Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he felt vindicated in his economic strategy after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz admitted in a landmark speech that Germany’s welfare state can no longer be financed at current levels.
“The German Chancellor’s speech confirms everything that we Hungarians have done in the economy over the past 15 years,” Orbán wrote in response to Merz’s address in Osnabrück on Saturday. “The Western welfare state is bankrupt, so it was right for us to switch to a labor-based economy in 2010.”
Orbán argued that while Germany is only now waking up to the crisis, Hungary anticipated it and acted accordingly. “It was right to stand on more legs and start the Eastern opening. It was right to embrace the most advanced Chinese technology, it was right to lead Europe in electromobility, it was right to maintain economic cooperation with Russia, it was right to stick to cheap Russian energy sources, and it was right to support Donald Trump against migration and for peace,” he said.
He contrasted Hungary’s “nation-building” approach with Germany’s belated “crisis management.”
“Our perspective is nation-building: tax revolution, own home, 10-year development plan. What a difference! We fight for the truth! We fight against lies!” Orbán declared.
In Osnabrück, Merz acknowledged the depth of Germany’s problems. “The welfare state as we have it today is no longer financially viable with what we are achieving economically,” he said. The warning follows growing concerns over bankruptcies, rising unemployment, and inflation risks.
Migration has become a central factor. Figures from the Federal Employment Agency last year showed that of the 4 million employable people on social benefits, more than 2.5 million have a migration background, nearly 64 percent. Bild also reported that almost half of Germany’s €17.68 billion housing support budget for 2024 has gone to foreigners.
Yet despite the mounting strain, Remix News reported earlier this month that Germany’s Federal Employment Agency was continuing to promote the “citizen’s benefit” (Bürgergeld) welfare system to migrants. A section of its website, written in English for “people from abroad,” featured smiling models — including a woman in a hijab — and promised financial support for migrants unable to cover living expenses.
The NGO ship Mediterranea was seized in the Italian port of Trapani after its operators ignored direct instructions from Italy’s interior ministry and docked migrants at an unauthorized port.
The move, which violated the government decree of 2023 that regulates NGO activity in the Mediterranean, carries a fine of up to €10,000 and leaves the vessel detained until the prefect decides its fate in the coming days.
The interior ministry had designated Genoa as the port of safety for the 10 migrants picked up in the Sicilian Channel. Instead, the NGO diverted to Trapani and disembarked the group without authorization.
Authorities point out that the assignment of ports is coordinated nationally to ensure fairness across regions, relieving pressure from Sicily and the southern coast, where the majority of arrivals occur.
The government claims that unauthorized actions undermine both security and the state’s ability to manage migration in an orderly way. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stressed that “it is the state that fights human traffickers and manages and coordinates rescue operations at sea, not NGOs.”
È lo Stato che contrasta i trafficanti di esseri umani e gestisce e coordina i soccorsi in mare. Non le ONG. pic.twitter.com/XY63ss2HAi
The seizure of the Mediterranea was carried out jointly by the police, the Guardia di Finanza, and the Coast Guard. Officials noted that the NGO had admitted it knowingly acted outside the rules. By defying lawful orders, the group exposed itself to sanctions and put itself in direct conflict with Italian law.
Left-wing parties and activists criticized the decision to sanction the vessel, with the Mediterranea calling it an “obscene measure.” The NGO’s president, Laura Marmorale, claimed the Italian government was “taking revenge and attacking us because we saved 10 children from certain death.”
Oggi pomeriggio Questura, Guardia di Finanza e Capitaneria di Porto di #Trapani hanno notificato alla nave #Mediterranea le misure previste dal Decreto Legge #Piantedosi: sanzione pecuniaria fino a 10mila euro e fermo amministrativo.
Government sources, however, noted that the actions of the NGO encourage irregular crossings and fuel the human trafficking networks that profit from sending migrants across the Mediterranean in unsafe boats.
The interior ministry reiterated that all rescued individuals received medical assistance and proper care, in line with Italy’s legal and humanitarian obligations.
A storage unit belonging to a Parisian immigration lawyer was robbed last month, with thieves walking away with two suitcases containing luxury watches, cash, and confidential legal documents worth an estimated €1.3 million.
As reported by Frontiéres, an Algerian national broke into the Une Pièce en Plus storage center on Rue Paul Dautier in Vélizy on July 3, which advertises top-level security with cameras, alarms, and controlled access.
However, surveillance footage shows the thief moving calmly through the premises, dressed in black with a cap and sunglasses. In less than three minutes, he bypassed a faulty elevator sensor, forced open a single cubicle, and walked out with the targeted suitcases.
BREAKING: An Algerian migrant stole €1.3 MILLION from a Paris lawyer specializing in immigration law.
The suspect is the lawyer's Franco-Algerian female employee, who left with 2 suitcases full of loot from a safe.
The alarm system triggered three times during the theft, but no guard intervened, and no calls were made. Suspicion quickly focused on Sherasade M., a Franco-Algerian employee on duty at the time. According to the victim, she was the only person aware of the cubicle’s contents and location.
In the days after the heist, she failed to log the burglary during routine rounds and soon vanished from her post altogether. Social media posts placed her in luxury resorts, including Mykonos and Saint-Tropez, before she left France for the United States, where she remains untraceable.
Investigators describe the burglar as tall and thin with a mustache. They are apparently Algerian.
Authorities believe the theft was premeditated and likely linked to an organized North African network. “We’re talking about a perfectly executed theft, facilitated from the inside. And today, it’s a lawyer who’s been targeted. The networks will stop at nothing, not even stealing from one of their own,” a source close to the case told the French news outlet.
The victim, a lawyer specializing in immigration law, confirmed that the stolen files contained sensitive information related to ongoing cases involving foreign nationals. Steps have since been taken to protect remaining data and notify affected clients.
Frontiéres noted that this is not the first scandal to hit Une Pièce en Plus. In a separate case, nearly €5 million in gold bars were stolen from another branch, with investigators again pointing to insider collusion. That theft also led to the arrest of an Algerian national illegally residing in France.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki is looking to dramatically increase the amount of time foreigners are eligible to apply for Polish citizenship with a new law. The law would only provide foreigners with a pathway to Polish citizenship 10 years after receiving a permanent residence visa.
However, this could result in non-EU foreigners having to wait up to 15 years to receive citizenship, as it usually takes three to five years to first receive a permanent residence visa in the first place.
In a speech addressing his recent vetoes directed at a number of new laws, Nawrocki said that he is looking to propose a draft law on granting citizenship, not only to “guests from Ukraine, but also from other regions of the world who come to Poland.”
According to TVN 24, he noted that the granting of citizenship is the prerogative of the president, “so I recognize that the process of granting citizenship should be extended from three to ten years and such a proposal will be included in the bill.”
“Polish citizenship isn’t just a great honor. Someone who receives Polish citizenship also has an impact on the future of our national community, not only for years, but for decades, and perhaps for generations,” he added.
The news comes after Nawrocki vetoed an amendment to the Act on Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens. The Polish government was looking to extend a law that provided healthcare to unemployed Ukrainian refugees and their children. He said that he could not extend the social benefit, which is set to expire in September, arguing that it should only apply to Ukrainians who work.
At the beginning of May this year, Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper wrote about a Law and Justice (PiS) proposal to extend the time required to obtain Polish citizenship from three to ten years.
“In response to the growing immigration, especially Ukrainian immigration, PiS wants the requirements for foreigners to be increased, following the example of other European countries,” wrote the paper, adding that “the idea is to extend the minimum period of uninterrupted stay in Poland from three to ten years.”
Last month, Remix News wrote an analysis of why it is likely going to be more difficult for the EU, and the Polish left, to impose mass immigration on Poles. Nawrocki’s new law is a clear sign that the fight to impose open borders on Poles may be significantly more difficult. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk may be put in a difficult position if he opposes Nawrocki’s proposed law, as he then may appear soft on this key issue, especially with national elections approaching.
A man who claimed to be a 17-year-old Libyan has been arrested after the rape of a 32-year-old Ukrainian woman near the Eiffel Tower in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
As Le Parisien reported, the attack occurred around 2:40 a.m. on the Champ de Mars, when the suspect, reportedly intoxicated, dragged the victim into the bushes and raped her. The woman’s screams quickly alerted a police patrol from the Night Crime Squad, which intervened and arrested the suspect.
He was taken into custody at the 14th arrondissement police station, with the case transferred to the judicial police by the Paris prosecutor’s office.
The suspect had no identification and has yet to present any, leaving authorities at a loss to verify his claims. The case highlights a recurring tactic among migrant offenders, who often present themselves as minors to secure more lenient treatment from authorities.
The assault is the latest in a troubling series of sex crimes around the Eiffel Tower. Previous incidents include the rape of a Mexican tourist in the summer of 2023, the rape of an English police officer later that year, and the assault of two Latvian women last fall.
Several men were arrested in connection with the attack on the Latvian women, including two Algerians and two Egyptians, while three other suspects managed to escape undetected.
Security at the site has become a political issue. In March, borough mayor Rachida Dati told residents that sexual assaults, “not to mention rapes,” were taking place “every day” at the Champ de Mars, accusing authorities of under-equipping the area.
The authorities insist that heavy surveillance of the area has been installed, with more than 100 cameras covering the lawns and the nearby Trocadéro gardens, but critics say the measures have not prevented repeated attacks.
After a number of Ukrainians were arrested in Poland for showcasing the red-and-black symbols of war criminal Stepan Bandera, including Bandera-inspired flags, Poland’s president now wants to ban them, as Nazi and Soviet communism symbols already are, in the criminal code.
Kyiv has reacted with anger; however, Law and Justice (PIS) MP Radosław Fogiel said Kyiv’s response is nothing more than “saber rattling.”
He now backs President Karol Nawrocki, who announced new legislation aimed at equating the Bandera symbol with Nazi and communist symbols, which are banned in Poland.
The move comes after Ukrainians displayed Bandera flags in Poland earlier this month at a concert by Belarusian rapper Max Korzh at the National Stadium in Warsaw. During the performance, fans from Ukraine unfurled the UPA flag.
🇵🇱🇺🇦🇧🇾 W sobotę na Stadionie Narodowym w Warszawie odbył się koncert białoruskiego rapera Maxa Korzha. Podczas występu jego fani z Ukrainy rozwiesili banderowską, czerwono-czarną flagę UPA. Przed rozpoczęciem wydarzenia doszło również do przepychanek z ochroną.
“In order to eliminate Russian propaganda and put Polish-Ukrainian relations on the right track, based on real partnership and respect, we should also clearly say “stop Banderism” and equate the Banderite symbol in the penal code with symbols that correspond to German National Socialism, commonly called Nazism, and Soviet communism, as well as make corrections to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance in relation to the crimes of the OUN-UPA,” Nawrocki said on Monday.
Stepan Bandera is glorified by many Ukrainian nationalists and reviled by Poles. He led Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War, and an army created by his militant party slaughtered 100,000 Polish civilians during the Volhynian massacre.
Radosław Fogiel commented on the president’s activity on Polsat News. The politician admitted that Polish-Ukrainian relations are no longer as good as they were a few years ago, and that this is not Poland’s fault.
“Our Ukrainian partners must understand that partnership should be the foundation of mutual relations,” he said. Fogiel added that warnings coming from Ukraine regarding a possible ban on the use of Bandera symbolism are “saber rattling by Kyiv.”
Radosław Fogiel stated that “Poland has shown great patience” regarding the commemoration of the victims of the Volhynian massacre, while the Ukrainian side has long avoided the topic.
“I understand that the situation was different in the first months of the war, but today there is nothing to prevent us from addressing this issue,” he said.
The PiS MP also noted that for years, Ukraine had assured that the issue of Bandera symbolism was marginal, and that black-and-red flags were merely rare grassroots initiatives, unrelated to state policy.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou has warned that the country is facing its gravest financial crisis in decades, announcing plans for sweeping austerity measures and calling for a vote of confidence in parliament. But with opposition parties already lining up against him, the government risks collapsing before its budget plan is even debated.
Speaking at a press conference after talks with President Emmanuel Macron at Bregançon, Bayrou declared that parliament would convene in an extraordinary session on Sept. 8, two weeks before its scheduled reopening, to test confidence in his government.
“The most important budget in our history awaits us,” he said, outlining a €44 billion deficit reduction plan over four years to prevent what he called the “certain risk of over-indebtedness.”
Bayrou claimed that weakened international law, rising geopolitical tensions, and unfair economic competition had led to the crippling austerity measures being necessary, warning that “the dream of a Europe that matters in the world has vanished.”
The measures under discussion include cuts to unemployment benefits and the abolition of two public holidays, both of which are highly unpopular. Bayrou insisted that nothing has been finalized and that details would emerge during the autumn budget debate.
Yet the confidence vote he has requested is not on specific reforms, but on whether his fragile centrist government should survive at all.
Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National has already rejected the government, demanding a dissolution of parliament.
“François Bayrou clearly has not understood that the French are fully aware of the economic and financial crisis in which our country is plunged after eight years of Macronism, a crisis that adds to so many other failures jeopardizing the very survival of our nation,” Le Pen wrote on X.
“It is precisely because they have understood the gravity of the situation that our compatriots reject the Prime Minister’s measures, as unjust as they are ineffective,” she added.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise has also pledged to vote against. He told France Inter on Tuesday morning that the country is in crisis and is experiencing a democratic deficit, as Emmanuel Macron was defeated in the latest parliamentary elections but still governs.
“The 5th Republic has reached its limit. It entrusts excessive power to a person who can govern without any majority. We must face up to the need to move to the 6th Republic, without worsening the deadlock,” he told the broadcaster.
Green leader Marine Tondelier dismissed the very idea of confidence, saying, “A vote of confidence equals resignation.”
With the opposition united and mass demonstrations planned for Sept. 10 reminiscent of the yellow vest movement, new French elections could once again be on the horizon.
The worst nightmare of any parent came true in Germany after a 6-year-old girl, wearing only her bathing suit and swim shoes, was lured from the Europa Theme Park Resort in Rust into a forest and sexually assaulted by a 31-year-old Romanian national.
The girl was with her parents when she became lost at the Rulantica adventure pool and then found hours later, miles away from the park.
The Romanian is accused of first finding the little girl while she was alone, and then, instead of helping her find her parents, he snuck her out of the park and brought her to the nearby forest. There, she was sexually assaulted for nearly two hours.
She was discovered alone by a nearby pedestrian in the forest at 10:20 p.m. If it were not for this person, the girl could have become lost in the forest and left to fend for herself through the night.
The suspect was identified thanks to surveillance camera footage but remained on the run for days, only to be arrested in his home village of Lugasu de Jos in Romania.
He is now being extradited back to Germany.
The man is known for breaking the law in the past, including fraud and theft offenses.
Europapark boss Michael Mack told Bild newspaper: “We are very affected and of course immediately took care of the child’s parents when they contacted us.”
“Our park pastors were also there for the parents. We handed over our camera recordings directly to the police. This video material ultimately made it possible to identify a suspect,” he added.
However, German authorities are coming under criticism for not releasing photos of the suspect or details of the case to the public, despite the man being on the run.
“A 6-year-old child is torn from the care of his parents and secreted away from Europa-Park Rust… The greatest happiness: The child survived the horror. What are the police doing?
First of all, good work, thanks to the Europa Parks: The perpetrator can be identified using cameras. That was at the beginning of the week. And since then?
The Police force does NOT warn the public for days.
The name of the Perpetrator is KEPT SECRET.
NO photo of the child molester will be published.
This means: No one can recognize the child molester at the bus stop or in front of the daycare center, no parent can warn their children about the man with this appearance. If there are regulations that prevent the police from conducting a public search, this madness should be abolished. As soon as possible.”
Notably, when it comes to doxxing right-wingers, including when they have not yet been convicted of any crime, the German media has no issue publishing photos, such as when police raids were conducted against the Compact Magazine. A photo of Jürgen Elsässer was published in his bathrobe, after press photographers were tipped off about the raids in advance, a clear violation of the law.
Germany’s court system later ruled that the entire raid and banning of the publication was illegal. However, when suspected child molesters are on the run for days, the media remains silent, the police do not publish a photo of the suspect, and not even a first name is given.
🇩🇪BREAKING NEWS:
Massive crackdown on the press in Germany
In what may be the most aggressive move against press freedom since the Second World War, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and raided the office of the publisher, Jürgen Elsässer.
Notably, there have been numerous cases in Germany where women were sexually assaulted or young girls molested, where the police kept quiet about the case for weeks and even months.
As Remix News reported last year, a 12-year-old girl is alleged to have been raped by a Syrian in a Braunschweig swimming pool, but the police kept the case quiet for several weeks. No measures are being taken against the alleged perpetrator.
Police and public prosecutors in Braunschweig are investigating a Syrian teen who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl in a local swimming pool called the Wasserwelt (Water World). The 15-year-old foreigner first molested the child in the pool and then raped her in a changing room, reports the Braunschweiger Zeitung. The crime is said to have taken place on Aug. 10, at 5 p.m., but details are only being made public now, as the police kept mum about the case for three weeks.
A 22-year-old Syrian man, identified as N., is on trial in Brussels for the rape of two minors. One of the victims is his current pregnant wife, who is 14. He has justified his behavior in both cases that in his home country of Syria, it is accepted that such age differences exist.
The prosecution is seeking a four-year prison sentence, while the defense argues that the situation should be viewed within a different cultural context.
The first case dates back to November 2023, when a 14-year-old Syrian girl, accompanied by her mother, reported a rape to a sexual violence treatment center (CPVS). The girl, who did not speak much French, told a nurse that she had been raped and had lost her virginity, according to Belgium news outlet DH.
While an official complaint was filed, it was withdrawn just two days later.
Despite the withdrawal, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office opened a case after receiving a copy of the suspect’s residence permit, which identified him as N.
However, police did not question him about the alleged rape until June 2024. N. denied the charges and stated that the age difference was “not a problem” in his culture. His lawyer, Nathalie Gallant, noted that the victim later said she felt caught between her parents and N., who wanted to leave her for another person.
The prosecutor’s office chose not to pursue criminal charges at that time, instead issuing a formal reprimand.
He is caught with another minor just month’s later
Several months later, police officers spotted N. kissing a girl in a parked car and noticed their significant age difference. This led to a new investigation.
It was discovered that N. was now religiously married to a different Syrian girl, also 14, who was pregnant with his child. He was detained for a week before being released.
At a hearing, the prosecutor countered claims, made once again, that it was part of his culture to have sex with underage girls, stating, “I accept that there is a cultural context, but it cannot override the laws of the country in which we are hosted.”
The prosecutor cited a Belgian legal precedent that prohibits sexual relations between an adult and a 14-year-old if the adult is more than three years their senior. Given that N. had already received a reprimand, the prosecutor requested a four-year prison sentence.
N.’s lawyer, Ms. Gallant, did not dispute the law said the prosecutor’s office, had previously opted for a simple reprimand rather than a criminal prosecution. She argued for a suspended sentence instead of prison time.
The case has been adjourned until early September for an expert report to be submitted.
A tragic accident occurred on Tuesday morning on the A1 highway between Bucharest and Pitești. Two young people died after they threw themselves in front of a truck while hugging each other, news outlet Maszol reported.
According to the reporting, the two young people threw themselves into traffic because their parents did not want them to have a relationship.
The portal learned that the girl was 14 years old and from Giurgiu county, and the boy was 18 years old and lived in Buzău county.
Due to the young age of the girl, authorities were contacted about the relationship months ago.
Daniel Badea, the mayor of Crevedia Mare, the locality from which the minor child came, stated to Digi24 that the authorities were notified of this case “in May or June” by the police.
According to the mayor, following investigations, the Buzău IPJ found that the young man, an adult, had intimate relations with the girl, who, at the time, was 13 and a half years old.
“It was automatically reported and the IPJ was notified, as it was a rape, as it was a minor. We automatically started a social investigation report through which we monitored the entire situation and we did this weekly. We also talked to the young woman’s parents. They told me that the girl had taken a pregnancy test and was not pregnant,” said the mayor.
The young man had been charged with sex with a minor because of this relationship, which would have made it more difficult for him to continue seeing her.
Police believe they both took their lives.
The families of the young people are expected to identify the bodies on Wednesday.
The young people suffered such severe injuries that the ambulances arriving at the scene confirmed immediately that they were dead.
The driver was tested for drugs or alcohol, but the results were negative.
He recounted to the police that both victims were hugging each other when they flung themselves into his vehicle.
A 21-year-old American tourist suffered serious injuries at the hands of two Syrian migrants in Dresden, and his impassioned video about the attack and Germany’s spiraling migrant crisis has gone viral. Now, the story, which was published in both German and American media, has prompted a rebuke from Richard Grenell, presidential envoy for special missions of the United States under the Trump administration.
Grenell was responding to a video released by the victim of the attack, which has already been censored on the Remix News X page. When Remix News attempts to embed the video, the below message is received, which typically means German or European authorities have tracked the video and censored it.
The same error message is being received for larger accounts that shared the video, including Visegard24, which posted the same video. Notably, the Visegard24 account was the one Grenell responded to.
It appears the censors in Europe are very concerned about this video spreading.
The horrendous attack took place on a Dresden tram, and photos of the crime scene showed blood splattered everywhere. The incident was reported in the New York Post along with other American newspapers, and occurred at 12:25 a.m. on tram line 7 between Weixdorf and Pennrich.
The victim, according to the New York Post, is John Rudat, an American model in New York. It is very possible the man will suffer life-long scars. He also posted the video to his Instagram page.
In the video, Rudat says: “If they could do this to the people of Germany and then just get released 12 hours later, even less at this point, where’s the law? Where’s the structure? If Germans are held to that law and that structure, but these people can just come in, swing knives, hurt, abuse and terrorize the citizens of Germany, then?”
“If ya’ll didn’t think that Europe didn’t have an immigration problem, especially Germany, let me drop some knowledge on you,” he warns viewers while recounting his harrowing experience.
The fleeing stabber is known to police and remains on the run. His accomplice, a Syrian citizen, Majd A., was arrested after the attack about 700 meters away from where the stabbing took place and then quickly released.
“We are investigating him and the still unknown man for, among other things, dangerous bodily harm,” said a police spokesperson, Lukas Reumund.
Notably, the American was attempting to keep the men from harassing women on the tram.
According to police, “two men from a group were harassing female passengers.” The American stepped in to help the woman.
Police spokesperson Reumund told Bild: “A 21-year-old U.S. citizen intervened and was stabbed by one of the perpetrators in the ensuing altercation. The two perpetrators then fled the scene.”
Another police spokesperson, Thomas Geithner, told Bild: “The U.S. citizen suffered multiple cuts to his face with a knife.”
According to police sources, Majd A is not the stabbing perpetrator but did initially attack the U.S. citizen with punches. He is known to the police for previous bodily harm, robbery, and illegal entry.
Police spokesperson Geithner said: “He was provisionally arrested and released by decision of the public prosecutor’s office.”
Senior public prosecutor Jürgen Schmidt told Bild: “According to the assessment of the on-call public prosecutor, there were insufficient grounds for detention. The knife attack cannot be attributed to him.”
Apparently, despite assaulting the American with punches, the prosecutor did not believe they could obtain an arrest warrant from the judge. He also fled a crime scene and presumably obstructed justice, and yet, no arrest.
After the beating, the second suspect returned on the tram, this time armed with a knife, at which time he inflicted serious injuries on Rudat.
Rudat notes in his Instagram video that the attacker was released almost immediately.
Police allegedly have surveillance footage of the suspects, but once again, have not released any photos or videos, as is often the case in Germany. Often, only months later, after a judge has approved, will the police release surveillance footage or photos if a case remains open.
Knife crime has soared in Germany, in tandem with mass immigration, as Remix News reported earlier this year. According to the Police Crime Statistics (PKS), in 2024, approximately 29,000 crimes in Germany were recorded as knife attacks. In the area of dangerous and aggravated bodily harm, the number increased by approximately 10.8 percent.
In May, German criminal lawyer Udo Vetter warned that the country has “imported knife violence” following several high-profile incidents, including a Kosovar man injuring a 12-year-old girl and two others, a Syrian asylum seeker stabbing five people outside a student bar, and a rioter wounding a police officer. He pointed to cultural norms where knives are carried as status symbols.
Manuel Ostermann of the Federal Police Union also called for urgent action, warning that the knife “always immediately poses a concrete threat to life and limb” and that politicians must use all available measures to curb the trend.
While European nations like France, Norway, Germany, and Italy have raced to take in hundreds of patients from Gaza over the last year, Denmark stands alone in its refusal to take in Palestinian patients. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen justifies her position with fears of more Palestinians coming through family reunification applications.
“The issue of family reunification could very quickly arise,” she told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Aug. 15.
The move means Denmark once again is showcasing its strong anti-immigration policies, a move firmly backed by Danes. Remarkably, Frederiksen is not a right-wing politician, but firmly in the camp of left-wing socialists. Yet, time and time again, she has shown she is willing to protect her country from mass immigration. Denmark has one of the lowest shares of migrants of any Western European country, even if the country’s right says much more needs to be done.
Nearly half the Danish population supports Frederiksen’s stance, with 46 percent of Danes supporting blocking sick patients from Gaza, according to an Epinion poll conducted for DR. Only a third of Danes believe the borders should be opened to Gazan patients.
A year and a half ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) requested that EU countries accept patients from Gaza for treatment, with 11 EU countries doing so.
According to a report from Le Monde, Frederiksen refuses to bow to pressure in her country, “which she has now explicitly justified by the ultra-restrictive migration policy pursued by her coalition government. The fact that most patients are children makes no difference,” she explained.
Notably, she referred to the issue of more migrants arriving, using the Gazan patients as a backdoor.
Frederiksen says her country is investing in hospitals and treatments in neighboring countries to support the wounded from Gaza; however, some humanitarian organizations say these countries are not equipped to handle the influx of patients.
“It is our clear belief that we can help more people if we help in the immediate area,” said Frederiksen in May.
“The nearby areas cannot take more and not at all cope with these very complicated cases, which are on the WHO list,” said Vibeke Brix Christensen, who is a consultant at the Rigshospitalet and medical advisor at Doctors Without Borders.
However, as with all calls for humanitarian sympathy, in many cases, it has turned into nothing more than a call for more mass immigration. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians, for instance, are now citizens in European countries. Despite Assad falling from power, they have no plans to return home. Crime from this group has exploded, leaving countless Europeans maimed, raped, and killed over the years.
It appears Denmark does not want to go down that path.
Other parties are supportive of the Danish prime minister’s stance, including the Liberal Alliance (LA) and the Danish Democrats.
“It needs to be done in the immediate areas where there are plenty of good hospitals at a smaller distance than 3,000 kilometers,” said the foreign rapporteur for LA, Lars-Christian Brask.
“It doesn’t belong in Denmark at all. We are miles away from Gaza, and there is no cause at all,” said Charlotte Munch, foreign rapporteur for the Danish Democrats.
Meanwhile, SF is ready to bring five to ten sick children from Gaza into Denmark on a trial basis. However, the party also believes the main focus should be on efforts in the immediate area.
“We think there is more logical to massively support the hospitals in Cairo, Amman and East Jerusalem, and perhaps some of the other neighboring states that we can help support the healthcare system in the areas so that they can accept more Palestinians,” said the party’s foreign rapporteur, Karsten Hønge.
Of course, Europe’s pro-migration left shoulders much of the blame for Denmark’s current stance. Over the years, it has become clear that migrants fleeing war zones cross through many “safe” countries on their way to social welfare systems like Denmark, where they receive lavish benefits and then never leave.
Once these migrants enter the country, these same leftist groups fight tooth and nail to make sure no migrant is ever sent home. In many cases, what was first a form of aid to refugees becomes life-long resettlement programs, citizenship, and more mass immigration through family reunification.
In short, Denmark has little incentive to accept migrants, with history serving as a guide. Many Europeans have grown wise to this scheme, which is why more Danes support Frederiksen’s stance than oppose it.
Ukraine is one of the biggest wheat, corn and sunflower oil exporters in the world, but drought has hit the country’s production hard this year.
Between January and July 2025, agricultural production was 18.5 percent lower than the same period last year, according to official data, which was reviewed by Kárpáti Igaz Szó.
Estimates indicate that up to 500,000 hectares of production were destroyed through drought, according to the deputy chairman of the VAR (All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council), Denys Marchuk.
The decrease mostly hit crop production, which fell to 74.5 percent compared to last year’s production — so far.
Meanwhile, animal husbandry was less hard hit, remaining at 95.3 percent of production.
The greatest losses were seen on agricultural enterprises, which include large-scale monocrop producers, which fell to 77.7 percent of production.
However, backyard farms, which many Ukrainians have, fell only to 89.7 percent, meaning individual and hobbyist producers were less hard hit.
Certain areas saw dramatically reduced production, including Donetsk, which met only 47.8 percent of its production figures compared to last year, and Khmelnytskyi, which saw only 46.3 percent of its 2024 production.
However, there is still some hope that Ukraine may break even compared to last year, depending on how weather and production develop over the coming weeks.
