Overview
- Berlin’s southwest faces a large power outage affecting about 50,000 households and 2,000 businesses after a cable-bridge fire near the Teltowkanal, with restoration ongoing and the cause under investigation.
- Snow and ice are causing widespread accidents and service disruptions, including more than 100 crashes in the Westpfalz, stepped-up winter operations in Hamburg with 728 staff and 360 vehicles, and continued DWD warnings for hazardous travel.
- Police are advancing Silvesternacht investigations: Frankfurt is processing 73 detainees and prioritizing a violent assault on an ambulance crew, while Munich probes two suspects for causing an explosive explosion after a rocket was fired toward a crowd.
- The emergency-services association urges faster trials and better use of existing laws rather than higher penalties, as the Justice Ministry’s proposal would raise minimum sentences for attacks on helpers from three to six months and toughen thresholds for custodial terms.
- Political and security debates intensify, with a CSU draft urging a 2026 deportation offensive drawing SPD criticism, and media reports of a possible 10,000–15,000-strong European stabilization contingent for Ukraine met by SPD statements that any Bundeswehr role remains undecided; separately, Swiss prosecutors say champagne spray fountains likely triggered the Crans-Montana club fire that killed about 40 people and injured 119.