Police begin speed check marathon on German roads, industry alarm over very low water-levels, Hamburg celebrates Pride and more news on Monday, August 3rd.
Monday's top story: Police target speeders on the roads this week
Drivers in parts of Germany can expect more speed checks this week as police begin a speed camera marathon (Blitzermarathon) from Monday.
According to the motorists' club ADAC, several federal states are participating in this, but not all. The action falls in the middle of the summer school holidays, and therefore affects many travellers.
Drivers should expect speed controls, especially at accident hotspots.
"We will not only set up our speed measuring devices on federal motorways, but will concentrate on rural areas, especially avenues," said the head of the traffic police in the Brandenburg Police Directorate West, Peggy Baier.
The interior ministries of Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia did not announce where exactly mobile and stationary speed cameras will be located this week.
Speedweek, as it is called by police forces, is a Europe-wide campaign coordinated by the European police network Roadpol. It takes place every year in April and August, during which the police monitor the speed on the roads more strictly.
In Baden-Württemberg alone, 58,347 violations were detected during the Europe-wide speed control week in April.
According to the Germany's statistical office, in 2025 more than 2,800 people died in road traffic accidents. This was 62 more fatalities than in the previous year, but significantly less than in 1995, when 9,500 people died.
Alarm over climate-linked low level of German waterways
Alarm is growing among German shipping and industry about low rainfall sapping major waterways, with one stretch of the Rhine briefly dipping to its previous record low on Friday.
As with other parts of Europe, Germany has experienced low rainfall coupled with soaring summer temperatures which scientists have attributed to human-caused climate change.
The WSV agency responsible for managing German waterways told AFP that early on Friday one stretch of the Rhine, a major artery for commercial shipping, near the town of Kaub briefly dropped to the record low previously recorded in 2018.
While the level there subsequently rose again, the WSV predicted that on Saturday the gauge reading for the Rhine in the city of Duesseldorf could drop to 21 centimetres -- two centimetres below a record set in October 2018.
The low level of the Rhine could have economic consequences for several of Germany's industries, such as the chemicals and steel, which depend on the river to transport large quantities of goods.
Bridge, comprised of three retired boats, stands on dry land where the confluence of the River Wupper and the River Rhine has gone dry. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)
The country's construction federation has warned that the Rhine is "increasingly being pushed to its capacity" because of the repeated instances of low water levels.
The situation shows "how vulnerable Germany's transport and logistics are", the body said, adding that authorities urgently needed to make waterways "more modern and resilient to climate change".
The Rhine is the second longest river in western and central Europe after the Danube, and nine countries depend on it for drinking water, freshwater, hydropower or shipping.
Deutsche Bahn chief laments 'organised irresponsibility'
Speaking to Welt am Sonntag, Deutsche Bahn (DB) CEO Evelyn Palla said that improving punctuality for the national railway begins with "clear and transparent allocation of responsibility in the right place".
Palla told the newspaper: "Essential decisions, including operational improvements, were often made centrally by corporate management." But those at headquarters did not bear responsibility for implementation.
"The colleagues who had to implement it in turn, said, 'I didn't decide that, and it doesn't work for me either'."
In the first half of the year, the punctuality rate for DB's long-distance trains was 58.7 percent.
"That's not a good value. We don't have to sugar-coat anything," said Palla.
She suggested that serious improvements in punctuality will also require a new management culture. "And that's the much more difficult part of restarting the railway..."
Palla emphasized that she did not mean to criticise train attendants, drivers, dispatchers and track workers: "These are my heroes, who keep the railroad running every day."
Hundreds of thousands join Hamburg Pride march after Berlin terror attack
Some 300,000 people took part in a Pride march in Germany's northern city of Hamburg on Saturday.
Under clear skies, people of all ages waved rainbow flags as they marched on foot or rode in floats through the city.
"Solidarity among LGBT people, take a stand for a future without fear," read some of the placards.
The event unfolded one week after a man, who had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video, ploughed a minivan into a crowd near the Pride parade in Berlin, killing a 65-year-old Polish woman and injuring another 31 people.
The alleged attacker, 21-year-old Abdul Rahman Ballout, was shot dead by police, who said he had run at them with a bladed weapon.
READ ALSO: 'The fight continues' - How Berlin is reacting to the deadly Pride attack
Son of singer Phil Collins to play German football
Mathew Collins, son of British rock star Phil Collins, has signed a one-year contract to play for the football club TSV 1860 Munich, a team in Germany's fourth-tier regional league.
The 21-year-old had already completed a trial with the Munich club.
1860 Munich began their season on Saturday with an away match against Schweinfurt.
Collins spent last season in Austria with SV Austria Salzburg.
With reporting by AFP and DPA.