“Compared to last year, this season we are about two weeks behind in terms of harvest due to weather conditions — both drought and significant precipitation in July. Despite crop losses in some regions, in other regions the yield indicators are higher, which gives reason to hope for a harvest no worse than last year, about 56 million tons, of which at least 40 million tons can be exported,” Marchuk, noted.
Other areas fared better, and some even exceeded 2024’s production levels, including Zaporizhia, Zakarpattia and Odessa.
The best result was seen in the Mykolaiv region, which produced 106.7 percent of its production compared to last year.
According to official statistical data, the overall volume of agricultural production in Ukraine between January and July 2025 was 18.5 percent lower than the same period last year.
Ukraine is considered one of the major breadbaskets of the world, and many of its crops help feed nations in Africa, the Middle East and beyond.
During the spring of 2025 and the early summer, many parts of Europe experienced the worst drought conditions in decades. Germany, for instance, was especially hard hit. A number of EU countries saw crop yields decline significantly.
U.S. President Donald Trump is warning that his country may have to “change tactics” regarding Ukraine if Russian leader Vladimir Putin does not end the war within two weeks.
Trump estimated that the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine would be known “within two weeks.” He added that if there was no progress, a “change of tactics” might be necessary.
Trump has previously presented various deadlines for ending the war, but those timelines have shifted depending on the situation.
On July 14, he spoke of 50 days, but later shortened that period, citing frustration with Putin. Russia has continuously hit Ukraine with waves of missile and drone strikes, often shortly after speaking with Trump.
On July 29, Trump issued a new ultimatum, giving Moscow 10 days to end the war or face 100 percent tariffs, along with Moscow’s trading partners, which could include countries like India and China.
However, before the deadline expired, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, arrived in Moscow, where, according to the White House, Putin requested a personal meeting with Trump, which took place in Alaska on Aug. 15.
After the talks, the U.S. president again postponed the announced sanctions.
Would could different tactics mean?
One thing is also clear. The U.S. and its Western allies have withheld numerous weapons from Ukraine over the years, including the most advanced Western weapons, such as the F-35 stealth fighters. Some analysts believe that armed with certain weapons, Ukraine could quickly turn the tide against Russia, but the threat of nuclear war has kept Western allies from making such a move.
In addition, long-range Western missiles could be deployed in large numbers against Russian forces, including against weapons factories deep in Russian territory. Again, there are extreme risks present that have kept countries like Germany, for instance, from supplying weapons such as the Taurus weapons system.
So far, Western allies of Ukraine have supplied the Ukrainian army with just enough weapons to keep it stable, but steady territorial losses have also emboldened Russia.
Trump so far has not outlined what these “different tactics” could include, whether they are economic or military.
Peace talks appear set for failure
Since the peace talks in Alaska, it remains highly unclear whether the planned Zelensky-Putin meet will ever happen.
On Aug. 18, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, Trump said an agreement was possible within “a week or two.” He suggested there were “no exceptionally difficult issues” that would prevent a deal that would provide Ukraine with guarantees against future aggression.
Following these talks, Trump personally called Putin to discuss the possibility of a meeting with Zelensky. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it clear that such a meeting was unlikely in the near future.
On Thursday, the British newspaper The Guardian, citing sources in the US administration, reported that Trump had abandoned attempts to arrange a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky. According to the newspaper, the U.S. president concluded that Moscow and Kyiv should independently take the initiative to organize face-to-face talks, which he believes could be another step toward ending the war.
A shocking case in Austria is making headlines across the country after a seven-member youth gang raped a teacher, abused her, burned her apartment down, and even beheaded a dead animal on video with a machete, according to prosecutors.
The youths are now standing trial, accused of abusing the teacher for months. Aged 14 to 17, they appeared in Vienna district court of Liesing.
🇦🇹🚨Mass immigration DESTROYING Austria's education system
🔺Around 70% of school-age children in Vienna do not speak German in their everyday life. 39%, or nearly 80,000 children, do not have Austrian citizenship,
The Austrian media is running multiple stories on the case, including in Der Standard and Kronen Zeitung. The victim is a teacher in her late twenties.
The list of charges is shocking, including aggravated extortion, gang rape, rape, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and arson.
The victim told police that she had consensual sex with one of the underage students in April 2024. He was only 16 at the time.
Prosecutors say the teen later showed up to the apartment with other youths, who called themselves the Liesing gang. They then said they had blackmail material on the teacher after she had sex with a minor, at which point they leveraged that information for more sex, as well as drugs and other items from the teacher.
The youths also began filming her and taking more photos, which the teacher says they used to build more blackmail material.
Armed with the blackmail material, she says they forced her to buy them drugs, food, and tobacco.
A 15-year-old Iraqi is accused of putting an extreme amount of pressure on the victim, demanding her pay for a variety of items. The 15-year-old also obtained the ATM details of the woman and paid for 31 taxi rides with Uber and Bolt, which resulted in €545.28 worth of fees.
However, the more serious charges relate to the sexual abuse allegations. The woman says she was continuously forced to have sex with the teens, who the press has identified as having migrant background in most cases.
The gang also showed her intimidating videos of the gang’s actions, including a video where they beheaded a dead animal with a machete. It is unclear if they are charged with any crime related to the beheading, as the animal was already dead.
In January, the youth are believed to have burned down the woman’s apartment, according to prosecutors. The woman was away on vacation when the youths broke in through a back patio, hosted a party, and then burned down her apartment afterward, according to prosecutors.
Four members of the youth gang were identified getting off near a tram right before the blaze began. The 15-year-old Iraqi was tracked down to being inside the woman’s apartment the night it burned down. He was logged into the apartment’s Wi-Fi right before the arson. One of the woman’s watches was also recovered from the teen’s sister after he gave it to her.
Once the teacher returned to her apartment, she contacted authorities about the details of the case.
“During the police investigation into the cause of the fire, she finally told officers about her months-long ordeal,” according to the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Police found DNA evidence of two of the youth gang members on cigarette butts at the crime scene. The teenagers deny all charges and refuse to testify in the case.
One 15-year-old youth admitted to taking taxi rides, which the teacher paid for. They all say the woman consensually had sex with them.
The youths potentially face up to seven and a half years in prison if convicted, according to Kronen Zeitung.
🇦🇹 Great Replacement in Austria's school system
More than 3 quarters of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home, according to new statistics.
According to Statistics Austria's STATcube, only 8,479 of Vienna’s 26,816 middle school students use German as… pic.twitter.com/4Vf20aaLLt
In the city of Völklingen in the German state of Saarland, a young officer has lost his life after being murdered by an 18-year-old German with Turkish citizenship.
The 34-year-old police sergeant became engaged in a foot pursuit with the suspect, at which time, a scuffle ensued. The suspect grabbed the officer’s service pistol and shot him multiple times, killing him.
Dramatic video showed individuals in the area responding to the sounds of gunshots.
🇩🇪🔴 JUST IN: First video recorded of a German police officer shot to death in Völklingen, Saarland,
"People, you won’t believe this, we’re in Völklingen and people are being shot."
Following a gas station robbery, the perpetrator grabbed the officer's gun and shot him. pic.twitter.com/URNqRwrOpT
A photo of the alleged suspect has been circulating on social media. The suspect sustained minor injuries and was treated at the hospital.
Another video of the shooting in Völklingen.
After a foot pursuit, the German-Turkish suspect struggled with the 34-year-old police sergeant, grabbed his service pistol, and shot him to death with it. pic.twitter.com/pfh5cGDQUF
The incident began at 6:01 p.m., when the suspect robbed an Aral gas station at the Karolinger Bridge, threatened the staff with a knife. He grabbed cash from the victims and ran outside.
Two police officers pursued the suspect and caught him just a few minutes later. The suspect managed to grab a pistol and killed the police sergeant.
Notably, because the suspect is a dual citizen, the crime will be listed as being committed by a German. That is the way police statistics work in the country, which lists anyone who is a German citizen, even if they have another citizenship, as “German.”
Remix News wrote just yesterday on how wildly this distorts the police statistics into fitting a left-wing narrative about crime and foreigners in the country.
The police sergeant suffered serious injuries and died shortly after the shooting at Homburg University Hospital. His partner was not harmed but is in a state of shock, according to news reports.
Interior Minister Reinhold Jost, of the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD), arrived on scene and spoke of “darkest days for Saarland.”
State Premier Anke Rehlinger, also of the SPD, stated: “A young police officer has been taken from his life – my thoughts are with his family and colleagues.”
Notably, the last police officer killed in dramatic fashion in Germany involved an Afghan radical Islamist, who killed an officer in a terror attack in Mannheim.
Deputy head of the German police union, Manuel Ostermann, wrote on X: “The world stands still. I am infinitely sad and speechless. Rest in peace, my colleague. My thoughts are with the family, friends, and my colleagues. We will never forget you!”
Die Welt steht still. Ich bin unendlich traurig und sprachlos. Ruhe in Frieden mein Kollege. Ich bin in Gedanken bei der Familie, den Freunden und bei meinen Kolleginnen und Kollegen. Wir werden dich niemals vergessen! #Einervonunshttps://t.co/GW7J5duINn
One witness told Bild: “At first, I thought they were firecrackers. Then I realized, those were real gunshots. People were running around everywhere – pure panic.”
Hundreds of police officers descended on the scene, secured evidence, and cordoned off a wide swath of the city.
The incident is sure to be a major news story in Germany for days.
In order to reach an agreement to end the war, Ukraine will probably have to give up territory, even if that would violate international law, said Czech President Petr Pavel in an interview published by the CTK news agency on Thursday.
“The surrender of territory would reflect the situation on the battlefield and represent the lesser evil, as opposed to continuing the war, which would result in numerous new casualties and material losses,” said the Czech leader.
He also acknowledged this may only end up being a temporary agreement.
“If peacekeeping forces were to be deployed to Ukraine under such a “temporary” agreement, the Czech Republic should also participate, because it has been an active participant in the peace process from the beginning,” he added.
“This would be more or less an acknowledgement of reality, because Russia has some regions firmly under its control. If we recognize that they are temporarily occupied, then we should call them that, and not Russian territories,” Pavel added.
According to the Czech president, any agreement regarding possible territorial changes is solely the right of Ukraine and Russia.
“I don’t dare to give an opinion on what the agreement on the territories should look like, this is really only a matter for Ukraine and Russia. It would not be good to give advice on what to hand over and what to leave. This is clearly outside our jurisdiction and competence,” the president explained.
Pavel believes that Western sanctions against Russia should have been more decisive and stronger from the beginning, which would have helped Ukraine defend itself more effectively, reducing human and material losses.
“However, several countries were clearly afraid of a possible escalation of the conflict,” he noted. According to him, if Ukraine had received more effective and greater assistance earlier, it is possible that the situation on the battlefield would look different today.
According to Pavel, the Czech Republic’s possible participation in peacekeeping depends on the form of the future agreement.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochová previously ruled out sending Czech soldiers to Ukraine. The head of state called it positive that negotiations between the West and Ukraine on security guarantees for the latter have begun.
“Now, we must do everything we can to ensure that the negotiations continue. We must act constructively, willing to compromise, but firmly. We must not allow a situation to develop in the end in which the aggressor is rewarded while the victim is punished,” the Czech president underlined.
A Syrian and Bulgarian, both 14 at the time of the crime, are on trial for allegedly raping a 13-year-old schoolmate in an empty house in Königslutter, Lower Saxony, where he was also tortured and beaten. They even filmed the horrifying act and circulated the video amongst classmates.
Now, the two migrants have appeared in a Braunschweig Regional Court. Investigators say the victim was repeatedly bullied, and at the end of September 2023, they encountered the victim and his friend, at which point they led them to a basement in an empty building.
There, the horror began.
Prosecutors in the case say that the 13-year-old was forced to kiss the two suspects’ shoes, and then he was beaten and humiliated on video.
However, approximately a week later, the mother learned that there was a video circulating amongst schoolchildren of the horrid torture and assault. She filed a police report in response.
The two teens, now 16, are standing trial for child abuse, grievous bodily harm, the production of child pornography, coercion and threats.
Due to the fact that they are minors, they are likely to receive far lighter sentences than if they were adults.
As Remix News has reported in the past, Germans are now increasingly the targets of bullying in German schools from migrant groups, often with deadly consequences.
🇩🇪🔴 A young German girl spoke of the nightmare she experiences from her Muslim classmates.
"Sometimes they say to me that I’m German. And yeah, then they laugh at me, curse at me and tease me. Others are always Muslim, and they ask me why I am not a Muslim. I said I am a… pic.twitter.com/gggVOm9IPs
While extreme incidents often capture the headlines, daily bullying and harassment are also commonplace. In schools where Germans are a clear minority, the situation can be even worse.
🇩🇪❓"Why don’t you have any German friends?"
🔺"Because they don’t belong to us. I can’t stand the Germans too much."
Thousands of German students now face discrimination and sometimes outright assault from foreigners in their school systems.
Berlin’s clan crime statistics have been released, and they highlight how crime reporting is vastly distorted in Germany, which fails to account for the migration background of suspects. Instead, more and more serious crime is attributed to Germans, which fails to provide a comprehensive picture of crime trends in the country.
There were 851 registered clan crimes in Berlin in 2024, according to the “Clan Crime Situation Report,” which is released by the Senate Department of the Interior and the State Criminal Police Office.
These clan statistics are important for a variety of reasons, but they also offer a window into how many serious crimes are attributed to Germans without any context about the migration background of suspects.
The data shows that there were 616 clan crime suspects. Of these suspects, 324 have German citizenship. Another 108 are “stateless,” 94 are Lebanese, 28 are Turkish, 15 are Syrian, and 47 have multiple nationalities. That totals 292 foreign suspects.
This means that in Berlin, more than half of the clan criminal suspects are listed as Germans in the crime data, totalling 52.6 percent.
What is well known is that all of these clan members have foreign backgrounds, and nearly every single one is from a Middle Eastern country or has a family background from a Middle Eastern country. Taggeschau writes: “The families – as a rule they have Turkish, Lebanese or Arabic roots – usually operate regionally.”
Yet, the German left looks at this same data, and they say, “Look, it is not just foreigners committing crimes, Germans also do it!” Anyone who has even a rudimentary understanding of the data knows the truth, and the clan crime data only helps confirm it.
This reality is that of the clan crimes across Germany, a significant percentage, perhaps even a majority, is committed by German citizens. These are often serious crimes, assaults, murders, robberies, and serious organized crime methods. Each time one of these clan members commits an offense, it goes into the “German” category. The left nods their heads with glee. It fits their narrative that “Hans” and “Georg” are just as much a problem as anyone else.
This does not just apply to clans either, but to a vast array of crime in the country. Germans of course commit crimes as well, but when it comes to certain data points, such as gang rapes, the simple statistics do not tell the whole story. In Germany’s most populous state, half the suspects in gang rapes are foreigners, but when the names of the suspects are revealed, at least half of the suspects with German citizenship have clearly foreign names.
🇩🇪🚨 Last year, police in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia arrested 155 suspects in connection with 209 cases of gang r*pe.
A total of 84 suspects were foreign nationals and 71 were German citizens.
As more and more people with a foreign background are made German citizens in the country, more and more crime suspects will be listed as Germans. The left again will nod their head, as it confirms what they allegedly knew all along.
The left has weaponized citizenship to mislead voters on the role of foreigners and crime. They have been working to naturalize as many foreigners as possible, for various reasons of course, including building up their voting bloc. However, they also know that the problem of foreign crime has been a boon for the AfD. The solution? Make the foreigners German citizens, and all that foreign crime will eventually be greatly reduced. Instead, it will then be the Germans committing the crimes.
The matter is pressing because foreign crime is at a record share at the same time that violent crime reaches record levels. Right now, despite many of the Germans committing crimes having a foreign background, and being counted in the statistics as German, the explosion in crime from foreigners in Germany is still so enormous that it cannot be hidden or explained away.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has called for criminal statistics to represent the foreign background of suspects, even if they have German citizenship. If they had foreign parents, for example, the AfD advocates that the crime statistics recognize this and report on it. It is not just the AfD though, as many are advocating for such a policy.
Doing so will not only provide a more accurate picture of who is committing crimes in Germany, but it will also give a window into how integration is developing for Germany’s migrant communities over the course of decades.
Neighboring Denmark keeps such statistics, and they paint a sobering picture. The data shows that Danish citizens with a migration background actually have higher rates of criminality than their first-generation migrant parents, who already had vastly higher rates of criminality than Danes with no foreign background.
However, it can be assumed that if this reporting was actually changed in Germany, it would be a disaster for the claims that mass immigration has been a net benefit for Germany. As a result, no government made up of left-wing parties is going to change the law to track this data.
The new data does show some promising signs, with 20 percent fewer crimes tracked than the previous year. However, as BZ notes, this could have something to do with Berlin police being tied up with other operations.
BZ writes: “Due to the European Football Championship and numerous demonstrations related to the Gaza conflict, the police were unable to take action against clan criminals as frequently last year (74 operations) as in the previous year (2023: 126 operations).”
In other words, there might not be fewer clan-related crimes, just fewer police operations targeting clan members for arrest. Only time will tell if clan crime is actually seeing a long-term downward trend.
🇩🇪‼️ "Germany is no longer a safe country… The migration crisis is first and foremost a crime crisis."
German police union (DPoIG) chairman Manuel Ostermann makes a major statement following the Solingen terror attack by a Syrian Islamist. pic.twitter.com/ZolmrLnMHa
BZ points to a number of extreme examples, including “a 29-year-old criminal without citizenship… Last year alone, he committed 22 offenses, including several assaults, three threats, three illegal motor vehicle races, three driving without a license, four acts of property damage, and various violations of the Violence Protection Act.”
“Assaults, robberies, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, threats with weapons, traffic offenses, theft, and embezzlement – the spectrum of criminal clan activities is broad: The legal violations range from administrative offenses and general crime to gang crime and organized crime (OC),” writes the paper. “The scene now also typically operates shisha bars, buying and selling shops, jewelry businesses, construction businesses, and car rental companies in order to channel criminally obtained proceeds into the legitimate economy – in other words, to launder money.”
The report recorded 246 cases of bodily harm, 3 murder cases, 48 cases of serious bodily harm, 81 cases against personal freedom, 14 illegal motor races, 21 weapons and explosives violations, 112 cases of forgery or fraud, 21 robbery cases, and a variety of other offenses.
Berlin is also only one city in Germany. In states like North Rhine-Westphalia, clan criminals are thriving. “Most recently, 7,000 crimes within a year in North Rhine-Westphalia were attributed to the clan milieu. This is clear from the state government’s current picture of the situation. Seven years after NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) declared war on criminal clans, this is a rather sobering conclusion,” writes Tagesschau.
Despite big promises from the ruling government, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s economy is overseeing an economy increasingly in shambles, with bankruptcies jumping 20 percent in July and unemployment reaching just shy of 3 million, with both figures representing 10-year highs.
The level of bankruptcies in July have not been so high since October, with district courts counting 4,007 bankruptcies, a 19.2 percent increase compared to July of the previous year, announced the Federal Statistical Office. Bild indicates that this represents a 10-year high.
Unemployment soars
The unemployment situation is also worsening. The Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft indicates that 125,000 layoffs have been announced since July 1, and unemployment stands at 2.98 million, which is an increase of 170,000 compared to a year ago.
Federal Employment Agency head Andrea Nahles expects the 3 million mark to be surpassed in August, which would represent the most unemployed Germans in the last ten years.
Economic output falls sharply
The Federal Statistical Office also revised down economic output from previous yeas. In 2023, the figures were revised down to -0.7 percent compared to -0.1 percent. In 2024, output was revised to -0.5 percent from -0.2 percent. Now, in 2025 in the first quarter, Germany is still seeing negative growth.
Industrial production fell by 1.9 percent in June – to its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly affected were the chemical, mechanical engineering, and automotive industries.
All of this comes after Merz promised a turnaround in the summer after winning office.
“I want us to feel this summer: Things are slowly changing for the better. We’re making progress.” Merz said in his first government statement on May 14.
CEOs seem to rate Merz’s first 100 days poorly
Merz unleashed nearly a trillion euros in debt to ensure this turnaround, and promised reduced bureaucracy and tax relief. This included billions for infrastructure and defense, which was supposed to jumpstart the German economy.
However, a report from Bild indicates that without serious reforms, Germany’s economic situation will continue to deteriorate. In fact, there are already signs that the situation is growing worse.
Belén Garijo, CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, told Bild that “politicians must create the right framework. We must become more proactive: smarter bureaucracy, fewer concerns, but more agility and more courage.”
The CEO added, “Either Europe adapts to current realities or it risks sacrificing its industrial leadership – for overregulation and stagnation.”
Clemens Fuest, the president of the ifo Institute, also told Bild: “Individual measures don’t achieve much; what’s needed is a comprehensive and well-thought-out reform concept that must be designed across departments.”
He is calling for deregulation in the capital markets, more financing for startups, streamlined tax law, and digitization of government administration.
Wolfgang Große Entrup, head of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), also called for the government to quickly enact real reform.
“Use the second 100 days for real reforms. Cut the paperwork madness by 25 percent. Now. The country continues to falter. The world isn’t waiting for us,” he said.
Big disappointment in the CDU
In many circles, including pro-CDU circles, Merz is quickly being seen as a disaster, but there are hopes he can somehow change course. The pro-CDU Welt newspaper has been trashing his performance. In a recent discussion between Welt editor Ulf Poschardt and Daniel Stelter, they rated Merz’s first 100 days as highly negative.
Poschardt first points to France, where he says similar rage has been building from those who are working. He asks Stelter, “A bourgeois protest movement against the welfare state has emerged in France: ‘Nicolas qui paie.’ How do you perceive that?”
Stelter responds: “Translated, this means something like ‘Nicolas pays the bill.’ Nicolas was the most common given name in France in the 80s – the German equivalent would be Christian, Sebastian, Julia or Stefanie. The idea behind this is that the middle-aged man or woman works diligently and pays for the pensioners and the social welfare recipients. This can be applied to Germany. Here too, the middle class pays, the redistributive state takes money away, and the burden is enormous. Nicolas feels this in France, and Christian and Julia feel it the same way in Germany.”
Poschardt points out that many apologists for Merz and the ruling government are pointing to tariffs as the issue, but the structural issues have been taking place for years. In many ways, tariffs are being used as a scapegoat.
“We have anti-performance taxation of labor in our country. That has to go… Germany’s industrial production is at its lowest point since 2020. The Department of Economic Affairs justifies part of the problem with US tariffs. But the weak growth is also structural. The NGOs, media, universities and churches prevents a sensible economic policy discussion,” he said.
A new Forsa survey shows that 62 percent of Germans fear the economy will continue to decline. Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues to strengthen in the polls, often with arguments that it can vastly improve the economic situation in Germany. In some polls, the party is rated as the most popular in the entire country.
The traditional parties have responded with ban threats against the party
A 24-year-old Dutch woman was allegedly raped in the middle of a drug den by Moroccans in the multicultural neighborhood of Seine-Saint-Denis in Paris. The men are accused of being major drug dealers, with the woman rescued after a police geolocated the woman’s brief phone call to a friend.
The woman was allegedly raped amidst large stockpiles of narcotics and prescription medications, and was only saved once she alerted her friend on WhatsApp that she was being held captive by the men. A large quantity of anxiolytics were seized during the police raid.
On Sunday morning, police officers raided the apartment and found the woman in the bedroom of a building very close to the Clignancourt Flea Market. Police officers arrested two Moroccan suspects, according to the Bobigny prosecutor’s office.
At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, a young woman called the police and told them that her friend had contacted her via WhatsApp and said several men were holding her captive. The phone call only lasted a few seconds, but apparently the Moroccans realized the phone call was being made and quickly seized the woman’s phone.
Police specialists were still able to geolocate the telephone call to the exact building on Rue Mathieu, but were unable to determine which apartment the phone call was made from. However, a local resident pointed the officers to one apartment inside the building.
When the police knocked, it turned out to be the wrong apartment, but one man peeked his head out of a nearby apartment to observe the police. He then quickly shut his door and went inside. This aroused the suspicion of the police. They then proceeded to knock on his door, with the occupant telling them to go away and refusing to open the door.
The police then decided to enter through a back window and burst into the room, only to find the victim inside with her shorts still pulled to the ground. Police immediately arrested one suspect and then found the other one behind a door before arresting him as well.
Inside, police find a massive stash of illegal drugs. According to Le Parisien, there were “1,746 blister packs each with 14 Lyrica tablets, 584 blister packs each with seven Brieka tablets, and 279 blister packs each with 14 Pregabalin tablets.”
These drugs, known as anxiolytics, are routinely used to treat epilepsy, but are also known to produce euphoria for users and are now the drugs most often obtained through prescription forgeries in France. The street value of all the drugs is estimated at €80,000.
“The police came across a veritable stockpile that was supposed to supply the Puces area and probably part of northern Paris,” one police source told Le Parisien.
The victim then told police through an English interpreter that she met the attackers near a store, at which time they took her to her apartment and confiscated her passport and keys. She was then raped by the men.
One of the Moroccans is in the country illegally. Both remain in police custody.
A politician from Poland’s Confederation party, which has quickly grown to the third most popular party in the country, says his country’s support for Poland has totally backfired.
“Despite all our sacrifices, Ukraine treats us like an enemy state. It’s tempting to say that our policy towards Ukraine was a failure, and today it’s showing,” said Michał Wawer, a member of parliament for the Confederation, in an interview with DoRzeczy.
When asked about Poland’s absence from peace talks with Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House this week, Wawer, responded that his country should have been represented.
“Unfortunately, it’s a failure of Polish international policy that, after all the sacrifices Poland has made for Ukraine, and in a situation where we are Ukraine’s main logistical base, we are not allowed at the decision-making table. This is a failure of the policies of both Donald Tusk and, earlier, Mateusz Morawiecki,” said Wawer, referring to both the past conservative government and the current ruling liberal government.
“Both governments assumed that Ukraine must be given everything, and out of gratitude, Poland would have a voice and be taken into account. No. International politics doesn’t work that way. If we want our interests represented, to have a voice in all regional matters, we must consistently and effectively strive for this from the very beginning, and not—as a former spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs put it—be ‘servants of Ukraine.’” he added.
Wawer is not only reserving criticism for the left, but takes shots at the new ruling president, Karol Nawrocki, who belongs to the conservative camp.
“I won’t attempt to judge whose decision it was or who was most at fault. I’ve heard that Donald Trump didn’t want Donald Tusk, and Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t want Karol Nawrocki. If either of these versions is true, and that’s what it looked like, it unfortunately demonstrates that other countries are playing games with our internal affairs and playing off competition between our international policy centers,” the Confederation politician said.
As head of the armed forces, Nawrocki represents Poland in many foreign matters, however, he also represents a different political position than the rest of the ruling government. Wawer says this arrangement, when two competing political powers represent the prime minister and president positions, it has often led to weakness in foreign matters for Poland in the past.
The Confederation politician said that too much was done for Ukraine without looking to Polish interests.
“As a Confederation, we’ve been paying attention to this from the very beginning. We’ve tried to correct this course, proposing amendments and drafting laws that rationalized the approach to Ukraine. Unfortunately, they were consistently discarded – first by the PiS government, then by Donald Tusk’s government. Today we see the consequences – Poland simply isn’t getting anything out of it. Despite all these sacrifices, Ukraine treats us as an enemy state. It’s tempting to say that our policy towards Ukraine was a failure, and today it’s showing,” he said.
He further added that Poland should never offer “unconditional aid” and that aid should always be conditional on Poland’s interests.
“It’s unacceptable for the Polish government to prioritize Ukraine’s interests over the interests of the Polish economy, Polish historical interests, or even its overall sense of self-respect. Any time is right to change this policy and pursue it more rationally and assertively,” said Wawer.
He is calling for an end to social benefits for Ukrainians and stop prioritizing their privileged access to healthcare compared to Poles. In addition, Poland needs to become more assertive in its policies towards Ukraine.
The Confederation policy also told Do Rzeczy that he does not know if the war will end, but he hopes a ceasefire can at least be achieved if not an outright peace deal.
Hungary’s forint exchange rate is getting stronger and stronger, which makes holidaymakers happy and exporters sad, writes Hungarian media outlet Világgazdaság based on Bloomberg’s analysis. The forint is at an 11-month high against the euro and more than two-year high against the dollar. There are several reasons for this.
Monday evening’s Ukrainian-European-American negotiations had a positive impact on the Hungarian currency exchange rate.
Central and Eastern European currencies are the main beneficiaries of growing market optimism that a historic meeting of European leaders at Trump’s White House could prompt Volodymyr Zelensky and his counterpart Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.
The forint has strengthened against the euro at an important level, and the technical resistance levels near 390, which are being monitored in the market, may even be broken.
Even if Hungarian inflation has decreased, there is no sign that the Hungarian central bank (MNB) will cut interest rates anytime soon, which would be beneficial to the forint exchange rate, as interest rate cuts are also being discussed in the United States and many other places.
Andrea DiCenso, a portfolio manager and strategist at Boston-based Loomis, Sayles & Co., a major American player, describes the fundamental situation that is likely to support the forint for years to come as follows.
