ASCHAFFENBURG: The trial of a 28-year-old Afghan national accused of killing two people, including a toddler, during a knife attack in Aschaffenburg began on Thursday, more than eight months after the incident that shocked the nation.
Prosecutors allege the suspect - named only as Enamullah O. to protect his privacy - attacked a kindergarten group, fatally stabbing a German man and a 2-year-old boy of Moroccan descent in a city park in January.
The attack also left a 2-year-old Syrian girl, a teacher and a 72-year-old man injured, authorities said.
Prosecutors say Enamullah O. had paranoid schizophrenia at the time the crimes were committed.
The attack, which happened a month before Germany's federal election in February, prompted the now Chancellor Friedrich Merz to promise a crackdown on migration and to tighten border controls.
It was one of a string of violent attacks in Germany that have boosted concerns over migration and fuelled support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is vying for top spot in opinion polls with Merz's conservatives.
The suspect had an asylum application turned down and had said he would voluntarily leave Germany last December, but did not leave and remained under treatment.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced plans to allow deportations of illegal immigrants to Afghanistan and other countries, reversing previous restrictions on doing so under the previous government.
Supporters of these measures say the changes are necessary to address security concerns and public unease.
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Afghan suspect in knife attack that killed toddler goes on trial in Germany
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Afghan suspect in knife attack that killed toddler goes on trial in Germany
- Prosecutors allege the suspect fatally stabbing a German man and a 2-year-old boy of Moroccan descent
- The attack also left a 2-year-old Syrian girl, a teacher and a 72-year-old man injured
Tornado kills five, injures more than 400 in Brazil
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour
BRASILIA: A tornado killed at least five people and injured more than 400 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said Saturday.
The twister on Friday overturned cars and damaged homes in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Parana state, the local weather service reported.
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said. Two others are missing but this number could rise, it said.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour (110 and 155 miles per hour), Parana’s environmental technology and monitoring agency said.
Civil Defense officials said 80 percent of the town is now destroyed. Images on social media show homes razed by the violent weather.
“It is a war scene,” Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defense agency, told the news outlet G1.
He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit right in the center of the town.
“When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal,” Schunig said.
The governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, said on X that “security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms.”
An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour
BRASILIA: A tornado killed at least five people and injured more than 400 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said Saturday.
The twister on Friday overturned cars and damaged homes in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Parana state, the local weather service reported.
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said. Two others are missing but this number could rise, it said.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour (110 and 155 miles per hour), Parana’s environmental technology and monitoring agency said.
Civil Defense officials said 80 percent of the town is now destroyed. Images on social media show homes razed by the violent weather.
“It is a war scene,” Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defense agency, told the news outlet G1.
He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit right in the center of the town.
“When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal,” Schunig said.
The governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, said on X that “security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms.”
An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.
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