3 people stabbed during London's Notting Hill Carnival, police say

LONDON (AP) — Three people were stabbed during the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s biggest street festival, with a 32-year-old woman suffering “life-threatening” injuries, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said.

More than 1 million people are expected to attend the carnival, a celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture that takes place every year on the streets of the Notting Hill neighborhood in west London. Some 7,000 police officers have been assigned to the event, which concludes Monday.

Police said they made 90 arrests on Sunday, including 10 people who were detained for assaulting emergency workers, 18 for possession of offensive weapons and four for sexual offenses.

“Hundreds of thousands of people came to Notting Hill Carnival today to enjoy a fantastic celebration,” the Met said in a statement. “Regrettably, a minority came to commit crime and engage in violence.”

Crowds on Ladbroke Grove, London, during the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

Police officers on Ladbroke Grove as the Notting Hill Carnival takes place, in west London, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

Dancers prepare to take part in the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Monday Aug. 26, 2024. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

Participants take part in the Children's Day Parade, part of the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Sunday Aug. 25, 2024. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

Participants taking part in the Children's Day Parade, part of the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

Participants taking part in the Children's Day Parade, part of the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

Participants take part in the Children's Day Parade, part of the Notting Hill Carnival celebration in west London, Sunday Aug. 25, 2024. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

BANGKOK (AP) — Germany sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday in its first transit of the disputed waters in more than two decades, as Berlin seeks to increase its defense engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

China claims the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan as its own, and views such transits as provocative actions.

To challenge China's claims, the United States and allies including Australia, Canada, Britain and France, have regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations there, sailing through the strait to emphasize that it is international waters.

In its last naval deployment to the region in 2021-22, Germany had sought to avoid confrontation with China and attempted a diplomatic balancing act, seeking a port call in China, which Beijing denied, and by not sailing through the Taiwan Strait.

The government was widely criticized for this approach, and on this deployment to the Indo-Pacific, leaders decided to sail through the strait en route from South Korea to the Philippines in a widely-telegraphed move.

“The signal is a very simple one, which we have always maintained and I have always maintained,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin. “International waters are international waters.”

Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed in a post on X that the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and support ship Frankfurt am Main had transited through the strait from north to south, adding that throughout the sail "the situation remained normal."

China, which often reacts sharply to American warships transiting the strait, was somewhat muted in its response.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that for Beijing, “the Taiwan issue is not an issue of freedom of navigation, but an issue related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

She said that while China respects the navigation rights of all countries, “we firmly oppose provocations endangering China’s sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation.”

The European Union three years ago embarked on a new strategy for the Asia-Pacific aimed at boosting economic, political and defense ties. Part of that has been focused on improving maritime security and ensuring safe passage through sea lanes.

It comes at a time when China is becoming increasingly assertive in pushing its maritime claims in the region, including on virtually the entire South China Sea and on Taiwan.

China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory, and President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking it by force.

China sends warplanes and warships near Taiwan on a near-daily basis in an attempt to intimidate its citizens and degrade the island’s defenses.

In response, Taiwan has extended the period of national military service to one year, building its own submarines and importing sophisticated new equipment from the U.S.

The vast majority of Taiwanese favor the current status of their island, which separated from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.

FILE - A Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)