“For foreign exchange plays, we advocate diversifying. There are many winners from the weak dollar trade. With the European Union spending that’s likely on the horizon, a lot of Eastern European currencies are performing very well — think Romania, Poland, Hungary. Frontier markets have also been doing tremendously well. Countries that look really interesting from a currency perspective are Nigeria and Egypt, which are more esoteric areas that can continue to see growth and be a little more insulated from Washington.”
Behind the trend of the strengthening forint is another trend, the weakening of the dollar. The dollar’s strengthening and weakening cycles usually last seven to nine years, and the previous strengthening cycle, which seems to be coming to an end, lasted more than a decade. American investors also see opportunities in emerging market stocks and certain foreign currency bonds.
In light of the expected spending by the European Union, many Eastern European currencies are performing very well, including Romania, Poland, and Hungary.
It may seem strange, according to the newspaper, that from as far away as the United States, the countries of almost an entire continent are being lumped together from an investment perspective.
However, countries like Hungary and Poland are expected to benefit from Germany’s spending spree, as those countries are closely integrated into the German economy and its export network.
Passenger’s in Italy’s Malepensa Airport were seen fleeing Terminal 1 after a man armed with a hammer smashed check-in screens and set a fire near the check-in desk, with dramatic footage from the incident going viral on social media.
🇮🇹🔴 BREAKING: This morning, an African first smashed check-in monitors with a hammer and then set fire to trash cans in Terminal 1 in the Italian airport of Malpensa in Milan.
In the video, flames can be seen engulfing the check-in area, with passengers running from the scene at around 10:30 a.m.
The suspect tried to strike SEA security personnel before security officials and police restrained the man, according to reports.
The video shows the man being restrained by a group of security officers.
Reports indicate he is a citizen of the African country of Mali who has been granted subsidiary international protection since 2017. The man is a legal resident of Milan and has no criminal record, according to Italian outlet Il Giornale.
Photos posted after the incident showed damage to the terminal. The terminal was shutdown due to the fire.
Italian news outlet Varese News reported that an SEA employee suffered some injuries and was treated by medical services after arresting the man.
A spokesperson for the Lombardy Airport Association stated that the situation “quickly brought under control.” The person added that, “due to the closure of some areas and evacuation of premises, possible delays and cancellations for departures from the airport.”
There is currently no information about the motive behind the attack. The migrant has been charged with property damage and assault.
Oil transport to Hungary via the Friendship II oil pipeline, also known as the Druzhba pipeline, has resumed after the damage caused by the Ukrainian attack was repaired, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Tuesday evening.
According to the minister, the restoration of the Friendship II oil pipeline, which also connects to Hungary, was completed quickly.
He personally discussed the issue with Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin.
“Oil deliveries to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline have been restored after the Ukrainian attack two days ago. I thanked Russian DepMin Sorokin for the swift repairs. We expect Ukraine not to strike this vital pipeline again. This is not our war. Hungary must be left out of it!” he wrote.
Oil deliveries to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline have been restored after the Ukrainian attack two days ago. I thanked Russian DepMin Sorokin for the swift repairs. We expect Ukraine not to strike this vital pipeline again. This is not our war. Hungary must be left out of it!
Szijjártó announced on Monday that a section of the Friendship pipeline in Ukraine was attacked overnight, causing the supply to Hungary to stop.
The Friendship pipeline is one of the most important oil supply routes for Central European countries, through which a significant part of Hungary’s oil imports from Russia arrive.
The disruption to Hungarian oil supplies prompted a diplomatic spat between Ukraine and Hungary, which have faced numerous conflicts due to the war in Ukraine, however, issues between the two nations also predate the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump called Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán to ask about his position on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
The American leader reportedly wanted to discuss the reasons why Orbán is blocking negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
“The call was the result of Trump’s conversations with a group of European leaders who had gathered at the White House to discuss ways to end Russia’s war with Ukraine. At one point, they asked Trump to use his influence with Orbán to persuade the right-wing populist to drop his opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership,” Bloomberg writes.
During a telephone conversation with Trump, Hungary expressed interest in holding another round of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Orbán, a close ally of Trump, is widely seen as an inspiration for the U.S. president’s political ideology as well as other right-wing politicians around the world.
On Tuesday, Orbán issued a statement suggesting that he understood Ukraine’s request for EU membership but did not intend to back down from his position.
“Ukraine’s membership in the European Union offers no security guarantees. Therefore, linking membership with security guarantees is unnecessary and dangerous,” he said.
Previously, Orbán has repeatedly said that Ukraine should not join the European Union so as not to bring the war to Europe, and should instead become a “buffer” country between Europe and Russia. Instead of accession, he offered Kyiv “strategic” cooperation – “pragmatic, flexible and based on common interests.” Orbán also considers EU sanctions against Russia ineffective. He has repeatedly criticized them as useless and harmful to the European economy, and in the past he has managed to secure the lifting of EU sanctions against several Russians.
Polish media outlets and some citizens are lamenting German real estate investors who are swooping into the Polish city of Wrocław and buying up 1,486 apartments, after an agreement was signed on Aug. 16 of this year. However, Wrocław is only one city, and across the country, these same German investors are buying up 5,300 parents in total, for which the Germans will pay €564 million.
In Wrocław, the major investment involves numerous buildings on Horbaczewskiego, Jaworska, Zakładowa, and Grabiszyńska Streets.
Not everyone is happy about the deal.
“Germans are buying nearly 1,500 apartments in Wrocław. They will take over entire apartment blocks, along with their residents. And this is just the beginning of Western companies entering our real estate market. European companies have many times greater capital, so they will easily outbid Polish companies. Either we introduce appropriate taxation for this type of business, or in a dozen or so years we’ll wake up with our hand in the pot. Once again,” wrote political activist Adam Czarnecki on X.
Niemcy kupują prawie 1500 mieszkań we Wrocławiu. Przejmą całe bloki razem z ich mieszkańcami.
A to dopiero początek wchodzenia zachodnich firm na nasz rynek nieruchomości – europejskie spółki dysponują wielokrotnie większym kapitałem, więc bez problemu przelicytują polskie.… pic.twitter.com/omf6AM0BG8
The case concerns buildings constructed by companies associated with the developer Echo Investment, which house apartments for rent under the Resi4Rent brand. On Aug. 16, a preliminary agreement was signed for the sale of all shares in 18 property management companies across the country.
The purchase was made by developer Vantage Development, which in turn is owned by the German investment fund TAG Beteiligungs und Immobilienverwaltungs GmbHz.
The Polish newspaper wPolityce.pl wrote the “Germans are rubbing their hands.”
In Germany itself, investors have bought up substantial amounts of property in major cities like Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, helping drive up prices for locals. The role of foreign capital flowing into Western countries remains a point of contention. In some nations like New Zealand, a ban on foreign real estate investors was enacted to help tame real estate prices and ensure locals have a chance to afford apartments and homes in their own country.
The outlet for writes, “As for Wrocław itself, the TuWrocław.com website reports that the buildings in question are at Zakładowa 24 (302 apartments); Jaworska 6-8 (681 apartments); Horbaczewskiego 16 (301 apartments); and Grabiszyńska 91 (202 apartments).”
The transaction still needs to be approved by the PolishOffice of Competition and Consumer Protection, but could be finalized by mid-December 2025.
The acquisition of residential buildings by German-based Vantage Development and Robyg, which is owned by the same company, is not the only investment in Wrocław. The company is also invested in Port Popowice.
The issue of investors buying up property in major European cities is not only an issue involving Germans, however, Poles may be especially sensitive to German investors due to the historical conflicts between the two countries.
Three men are standing trial for the gang rape of a 19-year-old woman in a Düsseldorf hotel, with the indictment indicating the men left her in her own vomit after the act. The men, one Turkish man and two German citizens, are now standing trial.
The three men are from Siegen, and they face charges of attempted manslaughter in the case.
The migration background of the German citizens, if any, has not been disclosed. However, there are millions of German-Turkish dual citizens, and if any of them are arrested, they are charged as Germans.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the young woman was completely drunk, high on marijuana, and unable to consent. During the rape, she showed almost no physical reaction due to her highly intoxicated state, according to German newspaper Rheinische Post.
Incredibly, the men filmed the acts, and the videos are part of the proceedings. The case may have never come to light, but police were actively surveilling the suspects, as they were known drug dealers. As a result, the police saw the videos.
The charges were read out in the First Grand Criminal Chamber, but the three men charged in the case had their family and friends there, who screamed their support for them.
“Stay strong, brother,” one chanted with a raised fist, adding that “justice will prevail.”
The case first began when one suspect, who is 29, met the woman at a club at the Düsseldorf Harbor on the night of Aug. 6, 2022, and encouraged her to smoke marijuana. From there, he took her to a hotel and rented a room in cash.
The girl, who will testify at a later date, was extremely intoxicated at that point and could not say no.
The man began raping the woman and kept going even though she vomited. Then, he contacted a second 28-year-old defendant over WhatsApp and told him to come to the hotel to “bang” the woman.
That suspect found the woman lying in her own vomit and sexually penetrated her.
Then, a third defendant, a 32-year-old, arrived and raped the woman orally and vaginally, all while filming his acts.
The first suspect apparently invited a number of other unknown men who entered the room, according to prosecutors. Over the course of three hours, the men raped her, but some perpetrators remain unidentified.
Despite the woman vomiting multiple times, she was left in a “desolate condition.”
On Saturday evening, Austrian police officers arrested a 30-year-old Somali man suspected of stabbing two Romanian men outside Vienna’s Europaplatz train station and then attacking a third victim.
All three victims, aged 48, 51, and 51, suffered injuries, with one victim suffering a stab wound in the neck. Another was stabbed in the stomach, and a third man was headbutted by the Somali man, according to police.
A motive for the attack remains unknown, but according to the victims, they had no previous contact with the suspect and had not known him before the stabbing.
“According to the victims, there had been no prior contact with the suspect; he was completely unknown to them,” police spokesperson Markus Dittrich stated.
Police arrived on scene and successfully overpowered the Somali man before arresting him.
News reports indicate that all three victims were known to be involved in the local homeless scene and are believed to have alcohol addictions, according to OE24.at.
The victims were treated at the hospital. The investigation remains ongoing.
A foreign driver with an unbelievably high blood alcohol content (BAC), one that would routinely kill most people, decided to drive his car at an unbelievable 220 kilometers per hour (137 miles per hour) on the German autobahn. His passenger had an even higher blood alcohol content.
The man was traveling on the A67 in southern Hesse and was so drunk that most medical literature indicates that he should be dead or in a coma.
One witness followed the car and called the police after noticing the man zigzagging between lanes and driving in an erratic manner late one evening.
Officers stopped the car, which had foreign license plates, and checked both occupants of the vehicle in the parking lot of the A5 autobahn.
Incredibly, the passenger of the vehicle had an even higher blood alcohol level.
“A breathalyzer test carried out on the spot showed a blood alcohol level of 4.16 per mille for the driver and no blood alcohol level for the passenger, as the device switches off when the blood alcohol level reaches 5 per mille!” the police wrote in a statement, including an exclamation mark to indicate their shock.
The driver’s license was immediately confiscated, and he was taken into custody.
German media outlet Welt wrote that “The fact that there were no injuries or deaths was likely due to mere coincidence.”
In Germany, drivers are not permitted to drive with a blood alcohol level over 0.5 per mille or higher. At 1.1 per mille, it is a criminal offense, as the law states there is an “absolute inability to drive.”
“A blood alcohol level above 4 per mille poses an acute risk to life,” the ADAC, the German automobile club, the largest in Europe, writes. “Important protective reflexes are lost, those affected fall into a coma, and can suffer shock with progressive circulatory failure, even complete respiratory and cardiac arrest.”
A blood alcohol concentration of more than 5 per mille almost always leads to death.
The fact that the passenger had a blood alcohol level above 5 and did not die is remarkable in itself.
There is speculation about the identity of the foreigners; however, the German media did not indicate their nationality or what country the vehicle was registered under.
Although the 5 per mille level seems remarkable, it is far from the highest blood alcohol level ever recorded. One poorly sourced claim notes a Polish driver recorded an incredible 1.480 percent level, which was recorded after he crashed his car. Despite the level, he survived, only later to die from the injuries from the crash — and not the alcohol. However, the Guinness Book of World Records claims the highest level was 1.374 percent, also set by a Polish man who survived but suffered serious damage to his internal organs.
The war in Ukraine, which has mostly seen two Slavic peoples pitted against either in a World War I-style level of trench warfare slaughter, is likely not coming to an end anytime soon, despite Trump’s best efforts.
Certainly, Trump cannot be blamed for not trying to end the war in Ukraine. He is currently dedicating much of his time and diplomatic resources to this effort. While he undoubtedly wants to score a major political victory by ending the war, he also makes ample rhetorical efforts to humanize both sides, whether Russian or Ukrainian. He speaks of the wanton slaughter on both sides, pointing to the fathers, brothers, and sons losing their lives and limbs by the hundreds of thousands.
This was always a good first step; however, it will not be enough to end this war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was hardly pleased with the mention of NATO-style security guarantees that Trump appeared to offer Ukraine. All sources indicate that Putin met Trump’s proposal with cold rejection after a Monday telephone call.
President Donald J. Trump on the phone with President Putin in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/RkWReNAT2b
Trump had reached out to Putin after conducting hours of a one-on-one talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seven other European leaders, who were all in Washington.
The next step was for Zelensky and Putin to meet, and afterwards for Trump to join the meeting with the other two leaders at a later date. All signs point to Putin souring towards Trump’s proposal.
There is no doubt that Trump is actively seeking peace, unlike Biden, but Trump has already wavered in his past attempts to cut funding and weapons for Ukraine, quickly reversing his position when the media confronted him.
Trump is acutely susceptible to such attacks. He certainly does not want to experience an Afghan-style retreat involving Ukrainian forces in the face of the Russians, which the Western media would have a field day with. Biden was greatly embarrassed when the Taliban quickly swooped to victory following the withdrawal of U.S. forces. However, Trump is even more so a man who likes to project an aura of strength. To make matters worse, Trump would be relentlessly attacked by the mainstream outlets that mostly gave Biden a pass on Afghanistan.
Europe’s elite sees the war as an opportunity against Russia
Despite Russian breakthroughs, Europe and Western intelligence networks still believe they can either win or grind away at Russia, potentially for years. As George Soros wrote already in 1993, the Slavs of the East would make excellent cannon fodder for a war against Russia. He did not put it exactly in those words, but readers can decide for themselves what he meant with the following text:
“The United States would not be called upon to act as the policeman of the world. When it acts, it would act in conjunction with others. Incidentally, the combination of manpower from Eastern Europe with the technical capabilities of NATO would greatly enhance the military potential of the Partnership because it would reduce the risk of body bags for NATO countries, which is the main constraint on their willingness to act. This is a viable alternative to the looming world disorder,” wrote Soros in the article.
Soros openly acknowledges that “body bags” would be plentiful in countries like Ukraine, while Western countries would supply the technical support. His prediction was uncanny — coming to pass decades later, almost exactly as he advocated.
Bruno Kahl, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) made the comments in an interview earlier this year, saying: “If a war in Ukraine comes to a standstill earlier than (2029 or 2030), then all the means (of Russia) – both the technical and the material – are able much earlier to provide a threat against Europe.”
Ukrainian politicians were outraged, but in a country like Ukraine, which has no real form of democracy left, the war juggernaut continues unabated so long as Zelensky desires.
Zelensky and European leaders know what Putin will not accept, i.e., NATO-style security “guarantees” against further Russian incursions. Putin knows that Ukraine’s constitution will not accept territorial losses, even if Trump is calling for them to reverse their constitution and accept such losses.
What will happen now is that either Russia will take the territories it desires, or Ukraine will eventually push back Russian forces. Either outcome may take years to be decided.
There are some pointing to Ukraine’s manpower shortage, and this is indeed a major weakness. However, the age of drones and artificial intelligence is upon us. Many areas of the frontline are almost entirely guarded by unmanned suicide drones, and they are proving so effective that the need for Ukrainian men has been greatly reduced. Europe believes that Ukraine can hold out and inflict incredible losses on Russia, even if Russia is making territorial gains.
In the meantime, neighboring Hungary has long been a proponent for immediate peace in the war in Ukraine, with Orbán strongly backing Trump’s presidency, calling him the “peace” president. However, the Hungarian media, and the ruling Fidesz, appear to be entering a quiet resignation that Trump may not be able to bring the peace he promised.
That is bad news for Hungary, and it is bad news for Europe. It is even worse news for Ukrainians and Russians.
Undoubtedly, there is still some glimmer of hope that Trump can pull off the impossible. For the millions of Ukrainians and Russian locked in hellish combat, where robotic drones hunt them across a vast battlefield, the horror is set to continue unless a miracle comes to pass.
Crime soared 65 percent in Lower Saxony’s swimming pools, and foreigners account for a huge share of these crimes, according to German government data released in response to a parliamentary inquiry from the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The data shows that crime at swimming pools in the German state went from 780 cases in 2023 to 1,286 in 2024.
For sexual crimes, foreigners make up 41.67 percent of perpetrators in 2024, with 13 Syrian suspects and seven Afghan suspects among the foreigners arrested. In total, there were 116 sexual crime cases in 2024 in Lower Saxony swimming pools.
🇩🇪 "I was at the outdoor pool in Zeitz (Germany) yesterday. What can I say?"
"The obvious migrant guests there, who are perhaps from Syria, Afghanistan or whatever, were always romping around in the children’s pools. The men were lying around in the children’s pools, sitting on… pic.twitter.com/Muih5UqhQv
However, for total crimes, foreigners are also greatly overrepresented. The amount of foreigners in Lower Saxony is estimated to be between 11 and 13 percent of the state’s population, yet they were responsible for 31.48 percent of all crimes in 2024 in the state’s swimming pools.
Despite the statistical increase in crimes, the left-wing government leading the state said in response to the data: “There is generally no noticeable increase in crimes in swimming pools or bathing areas in Lower Saxony… The safety situation in urban outdoor pools is classified as unremarkable. The crime burden is at an unremarkable level relative to overall crime.“
The NIUS media outlet, which exclusively obtained the data, reported that one incident in particular has garnered interest from the AfD and served as the justification for requesting the data.
On June 22, 2025, the outlet notes that “there was a violent attack on a lifeguard in Lister Bad, Hanover, who suffered a facial injury and was on sick leave.”
AfD MP Stephan Bothe also asked about the incident, requesting data on “how many suspects have been identified so far in connection with the incidents (threats and physical attacks) in Lister Bad on June 22, 2025?“
The state government response was as follows: “An investigation is being conducted on suspicion of insult. Four suspects have been identified so far. No suspects are currently identified in another preliminary investigation, including on suspicion of assault.“
The government response noted that “one suspect has Afghan nationality. The remaining suspects are German citizens, although two of them have another nationality.“
The Afghan suspect has had a temporary residence permit in Germany since 2015.
Notably, when it comes to crime data, all suspects with dual nationality are listed in the statistics as “German.” There are an estimated 5 million people with dual citizenship in Germany, and some estimates go as high as 7 million.
In addition, millions have German citizenship because they were born to first- and second-generation migrants in the country. Germany’s crime data does not track the migration backgrounds of German citizens, unlike neighboring countries such as Denmark.
In response to the AfD’s question about the specific incident, the government refused to provide further details, stating: “In order to protect the personal rights of those affected, further details on the allegations made against individuals cannot be made within a response from the state government to a parliamentary question intended for publication.“
The ruling government in the state said there is no connection between migration and an increase in crimes in swimming pools.
“The independent cities with higher proportions of foreigners do not equally have the highest number of cases of violent crimes and crimes against sexual self-determination in swimming pools and bathing areas in 2023 and 2024. A connection between the proportion of foreigners and the number of crimes cannot be derived in this context,” the government argues.
🇩🇪🌊A 12-year-old German girl was raped inside the "Water World" swimming pool in the city of Braunschweig, allegedly by a 15-year-old Syrian national.
Police kept silent about the case for 3 weeks until the information leaked out.
The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) argues that crime is indeed a problem in the state’s swimming pools.
“The security situation in swimming pools in Lower Saxony is not inconspicuous, as the state government claims, but is showing a dramatic development,“ said MP Stephan Bothe. “The number of sex crimes in swimming pools has doubled, especially in larger cities. Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis in particular are the suspects here. Our position is clear: The state government must ensure security. And it does this primarily by expelling criminal foreigners.”
As some of Europe’s most prominent leaders descend on Washington today to meet with President Donald Trump, many are raising the alarm about the lack of a Polish delegation. In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki is appealing for calm, saying he has a direct line to Trump.
Monday is another day that could determine Ukraine’s future. A meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky will begin at 1:00 p.m. local time, and 7:00 p.m. Polish time. Two hours later, talks are scheduled to begin with the participation of European leaders in Washington. Significantly, no Polish representatives are among them. The matter is receiving widespread attention, with some calling it a failure of Polish diplomacy.
Nawrocki addressed the matter on Monday during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
“I want to reassure all of you, as well as the public opinion, that last week I took part in two talks with President Trump, but also with European leaders, presenting the clear position of Poland and the Polish state regarding the lack of trust in Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation,” said the president.
The president explained that it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who invited the European leaders who are to be in Washington today.
“And the President of Poland is the only leader in Europe today, the leader of a state who, on the near horizon, on Sept. 3, has a meeting with President Trump, where security issues, including peace in Ukraine, will be one of the very important points,” said Nawrocki.
“So, thanks to the media that are with us today, I appeal for a certain calm and prudence. We are also in contact with Prime Minister Tusk and the government, because when it comes to matters of Polish security and the international situation, there is no room or time for certain political emotions. Only the interests of the Polish state, which we met (to discuss) today here at the Presidential Palace, are paramount,” he added.
The European delegation that will participate in the talks in Washington includes President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubbs, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Nawrocki, a conservative, is set to make his first state visit to the United States, where he will meet with Trump early next month.
“In an official congratulatory letter delivered on the day of his swearing-in, US President Donald Trump invited Polish President Karol Nawrocki to the White House for an official working meeting on 3 September 2025,” wrote the head of the President’s Cabinet, Pawel Szefernaker, on X.
In the run-up to national elections in Poland, Nawrocki played up his close relationship with Trump.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki to the Oval Office 🇺🇸🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/EzjPgygMxI
Germany is seeing a growing exodus of its own citizens, with new figures from DeStatis showing that more than 93,000 Germans left the country in the first four months of 2025 alone.
That compares with 80,105 departures over the same period in 2024 and 83,109 in 2023, marking a clear year-on-year increase.
The trend highlights how net losses of German nationals are accelerating. Since 2005, more Germans have left than returned each year, and 2025 is on track to set a new record. By contrast, mass immigration from abroad continues at high levels, producing an overall positive migration balance but leaving native Germans a steadily shrinking share of the population.
DeStatis recorded 427,246 non-German arrivals into the country from January to April this year, with net migration of non-Germans for the first third of the year reaching 126,526.
Between May 2022 and April 2025, a total of 2,089,025 more non-Germans have moved to Germany than have left the country, while 262,476 more German nationals have left the country than have returned.
As Handelsblatt recently noted, those leaving are often not retirees or students, but people in their prime working years. Federal statistics show that around half of emigrants are between 25 and 49 — the very cohort most needed in the domestic labor market. Academics, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers are disproportionately represented.
Behind the numbers are personal stories that illustrate the pressures driving the trend. Julia and Philipp Ramjoué, a young couple from Augsburg, sold their house this year and moved in with their daughter, grandmother, and cats to Arusha, Tanzania. “We felt more at home than we’d ever felt in Germany,” Julia told the German broadsheet, explaining that suffocating bureaucracy and pandemic restrictions had pushed them to seek a new life abroad. Her husband Philipp described the German system as “extremely daunting” for anyone trying to innovate.
Emigration consultants say the pandemic was a turning point. Christoph Heuermann of Staatenlos, who helps Germans relocate, said demand has risen sharply since 2020. Manny Schoenhuber, a lawyer in Houston, noted that nearly one in five of his clients are Germans seeking to settle permanently in the U.S. — often investors, freelancers, or consultants in search of lower taxes and greater freedom.
Officially, more than 270,000 Germans emigrated in 2024, compared with around 141,000 in 2010. The figures do not break down motives, but analysts point to recurring themes: frustration with red tape, high tax burdens, concern about political shifts, and a broader desire for personal freedom.
At the same time, foreign arrivals remain strong. Net immigration has been positive for 15 years, but this balance rests overwhelmingly on non-Germans. Migration statistics show tens of thousands of foreign nationals arriving each month, offsetting the steady outflow of German citizens.
The combined effect amounts to a demographic shift: Germany is growing more reliant on immigration to sustain its population, even as increasing numbers of its own citizens — often highly educated and skilled — seek new lives abroad.
Conservative lawmaker Robert Jenrick has called for an investigation into an immigration judge whose ruling allowed a convicted migrant criminal to remain in Britain, despite his record of serious offenses.
Christian Quadjovie, who arrived in the U.K. from France at the age of 10, has amassed 963 days behind bars for offenses including drug dealing and sexual assault. Following his most recent conviction, the Home Office sought to deport him. However, Judge Fiona Beach blocked the order, ruling that he did not pose a sufficient threat to the public to justify removal.
The Sun on Sunday reported that Beach had previously served as a director of Asylum Aid, a charity that provides free legal support to migrants in collaboration with the Bail for Immigration Detainees charity. Her judgment in Quadjovie’s case was later overturned on appeal after government lawyers argued it had been “made against the weight of evidence.”
The revelation of Beach’s past association with a pro-asylum group has prompted questions over judicial impartiality. Jenrick, a former immigration minister, has written to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office demanding to know whether she disclosed her prior role.
“This is the latest example of an immigration judge with open borders views,” he told the newspaper. “The similarity between her decisions and the political views she has broadcast totally undermines confidence in the system. Judges must be independent.”
Beach served on the board of Asylum Aid between 2004 and 2007, stepping down when she was first appointed as a part-time judge. She became a salaried member of the immigration tribunals in 2018. A judiciary spokesman defended the system, saying: “In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented, and apply the law as it stands.”
Jenrick has pressed further, telling The Telegraph last week: “We have to have a situation where judges who act politically and bring their own personal politics into their job as a judge are held to account and frankly, can be removed.”
His criticism comes as immigration remains at the forefront of political debate. Jenrick, who narrowly lost the Conservative leadership race to current opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, travelled to Northern France last week with his former Home Office colleague Chris Philp. The pair visited migrant camps and recorded videos highlighting the scale of crossings. “I was in Northern France last Saturday to Monday. 1,190 migrants crossed the Channel in that time alone. Is it any surprise, when this is how easy the French make it to break in?” he wrote.
A 21-year-old Moroccan national has been arrested after he broke into and set fire to the historic Church of Santiago Apóstol in El Pozuelo, a town within the municipality of Albuñol, Granada.
The incident occurred just after 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, when the man allegedly forced open the front door by breaking a stained-glass window. He then used a hammer to cause damage inside the church before setting it on fire.
While there were no injuries, a section of the church’s interior was heavily damaged by the flames, according to Yabiladi.com. The rapid response of the Spanish police and firefighters helped limit the extent of the destruction.
Local authorities have since condemned the attack. Socialist Mayor María José Sánchez (PSOE) called for calm, calling the incident “regrettable” and warning that it could be used to “create divisions or confrontations” among residents.
“Albuñol is a diverse, supportive, and welcoming municipality, where coexistence and respect are fundamental pillars that must not be compromised. An entire group cannot be criminalized for the actions of a single person,” she insisted.
In a video, locals can be seen inside the partially destroyed church, which is still smoking. A number of Christian figures are smashed as well.
🇪🇸 A Moroccan migrant in Spain has been arrested for smashing up a church with a hammer before setting the place on fire.
The 21-year-old suspected arsonist broke a stained-glass window with a hammer at the Church of Santiago Apóstol in El Pozuelo, Albuñol, on Sunday afternoon,… pic.twitter.com/suOIZKku3T
Both the Archdiocese of Granada and the Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia (UCIDAN) have also issued strong condemnations.
The Archdiocese called it a “serious intentional arson” and a “grave attack on the most sacred aspect of Christian worship.”
It noted “several people were slightly injured” while trying to prevent damage to the building.
It also called on the faithful to “give thanks to God for this serious incident and pray for harmony and peace among all.”
The Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia (UCIDAN) stated the attack was “totally contrary to human and Islamic values” and does not represent the Muslim community.
The Albuñol government also noted “strong condemnation” of these “extremely serious” incidents.
Thefts from churches in France have risen dramatically, with official figures showing a 24 percent increase in just two years. In 2024, 780 incidents were recorded, ranging from stolen chalices and statues to collection money amid a growing vulnerability of Christian places of worship.
At Paris’s Notre-Dame d’Auteuil Church, Father Antoine Devienne explained how his parish has been targeted in the past. “There was an attempted theft of a crown given to the Virgin Mary a few years ago. Well, we took it away because we didn’t want to tempt bad intentions,” he told Europe 1. The church has since installed cameras and relies on staff patrols to maintain security, with doors double-locked after Mass.
