Germany news: President Steinmeier heads to Asia

Thank you very much for reading this weekend's Germany news blog. 

We will be back with a new blog on all things Germany on Monday. Bis dann!   

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed a deal between the US and Iran to end their ongoing conflict. 

"This can pave the way towards a reinvigorated global economy and a more secure Middle East," Merz said. "It is crucial to implement with determination."   

Read more about the deal in our Iran war blog here 

Germany comprehensively beat Curacao 7-1 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener.

Inside the cool, closed Houston stadium, Germany overcame a first-half equalizer to eventually ease past their Caribbean opponents. It was the first time since 2014, when Germany won the tournament, that they won their opening World Cup game. 

Read more about the game here.

German Digital Affairs Minister Karsten Wildberger has come under fire for reportedly using artificial intelligence to prepare speeches and official texts.

According to Die Zeit newspaper, an analysis using Pangram software showed guest articles published under Wildberger's name in major newspapers were largely written by AI.

The analysis also found that a speech delivered to the Atlantic Council in Washington in July 2024 was entirely generated by AI. A number of speeches delivered in the German parliament were also mostly penned by AI.

Pangram can be used to detect AI-generated content, but experts point out that it does not provide definitive proof.

A spokesperson for the Ministry for Digital Affairs confirmed that Wildberger "uses AI as a working tool," because he is "convinced that Germany must quickly learn to use artificial intelligence in a productive yet measured way. This applies to the economy, the public sector and politics." 

The ministry said no special disclosure was made to media organizations because AI is considered to be a support tool comparable to word processing or research assistance.

The spokesperson stressed that all content is reviewed and approved by humans before publication. 

The controversy comes as Germany seeks to speed up the adoption of digital technologies.

A passenger ferry carrying around 60 people that had been stranded off Germany's North Sea island of Heligoland has been towed back to the mainland, authorities said.

The boat, named "Funny Girl," departed Büsum on Saturday morning on its regular route to Heligoland — a journey that typically takes around two and a half hours. But the boat suffered a technical malfunction and never reached its destination.

Authorities said strong winds made it impossible for the vessel to be towed to the island.

It spent several hours adrift before two tugboats eventually brought it safely to the mainland port of Cuxhaven on Saturday evening, the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service told the German press agency dpa.

Operator Adler & Eils said the vessel would now undergo technical inspection to determine the cause of the problem.

Ferry services between Büsum and Heligoland were suspended for Sunday and Monday.

German space startup Isar Aerospace says it plans to launch its Spectrum rocket on a second test flight during a launch window that opens on Monday evening.

The rocket is set to carry five small satellites and a scientific experiment into low-Earth orbit when it blasts off from Norway's Andoya Spaceport.

Spectrum's first test flight last year ended after about 30 seconds when the rocket crashed into the sea.

A second launch has been delayed for months.

An attempt initially scheduled for January had to be pushed back due to a faulty valve. A March launch was then abandoned after a fishing vessel failed to leave the safety zone around the launch site. Another attempt in April was delayed by a leaking pressure vessel.

European satellite operators currently rely heavily on Elon Musk's SpaceX for launches because Europe lacks a comparable domestically produced rocket. 

Isar Aerospace is aiming to reduce this dependence and wants to make Spectrum suitable for commercial spaceflight with fewer test flights than those required by SpaceX. 

Germany's campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has gotten underway with their Group E match up against the small island of Curacao.

Germany's heavyweights are expected to steam past their Caribbean opponents and after 6 minutes were already 1 goal up thanks to Felix Nmecha.

Goalkeeper ‌Manuel Neuer is the only member of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning team in the squad and is making his first appearance in two years after retiring from international football, before his surprise return.

The 86th anniversary of the first transport carrying prisoners to the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz has been marked by commemoration ceremonies.

A ceremony at the site of the former camp in what was then German-occupied Poland was attended, among others, by trainees from automaker Volkswagen, according to the deputy chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee, Christoph Heubner.

In remarks made in Berlin, he stressed how important it was that young people were involved in passing on the memory of the atrocities committed there.

Heubner said the first prisoners— 728 young Poles and Polish Jews — had quickly realized "in what a hell of hate and destructive intent they had ended up."

He said that, as the earliest inmates, they had used their knowledge about the camp's workings and the mentality of the SS guards to help other prisoners who came later.

"The prisoners who were deported to Auschwitz after them still today remember them with great appreciation and gratitude," he said.

Most of the first prisoners had reportedly been trying to escape Poland to join foreign forces and fight against the German occupiers of their home country.

In Auschwitz, the Nazis murdered more than a million people, including some 960,000 Jews, before the camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on January 27, 1945.

The International Auschwitz Committee was founded in 1952 by survivors of the death camp to give support to survivors and fight racism and antisemitism.   
  

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, have sent a video message to the Germany team, wishing it every success in its World Cup bid.

