Tuesday’s top story: Investigators uncover more evidence of an arson attack at Reutlingen power station After a fire in a substation caused a widespread power outage in Reutlingen on Monday, investigations have uncovered further indications of a possible arson attack. Investigators say they’ve found fire accelerant at the scene. All traces are now being evaluated, the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) announced. The state security and the anti-terror center at the LKA are involved in the investigation. The network operator says it was continuing its
efforts to bring all affected households back to the grid on Tuesday morning. “The repair work on the network continues to be intensive,” a spokesperson for Netze-BW said. “The aim is to restore regular care as quickly as possible.” Reutlingen has a total of almost 120,000 inhabitants and is located at the foot of the Swabian Alb. According to Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Manuel Hagel, around 7,600 buildings and about 40,000 people were affected by the power outage. Greenpeace activists alter motorway signs in speed limit
protest Greenpeace activists have staged a protest on German motorways by covering official road signs with stickers showing a 100 km/h speed limit, sparking debate over climate policy and road safety. In an action near Aachen on Monday, campaigners climbed gantries on the A4 and replaced the usual recommended 130 km/h indicator with a prominent “100” symbol. The group said similar modifications were made at around 25 motorway entry points across the country. Greenpeace argued that a nationwide speed limit would reduce fuel consumption, cut
emissions and improve safety. Spokesperson Marissa Reiserer criticised the federal government for failing to introduce what she described as a simple and effective climate measure. Despite the changes, traffic continued largely undisturbed, with no significant reaction from drivers reported. However, some motorists may briefly have mistaken the altered signs for official limits. Police confirmed the stickers would be removed, noting that tampering with traffic signs could constitute property damage. Germany, France abandon joint fighter jet project German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron
have agreed to abandon a joint fighter jet programme due to long-running disagreements between the companies involved, the German government said Monday. The leaders “reached the shared assessment that the companies will not be able to come together on building a joint combat aircraft”, a government official told AFP about the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project. “They acknowledge this reality.” The FCAS programme was launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafale jets and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain. But the multi-billion-euro
project was beset by disagreements between the firms involved — France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain. Abandoning the project will come as a blow to efforts by European countries to cooperate more closely on defence and present a united front as they contend with a hostile Russia and souring ties with the United States. The official however said other parts of the wide-ranging project will continue. The French and German defence ministries are set to draw up a plan for defence
cooperation “focused on a few realistic and relevant projects” at a forthcoming meeting, the official added. Frankfurt student wins Apple award for presentation training app A 22-year-old student from Frankfurt has won a prestigious Apple developer competition with an app designed to improve presentation skills. Anton Baranov’s app, “Pitch Coach”, helps users refine their speaking by analysing pace, detecting filler words and even monitoring posture via motion sensors in Apple’s AirPods. The app processes data directly on the user’s iPhone using artificial intelligence, without sending
information to external servers. Baranov, who studies software technology while working with Deutsche Bank, said he sees AI as a tool to support, rather than replace, human developers. He has already used the technology to make his app available in more than 20 languages. The award was presented ahead of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, where chief executive Tim Cook praised the project as a strong example of how technology can help people perform better. Baranov currently offers the app free of charge but is
considering paid features in future. Berlin CDU to choose top candidate for September elections On Tuesday members of the Christian Democrats Union (CDU) in the German capital will decide if Mayor Kai Wegner will again be the party’s top candidate in the Berlin elections on September 20th. Fresh on the minds of some of his colleagues is surely his recent tennis scandal. At the beginning of the year Wegner nearly lost his job because he played tennis with his partner in the middle of a
power outage in Berlin that lasted for days – and initially tried to hide it. If the CDU does go ahead with the continued support of Wegner as their top-candidate, then he will need to begin sharing plans for addressing the city’s major problems soon. Rents have risen dramatically in recent years, homelessness has increased, and Berliners have been waiting for years for a coherent transport concept. So far, little has been heard from Wegner or his opponents on these issues. READ ALSO: Could Berlin
housing registry lead to clamp down on illegal rents in Germany? With reporting by AFP, DPA and Tom Pugh.
Reutlingen power outage, arson investigation, LKA, Netze-BW, Greenpeace, A4 protest, FCAS fighter jet, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, Anton Baranov Pitch Coach, Apple developer competition, Berlin CDU, Kai Wegner