Stabbing attacks

HELSINKI: Two people died in a stabbing attack in the centre of the south-western Finnish city of Turku on Friday, with police announcing an investigation into the motive and identity of a male suspect they shot and arrested.

The suspect was described as “a young foreigner” and taken to hospital after being shot in the thigh, police said. The motive for the attack was not clear.

At least eight people were also injured in a knife attack in the Russian city of Surgut in Siberia, the Ria Novosti news agency reported yesterday.

The assailant was shot dead, the report said. – DPA

Goose-step rally

BERLIN: Several hundred counter-protesters marched against a neo-nazi rally in Berlin yesterday called to mark the 30th anniversary of the suicide of Hitler’s former deputy, Rudolf Hess.

At midday, 500 neo-nazis had gathered near the train station in Berlin’s Spandau district, where the counter-protest also began.

About 1000 police were deployed to prevent clashes between neo-nazis and protesters.

The neo-nazi demonstration had to comply with several strict criteria. – DPA

Little hope of survival

FREETOWN: Survivors picking through the debris of Sierra Leone’s deadly mudslides are facing the reality that most, if not all of the estimated 600 people missing are dead.

The confirmed death toll is already above 450 after Monday’s flooding and mudslides, and largescale-burials have begun.

Rescue officials have warned that the chances of finding survivors “are getting smaller every day”, and bodies have been washing up on shore in the seaside city. – AP