Knifer kills 2, injures 7 on German train
BERLIN -- A knife-wielding man described as a stateless Palestinian fatally stabbed two passengers and injured seven others on a train in northern Germany on Wednesday before being grabbed by members of the public and arrested by police, officials said. The motive of the attack was not immediately known.
Germany's Federal Police force said the suspect used a knife to attack several passengers shortly before a regional train traveling from Kiel to Hamburg arrived at the Brokstedt station.
Police spokesman Juergen Henningsen from the nearby city of Flensburg said two of the stabbed people died after the attack. Three were severely injured and four others suffered minor injuries. No details were given about the identity of the victims.
The attacker was also injured and taken to the hospital, police said.
Authorities said they were first alerted to the incident shortly before 3 p.m. when several passengers on the train made emergency calls to police. Police said the train was stopped and the attacker was detained outside the train after several witnesses held him until officers arrived to arrest him.
Regional police and the federal police were on the scene and the prosecutor's office was investigating the attack, NDR reported.
Drone strike kills 21 Nigerian civilians
ABUJA, Nigeria -- A weapon fired from the air in Nigeria killed at least 21 members of a civilian defense group as they responded to an attack by gunmen in the country's volatile north, witnesses said Wednesday.
Authorities have not said who was responsible for the strike, which residents described as coming from a drone. It took place in Niger state, one of Nigeria's most insecure areas despite its close proximity to the capital, Abuja.
Ayuba Lagodo, a member of the civilian defense group that tries to protect villagers, said a drone strike hit shortly after residents reported an attack under way in Galadimakogo. Such defense groups are common in Nigeria's north, where many hot spots of violence have an inadequate official security presence.
At least 21 people were confirmed dead after Tuesday's strike. Lagodo said the death toll would likely rise because many people were critically wounded or unaccounted for.
While it wasn't clear who launched the drone, blame quickly fell on the Nigerian Air Force, which has carried out similar strikes in recent years.
Federal police in Niger state told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a military operation had been conducted in the state. However, spokespeople for the Nigerian Air Force and Nigeria's Defense Headquarters have yet to respond to media inquiries.
8 still missing from ship sunk off Japan
SEOUL, South Korea -- Ships searching in wind-whipped waters between South Korea and Japan have picked up at least 14 of the 22 crew members from a cargo vessel that sank early Wednesday, killing at least two, officials said.
South Korean officials said nine of those rescued remain unconscious, but they did not immediately confirm any deaths. Ten crew members were later airlifted to Nagasaki in southern Japan for treatment, but two of them were confirmed dead on arrival, Japanese officials said.
South Korean and Japanese coast guard vessels and aircraft as well as two commercial cargo ships were continuing to search for the eight missing crew members but the efforts were being slowed by strong winds and waves, South Korean officials said.
The Japanese coast guard confirmed the rescue of at least 13 crew members and said five of them -- all Chinese nationals -- were still alive.
The 6,551-ton Jin Tian sank about 3½ hours after it sent a distress call around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese coast guard spokesperson Shinya Kitahara said.
The vessel, which was Hong Kong registered and carrying lumber, sank about 100 miles southwest of Nagasaki, Japan, and about 93 miles south of South Korea's Jeju island.
Man attacks priest, kills sexton in Spain
BARCELONA, Spain -- A man wielding a machete killed a sexton and injured a priest in attacks at two churches in the city of Algeciras Wednesday before being arrested, Spain's interior ministry said, in what authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
The suspect was arrested in the southern city and is in the custody of Spain's National Police. The ministry did not identify him.
The attack started when the armed man went into the San Isidro church and assaulted a priest, who was seriously injured, the ministry said. Local media said he is being treated in a hospital.
The assailant then went to a second church, the Nuestra Senora de La Palma, where he attacked and killed the sexton outside the building.
Local media reported that at least three other people were injured.
Spain's National Court said a judge has opened an investigation into a possible act of terrorism.
Police are investigating the incident, the interior ministry said, to determine the "nature of the attack." It offered no further detail on the attacker's possible motive.