04/11/2025

TUESDAY | NOV 4, 2025

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FRANKFURT: German authorities said on Sunday they arrested a 22-year-old Syrian man in Berlin suspected of preparing an extremist attack, without giving details of the alleged plot. The suspect, arrested on Saturday in the capital’s southern Neukoelln district, appeared before an investigating judge on Sunday and was ordered remanded in custody. He is suspected of “preparing an act of serious violence against the state”, as well as “spreading propaganda material of anti-constitutional and terrorist organisations,” a joint statement from Berlin police and prosecutors said. He is alleged to have plotted an extremist-motivated attack, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office in Berlin told AFP. The newspaper Bild reported that a search by special police units of three Berlin residential addresses linked to the suspect turned up items that could be used to build explosives. The daily said the alleged plot is thought to be an attack in Berlin, but no other details have yet emerged. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement the arrest of the Syrian shows that “the terrorist threat in Germany, although often abstract, remains heightened”. He said the Syrian has been in Germany since 2023 and his activities, “suggesting preparations for an attack, were detected in time”. Germany in recent months has seen several knife attacks, as well as attacks with extremist and far-right motives that have thrown a focus on security measures. Berlin remains under vigilant watch, especially since a murderous 2016 extremist attack at a Christmas market, when a truck mowed down a crowd, killing 12 people. – AFP LONDON: A nine-month-old infant has died after a dog attack in southeast Wales, PA Media/dpa reported. Gwent police said officers responded to an address in Crossway, Rogiet at 6pm (1800 GMT) on Sunday. Officers went to the scene along with Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics. Police said the baby was pronounced dead at the scene. The dog has been seized and removed from the property, the force said. – Bernama-PA Media/dpa SAO PAULO: At least one person was killed and 60 were injured on Sunday when strong winds and heavy rain knocked over a metal structure at a university party in southeast Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, according to the Civil Defence, reported Xinhua. The celebration was for medical students in the municipality of Regente Feijo. Rescue teams from the Fire Department and military police, and Civil Defence personnel from the city and the neighbouring town of Presidente Prudente responded to the accident. – Bernama-Xinhua ISTANBUL: The Netherlands will return a 3,500-year-old stone head sculpture to Egypt, Prime Minister Dick Schoof told President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, Anadolu Ajansi reported. The artefact is believed to have been stolen and exported from Egypt most likely during the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring. It resurfaced in 2022 at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht, where the dealer gave up ownership upon learning it had been stolen. It will be handed over to Egypt’s ambassador to the Netherlands by the end of the year, although it remains unclear where Egypt intends to display it. – Bernama-Anadolu Germany arrests Syrian suspected of plotting attack INFANT DIES AFTER DOG ATTACK IN WALES STRUCTURE TOPPLES AT BRAZIL VARSITY PARTY ANCIENT ARTEFACT TO BE RETURNED TO EGYPT

WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION ... A drone view of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Belmont, Jamaica on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC

Russia, China secretly test nuclear weapons: Trump

South Korea. The announcement came in the wake of Russia saying it has tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, and a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone. Asked directly if he plans for the United States to detonate a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than three decades, Trump said: “I am saying that we are going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.” No country other than North Korea is known to have conducted a nuclear detonation for decades. Russia and China have not carried out such tests since 1990 and 1996 respectively. Pressed on the topic, Trump said: “They do not go and tell you about it. As powerful as they are, this is a big world. You do not necessarily know where they are testing. “They test way underground where people do not know exactly what is happening with the test. You feel a little bit of a vibration.” Trump’s energy secretary on Sunday downplayed that the United States is planning to set off a nuclear explosion. “I think the tests we are talking about right

now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions,” said Chris Wright on Sunday. “These are what we call ‘non-critical explosions,’ so you are testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and they set up the nuclear explosion.” The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. During the 60 Minutes programme, Trump also ruled out seeking a third term in the 2028 presidential election. “I do not even think about it. I will tell you, a lot of people want me to run,” he said when asked by host Norah O’Donnell whether he would try to run for a third term. Further questioned about possible names, including Vice-President J.D. Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump said he likes them both. “I like so many people. We have an unbelievable bench. We could run two people together. We have a great bench. So, I do not want to start talking about elections. It is too early.” – AFP

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump alleged on Sunday that countries including Russia and China have conducted underground nuclear tests unknown to the public, and the United States would follow suit. “Russia is testing and China is testing, but they do not talk about it,” he told CBS’s 60 Minutes programme in an interview released on Sunday. “I do not want to be the only country that does not test,” he said, adding North Korea and Pakistan to the list of nations allegedly testing their arsenals. Confusion has surrounded Trump’s order that the United States begin testing, particularly if he meant conducting the country’s first nuclear explosion since 1992. The 79-year-old Republican first made his surprise announcement by social media post on Thursday, minutes before entering a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in o President also accuses North Korea and Pakistan

BR I E F S

UK train stabbing done by lone attacker,say police HUNTINGDON: A 32-year-old British man is the sole suspect accused of a mass stabbing on a train in England, after another man arrested in the case was released on Sunday with no charges. Saturday, but police later said there is nothing to suggest that the incident was terrorism. Work is ongoing to establish the events leading up to the attack and the suspect’s background, police said. A knife has also been recovered from the scene. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it an “appalling incident”that is“deeply concerning”, while King Charles said he is “truly appalled and shocked”.

Knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87% over the past decade, with 54,587 offences last year alone, a 2% rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe, according to figures from Britain’s Interior Ministry. Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she is “deeply saddened”, urging people to avoid speculation about the incident. The government is keen to stop rumours spreading on social media following an incident in Southport in northwest England in 2024, when internet claims over the murder of three young girls sparked days of rioting across the country. – Reuters

British police said the attack that put 11 people in hospital was not a terrorist incident. By Sunday, five of the injured had been discharged from hospital, and among those still being treated was a member of the train crew who had tried to stop the attacker and was in a life-threatening condition, police said. “Detectives have reviewed the CCTV from the train and it is clear that his actions were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved many people’s lives.” Counterterrorism police helped with the initial investigation after the mass stabbing of passengers on a train in eastern England on

“Our investigation is moving at pace and we are confident we are not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident,” said Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy in a statement. Police described the sole suspect as a Black British national from Peterborough, 160km north of London, who had boarded the train there. The suspect was arrested by armed police after the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon, around 128km north of London.