Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government is showing more cracks, as the latest survey betrays just how many Poles are not happy with the government. Meanwhile, another survey indicates that only a PiS-Confederation alliance would have a majority in the Sejm.
According to a recent poll conducted by United Surveys for Wirtualna Polska, 29.8 percent of respondents would vote for the Civic Coalition (KO) in the Sejm elections, and 28.9 percent of respondents would vote for Law and Justice (PiS). The figures represent minor shifts of less than a half percent for both parties (down .2 for KO and up .4 for PiS) compared to the last survey, writes wPolityce.
Confederation came in third in the poll, with 13.9 percent of respondents supporting it, a drop of 0.8 percent in support versus the last poll. And fourth place went to the Left, with 7.3 percent of respondents voting (up 0.3 percent).
The only somewhat larger change was seen with Confederation of the Polish Crown, which garnered 6.2 percent support, an increase of 2.1 percent.
The remaining places were occupied by the following parties — none of which made the 5 percent threshold to enter parliament: Polish People’s Party – 3.9 percent (0.8 percent drop), Razem Party – 2.4 percent (0.2 percent increase) and Poland 2050 – 1.6 percent (0.4 percent drop).
Based on the above results, the Wirtualna Polska portal also revealed what the distribution of seats in the Sejm would be. The Civic Coalition would receive 174 seats, Law and Justice 168, the Confederation could count on 70 seats, the Left 27, and the Confederation of the Polish Crown 20.
This clearly indicates that the current ruling coalition has no chance of winning power, as the Civic Coalition and the Left would have a combined 201 seats. A potential coalition of Law and Justice (PiS) and Confederation (Konfederacja), on the other hand, would win the majority, with a combined 238 seats.
Meanwhile, after two years in power, PM Donald Tusk’s government, made up of the Civic Coalition (KO), the Polish People’s Party (PSL), Poland 2050, and the New Left, is not looking great.
According to an IBRIS poll for “Rzeczpospolita,” reported on by wPolityce, 65.4 percent of respondents admit that the ruling coalition is governing worse than they expected, and 27.7 percent of respondents said the current coalition is governing in line with their expectations. Another 3.3 percent said power is being exercised better than they expected, and 3.5 percent had no opinion.
The survey also shows that among the coalition’s own voters, 43 percent believe that it is doing worse than they expected.
Among voters of the parties that make up the current ruling coalition, the Civic Coalition’s voters rate it the highest (42 percent dissatisfied), while voters of the Third Way (83 percent dissatisfied) and the New Left (74 percent) rate the ruling coalition much lower.
“Only slightly more than half of KO voters (51 percent) believe that the current coalition ‘governs in line with my expectations,’ while voters of the New Left (21 percent) and the Third Way (11 percent) are much less satisfied,” writes “Rz”.
Among those who voted for Confederation and Law and Justice, 84 percent and 86 percent of respondents, respectively, believe that the current coalition is governing contrary to their expectations.
As Rzeczpospolita reports, 47 percent of voters for Rafał Trzaskowski (KO), the mayor of Warsaw, believe that the current government has failed to meet their expectations, while 48 percent disagree. Voters for Poland 2050’s Szymon Hołownia are more critical of the government, with 53 percent believing it has disappointed and 27 percent saying they are not disappointed.
“Of course, the current ruling coalition fares worst among the right-wing presidential candidates,” the portal added, with 84 percent of Karol Nawrocki’s voters saying the government is doing poorly, along with 63 percent of Sławomir Mentzen’s voters, and 100 percent of Grzegorz Braun’s voters.
“The voters of left-wing candidates Adrian Zandberg (92 percent) and Magdalena Biejat (70 percent) are also deeply disappointed,” it wrote.
An 18-year-old student from Maastricht was raped by three Syrian men last October, and one of the suspects also sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in the same city, Dutch prosecutors alleged during an initial court hearing on Tuesday.
The three men on trial are Ibrahim al I., 19, Ahmed al A.,24, and Mohamad A., 22, all of whom are described by the authorities as asylum seekers or refugees.
As reported by De Telegraaf newspaper, authorities believe one of the suspects may have gone on to commit another sex crime in Sittard just days after being sent away by police who failed to detain him when he voluntarily came forward as a suspect.
When police released images of the suspects in the initial rape, Ibrahim al I. reported himself to the authorities along with another man. However, according to his lawyer, the police sent him away. The prosecutor called that decision a mistake, noting that Ibrahim allegedly assaulted another person in Sittard. Despite this, investigators delayed making arrests until August.
Ibrahim has reportedly confessed to sexual acts with the 15-year-old girl but denies they were non-consensual or involved coercion, violence, or threats. According to prosecutors, the assault occurred on May 9 during a public event between two churches on Vrijthof Square, in the presence of several men. It remains unclear whether the same suspects were involved.
Three of the four Syrians captured on surveillance footage from the October incident are accused of being complicit in the rape, with prosecutors alleging the involvement of coercion, violence, or threats, which constitutes an aggravating circumstance.
50% van alle verdachten van seksuele misdrijven is allochtoon.
Alleen de PVV gooit dat criminele tuig het land uit en voert meteen een asielstop in.
The student victim encountered the group while trying to find her way home after a night out, having recently moved to Maastricht. The men offered to walk with her, but instead forced her into a building on Hoogbrugstraat, where she was allegedly raped.
According to prosecutors, the student testified about the role of only one suspect, Ahmed al A. Camera footage from the night shows the woman was heavily intoxicated, and prosecutors say there was no indication of consent.
Ahmed al A. and Mohamad A. each accused the other of raping the student, but authorities believe all three suspects took part. Ibrahim admitted to having oral sex with the student on the street, but claimed he was not involved in what happened inside. Mohamad confessed to having sex with the student but denied it was against her will, telling the court he “felt like it” when he saw Ahmed already having sex with her.
The court rejected requests from the lawyers of Mohamad A. and Ibrahim al I. for their release or suspension of pre-trial detention. Both men argued they needed to work to support families in Syria with seriously ill relatives, but the court dismissed the appeals. “It’s unfortunate that your brother is ill, but it hasn’t deterred you from possibly committing new crimes,” the court told Ibrahim.
The case comes amid the Dutch snap election campaign following the collapse of the previous government over asylum policy. The Party for Freedom (PVV), currently leading in polls, has called for the strictest asylum measures in Dutch history.
PVV leader Geert Wilders highlighted this particular case on social media, claiming that, in the Netherlands, “50 percent of all suspects of sexual crimes are of foreign descent.”
“Only the PVV will throw that criminal scum out of the country and immediately introduce an asylum freeze,” he added.
The PVV also advocates for the chemical castration of convicted sex offenders, including the measure in its election manifesto.
Wilders confirmed the policy in September when commenting on another case involving a Somali migrant accused of kidnapping and attempting to rape a 14-year-old girl.
In the German city of Ulm, the principal of a vocational school complains of soaring violence, female students being harassed, and fear among the teachers, with the story reaching a national audience.
The principal of the school, Lorenz Schulte, speaks of the “massive problem of violence” at the Ferdinand von Steinbeis School.
Schulte stated that five students had to be expelled in just the last two and a half weeks. Among these incidents were mass brawls, bite wounds, and students arranging to fight each other, according to a report from German media outlet Südwest Presse.
🇩🇪🔴 Yara was the last German in her classroom, and she ended up being bullied and stabbed.
Yara was only 6 but was "bullied and ostracized, and in the end even seriously injured."
Yara's father said that parent-teacher meetings required a translator.
On Sept. 25, a 17-year-old Syrian is said to have hit a 16-year-old Syrian, who then responded by biting the 17-year-old, according to a report
Schulte said one of the students involved had already been sent to him from another school, and that once in Schulte’s school, the student “didn’t even last a day.”
Three Syrians were also attacked with hammers and metal rods, with police speaking of a serious crime.
The case has even ended up as a topic of discussion in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament. Free Democrat (FDP) MP Dr. Timm Kern expressly praised the principal for his openness:
“The fact that the school opens up and talks about violence is courageous and deserves respect. We must not leave affected schools alone,“ he said.
The school is massive, featuring 2,200 students, many focused on learning valuable trades such as carpentry, construction, and nursing. However, Schulte said that since the start of the school year, insults and fights have increased, while teachers’ fears have grown simultaneously.
🇩🇪🔴 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
Women “harassed every day” for not wearing a headscarf
The rector pointed especially to the VABO classes as the biggest problem areas, with these classes focused on students with a migrant background who have almost no knowledge of the German language.
These classes are focused on integration and language learning, but Schulte notes that girls without headscarves are harassed every day in them.
It is not only students who are facing pressure, as he stated that teachers are also living in fear.
“My colleagues are afraid,” the principal told a school advisory board.
🇩🇪‼️ A 14-year-old schoolgirl was brutally beaten up by a Libyan and Syrian gang of girls, who were known for sharing Islamic State (IS) videos in a chat.
When the victim tried to help her sister, she was pulled to the ground, brutally kicked and taken to hospital.
“I am horrified by the recent outbreaks of violence at vocational schools in Ulm. What else has to happen before schools finally receive more support, especially for the integration of young refugees in the VABO classes? The calls for help from school management and our warnings have been ignored for over a year now. At BLV, we expressly support the courageous path of the school management of the Ferdinand von Steinbeis School to make the incidents a public issue. Students and teachers have the right to a conducive learning atmosphere in a safe environment,” said Speck.
If his case was an isolated incident, it may not be of much relevance, but there is currently a national conversation around the issue of mass immigration and violence in German schools. Now, politicians are once again chiming in about fixing the problem, but so far, year after year, the problems appear to be only growing worse.
Just three weeks ago, the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Ulm is located, released shocking 2024 figures on school violence. The data shows that 2,800 students became victims of crime. In addition, 157 teachers were insulted, injured or bullied – an increase of 158 percent.
🇩🇪🚨German classroom nightmare
Teachers mocked, lessons disrupted, and even physical assaults.
"I am no longer in control of the situation. I feel like a failure. The children here are just 12 years old."
Around 36 percent of the suspects are foreigners, 264 violent criminals came from Syria alone, followed by Afghans (72), Ukrainians (67), Iraqis (61) and Kosovars (51). Many other suspects likely have an immigration background, but they are not recorded in the data.
Overall, 40 percent of violent crime suspects in German schools are officially foreigners nationwide. There are now at least two knife attacks a day, on average.
In some schools, there are nearly no native German speakers left, with student populations featuring up to 98 percent or more with an immigration background.
The Bosnian press is full of stories of migrant gangs threatening the security of the region, specifically endangering local citizens.