Parishioners say they are unsettled by the situation. “I find it monstrous, unacceptable,” said Sophie, 83. Louis, 37, who came to pray with his fiancée, said he regretted finding the doors closed. “It’s still unfortunate to see that today in France, we are forced to close churches during the day when, before, all the churches were open. It was a place of prayer where we could go to reflect,” he said.
But the threat extends far beyond theft. Across Europe, churches have been vandalized, burned, and attacked, with clergy and worshippers sometimes coming under direct assault.
In Spain last Sunday, a 21-year-old Moroccan migrant was arrested after smashing a stained-glass window with a hammer and attempting to set fire to the Church of Santiago Apóstol in Albuñol. The Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia condemned the attack, insisting that it was an isolated act that did not represent the wider Muslim community, but the trend is undeniable.
🇪🇸 A Moroccan migrant in Spain has been arrested for smashing up a church with a hammer before setting the place on fire.
The 21-year-old suspected arsonist broke a stained-glass window with a hammer at the Church of Santiago Apóstol in El Pozuelo, Albuñol, on Sunday afternoon,… pic.twitter.com/suOIZKku3T
In Germany this week, a church in Mainz was vandalized, part of a pattern that Austrian activist Martin Sellner described as “happening every day.” He linked the trend to broader demographic change in Europe, warning that “with the boomers goes our demographic majority.”
A Church in Mainz was a vandalized. It happens every day. And its just the trailers. With the boomers goes our demographic majority. Civil unrest is looming and Europe is pregnant with an islamic state. pic.twitter.com/UgWlFnUO4q
France has suffered some of the most shocking attacks. In 2016, Father Jacques Hamel was murdered during morning Mass in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray by two men who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
More recently, in May this year, a group of around 10 young men stormed the Montfavet church in Avignon, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and threatening to burn the building down. The parish priest, Father Laurent Milan, said the situation turned chaotic. “One of them began running around. They gathered around the priest and started hurling insults. It was chaos. We struggled to get them out,” one parishioner told La Provence. According to Father Milan, the group hurled explicit insults targeting Christianity, shouting, “Jesus, we’re f***ing you,” and vowing to return to burn the church. Police were later forced to guard the church during Mass.
At the same time, Europe’s churches face internal pressures from declining attendance and financial strain. The Catholic Church in Austria saw close to 80,000 departures in 2023 alone, forcing dioceses to sell properties they can no longer maintain.
In Hirschwang an der Rax, a church and former rectory were recently put up for sale, reflecting a wider pattern of decline also evident in France and Germany.
A 13-year-old girl, suspected of having Islamist ties, has been accused of stabbing a nurse at a psychiatric hospital in East Westphalia in Germany. This attack occurred just days after police had warned the facility about the potential danger the girl posed.
According to the German Press Agency (dpa), investigators had learned that the teenager was scheduled to be given access to the hospital kitchen as part of her therapy. Police then warned the hospital that the knives in the kitchen could be used as a weapon.
Despite the warning, the clinic proceeded with the girl’s therapy as planned, allowing her access to knives.
The nurse, who is 24, was stabbed in the back and was in critical condition. However, police reported that she is now improving.
The news outlet NW.de also indicated that the stabbing occurred during the short-term absence of a guard, who had just left the kitchen, according to the Paderborn prosecutor’s office.
The prosecutor’s office was asked if the clinic had ignored warnings from the police; however, the office only stated that an investigation is ongoing and that “the motive is also the subject of ongoing scrutiny.”
The 13-year-old was taken into custody, but due to her age, pretrial detention was not possible.
A homicide squad has been formed to investigate the case. Authorities have stated there was no danger to the public.
The Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, which operates the hospital, has not yet commented, stating that a representative would visit the facility to investigate the incident.
According to multiple media outlets, including the Neue Westfälische, the 13-year-old had been under police surveillance for months as a potential Islamist threat.
She had been living in an apartment under 24-hour police watch and receiving educational support. In July, she attempted to escape and injured a police officer, which led to her placement in a secure psychiatric facility.
Spiegel reported that the girl had told others she wanted to kill someone before her 14th birthday —before she reached the age of criminal responsibility. This alleged statement, coupled with her impending birthday in the fall, made investigators especially concerned when they learned of her planned access to the kitchen.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that the opposition’s protests have become so violent that it is “literally a matter of days before they start killing in the open streets.”
In response, he stated that the country’s leadership will make “surprising” decisions within a few days regarding tough actions against anti-government protesters after days of demonstrations that have turned violent.
“They’ve done everything else, all that’s left is for them to start killing. I’m not exaggerating, I’m saying it’s a matter of days for that to happen. It’s literally a matter of days for them to start killing in the open streets,” he stated.
The Serbian president also stated that “the violence is a sign of complete weakness” and promised to “punish the rioters.”
🇷🇸🚨 BREAKING: Massive anti-government protests in Belgrade tonight!
For several months now, Aleksandar Vučić’s regime has been refusing the protesters’ main demand – to call new elections. pic.twitter.com/9h43qOgQfe
Vučić said his government will not back down against what he said was external pressure.
“We will resist external pressure and we will prevail,” he said.
According to the Serbian president, if there are no more decisive measures against the violence on the streets, the moment will come when someone will be killed.
Vučić called an emergency press conference for Sunday after more than nine months of anti-government protests in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Valjevo, sparked by the partial collapse of the Novi Sad railway station, which have turned increasingly violent in recent days. Protesters have clashed with members and supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and police, and have set fire to the SNS party office.
🇷🇸🚨 BREAKING: Clashes on the streets of Serbia! Offices of the ruling pro-EU party are on fire.
Protesters in Serbia are destroying the offices of President Aleksandar Vučić’s party. pic.twitter.com/zKmb6gtxdg
The canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed on Nov. 1 last year, killing 16 people. This sparked nationwide protests that continue to this day.
The demands from protesters included finding and holding accountable those responsible for the accident, as well as the publication of documents related to the renovation of the train station. They are also demanding the release of students and teachers detained during the protests, and increasing the budget for higher education by 20 percent. The government says the demands have already been met, making further protests unjustified.
The competent authorities have charged 16 people with negligence and endangerment, and the Novi Sad High Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into suspicions of possible corruption during the renovation.
The railway station building, which was opened in 1964, was renovated in several waves in 2021-2022, and work continued last year. Minister of Construction Goran Vesic announced last July that the renovation was complete and the entire building could be used again.
The minister has since resigned, but said he does not consider himself responsible for the tragedy. However, the mayor of Novi Sad and the prime minister have accepted responsibility. Milan Djuric and Milos Vucevic announced their resignations at the end of January. The new prime minister and government were elected by parliament on April 16.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Lena Kotré has rejected accusations that a remigration conference she attended in Oslo at the weekend was linked to extremism or ethnic cleansing. Writing in response to an article in Norway’s leading daily Aftenposten, she said the newspaper’s framing of the event was driven by “political hatred and targeted disinformation.”
Kotré, who had to be escorted away from parts of the Norwegian capital by authorities after facing threats from left-wing activists and migrant groups, said the Norway Democrats’ conference was a legitimate political gathering. She described it as a forum where citizens, politicians, and intellectuals discussed “solutions to problems systematically suppressed by established politics.”
BREAKING: 🇩🇪❕ AfD politician @KotreLena has had to be evacuated from a meeting with Norwegian politicians in central Oslo ahead of a Remigration conference on Saturday.
"There has been a development where we felt compelled to evacuate the Norway Democrats and the German… pic.twitter.com/jUiLAzZrHw
“The claim that the Norway Democrats conference was a matter of ‘ethnic cleansing’ is not only wrong – it is malicious,” Kotré wrote. “Whoever writes like this doesn’t want to inform – they want to scare.”
The AfD lawmaker compared the controversy in Oslo to what she called the “fabricated scandal” around the so-called Potsdam meeting in Germany last year. That meeting was reported by investigative outlet Correctiv as involving secret discussions of mass deportations, something Kotré said had been “proven false” and weaponized to launch “a political extermination campaign.”
She argued the same tactic was now being deployed in Norway, using “insinuations, guilt by association, and perfidious terms like ‘terror cells’ or ‘neo-Nazi friends’” to delegitimize debate.
Kotré insisted that remigration is not a code word for violence but “a political term for orderly return measures.” She outlined the policy as including the return of people without residence permits, the closure of failed integration projects, and the safeguarding of national identity and social stability. “This is not ‘purification,’ but political pragmatism,” she said, adding that “no other people in the world are labelled extremists when they demand to preserve their identity.”
🇩🇪 German police are bringing Muslim on rock climbing "field trips" to "break down prejudices," while ethnic German teens get nothing.
German AfD MP @KotreLena says it's primarily Muslim youths that are the reason why "German young people are basically dominated and oppressed.… pic.twitter.com/1HL3KsTUQ1
The Aftenposten article by journalist Lasse Josephsen was headlined, “We must understand what is happening: The Norwegian Democrats’ conference is about ethnic cleansing in Europe.” Kotré said such language aimed to “morally forbid” debate on migration and integration, branding it a strategy of intimidation that would not succeed.
Positioning herself and other participants as defenders of free speech, she said: “Those who want to ban remigration in general do not want to protect democracy – but to abolish the opposition.”
Closing her op-ed in Norwegian online magazine Document, Kotré wrote, “I attended this conference not in secret, not in hiding – but publicly, with an open face to speak, listen, discuss. And I stand by all who, despite the media storm, have the courage to hold on to the truth. Oslo spoke. Europe listened.”
A new report by Austria’s Public Employment Service (AMS) has sparked controversy after suggesting that some refugees are intentionally failing German language courses to avoid being placed in low-paying jobs.
The findings, published in the study “New Refugees from Syria on the Austrian Labor Market,” highlight a growing challenge for integration policy, with concerns that language training, once seen as the key to employment, is becoming a barrier instead.
In the report, one first-hand account from a Syrian woman who studied medicine in her home country and worked as a paediatrician in Turkey, criticized what she sees as a systemic problem: qualified Syrian women being pushed into cleaning jobs without any consideration of their professional skills. She claims that, in response, some refugees purposely fail their language exams to avoid being forced into such low-status work.
Central to her complaint is the issue of inadequate wages, which she says often do not even cover basic living expenses, making social benefits a more attractive option.
The case study appears to be supported by AMS data, which showed that two-thirds of those granted asylum or subsidiary protection require literacy training, and 44 percent are completely illiterate. As reported by Kosmo, the AMS notes that 30 percent of refugees still have no German-language knowledge even 18 months after registering in Austria. Many spent years in transit countries before arriving, and in some cases, they cannot even read in their native language.
In July 2025, the unemployment rate for Syrians in Austria stood at 45.4 percent. Vienna is the epicenter of the problem, with more than half of all unemployed migrants living in the capital. Meanwhile, in other federal states, tens of thousands of low-skilled jobs remain unfilled.
The AMS acknowledges that deliberately failing courses to avoid work may occur, but insists this is not a widespread practice. “There are probably isolated cases, but this does not exist as a perceptible phenomenon,” the agency says. However, it concedes that proving deliberate failure is “hardly feasible in practice.” Sanctions are only possible if it can be clearly demonstrated that a person intentionally sabotaged their course or exam.
The issue is also closely linked to Austria’s welfare system. Some migrants may calculate that low-skilled work pays less than the combined value of unemployment benefits and minimum income support. The AMS does not deny that the financial incentive to remain unemployed exists.
The Austrian federal government is attempting to reform the system to ensure that work pays more than benefits. Starting in 2026, asylum seekers who skip compulsory language courses or fail the final exam will face cuts to their social welfare payments.
In Lower and Upper Austria, such measures are already in place, with reductions of up to 50 percent for those who refuse to participate.
Earlier this week, the reality of mass immigration in Austria was laid bare after new figures from the Statistical Yearbook on Migration and Integration found that women from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq living in Austria have an average birth rate almost three times higher than that of Austrian-born women.
The new generation with a growing Muslim population is having a profound effect in Austria, particularly in education. In October 2024, federal data revealed that more than three-quarters of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home, putting pressure on an education system designed for single-language learning.
It has led to teachers leaving their profession — 20 a day on average in 2024 — and other educators speaking out on the “rapid Islamization” of the Austrian capital.
“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” said longtime principal of a Vienna middle school, Christian Klar, in an interview with Christian magazine Corrigenda last year.
German police in the state of Baden-Württemberg are refusing to disclose the nationalities of three men accused of sexually harassing girls as young as 12 at public swimming areas in Stuttgart and Offenburg.
All three incidents took place on Tuesday. As reported by Bild, at the Killesberg outdoor swimming pool in Stuttgart, police say a 28-year-old man approached two 12-year-old girls in the water at around 4:50 p.m. and touched their buttocks.
He was arrested shortly afterwards but released after his personal details were taken.
At the Inselbad Untertürkheim in Stuttgart-Ost earlier that afternoon, a 42-year-old man allegedly indecently touched two 15-year-old girls. Pool attendants detained him until police arrived, but he, too, was released after questioning.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of further victims in either case and have urged anyone affected to come forward.
Later that evening at Gifizsee near Offenburg, police arrested a 43-year-old man accused of approaching a group of girls, then entering the water near one girl and a teenager before grabbing their buttocks.
He was detained on the spot but was also later released.
Despite repeated media requests, police have declined to confirm the suspects’ nationalities.
The incidents come after German police launched a Europe-wide manhunt for a 31-year-old Romanian man suspected of sexually abusing a six-year-old girl at a water park in Rust, also in Baden-Württemberg.
That attack occurred on Saturday evening when the girl was lured away from her parents at the swimming complex, led into nearby woodland, and forced to perform sexual acts on the suspect.
She was found an hour later, more than five kilometers away, in the neighboring town of Kappel-Grafenhausen.
Authorities believe the suspect has returned home to Romania.
German police have launched a Europe-wide search for a 31-year-old Romanian man suspected of sexually abusing a six-year-old girl near Europa-Park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, after she became separated from her parents at the park’s Rulantica water complex. Authorities believe the man has already fled to his home country.
According to police, the incident occurred on Saturday evening when the girl lost sight of her parents in the pool area. As reported by Welt, the suspect allegedly offered to help her, gained her trust, and then led her into nearby woodland, where he is accused of soliciting sexual acts before leaving her alone.
Investigators say there is currently no evidence that the girl was raped, but was a victim of serious sexual assault.
The child then wandered alone through the park, still wearing a swimsuit and flip-flops, before being found over an hour later and five kilometers away in the neighboring town of Kappel-Grafenhausen.
“One can imagine that after such a horrific act, a child’s soul is certainly not in a good state,” said Offenburg police spokesman Wolfgang Kramer, who confirmed the girl was not seriously injured externally.
The suspect was identified through surveillance footage from the water park. An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday, but a search of his apartment found no sign of the perpetrator.
Bild reported late on Thursday that the suspect’s passport was missing, and police suspect he has returned to Romania. “According to current information, the prime suspect may have fled to his country of origin,” police said, adding that they are conducting a comprehensive cross-border manhunt.
Initially, investigators pursued another man but cleared him after questioning. A witness later provided the breakthrough identification that led to the arrest warrant. Police describe the suspect as having a full black beard and short dark hair, but warn he may have altered his appearance.
Europa-Park CEO Michael Mack said the park’s owners were “deeply saddened” and had contacted the girl’s family directly. A park spokesperson added that all 700 employees at Rulantica have been briefed on the attack and are on high alert.
The case comes amid several recent incidents of sexual harassment at swimming pools and lakes across Germany. A disproportionate number of perpetrators are foreign nationals.
In June, a group of Syrian migrants was arrested, suspected of sexually assaulting at least nine underage girls, aged between 11 and 17, at the Barbarossabad swimming pool in Gelnhausen, Hesse.
In neighboring Switzerland, all foreigners were banned from an outdoor swimming complex following multiple reports of violence, sexual harassment, and anti-social behavior by “French youths with a migration background.”
A week after the pool was closed to foreigners, the complaints stopped, and a surge in season tickets was recorded. “It’s much quieter now,” said Luna Lando, a lifeguard at the Porrentruy pool in an interview. “There’s no need for security anymore.”
“We wouldn’t have been able to come here anymore if the measures hadn’t been introduced,” Vieira da Silva Aurelie, a local swimming instructor.
Two senior Social Democratic Party (SPD) district administrators in the German state of Thuringia have broken with their party’s national stance by demanding that most non-EU migrants — including asylum seekers and recognized refugees — receive social benefits only as interest-free loans, repayable once they find work.
Matthias Jendricke, district administrator for Nordhausen, and Marko Wolfram, who heads the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district, say Berlin must “finally” overhaul what they describe as an “increasingly dysfunctional” system.
Jendricke told Stern magazine that anyone “who comes to our state and hasn’t paid anything into their accounts so far will only be able to receive social benefits as an interest-free loan.”
The pair argues the model should resemble Germany’s student loan system (BAföG), where repayments can be reduced or partly forgiven for those who quickly secure work and integrate. Wolfram said such an approach would “create a positive incentive to integrate quickly” while easing resentment among German taxpayers. Both stress that benefits for minors would remain non-repayable.
Germany’s “citizen’s benefit” (Bürgergeld) cost €46.9 billion in 2024, with nearly half of the 4 million recipients being foreign nationals. However, data from the Federal Employment Agency published in November last year showed that 63 percent of recipients have a migration background, i.e., they may be naturalized by are foreign-born or first-generation immigrants.
Refugees make up around 30 percent of claimants, with €6.3 billion spent on Ukrainians alone last year. Despite this, only about one-third of working-age Ukrainian refugees are employed.
Current Bürgergeld rules pay single adult claimants €563 a month, plus housing and heating costs. Benefits for asylum seekers are lower, but gross expenditure for this group still reached €6.3 billion in 2023, Stern notes.
Jendricke says repayment incentives could be generous — halving debt for refugees who find work within a year and pass a language test, and even offering repayment bonuses to parents whose children graduate from school.
The proposal faces significant legal hurdles. In 2022, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that a humane minimum standard of living is guaranteed under the Basic Law to all residents in Germany, regardless of nationality.
The opposition AfD has called for foreign nationals to receive basic security only after proving 10 years of social insurance contributions, and for payments to be limited to one year. Co-leader Alice Weidel insists that only those who have paid into Germany’s social system should be allowed to benefit.
Public debate has been fuelled by recent reports showing the disproportionate share of welfare funds going to foreigners. Government data cited by Bild found that almost half of Germany’s €17.68 billion housing support in 2024 went to non-citizens, who make up just 15 percent of the population.
Earlier this week, Remix News reported how Germany’s Federal Employment Agency is actively promoting the country’s “citizen’s benefit” to young migrants, presenting it online as a straightforward and appealing option for those without work.
A dedicated section of the agency’s website, written in English for “people from abroad,” features a smiling young couple — including a man in his early thirties holding a book and a woman in a hijab — under the headline: “If you are unable to finance your own living expenses, under certain circumstances the Jobcenter will support you with the citizen’s benefit.”
A woman in her thirties was left in a life-threatening condition on Wednesday morning after suffering multiple stab wounds in her apartment in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
Her partner, also in his thirties, was taken into custody shortly after the incident.
The attack occurred in a social housing building on Rue de Vauvenargues. According to Le Parisien, the victim, a mother of one, was stabbed around 10 times during an argument with the father of her child.
Despite her injuries, she managed to call emergency services at around 8:10 a.m. A neighbour initially believed the man had been hurt, but police arriving on the scene found the woman with serious wounds to her face, arm, and abdomen. Early findings suggest she may have been disemboweled.
Emergency responders stabilized her at the scene before transporting her under police escort to Georges Pompidou Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. Witnesses said they heard screams and repeated cries of “Allahu Akbar” for several minutes before the noise stopped.
Police later arrested the suspect on the fifth floor of the building. He reportedly told officers that the victim had slapped him and that he responded by stabbing her.
The couple, who have lived in the building for about seven months, were not previously known for any public disturbances. Neighbors described the man as friendly and talkative, and the woman as private and reserved.
A 3-year-old child, present during the attack, was temporarily taken into care.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said magistrates have yet to be updated on the woman’s current condition, but upon arrival at the hospital, she was described as critical.
The suspect, already known to police, was taken into custody for questioning.
An Afghan migrant who told police he was “so horny” and “just wanted to have sex” has been charged with the aggravated rape of an 18-year-old woman delivering post in Västerås.
Mohsen Asghari, 26, who arrived in Sweden in 2012 as an unaccompanied minor and was granted Swedish citizenship in 2016, has confessed to the attack, which took place in broad daylight on July 4 this year.
According to court documents seen by the Samnytt news outlet, the victim — a summer worker for Postnord — was on her delivery round alone that morning, driving a small Postnord-marked moped. She was unaware that Asghari had been tailing her in a white van for several minutes prior to the attack.
Shortly before 11 a.m., she stopped outside an apartment building to deliver letters. After riding the lift to the top floor, she began her deliveries, working her way down the floors. When she reached the ground floor, Asghari confronted her, blocking the exit and pulling out a knife. Initially, she thought she was being robbed and pleaded with him not to hurt her, telling him she had a family.
Instead, Asghari ordered her to “come with me” and forced her into a corner of the stairwell at knifepoint, where he made her sit on the floor before raping her. He then fled to his van and drove off.
The shocked victim managed to alert building staff, who contacted her father and a colleague. At first, unable to speak about what had happened, she eventually told them she had been raped.
Police soon identified Asghari after he dropped a cap at the scene, which matched one seen in CCTV footage from a nearby shop. He was also wearing a blue Avesta AIK sports jacket, the local football team, which the club confirmed was an old design once worn by a team that had included several Afghan players. Investigators matched him from old team photos.
When questioned, Asghari openly admitted to the crime, saying he had followed the young woman because “she is a girl and she is pretty” and that “my brain was so horny, I just wanted to have sex.” He claimed he had been feeling unwell before and after the rape and had considered suicide.
Asghari is now facing trial for aggravated rape. Due to his Swedish citizenship, he cannot be deported if convicted.
The inability to deport foreign criminals who have become naturalized has made multiple headlines in recent months in Sweden. In June, an Iranian serial rapist was jailed for six years in Sweden for multiple sexual assaults, but won’t be deported due to the legal loophole.
Similarly, Somali-born Baasim Yusuf was sentenced to eight years in prison back in January for brutal sexual assaults on elderly women in his care, but due to holding Swedish citizenship since 2018, he cannot be deported despite the severity of his crimes.
Even those who could in theory be deported are often handed a reprieve via the courts. Last week, A 25-year-old Afghan drug addict who has racked up a lengthy criminal record had his deportation order overturned by the Svea Court of Appeal.
Ali Suleimani, who arrived in the country during the 2015 migrant crisis, committed more than 20 criminal offenses, including theft, assault, vandalism, and drug crimes, but the appellate court ruled the offenses were not serious enough to justify his deportation, considering he had lived in Sweden for nine years.
A report published by a research group at Lund University earlier this year showed that between the years of 2000 and 2020, 63.1 percent of all those convicted of rape, aggravated rape, or attempted rape were first or second-generation immigrants.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended his absence from a high-level virtual meeting between European leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening, saying the American side specifically requested that Poland be represented by President Karol Nawrocki.
Speaking at a press conference, Tusk stressed that the government and president had agreed on a common position in line with the Constitution, and that this stance was conveyed to Nawrocki ahead of his talks with Trump.
“In this second part, at the request of the American side, Poland was represented by President Nawrocki. I know this is generating great interest and emotion, and I want to clearly emphasize that we managed to establish a common position,” Tusk said.
The explanation has drawn attention because Italy and Germany were represented by their heads of government, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, rather than their presidents, although both these countries’ presidents are more ceremonial than Poland’s.
💬 Premier @DonaldTusk👇 Wczoraj, tuż przed północą otrzymaliśmy informację, że strona amerykańska woli, by przywódcy prowadzili rozmowę na poziomie prezydenckim. pic.twitter.com/DdZszSMc8d
Tusk argued that in U.S. diplomacy, presidents are traditionally regarded as primary counterparts, noting that both Presidents Biden and Obama had also preferred presidential-level contacts with Poland. “Yesterday, just before midnight, we received information that the American side would prefer the president to be the Polish side in relations with President Trump,” he said.
The meeting was part of a series of discussions on Ukraine, with Trump reportedly seeking to secure a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. According to Tusk, the first session involved a core group of leaders — Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and Finland — coordinating a unified European position alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This position was then presented to Trump in the second meeting.
Tusk warned that Russia would try to use peace negotiations to weaken NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe, including in Poland. “Russians would very much like to include… discussions on reducing NATO’s presence… That’s why it’s so important that we build this solidarity and a united group of countries,” he said.
When asked by wPolsce24 television when he would congratulate Nawrocki on his election victory, Tusk replied, “We’re not here to pay each other compliments. I will cooperate with President Nawrocki regardless of my opinion on his views. He must come to terms with the fact that I am the prime minister; I have come to terms with the fact that he is the president.” He added that he had proposed meeting Nawrocki the following day to review developments on the Ukrainian front and in ongoing negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing for showdown talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday, where tough negotiations are expected to be held with a view to ending Moscow’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.
Commenting on Wednesday’s pre-meeting discussion among European leaders and Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “very satisfied with the unity of purpose and the capacity for dialoguethat the West is demonstrating in the face of a fundamental challenge for security and defense.
“Now is the time to see what Russia’s attitude will be in Alaska, which up to now has not intended to take any significant steps forward,” she added.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić pledged late on Wednesday to restore order and detain “all those who tried to plunge Serbia into civil war” after violent clashes in Novi Sad left more than 60 people injured and civil unrest was reported in multiple other cities.
Speaking after touring protest sites in Belgrade and Pioneers Park, Vučić accused demonstrators of carrying out coordinated assaults on the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) offices with poles, stones, and other weapons.
The violence erupted amid months of nationwide student-led protests sparked by the November collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. Demonstrators have accused the government of corruption and mismanagement, demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, and called for early parliamentary elections.
Pro-government supporters have organized counterdemonstrations in recent weeks, heightening tensions.
🇷🇸 Huge civil unrest in Serbia this evening as anti-government protests spiral out of control.
🔥 Rioters attacked government offices ‼️ More than 60 people have been seriously injured 👊 People beaten while trying to protect their homes
“Tonight is a difficult evening for the citizens of Serbia,” Vučić said. “What is important is that, thanks to the wisdom, tolerance, and patience of a huge number of citizens, we have miraculously managed to preserve peace for now.”
The Serbian president said that in Novi Sad alone, around 1,695 protesters staged “concentrated attacks” on the SNS building on Bulevar Oslobođenja, leaving dozens “spitting blood” and in need of medical attention. He claimed that a “catastrophic scenario” was avoided only because police and citizens refrained from using weapons in response.
“These people would not retreat,” he said of the ruling party supporters, “they opposed the beaters and blockaders.”
Calling the events “a well-organized attack” unlike anything Serbia has seen, Vučić vowed to apprehend those responsible overnight and in the days to come.
“There will be no mercy for thugs, hooligans, and bullies,” he said. “We will prevent any of their desires from leading us to civil conflicts and endangering the security and peace in our country.”
Interior Minister Dačić confirmed that several citizens and police officers were injured in multiple cities, including Lazarevac and Kraljevo. In Novi Sad, one police officer was among the wounded.
The unrest comes as Serbia pursues European Union membership while maintaining strong ties with Russia and China.
Protests have drawn hundreds of thousands across the country, posing a significant challenge to Vučić’s decade-long grip on the country.
A 27-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man are facing trial for their alleged roles in a violent honeytrap robbery in Avesta that left a 33-year-old man beaten and robbed after being lured from a bar. Prosecutors say the attack was carried out by an Arabic-speaking man who remains under investigation.
According to the Samnytt news outlet, the incident took place in the early hours of June 1 this year, after the victim spent the evening at the Kings Arms bar in the central Swedish town.
He had been watching a football match with a friend before moving to the dance floor, where he met a dark-haired woman in a short white skirt and high boots. When the bar closed, she invited him to her apartment.
On the way there, they bought a takeaway pizza, which they ate together at her home. The woman then claimed she needed to let her “brother” in and headed downstairs to the front door. Moments later, she returned with a man the victim described as Arabic-speaking. After a brief greeting, the man allegedly knocked the victim down, accused him of being in his girlfriend’s home, and produced what appeared to be a gun while continuing the assault.
The victim was forced to hand over cash, his phone, and his bank card with its PIN code. Prosecutors say the woman then left the apartment to withdraw money, with the robbers taking around 20,000 kronor (€1,800) in total, plus the phone. The victim was released and returned home, where his roommate called for medical help and contacted the police.
The woman is charged with aggravated robbery, accused of setting up the honeytrap, while the 26-year-old man is charged with aiding and abetting aggravated robbery by linking her to the violent Arab attacker. Both deny the charges.
“There are three who committed the act, but there are two who are now being charged,” prosecutor Karolina Lassbo said, confirming that the third suspect is still being investigated for aggravated robbery.
Lassbo said there is no evidence that the pair has carried out similar robberies before. The woman has no criminal record, while the male accomplice has previous convictions for assault, drug offenses, and breaching a restraining order.
