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German authorities arrest 17-year-old suspected of planning extremist-inspired attack

BERLIN (AP) — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in the German city of Hamburg on suspicion of planning an attack on a shopping mall, a bar or a police station, prosecutors said Monday.

The Syrian national was arrested in Hamburg on Thursday, prosecutors in Germany’s second-biggest city said in a statement. They added that the Islamic State extremist group apparently was the inspiration for his alleged plans to kill an undetermined number of “infidels” using explosives, Molotov cocktails or a knife.

The suspect allegedly had procured fertilizer, lighter fluid, a balaclava and a knife, which were seized last week. He is under investigation on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and terror financing.

Prosecutors said they previously had ordered a psychiatric assessment of the suspect in connection with a separate investigation into alleged violations of Germany’s law governing associations and other offenses. They didn’t elaborate on that case.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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