Skip next section Train services resume on key route after arson attacks
08/02/2025August 2, 2025
Train services resume on key route after arson attacks
Train services resumed early on Saturday on the railway line between and Duisburg in western Germany after successful repairs to cable damage caused by .
A railway spokesman said test runs had been conducted before the resumption of services to ensure that all was functioning correctly.
caused damage to cables vital for operating switches and signals.
Police believe left-wing extremists were behind the disturbance and are treating the incident as sabotage.
A leftist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in a letter that is being examined by police.
Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the state of , where the attacks occurred, told a press conference that the extremist group had “carried out several acts of sabotage in the Düsseldorf area in recent years.”
The route between Düsseldorf and Duisburg is one of Germany’s busiest railway connections, with more than 620 passenger trains using the line every day.
https://p.dw.com/p/4yQAI
Skip next section Consumer group sues budget airlines over hand luggage fees
08/02/2025August 2, 2025
Consumer group sues budget airlines over hand luggage fees
A German consumer group has launched legal action against , saying that their charges for hand luggage violate existing law.
Ramona Pop, the chairwoman of the vzbv consumer umbrella body, told the daily Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that many carriers were “charging inadmissible fees and thus misleading consumers about flight prices.”
She said that while current rules obliged airlines to carry reasonably sized hand luggage free of charge, many budget airlines allowed only a small personal item in the base fare, demanding a paid upgrade for larger items.
She said the vzbv had issued formal warnings to several carriers, with lawsuits filed against Ryanair, EasyJet, Wizzair and Vueling Airlines.
The vzbv’s legal action is part of a , she said.
The group is basing its legal actions on a ruling by the European Court of Justice in 2014 that hand luggage is a fundamental necessity of air travel rather than an optional extra provided by an airline.
https://p.dw.com/p/4yQAn
Skip next section Domestic violence cases reach new record — report
08/02/2025August 2, 2025
Domestic violence cases reach new record — report
Cases of violence within private households have reached a record level, according to a report by the weekly Welt am Sonntag that cites statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
Altogether 256,942 people were registered as victims of domestic violence in 2024, a 3.7% increase , the paper said.
, making up 73% of registered cases, according to the report.
Violence from partners or ex-partners accounted for 171,069 victims, a 1.9% increase over 2024.
There was also a 7.3% increase in violence between family members, with 94,873 cases, according to the BKA.
Over the past five years, domestic violence has surged by almost 14%, the BKA says.
https://p.dw.com/p/4yQ3X
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage08/02/2025August 2, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the team in DW’s newroom on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn!
Today, we will be looking at the latest statistics showing another worrying rise in the number of cases of domestic violence in the country.
Germany’s railroad system is also in focus following what seems to have been a case of major sabotage on a key section.
If you are interested in the major talking points in Europe’s largest economy, we hope we have the right stories for you here in our blog on Saturday, August 2!
https://p.dw.com/p/4yQ3C
The post Germany updates: Domestic violence at all-time high — report appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