“I don’t know if it was planned that way, but they certainly took advantage of the opportunity,” Lassbo said.
The Greek government has announced plans to require migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected to wear electronic ankle bracelets so their movements can be tracked in the weeks before deportation.
On Tuesday, Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said the scheme, which will be introduced as part of a legislative package expected to pass before the end of the year, will ensure deportation orders are enforced more swiftly and effectively.
Under the plan, electronic monitoring will be applied for a period of 30 days once all appeal procedures have been completed and the rejection is final. During that time, migrants will be required to comply with deportation conditions or return to their country of origin immediately. Failure to comply could lead to criminal charges.
The measures also include a financial incentive for voluntary return. The government is considering paying a €2,000 bonus to migrants who agree to leave promptly or cooperate with an accelerated return timetable agreed upon with the authorities. Plevris stressed that this would save resources and reduce the strain on detention facilities, while removing incentives for illegal stay.
The legislative package will be presented to parliament next month and will include tougher penalties for non-compliance with deportation orders. This follows a significant rise in arrivals from Libya to the island of Crete in recent months. Plevris confirmed that further, more stringent measures would be brought forward after the summer break.
The announcement builds on the hardline shift in migration policy unveiled by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last month. Speaking in parliament, Mitsotakis declared that asylum application processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa would be suspended for three months. He described the increase in arrivals on Crete and the nearby island of Gavdos as an urgent challenge, stating, “These are events that clearly highlight the European dimension of the problem. Soon, there will also be a reaction from Brussels.”
Two weeks after the suspension was announced, Greek authorities launched a large-scale operation to intercept and detain migrants arriving from Libya. A Coast Guard vessel carrying 247 people apprehended at sea off Crete and Gavdos docked at Lavrio, where they were immediately transferred to detention facilities instead of reception centers.
At the time, Plevris posted on X that the group “do not have the right to apply for asylum and they will not be taken to reception centers,” adding: “We arrest them, put them in detention in closed structures, we start the process of their return. The message is clear.”
The combination of electronic monitoring, incentives for voluntary departure, tougher penalties, and temporary suspension of asylum claims represents one of the most significant overhauls of Greece’s migration policy in years, with the government framing it as both a national security measure and a response to what it calls a broader European challenge.
Austria’s plans to deport a Syrian man with multiple criminal convictions have been put on hold after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued an interim order halting the removal until Sept. 8.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the decision but downplayed its significance, calling it a “routine” procedural measure that comes as “no surprise.”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) stressed that expulsion plans for foreign criminals remain underway. “All preparations for the implementation of this and further deportations to Syria are still being made,” the ministry said in a written statement. Karner insisted the suspension was temporary and “absolutely nothing unusual,” adding that asylum cases are always handled individually.
As reported by ORF on Tuesday, the ECHR’s order follows questions about whether Austria can guarantee deportations to Syria comply with human rights law. Judges have also requested explanations regarding the fate of another Syrian deported from Austria in July — the first such removal in years — who has since disappeared without a trace after being handed over via Istanbul. Karner rejected suggestions that Austria bears responsibility for tracking deportees abroad, saying the priority is to “prevent crimes in Austria,” not to “monitor” individuals once they leave.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International Austria, welcomed the ECHR’s intervention, insisting Syria is not a safe country and warning that deportees risk serious abuse. The Deserters and Refugees Advisory Service described the court’s move as a rare and clear signal, noting that such interim injunctions are issued only in exceptional cases.
Austria broke EU precedent last month by deporting directly to Damascus a 32-year-old Syrian man convicted of terrorist association. He had served seven years in prison before being released, reoffending, and being taken back into custody. The ECHR did not block that removal.
The latest halt has drawn sharp criticism from the main opposition, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). MEP Petra Steger called it “a slap in the face” and an example of “ideologically driven, out-of-touch jurisprudence,” arguing that Syria is rebuilding and many asylum claims are now outdated.
Party leader Herbert Kickl accused the ÖVP-led government of “total failure” for allowing the court to intervene.
Writing on Facebook, Kickl said, “Interior Minister Karner has failed completely: He is being celebrated in the media for deportation, and he can’t even manage this one. This is now being exploited by the European Court of Human Rights, which wants to ban deportations to Syria again. It is more necessary now than ever to get criminals out of Austria!”
This is just the latest example of the judiciary in Europe intervening in government asylum policy.
Earlier this month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that a third country may only be designated as a “safe country of origin” for deportation purposes if it offers effective protection to all population groups — and that this designation must be based on transparent, public information accessible to asylum seekers and the courts. Otherwise, fast-track returns are invalid.
The judgment has major implications for national migration policies, particularly in countries like Italy and Austria that have drawn up their own lists of safe third countries. In the specific case reviewed, two Bangladeshi migrants had been transferred to Albania under Italy’s agreement to process asylum claims outside the EU. Their claims were dismissed on the grounds that Bangladesh was safe, but the Italian law did not cite any sources, which the European Court ruled was a violation of EU law.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni diplomatically called the decision “surprising,” and accused the European judiciary of “claiming rights that are not its own, despite political responsibilities.”
“This is a development that should concern everyone — including the political forces now rejoicing over the ruling — because it further reduces the already limited scope for governments and parliaments to regulate and administer migration,” she added.
An Indian migrant nurse is on trial in Frankfurt for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting vulnerable hospital patients — but faces a maximum sentence of just two years in prison if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage after harrowing testimony from a 21-year-old victim described how her recovery from heart surgery turned into a nightmare.
As reported by Bild, one victim, identified as Elif A., told Frankfurt Regional Court on Tuesday how, one day after her heart ablation procedure in August 2023, nurse Gean G., 37, injected fluid into her IV line despite her objections.
“The medication burned like fire. A few seconds later, I was out and noticed my top being pulled up,” she told the Court. She said she drifted into a state of almost paralysis but felt him touching her thigh, chest, and genitals before losing all memory.
Prosecutors accuse the nurse of grievous bodily harm and sexual assault, alleging that he drugged at least two other patients into unconsciousness four months prior to the alleged sexual assault.
According to Hessenschau, police investigators found a syringe filled with the sedative midazolam in his locker, while an independent urine test ordered by Elif’s family detected benzodiazepines at levels 13 times higher than normal, more than two days after the incident.
The defendant, who came to Germany from India in 2019 and was dismissed without notice after the allegations surfaced, denies all charges. His lawyer, Sabine Princess zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg, told the court her client “did not sexually touch” the victim.
The defendant was seen in court, aided by a translator during Tuesday’s trial.
“While he continued to live his life, mine was destroyed. I wish I had died that day,” Elif told the Court before collapsing and being taken away by ambulance.
The number of violent knife crimes in Germany has risen sharply once again, with newly released Federal Police figures confirming a worsening trend.
In the first half of 2025, 730 cases were recorded under Federal Police jurisdiction, a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The data, provided by the German government in response to a parliamentary query from Alternative for Germany (AfD) domestic affairs spokesman Martin Hess and obtained by Junge Freiheit, show a marked overrepresentation of foreign suspects.
Out of the recorded offenses, 278 involved German suspects and 270 involved non-Germans. While foreigners make up just under 15 percent of Germany’s population, they accounted for over 36 percent of knife crime suspects. Among them, Syrians formed the largest group with 29 cases, followed by Afghans with 23 and Poles with 20. Algerian and Afghan suspects were among the most likely to use a knife rather than merely carry one, with 83 percent of cases involving actual use.
The Federal Police recorded the majority of incidents at train stations, with 409 cases.
Hess said the figures were “largely a direct consequence of mass migration,” accusing left-wing parties of “denial of reality” and warning that public spaces must not become “places of fear.” He criticized symbolic measures such as weapon-free zones and said that effective border controls and large-scale deportations had yet to be implemented.
Knife violence is not confined to Berlin, though the capital’s police force drew ridicule last year for website advice suggesting that victims sing loudly to deter attackers — a tip later removed after public backlash. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, knife crime rose 20.7 percent in 2024, following a 44 percent jump the previous year. There, foreigners make up just 16.1 percent of the population but 47.6 percent of knife crime suspects.
In May, German criminal lawyer Udo Vetter warned that the country has “imported knife violence” following several high-profile incidents, including a Kosovar man injuring a 12-year-old girl and two others, a Syrian asylum seeker stabbing five people outside a student bar, and a rioter wounding a police officer. He pointed to cultural norms where knives are carried as status symbols.
Manuel Ostermann of the Federal Police Union also called for urgent action, warning that the knife “always immediately poses a concrete threat to life and limb” and that politicians must use all available measures to curb the trend.
A Kurdish man from Syria was rejected for asylum in 2010 but remained in Sweden after officials deemed deportation to Syria unenforceable; he now faces trial for aggravated assault and aggravated witness retaliation for an axe attack.
The 42-year-old suspect, Cwan Hassan, is accused of embarking on a violent axe attack in Sollefteå back on May 13 that left a 50-year-old man with a deep leg wound.
Court records and immigration files reviewed by the Samnytt news outlet show that Hassan should have been expelled from Sweden more than a decade ago, but was allowed to remain after authorities ruled that returning him to Syria was not possible.
Hassan first arrived in Sweden in July 2008 and applied for a residence permit for himself, his wife, and their children. The Swedish Migration Board rejected the application in December that year, finding that the family did not meet the criteria for asylum. The decision was upheld upon appeal in March 2010, with the presiding court noting that the family’s accounts contained “serious credibility deficiencies” and that their shifting statements undermined their claim. The court’s ruling noted that these inconsistencies “could not be ignored.”
Hassan further appealed to the Migration Court of Appeal, but his request for leave to appeal was denied, making the expulsion order final. Despite the decision, Hassan remained in Sweden. In November 2012, he lodged an enforcement objection, and officials at the time concluded that deporting him to Syria was not feasible. On that basis, he was granted permanent residence.
Since receiving residency, Hassan has been convicted of multiple crimes. His record includes repeated assaults on his wife, use of a false document, shoplifting, and several counts of illegal driving. In one previous incident, he assaulted the same man who was later the victim in the axe attack.
Back in May, emergency responders were dispatched to central Sollefteå after witnesses saw Hassan confronting a 50-year-old Iranian businessman. “My first reaction was that maybe they were joking or they were two friends,” one witness told police. “It’s not every day you see two people wrestling.”
However, the situation quickly turned violent, with the victim suffering a severe gash to his leg from an axe.
Members of the public intervened to help the injured man, who had just left his apartment to go to work. He was able to immediately identify his attacker as Hassan. The confrontation was part of an ongoing dispute that began when the Iranian businessman took over a hotel and restaurant previously run by Hassan’s brother. The change of ownership sparked a bitter disagreement over rent payments, drawing in relatives on both sides. According to police, the feud escalated into threats, harassment, vandalism, and multiple assaults, with the businessman’s car tires slashed and his property targeted.
Prosecutors have charged Hassan with aggravated assault and aggravated witness retaliation, alleging that the axe attack was carried out in revenge for the victim’s testimony in earlier legal proceedings.
Hassan has denied the offenses, telling investigators he does not recall what happened or how the fight began. “We had an argument. I don’t know what happened,” he said during questioning.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Karin Everitt is seeking a deportation order to be served after any prison sentence, but with a re-entry ban limited to 10 years rather than a permanent expulsion. She has declined to explain the decision to request a time-limited ban, stating only that it is for the court to decide the final outcome.
Once derided as a party of privilege far removed from ordinary Spaniards, Santiago Abascal’s Vox is now leading among some of Spain’s lowest-paid and most economically disadvantaged voters, according to an in-depth analysis of the country’s political landscape by El País newspaper.
It notes how Vox’s transformation mirrors the successes of Marine Le Pen in France and Donald Trump in the United States, a trend that could also be applied to Alice Weidel’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
According to the latest July CIS survey, Vox now commands first place in voting intentions among three of the lowest-skilled employment categories: machine operators and assemblers (41.2 percent), workers and artisans (25.8 percent), and elementary occupations (20.2 percent).
The party also tops the poll among the unemployed, with 23.2 percent, leaving Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE far behind in each case. Among those who see themselves as “lower class” or “poor,” Vox’s support has doubled in just one month, from 12 percent to 24.6 percent, overtaking the Socialists (13.5 percent) and the center-right Partido Popular (PP) at 8.7 percent.
This rise comes after years of accusations from the left that Vox could never connect with the working class. The data now shows otherwise. As one Madrid cleaning company driver and member of Vox’s union Solidaridad told El País, “We workers are fed up with promises that have only led to a loss of purchasing power. Vox works on the ground in the neighborhoods and industrial estates — the left abandoned us.”
The Spanish newspaper writes how the party’s gains are rooted in a potent mix of anti-establishment and anti-immigration rhetoric, portraying the state as broken and positioning native workers against the problems created by uncontrolled migration. In working-class districts where residents feel the brunt of foreign crime and economic competition, this message is increasingly striking a chord.
Even in sectors where Vox does not yet lead, such as agriculture, fishing, and forestry, the party has vaulted from negligible support to 27.5 percent — just behind the PP — in a single month. The same pattern is visible among service and sales workers, where Vox now surpasses the PSOE.
While the party still faces challenges among pensioners, women in unpaid domestic work, and university-educated professionals, the momentum is undeniable. Vox’s July surge marks not just a statistical blip but a structural shift: the transformation of Spain’s nationalist right into a genuine force among the country’s poorest voters.
Commenting on the analysis, Abascal ridiculed the left-wing newspaper’s condescending tone regarding his party’s ascendancy, noting its journalists “wonder why the victims of the two-party system are no longer fooled.”
“They are outraged that Spaniards, who suffer from precariousness, the degradation of their neighborhoods, and the lack of public services, have stopped trusting the mafias and scams of the PP and PSOE,” he wrote on X.
🇪🇸 "You are corrupt. You are a traitor. All of Spain knows it."
Epic takedown of Pedro Sánchez in the Spanish parliament by @Vox_es' @Santi_ABASCAL, who accuses the Socialist prime minister of feeding corruption, betraying democracy, and handing Spain over to illegal migrants. pic.twitter.com/I7duTRO3It
“They are horrified that young people and workers are rebelling against the corrupt who are robbing them of the fruits of their labor, their future, and even the integrity of their homeland… And this is just the beginning,” he added, warning that “the day is not far off when a vast majority of Spaniards will send the corrupt to jail, the invaders to their countries, and return security, prosperity, and peace to Spain.”
As is the case in many Western European nations, immigration is becoming a huge factor in the disconnect between the native people and their respective governments, and Spain is no exception.
Last month, Vox launched a national campaign demanding a referendum on immigration policy, citing a series of violent incidents involving foreign nationals as evidence of what it calls a “failed and suicidal” immigration model imposed by Spain’s main parties.
“Let them ask in the neighborhoods, in the towns, and in the nation if they want illegal immigrants in Spain,” said Abascal at the time.
Meanwhile, social unrest is brewing across the country as natives express their anger over rising migrant crime. This was most recently seen in Torre Pacheco where mass demonstrations were held following the arrest of three Moroccan men accused of brutally attacking a 68-year-old local resident while he walked through the Spanish town last month.
Germany is facing a wave of bankruptcies, rising unemployment, and public fears of renewed inflation, with fresh data casting doubt on the economic course of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s black-red coalition.
According to Welt, the Federal Statistical Office has recorded a sharp rise in insolvencies in the early second half of the year, while the number of unemployed is nearing 3 million. Consumer confidence remains deeply negative, with many households cutting back on spending and businesses across the country closing their doors.
Expectations for an economic turnaround under Merz and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil have faded, particularly among small and medium-sized businesses. Analysts warn that the chance of Europe’s largest economy emerging from half a decade of stagnation in 2025 is close to zero. Even large-scale, debt-financed infrastructure and defense investments are expected to provide only limited respite, with Welt noting that deep structural reforms, including reduced bureaucracy, lower energy costs, and cuts to labor taxes, are needed to restore competitiveness.
Instead, critics say the coalition is adding more red tape. Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas’s “tariff compliance law” will require public contract bidders to follow existing wage agreements and prove it bureaucratically. Promised electricity tax cuts have been applied only to industry, while other businesses and consumers continue paying higher rates. A newly introduced super-depreciation scheme for investments is unlikely to overcome what Welt describes as “disadvantageous location conditions,” keeping domestic investment subdued.
Compounding the outlook, U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff measures are expected to hit German exports hard. Merz has warned that the impact could be significant and called for urgent adjustments to the coalition’s economic program to prevent further business closures.
Similarly, new INSA polling for the Bild tabloid shows political support for the coalition has eroded sharply just 100 days into its term. The CDU/CSU stands at 27 percent, down from 28.6 percent in February’s election, while the SPD remains stagnant at 15 percent. Together, the partners reach only 42 percent, short of the 44 percent needed for a parliamentary majority. The AfD is close behind the CDU/CSU at 25 percent.
Public dissatisfaction is also high: 60 percent say they are unhappy with the government’s work, more than double the 27 percent who are satisfied.
New figures show that women from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq living in Austria have an average birth rate almost three times higher than that of Austrian-born women, according to data from the country’s Statistical Yearbook on Migration and Integration.
The report finds that Austrian-born women have an average of 1.22 children. Among women not born in Austria, the figure rises to 1.57. However, the figure among some countries of origin rises significantly.
Those born in the former Yugoslavia average 1.94 children, while Turkish-born women have 1.8 children. The highest rates are found among Syrian, Afghan, and Iraqi women, who average 3.3 children each.
🇦🇹🤰 Syrian, Afghan, and Iraqi refugees living in Austria are having almost three times as many children as Austrian-born women, according to data from the country’s Statistical Yearbook on Migration and Integration. pic.twitter.com/excbpff5Hl
The report notes that Austrian mothers tend to be older when giving birth, with an average age of 30.4 years for Austrian-born women compared to 28.7 years for non-Austrian-born women. Women from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq have their first child at an average age of 26.2 years.
These figures come amid ongoing debate in Austria about the demographic impact of migration since the large influx of refugees from Syria in recent years.
At CPAC Hungary in May, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, claimed that mass immigration to Europe is an agenda that is organized as “a consciously controlled ethnic and cultural transformation.”
"What is happening in Europe is no coincidence. It is the result of an agenda, a consciously controlled ethnic and cultural transformation. Migration is not being stopped, it is being organized, promoted, and glorified." pic.twitter.com/RHbYaMn1oG
“What is happening in Europe is no coincidence. It is the result of an agenda, a consciously controlled ethnic and cultural transformation. Because migration is not being stopped, no, it is being organized, promoted, and glorified,” he told attendees.
A new generation with a growing Muslim population is having a profound effect in Austria, particularly in education. In October 2024, federal data revealed that more than three-quarters of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home, putting pressure on an education system designed for single-language learning.
It has led to teachers leaving their profession — 20 a day on average in 2024 — and other educators speaking out on the “rapid Islamization” of the Austrian capital.
“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” said longtime principal of a Vienna middle school, Christian Klar, in an interview with Christian magazine Corrigenda last year.
To mitigate the strain that mass immigration is having on schools, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr announced in March orientation classes designed to prepare migrant children for the Austrian school environment.
He noted how many of these students not only do not speak any German but are also unfamiliar with basic literacy and numeracy. Some have never held a pen or followed structured school rules, and many fail to show respect for female teachers due to cultural differences.
Germany’s Federal Employment Agency is actively promoting the country’s “citizen’s benefit” (Bürgergeld) to young migrants, presenting it online as a straightforward and appealing option for those without work.
A dedicated section of the agency’s website, written in English for “people from abroad,” features a smiling young couple — including a man in his early thirties holding a book and a woman in a hijab — under the headline: “If you are unable to finance your own living expenses, under certain circumstances the Jobcenter will support you with the citizen’s benefit.”
The site outlines that the benefit is a state welfare payment for those with “no income or who do not earn enough money” to support themselves and their dependents. Basic eligibility criteria are listed plainly: “You are capable of working,” “You are at least 15 years old,” and “You live in Germany and the center of your life is here.” The guidance stresses that applicants need not be elderly or unfit for work — those under 15 or unable to work can also receive support if they are part of a “community of need” with someone who qualifies.
Alongside the requirements, the website presents the process as quick and simple. A prominent red box invites visitors to “apply online,” advising them that if they already have an account, they can begin their application “immediately.”
The page also sets out obligations for recipients — attending Jobcenter appointments, informing the agency of any changes in personal circumstances — but the overall tone is one of ease and accessibility.
Writing in Focus, columnist Jan Fleischhauer uses the site as a starting point for a broader critique of Germany’s welfare policy toward migrants. He notes that “one in two recipients of the citizen’s benefit doesn’t have a German passport,” and says the warm, promotional tone of the agency’s online material undermines political claims that immigration is essential to sustain the social safety net.
“Germany is so generous that it not only explains to immigrants from abroad how to get a job, but also how to make ends meet in Germany without one,” he writes.
Fleischhauer argues that few countries would so openly market their welfare systems to newcomers, and that the policy has been “a complete success” in driving take-up among non-citizens. He points to the steady rise in costs — from €39 billion in 2022 to €47 billion in 2024 — not including accommodation and healthcare expenses.
He also highlights Health Minister Nina Warken’s proposal to shift medical costs for Bürgergeld recipients out of health insurance budgets and into general taxation, claiming advocates of the benefit “fear nothing more than transparency” about the true financial burden.
Remix News has reported often on the imbalance between German citizens and foreigners receiving welfare benefits. In November last year, we cited statistics from the Federal Employment Agency (BA) which showed that of the 4 million people who can work but receive social benefits in Germany, more than 2.5 million have a migration background, constituting 63.5 percent of all recipients.
This group includes foreigners and those who have a foreign background, which means their parents may have been born abroad.
In June, Bild reported how nearly half of Germany’s €17.68 billion in housing support for 2024 was paid out to foreigners, citing government data. The money, distributed under the citizen’s benefit system, was used to cover rent, heating, operating costs, and deposits for low-income residents.
Following its electoral success, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) vowed to address the rising costs of immigrants claiming benefits.
Its General Secretary, Carsten Linnemann, warned against this trend in April. “Once again, it shows how urgently this citizen’s allowance needs to be abolished.” He said the new government, which his party will lead, will “tackle this quickly.”
The latest STEM poll for CNN Prima News shows that former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s opposition ANO movement would win if elections were held today, taking 31.1 percent of the vote despite a slight decline from last week.
The SPOLU coalition, which comprises the current administration – made up of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the liberal-conservative TOP 09, and the Christian democratic KDU-ČSL – remains in second place with 21.3 percent, gaining slightly since the previous survey.
As reported by Echo24, the right-wing populist Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), led by Tomio Okamura and allied with the smaller nationalist and libertarian parties PRO, Svobodní, and Trikolora, holds third place with 13.2 percent, down marginally. The centrist-liberal Mayors and Independents (STAN) sit in fourth with 10.5 percent. The left-wing Stačilo! movement rose to 8 percent, while the centrist-progressive Pirates (Piráti) slipped to 8.1 percent.
The anti-establishment, motorists’ rights group Motoristé increased to 4.9 percent, just one-tenth of a point below the 5 percent threshold required to enter parliament. Přísaha, an anti-corruption movement led by Senator Róbert Šlachta, remains far from the threshold at 2.2 percent.
Compared to last week, SPOLU and STAN improved slightly, while ANO and SPD dipped by fractions of a percentage point. Analysts note that the Bitcoin scandal that had recently hurt SPOLU may no longer be affecting voter support.
In terms of projected seats, ANO would secure 73 mandates and SPOLU 47. SPD and its allies would take 27, STAN would win 21, while both Piráti and Stačilo! would take 16 each.
According to STEM analyst Martin Kratochvíl, it appears highly unlikely that the current governing parties and the Pirates, who left the government last year, could form another cabinet after the autumn elections.
If ANO and SPD together reached 100 seats as the polling suggests, Babiš would still need at least one more partner to form a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The most natural addition would be the motorists’ movement, which shares with ANO and SPD a populist tone, Euroscepticism, and opposition to certain EU regulations. If it clears the electoral threshold, its MPs could provide the extra votes.
Another outside possibility is Přísaha, the small anti-corruption party led by former police officer Róbert Šlachta, which is centrist-populist and could align with ANO on law-and-order issues. Beyond that, Babiš could rely on individual defectors or independents willing to support his government without a formal coalition deal.
Babiš has framed his current platform around putting domestic needs ahead of foreign commitments, promising to halt the Czech-led initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine and rejecting NATO’s proposed increase in defense spending, arguing that money should instead be directed toward pensions, healthcare, housing, and addressing the cost of living.
Aligning with key regional allies like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak premier Robert Fico, he has called for diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine rather than prolonging military support. Babiš, a long-time Eurosceptic, has also taken a sovereignty-first stance toward the European Union, opposing deeper political integration and resisting the adoption of the euro under current conditions.
Russia and Belarus are being accused of reviving the strategy used in 2021 to provoke a migration crisis on the European Union’s eastern border, particularly the Polish-Belarusian frontier, according to Polish outlet wPolsce24.
Citing The Telegraph newspaper, the report says the number of flights from the Libyan city of Benghazi to Minsk has risen sharply in recent weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly struck a deal with Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar to fly migrants to the Belarusian capital.
Haftar, who controls eastern Libya and maintains close ties with the Kremlin, is believed to be orchestrating the operation to exert pressure on the European Union, which continues to fund Ukrainian resistance in its ongoing conflict with Moscow.
Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko are said to be encouraging the transportation of migrants from Africa to Belarus and then directing them toward the borders of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Officials in Brussels warn that the pattern of flights suggests a deliberate attempt to destabilize the EU.
“We are monitoring recent Minsk-Benghazi flights operated by Belavia Airlines,” a European Commission official told The Telegraph.
“The frequency and nature of these flights, particularly within a short timeframe, raise questions about potential coordination or facilitation of irregular migration flows,” they added.
As in 2021, the goal is reportedly to create a large-scale influx of asylum seekers to divert attention from other Russian activities, including the war in Ukraine. That earlier crisis saw thousands attempting illegal crossings into Poland, with border enforcement efforts hampered by political disputes within the country.
Russia has long supported Haftar militarily and politically, giving Moscow leverage over African migration routes to Europe.
The development comes just days before a scheduled meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Aug. 15.
According to Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, a total of 5,456 illegal crossings have been detected at the bloc’s Eastern Land Border so far this year. Poland and the two Baltic countries concerned have invested heavily in considerable border protection measures to stem the flow.
Germany has suspended all authorizations for the export of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Friday.
The move comes in response to what Merz described as an escalation in Israeli military operations following a new plan approved by Israel’s security cabinet to defeat Hamas and seize control of the Palestinian territory.
Speaking in Berlin, Merz said the decision was prompted by “even tougher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip” and the worsening humanitarian situation. He stressed that Israel “must allow comprehensive access for aid deliveries, including for U.N. organizations and other non-governmental institutions” and called for “sustainable improvement” in the living conditions of civilians in Gaza.
“The humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip is ongoing and deeply concerning,” said Merz. While reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror, he added, “The military action now decided upon makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals are to be achieved.”
As reported by Bild, the German chancellor also urged the Israeli government not to take further steps toward annexing the West Bank, warning that such actions would undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
The halt in exports follows the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand military operations in Gaza, including plans to take control of the city while ensuring humanitarian aid reaches civilians outside combat zones. The announcement came as protests continued in Israel, with hundreds gathering outside the prime minister’s residence on Thursday evening demanding an end to the war.
Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) expressed support for the export suspension. He stated, “The humanitarian suffering in Gaza is unbearable. The Israeli government bears great responsibility for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Therefore, humanitarian aid must now be allowed into Gaza as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”
Klingbeil also echoed concerns about the future of a two-state solution. “No further facts should be created that would undermine it,” he said. “It is also clear: The release of all hostages and a ceasefire are of the utmost urgency.”
Until now, the German government had resisted calls for an arms embargo against Israel, but figures released by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs reveal that from Oct. 7, 2023, to May 13, 2025, Germany authorized weapons and military equipment exports to Israel worth €485.1 million.
Rushanara Ali has resigned from her role as Minister for Homelessness in Keir Starmer’s left-wing government following reports that she removed tenants from her east London townhouse and relisted the property with a £700-per-month rent increase.
The revelations, first reported by the i Paper, raised concerns about a perceived conflict between Ali’s personal actions as a landlord and her public stance on housing policy.
Bangladeshi-born Ali, who represents Bethnal Green and Stepney, submitted her resignation to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a letter late on Thursday. She wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that I offer you my resignation as a Minister,” and emphasized that she had always followed legal requirements, stating, “I believe I took my responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this.”
It has been an honour to have served in this Labour Government.
To avoid any further distraction for the government, I have resigned as a Minister.
The MP said she was stepping down because her continued presence in the role would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of the government.” She cited supposed achievements made during her tenure, including tackling rough sleeping, strengthening democracy, and developing a pathway to end the war in Gaza.
It is unclear why a homelessness minister elected by Brits in the United Kingdom considered the war in Gaza to be on her list of priorities.
Ali has previously spoken out against landlords who exploit private renters and supported Labour’s upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill, which will bar landlords from relisting properties at higher rents within six months of ending a tenancy to sell.
