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CRIME

Berlin man ‘beheads wife’

A Berlin man was arrested on Monday on suspicion of killing his wife and cutting her body to pieces after a row in a flat where police later found six children, authorities said. Witnesses said they saw him throw her head from the roof.

Berlin man 'beheads wife'
Photo: DPA

“Upon entering the apartment, officers discovered the partly dismembered body of the 30-year-old tenant and detained the 32-year-old husband after he attempted to resist them,” police said in a statement.

A police spokesman said later that the body parts were discovered on the terrace of the flat and that limbs had also been found in the courtyard of the building. An autopsy showed the woman had been stabbed to death.

The man, who is believed to work in the building industry and who, authorities say, has several traffic violations and tax infractions on his police record but no violent crimes, was to appear before a judge later Monday.

Neighbours alerted the authorities after hearing loud noises from the apartment in the early morning.

The six children, who were apparently unscathed, were handed over to social services, police said.

They were not able to say whether all six, who are between the ages of one and 13, two girls and four boys, belonged to the couple.

A witness told local public radio station RBB that she had seen the man, who she said was Turkish, on the roof of the five-storey apartment building holding up the head of the woman in one hand and a knife in the other.

Her mother saw him throw the head into the courtyard, she said. She said she had earlier seen the man strike and kick his wife.

The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper reported in its online edition that the children were in a room with the door closed at the time of the killing and did not see what occurred.

But other neighbours told German news agency DPA that they could see the children looking out the window as the murder took place.

They were quoted as saying that the man cried “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) before killing his wife.

Another neighbour said that the man had had another lover living in the building with whom he had two children and that the wife had previously thrown her husband, with whom she often fought, out of the apartment.

AFP/hc

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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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