Overview

• Police reported cables cut at least at two sites near Leverkusen, disabling a signalling center on the Köln–Düsseldorf corridor and triggering Kripo and state‑protection investigations.
• Deutsche Bahn said work would run to the end of Monday after roughly 300 meters of overhead line were damaged near Uelzen, halting ICEs on the Berlin–Hamburg route that had been diverted there for other works.
• Traffic on the NRW corridor was rerouted or replaced by buses with long delays expected until late evening while forensic teams documented the damage.
• In Essen, a homicide commission is investigating after rubbish was set alight directly under a sleeping 61‑year‑old homeless man at a bus stop; the victim woke in time and was uninjured, and witnesses are sought.
• Separate road incidents included a Berlin‑Marzahn crash in which a 35‑year‑old driver died after a medical emergency, a six‑injury rear‑end collision on the A7 near Dietmannsried, and a fatal single‑vehicle crash in Breitenbrunn now under prosecutor‑ordered review, as fiscal debate featured Economy Minister Katharina Reiche rejecting tax hikes and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil bringing a 2026 draft budget with high planned investment and rising debt costs.