A source close to Ali claimed the tenants were told their lease would not be renewed and were offered the option of staying on a rolling contract. The source said the house was initially put up for sale, and only relisted for rent after a buyer was not found.
In response to her resignation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer thanked Ali for her work in government. “Your diligent work at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including your efforts to put in measures to repeal the Vagrancy Act, will have a significant impact,” he wrote.
“I know you will continue to support the Government from the backbenches and represent the best interests of your constituents in Bethnal Green and Stepney.”
France’s Constitutional Council has censured a central pillar of a controversial immigration bill that sought to extend the detention period of certain undocumented foreigners from 90 to 210 days.
The ruling, handed down on Thursday, marks a significant blow to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and the conservative lawmakers who championed the measure in response to the high-profile killing of a young student by a repeat offender under a deportation order.
The provision was part of a broader law spearheaded by center-right Les Républicains Senator Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, backed by both the Macron-aligned central bloc and the right-wing National Rally. It was adopted by parliament on July 9 and targeted undocumented foreigners convicted of one of 16 “particularly serious” offenses, including murder, rape, torture, drug trafficking, and threats against teachers.
The extended detention was intended to keep such individuals in custody while awaiting deportation, even if consular paperwork was lacking.
Until now, only those convicted of terrorism could be held for as long as 210 days in administrative detention centers. The government argued the new rule would close a legal gap that had previously allowed dangerous individuals to be released before removal. Minister Retailleau had said, “If we had had this law, [Philippine’s life] would have been saved,” referencing the murder of 19-year-old Philippine Le Noir de Carlan in September 2024 by a Moroccan man who had previously been convicted of rape and was under an expulsion order.
However, as reported by Europe 1, the Constitutional Council found the expanded scope of detention powers to be unconstitutional. In its ruling, it stated that “the law’s expansion of the scope of persons who may be detained for a particularly long period is not proportionate to the objective of combating illegal immigration,” and that the provision violated Article 66 of the French Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary detention. The council reaffirmed its precedent that any deprivation of liberty must not impose “unnecessary harshness.”
Le Monde noted how the ruling outlined several flaws in the law, including the lack of requirement for “exceptional circumstances” to justify prolonged detention and the inclusion of individuals banned from re-entering France for offenses that may not meet the threshold of seriousness. It also criticized the law for allowing detention even after a sentence had been served, without a clear demonstration of current danger to public order.
Migrants’ rights groups and left-wing lawmakers welcomed the decision. Fanélie Carrey-Conte of Cimade described it as “a stop to a security drift, which is also ineffective and abusive,” noting that the average detention length in 2024 was only 33 days.
From the right, Isère deputy Hanane Mansouri (Union of the Right for the Republic) accused the Constitutional Council of “deliberately endangering the lives of French citizens,” while Matthias Renault, a National Rally deputy from Somme, labeled the move “an irresponsible decision, violating the sovereignty of Parliament, and outside European standards.”
The Council also struck down a related provision that would have allowed continued detention of a foreigner even after a judge had ordered their release, in the event of a prosecutor’s appeal. This, too, was deemed a violation of Article 66.
A 43-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in France after violently assaulting a 7-year-old boy and later tear-gassing the child’s family during a late-night altercation.
The Beauvais court also revoked a three-month suspended sentence and imposed a five-year ban on possessing a weapon.
The attack occurred on Aug. 2. Heavily intoxicated at the time, Salim Bouzaknoun reportedly lifted the child into the air and strangled him on the street until the boy vomited. The incident left visible marks on the child’s neck. In court, Bouzaknoun attempted to justify the assault by claiming the boy had insulted him.
“He insulted me with all the names under the sun. So, I went to talk to him, I took him by the collar and shook him a little so that he would understand,” Bouzaknoun told the Court, according to Courrier Picard. “He is agitated and not very well educated, but in no way did I want to hurt him.”
Witnesses and the child’s injuries contradicted his version of events.
“He’s putting himself on the same level as a 7-year-old child, which raises serious questions,” the prosecutor remarked.
Later that evening, the boy’s parents returned to Bouzaknoun’s residence with their son and daughter to demand an explanation. Bouzaknoun responded by spraying them with tear gas. The family was forced to take refuge in their car and call the police.
He claimed he was defending himself, stating that the father hit him first and that he feared for his safety: “He punched me in the face, on my broken jaw… he stank of alcohol and I got scared.”
Despite the violence, Bouzaknoun claimed to be close to the family, stating, “His mother is a childhood friend.” He suggested the child’s alleged insults may have been linked to a broken promise: “I told him I would bring him a Morocco jersey with Achraf Hakimi on it. He had already called me a liar for that.”
Bouzaknoun admitted to drinking but downplayed his alcoholism, blaming it on unemployment, social isolation, a difficult breakup, and poor influences. “My drinking is more social than addictive,” he said. On the day of the assault, he had already been arrested for public drunkenness.
The court was not persuaded. The public prosecutor highlighted his extensive criminal record, including 16 prior convictions, nine of them for violent offenses.
Bouzaknoun also remains under a court-imposed ban on carrying weapons.
The Czech energy giant ČEZ has finalized its entry as a major shareholder in British company Rolls-Royce SMR, now holding a roughly 20 percent stake after completing a two-part transaction initiated earlier this year.
With the deal closed, the companies will begin work on constructing up to three small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United Kingdom and prepare for a similar project in Czechia.
ČEZ first purchased an 11 percent share in Rolls-Royce SMR in March for over 3 billion Czech crowns (€122 million). The company increased its stake to the previously announced 20 percent in July, following Rolls-Royce SMR’s selection by the British government as a preferred supplier for modular nuclear reactors in June. This milestone was a key condition for proceeding with the full investment.
“The collaboration will now continue as planned,” said ČEZ board member Tomáš Novák, as cited by Echo24. “Rolls-Royce SMR will focus on developing up to three modular units in the U.K., with ČEZ contributing as a supplier or subcontractor of specific technologies, potentially through subsidiaries like Škoda JS.”
Meanwhile, groundwork continues for Czechia’s first SMR, expected to be built at the Temelín nuclear site in the first half of the 2030s. Geological surveys have already been conducted, but Novák emphasized that the project remains in its early stages.
ČEZ also has plans to deploy modular reactors at other sites, including former coal-fired power plants such as those in Prunéřov and Dětmarovice. However, Novák confirmed that these would follow the Temelín project.
The Rolls-Royce SMR is a pressurized water reactor with a planned electrical output of 470 megawatts and a projected lifespan of at least 60 years. It employs a combination of active and passive safety systems, a design intended to ensure both efficiency and robust safety.
ČEZ has committed to deploying modular reactors with a total output of three gigawatts by 2050. This would nearly match the capacity of the country’s existing large reactors in Dukovany and Temelín, which each produce about two gigawatts.
On Thursday, ČEZ posted its operating profits for the first half of 2025, which showed profits up 7 percent year-on-year to 73.9 billion crowns (€3 billion).
“We continue to make significant strides in nuclear energy,” noted Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ČEZ.
“In the first half of the year, Elektrárna Dukovany II, in which we now have only a 20 percent stake, managed to sign a contract for the construction of two new units of the Dukovany nuclear power plant. In July, ČEZ completed its investment in the British developer of small modular reactors, Rolls-Royce SMR, thus acquiring a total of 20 percent stake.
“These are important milestones for ensuring energy security and affordable electricity in the Czech Republic,” he added.
A manhunt is underway in Italy for a Moroccan migrant who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death outside the front of her home in Foggia.
The 46-year-old woman, also of Moroccan origin, was fatally stabbed just meters from her home despite being under police protection through Italy’s “red code” domestic violence protocol.
The victim had previously filed a complaint against her ex-partner and had active protective measures in place, including a restraining order against the man now suspected of her murder.
The attack occurred on Vico Cibele, a narrow street off Via Nicola Parisi, close to where the woman lived. As reported by Corriere della Mezzogiorno, she had returned home around 2 a.m. after finishing her shift at a restaurant and encountered her former partner nearby.
Upon seeing him, she reportedly phoned the police to report his presence. Before help could arrive, however, the man allegedly attacked and fatally stabbed her.
Local residents, awakened by the woman’s screams, discovered her bleeding out on the street. Emergency responders and police arrived shortly after, alerted by her call, but were unable to save her life.
“She screamed so loudly — people came out into the street. It was awful,” one resident told the local Italian news outlet.
Investigators believe the assailant may have been waiting in ambush, knowing her routine and timing. Authorities are currently reviewing surveillance footage from the area to track the suspect’s movements.
The “red code” law, introduced in Italy in 2019, is intended to fast-track protective measures for victims of domestic abuse, including mandatory police action and restrictions on the accused.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Joachim Paul has confirmed he will pursue legal action after being barred from running for mayor of Ludwigshafen.
The city’s electoral committee cited doubts about the state parliament member’s loyalty to the constitution in its decision, which Paul believes to be politically motivated due to the rising popularity of the right-wing anti-immigration party.
Speaking to Junge Freiheit, Paul said, “We no longer live in a democracy. A promising candidate is being eliminated from the race.” He added that “the will of the voters is being trampled on.”
Paul pointed out that the AfD had emerged as the second-strongest party in Ludwigshafen during the last federal election. He emphasized that elections must include genuine choice for voters.
The decision was made by a six-member electoral committee composed of representatives from the SPD, CDU, Free Voters, and FDP. Demonstrations against Paul, including by left-wing extremists, were held in the run-up to the decision.
Sebastian Münzenmaier, deputy leader of the AfD in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, called the ruling “a clear violation of the constitutionally guaranteed equal treatment of parties and thus an attack on democracy.”
“Interior Minister [Michael] Ebling has learned absolutely nothing from his recent slap in the face, when he attempted, unlawfully and unconstitutionally, to prevent AfD members from entering government service,” he added.
Münzenmaier accused Ebling of political interference, stating: “Because the AfD finished ahead of the SPD in the second vote in the federal election in Ludwigshafen, Ebling is now in panic mode, trying to rid himself of a direct and successful competitor by making fabricated and untenable accusations of right-wing extremism.”
He warned that Ebling and those conspiring to exclude the AfD candidate “will pay the price for this transparent maneuver twice: through legal action and on election day.”
This is not the first time AfD candidates have been excluded from elections. Most recently, the electoral committee in Lippe district, North Rhine-Westphalia, denied the AfD a mayoral candidacy at the request of the Green Party, also citing concerns about loyalty to the constitution.
A 47-year-old Moroccan national will have his French residence permit revoked after lighting a cigarette with the flame from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced on Wednesday.
The man, known to police and the courts, has 21 prior convictions for contempt, rebellion, and racial insults. His current residency card was valid until October 2025.
The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon, when the suspect was arrested and taken into custody. He initially denied the act before admitting it under questioning. Retailleau condemned the gesture as “undignified and miserable,” and “harmful to the memory of those who died for France.”
🇫🇷 🚬 | Un homme a été filmé en train d’allumer une cigarette sur la tombe du Soldat inconnu, à Paris. pic.twitter.com/OqA4Rg2vhq
Patricia Miralles, Minister of Remembrance and Veterans Affairs, described the act as “an insult to our dead, to our history, to our nation. This flame does not light a cigarette; it burns for the sacrifice of millions of our soldiers,” she added.
Several National Rally lawmakers also voiced anger. RN MEP Matthieu Valet said it “sullies the memory of our soldiers who shed their blood for our freedom,” adding, “Respect our dead.”
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located beneath the Arc de Triomphe, holds the remains of an unidentified World War I soldier, symbolically honoring all French soldiers who have died in combat.
While incidents related to the landmark are uncommon, they have occurred. In 1998, a Mexican tourist was arrested for dousing the flame with liquid during the France ’98 World Cup. That same year, an Australian was arrested for using it to cook an egg.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has accused Ukraine of institutionalized violence in its military recruitment practices, following the death of 45-year-old ethnic Hungarian József Sebestyén from Transcarpathia.
In a Facebook video posted on Wednesday, Szijjártó alleged that by refusing to investigate the case, Ukrainian authorities had “effectively acknowledged” that forced conscription, including beatings and even killings, was “a state-institutionalized, accepted, ordered and state-managed process.”
“In a civilized, normal country, there is an immediate prosecution, the perpetrators are immediately caught and their bosses, who approved it, are immediately imprisoned, and this practice is stopped,” Szijjártó said.
“Now, such a country has no place in the European Union, let alone in the civilized world. To date, not a single word has been uttered from Brussels against forced labor… This is an acknowledgement by Brussels that they condone it.”
Last month, Hungary summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Budapest after Sebestyén’s death. According to family members and local sources cited by Mandiner, he was ambushed by recruiters in Beregszász after trying to evade capture, tied up, beaten, and transported to a recruitment center.
Witnesses allege he was later assaulted with iron rods in Munkács before being sent to a training camp, where he collapsed.
🇺🇦❕ "If he catches ten men in a night, he's already got 80 grand. Why the fuck would he go take bullets?"
A Ukrainian conscription officer boasts he can make a nearly $2,000 bonus per night for catching ten men to send to their deaths on the front line.
A video later emerged showing him crawling, injured, in a military camp as others mocked him, with one voice saying, “The lizard is crawling.” He died after being hospitalized and transferred to a mental hospital used for wounded soldiers.
His brother claimed on social media that Sebestyén “fought for exactly three weeks with the satanic forces attacking him with iron rods.”
Hungarian State Secretary Levente Magyar called the incident “outrageous and unacceptable,” saying, “It is outrageous to beat someone to death — especially a Hungarian — because he did not want to go to war.”
Kyiv has firmly denied the allegations. The Ukrainian army said Sebestyén, identified as József S., was legally mobilized, was not abused, and died of natural causes, citing a pulmonary embolism.
“We call on the media, the public, and representatives of foreign governments to refrain from disseminating unconfirmed or emotionally overheated information,” the Land Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.
Karol Nawrocki, sworn in on Wednesday as president of Poland, used his inauguration speech in the Sejm to declare that he will govern as “the voice of the Polish nation” rather than as a representative of any political faction.
Pledging to stay faithful to his election platform, Plan 21, Nawrocki presented a broad vision that touched on domestic politics, the economy, defense, education, and foreign policy.
“These have not interested me for 42 years, and they will not interest me as president of Poland,” he said of political and party disputes, promising that decisions would be made “in spite of” political divides and with the sole aim of serving the people.
Nawrocki noted that Poles expect politicians to deliver on commitments made during the campaign. His Plan 21 program, which won the support of 10.5 million voters, includes opposition to illegal migration, rejection of adopting the euro, protection of the current retirement age, and major infrastructure initiatives such as the Central Communication Port, Polish Roads, and Polish Ports.
🇵🇱🔥 Polish President @NawrockiKn's inauguration speech in the Polish Sejm. ⬇️
"This election was a message to the political class that they cannot continue to govern like they have been.
“I intend to be consistent and determined in carrying out Plan 21,” he told lawmakers, adding that there is “no Poland A and Poland B” and promising balanced development between cities and rural areas.
While affirming Poland’s place in the EU, Nawrocki insisted the country must remain sovereign. “Poland is in the European Union, but Poland is not the European Union. Poland is Poland and will remain Poland,” he said. He vowed never to accept the EU taking over competencies not granted in the treaties and declared that “those should not change.”
Nawrocki promised to make the Polish army the strongest NATO force within the EU, beginning with investment in soldiers’ equipment, training, and morale. He committed to supporting the modernization of the armed forces and deepening bilateral ties with the United States while safeguarding Poland’s position within NATO.
The president also expressed ambitions for Poland to lead on NATO’s eastern flank, envisioning the Bucharest Nine alliance eventually expanding into an alliance of “eleven” by including Scandinavian states.
The president called for a “normal Poland” rooted in its values, with strong schools teaching Polish literature and fostering pride in national identity. As a former educator, he pledged to ensure future generations of Poles “truly feel proud to be Polish” upon leaving school.
He invited lawmakers to take part in the National Reading campaign, praising its origins under President Bronisław Komorowski and continuation by outgoing President Andrzej Duda, to whom he expressed gratitude for what he described as a dignified and democratic transfer of power.
Nawrocki hailed Poland’s economic success over the past 35 years, attributing it to hardworking citizens and entrepreneurs, often in spite of political leadership. However, he warned that certain groups and regions have been excluded from that success and called for large-scale breakthrough investments to secure the nation’s future.
“We can no longer be the auxiliary workshop for our western neighbors or for the entire European Union,” he said. The president singled out the Central Communication Port as a priority and announced he would submit a bill to restore it to its original scope.
He expressed concern over what he described as blocked, cut back, or delayed major projects, linking the problem to rising national debt, demographic challenges, and a housing shortage.
Concluding his address, Nawrocki pledged that “every hour, every day, every week” of his presidency would be devoted to fulfilling commitments to voters. “In my decisions, I will be the voice of the nation, faithful to my political program. That, ladies and gentlemen, I guarantee to all,” he said.
A 25-year-old Afghan drug addict who has racked up a lengthy criminal record in Sweden will not be deported, following a controversial decision by the Svea Court of Appeal.
Ali Suleimani, who arrived in the country during the 2015 migrant crisis, has committed more than 20 criminal offenses, including theft, assault, vandalism, and drug crimes.
In June, the Solna District Court sentenced Suleimani to two months in prison and ordered his deportation for five years, citing his repeated crimes, drug addiction, and lack of ties to Swedish society. The Court noted that Suleimani was unemployed, homeless, had no relatives in Sweden, and financed his drug addiction through theft. “Based on this, his connection to Sweden cannot be considered particularly strong,” the district court stated.
But the Svea Court of Appeal has now overturned the deportation order, reasoning that Suleimani has lived in Sweden for nine years — a significant portion of his life — and has made efforts to integrate through language studies and attempts to work. The Court also noted that his crimes, while numerous, were not “particularly serious” and were primarily committed to fund his drug addiction.
“Ali Suleimani has admittedly been guilty of a large number of crimes in recent years. However, these have not been particularly serious crimes,” the court wrote in its decision, as cited by the Samnytt news site.. “The crimes for which he is now being convicted are shoplifting that appear to be linked to his substance abuse.” The court further stated that deportation would be disproportionate, given that Suleimani has no meaningful connection to Afghanistan, his country of citizenship, despite living there until he was 15.
Recent incidents include a May 15 theft at Hemköp in Solna City Center, where Suleimani stole butter worth more than 1,300 kronor (€116). In mid-June, he was arrested again for stealing sirloin steak and beef shoulder worth 1,600 kronor (€143) at ICA Kvantum. He later told police he intended to sell the stolen goods in Rinkeby to fund drug purchases.
On May 5, he was caught again at a Hemköp in the Mall of Scandinavia, attempting to leave with entrecote, lamb roast, and oxtail valued at several thousand kronor. A store inspector recognized him from previous thefts and stopped him at the exit.
During police interrogations conducted with the help of a Persian interpreter, Suleimani admitted to the thefts and said his crimes were motivated by his addiction. “I was going to buy drugs,” he said, describing theft as his primary means of income.
Despite the repeated offenses and the earlier district court’s deportation ruling, the Svea Court of Appeal has ordered Suleimani’s release and allowed him to remain in Sweden.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), has criticized left-wing activists after it emerged that NGOs are backing a Palestinian couple’s legal challenge against the German government’s refusal to grant them citizenship.
The couple, aged 72 and 68, have lived in Germany for a decade, arriving from Syria in 2015. Both previously worked but are now stateless and in poor health. They receive around €1,800 per month in citizens’ allowance, according to Welt, and have applied for disability certification. Their two children live in Germany and hold German citizenship.
Their application for naturalization was rejected under the current Citizenship Act, which, since 2024, has required applicants to support themselves financially, with no exemptions for elderly or disabled individuals. The rule was introduced by the previous coalition government and replaced an earlier system that allowed such exceptions.
The lawsuit, filed in the Cottbus Administrative Court, is supported by the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), along with “Handicap International” and “Statefree.” GFF lawyer Soraia Da Costa Batista argued that denying naturalization on the grounds of social benefits violates the couple’s rights to equality, privacy, and democratic participation, adding that the state cannot demand self-sufficiency from people “who cannot possibly fulfill” that requirement.
Ein palästinensisches Ehepaar bezieht Bürgergeld und klagt trotzdem auf Einbürgerung – mit Hilfe von NGOs. Zum wiederholten Male versuchen linke Aktivisten, die deutsche Migrationspolitik auszuhebeln. Der NGO-Sumpf muss trockengelegt werden!https://t.co/fhaasY7XJ0
Writing on X, Weidel accused left-wing activists of “once again attempting to undermine German migration policy,” and called for the “NGO swamp” to be “drained.”
According to figures provided by the Federal Employment Agency (BA) published in April, spending on German welfare reached a record high of €46.7 billion in 2024, a significant 10 percent increase versus 2023.
Authorities in the Italian city of Novara are investigating the alleged rape of a 20-year-old woman who was attacked while commuting alone by train from Trecate to Novara at the end of July.
The assault occurred just minutes before the Trenord train arrived at Novara station, according to police.
As reported by Corriere Torino, the young woman, who lives in Trecate and works in a shop in Novara city center, told police that she was the only passenger in the carriage when a man, described as a North African male around 25 years old, approached and forcibly raped her.
“I was alone; there was no one on board except me,” the woman recounted to officers. “When my attacker approached me, I looked around. I immediately understood his intentions, but I didn’t have time to escape. I tried to call for help, but no one heard me and was able to intervene. I was alone. I was scared.”
After the train stopped at Novara station, the attacker fled and has not been seen since. The victim, still shaken, went directly to the railway police station to file a report. Investigators launched an immediate inquiry and, within days, were able to identify a suspect by cross-referencing her description with police records.
As of now, no formal charges have been filed, and authorities are appealing for witnesses. Surveillance footage from Novara station was reportedly unable to assist in identifying the man.
This case is the second violent incident reported in recent days along the same train route. On the Novara-Arona line, a young man was reportedly assaulted and robbed of his phone near the Bellinzago station.
In that case, the assailant was described as a non-EU national. The Carabinieri are investigating that case separately.
The news comes as another high-profile rape investigation makes headlines in Italy. In Perugia, a 45-year-old Afghan man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated rape, kidnapping, and multiple injuries after allegedly holding a 21-year-old Asian student captive in an abandoned city-center bar on July 19.
The student reported being raped for hours and severely beaten. A video she recorded during part of the ordeal has been seized by police and played a key role in identifying the suspect.
A 45-year-old Afghan national has been arrested in Perugia on suspicion of aggravated rape, kidnapping, and inflicting multiple injuries on a 21-year-old female student.
The young woman, who, according to Rai News, was in the Umbrian capital to study, claims she was held against her will, raped for hours, and violently assaulted inside an abandoned bar in the city center.
A video she recorded during part of the assault has been seized by police and was instrumental in identifying the suspect.
According to investigators, the incident occurred on the evening of July 19. Il Giornale reported how the victim had been approached by the man with a casual excuse and engaged in a brief conversation, during which he claimed he was planning to open a restaurant. He then invited her to see the site, described as a former bar undergoing renovation, located along the route she was taking home.
Reassured by the man’s friendly demeanor, the young woman accepted the invitation. Once inside the premises, the conversation continued, with the man even suggesting the possibility of a future job once the restaurant opened.
However, when the woman tried to leave, she found the entrance locked. She was then allegedly groped, thrown to the ground, and had her mouth covered to prevent her from screaming. The man is then accused of subjecting her to repeated sexual assaults over the course of several hours, until she managed to escape at dawn.
The victim waited several days before reporting the assault to police until her mother had flown to Italy. She later went to the Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, where doctors documented injuries expected to take 30 days to heal.
The investigation took a decisive turn when police reviewed video footage taken by the victim during the attack.
On Monday morning, the suspect was arrested following an order issued by the Perugia Prosecutor’s Office.
DNA extracted from the victim reportedly matched the suspect.
The German government has released figures showing that 2024 saw the highest number of gang rape suspects ever recorded, with a dramatic rise in cases involving foreign nationals.
According to an official response to a parliamentary question by Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Stephan Brandner, authorities registered 1,011 suspects in connection with gang rapes during the 2024 reporting year.
According to Nius, this marks a record high since the survey’s inception in 2010 and an increase from the previous year, which saw 990 suspects.
In 2013, 537 suspects were recorded — just over half the number now being reported. The figures indicate a steep upward trend, particularly since 2015, when gang rape suspect numbers and the proportion of non-German individuals began to climb sharply.
🇩🇪 "Two gang rapes a day because we let in all the Muslim asylum seekers."
Author @irfan_peci gets in a heated debate with a group of leftists, arguing that increasing immigration has fueled a rise in sexual assaults on women.
This figure coincides with the migrant crisis of that year, when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Europe’s borders to millions of migrants, primarily from the Middle East.
Most striking is the demographic composition of the suspects. In 2024, 51 percent of those identified as suspects in gang rape cases were foreign nationals. In 2010, that share was just 34 percent, but it has steadily risen over the years, surpassing 50 percent multiple times in recent reporting periods.
The five most frequently cited national origins among the suspects have remained consistent since 2022: Germany, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Turkey.
All within the last six months ⬇️
Yet Germany is convicting politicians for publishing gang rape statistics showing the disproportionate involvement of foreign-born offenders. pic.twitter.com/Tpd0nYaTdV
The data for “Germans,” however, is distorted due to the fact that naturalized foreign-born individuals are classed as German for the purposes of crime data in the country. Therefore, the number of foreign-born suspects is likely to be far higher.
The trend has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures and renewed debates about migration, integration, and criminal justice policy.
The AfD, in particular, has pointed to the figures as evidence of systemic failure in managing migration and public safety.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has carried out a “migration policy castration of the EU member states,” German constitutional lawyer Prof. Markus C. Kerber warned following a landmark asylum ruling that critics say strips national governments of the ability to manage their own borders.
The ruling, handed down in Luxembourg on Friday, states that a third country may only be designated as a “safe country of origin” if it offers effective protection to all population groups — and that this designation must be based on transparent, public information accessible to asylum seekers and the courts. Otherwise, fast-track returns are invalid.
The judgment has major implications for national migration policies, particularly in countries like Italy and Austria that have drawn up their own lists of safe third countries. In the specific case reviewed, two Bangladeshi migrants had been transferred to Albania under Italy’s agreement to process asylum claims outside the EU. Their claims were dismissed on the grounds that Bangladesh was safe, but the Italian law did not cite any sources, which the European Court ruled was a violation of EU law.
Prof. Kerber, a Berlin-based constitutional expert, accused the Court of overreach. “The strengthening of the judiciary by the ECJ for all cases of reviewing asylum applications leads to the castration of EU member states’ migration policy,” he said in an interview with Austrian media outlet, exxpress. “The public will increasingly perceive the EU as an entity acting against its own citizens.”
He warned that the court was imposing an “overly bureaucratized procedure” that would make meaningful control over migration impossible. “Social systems are bursting,” Kerber said. “And the willingness of the majority of society to accept refugees is declining drastically.”
“What will happen if suddenly 3 million people from an unsafe country of origin appear at our border? Should we then accept them all?” he asked.
Kerber is a constitutional lawyer and professor of public finance and political economy at the Technical University of Berlin. He also serves as a visiting professor at Sciences Po in Paris and has been involved in several high-profile legal cases, including a 2008 challenge to the Lisbon Treaty before Germany’s Constitutional Court. He is the founder of the Berlin-based think tank Europolis, which advocates for market-based reforms within the European Union.
The Court’s ruling is also likely to undermine similar policies elsewhere in Europe. Austria’s safe country list includes nations such as Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, and Serbia, but legal experts warn these could now be challenged if minorities within those countries are found to be at risk. Going forward, all such designations must be based on current, verifiable, and publicly available data.
Andreas Rosenfelder, editor at Welt, called the ruling an act of “do-gooder justice” that sacrifices the rights of EU citizens in the name of universal morality. “This moralized judiciary would rather negotiate the injustices of the world than defend its own population,” he wrote. “If this impression continues to harden, then the citizens will choose a different Europe with a different judiciary.”
Responding to Friday’s ruling, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her outrage at the latest example of a supranational judiciary meddling in the domestic affairs of a member state.
Posting on social media, Meloni wrote, “The decision of the EU Court of Justice regarding the safe countries of origin for illegal migrants is surprising. Once again, the judiciary, this time at the European level, claims spaces that do not belong to it.
Sorprende la decisione della Corte di Giustizia UE in merito ai Paesi sicuri di provenienza dei migranti illegali. Ancora una volta la giurisdizione, questa volta europea, rivendica spazi che non le competono, a fronte di responsabilità che sono politiche.
“This is a development that should concern everyone, including the political forces that today celebrate the ruling, because it further reduces the already limited margins of autonomy for governments and parliaments in shaping the normative and administrative direction of the migration phenomenon.
“The Court’s decision weakens policies aimed at countering mass illegal immigration and defending national borders. The Italian Government, for the 10 months remaining until the EU migration pact takes effect, will not cease to seek every possible solution, technical or normative, to protect the safety of citizens.”
