Tens of Thousands Protest Far-Right Politics in Berlin Ahead of Elections

A 20-year-old man was arrested in Hamburg for allegedly abusing mentally vulnerable children online, including forcing a boy to hang himself on webcam, according to local authorities. The suspect, identified as a member of a sadistic group known as “764,” is accused of over 100 offenses involving eight victims, as reported by Polizeipräsident Falk Schnabel during a press conference. Investigators revealed that the suspect, who went by the alias “White Tiger,” preyed on minors in internet forums and coerced them into self-harm and sexual acts. A particularly disturbing incident involved a 13-year-old boy from the United States, who reportedly committed suicide live during an Instagram group chat in 2022. Additionally, he allegedly directed a 15-year-old girl from Canada to self-injure in a gruesome manner. The investigation was initiated following a tip from the FBI, leading to incriminating evidence, including videos of the abuse. The man faces serious charges, including murder and attempted murder, and is currently in custody awaiting trial.

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.