The Japanese ornamental cherry trees in Bonn's Old Town are already considered senior citizens when they are around 50 years old. Which is why the city started a rejuvenation programme at the end of January, trimming many of the senescent trees. Not only is the deadwood removed, but the branches on the treetops are also shortened so that larger vehicles can pass through the streets more easily. Five trees have to be felled because they are partly dead, no longer stable or infested with pests.

Ornamental cherries can live up to 100 years under the right circumstances, their life expectancy depends on how suitable their environment is. "Trees planted in streets have their own limitations. They are particularly affected by the heat in cities, by parked cars, or bicycles, or bulky garbage being leaned on them" explains Thomas Pätzold from the Office for Environment and Urban Greenery.

The cherry trees have reached a good age after about ten years in the nursery and a period of about 40 years at their new home. "But trees do not have an expiry date. The condition of a tree is how we judge whether it needs to be felled. This is currently the case with five trees, among others on Breite Straße. If a tree is weakened or damaged, pruning can help to conserve it, says Pätzold.

"The condition of the trees varies greatly, as they have been replanted again and again over the years," says the council. The youngest representatives come fresh from the nursery at eight to ten years old and blossom in spring, albeit rather sparsely at first.

The maintenance work is necessary to ensure that the trees will continue to bloom beautifully in the years to come, even though it is precisely this that will be affected by the measures. "The parts of the tree that are being cut off now have flower buds on them," says Pätzold. This is because the trees blossom on the buds they formed last year. The goal is to preserve the cherry trees for as long as possible.

The town plans to replant trees that must be felled. One important factor here is a careful examination of the location, including underground. This is the only way to increase a tree's chances of survival. "The infrastructure of water and gas pipes, electricity and telecommunication lines as well as district heating lines always need to be taken into account when planting," Pätzold emphasises. In addition, he says, it must be checked whether tree pits have to be dug and whether it is necessary to take protective measures to separate roots and lines from each other.

The total cost of replanting a street tree averages between 4000 and 5000 euros, says Pätzold, depending on the complexity of the location and the work involved. The best time for planting street trees is in autumn or winter, when they have already shed their leaves, explains the city. It is easier to plant after the leaves have fallen and the growth rate is higher. A bidding process for re-planting is planned for relevant contractors, which will last until next year.

In order to keep the tree population healthy and attractive, he asks that people show consideration for the trees and, for example, not lean objects on them. During the work on the tree grates, he said, it is also important that parking bans are respected in order to keep restrictions to a minimum.

Japanese cherries remain a popular choice for street trees, although it is not easy for trees in the old town, says Pätzold. But as long as the species proves resilient to climate change, the sea of blossoms will continue to beautify the cityscape.

(Original text: Abir Kassis)

One day after the large-scale raid of the "Focus" task force in Bonn's drugs milieu, the police take stock. The 250 police officers, customs officers, and evidence and arrest units (BFE) searched eight flats and two business premises in the northern part of Bonn, the districts of Castell, Tannenbusch and Bad Godesberg, as well as in Königswinter. Three of these were only discovered after they stormed the others. Six people were detained temporarily, but three of them were quickly released. The suspected smell of drugs from a mosque turned out to be incense.

In addition to about 750 grams of cocaine, which has a street value of at least 50,000 euros, about 85,000 euros of suspected drug money, six illegal gambling machines as well as mobile phones and computers were seized. The police consider the latter to be "relevant to the evidence" - so it is quite possible that the investigators will come across further suspects as a result of the analysis. A high-end SUV was also confiscated. Three provisionally arrested men (26, 40 and 46 years old), who according to the police and the public prosecutor's office are urgently suspected of "permanent and commercial cocaine dealing", are still in police custody. They are to be brought before the magistrate on Friday.

A 48-year-old man who was also provisionally arrested and who was accompanying the 40-year-old main suspect on Thursday was released on Friday morning. In addition, a 30-year-old and a 32-year-old had also been arrested on suspicion of illegal residency during the course of the operation. "They were also released on Friday after consultation with the immigration office. Both had been apprehended in a bar on Eifelstraße on Thursday," said a police spokesperson.

A total of twelve people were detained during the operation to establish their identity. Seven of them were subjected to identification procedures, which included having their fingerprints taken.

The two commercial premises, one on Theaterstraße, one in a bar on Eifelstraße, were apparently the drug handing-over points. The main suspect is said to have repeatedly approached them in order to supply them with cocaine. The owner of the bar claims to have known nothing about this. He waid he was surprised when the police stormed his bar at around 6.30 pm on Thursday. "I am clean, I have nothing to do with it," he explains in response to a GA enquiry. According to the police, he was not a target of the investigation.

In Theaterstraße, on the other hand, people openly suspected that there was dealing going on in the small shop, whose glass shop window was completely covered with a milky film to prevent people from looking inside. "It was quite clear what kind of people came in here. Some of them went in and out again in two seconds," says a neighbour. He often experienced that people knocked on his door when the place was closed and asked for drugs. He says he pointed this out several times to the public order office. "I am glad that something has finally happened."

"We were all scared," says another neighbour. The police had stormed the shop with heavily armed special units because they suspected that there were also weapons there.

The shop, which according to the letterbox is the "Kurdish Sports Club", had been there for about a year - right under the eyes of the employees of the Bonn tax office, which is across the street. Previously, a tattoo studio, a wine shop and a restaurant had been located there. The fact that it was about sport was at best a cover: because neither the club is registered at the address, nor has anyone from the neighbourhood observed anything sports-related there. Instead, there was a sparse interior with tables, chairs and illegal gambling machines. "And more junkies who used to hang out here in our corner," says a woman.

In the course of the raid, a mosque in Theaterstraße also became the target of the police. According to a spokesperson, the place smelled strongly of drugs. But it turned out to be the smell of incense.

(Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach)

The operator of an excavator was seriously injured on Saturday afternoon on a construction site in the district of Ippendorf after he became trapped under a smaller excavator. Several persons alerted the fire brigade and rescue service control centre and described the incident.

According to the report, the mini-excavator had fallen over for as yet unknown reasons. The man worker was trapped under the construction vehicle. Rescue teams from the nearby fire station of the university hospital, the technical rescue unit of the Tannenbusch fire station, the Lengsdorf firefighting unit of the volunteer fire brigade, the command and control service, and the rescue service then rushed to the construction site.

According to Lars Eschmann of the Bonn fire brigade, the driver - who was still sitting in the excavator - was trapped with one leg. The vehicle was also in danger of falling into the five-metre-deep excavation pit. Using another, larger excavator, the mini-excavator was raised and wedged in such a way that the man could be freed and rescued from the danger zone.

After being given first aid by the rescue service, the man was transported to the nearby university hospital. The civil engineering contractor was able to recover the mini-excavator himself.

(Original text: Michael Wrobel)

(Translation: Jean Lennox)