41 h. ago FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemns 'unacceptable' racism after incidents at German Cup games

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that two incidents of alleged racist abuse which marred German Cup games are “unacceptable” as German police investigate

Politics

67 h. ago German police are investigating a €0.15 water butt theft – and I fear they’re on the right side of history

I’ve often laughed at those who are voluntarily extremely frugal. But in a world of dwindling resources, aren’t the real weirdos the ones throwing yacht parties and sending Katy Perry into space? Here’s a silly season story for you: a 51-year-old woman in the German town of Spaichingen in Swabia is under criminal investigation on suspicion of filling watering cans from her neighbour’s water butt. The total estimated value of the purloined water: €0.15.It’s wonderfully daft. She allegedly hid behind a bin to evade detection and, according to reports, the police declared, with Solomonic gravity: “Once it is in the barrel, [the water] no longer belongs to the heavens.” Who knows what motivated this nano-crime: a moment of midlife madness? Some kind of grudge? But water is metered in Germany so there might a kind of extreme parsimony at work (Swabian housewives are legendarily thrifty, apparently). Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Mould, vermin and ceiling leaks: German police say they work in ‘embarrassing’ conditions

Union calls for increased spending to revamp vehicles and station houses that it says are an insult to officers’ dignityGermany’s biggest police union has complained about the dilapidated state of hundreds of police stations across the country and a fleet of aged vehicles, saying conditions are a threat to officers’ health and an insult to their dignity.“Decades-old toilet bowls, mould in the offices, vermin, broken heating units and holes in the ceiling that let the rain in,” said Hagen Husgen of the GdP union, citing just a few of the complaints his organisation had received from members. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Legacy body to investigate Narrow Water and M62 bombing atrocities

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) has been tasked with probing outstanding cases from the NI Troubles.

Events

1 week ago Police launch investigation after water in Cheshire canal suddenly 'disappears'

The Canal and River Trust reported the incident to police

Events

1 week ago Police investigate after video of men spraying water at Orthodox Jews

Greater Manchester Police said a crime had been reported after the video was shared online

Events

1 week ago Investigation after Orthodox Jewish children sprayed with water from passing car

The video has been circulating widely on social media

Events