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the ruling “another slap in the face to our country’s national sovereignty, yet another incentive for limitless landings, yet another confirmation not only of the uselessness but also of the harmfulness of European institutions of this kind, which are paid for by Italian citizens who, however, are constantly humiliated.”
Poland will extend temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania for another 60 days, with Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirming that the measures will remain in effect until Oct. 4. The decision, he said, was formally notified to the European Commission on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference, Kierwiński said the extension followed a high-level briefing with regional governors and security officials. The meeting focused on efforts to block the so-called eastern migration route, which Warsaw says is being exploited by Belarusian and Russian authorities to facilitate illegal crossings into the European Union.
“The 98 percent tightness of our barrier means that Belarusian and Russian services, as well as illegal migration, are moving to other sections,” Kierwiński said, referring to the fortified border with Belarus.
He added that the migration pressure has now shifted toward Poland’s borders with Lithuania and Latvia, prompting the reintroduction of internal Schengen checks.
“Today, the fundamental issue, not only for us, but for our partners in the European Union, is to close, if I may use such a word, the trail that has moved to Lithuania and Latvia,” Kierwiński explained. He stated that decisions on further steps would be made in September, based on updated intelligence from the Border Guard, military, and police services.
The minister emphasized that all European partners had been informed and expressed their understanding. “These decisions are intended to close the migration route that has now reopened through Lithuania and Latvia,” he said.
The border checks with Germany, first reinstated in July, were primarily a result of pressure exerted on the Polish government by residents in border towns and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, who sounded the alarm about German authorities returning migrants who had left Poland for Germany.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk initially announced the measure, saying it was necessary to “limit and reduce the uncontrolled flow of migrants back and forth.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that Berlin remains committed to cooperation with Poland on border security, acknowledging that the European Union’s passport-free Schengen Area “is only able to function if it is not abused by criminals who smuggle migrants.”
🇵🇱 Two days ago, 30 Poles stood at the Polish-German border at Lubieszyn vowing to tackle illegal immigration. Two were temporarily detained by German police.
They vowed to be back each day and that "soon there will be hundreds of us."
Tensions rose after a series of viral videos allegedly showing German police dropping off migrants near the border sparked outrage. In response, Polish citizens began organizing informal patrols to monitor crossings.
Tusk’s government has faced mounting pressure from PiS, which accuses the administration of failing to protect the border. PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński issued a strongly worded statement, saying, “Germany regularly transfers illegal migrants to our side. The state has abdicated, and chaos and impunity are growing day by day.”
He pledged that PiS lawmakers and activists would continue to man the border to support citizen patrols and called for a ban on entry to Poland for migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. “Poland’s security is non-negotiable,” Kaczyński said.
Poland has signed a new contract to acquire an additional 180 K2 main battle tanks from South Korea, with the deal marking the first delivery of tanks in the Polonized K2PL configuration.
The agreement, finalized on Aug. 1 at the Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice, was signed by General Artur Kuptel, head of the Armaments Agency, and Yongbae Lee, president of Hyundai Rotem, the South Korean manufacturer of the tanks.
As reported by Interia Biznes, the signing ceremony was attended by Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. Kosiniak-Kamysz called the moment “a great history unfolding before our eyes” and emphasized that the Polish arms industry is poised to become a key engine of the national economy.
“This contract means the development of the arms industry, new jobs, and opportunities. Today, the entire government and local government are committed to building security,” he said. He also praised the K2 tanks, citing strong reviews from Polish soldiers, and reaffirmed NATO’s expectation for Poland to build competencies in armored warfare. “Poland is fulfilling this task diligently,” he added.
The new contract includes a major technology transfer component, under which some of the K2PL tanks will be manufactured at the Bumar-Łabędy plant, marking Poland’s return to domestic tank production after a hiatus of more than a decade. The last tanks built there were PT-91s produced for Malaysia in 2009.
Adam Leszkiewicz, president of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), which oversees Bumar-Łabędy, described the event as historic. “The prospect is approaching when tank production will return to Poland and return to this place,” he said.
Beyond the 180 tanks, the deal includes dozens of support and engineering vehicles. The first units are expected to arrive in Poland next year. The Ministry of National Defense has previously stated that the value of the contract is approximately $6.7 billion.
This agreement follows an earlier deal signed in July 2022 under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, which provided for the initial delivery of 180 K2 tanks and a broader framework agreement for up to 1,000 units. Under that framework, the remaining 820 tanks are expected to be more heavily localized, with full production eventually shifting to Poland.
The urgency behind the 2022 deal was driven by Poland’s transfer of hundreds of Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine during its defense against Russia’s invasion.
A regional court in Potsdam has acquitted a 23-year-old migrant from Guinea of criminal responsibility for the January murder of a young CDU member in Beelitz and a separate knife attack on a woman, ruling that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the crimes.
Mamadou Alpha B. will be committed on Thursday to a secure psychiatric facility indefinitely.
The court concluded that the Guinean, who arrived in Germany in 2016 and had no prior criminal record, was not in control of his actions due to a severe mental illness. “The defendant cannot be held criminally responsible,” presiding judge Bodo Wermelskirchen stated. “This was a treacherous murder, but the accused was mentally ill and is dangerous to the public.”
Remix News previously reported how, on Jan. 14, the migrant slit the throat of 24-year-old Christoph R., a neighbor and member of the CDU and its youth wing, the Junge Union. According to court testimony, Mamadou B. blindfolded the man, stabbed him to death, and then set his apartment on fire. He later called emergency services himself. The two men were previously acquainted, and the perpetrator claimed that they had met on multiple occasions, during which the victim allegedly blindfolded him and took photos in exchange for money.
The Guinean was arrested for another stabbing two weeks later, and police were able to connect him as a suspect to the previous murder of the CDU politician. This time, he targeted a 57-year-old Ukrainian woman, whom he stabbed in the neck in the same apartment building on Doktor-Hermann-Street.
The Ukrainian woman, who also had a personal relationship with the defendant, survived and testified during the trial.
On the first day of the trial at the Potsdam Regional Court, Mamadou B. admitted the charges, claiming that voices in his head ordered him to commit the crimes.
“I did it, I can’t change it. I feel like a stranger then, I can’t control myself,” he said.
Mamadou B. has reportedly been hearing voices since 2019, typically that of an older German woman, but had never sought treatment before his arrest. Psychiatric expert Jens Köhler described his condition as a long-term, deeply rooted form of schizophrenia. “He dissimulates, conceals symptoms, and is likely to abandon treatment outside a secure setting,” Köhler warned.
Since April, the migrant has been held at Asklepios Specialist Hospital in Brandenburg in a high-security ward reserved for dangerous offenders with psychiatric conditions. Despite treatment efforts, the clinic reported non-compliance with medication and had recently barred him from work due to security concerns.
As reported by Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, Judge Wermelskirchen described Mamadou B. as an ongoing threat to society. “We have serious underlying offenses, and a serious dangerousness is evident,” he said, telling the defendant directly, “You are considered dangerous to the public. You lack a sound understanding of your illness and treatment.”
Mamadou B. had lived in Germany for nearly a decade and had worked in various sectors, including hospitality and nursing. His asylum application had been rejected due to previous applications in Italy and France, but he held a temporary residence permit at the time of the attacks.
Although the court did not rule on civil compensation claims, it suggested that B. may not be liable under civil law due to his mental condition. The victim’s mother is seeking at least €60,000 in damages.
The verdict is not yet final, and the defendant has one week to appeal the ruling.
A 29-year-old Somali national has been arrested in the German town of Zweibrücken under an international warrant issued by Italian prosecutors in Palermo.
He is accused of kidnapping and torturing migrants in Libya, and of murdering a child by slitting her throat after she allegedly resisted a sexual assault.
As reported by Il Giornale, the arrest followed a joint operation by German police and Italian investigators from the SCO, SCICO, and the Palermo Flying Squad.
According to investigators, the Somali suspect played a key role in migrant detention centers in the Libyan town of Bani Walid, where traffickers held African migrants before smuggling them to Europe. There, he was allegedly responsible for enforcing order through violence on behalf of Libyan traffickers.
Witnesses say he carried out beatings and torture to extort ransom money from the victims’ families in exchange for their release and onward travel to Europe.
The most serious charge relates to the murder of a child, reportedly a fellow Somali. Authorities believe the suspect attempted to sexually assault the girl, and when she resisted, he stabbed her in the throat. He then allegedly filmed the incident and intended to use the footage to blackmail her family.
The investigation began after a Somali man who arrived in Lampedusa in 2023 filed a formal complaint, identifying a fellow migrant as responsible for the atrocities committed in Libya.
Italian authorities interviewed others who had arrived with him on the same boat, and their accounts corroborated the allegations.
It is unclear how he was allowed to leave Italy upon arrival and travel to Germany.
Investigators tracked the suspect’s Facebook activity to an IP address located in Bani Walid. That same IP address was later used to access the internet from Italy and Germany, helping police to locate and apprehend him.
The suspect is expected to be extradited to Italy to face trial.
Poland commemorated the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising on Friday with solemn tributes, public gatherings, and official ceremonies honoring the tens of thousands who died in the 1944 revolt against German occupation.
Ceremonies began at the monument to the Polish Underground State and the Home Army, near the Sejm in Warsaw. Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska was among those laying wreaths.
President Andrzej Duda and President-elect Karol Nawrocki visited Warsaw’s Wola district to honor victims of the Wola Massacre, where Nazi forces carried out one of the war’s most horrific atrocities, killing tens of thousands of civilians in the first days of the uprising.
“Even in conditions of German cruelty and barbarity, we were ready for a military uprising, a social uprising. We were ready for deep sacrifice, to give our lives for a free and independent Poland,” said Nawrocki.
He emphasized that the uprising was rooted in a long Polish tradition of resistance, adding, “It was an arch-Polish uprising because that is who we are.”
The uprising began at 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 1, 1944, with sirens ringing out across the city. Some 40,000 to 50,000 Polish resistance fighters rose up, expecting to hold out for only a few days. Instead, the fighting lasted 63 days, claiming the lives of approximately 18,000 insurgents and 180,000 civilians. The vast majority of Warsaw’s population was expelled, and the city was left in ruins by German forces who slaughtered Poles at will in an attempt to quash the rebellion.
President Duda, speaking alongside Nawrocki, described the massacre as “the most horrific event in the history of what we call the Wola Massacre,” and accused Nazi leaders of deliberately ordering the extermination of the city’s population in response to the uprising.
Powstanie Warszawskie było arcypolskim powstaniem. My tacy jesteśmy – że nawet w warunkach niemieckiego okrucieństwa i barbarzyństwa gotowi byliśmy do głębokich poświęceń, do oddania swojego życia za to, aby Polska była wolna i niepodległa. pic.twitter.com/Dbh0F7eVrP
Public commemorations include the annual minute of silence at 5:00 p.m., when the entire city comes to a halt. Sirens wail and church bells ring out as pedestrians, cars, and public transport pause. In Castle Square, residents form the iconic Fighting Poland symbol and light candles at the Mały Powstaniec (Little Insurrectionist) monument, remembering the child soldiers who fought and died in the atrocity.
🇵🇱 1 sierpnia, 81 lat temu wybuchło Powstanie Warszawskie. 🇵🇱
Armia Krajowa ruszyła do walki z niemiecką armią, a warszawiacy włączyli się do pomocy Powstańcom. 🇵🇱 Była to Bitwa o Polskę, bo chcieli być wolni – i tę wolność wywalczyć sami. Dzisiaj oddajmy im hołd. 𝐖… pic.twitter.com/UKtjNNBuIt
The Polish and Warsaw Aeroclubs mark the occasion by drawing the emblem of Fighting Poland in white smoke over the city skyline. A banner reading “We Remember 1944” is flown along the Vistula River.
A flotilla of boats, including city ferries and waterworks vessels, sails up the river in a symbolic reenactment. A wreath is cast into the water near the Poniatowski Bridge, recalling the site where the ship “Bajka” was sunk during the uprising.
Later in the day, a traditional march organized by nationalist groups will proceed from Dmowski Roundabout to Krasiński Square, and residents gathering in Piłsudski Square for a concert of songs forbidden under Nazi occupation.
Jarosław Kaczyński, president of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, also took part in official events and reflected on the political and moral legacy of the uprising.
“It was the largest armed operation of the underground in the entire Second World War,” he said, while also acknowledging the longstanding debate over whether the uprising should have been launched at all. He questioned how it was able to last so long, and what lessons it might hold for today.
“Because Poland is once again under threat,” Kaczyński added.
The German Embassy in Warsaw also issued a statement acknowledging the atrocities committed by German forces. “We commemorate the victims of German barbarity. We honor the heroism of the Warsaw Uprising fighters. Flags flown at half-mast are a symbol of our mourning and shame,” the statement read.
Illegal immigration to Britain is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, with more than 25,000 arrivals recorded between January 1 and July 31 — an average of one every 12 minutes.
The milestone has been reached earlier than in any previous year on record and has ignited fierce political criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
By contrast, the 25,000 mark was reached on Sept. 22 in 2023, and not until Oct. 2 the year before that. Even in 2022, the previous record-breaking year with a final tally of 45,774 arrivals, the milestone was not passed until Aug. 27.
Despite Starmer’s repeated promise to “smash the gangs” responsible for Channel crossings, commentators and opposition figures accuse his government of delivering even higher levels of illegal immigration than the Conservative administration it replaced — a government ousted in part due to its own failure to control the borders.
🇬🇧🚣♂️ Two days ago, Keir Starmer told U.S. President Donald Trump his Labour government was making great progress on tackling the migrant crisis.
Since then, nearly 800 illegal migrants have been brought ashore — over 600 today and 149 yesterday.
LBC broadcaster Nick Ferrari condemned the government’s approach as “pitiful, lamentable, actually laughable,” adding that the crisis had grown beyond rhetoric. “If it wasn’t so, in some cases, deadly serious — and certainly criminally serious — you could laugh at the promises to smash the gangs,” he said. “Please don’t tell me they’re all fleeing persecution and torture. Please don’t give me that utter crock. Some are, most are not.”
'Please don't tell me they are *all* fleeing persecution. Don't give me that utter crock.'
Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are 'taking us for fools', a fed up @NickFerrariLBC declares, as a record 25,000 migrants arrive this year alone. pic.twitter.com/Ggsat0BBSv
Ferrari went further, slamming the government’s messaging: “They are taking us for utter fools.”
“We will always wonder about Rwanda,” he added, referencing the previous government’s attempt to establish offshore processing of illegal migrants. “We will never know, but at least it would have been worth giving it a try.”
At the beginning of the week, Prime Minister Starmer assured U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.K. was making great progress in tackling illegal migration — a claim that, in light of the recent figures, can only be described as total fabrication. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the situation “a national emergency,” declaring 2025 “the worst year on record so far” with no credible government plan to halt the crossings.
The Conservative Party’s official social media account renewed its call for the deportation of all foreign criminals. The Reform Party replied pointedly, “You imported the foreign criminals,” highlighting the mass immigration levels that occurred under successive Tory governments.
In July, Starmer announced a new Anglo-French agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at reducing crossings. The policy is said to involve a “one-in, one-out” mechanism under which illegal migrants returned to France would be exchanged for an asylum seeker who had not crossed the Channel. Critics, however, dismissed the deal as ineffective and unenforceable.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.” But the sharp rise in arrivals and lack of visible deterrence measures have left many unconvinced.
On Thursday, amid a spike in crossings, Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage posted on X: “898 illegals crossed the English Channel yesterday. This means more hotels, more costs, and more people who should not be here. The public has had enough!”
The security threat from mass immigration is clear. As reported by The Times on Friday, the number of foreign-born prisoners in British jails is now at its highest since 2013. They make up one in eight inmates and cost the U.K. an estimated £580 million a year (€678 million).
A woman in Basauri, Spain, says her life has been destroyed after a homeless migrant she took in through a charity association refused to leave her home, stopped paying rent, vandalized her property, and subjected her to a campaign of verbal abuse and intimidation.
Estíbaliz Kortazar, who initially rented a room to the man in a spirit of solidarity, has now been forced to abandon her own house out of fear.
“I met him through an organization that helps the homeless,” Estíbaliz told 20minutos. The man, a 48-year-old foreign national, agreed to pay €350 a month and initially honored the agreement. But after the informal contract ended at the end of last year, he refused to move out. By February, he had stopped paying rent altogether. Even before that, Estíbaliz says, the situation had become intolerable.
“He would take all my cooking pots into his room and leave nothing for me to use,” she said. “He turned up the television at midnight so I couldn’t sleep, he broke my furniture, he called me a slut, a dirty bitch, and a whore.” She says the man also tampered with the door locks, allowing himself to come and go at will while denying her full access to her own home.
Estíbaliz, a teacher who works online, said the squatter deliberately disrupted her lessons and left common areas in a state of filth. As utility bills soared, she grew convinced the man’s goal was to financially and psychologically break her.
She filed a complaint with the authorities, but was told the only real option was to keep reporting the matter. By January 2025, she had launched formal legal proceedings. In March, a court issued an eviction order, but due to Spain’s Decree 11/2020 — emergency legislation introduced during the pandemic to protect vulnerable tenants — the eviction was suspended until the end of 2025.
Unable to continue living with the man, Estíbaliz moved in with her brother in June and is currently on medical leave, undergoing psychological treatment. “He’s a psychopath, and his only goal is to ruin my life,” she said. “He’s not right in the head. He hasn’t attacked me yet, but I’m afraid he might.”
She emphasized that she is not seeking financial compensation. “He owes me over €2,100, but I don’t care about the money. I just want my house back.”
Estíbaliz has now launched a petition demanding faster eviction procedures in cases involving non-paying tenants.
“I feel like crying every time I enter my own house. I turn the key and feel terror. I used to rent a room, and now I live with a squatter who terrifies me and whom I can’t kick out,” Estíbaliz writes. “You don’t know what it’s like to live under the same roof as the person who’s making your life miserable. Watching them destroy your house… and your life. And feeling abandoned by your country’s justice system because the squatter who lives like a king has more rights than you.”
“Sign to demand that the processes to evict a non-paying tenant from your home be expedited now,” the petition reads. It has already received more than 27,000 signatures.
In her appeal to the public, she added: “The law protects squatters more than homeowners. The courts and police have forced me to live with an abusive man. I just want to feel safe in my own home again.”
A mother-of-six remains in an induced coma in Belgium nearly a month after her violent husband, a Kosovar Muslim, set her on fire in front of their children after he had been freed from prison months early due to overcrowding.
The family of Dula K., a 41-year-old woman now fighting for her life in a burn center, has told Belgian media that she has been a victim of “failed policies” after her husband, Mirsad H., was granted Extended Pentitentiary Leave (VPV), in April 2025 as part of an emergency measure implemented by former Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt to address saturation in the Belgian prison system.
Mirsad H., who boasts a considerable rap sheet including illegal possession of a weapon and receiving stolen goods, had been serving a lengthy 37-month prison sentence for domestic violence against Dula.
On July 3, weeks after his release, he is accused of savagely attacking his wife at the family home in Houthalen-Helchteren. Police had been called after one of the children reported that Mirsad had become violent again. Officers separated the couple to assess the situation. When they realized Mirsad had violated the terms of his probation, they summoned a second patrol to arrest him. But Mirsad escaped before reinforcements arrived. He returned just hours later, stormed into the house, and doused Dula in gasoline and set her alight in front of five of their children. She suffered severe burns over her entire body and is now in a medically induced coma, completely wrapped up in protective bandages. Her survival chances are described by doctors as extremely slim.
“He set her on fire in front of the children,” Dula’s brother Serdzo told HBVL, speaking for the first time about the attack. “We are terrified, even though he is back in prison.” The family, originally from Kosovo, has lived in Limburg for decades. They now see Dula not only as a victim of a horrific crime but as a symbol of a justice system that failed her repeatedly.
The attack was caught on video. According to the family’s lawyer, Bert Vanmechelen, one of the children tried to extinguish the flames in the bathroom. “One of them had to put out his own mother,” Vanmechelen said. “That kind of trauma never leaves a child.” Dula, her body severely burned from head to toe, was rushed to the Leuven burn center, where she remains in critical condition.
Mirsad was captured later that evening during a large-scale police operation after being found hiding in an abandoned building. He had injured himself falling from a roof. He is now facing charges of attempted murder and is expected to be tried before the Assize Court.
Despite his record and propensity for violence against his wife, Mirsad was granted conditional release by the Hasselt prison administration. Current Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden has since called the measure illegal and vowed to end it.
While local police chief Geert Verheyen insisted that officers “handled the intervention very well and professionally,” Vanmechelen rejected that claim. “Don’t tell me everything went right when a mother ends up in a coma, burned alive in front of her children, by a man who should have still been behind bars,” he said. “This is the failure of an entire system.”
Serdzo is now caring for his sister’s children, but revealed the emotional toll the attack has put on the whole family. “We talk as little as possible about what happened,” he said. “But how can you ever erase the image of your father setting your mother on fire?”
A court in The Hague has sentenced 24-year-old Arnold O. to five years in prison and compulsory psychiatric treatment for the brutal killing of his girlfriend, 22-year-old Jihaneve, whom he stabbed 258 times in front of their newborn baby.
The killing, which took place on July 18, 2024, in the victim’s Zoetermeer home, was described by the court as “absolutely out of the ordinary in terms of violence and gruesomeness,” as cited by RTL.
The attack was so extreme that, after stabbing the victim, the killer filmed her with her own phone and took a selfie with their two-week-old baby, who was present but unharmed. Police were already at the door at the time, alerted by a nurse who was scheduled to visit the mother and child and heard the victim screaming, “Stop, stop it, you’re killing me.”
The court found Arnold O. guilty of manslaughter, not murder, citing that he was suffering from psychosis at the time and had severely diminished responsibility. Experts testified that the defendant had a mildly diminished mental disability and several psychological disorders, and the judge accepted these findings, noting that the psychiatric treatment, or TBS, would likely last far longer than the five-year prison term.
🇳🇱‼️ A man who killed his girlfriend by stabbing her 258 times in front of their newborn baby has been jailed for just five years in the Netherlands.
Arnold. O, 24, shown here being arrested last July, killed 22-year-old Jihaneve in what a court in The Hague described as… pic.twitter.com/7kqlrO1vuH
The sentence was significantly less than the 10 years sought by the prosecution. The prosecutor argued that the motive — accusations of infidelity and doubts about paternity — was unfounded and delusional. According to the prosecutor’s office, “It was all in his head.”
The defendant had a history of violence. Just a month before the killing, he had been released from a 90-day prison sentence for assaulting Jihaneve. Family members were deeply concerned about the couple’s relationship and were preparing to relocate the young woman and her child to Belgium. At the time of the killing, the couple were already living apart.
The victim’s mother condemned the verdict as disgracefully lenient. “My daughter died a horrific death. I can’t say it without tears flowing. And then the judge gives five years… I can’t believe it,” she said outside the courtroom. “This is a slap in the face, a kick in the grave. If I could appeal, I would. To keep fighting for justice.”
Prosecutors highlighted the horror of the crime during the trial, pointing out that the selfie the killer took with the baby allegedly shows the child lying amid his mother’s blood. “How dare you film yourself while you’re seriously injuring your partner?” the prosecutor asked.
The court’s ruling means he will be transferred to a secure psychiatric facility after serving his prison term.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has declared that a reinvigorated alliance of Central European nationalist leaders — including Poland’s Mateusz Morawiecki, Slovakia’s Robert Fico, and the Czech Republic’s Andrej Babiš — could collectively stop the European Union’s next long-term budget in its tracks.
In a televised interview with Polish journalist Michał Karnowski for Telewizja wPolsce24, Orbán stated that the Visegrád Group — made up of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia — has the power to block the upcoming EU financial framework if they act together.
“The next European budget must be approved unanimously by EU member states,” Orbán said. “We have elections in April next year. President Kaczyński and Prime Minister Morawiecki will return to power [in Poland]. Andrej Babiš will win in the Czech Republic in October, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is strong enough to stay. Then the four of us, as the Visegrád Group, will be able to stop the crazy ideas contained in this project.”
Orbán’s opposition to the EU’s proposed 2028–2034 budget is rooted in his fierce resistance to what he calls its “Ukraine-centered” focus. Nearly one third of the proposed spending, he argues, would either go directly to Ukraine or be used to service EU debt accumulated to support Kyiv. In a recent speech, Orbán described it as “not a European budget, but a Ukraine budget,” and warned that its approval would divert vital resources away from EU member states.
He also reiterated that Hungary will not support the new EU budget unless frozen funds owed to his country are released. Those funds have been held up by Brussels over concerns about alleged rule-of-law violations in Hungary, which Budapest insists are fabricated because the Orbán administration will not conform to Brussels’ liberal agenda.
“Hungary will block the European Union’s proposed seven‑year budget unless the EU releases suspended funds,” Orbán told reporters earlier this month.
The Hungarian premier also repeated his warning that EU efforts to bring Ukraine closer to membership could drag Central Europe into direct conflict. “If we admit Ukraine, we admit the war,” he said, arguing that current foreign policy thinking in Brussels is a threat to Hungary’s survival.
Speaking about Poland, Orbán praised former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and expressed hope that he would soon return to power. “During the Law and Justice government, you achieved fantastic economic results,” Orbán said. “Prime Minister Morawiecki was one of the best Polish prime ministers I’ve ever known, also an excellent financial expert. Therefore, the Polish government has all the tools to build the greatest era of Polish success in history. If I were Polish, thinking about the future, I would be optimistic.”
He added that Poland’s size and political strength under the Law and Justice Party had helped shield Hungary from EU pressure in previous years. “Poland is larger than Hungary. Its political strength during the rule of President Jarosław Kaczyński’s party and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government helped, for a time, reduce pressure from Brussels on Hungary. I remember this very well.”
Orbán also spoke positively about Czech politics, predicting a return to power for Andrej Babiš and his ANO party. The Czech Republic will hold parliamentary elections on October 3 and 4, and polls currently show Babiš’s party well ahead of its rivals. ANO has consistently led national surveys by double-digit margins, and Babiš, a former prime minister, is expected by many analysts to regain the premiership after the vote.
With a Law and Justice revival in Poland, Fico maintaining power in Slovakia, and Babiš likely to win in the Czech Republic, Orbán believes the Visegrád alliance could be reborn. “This election opens up an opportunity to renew Central European cooperation,” he said. “We call it the Visegrád Group, but we can call it whatever we want. The key is the cooperation, which has been a great success.”
He added that past V4 cooperation had served as a counterweight to the dominance of France and Germany in EU affairs, and said he welcomed recent developments, including Karol Nawrocki’s presidential election victory in Poland, as signs that the regional alliance is on the brink of revival. “We’ve opened a huge, powerful bottle of champagne. This is a historic victory,” he said.
Germany’s Association for Education and Training (VBE) has called for the introduction of comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools across the country, arguing that Muslim students should be offered the same opportunities as their Christian peers.
“We are committed to ensuring that all believers can talk about their faith within schools and receive relevant information about their religion and other religions,” said VBE Federal Chairman Gerhard Brand in comments to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
He urged political leaders to ensure that schools are equipped with the necessary personnel and materials, and that programs are implemented quickly and expanded over time.
Islamic religious education is currently regulated at the state level, resulting in significant variation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Islamic religious education is already offered in schools, while in Bavaria, a state-run Islamic studies course is available as an alternative to ethics. However, the Bavarian model does not include cooperation with Islamic religious communities.
According to estimates, around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany, and at least 580,000 were attending school as of 2020. Yet only around 81,000 students are currently enrolled in Islamic religious education programs. Advocates say that expanding access to these classes is essential for integration and for protecting students from extremist influences.
The Turkish Community in Germany also welcomed the initiative but warned of political and structural hurdles. “Islamic religious education is a must — just like Catholic and Protestant religious education,” said the group’s chairman, Gökay Sofuoglu. He called for educational standards to be aligned at a national level, while acknowledging the constitutional limits imposed by Germany’s federal system. “We would need a nationwide Islamic cooperation partner. Unfortunately, that isn’t in sight at the moment,” he said.
Sofuoglu stressed that while the state must remain secular, it has a duty to ensure fair and equal treatment of religious communities. “I don’t know how this could be regulated nationwide,” he added.
Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, told the RND that “religious education in public schools, taught by teachers trained and state-certified in Germany, can provide a counterbalance to fundamentalist attitudes — mediated by the family or by fundamentalist preachers online.”
The debate over Islamic education is not just reserved for Germany. As the Muslim population across Europe grows, both support for and opposition to Islamic teachings have risen in multiple European nations.
In April of this year, Remix News reported how, for the first time, Muslim students had become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools, underlining the incredible demographic transformation taking place in the Austrian city.
According to data obtained from the office of Bettina Emmerling, the city councilor responsible for education, Muslims now account for 41.2 percent of all students, while Christian students fell to 34.5 percent. The trend is only growing, and is accompanied by rising problems, including violence in schools, anti-Semitism, and contempt for women.
“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” warned Christian Klar, a Viennese school principal, last October. He expressed concern over the “rapid Islamization” of Austrian schools, alongside rising violence and anti-Semitic incidents.
In January, it was reported that approximately 200 schools across the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia now teach Islam as part of their curriculum, following the disclosure of official figures after a parliamentary request by the local Vox party.
The inquiry submitted by Vox Andalusia sparked political debate over the extent to which the curriculum is being catered to immigrants and the scope of influence a rising Islamic community now has on institutions across the region.
A Moroccan national has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to leave France after launching a knife attack on his migrant roommate during an argument over alcohol, a court in Libourne heard on Thursday, July 24.
The incident occurred on the evening of Friday, June 27, on Rue du Port-Coiffé in Libourne.
Emergency services responded to reports of a stabbing and found the victim sitting on the ground, severely injured and “bathing in his own blood,” the presiding judge summarized to the Court. The victim had suffered deep wounds to his back, neck, hip, and forearms, requiring hospital treatment and a 12-day work incapacity order.
As reported by Sud Ouest, the attacker, a 26-year-old Moroccan man who lived in the same squatted apartment as the victim, also sustained injuries, including a broken nose.
The defendant initially denied the attack in court, stating, “Everything I heard is false.” However, forensic evidence contradicted his claims. A bloodied kitchen knife bearing his fingerprints was discovered on top of a wardrobe in his room. He claimed the blood was from cutting vegetables the previous day, an explanation the court did not accept.
The confrontation began when the defendant placed beer in a fridge located in the victim’s room. The victim objected, saying alcohol was “haram” and therefore forbidden in Islam. The altercation quickly escalated. “They banned me from drinking alcohol because it’s haram,” the defendant told the Court. He then admitted to a fight but denied using a knife, insisting, “He started it. I didn’t hit him with a knife.”
The Court heard that the pair were among 16 migrants living in a cramped 65-square-meter apartment, each paying between €100 and €300 in rent. The defense argued that the overcrowded conditions and lack of amenities led to tensions that were deliberately exploited by a local slum landlord under investigation for human trafficking.
The fridge had allegedly been moved into the victim’s room to provoke conflict and make space for new tenants, the defense claimed.
Despite rejecting the more serious charge of attempted murder, the court found the defendant guilty of aggravated assault with a weapon. In addition to the prison sentence and deportation order, he was banned from re-entering France for 10 years and prohibited from possessing a weapon for five years.
The victim’s lawyer described the scene as “a horror film” and said his client remained deeply traumatized and afraid to return to Libourne.
The European Commission has ruled that Czechia must recover unlawful state aid granted to several large agricultural holdings in 2018, following an in-depth investigation that found the subsidies breached EU rules on state aid.
The case concerns insurance support designed to help crop and livestock farmers protect themselves against natural disasters and adverse weather events.
The Czech government had allocated CZK 690 million, roughly €25.8 million at the time, from the state budget to fund the program. However, the Commission found that some recipients were ineligible.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Commission stated that Czech authorities wrongly classified certain large agricultural companies as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), allowing them to receive subsidies they were not entitled to under the 2014 Guidelines for State aid in agriculture, forestry, and rural areas.
“An in-depth investigation carried out by the Commission confirmed that some large agricultural companies were wrongly classified as small and medium-sized enterprises by the Czech authorities and therefore received support without meeting the conditions of the agricultural guidelines,” the Commission said in a statement.
As a result, the Czech government is now legally required to recover the misallocated funds in order to restore fair competition in the internal market.
The recovery of incompatible state aid is a standard procedure under EU law and aims to remove any advantage gained through the unlawful payments.
The Commission emphasized that interest must also be collected on the recovered funds to fully offset the competitive distortion caused by the aid.
Germany is not only facing a shortage of skilled workers but also a growing demand for low-skilled labor, prompting calls from major industries and trade associations to expand and streamline immigration pathways.
According to Welt, businesses such as the Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bahn, and the hospitality sector are advocating for simplified procedures to hire foreign labor, particularly for basic operational roles.
“Only through an open and pragmatic immigration policy can we successfully overcome the challenges of the labor market in the future,” said Thomas Ogilvie, Chief Human Resources Officer at Deutsche Post, in comments to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. He stressed that the shortage is not confined to specialists but extends to workers for fundamental activities across sectors.
Sandra Warden, Managing Director of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), echoed this sentiment, arguing that the country cannot rely solely on formally qualified professionals. “If German companies give foreign workers a proper employment contract, working in Germany must be possible,” she told the paper.
A Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman similarly supported immigration as part of the solution, noting that “every hire for operational positions is important to us.”
Over the past decade, restaurants, parcel delivery firms, and transport providers have become key employers of refugees. Yet, this comes amid striking statistics: Nearly 40,000 students leave German schools each year without qualifications, and some 2.9 million people between the ages of 20 and 34 in Germany lack a vocational certificate or university degree.
Failing to utilize their domestic labor pool, European leaders have largely favored immigration to fill the gaps, opting for economic expediency over deeper reforms in education, job training, or structural labor incentives. Germany is no exception.
One stark example of demographic change comes from Berlin. Official figures show that the number of Indian nationals in the city skyrocketed from 3,579 in 2014 to 41,472 in 2024 — an increase of over 1,000 percent. Across Germany, Indian nationals now number 274,910, ranking fifth among source countries for net immigration behind Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey. While many work in IT or healthcare, a growing number are entering through study or family reunification channels. In 2024, the number of Indian students surged by 40 percent compared to recent yearly averages.
Legal immigration has now become the dominant driver of demographic shifts across Europe. Proponents point to its benefits for economic growth, but critics warn that it strains integration capacity, drives up housing costs, and reshapes national identity too rapidly for communities to adjust.
Germany’s new laws allow immigrants to apply for citizenship after just three years of residence under certain conditions. In 2024, a record 249,901 foreigners became German citizens — more than the population of cities like Chemnitz. Notably, these figures exclude three states: Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein, and thus will be far greater in reality. Syrians and Turks led the nationalities gaining citizenship.
Berlin alone, under its CDU-led administration, is targeting 40,000 new naturalizations in 2025, raising concerns about the adequacy of language standards, potential legal loopholes, and the lack of thorough political screening.
These rapid changes have sparked renewed debate about long-term consequences. Earlier this month, former Bundesbank executive and author Thilo Sarrazin, known for his 2010 book warning of unchecked immigration, said recent figures exceed even his most dramatic forecasts. “I predicted that within a few decades, Germans would become a minority in their own homeland. But it will come much sooner,” Sarrazin said.
While only 15 percent of people over 65 in Germany have a migration background, that figure rises to 45 percent among 15-year-olds and exceeds 50 percent among newborns. According to Sarrazin, ethnic Germans currently account for just 40 percent of births. “These are the figures that are decisive for what the German population will look like in 2070, given that we are only about two generations away from it.”
He projects that by 2070, about 80 percent of all births will be to non-German mothers, with the majority coming from Muslim backgrounds. “That is my estimate today, but the situation could get even worse… if another sudden wave of mass immigration comes,” he warned.
Berlin’s special state-level migration program that allowed Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis to privately sponsor relatives has come to an abrupt end following a federal order by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
In a letter to Berlin’s Finance Senator Stefan Evers, reported by Bild, Dobrindt made clear that the federal interior ministry “will not grant consent for new or for the extension of existing state reception programs.”
For over a year, Berlin’s coalition government had been divided over the program, which was introduced by the previous left-wing administration. The scheme enabled residents to bring close relatives to the city state, provided they personally covered the costs of health and long-term care insurance.
The SPD supports continuing the initiative, while the CDU remains firmly opposed.
Evers relayed the federal decision to Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger, stating that the program poses financial risks. Even when families cover the initial insurance, he warned, this “is not sufficient protection against additional costs for the state of Berlin.” He cited a lack of data and noted that after five years, the financial obligation ends, and taxpayers become responsible.
“Regardless of my department’s budgetary concerns, an extension of state admission orders can only be granted in agreement with the Federal Ministry of the Interior,” Evers wrote. With Dobrindt now firmly against it, any extension is off the table.
More than 4,000 people arrived in Berlin under the program. While the SPD approved an extension at its state party conference and both the Greens and the Left pushed for its continuation, the federal position is now decisive. A separate program for Lebanese nationals, active since 2001, was also halted last year due to security concerns.
The broader debate around family reunification has intensified across Germany. In December, the number of family reunification visas issued since 2015 surpassed 1 million. The AfD called for a full halt, with party member Martin Hess arguing that many new arrivals “will probably immigrate directly into our social systems.”
This is supported by the data. Nearly half of Germany’s €17.68 billion in housing support for 2024 was paid out to foreigners, new government figures published last month revealed.
Last year, spending on German welfare, also known as “citizens’ money,” reached a record high of €46.7 billion, a massive 10 percent increase versus 2023, according to figures provided by the Federal Employment Agency.
As Remix News previously wrote, overall, 62.6 percent of all welfare recipients are migrants, and within the 15 to 25 age group, this number goes up to 71.3 percent.
In June, the Bundestag voted to suspend family reunification rights for migrants with “subsidiary protection” status — affecting around 380,000 people, primarily Syrians. The measure will last for two years.
Dobrindt hailed it as a “turning point” in Germany’s migration policy, aimed at easing pressure on housing, schools, and welfare, and deterring traffickers. He warned against the belief that “all you have to do is make it to Germany, then the whole family can follow suit.”
The AfD dismissed the move as political theater. Party spokesman Christian Wirth accused the government of ignoring “the complete overburdening of our country” and called the bill “a drop in the ocean.”
Co-leader Alice Weidel went further, calling the reunification pause “only a smokescreen,” and claimed that “ninety percent of the ‘refugees’ living in Germany can continue to bring their families with them.”
Authorities in Berlin are bracing for a spike in forced marriages as schools break for the summer, a period long associated with such cases.
Seyran Ateş, the prominent author and women’s rights advocate, warns that the problem is becoming greater due to mass immigration and the entrenchment of parallel communities within German society.
Ateş expressed concern that hundreds of young people, many of whom are unaware of what awaits them, may be sent abroad to be married against their will. “I fear the numbers will continue to rise,” she told broadcaster RBB, as cited by Junge Freiheit.
She noted that Berlin recorded nearly 500 cases of threatened or completed forced marriage in 2022, and warned that the figure is likely to grow as Germany continues to absorb migrants from Islamic countries with different cultural norms.
“In Germany, we speak of a parallel society of the Muslim community,” Ateş said. Forced marriage, she emphasized, is a mechanism used by “archaic patriarchal societies” to impose religious norms, including the control of female sexuality.
Speaking from her professional experience, Ateş described how often victims are blindsided and powerless, and some are even driven to attempt suicide to escape. Her own experience with the issue turned violent in 1984, when a client of hers was shot during a consultation and she was injured in the attack.
Despite the fact that forced marriage has been a criminal offense in Germany since 2011, fear and family loyalty keep many from coming forward. Ateş believes prevention must begin early: “We need to raise awareness in elementary school. Children have to learn that their parents do not have the right to choose their spouse or dictate who they are allowed to love.”
Officials in Berlin’s Neukölln district are also raising the alarm. A formal statement warned of young people being taken out of the country over the holidays to be married in their parents’ country of origin, sometimes without a clear path to return. “Most of the affected girls and boys grew up in Germany,” the district office noted.
To combat the threat, Neukölln authorities have distributed information to schools, youth centers, and childcare providers ahead of the summer break. The materials include clear instructions on how at-risk individuals can protect themselves: confiding in a trusted adult; leaving behind copies of identification; and carrying essentials such as embassy contacts, cash, and a return ticket. The district also provides downloadable forms to assist with legal recourse and repatriation.
District Mayor Martin Hikel noted, “Forced and early marriages are human rights violations that we do not tolerate. But, we know that they are a reality for Neukölln’s young people.”
A Muslim woman’s home in Apeldoorn-Zuid was targeted in a vigilante-style attack Monday night after she was filmed allegedly stealing a bouquet of funeral flowers from a local cemetery.
The viral footage, reposted with the English translation by Remix News, triggered a wave of public anger that spilled into the street.
🇳🇱💐 "Look at this… Stolen from a grave!"
A man films a fully veiled woman stealing flowers from a cemetery in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. pic.twitter.com/piZDWnzelV
In the video, a fully veiled woman and another in Islamic dress are seen attempting to remove flowers from a grave on Oude Beekbergerweg. A man confronts her, saying, “Look at this. Stolen from a grave! There, by the cemetery,” before throwing the bouquet to the ground. The flowers had been placed at the grave of Leffert Veenstra, who had recently passed away.
By Monday evening, tensions had escalated. Groups of young people on scooters gathered near the home of the woman believed to be in the video. Cars drove slowly past, and eggs were thrown at the house.
Police were called to the scene multiple times. “Emotions were running high, and at that point, we decided to focus on restoring peace to the neighborhood,” said police spokesperson Sven Strijbosch, as cited by de Gelderlander. However, more eggs were thrown when officers temporarily left the area.
Around midnight, a woman — reportedly one of the women in the video — was escorted by police from the house to a waiting van as bystanders booed.
“This is a very heavy blow to the entire caravan community,” Peter Palmen, a close friend of the deceased, told local media. Family and friends of Veenstra expressed deep shock and anger over the incident.
Strijbosch urged the public to refrain from further escalation. “The fact is that it’s not a good idea to take matters into your own hands in an intimidating way,” he said.
“We know everyone involved, and we’ll be considering the next steps in the coming days. The call is very clear: Leave this to the police.”
A hospital in the Austrian city of Salzburg has rejected a demand made by a foreign-born Muslim man who insisted that his wife be treated exclusively by female doctors and nurses.
The man, described as a migrant with limited German proficiency, claims that his wife’s request for female-only care at the Salzburg North State Hospital (CDK) was ignored, amounting to what he called discrimination and a violation of human dignity.
The man filed a formal complaint, excerpts of which were seen and published by the Austrian news outlet Krone.
The complaint, submitted to the Salzburg patient advocacy office, includes a detailed letter in which the man demands a written apology from the hospital and official recognition that such requests for gender-specific treatment are “legally permissible and binding.” He argues that denying his wife’s request on religious and cultural grounds breached Austrian law.
“Despite my repeated requests that my wife may only be treated by women for religious reasons, this was refused,” the complaint read.
“I consider this a violation of human rights and a great disrespect to our culture and religion. I repeatedly emphasized that my wife expressly requests to be treated only by female staff, especially during intimate or gynecological examinations.
“I demand a written apology as well as confirmation that this request is legally permissible and will be respected in the future.”
The hospital, in its official written response, firmly denies any wrongdoing. “Medical and nursing care is provided by male and/or female staff, depending on the shift schedule. A free choice of doctor is neither provided for nor possible in a public hospital,” the response states. It further emphasizes that the complainant’s interpretation of legal rights is flawed, adding: “Under no circumstances do these justify discriminating against our employees on the basis of gender.”
Hospital spokesperson Wolfgang Fürweger confirmed the existence of the complaint to the Krone but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“No, there is no legal basis for that,” said legal expert Gerhard Jelinek to the news outlet when asked whether patients have the right to choose a doctor based on gender in Austria’s public health system.
The mayor of Béziers, Robert Ménard, has claimed that 80 percent of thuggish youths involved in recent urban violence in the French city are from immigrant backgrounds.
Speaking after police officers were ambushed with fireworks and an apartment block was torched in the Devèze district, Ménard pointed to what he called an “explosive cocktail” of drug trafficking, mass immigration, and judicial leniency fueling the unrest.
“These troublemakers are getting younger and younger: 15, 14, sometimes 13. And 80 percent of them are immigrants. Just look at the surnames,” the independent Ménard told Le Journal du Dimanche. He said drug dealing has become a primary source of income not only for individual dealers but often for entire families.
The latest wave of violence broke out on the night of Saturday, July 19, when police responding to a series of fires were lured into an ambush by around 50 masked and hooded individuals. The attackers launched fireworks at officers, set up barricades with flaming trash bins, and injured one officer, who suffered a second-degree burn.
At the same time, a nearby apartment was deliberately set on fire with residents inside. Six people were later relocated after their homes were destroyed.
Ménard, a long-time advocate of tougher policing and immigration controls, defended his security strategy, noting that municipal police numbers have risen from 34 to 130 under his tenure, and that they now work armed and year-round. He said the violence was in direct retaliation to recent arrests of young offenders.
“In recent weeks, the municipal and national police have arrested and imprisoned several young people. Their response: ‘You bother us, we’ll mess you up.’ In other words, if you want peace, leave us alone. But it doesn’t work like that,” he said.
Despite the increased policing, Ménard said the municipal force lacks key powers, such as the ability to check ID or access stolen vehicle records. “We can’t ask them to be on the frontlines without giving them the tools,” he said.
He also criticized what he sees as an overly lenient legal framework put in place by former Minister of National Education Nicole Belloubet. “When you’re sentenced to one or three months in prison, you have to serve them. Period,” Ménard said. “I can’t stand laws like Ms. Belloubet’s that allow for automatic sentence adjustments for sentences of less than a year. The result: Offenders know perfectly well they’ll never set foot in prison. It’s absurd.”
The mayor said he has raised the issue with both President Emmanuel Macron and Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, but has yet to see meaningful change.
“I asked [Macron]: ‘Where are we?’ He replied: ‘It’s in progress.’ But what does that mean, in progress? In my administration, when people tell me that, it’s because there’s no response. And that’s unbearable.”
A 56-year-old Syrian-born doctor living in Germany has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl in his office at a hospital in Lower Saxony.
The verdict was delivered by the Osnabrück Regional Court on Thursday after a trial held largely behind closed doors to protect the underage victim.
As reported by NDR, the Court found that the doctor, a heart specialist working at the Schüchtermann Clinic in Bad Rothenfelde, met the teenager through an internet chatroom. In December 2023, he picked her up from Osnabrück Central Station and brought her into the clinic through a side entrance during his weekend shift. He had told colleagues he was stepping away to care for his ill wife.
According to the ruling, the doctor raped the girl multiple times in his office, despite her protests and expressions of pain. After the assault, he gave her €100 and escorted her back to the station. The girl reported the incident to the police that same evening.
The teenager was not a patient at the clinic. Prosecutors described how the doctor created a false pretext to leave his duties and be alone with the girl, even asking a nurse to find adhesive tape under the pretense of administering an IV to his wife.
The doctor denied raping the girl but admitted to sexual contact, claiming it was consensual. His lawyer, Dr. van Lengerich, argued the girl had never voiced objection and questioned the reliability of her account, suggesting that her therapy before the trial might have influenced her testimony. “Suggestive influences are well established in such therapies,” he said, also alleging the girl may have acted out of fear of her parents.
Despite these claims, the Court found the girl’s testimony consistent and credible. Judges concluded that the man had raped and injured the girl, who had clearly communicated her unwillingness during the encounter.
She rejected multiple financial settlement offers, including one for €12,000.
The final sentence was significantly lower than the 15-year maximum allowed under German law for such offenses.
The doctor has one week to appeal. His lawyer declined to say whether he would pursue that option.
The European Union and the United States have finalized a new trade agreement following negotiations at President Donald Trump’s luxury golf resort in Scotland.
The deal introduces a 15 percent blanket tariff on all EU goods entering the U.S. while securing what EU leaders describe as vital access to American markets and energy supplies.
President Trump, alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, hailed the outcome in a joint appearance. Trump called it “the biggest deal ever made,” while von der Leyen described it as the result of “tough negotiations” that ultimately delivered a “huge deal” for both sides.
The agreement comes amid heightened global trade tensions and follows a series of tariff threats from Washington. Under the new terms, nearly all EU exports to the U.S., including automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, will be subject to a flat 15 percent tariff. Von der Leyen emphasized that while the rate is high, it was a compromise to avoid steeper penalties.
“On the first of August, we would have been at 30 percent, and it would have been much more difficult to get down to 15,” she told reporters. “This rate provides much-needed clarity for our citizens and businesses.”
Together, the EU and the US are a market of 800 million people.
President Trump confirmed that the existing 50 percent tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports will remain in place. The EU has also committed to hundreds of billions of dollars in energy investments, significantly increasing purchases of American supplies.
“We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of U.S. LNG, oil, and nuclear fuels,” von der Leyen said, adding that “purchasing cheaper and better LNG from the United States is highly desirable.”
European leaders expressed relief that the deal averted a damaging trade war. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her deputies welcomed the agreement in a joint statement, crediting teamwork between the European Commission and member states for avoiding “the trap of those who called for fueling a head-on clash between the two sides of the Atlantic.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed that view, praising the deal as a victory for EU unity and a safeguard for Germany’s export-driven economy. “Stable and predictable trade relations with market access benefit everyone on both sides of the Atlantic, businesses and consumers alike,” Merz said.
Total trade in goods between the EU and the U.S. reached nearly $976 billion in 2024. The U.S. imported around $606 billion from the EU while exporting roughly $370 billion, a gap that Trump has repeatedly cited as evidence of unfair trade practices. “We’ve been losing,” he said bluntly. “That changes now.”
The agreement follows a pattern of aggressive renegotiations by the Trump administration. Recent deals have imposed tariffs of 10 percent on U.K. goods, 20 percent on Vietnamese exports, 19 percent on Indonesian and Philippine goods, and 15 percent on Japanese imports. In each case, the U.S. sought to reduce trade deficits and enforce stricter terms.
Not all voices in Europe were supportive. French opposition leader Marine Le Pen condemned the deal as a “political, economic, and moral fiasco,” accusing the European Commission of capitulating to Washington.
“Hundreds of billions of euros of gas, as well as weapons, will have to be imported each year from the United States,” Le Pen said. “This is a complete capitulation for French industry, and for our energy and military sovereignty.”
She also accused the Commission of sacrificing French farmers in exchange for lower tariffs on German car exports.
German opposition leader Alice Weidel also wrote, “The EU has been brutally ripped off! 15 percent tariffs and the obligation to purchase weapons and energy from the US are not an agreement, but a slap in the face of European consumers and producers!”
Outrage wasn’t reserved for those on the right. European Movement President Guy Verhofstadt added, “The EU-U.S. deal is scandalous, a disaster, with not one concession from the American side. Badly negotiated.”
President Trump also used the occasion to reaffirm to Brussels his views on energy and immigration. Trump claimed the U.S. had restored control of its borders. “We’ve now got nobody coming in,” he declared. “Europe has a tremendous problem. We don’t anymore.”
NOW – Trump lectures Ursula von der Leyen on windmills: "It's a horrible thing… the whole thing is a con job." pic.twitter.com/rtajF0zy5q
On green energy, the U.S. president slammed wind turbines as “horrible things” that “kill the beauty of our scenery,” and pledged that none would be built during his administration. “They’re made in China. The whole thing is a con job,” he said.
German police have raided Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Petr Bystron’s property for the 22nd time, using the pretext of his connection to the defunct Voice of Europe website, which was run by a man exiled from Ukraine.
The house raid came while Bystron was in Washington, D.C., meeting with Trump officials, including congressmen and allies of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
On early Tuesday morning, German police searched an older warehouse where Bystron conducted business a decade ago.
“This is targeted terror against the opposition,” Bystron said in a press release. “There is no other way to classify the absurd behavior of the authorities.”
Bystron was the target of Czech intelligence services last year, who decided to release a variety of allegations surrounding their investigation at a rather opportune time—right before EU parliamentary elections. The raid against Voice of Europe (VoE) and the accusations against Bystron, which Remix News covered, were widely seen as damaging the AfD’s reputation before voters headed to the polls.
Notably, Czech intelligence claimed to have voice recordings that revealed Bystron was involved with a scheme to provide politicians with money in exchange for conducting interviews with the outlet VoE.
The Czech authorities have never made the recording of Bystron public despite demands from the AfD to release it. Nobody has ever been charged to date in connection with the allegations, including Bystron himself. Bystron, however, was the only name released in connection with the case, although authorities claimed that six European politicians received money from VoE.
The raid against Bystron may be seen as especially provocative, as it was conducted at a time when Bystron was out of the country and meeting with Trump officials and congressmen. He is seen as the AfD party’s key bridge to American policymakers and is known for his connections to the Republican Party.
Bystron himself said that despite his properties being raided 21 times, the police have not turned up any incriminating information against him.
He also said that the police have even raided his elderly mother’s room in her retirement home and took testimony from her, despite her having been officially declared by the court as a dementia patient.
“Every single one of these 22 searches was illegal. Each one marks a step away from a democratic constitutional state and toward an authoritarian regime that seeks to silence dissent by any means necessary,” Bystron told the Gateway Pundit.
Notably, the house raid of Bystron also occurred on the same day that a top German court in Leipzig rejected a significant AfD appeal. The party was working to overturn its current designation as a “suspected extremist” party by the powerful domestic spy agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). With all appeals now exhausted, this means the BfV can conduct extraordinary surveillance on the AfD, including targeting members with wiretaps, reading their chats and emails, and using informants to infiltrate the party.
A number of prominent commentators on the German right have already highlighted the case on X, with Naomi Seibt stating: “They are spitting in the face of J.D. Vance.”
🚨 RUSSIA HOAX IN EUROPE – 22 HOUSE RAIDS‼️🇩🇪
“They are spitting in the face of J. D. Vance!”@PetrBystronAfD is the Trump administration’s favorite AfD MEP.
Other news outlets have also met the news of the incredible number of house searches targeting the AfD MEP with concern about Germany’s quickly evolving totalitarian methods for dealing with dissent.
“Anyone who expresses critical views on war preparations must apparently expect house searches,” said a reporter from AUF1 in a video post shared by Bystron himself.
AUF1 berichtet über die 22. Hausdurchsuchung bei Petr Bystron:
"Wer sich kritisch zu den Kriegsvorbereitungen äußert, muss offenbar mit Hausdurchsuchungen rechnen." pic.twitter.com/QJhpqp9VMy
Pressure has grown on the German government over the incredible growth of the AfD. In the latest Yougov poll, the party is tied for first place with the CDU, with 25 percent of the vote. The CDU lost 3.5 percent of the vote, while the AfD has jumped 4.2 points.
A Social Democrat (SPD) politician has resigned after admitting to drawing a swastika on a ballot next to an Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician’s name during a vote in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament.
SPD MP Daniel Born admitted to drawing the symbol and subsequently announced his resignation from the parliamentary presidium and parliamentary group.
Born said he “made a serious mistake” and it was done as a “knee-jerk reaction” during the voting process for the so-called Upper Rhine Council, according to a report from Tagesschau.
On Thursday, AfD politician Bernhard Eisenhut was one of two AfD MPs who stood for election as deputy parliamentary members for the Upper Rhine Council in Stuttgart, however, both AfD MPs failed to receive enough votes.
However, on one ballot marked “Yes,” there was a swastika written next to it.
In response, in the plenary session, State Parliament President Muhterem Aras of the Green party expressed shock.
“This is a criminal offense,” she said.
On Friday, Aras called on “the person responsible to resign from his or her mandate.” The State Parliament administration filed a criminal complaint against an unknown person with the State Parliament police station early Thursday evening.
It is illegal to draw a swastika in Germany, as it is deemed an unconstitutional symbol.
Born eventually admitted to drawing the symbol, but said it was not his intention to use the symbol against an AfD member.
“In a knee-jerk reaction, I wanted to show that votes for the AfD, no matter the election, are always votes for right-wing hate and incitement,” he said about the drawing.
Born said, “Being able to serve the state parliament as Deputy President was the greatest honor of my life.”
SPD parliamentary group leader Andreas Stoch said it was a serious mistake.
“For my parliamentary group and me, it is consistent and right that he resign from his position as Vice President of the State Parliament and has also announced his resignation from the parliamentary group,” she said.
The AfD is often portrayed as Nazis. In one carnival float, for instance, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel was portrayed as a witch holding a gingerbread swastika earlier this year. With defenders claiming such depictions are simply “satire,” many Germans on the right have now had their houses raided over similar “satire” directed at the left.
A fire broke out on Thursday afternoon at the Notre-Dame des Champs church in Paris, marking the second suspected arson incident at the site in just 48 hours. Authorities believe the blaze, which began around 4:50 p.m., was deliberately set.
According to police sources cited by Europe 1, one or more individuals entered the church, located on Boulevard du Montparnasse in the French capital’s 6th arrondissement, and vandalized a statue on a podium before setting nearby display panels on fire.
The suspects fled the scene before emergency services arrived.
Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, and no injuries were reported. Forensic experts were dispatched to carry out an investigation.
Reacting to the attack, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, issued a strongly worded statement accusing the French authorities of inaction in the face of what she described as a growing wave of violence against Christianity.
“These criminal acts are not isolated; they are part of a growing and increasing trend in violence targeting the Catholic religion,” Le Pen wrote on X.
“In 2023, nearly 1,000 anti-Christian acts were recorded in France. In 2024, the number of arson attacks and attempted arson attacks targeting churches increased by more than 30 percent. The laxity and indifference of public authorities must cease,” she added.
She further called for the perpetrators to be “punished with the utmost firmness” and offered her “full support to the faithful of Notre-Dame-des-Champs church.”
The church, which dates back to the late 19th century, has now been targeted twice in as many days, heightening concern over the vulnerability of religious buildings in the capital.
In May, a group of young men stormed the Montfavet church in Avignon, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and threatening to burn the church down — an act of intimidation that forced police to guard the building during Sunday morning Mass.