One well-known gang, identified as an Afghan criminal network, is kidnapping migrants to extort money from their families, attacking and committing robberies in the border areas around Bihac, and perpetrating other crimes beyond the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a report from Magyar Nemzet states.
Although the overall number of migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina has decreased, the security situation remains problematic, says the portal.
The Lipa camp currently houses around 300 migrants, many of whom fear the so-called BVK gang. Muhamed, a migrant from the Syrian city of Raqqa, told the paper: “Some Libyan migrants trying to go to Italy complained that they were attacked, robbed and beaten by a group of Afghans.”
International organizations have confirmed such stories. Another incident involved a kidnapping near Velika Kladusa, with video footage showing a group that was kidnapped and beaten with a piece of wood. The perpetrators were demanding money.
According to migrants’ accounts, the BVK gang has been operating for at least two years and controls the routes through the forests of the Una-Sana canton. The gang’s members are mainly Afghans. Six Afghan citizens were charged in Bihac.
According to preliminary information from Aldijana Porzsenovics Kurtagics, spokesperson for the Una-Sana Canton Prosecutor’s Office, they were linked to the so-called BVK group, but without any actual proof that they are members of the gang, it cannot be officially stated that specific cases have been opened against the group.
The Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska has also registered a kidnapping attempt in June, when several Afghans attempted to kidnap a group of migrants transiting in Orahova, near Gradiska.
In fact, kidnapping has a long tradition in Afghanistan, including the kidnapping of children. The kidnappings are not necessarily, but have a deep history in the country, which are tied to the paying of ransoms. However, for those who do not pay, the ending can be gruesome. In addition, victims are often subjected to sexual abuse and even torture. Now, it appears these same tactics have spread to Europe, and this time, they are targeting migrants who face fewer legal protections and oversight.
“The Gradiska Police Department has determined that four individuals of Afghan origin committed the crime of extortion and unlawful deprivation of liberty against individuals of Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Indian origin,” confirmed Dejan Radics, deputy commander of the Gradiska gendarmerie unit.
Zsarko Laketa, director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Aliens Police Service, highlighted: “These people are dangerous and will use any means to force migrants to cooperate.”
Meanwhile, migrants are taking advantage of every opportunity to reach the European Union. One boat capsized on the Danube just recently, forcing Croatian police to pull five foreign citizens out of the river, the Vukovar-Szeremség Police Department stated.
According to police spokesman Dragoszlav Zsivkovics, the five people are suspected of illegally attempting to cross the Serbian and Croatian state borders.
While settlements across the south of Europe — from Italy and Spain to the Balkan Peninsula — have become migrant ghettos, with crime and shootings commonplace, the rest of Europe has in no way been spared.
Remix News has covered the issue of migrant criminal organizations across Europe, with increasingly worrisome statistics in Sweden, Germany, and France.
Knife crimes have been surging in Germany, with foreigners accounting for nearly 50 percent of incidents in the first half of 2025, despite making up just 15 percent of the population.
Sexual violence, harassment and rape have also increased dramatically on French public transport.
🇫🇷🚨 Sexual violence against women on French public transport has increased 86% since 2016, according to new data released today from the National Observatory on Violence against Women (Miprof)
Many of the migrants who have arrived in Europe in the least 10 years have arrived through the Balkan route, however, the Mediterranean remains the main alternative route.
Overall, migrant arrivals into the EU decreased 22 percent in the first nine months of 2025, as EU leaders implement more strict border controls, in large part due to the growth of right-wing parties across Europe. The popularity of these parties is fueled in large part by opposition to mass immigration.
Authorities in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region have ordered the forced evacuation of families from dozens of towns around the strategic city of Kupiansk, Ukraine’s railway and transportation hub in the Kharkiv Oblast.
A total of 40 towns near Kupiansk are being evacuated due to the approaching front and intensified Russian attacks in northeast Ukraine, reports Do Rzeczy.
In recent months, Russian forces have been pushing forward towards Kupiansk, and the city was completely destroyed after prolonged shelling.
Russian troops had captured Kupiansk in the early weeks of the war in 2022. Then, in September 2022, as part of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kharkiv Oblast, the city was recaptured and remained under the control of Ukrainian forces.
Kupiansk, however, remained close to the front line and was regularly shelled, and, according to some reports, the Russians have already broken through to the center of Kupiansk.
As Do Rzeczy reminds readers, in March 2022, Russian forces withdrew from the northern front following the failure of its campaign in the Kyiv region. Since then, despite fierce and brutal fighting, the front line has remained relatively unchanged in the southern and eastern directions.
A new study warns that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees living in Europe may never return home unless Ukraine regains its territory and secures Western security guarantees.
Just 3 percent of Ukrainian refugees in Europe would return to their home country in the most pessimistic post-war scenario, according to a major new working paper by Germany’s Ifo Institute. The study, based on surveys of 2,543 refugees across 30 European countries, found that territorial integrity and security guarantees are the most decisive factors in shaping return decisions — outweighing economic opportunities and even peace agreements.
The researchers presented refugees with a range of hypothetical post-war conditions, varying factors such as Ukraine’s territorial control, NATO membership, corruption levels, and economic recovery. They found that the difference between best- and worst-case outcomes is vast: Nearly half of refugees (46.5 percent) would return if Ukraine fully restored its 1991 borders, joined NATO, cut corruption and boosted incomes. On the other hand, just 2.7 percent would do so if Russia retained most occupied territories, no peace deal was signed, security guarantees were absent, and the economy worsened.
“Territorial integrity is the strongest driver of return intentions,” the authors write, noting that restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders raises the average probability of return by 10.8 percentage points compared to scenarios where Russia retains control. NATO membership increases return probability by a further 7.1 points, while cutting corruption boosts it by 3.2 points — roughly the same effect as a 20 percent rise in income or the prospect of EU accession.
The study also found significant demographic differences. Women showed higher overall return intentions than men and were more sensitive to economic and institutional improvements. Younger refugees, aged 18 to 34, placed more weight on job opportunities, income prospects, and potential EU membership, but their average return probability was just 26.3 percent — a worrying sign for Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction given its low birth rate.
“Credible security arrangements and the restoration of territorial integrity are prerequisites for large-scale voluntary return,” the authors note. Given that NATO membership and EU membership are currently off the table without unanimity among members — Hungary, for example, proving to be a stumbling block in both instances — the percentage of returnees in reality would likely be at the lower end of the scale, with Ukraine unlikely to achieve the conditions the Ifo Institute identifies as prerequisites for large-scale return.
The realistic return rate is far lower than previous surveys, such as one conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) last year, which revealed that 64 percent of Ukrainian refugees living in Poland, Germany, and Czechia, were satisfied with their new lives and intended to pursue citizenship in their respective host countries.
The longer the conflict drags on, the less likely Ukrainian refugees are to return home, as seen by a February 2023 survey from Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which revealed 34 percent of respondents would return immediately after the war without qualification.
According to Eurostat data, as of the end of August 2025, 4.37 million Ukrainian refugees were living in the European Union under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive — equivalent to 9.7 refugees per 1,000 people across the bloc. Poland and Germany host by far the largest numbers, with 1.21 million and 995,925 respectively, followed by the Czech Republic (385,855) and Italy (171,200).
Substantial Ukrainian populations are also present in Spain (244,165), France (129,350), and Romania (192,835).
At 34.4 per 1,000 persons, Czechia has taken in the most refugees per capita, followed by Poland (27.3) and Estonia (25.4).
During a speech in the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Trump said he wants peace with Iran and that the ball is in Tehran’s court to reach any agreement.
“The U.S. president’s desire for peace and dialogue is at odds with the United States’ hostile and criminal behavior towards the Iranian nation,” the Tehran Foreign Ministry said in a statement, quoted by the Do Rzeczy news portal.
“How can you attack residential areas and nuclear facilities in the country during political negotiations, kill over 1,000 people, including innocent women and children, and then demand peace and friendship?” the ministry asked.
In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, attacking nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas, killing more than 1,000 people.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks that killed dozens in Israel. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in effect since June 24.
The United States also attacked key nuclear facilities in Iran.
All in all, the 12-day war put immense strain on Washington’s relations with Tehran and talks on Iran’s nuclear program have stalled.
Quoting Trump’s speech in the Israeli parliament, Do Rzeczy noted that the American president had argued that “nothing would benefit the region more than if Iranian leaders renounced terrorists, stopped threatening their neighbors, stopped funding militants, and finally recognized Israel’s right to exist.”
In return, Tehran called Trump’s remarks “irresponsible and shameful.” It also accused the United States of being a “leading creator of terrorism” and supporting the “terrorist and genocidal Zionist regime.”
“The United States has no moral right to accuse others,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated.
Trump is now turning his full attention to achieving peace in Ukraine, which will require some tough negotiations with Moscow. However, he has also indicated that Iran will be the next stop on his peace train, which may make peace with Putin look like a picnic.
Arab powers were key to the Gaza peace deal, so it can be assumed they will be called on again to help negotiations with Tehran. Then again, Moscow and Tehran have been strategic allies over the years, especially against the West and NATO, so perhaps inking a deal with Putin will include getting him to help place this long-absent piece to the puzzle of peace in the Middle East.
Fayaz Husseini, who illegally entered the U.K. on a small boat under a false name, has been sentenced to five years in prison after threatening to shoot Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage in a TikTok video — despite years of criminal convictions and multiple deportation orders in Sweden that were never enforced.
Husseini, who called himself Fayaz Khan and “Mada Pasa” online, pointed to an AK-47 tattoo on his face and said he would “pop, pop, pop” the MP for Clacton in an October 2024 video. Husseini’s remarks were in response to a video Farage made that included the Afghan migrant, in which the politician bemoaned “young males of fighting age coming into our country, about whom we know very little.”
Husseini crossed the English Channel with 64 other migrants and livestreamed the journey to hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Authorities later established that the man, described as 26-year-old Fayaz Khan in British media, is likely 31-year-old Fayaz Husseini, who arrived in Sweden from Kabul in 2015. He had been rejected for asylum, ordered to be deported, and convicted of a string of offenses — including knife possession, threats, drug crimes, vandalism, and possession of counterfeit currency — but remained in the country for nearly a decade due to legal appeals and political decisions.
Speaking after the sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Farage called the outcome a “win” against a “violent criminal.”
“The only reason we know about this guy is because somebody sent it to me on TikTok,” he said. “It makes me wonder how many other mada pasas are there now in this country?”
The court heard that Husseini gave a false name “because he had enemies,” but prosecutors argued it was more likely he was hiding his criminal history in Sweden. He also claimed ignorance of U.K. immigration law, but prosecutors said his livestreamed Channel crossing was intended to “encourage others” to follow.
