Islamist Attacks Police Station in Linz, Foiled by Quick Security Measures

The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany, has achieved unprecedented milestones in nuclear fusion research. During its recent experimental campaign, the reactor set a new record for the "triple product," which measures plasma efficiency, crucial for future power generation, according to Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X. Nuclear fusion promises a significant clean energy alternative by fusing hydrogen isotopes under extreme temperatures. However, recreating the necessary conditions on Earth has historically proved challenging. Stellarators, like Wendelstein 7-X, utilize external magnets to stabilize plasma, making them potentially more viable than traditional tokamak reactors. In the latest tests, the reactor maintained a plasma temperature of 30 million degrees Celsius and exceeded previous benchmarks, achieving 1.8 gigajoules in energy turnover over six minutes. This surpasses the earlier record set by tokamak reactors and demonstrates the stellarator concept's growing viability for commercial energy production, as noted by Robert Wolf of the Institute for Plasma Physics.

A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Seville experienced a serious incident when the co-pilot fainted, leaving the aircraft without a pilot in command for approximately 10 minutes, according to a report by the German news agency dpa on May 17, 2025. The incident occurred on February 17, 2024, when the captain was in the restroom aboard the Airbus A321, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members. The aircraft was sustained in stable flight mode thanks to its active autopilot, while the cockpit voice recorder captured sounds indicative of a medical emergency. Efforts by the captain to enter the cockpit were unsuccessful, as he attempted the door access code multiple times. Eventually, he implemented an emergency code, prompting the door to unlock just before the co-pilot regained consciousness and opened it himself. Following the incident, the captain opted for an unplanned landing in Madrid, where the co-pilot received medical attention. A Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed awareness of the investigation by the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC but did not disclose the findings from its internal safety investigation.

A 40-year-old German palliative care doctor has been charged with the murders of 15 patients, utilizing lethal drugs to allegedly end their lives, according to prosecutors in Berlin. The suspect, whose identity remains confidential due to German privacy laws, is accused of killing 12 women and three men from September 2021 to July 2024, a figure that authorities believe may increase as the investigation continues. Prosecutors assert that the doctor administered an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant without the patients’ knowledge, resulting in respiratory arrest and rapid death. Additionally, he is alleged to have attempted to cover up the crimes by setting fire to the homes of several victims on five occasions. The charges highlight incidents including the simultaneous deaths of a 75-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman in July 2024, both under suspicious circumstances. The authorities are pursuing a "lifelong professional ban" and "preventative detention" for the doctor, who remains in custody as investigations into potentially more victims continue.