When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Germany

WATCH: Thieves Dig 100-Foot Tunnel Into Berlin Bank

DIE WELT (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BERLIN – The German Police has launched a special investigation codenamed “Tunnel” in the search for the perpetrators of a spectacular break-in at a Berlin bank.

According to Die Welt, the thieves dug 100-foot long tunnel from a neighboring underground garage into the safety deposit box vault of the Volksbank in Berlin’s Steglitz district.

Police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf said, "The tunnel was very professional. These people were not beginners." According to him, the tunnel must have taken weeks or months to be built.

The thieves were able to open around 300 safety deposit boxes, with some reports saying they had gotten away with us much as 10 million euros.

German crime scene technicians are sifting through the rubble in the vault to which the criminals apparently set fire as they fled the scene.

Items from the safety deposit boxes that did not interest the thieves were strewn everywhere. "We even found a carbonized stuffed animal," Neuendorf said. From the evidence, police are operating under the assumption that the robbers were disturbed as they worked their way through the vault, because only an estimated 300 of 900 safety deposit boxes had been broken into.

Police suspect that a man who rented parking space in the underground parking garage in February 2012 using false papers may be involved in the tunnel heist. It is not known how many people were involved in the spectacular heist. Police are examining the possibility that the organizers of the coup used hired help to build the tunnel and carry out the heist. Witnesses reported the presence of construction workers around the garage, and it is possible that the tunnel diggers disguised themselves as such. The garage did not have video surveillance cameras.

The rented parking space had room for three cars and was separated from the rest of the garage by a roll-down door. This space is big enough to store the earth dug up in the tunnel-building, which could then be gradually transported out of the garage.

The Berlin Police has released photos of the tunnel and of a suspect:

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Economy

The West Has An Answer To China's New Silk Road — With A Lift From The Gulf

The U.S. and Europe are seeking to rival China by launching a huge joint project. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States will also play a key role – because the battle for world domination is not being fought on China’s doorstep, but in the Middle East.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra and U.S. President Joe Biden shaking hands during PGII & India-Middle East-Europe Economics Corridor event at the G20 Summit on Sept. 9 in New Delhi

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra and U.S. President Joe Biden during PGII & India-Middle East-Europe Economics Corridor event at the G20 Summit on Sept. 9 in New Delhi

Daniel-Dylan Böhmer

-Analysis-

BERLIN — When world leaders are so keen to emphasize the importance of a project, we may well be skeptical. “This is a big deal, a really big deal,” declared U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month.

The "big deal" he's talking about is a new trade and infrastructure corridor planned to be built between India, the Middle East and Europe.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the project as a “beacon of cooperation, innovation and shared progress,” while President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called it a “green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations."

The corridor will consist of improved railway networks, shipping ports and submarine cables. It is not only India, the U.S. and Europe that are investing in it – they are also working together on the project with Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia is planning to provide $20 billion in funding for the corridor, but aside from that, the sums involved are as yet unclear. The details will be hashed out over the next two months. But if the West and its allies truly want to compete with China's so-called New Silk Road, they will need a lot of money.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest