BERLIN: A failed Iraqi asylum seeker suspected of raping and murdering a teenage girl in Germany was arrested in Iraq overnight, German authorities said Friday, after his escape sparked outrage and raised questions over immigration and police failings.
Ali Bashar, 20, who is believed to have strangled 14-year-old Susanna Maria Feldman after sexually assaulting her, was “arrested by Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq at the request of German federal police,” said German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
The arrest came after an outcry in Germany as police hunting the fugitive admitted that Bashar had fled with his family.
They managed to fly out of Duesseldorf airport even though the names on their identity documents did not match those on their airline tickets, said police, adding that their identity was only checked against the photos on the papers.
Bashar also turned out to have chalked up a long police record over less than three years in Germany and should have been expelled months ago.
The case puts renewed pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government over the decision to open Germany’s borders at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis in 2015, which led to the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers over two years.
After rape-murder shocks Germany, suspect captured in Iraq
After rape-murder shocks Germany, suspect captured in Iraq
Italian PM pledges to deepen cooperation with African states
- The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid
ADDIS ABABA: Italy pledged to deepen cooperation with African countries at its second Italy-Africa summit, the first held on African soil, to review projects launched in critical sectors such as energy and infrastructure during Italy’s first phase of the Mattei Plan for Africa.
The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed dozens of African heads of state and governments in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and reiterated that a successful partnership would depend on Italy’s “ability to draw from African wisdom” and ensure lessons are learned.
“We want to build things together,” she told African heads of state. “We want to be more consistent with the needs of the countries involved.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Italy had provided Africa with a gateway to Europe through these partnerships.
“This is a moment to move from dialogue to action,” he said.
“By combining Africa’s energetic and creative population with Europe’s experience, technology, and capital, we can build solutions that deliver prosperity to our continents and beyond.”
After the Italy-Africa summit concluded, African leaders remained in Addis Ababa for the annual African Union Summit.
Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola said tangible results from such summits depend on preparations made by countries.
African governments often focus on “optics instead of actually making summits a meaningful engagement,” she said.
Instead of waiting for a list of demands, countries should “present the conclusions of an extended period of mapping the national needs” and engage in dialogue to determine how those needs can be met.
Since it was launched two years ago, the Mattei Plan has directly involved 14 African nations and has launched or advanced around 100 projects in crucial sectors, including energy and climate transition, agriculture and food security, physical and digital infrastructure, healthcare, water, culture and education, training, and the development of artificial intelligence, according to the Italian government.