Farage described the video as “pretty chilling” during the trial, adding: “Given his proximity to guns and love of guns, I was genuinely worried.” In the TikTok clip, Husseini said: “Don’t talk about me more. Delete the video. I’m coming to England. I’m going to pop, pop, pop.”
The illegal migrant who threatened to kill me has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.
This violent criminal will be back on the streets in just 18 months time.
Husseini first arrived in Sweden in 2015 during the European migrant crisis and was rejected for asylum in 2017, with the Migration Court of Appeal upholding the decision in 2018. That same year, Sweden’s controversial “Upper Secondary School Act” — supported by the Social Democrats, Greens, Center Party, and Left Party — allowed around 10,000 Afghan migrants without asylum grounds to stay if they enrolled in education.
Husseini received a new residence permit under the law, but did not pursue studies and instead continued committing crimes.
As reported by the Samnytt news outlet, among his convictions was a 2019 incident aboard a train, where he threatened a female employee, saying he would urinate on her and “cut” her, while making throat-slitting gestures. Police boarding the train in Sundsvall found 61 counterfeit 500-krona banknotes. He was convicted of threatening an official, possessing counterfeit money, and drug offenses, and a court again ordered his deportation — which was never enforced.
Despite repeated rejections of new residence permit applications and final expulsion orders, Husseini remained in Sweden until at least 2024, when he traveled to the U.K. by small boat.
During sentencing, prosecutors highlighted his 17 previous convictions in Sweden and argued that he remained a danger. The Telegraph reported how Husseini shouted from the dock that he wanted to return to Afghanistan, accusing Farage of exploiting him “because you want to be prime minister.”
“I am not guilty, I want to fix my life. I want to go back to Afghanistan. I want to go back to my country, to see my family. I am not here because I want to kill him. I have a son,” he said.
“You want to fuck my life because you want to be prime minister, you want to put me in prison? You fuck my life.”
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi will create 500 new, high-value-added jobs in Budapest, according to an announcement from the company.
Those jobs come on top of the 1,700 jobs already in operation at Sanofi’s international service center in Budapest, writes István Joó, who serves as the government commissioner responsible for investment promotion in Hungary’s foreign ministry.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó lauded Sanofi’s decision to expand its Budapest center. He said the center will now play a significant role in clinical trials, automation, and data analysis, as well as financial, customer service, and human resources management issues.
Hungary’s foreign minister also said a number of international companies are expanding their service centers in Hungary, which is positive for job development.
“This is largely due to the fact that companies already operating in Hungary are also bringing their service functions here, building on the positive experience they have gained in manufacturing,” he said.
The Sanofi Budapest Hub provides services to the company’s subsidiaries globally in 14 languages and is a key player in the company’s AI-powered transformation, according to a report from Hungarian news outlet Mandiner.
According to a report from MTI, Szijjártó stated that over the past 10 years, the government has disbursed 20 billion forints (approximately €51 million) to support 116 such investments, which have created more than 22,000 new jobs.
These jobs tend to attract highly educated staff who tend to be well paid.
Sanofi is one of the most important players in the French economic presence in Hungary, representing a decisive weight with its industrial and research and development activities.
The Hungarian foreign minister also highlighted the strong connection between Hungary and France, noting that French companies form the fifth-largest investor community in Hungary. The Hungarian government has supported the investment of 60 French companies over the past 10 years, amounting to approximately 430 billion forints, which equates to €1.1 billion.
Following a historic Middle East peace deal and an end to the Gaza War, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is celebrating an end to the bloodshed and drawing a stark contrast between the attitude of America’s leader and European leaders.
The entire world turned its attention to Egypt on Monday, where the international community celebrated the historic peace agreement in Gaza. Following the summit, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on X that Trump set an example in terms of diplomacy that would serve EU leaders well to follow.
“The guns have fallen silent, the hostages are free, and long-awaited peace reigns in the Middle East. President (Donald Trump) has made it happen! Now it’s Europe’s turn. President Trump’s success proves that we must never give up on negotiations. Without talks, there’s no peace. It’s time for us Europeans to follow President Trump’s example!” wrote Orbán.
🕊️ The guns have fallen silent, the hostages are free, and long-awaited peace reigns in the Middle East. President @realDonaldTrump has made it happen!
Now it's Europe’s turn. President Trump’s success proves that we must never give up on negotiations. Without talks, there's no… pic.twitter.com/6ItOcDj3db
According to the Hungarian prime minister, the U.S. president’s success sends a message that peace negotiations are not a sprint, but a marathon.
“Failure in peace negotiations is not a reason to retreat, but to continue,” he wrote in another post.
Orbán’s statements came after Trump lavished praise on Hungary’s leader during the summit.
Trump slams EU leaders indirectly. They hate Viktor Orban because he defends Hungarian culture.
“We have Hungary. Where is Viktor? We love Viktor. You are fantastic. I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but I'm the only one that matters."pic.twitter.com/qMGcFyhCCt
In a Facebook post, Viktor Orbán further criticized the impatience and offensiveness of European politicians.
“This perseverance and steadfastness is what Europeans lack. If something doesn’t go the way they think, they get offended and withdraw. It can’t be done that way,” wrote Orbán..
According to the Hungarian leader, Trump’s example shows that consistent, repeated diplomacy can bring about a breakthrough even in the most difficult conflicts.
“It could be like President Trump is doing. You have to fight him again and again. Sooner or later, he will succeed,” Orbán wrote.
He then concluded his message with a firm appeal, writing: “Get to work, dear Europeans!”
A Syrian home care worker convicted of sexually assaulting a 67-year-old woman in Sweden told police during questioning that he “was horny,” newly released interrogation records have revealed.
The victim, who was dependent on home care services following a stroke, died just over two weeks after the attack.
Mahamad Almousa, 26, was sentenced earlier this month to one year in prison and ordered to be deported from Sweden for 10 years after the Vänersborg District Court found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault. The assault took place on April 3 last year when Almousa, working as a home care aide, attacked the woman in her own home.
The woman told investigators that Almousa pushed her onto the bed, groped her breasts beneath her clothing, and rubbed himself against her while “moaning.” “He rubbed himself, and I felt he was hard,” she said during questioning. “He lay there rubbing himself and moaning. He was hard, I felt that. I didn’t see it, but I felt it.”
In the newly disclosed interrogation records cited by the Samnytt news outlet, Almousa denied wrongdoing and claimed that the woman had hugged him, causing them both to end up on the bed. He admitted, however, that he was sexually aroused during the incident. “I was horny, but not for her. Not intentionally towards her,” he told police. Asked why he had felt aroused, he replied: “I felt horny because I felt that way.” He also admitted that he ejaculated, claiming it occurred later in his car. “In the car, I just felt horny. I put my hand on my crotch,” he said.
The victim described the assault as deeply humiliating and said she had suffered anxiety and depression as a result. “I feel mentally unwell, I cry and have had anxiety,” she told police. “You see how they look at me like a whore and a sex object,” referring to the migrant employees. She said she felt “worthless,” was relying on sleeping pills to cope, and felt that the attack had stained the memory of her long-time husband, whom she had recently lost.
The district court rejected Almousa’s version of events that she had dragged him on top of her, ruling that the woman’s poor health and limited physical strength made his account implausible. “In view of this and the other circumstances, Mahamad Almousa’s version of the incident can be disregarded,” the court wrote in its judgment.
Almousa was ordered to pay 152,000 kronor (€13,800) in damages to the woman’s estate and her son. The woman died on April 20, just over two weeks after the assault, while Almousa was in custody. The cause of death remains unclear.
Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch has called for a nationwide ban on burqas and niqabs in all public places, saying the country must “wake up from its naivety” about Islamism and act decisively to protect Swedish values and social cohesion.
The Christian Democrats (KD) leader told Aftonbladet that she wants legislation prohibiting the full-face coverings in streets, squares, shops, healthcare facilities, and other public settings — a step beyond previous local attempts to ban them in schools and public workplaces that were struck down under current law.
“You should be able to meet for real if you are on the street, if you are shopping in the square, or taking the children to the health center. Then I don’t want to meet someone who has covered their entire face,” Busch said.
She argued that the niqab and burqa are symbols of strict interpretations of Islam seen in totalitarian states, which she described as incompatible with Swedish society.
“Islam must adapt in Sweden. You can be a proud Swedish Muslim, Christian, Jew, or atheist, but there are fundamental Swedish values that must apply to us all,” she said.
Asked to clarify whether her proposal would amount to a ban on wearing the garments outside the home, Busch replied: “Yes, that’s it. We don’t want to see burqas and niqabs out in Swedish public. Then we can’t control, and shouldn’t control, what people do at home. But the burqa doesn’t belong in Sweden and we won’t pave the way for it.”
Busch said critics who accuse politicians of overreach by trying to regulate how people dress are guilty of “very naive liberalism” that has contributed to Sweden’s failed integration policies. She cited estimates that around a quarter of a million young people in Sweden live under conditions similar to honor oppression and said nearly 70,000 women in the country have undergone female genital mutilation.
“It has gone far too far already. It will take a long time to reverse this. Then we also need to keep the issue of niqab and burqa clearly on the agenda and ban it while we can,” she said.
“You are very welcome to be a Muslim in Sweden, but not in the way that Islam is practiced in Iran and Afghanistan. I don’t want to bring more totalitarian Islamists here. They are not welcome here in the future, and you have to adapt if you are already in the country,” Busch said.
Education and Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson, leader of the Liberal Party, expressed support for stronger action against religious oppression, including forced veiling, though she did not explicitly endorse Busch’s proposal.
“Burqa and niqab are oppressive garments that are based on the idea that women should not be visible in public space,” Mohamsson told the Swedish newspaper.
Sweden’s Christian Democrats will vote on Busch’s proposal at their national congress in mid-November.
Busch’s call moves the Swedish government closer to positions long advocated by the Sweden Democrats, who support the minority government through a confidence-and-supply agreement. Their leader, Jimmie Åkesson, has repeatedly called for more radical steps, including the demolition of mosques, to halt what he describes as the Islamization of Sweden.
Such views are increasingly reflected in mainstream political debate across Europe. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, leader of the largest party, PVV, has called for a ban on building new mosques, while Spain’s Vox party recently highlighted a doubling in the number of mosques over the last decade, describing it as evidence of a “suicidal migration policy” that must be reversed.
Across the continent, a number of countries have already adopted restrictions on face-covering garments in public spaces. France passed the first such national ban in 2010, followed by Belgium (2011), Austria (2017), Denmark (2018), and most recently Switzerland (2025). Others, including the Netherlands and Bulgaria, have enacted partial or local bans.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI) party announced plans to introduce a similar measure. “Religious freedom is sacred, but it must be exercised in the open, in full respect of our constitution and the principles of the Italian state,” said FdI MP Andrea Delmastro, one proposer of a new bill to address the issue.
