Four arrests over German synagogue threat

German police say they have arrested four people, including a 16-year-old boy, after they received information about a possible threat to a synagogue.

Late on Wednesday, police stepped up their protection of a synagogue in Hagen , a town of some 200,000 on the fringes of the Ruhr industrial region in the west of the country.

The threat coincided with the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur, when observant Jews hold overnight vigils in synagogues.

On Thursday, police in Hagen said they had arrested four people as a result of their investigation into the threat and had searched various buildings.

In 2019, a right-wing extremist launched an armed attack on a synagogue in the eastern town of Halle, shooting dead two passers-by.

Then, police faced criticism for being slow to attend the scene, though they eventually arrested the attacker, who is now serving a life sentence for the murders.