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Knife attack at German festival leaves 3 dead and 5 seriously wounded

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An attacker with a knife killed three people and seriously wounded at least five late Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, authorities said.

Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. to an unknown attacker having wounded several people indiscriminately with a knife on a central square, the Fronhof. Police said the perpetrator was on the run, and they had only very little information on the man so far.

They said they believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker.

One of the festival organizers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and asked festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.”

He said many people had been wounded by “a knifeman.”

At least one helicopter was seen in the air, while many police and emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights were on the road and several streets were closed off.

Police put the number of seriously injured at five. The region’s top security official, Herbert Reul, gave a figure of six as he visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday.

“None of us knows why” the attack took place, said Reul, who is the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state.

“I can’t say anything about the motive now” and it isn’t clear who the assailant was, he said, but the attacker left the scene “relatively quickly.”

Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post, “This evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”

“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” he added.

Local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted Celine Derikartz, its reporter covering the festival, as saying that “the atmosphere is spooky.” She said a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes and she saw festivalgoers weeping.

The “Festival of Diversity,” marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

The city canceled the rest of the festival after the attack. Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf.

There has been concern about an increase in knife violence in Germany recently.

In May, a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant on members of a group that describes itself as opposing “political Islam” left a police officer dead.

Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) that is allowed now.

(AP)

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Body of missing fisherman from capsized boat, recovered

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The body of one of the two fishermen who went missing after a multi-day fishing vessel capsized in the seas off the coast of Paravi Wella in Tangalle, has been recovered.

The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) confirmed that the fisherman’s body was recovered during search operations, which were conducted with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF).

The fishing vessel, named “Maxim Putha 1,” was carrying six fishermen when the accident occurred while returning to shore after poaching.

A total of six fishermen were onboard the vessel when it capsized off the coast of Paravi Wella Beach in Tangalle, four of whom were rescued with the help of a dinghy.

Efforts are underway to locate the remaining missing fisherman.

Meanwhile, three other boat accidents were reported yesterday in seas off Galle, Kalutara and Hikkaduwa.

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Nationwide mosquito control program launches tomorrow

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In response to a surge in dengue cases, health authorities will launch a special mosquito control program tomorrow (June 30), covering 16 high-risk districts across the country.

According to the National Dengue Control Unit, the program will be in continue until the 5th of July.

A total of 28,752 dengue cases have been reported islandwide so far this year.

The highest number of cases were recorded from the Western Province.

Sixteen dengue-related deaths have been reported so far this year.

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President’s Fund donates one million to Ishaq Baig

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Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Hiniduma Sunil Senevi today offered one million rupees from the President’s Fund to ailing veteran singer Ishaq Baig for his treatments.

The Sri Lankan Singers’ Association had launched a campaign “Ishak ta Kotiyak” (Rs. 10 million for Ishak) to raise funds for Ishaq Baig’s treatment and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake instructed to offer Rs. one million from the President’s Fund.

Minister Sunil Senevi visited Baig’s residence today and offered the cheque for one million rupees.

“Ishak ta Kotiyak”

Sri Lankan Singers’ Association President Rohan De Silva said they launched the campaign “Ishak ta Kotiyak” (Rs. 10 million for Ishak) to assist Ishaq Baig for his treatment and other expenses.

“Ishaq requires about Rs. 100,000 for his treatment and medicines monthly. We hope to make an investment with the funds so that Ishak could get at least Rs. 100,000 monthly for his expenses. We have been able to achieve the Rs. 10 million target within five days. However, we will keep the account open till the Esala Poya day while considering the request of well-wishers,” he said.

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