Just like neighboring Germany, Poland’s beer industry is reeling, with slightly different factors at play in the Polish market contributing to the decline.
“The beer season that just ended was disappointing. Unfortunately, in the first half of the year, we saw a decline exceeding 6 percent,” said Bartłomiej Morzycki, director general of the Union of Brewing Industry Employers – Polish Breweries.
“The summer months brought no improvement, and in fact, deepened the decline. It was the weakest season for the brewing industry in a very long time,” Morzycki continued.
Among the causes, he noted “exceptionally unfavorable” weather
As well as “broader issues” with the alcohol market overall, namely, lower alcohol consumption, he told ISBnews, as cited by Do Rzeczy.
“For some time now, we’ve been observing a steady trend of reducing alcohol consumption among large groups of consumers. Some are giving up alcohol altogether, while others are limiting their consumption,” Morzycki told the portal.
The trend is not simply due to health concerns but also the cost of alcohol, which, in the face of rising prices and a slower economy, many now see as quite expensive.
“Paradoxically, salary statistics might suggest that purchasing power is increasing and that the average salary can buy more beer, but this remains purely theoretical. In practice, consumers are buying significantly less,” he emphasized.
“The summer season is behind us, so since the market didn’t recover then, it’s difficult to expect a significant change at the end of the year. This will likely be the deepest market decline, greater than in 2023, when we were struggling with the effects of high inflation,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, sales of non-alcoholic beer are growing at a double-digit rate, but this has done little to help offset the decline in sales of alcohol.
He noted that the biggest challenges facing the industry today remain the implementation of a deposit-refund system, which requires a significant investment and organizational effort, as well as the intensification of the debate surrounding alcohol policy.
“We still haven’t given up hope of saving the current deposit-refund systems for returnable bottles, which are effective and should never be incorporated into the system for disposable packaging. Under the new regulations, such bottles are no longer profitable. The system disrupts the current circulation chains for these bottles, and as a consequence, they may be forced out of the market because producers will have no incentive to use this type of packaging,” the director said.
Morzycki took aim at various proposals for higher taxes, which he says has created an atmosphere of “chaos” surrounding the alcoholic beverage market.
One proposal, he claims, even seeks to ban the advertising and sale of non-alcoholic beer.
He also noted the deposit refund scheme. Rising production costs, which have caused average beer prices to jump by about 45 percent over the past four years, have slowed somewhat. But the excise and deposit tax are still a problem. Morzycki estimates the excise tax will add some 20 groszy per can or bottle of beer, while the deposit will add an additional 50 groszy. The deposit tax can be refunded later, “but the customer will perceive the beer to be more expensive at the time of purchase. And this only applies to beer, as alcoholic beverages in disposable glassware are not covered by the deposit,” Morzycki concluded.
Given the current challenges and the risk of further ones, he says there is a high chance some breweries will not survive.
“Unfortunately, considering the above risks – and I’ve only mentioned some of the emerging ideas – even partial implementation could prove disastrous for a large portion of the beer market,” he told ISBnews.
“For example, when it comes to excise tax, if the government’s proposed increase is implemented, we’ll have a rate at the same level as Denmark. The beer excise tax in Poland is already significantly higher than in Germany or the Czech Republic, and we’re starting to see beer imported from those countries. This means consumption is occurring here, but taxes and jobs remain abroad. As a consequence of such a policy, the slow disappearance of breweries will be a reality,” the director stated.
A German citizen, of Albanian descent, destroyed three police vehicles with an iron bar and smashed up a bank window in the city of Arnsberg. Eventually, a police officer shot the rampaging man in the leg, but video of the incident has police coming under fire for their inaction.
The police report indicates a “40-year-old German citizen of Albanian descent had previously used an iron rod to cause significant damage to buildings and three police emergency vehicles.”
Officers arrived on scene at Clemens-August-Straße. The report notes that officers approached him and he responded by threatening them and approaching them with an iron bar.
As the video of the incident shows, the officers held back from using force for quite some time, and at one point, the suspect chases one officer around a vehicle with his iron rod.
A German man, of Albanian descent, destroyed 3 police vehicles with an iron bar and smashed up a bank window in the city Arnsberg.
German police are being criticized for not taking action sooner.
Eventually, one of the officers opened fire on the man, shooting him in the leg. So far, there is no video of this incident. The man was seriously injured, but his wound was not life-threatening. He is being treated in the hospital.
The exact reason behind the rampage still remains under investigation.
Users on social media noted that Arnsberg is where the official residence of the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is located.
Notably, in the German federal statistics, all crimes recorded for this individual will be recorded as a “German national” due to the fact that the man has German citizenship. As Remix News and many others have noted, this creates a highly distorted picture in terms of crime statistics.
At the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump, Trump noted those who have helped to promote peace in the Middle East and bring the hostage situation in Gaza to an end. These individuals were invited to stand behind Trump at the signing ceremony.
In mentioning Hungary, Trump then took time to praise Prime Minister Orbán for his leadership. Trump also pledged his full support for Fidesz ahead of the upcoming election.
“Viktor, we love Viktor. Where’s Viktor? You are fantastic, all right? I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I’m the only one that matters. You are fantastic. He’s a great leader. I endorsed the last election he had, and he won by 28 points. So, you’re gonna do even better this time. You have another election, and you’re gonna do great, and we appreciate it, and we’re behind you 100 percent.”
Posting the clip of the American president’s words, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó thanked Trump, adding, “Great to have the President of the United States as our ally.”
Hungary has long been targeted by left-liberal and even centrist forces from the EU and America looking to impose their agenda on the CEE state of 10 million people. Orbán has resisted calls to get on board with various campaigns, be it gender, Ukraine, open borders, or higher taxes.
And despite pressure direct from the Oval Office, pressure from previous Democrat administrations in the U.S. remains high. Just yesterday, Remix News reported on new efforts from former President Obama to paint Orbán as an autocrat and promote voices linked to the Soros network opposing him.
One of Orbán’s biggest causes has been to avoid war and seek peace, both in Ukraine and the Middle East. He thus posted on X to commemorate the occasion of the agreement on Gaza. “The guns have fallen silent, the hostages are free, and long-awaited peace reigns in the Middle East. President DonaldTrump has made it happen!”
“Now it’s Europe’s turn. President Trump’s success proves that we must never give up on negotiations. Without talks, there’s no peace. It’s time for us Europeans to follow President Trump’s example!”
Trump has said that peace with Russia is his next priority, after which he will also seek a deal with Iran.
Over two dozen countries were present for the ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh. EU member states included Hungary, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Greece, and Cyprus. From Europe, the U.K. and Norway were also present.
The peace agreement was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Sisi called the signing “a glimmer of hope that this agreement will close a painful chapter in human history and open the door to a new era of peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Earlier in the day, Trump spoke to the Israeli parliament, stating, “Now, at last, not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others. The long and painful nightmare is finally over.”
A prominent defense lawyer in Germany has sharply criticized prosecutors for failing to issue an arrest warrant after a brutal knife attack on a local mayor — carried out, according to investigators, by her own 17-year-old adopted daughter.
Despite evidence that the teenager tortured Social Democrat (SPD) mayor Iris Stalzer for hours, tried to set her on fire, and stabbed her 13 times, prosecutors are treating the case only as “bodily harm” rather than attempted murder.
“I wish every accused person fair treatment, but I can’t understand this,” defense attorney Adam Ahmed told Welt TV. “Why no arrest warrant was issued for attempted manslaughter or even attempted murder is beyond me.” He questioned the prosecutor’s reliance on the fact that the girl later called emergency services, which they argue shows a lack of intent to kill. “With at least 13 stab wounds, criminal lawyers speak of an intent to kill – if the crime had been completed, one could even speak of overkill,” Ahmed said. “If the emergency call was not voluntary but part of a deception, then there is no withdrawal exempt from punishment – and thus at least an attempted manslaughter.”
The attack on 57-year-old Stalzer in her home in Herdecke on Oct. 7 shocked Germany. Remix News previously reported how the mayor was held in the basement and subjected to hours of torture. The teenager allegedly tried to ignite her mother’s hair and clothes with deodorant spray and a lighter before stabbing her repeatedly with two kitchen knives. Police later found one of the knives and blood-stained clothing in the backpack of Stalzer’s 15-year-old adopted son, while a second knife was discovered in his bedroom.
Despite this, Senior Public Prosecutor Bernd Halldorn told reporters there were “no plans” to seek an arrest warrant. He said investigators believed the daughter did not intend to kill her mother because she had called emergency services after the assault. Both adopted children have since been released into the care of the youth welfare office.
The daughter initially told police that “several men” had attacked Stalzer, a claim now believed to have been fabricated to mislead investigators. Forensic teams also found that blood had been scrubbed from the scene.
Ahmed argued that the prosecutor’s interpretation of the case overlooks evidence suggesting premeditation and deception. He pointed to a previous incident over the summer in which police were reportedly called after the daughter threatened Stalzer with a knife. “It could even be relevant for assessing the characteristics of a murder,” he said. “There’s a lot of evidence pointing to a planned crime. The emergency call doesn’t seem spontaneous, but rather well-thought-out.”
UPDATE: The German mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, is now conscious and can speak, according to reports.
German media outlets, including Focus, are reporting that her adopted 17-year-old daughter is said to be a focus of the investigation.
Halldorn’s handling of the investigation has fuelled further criticism. He admitted that the 15-year-old boy, in whose possession key evidence was found, has not even been formally questioned because he lacked legal representation. When asked if the boy had supported the stabbing, Halldorn called it a “good question” and said the facts were still being established.
Stalzer was airlifted to a hospital in Bochum with life-threatening injuries, including lung punctures and blunt force trauma to the skull. Police believe the attack began in the basement and that she dragged herself upstairs afterward.
Prosecutors continue to insist the daughter lacked intent to kill, but critics argue that the attempt to deceive police and clean the crime scene contradicts that view. Ahmed said the Ministry of Justice may ultimately have to intervene. “It’s incomprehensible to anyone that they’re only assuming grievous bodily harm,” he said. “In my view, a directive from the ministry would be appropriate to reassess the case.”
Remix News also checked the facts of the case with major AI programs, including Gemini. They all showed that given the reported facts in this case, the daughter’s “withdrawal” would not be relevant in light of the fact that she took various actions that show she did not truly act with remorse and work to save her mother’s life.
In addition, defense attorney Adam Ahmad is not the only one questioning this case. Remix News reported over the weekend on other defense attorneys who note the withdrawal of the attempted murder charge does not make sense in light of the facts in this case.
