HELSINKI/BERLIN: Three people have died and several others injured in separate stabbing attacks in Finland and Germany on Friday, police from the two countries said.
Finnish police said in a news conference that two people have died and six needed hospital treatment after a knife attack in the city of Turku.
Police had yet to confirm how many people had been wounded but witnesses said they had seen several bodies lying on the ground in a busy area of the southwestern city.
Police shot one suspect in the legs and arrested him, while security forces wrote on Twitter that police were “looking for other possible perpetrators.”
“They ask the population to leave and avoid central Turku,” the tweet added.
Public television station Yle reported that central Turku was on lockdown, with businesses shut.
MTV3 television reported that police have raised security at Helsinki airport and at train stations.
In Germany, the stabbing attack happened in the western city of Wuppertal, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Duesseldorf.
Police said they are searching for up to three men who ran away after a stabbing at a store near the city center that left one person dead and another injured.
Marion Heedmann said a 31-year-old man was killed and a 25-year-old man was injured in the incident.
Heedmann said the circumstances of the stabbing were still unclear. Local public broadcaster WDR reported that a verbal altercation has preceded the incident.
Heedmann said a police tactical response team is searching for the fugitive, or fugitives.
The stabbing spree comes with Europe on high alert a day after drivers slammed into pedestrians in twin attacks in Spain, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 100 others. The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the Barcelona attack.
“The government is following the situation in Turku closely and a police operation is under way,” tweeted Prime Minister Juha Sippila ahead of a cabinet meeting.
In 2012, Finland’s then-prime minister Jyrki Katainen escaped a knife attack in Turku while campaigning for municipal elections.
The man who approached him carrying a knife was found to be psychologically disturbed and no charges were brought against him.
(Additional reporting by Arab News)
3 people dead, several injured after stabbings in Finland and Germany
3 people dead, several injured after stabbings in Finland and Germany
Ukraine, Norway, Sweden top destinations for German arms exports
- The economy ministry said Ukraine had received around $2.35bn of arms exports from Germany
- Norway, a founder member of NATO, bought German arms worth 1.3 billion euros in 2025
BERLIN: Ukraine was again the top recipient of German defense exports last year, followed by Germany’s Scandinavian NATO allies Norway and Sweden, an official report said Friday.
The economy ministry said Ukraine had received around two billion euros ($2.35bn) of arms exports from Germany, which has been Kyiv’s most important backer in Europe in its war with Russia.
After Ukraine, the biggest buyers of German arms were Norway and Sweden, which are regarded as exposed to any threat from Moscow given their proximity to Russia.
Norway, a founder member of NATO, bought German arms worth 1.3 billion euros in 2025.
Sweden, which applied to join NATO after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and joined the alliance in March 2024 — purchased around one billion euros worth of weapons.
Finland joined NATO in 2023 for the same reasons but was not among the 10 biggest buyers of German arms last year.
