there be job losses and plant closures at Volkswagen in Germany?

Lufthansa extends suspension of Mideast flights

German airline group Lufthansa has extended a suspension of flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut, as regional tensions soared following deadly explosions in Lebanon this week.

“Flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran will be cancelled until September 24,” Lufthansa said, citing “the current situation”.

Flights to Beirut will be suspended until October 26th, it added.

“The safety of our passengers and crews is always our top priority,” Lufthansa said, adding that it would reassess the situation “in the coming days”.

Affected passengers can rebook for free or ask for a refund.

Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Iran-backed Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon in unprecedented attacks this week, killing 37 people and wounding more than 2,900 others.

The Lufthansa group, whose carriers also include SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, has repeatedly modified its flight schedule in recent months due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, as have other airlines.

Munich to rename stadium street after Beckenbauer

A street next to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena stadium will be renamed to honour German football great Franz Beckenbauer who died earlier this year, the city council announced Thursday.

Part of the street, currently called Werner Heisenberg Allee, which runs alongside the stadium in the north of the city will be renamed Franz Beckenbauer Platz.

The change means the stadium, which is set to host the Champions League final in May 2025, will officially be situated at Franz Beckenbauer Platz 5 – the midfielder’s shirt number.

Beckenbauer, nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’ for his dominant style on the field, was one of the greatest players of all time.

He died in January aged 78 and the Munich City Council announced the change will take effect on the first anniversary of his death, on January 7th, 2025.

“Naming a street is the highest honour that the city of Munich can bestow posthumously and a sign of the deep respect and appreciation that we have for Franz Beckenbauer,” mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement.

Greece says German border controls will not result in return of ‘thousands’ of migrants

Athens has denied that tighter German border controls would result in “thousands” of migrants and asylum seekers being sent back to Greece.

Berlin has heightened security measures on its borders with several EU neighbours and said it could significantly increase the number of migrants who are denied entry into the country.

Greece is wary of accommodating additional asylum seekers, having seen large numbers of migrants flowing into the country over the last decade, mainly from neighbouring Turkey.

“There never was and still is no issue of mass returns,” Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos told state TV channel ERT.

He denied that “thousands” of migrants and refugees would be deported to Greece as a result of the new German policy.

He said EU agreements outlined “a very limited number” of people being sent back to Greece, the first point of arrival for many trying to enter the European Union’s visa-free Schengen Area.

Germany earlier this month tightened border controls with five of its EU neighbours – France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark – to curb the flow of irregular migrants.

It had already rolled out similar measures at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.

READ ALSO: How Germany’s increased border checks will affect travel from neighbouring countries

German media giant Springer to sell classified ads business

German media giant Axel Springer said Thursday it will break up its business by selling off its digital classifieds arm to US and Canadian investors, and focus on its core news outlets.

Under the deal, Springer’s billionaire CEO Mathias Doepfner and Friede Springer – widow of the group’s founder – will assume greater control over the media business.

Its publications include Politico, mass-circulation tabloid Bild, Business Insider and Die Welt daily.

Axel Springer will “become a privately owned and operated news media and media marketing company,” Springer said in a statement announcing the deal.

The classifieds business will become separate entities under US private equity firm KKR and CPP Investments, a Canadian pension fund, Springer said.

It includes the job portal StepStone and the Aviv Group with real estate portals such as Seloger in France and Immowelt in Germany.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

The group did not say how much the businesses were worth. But the Financial Times said under the break-up deal, they were valued at €13.5 billion: €3.5 billion for the media business, and €10 billion for the classified ads.

Friede Springer said her vision had been for Axel Springer to be a “privately owned and operated company. The realisation of this vision now fills me with great joy”.

With reporting by Imogen Goodman and DPA