“The decisive factor is the perpetrator’s perception when aborting the crime. The perpetrator must therefore be subjectively aware that if he stops now, his actions will not lead to the victim’s death. I consider this extremely dubious in this case, given the blatant use of violence. Furthermore, the perpetrator is said to have covered up evidence and led the police on a false trail,” stated well-known defense attorney Hans Reinhard.
German police are on the hunt for a 37-year-old Somali man with “bad teeth” after he nearly murdered a 37-year-old acquaintance of his.
The suspect, Yaasin Abdilaahi Mahamed, is described as “dangerous,” with police accusing him of stabbing a victim several times on Oct. 10 inside an apartment in the town of Bad Salzuflen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The police indicated that the two men knew each other.
The stab wounds were so severe that by the time rescue workers arrived, the victim was nearly dead.
However, medical workers were able to save the man’s life, according to a report from Bild.
Yaasin Abdilaahi Mahamed fled the apartment after the stabbing and remains on the run. A homicide squad is currently on a manhunt for the suspect and have released the suspect’s image along with a detailed description.
Police are warning Germans not to approach Mahamed. They describe him as dark skinned, with curly hair, brown eyes, 30 to 40 years old, and a strong physique. Police also point out the “very poor condition of his incisors” as well as the fact that he speaks in broken German.
On Dec. 14, 2024, 51-year-old suspect Mohammed A.K. got into an argument with a 29-year-old man in his asylum center in Halstendbek in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Both men drew knives, with Mohammed A.K. killed the man. He was slated for deportation but then disappeared from his refugee accommodation.
In fact, there are at least 3,657 Somalis in Germany who are required to leave the country, as of 2024.
🇩🇪 Violent crime in Germany hit a record high in 2024, and now more and more Germans are afraid to leave their homes.
🔺55% believe the police have lost control of public spaces 🔺38% fear falling victim to crime in public spaces versus 28% in 2018 🔺Only 39% believe the police… pic.twitter.com/4sW5uiCPJA
There is a lie being told that millions of migrants are needed to revitalize Western economies, but one simple meme is enough to dispel this entire claim. The meme shows that there are fewer foreign nationals residing in all of China than in just one German city, Berlin.
All of China has less foreigners than the city Berlin.
In contrast, Berlin alone, just one city in Germany, has over 1 million foreigners living in it. That does not even count all the people with German citizenship with a foreign background. One estimate put the share of people with an immigration background at 39.4 percent of the Berlin population, which would put the number close to 1.8 million in total.
The disconnect from reality is so extreme that the “open borders” ideology is clearly becoming more of a religious mantra than anything grounded in facts and data.
Germany is just one Western nation, but its rapid and ongoing decline tells the story of much of the West. German NGOs, left-wing activists, mainstream journalists, and various left-liberal parties and free marketers are looking on as Asian countries leapfrog German industry and make a laughing stock of its economy, all while eschewing mass migration entirely.
In fact, a large part of Asia’s strength is the fact that they have been highly restrictive when it comes to immigration. These Asian countries are not free of problems, but they feature safe cities, dominant manufacturing industries, and infrastructure projects that Germany and other European countries can now only dream of.
In China, and much of the rest of Asia, this is achieved with a native workforce, and even with falling birthrates, the native workforce is offering enormous benefits.
China, a green energy powerhouse
A recent Bloomberg article detailed how Western venture capitalists traveled to China to determine firsthand what threat — or opportunity — Chinese companies pose to the renewable and clean tech sectors.
This group of Western investors visited Chinese factories and told Bloomberg the shocking verdict, which is that Europeans and Americans are remarkably behind China in terms of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, battery technology, and hydrogen. In fact, so much so, that it is no longer even worth investing in Western startups focused in these areas.
Instead, these Western investors are choosing to work with, and invest in, Chinese firms. These same Chinese firms are entirely reliant on homegrown talent, and certainly are not importing millions of Indians, North Africans, and Middle Easterners to drive the amazing success they are seeing across nearly all industries.
One of the venture capitalists told Bloomberg: “it’s very clear that Western investors live in a bubble in their misconceptions about China.”
Bloomberg news further wrote that these venture capitalists “knew China had raced ahead in sectors like batteries and ‘everything around energy,’ but seeing how big the gap was firsthand left them wondering how European and North American competitors can even survive, says Talia Rafaeli, a former investment banker at both Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Plc who’s now a partner at Kompas VC.”
The media outlet continues, writing: “Planet A Ventures, a Berlin-based VC, has decided that investments in Western startups spanning battery manufacturing and recycling, electrolysers, solar and hardware for wind are no longer viable, says Nick de la Forge, general partner and co-founder of the firm. He says before the trip he’d suspected China was way ahead; but after going there, those sectors are now ‘strictly off the list.’”
Does China sound like a country that needs waves of foreign migrant labor to compete with the West?
Europe’s automobile industry is losing out
This reality is also playing out in Germany’s automobile sector, the crown jewel of the country.
Automobile production in Germany has declined dramatically over the past 10 years. In 2017, 5.7 million passenger cars were produced in Germany, while in 2024, this figure fell 29 percent to 4 million, according to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (Cologne Institute). The analysis is based on data from the International Automobile Manufacturers Association (IAM).
Meanwhile, China is extending its lead over the EU and Germany, producing 30 percent more cars during the same period. In 2024, China produced 27.48 million cars, compared to only 21.08 million in 2015.
Remarkably, Germany has taken in 6 million foreigners during this time period, from 2015 to 2024, with many of these foreigners expected to fuel the German automobile sector. During this same time, China kept its borders remarkably shut.
Countries that refused to accept migrants, such as China, which also faces a growing aging population just like Germany, were supposed to be the big losers. Now, German institutions are releasing white papers urging German firms to copy China’s innovation success.
Key takeaways from a report by ITIF show that “Chinese automakers produce 21 percent of the world’s passenger vehicles—a figure analysts estimate will reach 33 percent by 2030— and as of 2022, they produced 62 percent of the world’s EVs and 77 percent of EV batteries. From 2020 to 2023, China’s global EV exports increased by 851 percent, with the largest share of those exports (nearly 40 percent) going to Europe.”
Asian firms are strong AI leaders (with almost zero immigration)
When it comes to the biggest industry of the future, despite record immigration to Germany, there is not a single AI firm of note in the entire country, a fact that the country’s press continuously bemoans. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently stated that the “Chinese market is home to 50 percent of the world’s AI researchers.”
Even the U.S. lead in AI is now being questioned, with the BBC just writing last week about “how China is challenging Nvidia’s AI chip dominance.” Chinese firms are increasingly producing their own AI chips and tech.
Again, how is China doing this without diversity? How is it doing with a 92 percent Han Chinese population and nearly zero foreign immigration? The left should start asking itself some hard questions.
Meanwhile, neighboring Taiwan remains the world’s top producer of AI chips for companies like Nvidia and AMD. Taiwan, an economic powerhouse in its own right, also features a highly anti-migrant set of policies that are often compared to Japan. Despite a population that is made up entirely of various Asian groups of mostly Han Chinese, the government is considering making its policies even more extreme, including a clampdown on naturalization rights.
Foreigners make up only 3.8 percent of the Taiwanese population. Additionally, many of the foreigners are spouses from Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, which are not all that culturally dissimilar from Taiwan’s population.
In short, the immigration-restrictive countries of Asia seem to be leading the way in many areas of AI, manufacturing, green tech, and “cities of the future.”
Does Germany need more immigrants? It appears to be mass-firing its own workers
It is just a reality that the high-skilled industries that once fueled the German economy are not only faltering, but they are not even necessarily looking for new employees. Instead, they are shedding them at a rapid pace.
In the last 12 months, German firms have announced huge layoffs, including 35,000 at Volkswagen, 40,000 at Mercedes, 7,500 at Audi, 5,000 at Daimler Truck, 14,000 at ZF Group, and Bosch just announced 22,000 layoffs.
If anything, German firms are increasingly not hiring, in large part due to AI advances making new roles obsolete. A commentary from NIUS details this ongoing process.
“Because more and more companies in Germany are switching to automation and AI. This means that positions will be eliminated or vacant positions will simply no longer be filled — because AI takes over the jobs. At the same time, this is a ticking time bomb for the German social and pension system: more and more people are retiring, fewer and fewer people are paying into the system – because AI takes over the job but does not pay social security contributions,” writes Andreas Moring.
He warns that “while politicians continue to say that immigration is intended to solve the problems of the shortage of skilled workers in the labor market, German companies are heading in a completely different direction. They are using more and more artificial intelligence to automate work that humans previously did. To achieve this, massive job cuts are being made. And many more positions are not even filled or created. However, this is not an issue for the government of Merz and Klingbeil. It is a ticking time bomb for the German social system.”
While German firms are not developing much of the AI technology of the future, they are certainly using these tools to automate their workforces. In short, many of the immigrants arriving in Germany are not necessarily going to be needed.
Yet, left-wing parties and the CDU are still participating in this mirage, because it is core to their ideology.
“While all left-wing parties in Germany, but also the Union, are still telling the story that immigration is necessary because of demographic change, companies in Germany are switching work from people to AI. More and more companies in Germany understand that immigration is of practically no use to them in terms of the shortage of skilled workers and the need for personnel,” writes Moring.
This is not just the opinion of Moring, but even the position of what many consider the leading asset management firm in the world, BlackRock.
“You know, we always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth. But in my conversations with the leadership of these large developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking unemployment, excuse me, shrinking demographics. These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology. And if the promise, I didn’t say it’s going to happen, but as a promise of all that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries and the standard of living of individuals even with shrinking populations,” said Fink.
“And so the paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing. And the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations,” he added.
Certainly, many of the skilled positions of the past will be filled with robotics, automation, and AI, alleviating the need for more foreign immigrants to enter Europe. This is a reality that many politicians do not even want to discuss, let alone acknowledge, even in their own heads.
Engineering and Infrastructure
If the students of today are the economy of tomorrow, then the situation in Europe is set to become even worse.
China continues to outperform Germany in the PISA rankings and is now innovating more than Germany. It is also pursuing more and more daring engineering feats, even when a country like Germany, once renowned for its own engineering prowess, faces humiliation over projects like the Stuttgart 21 rail project. That project originally was supposed to be completed for €1.5 billion and has now ballooned to more than €11 billion, and is still not completed.
NEW: China officially opens the world’s tallest bridge, completing the project in under 4 years.
The bridge features a restaurant at the top, a whopping 2600 ft above the river.
The bridge not only cuts a 2-hour drive to 2 minutes, but also features as a theme park with a glass… pic.twitter.com/5lUA2XwjbV
Certainly, more Uber drivers and a race to the bottom on wages will not translate to a rosier economic outlook in Europe.
