Take a walk along the banks of rivers like the Rhine these days and you’ll see a lot of ship and not much water. The reason is that water levels are often lower than during the drought in the summer of 2018, and, just like four years ago, ships have to sail with a lighter load to prevent them from running aground. That’s why you’ll see more of their hulls above water. Combined with a high demand for shipping space, there are now bottlenecks.

"German industries see the danger that the low water levels will further reduce capacities in the already very busy inland navigation sector," warns the Federation of German Industries (BDI), amongst others. For the member companies of the Fuels and Energy Association, the drought is also having an impact on logistics on the waterways. "Without question, supplies have now become more challenging," said association spokesperson Alexander von Gersdorff.

While freight spaces on inland freighters have to remain half-empty, at the same time, demand is high. Once again, the main cause is the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Barges are now on the move more than usual in south-eastern Europe to transport grain from Ukraine across the Danube. Before the war, almost all Ukrainian grain was shipped via the Black Sea.

Secondly, more and more coal is being transported on German rivers. This, too, is a consequence of the war, because Germany is again upping the use of coal-fired power plants to generate electricity to combat the gas crisis. Only on Thursday, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck announced that after the black coal reserve, the lignite reserve would also be activated. The explicit aim is to replace gas-fired power plants in electricity generation so that more gas can be stored. Instead of gas-fired power plants, coal-fired power plants are to be reactivated and used more.

The Federal Association of German Inland Navigation says there is an enormously high demand for shipping space for coal, containers and grain. According to the BDI, supplies to German industry via the waterways are still guaranteed. But the situation could quickly come to a head. The association is therefore calling for a plan on how to counter such logistics problems in the future. For example, investments are needed for ships that are suitable for navigating the waterways even at low water. It is also necessary to switch to other transport routes. This calls for a suitable construction site management for road and rail.

(Original text: Mischa Ehrhardt)

On Saturday morning, a Bonn resident called the fire brigade to report a cloud of smoke above the Weststadt district in the vicinity of Endenicher Straße and Haydnstraße. Numerous firefighters turned up at the scene.

According to the fire brigade, the smoke turned out to be water vapour. On the spot, the fire brigade checked whether there might have been a gas leak. This could be ruled out after several readings and the operation was terminated. The police temporarily closed Endenicher Straße. No one was injured.

On Friday evening, the police were called in at Colgone/Bonn airport after several passengers exhibited loud or aggressive behaviour, some of them trying to push their way forward and simply pass the queue. The police were therefore on hand to "ensure that everything proceeds in an orderly manner". This is the plan for the whole weekend.

On Saturday morning, there were extremely long waiting times at the security checks at Cologne/Bonn airport. According to a spokesperson for the Federal Police, it took about four hours to get through security.

The high demand for travel after the lull caused by the Coronavirus pandemic had apparently caught both the airport and the airlines unprepared. Managers of the companies admitted mistakes in staff planning.

The increasing number of crises and their duration are causing Germans to lose confidence and composure. At the same time, anxiety about the future is growing, a study by the Opaschowski Institute for Futurology shows. In March 2019 - before the start of the coronavirus pandemic - and again this year in March - shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine - the institute surveyed 1,000 people on their expectations for the future. The result: the population's confidence in the stability and security of the economy as well as in society is visibly declining.

The share of those who fear a growing gap between rich and poor rose from 60 per cent in 2019 to 87 per cent this year. Three years ago, not even half (46 per cent) worried about finding affordable housing; now it is 83 per cent. And eight out of ten respondents now believe that the lack of social contacts may in future become just as burdensome for older people as financial hardship. In 2019, it was only six out of ten. More than three quarters (79 percent) now expect a more aggressive climate in society, leading to more insults, hatred and a willingness to use violence. Three years ago, it was only just over half (51 per cent).

The concern that the gap between rich and poor will widen was shared by over 90 per cent of low-income earners in particular. A lack of social contacts in old age was reported mainly by respondents in rural areas (93 per cent). The majority of younger people are concerned about the lack of affordable housing - 90 per cent of respondents between 20 and 24 years of age agreed. Concerns about a coarsening of social interaction unite above all the 65-plus generation: while 81 per cent fear the spread of hatred, violence and abuse, only 69 per cent of the under-30s do.

"Fears about the future are spreading because politicians have so far not been sending out reassuring signals that spread confidence," futurologist Horst Opaschowski told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Alarmist reports tend to dominate, and they hardly raise hopes for the future." Uncertainty about the future is therefore the feeling of the hour. "Across all population groups, Germans are united by only one wish: they do not want to be anxious about the future," he said. (dpa)

(Translations: JL)