Germany news: Inland shipping under strain as rivers run low
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 61/100
Drastically low water levels in Germany's rivers has disrupted shipping on several major rivers. Meanwhile, police have recorded a striking rise in e-scooter crashes causing injury or death. DW has the latest.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HBmB Lower water levels mean that vessels can only be loaded lightly, meaning more shipments need to be made Image: Sascha Ditscher/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know Low water is affecting river traffic along the Rhine, Elbe and Danube Cargo ships are having to carry lighter loads, meaning higher transport costs A hotel ship ran aground in the western city of Bonn because of the low water level German neo-Nazi Marla Svenja Liebich is moved to a men's prison after being extradited from the Czech Republic E-scooter crashes causing injury or death rose sharply in Germany, with around 16,500 crashes in 2025 Here's a roundup of the latest headlines from Germany on Thursday, July 16:
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07/16/2026 July 16, 2026 Germany to combat tax fraud The German government presented a plan for a stronger stance in the fight against tax fraud, which includes tougher penalties, tighter rules and the creation of a new center to battle financial crime.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, both of the Social Democratic Party ( SPD ), are behind the plan.
The action plan states that voluntary self-disclosures will no longer automatically exempt offenders from criminal prosecution.
According to Hubig, tax crimes harm society as a whole. Residents of Germany should know that "the rules apply equally to everyone," she stressed.
Recovery or ruin: Can Germany escape the crisis? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
07/16/2026 July 16, 2026 Man sets fire inside youth welfare office A man was arrested for attacking employees of a local youth welfare office in the eastern state of Brandenburg and setting the office on fire, which injured several people.
The incident took place in the town of Finsterwalde. The 35-year-old suspect allegedly entered the office, threatened employees, and shouted profanities before starting a fire. The motive is still unclear, according to police.
Several people were injured by smoke inhalation.
07/16/2026 July 16, 2026 Hamsters to make a return to eastern German region The Börde region near the city of Magdeburg in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt will experience a comeback for the ages.
The region's hamsters, whose existence was threatened due to the planned construction of factories belonging to technology giant Intel, will return to the region.
This comes after local zoos in Berlin and Leipzig took matters into their own hands to ensure the species continues to breed. Public broadcaster MDR reported that some 60 hamsters were released into the wild to increase their numbers in the area.
According to the local environmental authorities, hamsters in the Börde region have been at risk of extinction since 2009, and the zoos have been helping to breed the species to secure its survival.
07/16/2026 July 16, 2026 Leading lawmaker Spahn and husband announce birth of son, stoking controversy Dmytro Hubenko Editor Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of Germany's conservatives, and his husband, Daniel Funke, have announced that they have become parents to a baby boy.
"We Are Family," Funke wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph showing the couple with a stroller in a green outdoor setting.
Their son Georg was born in the United States through a surrogate, according to the Bild newspaper, which cited Spahn and Funke.
"My husband has become a father, and so have I with him. Georg is our greatest happiness. This feeling can hardly be put into words," Spahn told the newspaper.
The couple are currently in the US, according to the report. The baby was named after Spahn's late father, Georg. Funke is the child's biological father.
The couple said the surrogate would continue to play a role in their son's life.
Surrogacy procedures are effectively banned in Germany, and Spahn has faced a call to resign from within his own conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) .
"Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany for good ethical reasons," Marion Rosin, the head of the Women's Union in the eastern state of Thuringia, told Funke newspapers.
"Anyone who circumvents this ban through an arrangement abroad is acting against the spirit of German law," she said.
Published 07/16/2026 Published July 16, 2026 last updated 07/16/2026 last updated July 16, 2026 Hotel ship runs aground as Rhine water levels fall The vessel became stuck during a docking maneuver near the Bonn Opera House Image: Sascha Thelen/dpa/picture alliance Low water levels on the Rhine River have disrupted passenger shipping after a hotel ship ran aground in Bonn and became lodged across part of the river.
The vessel became stuck during a docking maneuver at around 7 a.m. near the Bonn Opera House, the fire service said.
Its front left side is resting on a sandbank. All 75 passengers and 40 crew members on board are unhurt.
Authorities plan to tow the ship free this afternoon, with a tug expected to arrive at around 4 p.m.
Other vessels can still pass the stranded ship slowly in both directions.
Low water has also forced the suspension of a Rhine ferry service in Leverkusen.
Freight shipping has already been affected, with large cargo vessels carrying lighter loads because of the reduced water depth.
"The result is lower transport volumes per ship and therefore rising transport costs along the supply chain," Andreas Bartel of the Duisburg port operator Duisport told the DPA news agency.
He added that reduced capacity means more vessels are needed to transport the…
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