Even in areas like healthcare, where human labor is still needed in many areas, there were always alternative solutions to bringing in millions of people with vastly different cultures. A mandatory social year of work for young people in nursing homes, more AI and automated solutions (such as seen in Japan), and better pay could all massively improve the situation. In addition, tighter conditions for social benefits could still push many into these fields. In fact, these solutions are still on the table.
Reality does not matter
It is perhaps time for the West to rethink the entire basis for its open borders policies, but of course, there is a religious movement behind this belief. No amount of facts, figures, or statistics is going to dissuade these people. Not only is the left’s political power wrapped up in this belief, but diversity and mass immigration are core to their very identity and drive their feeling of moral superiority to anyone who questions it.
In many ways, the EU is looking to take the restrictive path of China, just not on immigration. That means a clampdown on democracy and increasing surveillance — all without even being able to complete a railway project on time. European countries with the highest levels of immigration are now seeing the social fabric tear at the seams, as seen in countries like Germany.
The EU and Berlin’s solution? Just cancel democracy altogether, all while claiming to protect democracy. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is challenging the tenets and ideological assumptions of the German ruling class to such an extent that their only solution is to ban the party.
The reality is they cannot fix the problems they created, and in Germany, they cannot bear the idea that the AfD and all of those “bad people” could ever be right. So, their solution is to censor, to ban, to ostracize, and so long as their world is protected — via private schools, upscale neighborhoods, and enough disposable income — they will fight for their ideology tooth and nail, even if their ideology costs them everything in the end.
Meanwhile, expect China to continue to move from strength to strength, as, despite its problems, it features an educated, dynamic, and cohesive society that Europe increasingly is unable to compete with.
Former President Barack Obama is “increasingly concerned about the rising wave of authoritarianism sweeping the globe.” He thus decided to post a video with three figures from Poland and Hungary “on the leading edge of confronting autocracy.” These “defenders of democracy” are all members of the Obama Foundation Scholars’ alumni network, he tells viewers.
So, who exactly were these “leaders”? Stefánia Kapronczay, former strategic director of the Society for Civil Liberties (TASZ or HCLU), Sándor Léderer, co-founder of K-Monitor, and Zuzana Rudzinska-Bluszcz, former Polish deputy minister of justice.
HIrado gave a rundown on some highlights, including that Stefánia Kapronczay’s former workplace, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ), and K-Monitor, founded by Sándor Léderer, are considered the leading organizations of the Soros network in Hungary.
K-Monitor has also been funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which serves as the financial foundation for American intelligence services. Magyar Nemzet wrote in an article this past summer that 90 percent of K-Monitor’s revenues came from foreign sources in 2024, notes Hirado, with some HUF 17.7 million ($52,000) coming from NED.
NED, known to work hand in hand with the CIA, was at the center of the foreign campaign financing scandal of Hungary’s united opposition ahead of the 2022 election.
Other foreign money for K-Monitor came from the Dutch Human Rights Fund (HUF 6.4 million), notably run by the Dutch state, and forints from the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program, or CERV (HUF 11.7 million).
Stefánia Kapronczay, who has just resigned from HCLU, was an Obama Scholar at Columbia University. She posted on LinkedIn just two days ago that her stint at Columbia has now also come to an end, and she’ll be posting “soon” about what she she is doing next. I think it’s fair to bet this will be funded by Obama and have something to do with “defeating authoritarianism” in Hungary.
As to Rudzinska-Bluszcz, who resigned this past August, she worked under Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who, together with PM Donald Tusk, sought to purge some 3,500 judges appointed under the previous Conservative (PiS) government.
As Remix News reported at the time, Ordo Iuris wrote that Poland’s legal profession sent a letter to the government stating in no uncertain terms that their act was unconstitutional.
“The assumptions behind this act, which was presented on Sept. 6, 2024, by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar, constitute an unacceptable attack by the executive branch on the independence of the judiciary as well as the independence of judges in the Republic of Poland.”
Upon her resignation, Rudzinska-Bluszcz lauded both Bodnar and their actions taken: “I am extremely grateful to Adam Bodnar for his trust, for working together, and above all, for the values that were the basis of every action taken by the ministry.”
Hungary has long been the target of foreign campaigns, many US-based, to try to oust PM Viktor Orbán and facilitate a more liberal, leftist-friendly regime. Two prominent names include the “independent” Action for Democracy, nevertheless chock full of leading Democrat figures or sympathizers from America (including a former ambassador to Budapest under Obama), and the very much D.C.-funded USAID.
Trump has certainly put a thorn in the side of the Obama team’s “democracy agenda,” especially as he seeks to cut spending and turn the focus back on America. You can read all about USAID’s many activities, funded by U.S. taxpayers, here.
Juvenile crime among Syrian youths in Austria is rising at a dramatic pace, according to new figures released by the Ministry of the Interior.
In 2024 alone, authorities recorded around 1,000 reports against Syrian suspects aged 10 to 14 — a huge increase from just 25 such reports in 2015.
Overall, the number of criminal reports against minors in this age group has more than doubled in less than a decade, from about 5,160 in 2015 to over 12,000 last year, setting a new record, but Syrian nationals in particular are disproportionately represented.
Vienna is attempting to combat the rise. The Austrian government initially suspended family reunification rules for Syria from July to September 2025, and has sought to introduce an “integration barometer” to determine immigration quotas. It is also looking to mirror Germany’s weapon-free zones, which give police broader powers to conduct checks, despite Germany’s federal police union dismissing the measure as ineffective.
Austrian police will also introduce a mandatory educational course for first-time offenders, with fines of several thousand euros for those who fail to attend with their parents.
For repeat juvenile offenders, police, youth welfare services, schools, and the judiciary will be required by law to hold joint case conferences. The government also plans to establish secure, prison-like accommodation for the most troubled young offenders. “The Ministry of Justice is developing a legal basis for this,” the ministry said, as cited by Exxpress, adding that the goal is to provide young people with “a structured daily routine with clear consequences.”
The liberal party NEOS has surprisingly called for even tougher interventions. “Anyone who rapes or robs at 13 is old enough to face the consequences,” said NEOS parliamentary group leader Yannick Shetty, who demanded mandatory anti-violence camps for juvenile offenders. These programs, he said, should be court-ordered and strictly structured, “not feel-good workshops in a circle of armchairs.” Shetty warned that “the age at which children and adolescents become violent continues to decline.”
Recent cases in Austria have highlighted the growing problem of violent and sexual crimes committed by Syrian youths. Earlier this month, a 15-year-old Syrian living in Lower Austria was convicted of robbery, assault, and theft after shoving another teenager onto train tracks in Korneuburg on April 27. The victim narrowly escaped serious injury, suffering only cuts and bruises, but the attacker walked free from court despite the convictions.
In another high-profile case from January 2025, a 17-year-old Syrian was acquitted of raping a 12-year-old girl after the court ruled there was insufficient evidence that the schoolgirl had not consented, sparking outrage among the public and politicians alike. The defendant left €100 with the victim’s legal representative as a “gesture of goodwill” following the verdict.
Austria’s experience mirrors trends seen in neighboring Germany, where Syrians are also significantly overrepresented in crime statistics. A series of recent cases has drawn national attention, including the rape of a 19-year-old Czech tourist in Dresden by two 15-year-old Syrians, and a Syrian father in Cuxhaven allegedly ordering his son to kill his sister over “honor.”
Two express trains collided in eastern Slovakia on Monday morning, injuring dozens of people and leaving two in critical condition, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly after 10 a.m. near the village of Jablonov nad Turnou, where the railway line transitions from double to single track.
Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok told reporters that three people were trapped in the wreckage and confirmed there were no deaths reported so far. “Two people are in critical condition, 100 were slightly injured, and three others were stuck in the trains,” he said, adding that “according to initial information, no one died in the accident.”
Eštok said investigators believe the collision was caused by human error rather than a technical fault. “I don’t want to speculate about the causes at this point, but according to initial information, it is not a system error, but a human factor failure. It turns out that one of the locomotive drivers made a mistake and probably did not give way,” he told reporters, as cited by TASR.
🇸🇰 Two passenger trains collided head-on in eastern Slovakia this morning, resulting in dozens being injured.
The crash occurred at the entrance of a tunnel near the village of Jablonov nad Turňou.
Slovak police said around 80 passengers were on board the trains.
According to information from the Railpage.net portal, an express train heading from Zvolen passed a “Stop” signal prohibiting further travel. The driver was transported by helicopter from the Košice depot to the hospital.
The state rail operator ZSSK confirmed in a statement that “shortly after 10 a.m. today, express trains R 913 and R 914 GEMERAN collided near Rožňava, at the transition to a single-track line. The cause of the accident is under investigation. All emergency services are on site, and replacement bus transport has been arranged.”
Police said on Facebook that “in front of the tunnel near the village of Jablonov nad Turňou (district Rožňava), two opposite-going express cars collided with a large number of passengers.” They added that “all components of the Integrated Rescue System intervene on site. Passengers are gradually leaving the trains.” Later, police wrote: “According to preliminary information, there were approximately 80 passengers on the trains. According to information so far, no one was killed!”
Footage from the scene showed one of the trains remaining upright on the tracks after the impact, while the other was partially derailed and was left hanging from a cliff next to the line.
Dozens of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics, with six ground ambulances and two rescue helicopters, were deployed to the crash site and remain at the scene.
Both train drivers survived the crash, with one reportedly jumping from his train before the collision, according to Railpage.net.
A 14-year-old Syrian boy accused of committing around 200 crimes has been arrested in northern Germany after years of violent offenses that terrorized towns in Schleswig-Holstein.
Known to police as Mohamad H., the teenager was taken into custody on Thursday and brought before the district court in Husum on Friday, where a juvenile court judge issued an arrest warrant on three counts of grievous bodily harm.
Images of him arriving at court show him giving photographers the middle finger.
Authorities say the boy, who arrived in Germany with his family nine years ago, began committing crimes at the age of nine and became increasingly violent by 12. He is alleged to have carried out numerous assaults — some involving knives — attacked police officers, and committed multiple thefts in Husum, Bredstedt, Kiel, and on the island of Sylt.
As reported by Bild, the most recent incident occurred in late August, when Mohamad H. allegedly attacked a 52-year-old man with a knife in an underpass at Bredstedt train station, injuring the victim’s leg.
Police and paramedics responded quickly and transported the man to the hospital. Investigators soon identified the attacker, who lived nearby with his mother and three siblings.
The teenager is also believed to be part of the so-called “Heide Gang,” a group known for violence and intimidation around the Heide train station. Members of the gang have repeatedly assaulted other youths, robbed them, and issued threats in the area.
