German Police Arrest Man for Planning Attack on Muslims

FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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German Police Arrest Man for Planning Attack on Muslims

FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Police in Germany have detained a man on suspicion of planning to kill Muslims in an attack inspired by the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, prosecutors said Monday.

The 21-year-old from the northern city of Hildesheim had announced his attack plans "in an anonymous internet chat", the state prosecutor's office in the town of Celle said.

Initial investigations show the suspect "has for some time been considering the idea of committing an attack in which he wanted to kill numerous people in order to attract worldwide media attention," Agence France Presse quoted prosecutors as saying.

The suspect referenced the attacker who killed 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, and said he wanted to carry out a similar attack.

"His aim was to kill Muslims," prosecutors said.

Police found weapons in the suspect's home, as well as electronic files containing right-wing extremist content.

He was detained on Saturday and faces charges of threatening to commit criminal offences and financing terrorism through the purchase of weapons.

Germany has been rocked by a string of extreme-right attacks over the past 12 months.

A gunman with apparent far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, in February, while two people were killed in an attack targeting a synagogue in Halle, near Leipzig, in October.

In June 2019, pro-immigration politician Walter Luebcke was found shot dead at his home in the central state of Hesse, and a far-right sympathizer has been charged with his murder.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer proclaimed in March that right-wing extremism and right-wing terrorism were "the biggest danger for democracy in Germany", promising a beefed up security response.



Trump to Undergo 1st Physical Examination of his Second Term

US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025.  EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025. EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
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Trump to Undergo 1st Physical Examination of his Second Term

US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025.  EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025. EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL

Donald Trump, the oldest person to assume the US presidency, is set to undergo his first physical examination of his second term on Friday.
Trump, who turns 79 in June, is known for his love of fast food but often talks about his robust physical and mental health.
"I have never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!" Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform on Monday, announcing the planned exam.
The White House did not respond to queries about the exam and what would be included, Reuters reported.
The physical could offer the first clear look at Trump's condition since his ear was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July. His campaign released a report by Ronny Jackson, Trump's former White House doctor, saying the injuries were superficial.
The White House typically determines what data will be released from a president's health exam. Trump is not compelled to release any information, and there is no template for the presidential exam. Trump released only limited information about his health during his presidential campaigns.
During the 2024 election, Trump drew sharp contrasts with his predecessor, Joe Biden, now 82, claiming he was younger and fitter.
A White House doctor said in 2018 when Trump was serving his first term that he was in overall excellent health but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.
Trump included a cognitive exam, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, as part of his physical during his first term, and his doctor later said he scored 30 out of 30.
Biden released detailed summaries of his physical exams while in office, but several books published in recent months have raised questions about his mental acuity in his final months in the White House.
The mental ability and age of both Biden and Trump were in focus during last year's election campaign, especially after Biden's disastrous performance in a debate with Trump in June, and Trump's increasingly rambling speeches at rallies.