In the video, the couple is seen kicking a football on the lawns at Bellevue Palace, the presidential residence.

"We are sharing your sense of excitement and cross our fingers — not just my wife and I, but the whole country," Steinmeier said.

Büdenbender added: "Play with a lot of team spirit, joy and passion. We hope for lots of goals from you, and we are looking forward to the games."

Steinmeier also said he hoped that "a fifth star can be sewn on the jersey," referring to Germany's four previous victories at the tournament in 1954, 1974, 1990 und 2014.

The German president and his wife will be watching the first games in the tournament from abroad, as they are undertaking a five-day trip to Asia starting Sunday.

On Saturday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz also sent best wishes to the team, saying ""All of Germany is crossing its fingers! Everyone here is sharing the thrill!"

Germany will make its first appearance in this year's FIFA World Cup in a match against debutant Curacao in Houston, Texas.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has sent birthday wishes to Donald Trump as the US president turns 80 on Sunday. 

According to the presidential office, Steinmeier wished Trump health and happiness, as well as "wisdom, confidence and the positive power that grows from the long democratic history" of his country.

Steinmeier also mentioned the German connections of Trump, whose grandfather, Friedrich Trump, migrated to the US in 1885.

The president said the birthday offered the opportunity to "cast a look at the past and remember the special historical roots" that connected Trump's family with Germany.

 Steinmeier spoke of the "generations of brave emigrants that left their homes and build up extraordinary things in America."

Steinmeier said that the legacy of "this close connection between our two countries" should be valued and the trans-Atlantic exchange continue to be fostered.

Despite his own migrant background, Trump has enacted a harsh migration policy during his terms in office and frequently criticized Germany and Europe over a range of issues.

The number of blood donors in Germany is falling as the population ages, making it harder to supply the 15,000 blood donations needed every day, the German Red Cross (DRK) said ahead of World Blood Donor Day on Sunday.

"We have more and more older donors and fewer young people coming through," Patric Nohe, spokesman for the DRK blood donation services, told the dpa news agency.

"We have the problem that the pool of people who donate blood is shrinking," he said.
  
While Germany no longer has an upper age limit for blood donation, many older donors gradually cease donating because of age-related health conditions, Nohe said.

Nohe said it was not too late for people in their 30s and 40s to begin donating blood.

Manuel Neuer will be taking to the field as goalkeeper in Germany's first 2026 World Cup match against Curacao on Sunday, coach Julian Nagelsmann said on Saturday.  

"All the players are fit and Manu will start," Nagelsmann said at his pre-match press conference.

The match in Houston in the US state of Texas will be the 40-year-old goalkeeper's first appearance for Germany in nearly two years.

He has been brought out of international retirement after he helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title and reach the Champions League semi-finals this season.

A calf injury kept Neuer out of recent warm-up friendlies against Finland and the US, both won by Germany.

Nagelsmann said Germany would be striving for excellence in the match against Curacao, which is taking part in its first World Cup.

The Curacao players "are all well-trained and can go into the tournament without pressure. That always makes an opponent dangerous," Nagelsmann said.

"You never win a match just because you're favorites. We will win a match only if we produce a perfect performance," he said.  

The railway line from the German capital, Berlin, to the major northern port city of Hamburg is to reopen on Sunday after around 10 1/2 months of renovation, national rail operator Deutsche Bahn said. 

The line is seen as the most important direct connection between two cities on the long-distance rail network in Germany.

A first section of the line, from Hamburg to Schwerin, was already reopened in mid-May.

During the renovation, which started in August last year, tracks, switches and signals were replaced, and 28 stations were modernized.

Work on the line was delayed by about a month and a half at the start of the year, with Deutsche Bahn saying that frost was to blame.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is leaving for a five-day trip to Asia on Sunday.

According to the presidential office, his trip will take him to Indonesia, the Philippines and Uzbekistan.

Steinmeier's wife, Elke Büdenbender, will be accompanying him on the trip, as will a business delegation.

In Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, the president will focus on the peaceful coexistence of different religions.

In the Philippines, Steinmeier will then visit a production facility of German airline Lufthansa, and also meet Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.

For the final stop in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, a visit to a branch of German construction company GP Günter Papenburg is planned.

Uzbekistan has more German-language learners than any other country in Asia, the presidential office said.

The DW newsroom in Bonn on the Rhine says a hearty guten Tag to all users of Germany's international broadcaster!

And you are joining us on the BIG DAY, with Germany set to start its campaign to win a fifth football World Cup with its first match in Houston, US.

The presence of veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the squad after being called out of retirement has only added to the general excitement surrounding the match against Curacao.

We will also be looking at German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's trip to Asia with a business delegation.

And in good news for those who like traveling by rail, the important line from Berlin to Hamburg is reopening on Sunday after more than 10 months of renovation work.

You can read about these and other stories about Germany in our blog on June 14.