内容摘要：Germany's bomb disposal service was only able to begin the operation after all residents in the densely populated area were evacuated.

Germany's bomb disposal service was only able to begin the operation after all residents in the densely populated area were evacuated.

It would have avoided a lot of pain."My team had put heart and soul into the company and we had a good cry. "

Did they really shed tears? "Absolutely, I had my tears at our final meeting where we joined hands and stood up. I said 'We still did great, take a bow."What lessons can we draw for other high-tech ventures? "You definitely have no choice but to be optimistic," says Mr Dissel.The grim procedure of winding down the business took over as passwords and laptops were collected while servers were backed up in case "some future incarnation of the business can be preserved".

The company had been going in various guises for 35 years. "We didn't want it to go to rust. I expect the administrator will look for a buyer for the intellectual property assets," Mr Dissel adds.Other former employees also hold out for a phoenix rising from the ashes. But the Valley of Death looms large.

"Reaction Engines was playing at the very edge of what was possible. We were working for the fastest engines and highest temperatures. We bit off the hard job," says Mr Dissel.

Despite all this Mr Varvill's own epitaph for the business overshadows technological milestones. "We failed because we ran out of money."Residents were told to "stay calm", bring their ID and any essential medications, and to take care of their pets.

For some people, the evacuation was more than a little inconvenient.Fifteen couples were scheduled to get married at Cologne's historic town hall but the ceremonies were relocated to a location in another part of the city, local media reported.

A US judge has temporarily halted deportation proceedings against the family of a man accused of Sunday's petrol-bomb attack on Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado.Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused of a federal hate crime and other charges. Officials say his family, who are not charged in the attack, are Egyptian citizens.