Briefly

GERMANY

Man, 2-year-old child killed in knife attack

A knife attacker killed a two-year-old child and a man on Wednesday in a public park in the German city of Aschaffenburg, where police arrested a 28-year-old Afghan man as the main suspect. Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the "unbelievable act of terror" on a play school group that left three more people wounded, and demanded to know why the failed asylum-seeker had been able to stay in the country. The latest in a series of deadly knife attacks in Germany threatened to spark a new debate over immigration ahead of a general election on Feb 23.

INDONESIA

Landslide death toll rises to 22

The death toll from a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java rose to 22 on Thursday, officials said, as rescuers raced against time and bad weather to find survivors. Waters from flooded rivers tore through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java Province and landslides tumbled onto mountainside hamlets after torrential rains on Monday. "The victims who were found dead are now 22. Four people are still being searched for," Budiono, head of the search and rescue agency from nearby city Semarang, told AFP.

SOUTH KOREA

Runway barriers to be removed

South Korea will remove concrete embankments near airport runways in response to a recent air disaster, media reports said on Thursday. The embankments contain antennas called localizers designed to guide aircraft during landings and have been blamed for making the Dec 29 crash of a Jeju Air flight worse. The Boeing 737-800 skidded off a runway in Muan after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into the concrete structure and bursting into flames, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. The Transport Ministry said it will replace the structures with breakable materials, the Korea JoongAng Daily and other media reported.

Agencies Via Xinhua