Because Mohamad H. turned 14 earlier this year — the age of criminal responsibility in Germany — authorities were finally able to act and detain him. He has been placed in pre-trial detention.
Syrians are the nationality that is attaining German citizenship faster than any other, according to naturalization data published in June, but arrivals from the Middle Eastern country are disproportionately represented in federal crime statistics.
Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Czech tourist was reportedly raped at Dresden’s main train station by two 15-year-old Syrians, who threatened the man with a knife before robbing and sexually assaulting him.
The same month, German federal prosecutors arrested a Syrian man in Berlin accused of committing torture, murder, and crimes against humanity as part of a pro-Assad militia during the Syrian civil war.
A naked refugee from Africa is continuously causing chaos in the small German town of Neuffen in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The man routinely strips naked and rampages through the town, with authorities “unable” to stop him for two years.
The town, like many German towns, is known as a tranquil place close to the city of Stuttgart. However, the town of 6,000 is no longer as tranquil as it used to be. The African refugee arrived from Africa two years ago, has a variety of mental issues, and easily loses his temper, according to Bild newspaper. Among his victims are children and the elderly.
On Thursday morning last week, the 36-year-old African once again stripped naked and rampaged through the town.
An eyewitness, Alexander S., said: “The man ran naked through the town, smashing cars, and banging on glass doors behind which shopkeepers and their customers had barricaded themselves.”
Another man, Ahmad H., apparently also with a migration background, told Bild: “My three-year-old daughter panicked and started crying. Other children on their way to school ran away screaming.”
Ahmad H. told the paper he saw the African man attack an elderly victim.
“The naked man pushed the man to the ground and hit him. I then armed myself with a street traffic sign and ran over,” said Ahmad.
Together with innkeeper Alexander S., they managed to free the victim and hold down the asylum seeker until the police arrived.
The African man has struck fear in residents for his past actions, including targeting the elderly and children.
Dirk F., who is a neighbor of the man, said: “He’s also been standing naked in front of my door. He harasses and threatens other people, and the police are called repeatedly.”
Ahmad H. added that the man targets children, which could prove foreboding for future encounters.
“The man pushes children away and tells them, ‘You can’t go to school today!”’ said Ahmad H.
Like many other cases across Germany involving criminal foreigners, some of whom have dozens of criminal acts on their record, authorities are showing that they are unable to effectively combat repeat migrant offenders.
Alexander S. asked why authorities have failed to take action against the man and worries that something tragic in the future may occur.
“Does someone have to be seriously injured or die before they take care of the man?”
Alexander S. said the man has even told him that he knows he has a mental illness.
There is now an open police investigation for the charge of assault; however, Reutlingen Police Spokesperson Christian Wörner did not respond to a request for comment regarding the man’s criminal record and a request for his nationality, although other police sources have indicated the man is from the African nation of Togo.
The man has reportedly been taken to a psychiatric hospital since the latest incident, but there are worries he could be quickly released again.
In fact, a police source from Neuffen said they expect the man to be released soon, which means the man could soon be back on the streets of the quaint town.
Recent reports highlight that some individuals, including those with criminal connections, have come to Ukraine to gain experience with drones, learning advanced tactics and hoping to take that knowledge back to their criminal bosses.
It has been well documented that many foreigners, including Latin Americans, have gone to fight in Ukraine. Some go for the paycheck, others for the cause — Ukrainian independence.
Some apparently were not prepared for all-out war. “There have been instances where, after facing intense combat, some Colombians decided to leave,” reads a CEPA article from October 2024.
That same article does note one Colombian who told CEPA “he has heard from home that the cartels in Colombia have already taken lessons from the war in Ukraine, and are using First Person View (FPV) drones to strike at the army and police.”
Rumors that Ukraine directly recruits mercenaries from drug cartels in Latin America have others crying disinformation, although they admit there have been “isolated cases.”
French outlet Intelligence Online, cited by a Russian website, The Insider, reported in July that Mexican intelligence had warned its Ukrainian counterpart that cartel members from Mexico and Colombia had signed up to serve in Ukraine to gain specialized drone training to take back home and use for “foreign criminal organizations.”
They also mention a Mexican and Colombian company by name, one of which popped up in Polish customs reports; both are linked to drug trafficking. Investigation into this report is supposedly ongoing.
As to such reports being disinformation, a website linked directly to the Russian military does not help dispel this claim. The content appears to be all AI-generated, complete with a byline photo for several articles that looks almost identical (middle-aged White man in dark suit) and with a similar vanilla American name (John Baker, William Moore, Fred Turner). The brief piece linked above from September pushes the line that Ukraine is actively recruiting from criminal groups.
Hector Bernal, a military instructor, poses for a photo in La Mesa, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Bernal, a retired combat medic who runs a center for tactical medicine outside Bogotá, says that in the last eight months he’s trained more than 20 Colombians who later went on to fight in Ukraine. He says that a professional soldier who has six years in the army doesn’t make more than $600 a month in Colombia, but in Ukrain,e the soldiers are being paid $3,000 to $4000 a month. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
“Former Colombian officer says Ukraine enlists mercenaries from cartels and guerrilla groups like FARC and ELN, seeking combat training to aid criminal networks,” the lead reads.
This line was parroted by a Bulgarian site, which went on to say that Colombian President Gustavo Petro had urgently called for a law banning mercenary activity, effectively joining the 1989 convention that prohibits and punishes the recruitment, use, financing, and training of mercenaries.
Petro did make such a proclamation. But it was in response to Colombian mercenaries serving in Sudan’s notorious RSF, with these Colombians reportedly even being involved with training child soldiers. Oddly, and somewhat embarrassingly for Colombia — and Petro — Colombia reportedly already knew about their citizens in the RSF and issued a formal apology to Sudan for their involvement back in December 2024.
Petro did just a few days ago call for Colombians to return home from Ukraine and to be allowed to do so in the wake of accusations that volunteers were being forced to sign contracts they did not understand (as they were in Ukrainian) and that they are being held against their will.
“They have practically kidnapped us. They are armed. They have taken photos of us for the police. They don’t want to let us go,” one soldier told Colombia Reports. These volunteer soldiers, which the portal calls “mercenaries,” are claiming to have suffered “the worst humiliation at the hands of the people we came to help.”
President Petro himself posted on X just last week about the situation: “Ukrainians treat Colombians as an inferior race. I ask the Colombian mercenaries, who are being handled like cannon fodder, led by companies guided from Miami, to return to the country immediately.”
Los ucranianos tratan a los Colombianos como raza inferior. pido a los Colombianos mercenarios,, que los están manejando como carne de cañón, llevados por empresas guiadas. desde Miami, que regresen de inmediato al país pic.twitter.com/gGlDnGMMy9
FRANCE 24 Observers team indicated in November 2024 that Ukraine was posting on social media, including in English and Spanish, to attract soldiers from abroad. It also relayed stories of missing Colombian soldiers and distraught families back home. According to their research at the time, 57 Colombians had been killed in Ukraine and 77 were missing at the time.
This site also notes that Colombia had “proposed legislation that would ban Colombian citizens from fighting in foreign wars” in August of 2024, whereas Petro only posted about it this past August.
This is unfortunate timing for Zelensky supporters over in Europe, given the EU–CELAC Summit in Colombia next month. Just a couple of days ago, Petro posted photos of his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, where they were all smiles and full of hope regarding future deals to be done.
Esperaremos al mundo europeo en Santa Marta. Espero que está inmensa reunión entre América Latina y Europa sea un encuentro de culturas y una alternativa de Nueva Alianza.
Energías limpias, conocimiento, turismo y fibra óptica.
Ukraine is actively recruiting, as proven by its military’s own recruitment site. But their pitch isn’t exactly “free drone training for narco bosses.” Instead, it attempts to inspire Latin Americans to see the Ukrainian cause as their own.
The site claims that thousands of Latin American volunteers have joined the war effort and proceeds to give stories of three Ukrainians “whose names are inscribed in the history of various Latin American countries.”
“Now heroic volunteers from various countries of South America have inscribed their names in the history of Ukraine and are writing a new, perhaps the most important, page in the history of Ukrainian-Latin American relations,” it reads.
This is a far cry from any direct recruitment from drug cartels. And it certainly does not scream any sort of active collaboration or deal between Ukraine and criminal organizations to help get them drone training or technology.
FILE – In this May 3, 2020, file photo, Venezuelan security forces guard the shore and a boat in which authorities claim a group of armed men landed in the port city of La Guaira, Venezuela, calling it an armed maritime incursion from neighboring Colombia. A judge in Colombia sentenced three Venezuelan men on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to six years in prison for helping organize the ill-conceived plot to remove President Nicolás Maduro involving former American Green Berets. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
Unfortunately, for those who do sign up, whether they are official mercenaries for drug lords or simply looking to join the cause, the risks don’t stop once they leave Ukraine — if they leave alive. In the summer of 2024, two Colombians on their way home from Ukraine were detained by Venezuela, where they had a layover. They were immediately sent to Moscow, highlighting Putin’s close alliance with Maduro, where they were charged by Russia for serving as mercenaries fighting against Russia.
According to TASS, both have pleaded guilty and face up to 15 years in prison..
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was met with a barrage of abuse from his own country’s football fans during a World Cup qualifying match in Kaunas on Saturday, as chants of “Jebać Tusk, jebać!” — a crude slogan meaning “F*** Tusk” — rang out around the stadium.
Tusk, attending the Poland-Lithuania Group G match alongside Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, became the target of banners, chants, and hostile imagery accusing him of betraying Polish interests and siding with Berlin and Brussels.
Supporters unfurled a banner declaring, “You are not, you have never been, and you will never be a fan of the Polish national team,” echoing similar messages displayed by Lechia Gdańsk ultras earlier this season.
🇵🇱❕ "Jebać Tusk, jebać!" ("F**k Tusk!")
Polish football fans had a message for Donald Tusk during tonight's World Cup Qualifier match in Lithuania, for which the Polish prime minister was in attendance. pic.twitter.com/Y17Lq3irDf
Another widely shared image showed Tusk with a Hitler-style mustache and a German flag painted on his forehead, symbolizing the belief among many Poles that his government is too subservient to Germany, and acted too authoritarian in its targeting of public broadcasters and legal proceedings against opposition figures early in his tenure.
12.10.2025, Lithuania🇱🇹 – Poland🇵🇱, Polish fans banner for Donald Tusk in Lithuania “You are not, were not, will not be a fan of the Polish national team”, click for more here: https://t.co/QD0boerRNr
The hostility escalated with the revival of a well-known chant from previous years: “Donald, you idiot, your government will be overthrown by hooligans.” Social media clips from the stands showed large sections of the Polish contingent repeatedly shouting the slogan.
