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Soccer Game In Germany Canceled After Bomb Threat


Police in the German city of Hannover say authorities have postponed a friendly soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands because they had "concrete information" about a bomb threat.

The German news agency dpa quoted Hannover police chief Volker Kluwe as saying the information concerned an explosives attack.

The stadium was evacuated by police about an hour and a half before the kickoff on November 17 in the northern German city.

"We had concrete warnings that someone in the stadium wanted to detonate explosives," Kluwe told dpa.

Top government officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, had been scheduled to attend the match to send a signal that Germany wouldn't bow to terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks.

At the time, Germany was playing France in a soccer friendly in the Stade de France, outside of which three suicide bombers blew themselves up.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa

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