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CRIME

Police still on hunt for mailbox bomber

Doctors will likely be able to save the life of a 12-year-old girl critically injured in a mailbox bombing in Berlin, while police are still on the hunt for the main suspect in the attack, reports said Saturday.

Police still on hunt for mailbox bomber
Photo: DPA

Police have located the booby-trapped car of the suspect, the girl’s step-uncle, and were overnight defusing a bomb in the vehicle, Der Tagesspiegel reported citing police sources.

Explosives specialists descended on the neighbourhood in the eastern district of Friedrichshain after the red BMW was found late Friday, and more than 100 residents were evacuated while the operation was underway.

A complicated device made up of “wires and pipes” was inside the vehicle, police said.

The suspect, whose name was given by the ,i>Berliner Zeitung newspaper as 32-year-old Peter John, allegedly placed a bomb in a letterbox, which exploded and critically injured the girl on Wednesday when she opened it at her family’s home in Rudow.

Doctors have been frantically trying to save the girl’s life, and they said there’s now a good chance they will be able to save her arm. But the girl, Charlyn, remained in critical condition at a Berlin area hospital.

“Dangerous toxins could spread through her body,” Andreas Eisenschenk, the lead surgeon on the operation, told the Tagesspiegel.

The suspect also allegedly put a second bomb on the roof of the car of the girl’s father, but that did not go off. He has been on the run since the incident, and police have sealed off his apartment.

A neighbour reported that the suspect never made an unpleasant impression and is supposedly “a calm and friendly man,” according to the paper.

He had always felt mistreated when compared to the standard of living of the rest of the family and a dispute has been ongoing for years.

The father reportedly revealed during police questioning on Thursday that he suspected someone in his extended family might want to harm his immediate family, but refused to comment further.

BERLIN

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Farmers in Germany launched fresh protests in Berlin on Friday to call for the government to support agriculture, resulting in disruption across the city.

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Berlin police said there were “considerable traffic disruptions” across the city and the outskirts and especially around Straße des 17. Juni, the government district and the Bundesrat .

Since Thursday morning, Straße des 17. Juni and other streets around the government district in Berlin-Tiergarten have been closed. There will also be closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz through Friday.

A planned rally is due to take place from 12 noon to 5pm on Friday with tractors and lorries around Platz des 18. März, near Brandenburg Gate. 

The action is being held to protest the government’s agricultural policies.

It comes as relief measures – including reduced bureaucracy and tax relief for farmers – went to the Bundesrat on Friday to be voted on as part of the Growth Opportunities Act.

However, farmers are still pushing for their original demand of fully keeping the agricultural diesel subsidy.

READ ALSO: Analysis: Why are German farmers so angry?

Farmers in Germany have been staging similar protests against the policies of the government since the start of the year.

Where are protests taking place?

Here’s a look at the routes farmers are expected to take in Friday into Berlin where disruption will occur:

Frohnau: From the state border via B96 Berliner Straße, Roedernallee, Lindauer Allee, Residenzstraße, Markstraße, Schulstraße, Luxemburger Straße, Föhrer Straße, An der Putlitzbrücke, Stromstraße, Lessingstraße, Altonaer Straße and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Lichtenrade: From the state border via the B96 Kirchhainer Damm to Tempelhofer Damm and then via Mehringdamm, Hallesches Ufer, Reichpietschufer, Klingelhöferstraße, Hofjägerallee and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Mahlsdorf: From the state border via the B1/5 to Alexanderstraße and then via Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Unter den Linden, Wilhelmstraße, Dorotheenstraße, Scheidemannstraße, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee, Spreeweg and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Staaken: From the state border via B5 Heerstraße to Theodor-Heuss-Platz, Kaiserdamm, Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Straße des 17. Juni and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni.

As we’ve already. mentioned, there will also be road closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

A large police presence was in place around the federal ministries and parliamentary buildings.

“We are taking preparatory measures before the farmers’ rally so that parliamentary work can take place smoothly on Friday,” said a spokesperson for the Berlin police on Thursday. 

During previous demonstrations, tactics – such as throwing manure and blockade attempts – have been controversial. 

On one occasion in January more than a hundred farmers blocked a ferry port as Economics Minister Robert Habeck tried to return from a holiday with his wife on the North Friesian island of Hooge.

According to media reports, some of the protestors tried to storm the ferry that the Habeck and his wife were on, preventing the Green Party politician from disembarking and forcing police to intervene. 

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