LONDON: British police said on Saturday they had arrested a new suspect in the May 22 terrorist attack at a pop concert in Manchester, bringing to 11 the number of men in custody.
Authorities arrested a 24-year-old man last night in Rusholme, an inner-city area of Manchester, it said in a statement.
“He was arrested on suspicion of offenses contrary to the terrorism act,” police added.
Twenty-two people, including seven children, were killed in the attack at a concert by US singer Ariana Grande.
The new arrest follows the evacuation Friday afternoon of an area in Rusholme after police identified a car they said “may be significant to the investigation.”
Seventeen arrests have so far been made in the UK and six people have since been released without charge.
Bomber Salman Abedi’s father and brother are also in detention in Libya, where authorities say the two brothers were both part of the Daesh group which claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ariana Grande returned to Manchester on Friday ahead of a charity concert to honor the victims of the attack.
The singer visited some of her injured fans still being treated at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
“This means more to us than all the amazing things people have done,” Peter Mann, whose daughter Jaden was injured in the attack, told the BBC after Grande’s visit.
Proceeds from Sunday’s concert will go to a fund set up to help the victims’ families.
Performances at the 50,000 capacity stadium will kick off at 7.15 p.m. (1815 GMT) and will be streamed online and broadcast by the BBC.
Tickets went on sale Thursday, selling out within six minutes, with website Ticketmaster reporting “incredible” demand.
Police makes fresh arrest over Manchester bombing
Police makes fresh arrest over Manchester bombing
Denmark to expel non-Danes if jailed for one year or more
- “We prefer to protect our countries rather than protect offenders,” Frederiksen said
- The government plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns
COPENHAGEN: Denmark will expel non-Danish citizens who have served prison terms of a year or more for serious crimes, part of new measures to tighten immigration policy, the government announced Friday.
“Foreign offenders sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes, such as aggravated assault and rape, should, in principle, be expelled,” the immigration ministry said in a statement.
Under current regulations, expulsions are not automatic, as Denmark complies with international conventions protecting the right to private and family life and forbidding inhumane treatment.
The Scandinavian country has, together with Britain, recently called on Europe to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which safeguards fundamental freedoms.
“It is right and necessary for European countries to sit around a table and say that we prefer to protect our countries rather than protect offenders,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told journalists.
“When international rules were drafted, I don’t think anyone imagined that someone would flee the Middle East to come to the best country in the world and start raping girls and women,” she said.
“At the time, it was absolutely not imagined that the victim would become the perpetrator. And I can assure you that, unfortunately, many of them have,” she said.
According to statistics from the immigration ministry, around 70 percent of foreign nationals sentenced to prison terms of one year or more for serious crimes have been expelled.
In addition, the government — which insisted that “refugees must be in Denmark on a temporary basis” — plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns and to tighten rules for foreigners in departure centers.
Denmark also said Friday it would reopen its embassy in Syria and establish cooperation with Afghanistan.
In the departure centers, some foreigners who fail to comply with their reporting requirements will be required to wear electronic ankle tags.
The reforms are expected to take effect on May 1.
