‘How is it possible?’: Berliners demand answers after sabotage causes blackout

<p>Arson attack that left parts of German capital in darkness for days stirs outrage over infrastructure insecurity</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/07/europe-greenland-denmark-us-france-trade-weather-latest-news-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>When Silke Peters bought a crank radio and a camping stove just after the start of Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, her husband thought she was “a little crazy”. “He put me down, only half-jokingly, as a prepper,” she said, referring to the kind of person who stockpiles in case of catastrophe.</p><p>For almost four years, the items gathered dust in the cellar of the Peters’ two-room flat in Zehlendorf, a well-to-do district of Berlin. But in recent days the windup radio – with its inbuilt torch and charge point – has come into its own during Germany’s longest power cut since the second world war.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/07/how-is-it-possible-berliners-demand-answers-after-sabotage-causes-blackout">Continue reading...</a>