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Gangs smash shops, attack police in Stuttgart
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Groups of people have smashed shop windows, looted, and attacked police vehicles in central Stuttgart during hours of night-time disturbances.
German police say more than a dozen police officers were hurt during the violence, in south-west Germany.
Video clips on Twitter show people vandalising shops in the city centre and hurling big stones and other objects at police vehicles.
Stuttgart police say the violence began after police checked a drugs incident.
The situation escalated after a 17-year-old was questioned for an alleged drug offence, the city’s police vice-president Thomas Berger told reporters.
A group of between 100 and 200 people responded by throwing stones and bottles at the police on the central Schlossplatz, a large square.
This then grew, he said, to between 400 and 500 people attacking police. Many of the rioters were said to be hooded and masked.
Police president Frank Lutz suggested the situation had become more tense over the past three to four weeks.
What he described as people from the “party and event scene” in Stuttgart had been getting drunk in public and adopted an aggressive and insulting tone towards police on social media.
Local politicians and ordinary citizens expressed shock, saying the scale of the rampage was unprecedented for Stuttgart in recent years.
A mobile phone shop and a jewellery store were among the businesses attacked and looted. Some fast food outlets were also vandalised, public broadcaster SWR reports.
In total, 40 shops were damaged, and nine looted.
Some rioters threw chunks of paving stone and other missiles at passing police cars. At one point, the police said, the situation was “out of control”.
More than 200 extra police were rushed into the city centre, where shops had been attacked apparently at random.
The situation was calmer after dawn and firefighters and civil protection volunteers (THW) began repairing the many damaged shop fronts.
Twenty-four people were arrested – 12 Germans and 12 described as non-German. Police have appealed for witness evidence including mobile phone footage.
Nineteen police officers were injured and 12 police vehicles damaged.
City mayor Fritz Kuhn said: “I was very shocked this morning when I learned about what happened overnight. Stuttgart has never witnessed a night like this, with such attacks on the police.”
He said such behaviour was unacceptable, regardless of the cause, be it alcohol or incitement via social media. -BBC
Construction of a major underground stormwater drain along the Dr. Busia Highway within the Kaneshie enclave will commence on September 7, 2026.
The Project Coordinator for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfo, announced this at a special media briefing on Wednesday.
According to him, the works will involve the construction of a double-cell underground rectangular drain measuring approximately 10 metres wide and 1.95 kilometres long, stretching from Pamprom Junction to First Light Junction.
The new drain will replace the existing two 1.2-metre diameter pipes, which are inadequate to carry the volume of stormwater in the area.
Dr. Sarfo said the drain will connect at one end to the recently completed section within the Accra Academy campus and at the other end to the existing drain at Pamprom Junction.
He said the construction is expected to run from September 2026 to October 2027.
The project forms part of government’s broader flood prevention and mitigation programme aimed at addressing perennial flooding in Accra.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has withdrawn from the party’s National Chairmanship race.
In a statement issued yesterday, Chairman Wontumi who is currently serving a 20-year jail term said his decision was driven by his love for the party and his unwillingness to let his personal circumstances distract the NPP from its rebuilding efforts.
“There are moments in the life of a man when the heart wants to continue, but duty demands sacrifice. Moments when one must quietly set aside personal ambition, not because the dream has died, but because the family he loves must not be made to carry his burden. Today, I find myself at such a painful moment,” he wrote.
He disclosed that after many nights of prayer, sober reflection and consultations with his family, legal team, party elders, campaign team and trusted supporters, he concluded that his present situation must not become an additional burden on the NPP.
“This is not the decision my heart desired, but sometimes, true love requires us to release what we deeply want in order to protect what we love even more,” he added.
Recounting his years of service, Chairman Wontumi said he had served the party with everything within him, walking through heat and rain, travelling to remote communities and standing with the grassroots in both victory and defeat.
“For many years, I have served the NPP with everything within me… The NPP is not merely a political party to me. It is my family. It is my home. It is a cause to which I have dedicated a significant part of my life,” he stated.
He explained that the party, already carrying the pain of electoral defeat and the huge responsibility of preparing for the future, should not be made to carry his personal weight.
“That is why I cannot allow my present situation or personal ambition to distract the party from the difficult work of rebuilding. I cannot ask the party to carry my weight when it is already carrying the pain of defeat and the enormous responsibility of preparing for the battle ahead. I would rather carry this pain quietly than allow the party I love to suffer because of me,” he said.
He further sympathized with his supporters across the 16 regions, acknowledging that the decision would be painful for many who had sacrificed for his campaign.
“To my teeming supporters across all sixteen regions, I know this message will hurt. I know many of you will read it with tears in your eyes because I understand the sacrifices you have made for this journey,” he said.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
