Skip next section Film legend Werner Herzog says he would like to film on Mars
10/20/2025October 20, 2025
Film legend Werner Herzog says he would like to film on Mars
Mars is highly inhospitable for humans, but would be an interesting film set, Herzog feelsImage: NASA
The 83-year-old German film director Werner Herzog has said he would like to travel into space and even make Mars the backdrop for a film, while acknowledging that the Red Planet might be an “uncomfortable” place to work and that his age could be a hindrance.
“A trip to Mars is technically difficult, time-consuming and actually rather pointless,” Herzog told DPA, but said “yes” when he was asked if he would still like to do it.
He said, however, that he had twice applied to go on space flights but had been rejected.
“I’m simply too old,” he said. “Let’s face it.”
For his dozens of films, which include many documentaries, he has often traveled to remote locations, such as Antarctica for “Encounters at the End of the World” (2007).
Among his most noted works are “Fitzcarraldo” and “Grizzly Man.”
His new film, “Ghost Elephants,” follows South African biologist Steve Boyes in a search for a possibly undiscovered species of elephant in Angola.
https://p.dw.com/p/52GFh
Skip next section AfD proposes making Donald Trump honorary citizen of Bad Dürkheim
10/20/2025October 20, 2025
AfD proposes making Donald Trump honorary citizen of Bad Dürkheim
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has proposed that US President Donald Trump be made an honorary citizen of the Bad Dürkheim district in southwestern Germany, from where his grandparents emigrated to New York in the late 19th century.
“The reason for our motion in the district council is that Donald Trump has brought peace to the Israel-Gaza conflict and ensured the release of the Israeli and eight German hostages,” local AfD group leader Thomas Stephan told the DPA news agency.
The district council has confirmed receipt of the proposal, which it will discuss at an October 29 meeting.
However, the district administrator, Hans-Ulrich Ihlenfeld, from Chancellor Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), said he felt it was unlikely that the proposal would gain a majority.
“Regardless of whether one would even want an honorary citizen Donald Trump, the question of honorary citizenship and the possible criteria for it must be discussed thoroughly in the district committees,” he told DPA.
Trump’s family traces its roots to Kallstadt, a small wine-growing village that is part of Bad Dürkheim in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
https://p.dw.com/p/52G5b
Skip next section Berlin to order 15 more US-made F-35s — report
10/20/2025October 20, 2025
Berlin to order 15 more US-made F-35s — report
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius plans to order 15 F-35 fighter jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin in addition to the 35 that have already been requested, the news magazine Spiegel has reported.
The jets are intended to replace Germany’s 85 aging Tornado fighters and like these could carry US nuclear bombs stored in Germany if a conflict broke out.
The additional aircraft are expected to cost some €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion), a source told Reuters news agency, citing confidential documents prepared for parliament’s budget committee.
The news comes as Germany significantly expands its defense budget in response to the threat of Russian aggression.
https://p.dw.com/p/52G5K
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage10/20/2025October 20, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
The DW newsroom in Bonn wishes all readers a schönen guten Tag!
In another sign of the changing security situation in Europe against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany is reportedly planning to order more US-made F-35 fighter jets from its expanded military budget.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been classified as partly right-wing extremist, has made news with its proposal to make US President Donald Trump an honorary citizen of the district of Bad Dürkeim, the birthplace of his grandparents.
And the leadership of the conservativeChristian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz will wrap up a meeting that centered on the party’s approach to the AfD amid calls from some members to drop a ban on cooperating with the populists.
We hope you enjoy reading our summary of the talk of the town in Germany on Monday, October 20.
https://p.dw.com/p/52G2q
