RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Officials in Germany have rejected reports that an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig airport was next to a plane filled with weapons destined for Ukraine. DW has more.
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08/06/2026 August 6, 2026 Officials deny explosive drone was near plane carrying weapons for Ukraine, media report The German Interior Ministry has denied reports that a drone carrying explosives was near a cargo aircraft packed with munitions destined for Ukraine , according to media reports.
In a meeting of the heads of the Bundestag 's committees for Defense and Interior Affairs, it was made clear that no weapons or other munitions were on the aircraft, according to the dpa news agency, which reported information matching an earlier article by the Focus news magazine (see earlier entry).
Detlef Seif, the chair of the Internal Affairs Committee, also rejected the reports, telling Reuters that from all the conversations he was party to so far, "the aircraft was not loaded with ammunition or weapons."
Maret Montavon, head of communications and government relations at Mitteldeutsche Flughafen, which operates the airport in Leipzig, told the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung that there was no cargo on the aircraft.
"The Antonov aircraft in question was empty at the time of the incident and, therefore, carried no cargo. This assessment is consistent with the information we have received from Antonov Logistics SALIS," Montavon told the paper.
The ministry has not responded to an official request for comment.
Security sources have said a drone carrying explosives was located on Tuesday near a Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 Condor cargo aircraft. Federal Police defused the explosive device.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is inviting several European counterparts to a meeting following the incident, his ministry confirmed on Thursday. The meeting will aim to coordinate a joint defense strategy to combat drones and to improve the protection of critical infrastructure.
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08/06/2026 August 6, 2026 Rare Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft back in sky after restoration in Turkey Turkey's Sivrihisar Aviation Club Association has successfully restored a rare German World War II Focke-Wulf 190 (FW 190) fighter plane and returned it to the skies.
German pilot Klaus Plasa was at the controls for its flight earlier in the week.
The FW 190 went into service in 1941 and was a heavier plane than its better-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and less comfortable at high altitudes. But this also made it a much more versatile aircraft, capable of flying longer distances and carrying more firepower and fuel.
The aircraft was downed in France in 1944. Its wreckage was taken to the US in 2000. Restoration work began there, but the aircraft never regained operational status.
The Turkish aviation club acquired the plane in 2023 and an 11-member team set to work restoring it over roughly 14 months.
In the early 20th century, Germany had helped modernize the military, including the air force, of what was then the Ottoman Empire. This collaboration continued in the early years of the Republic of Turkey.
The Sivrihisar Aviation Club Association said it wanted to preserve the countries' shared aviation heritage. It plans to display the rare aircraft at an air show in Eskisehir in September.
Estimates on the numbers vary, but no more than a few dozen FW 190s survive, most of them museum pieces that are not airworthy.
Local newspaper the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) based in nearby Essen carried the first images of two trams that appeared to have collided end-to-end .
The crash took place on Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse near Bundesliga club Schalke's Veltins-Arena.
WAZ cited the fire service as saying that 14 people sustained minor injuries, seven were more seriously hurt and three suffered life-threatening injuries.
Traffic was suspended in both directions at the scene as emergency services responded. The incident was first reported at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
The DPA news agency later cited a police spokeswoman as saying that one of the trains, which was conducting driver training, stopped and the other then crashed into it from behind. The cause of the incident was under investigation.
08/06/2026 August 6, 2026 Low Rhine River level reveals WWII bomb in central Cologne Authorities in Cologne were working to defuse or dispose of an unexploded World War II bomb, revealed as the Rhine River's water levels sink to record lows in the hot and dry summer .
The operation took place in the central Deutz district, just across the river from the main train station and Cologne's renowned cathedral .
The discovery of the US bomb led to efforts to clear a safe zone in a radius of roughly 400 meters from the scene. Around 360 people were affected, city authorities said .
One of central Cologne's green spaces, the Rheinpark on the right bank of the river, was cleared amid the operation.
It had said slightly earlier that it was not yet possible to say when the bomb would be defused or otherwise rendered safe.
Such finds are very common occurrences in Cologne , a strategically important city that was heavily bombed throughout much of World War II. Most of the bombs can be defused or disabled; a minority require a controlled explosion instead.
High temperatures and a lack of rain have often led to the summertime discovery of unexploded bombs in German rivers.
08/06/2026 August 6, 2026 READ — Leipzig explosive drone was next to plane with munitions for Ukraine German regional public broadcasters WDR and NDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily, report that the drone found at Leipzig airport had been placed next to a cargo plane set to carry munitions to Ukraine.
They're citing an internal ...
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