The open-air swimming season was supposed to start on Saturday in Friesdorf - but there will be another two-week delay. Both “Friesi” pools are losing a considerable amount of water.

The news did not come as a complete surprise for Rafael Röger, chairman of the association Freibad Freunde Friesdorf (FFF). The problems with the pools have been known for some time, he said. “The only surprise was that on 30 May, the lido passed inspection and the city authorities said the pool was good to open,” said Röger. Both the administration and the politicians knew about the problems.

In April, Röger had received information from the city that the lido would not be able to open until later this year because foils had to be replaced. But this did not happen. As the chairman told the GA, both pools are losing water, and in the larger pool a lot of water is being lost.

The city found the damage “when refilling the pool a few days ago”, as Lea Hoffmann from the municipal press office explained. “The foil is old, there are cracks. Water is leaking through these cracks in a not inconsiderable amount. These are not droplets. You can see this in the falling water level,” Hoffmann said.

As a result, the 13th Friesathlon on 12 June will be a duathlon - i.e. only cycling and running. Röger reported that the organisation team met on Thursday evening and ruled out a cancellation because the logistical effort would be too great. The FFF film nights will take place at the end of July and beginning of August as the pools are not needed for that.

(Original text: Maximilian Mühlens, Translation: Jean Lennox)

Düsseldorf. Taking your bike on regional trains might not be possible over the Whitsun weekend as trains will probably be very full, Deutsche Bahn NRW wrote on Twitter on Saturday. It is deploying an additional 30 bicycle controllers to look after passengers with bicycles at stations. In addition, transport associations in NRW warned that some long delays are possible.

Local transport companies in the Rhineland and Westphalia-Lippe (NVR and NWL) as well as the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR) are expecting many customers will be using the new 9-euro tickets to travel to popular tourist destinations. The railway industry says it has prepared for the long Whitsun weekend by deploying more wagons and staff. On main routes, trains are said to be “operating with the maximum possible number of seats”.

This applies to the RE1 and RE6 (Hamm-Essen-Cologne), RE13 (Düsseldorf-Venlo) and RE48 (Wuppertal-Bonn) lines, among others. Nevertheless, it will certainly be crowded in certain trains and at some stations.

(Original text: dpa, Translation: Jean Lennox)

The fire in the initial reception centre (EAE) for refugees in the Ermekeil barracks on 25 May was apparently caused by a cigarette that set a mattress on fire, according to the Cologne district government, which runs the facility. The investigation is still ongoing. At the time of the fire, the police reported that several people were suffering from smoke inhalation poisoning.

According to the fire brigade, an automatic fire alarm system had initially sounded the alarm. When the firefighters arrived, employees of the security service at the premises had already contained the fire into the room where it started by using fire extinguishers. The staff members had inhaled smoke and four of them had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

The grounds of the Ermekeil barracks have been used as emergency accommodation for refugees since 2015. Many residents of the area were evacuated and were in the inner courtyard of the area at the time of the operation. The fire brigade was on duty with 30 firefighters.

The Telekom Baskets are staying in Munich. Head coach Tuomas Iisalo's team won a highly deserved 86:84 (24:20, 21:20, 19:23, 22:21) victory against FC Bayern München to win game four in the semi-final series for the German championship. It was no wonder that a defensive action decided the game: Karsten Tadda stuck to Nick Weiler Babb, his arms stretched high to keep Bonn's 85:84 lead two seconds before the end.

The Bonn fan block was ecstatic, shouting “Iisalo, Iisalo!” as the trainer was on his way to the interview. But he already had his mind on game four, which takes place on Monday.

Telekom Baskets Bonn: Mike Kessens 16 points (8 rebounds), Karsten Tadda 3/1 three-pointers, Saulius Kulvietis 5, Oleksandr Lypovyy 4, Skyler Bowlin 5/1, Javontae Hawkins19/5, Jeremy Morgan 17/4, Leon Kratzer 2, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 15.