Despite the abuse, Tusk remained seemingly undeterred. He was seen sitting alongside Ruginiene wearing a half-and-half Poland-Lithuania scarf and posted a selfie during the game with the caption: “There is a goal for Poland, but the Lithuanian prime minister is still smiling.”
Tusk’s social media post was heavily ratioed by Poles expressing their dissatisfaction with his administration and posting videos of the abuse.
On the pitch, Poland beat Lithuania 2-0 with goals from Sebastian Szymański in the first half and Robert Lewandowski, who sealed the win with a second-half header.
Since more details have emerged about the hours-long torture of SPD mayor-elect Iris Stalzer, in which the chief prosecutor himself said the adopted daughter appeared to be responsible, the case has become highly politicized. Now, the fact that the adopted daughter, 17-year-old Zoe, is not being arrested has sparked sharp controversy.
Using the German legal code, Spiegel is one of the outlets attempting to explain away why the girl was not charged with attempted murder. However, this analysis is coming into question. Not only are legal scholars questioning the lack of an attempted murder charge — and why there is no arrest at all — but every AI system tested clearly states that, given the reported facts of the case, the attempted murder charge should stand.
First, it is worth going through the details of the case again. For starters, Zoe reportedly already had a worrying history of domestic violence, including threatening her mom with a knife in the past, according to reports from multiple German newspapers, including Bild, Focus, Welt, and Spiegel. This is all despite her being taken in at an early age, 17 years ago, from the African country of Mali, which has seen unbelievable violence during its ongoing civil war. In other words, Stalzer may have saved her from a literal “hell” existence in Africa. The brother, Frantz, was adopted from Haiti when he was 5.
Bild also released a report two days ago detailing how, before the torture session, Stalzer went to the police station to state she was terrified of her daughter and felt her life was in danger, but the police reportedly did not help her.
In other words, this was not a one-time moment of insanity, but a long and ongoing issue the mother faced with her daughter.
Second, Stalzer was stabbed a total of 13 times, including in her lungs and stomach. Bild also noted that Stalzer was hit on her head with a blunt object, causing a skull fracture. The daughter allegedly did this out of “revenge.”
“At 12:05 p.m., the adopted daughter herself dialed the emergency number, claiming that her mother had been ambushed and seriously injured by several men. The mayor was found covered in blood in a living room armchair: 13 stab wounds in the upper body, with hematomas, and a skull fracture,” writes Bild.
Stalzer’s daughter also reportedly used a deodorant spray can with a lighter to set Stalzer’s hair and clothing on fire.
“The girl is said to have tried to use deodorant spray and a lighter to set her adoptive mother’s hair and clothes on fire. Then she tortured her for hours in the basement and finally stabbed her with two knives – out of ‘revenge’ because, unlike the family’s adopted son (15), she felt neglected and disadvantaged,” Bild further writes.
There are also reports from police sources that the daughter allegedly scrubbed a crime scene of numerous large blood stains. They were only later revealed by forensic investigators.
So, Bild and many other news outlets have established that Stalzer was subjected to incredible levels of torture. Numerous papers also note that Stalzer nearly died from her injuries. However, again, the public prosecutor so far has said the girl will not be arrested, and instead she was sent to a Youth Welfare Office. She has since been reportedly transferred to a psychiatric ward.
Spiegel’s opinion
Regarding Spiegel, the essential claim from the magazine — and this is also the claim the chief public prosecutor also uses — is that because the girl called the police at the last moment after a grueling torture session of her mother, this constitutes a “withdrawal from the attempt.” It therefore makes sense that she was not charged with attempted murder.
“The decisive factor is the perpetrator’s perception when aborting the crime. The perpetrator must therefore be subjectively aware that if he stops now, his actions will not lead to the victim’s death. I consider this extremely dubious in this case, given the blatant use of violence. Furthermore, the perpetrator is said to have covered up evidence and led the police on a false trail,” stated Reinhard.
Can someone really just torture someone else in Germany, wait until they are close to death, and then call the police and say: “Hey, sorry about the life-changing torture, my bad?”
“Naturally, such a crime raises the suspicion of homicide. Given the potentially particularly gruesome nature of the method, including numerous stab wounds to the upper body, at least one element of murder would likely be met. The victim, the mayor-elect of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer (SPD), survived. This leaves only attempted murder or attempted manslaughter as a possibility. When questioned, Stalzer implicated her adopted daughter and not her adopted son, who was also in the apartment.”
The magazine goes on, noting:
However, and this is where things get a little complicated, it was apparently the adopted daughter who called the emergency services when Stalzer lay seriously injured on the ground. In doing so, she apparently ensured that Stalzer did not succumb to her injuries.
In legal terms, she would have prevented the so-called success of the crime from occurring. When a perpetrator does this (or abandons the commission of the crime early on), it is referred to as a “withdrawal from the attempt.” This exempts from punishment, meaning that a punishment for this specific offense is ruled out. The same applies to manslaughter. This also applies to assault offenses.
Here is the essential point. What did the daughter do to actually save her mother’s life? After she called the police — and blamed a “group of men” for the torture session — what did she do? Did she work to save her mother’s life?
All reports indicate that she did not. Instead, she scrubbed the crime scene.
Does that sound like someone truly “remorseful” who is looking to “withdraw” from murder, or someone more interested in covering their tracks?
Spiegel argues the only charge she could be tried for is “dangerous bodily harm,” for which a somewhat lower penalty is imposed, but the daughter has not even been arrested on this charge yet.
At the very least, this “withdrawal,” based on what all sources are reporting, is so flimsy that only a trial can clarify the facts in this case. “Withdrawal from the attempt” should not apply when you are actively scrubbing a crime scene while your mother continues to bleed out.
It should not be the case that a human being can torture another human being for hours, but as long as they call the police and they are saved at the last moment, they avoid an attempted murder charge, especially if they are not truly working to save a life, but instead are working to mislead and obfuscate.
German law does not allow a “get-out-of-jail” free card here.
Spiegel even notes that the entire basis for the phone call to the police only came after the mother promised she would not reveal the daughter’s role in the torture. Another extremely dubious element of this entire case.
The case is now political
Notably, the right has been all over this case, claiming it is an example of “two-tier” justice. Many social media users are saying it is a symbol of “Europe” — the altruistic left-wing career woman, who becomes mayor for the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD), who takes in children from foreign countries to be a “good person,” only to have one of those children nearly torture her to death. Everyone on the right making such claims may be entirely wrong, but in the end, such comments should also be irrelevant to the facts of the case.
However, they are not “irrelevant.” Why? Now, the case is political, and questions are being asked about how this case is being handled.
Spiegel is very much in the “establishment” camp.
It could be running “fact checks” on this case in a pushback against the right.
Both sides are hardened in their positions on a range of issues, and nobody wants either side to score political points. No matter what, when a case becomes political, it can take on other dimensions that go beyond justice and the law.
Can AI give us an answer?
Beyond the issue of attempted murder, the girl has not even been charged — so far. AI is not omnipotent, but Remix News asked all the top AI programs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, and Gemini), about whether it would the fact that you called the police to save someone’s life would save you from being tried after torturing someone for hours, including whether it would constitute a “withdrawal of attempt.”
In fact, all the AI tools came to the same conclusion. All of them agreed that if the perpetrator really did scrub the crime scene while the mother was in the process of coming close to dying, then this would not constitute a “genuine” withdrawal of the act. Furthermore, even if the case was not an attempted murder, all tools agreed the suspect should face trial for various other serious charges.
Spiegel legal writers should think about running their article through an AI check before publication. This is not meant to be an insult. A Harvard Law School study has shown that top legal firms in the U.S. are increasingly turning to AI to solve tough legal problems and produce more accurate outcomes for clients. Again, AI is not the final say on all matters, but if AI tools all offer the same conclusion, then it is a factor legal writers should take into consideration.
Google’s Gemini actively contradicts the Spiegel article. Here is the text:
“That is a crucial distinction under German law. When the perpetrator is bleeding out and actively scrubbing the crime scene instead of rendering aid, it generally nullifies any claim of a valid “withdrawal from the attempt” (Rücktritt vom Versuch).
Requirements for a Valid Withdrawal
According to §24 of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB), a withdrawal from an attempted murder or manslaughter requires the perpetrator to either:
Give up the further commission of the crime (Unfinished Attempt): The perpetrator simply stops before believing the crime is irreversible.
Actively prevent the completion of the crime (Finished Attempt): If the perpetrator believes they have done everything necessary for the victim to die, they must then perform a voluntary and genuine counter-act that causes the prevention of the victim’s death.
In your scenario, since the victim is “bleeding out,” the attempt is likely considered finished. The perpetrator believes their actions (the torture and stabbing) will lead to death.
2. The Failure to Act (No Genuine Counter-Act)
For a withdrawal to be valid in a finished attempt, the counter-act must be genuine and aimed at saving the victim’s life.
Calling the police can be a valid counter-act if it is the decisive, life-saving measure.
However, if the perpetrator is concurrently scrubbing the crime scene, this action directly conflicts with the necessary genuine remorse and intent to save the victim. Cleaning up blood is an act of collusion/obstruction(Verdunkelung), which proves that the perpetrator’s primary motivation at that time was self-interest (avoiding punishment), not saving the life.
A withdrawal is an act of penitence that must show the perpetrator has truly turned away from their criminal goal. Actions that run parallel to an attempt to save the victim, but are intended to conceal the crime, severely undermine the required voluntariness and genuineness of the saving act.
The Spiegel authors also fail to note that hours-long torture can also produce serious psychological trauma, even if there is no lasting injury, and under German law, this can also fall under the more serious category of “grievous bodily harm.” It is also not entirely clear how Stalzer will recuperate from this incident, but either way, it could lead to lasting psychological impairment.
“German jurisprudence (court decisions) consistently recognizes that severe, lasting psychological trauma—such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), severe depressive disorders, or irreversible psychological changes resulting from the violence—can constitute such a ‘severe impairment of health,’ thus qualifying the crime as grievous bodily harm. This is especially true after an hours-long torture session. The impairment does not have to be physical to qualify as ‘serious.”
When in doubt regarding an incredibly rare and severe case of torture, attempted murder and “grievous bodily harm” seem more appropriate.
It is not worth copying and pasting all the AI tool responses, but Grok was also asked about whether the case would also be brought to trial, even if the “withdrawal” clause is in effect. Here is what Grok stated:
Yes, you would be arrested in Germany for such actions, as they constitute multiple serious criminal offenses under the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB), including dangerous bodily harm (§224 StGB), grievous bodily harm (§226 StGB), and potentially coercion (§240 StGB) or ill-treatment if the victim qualifies as defenseless (§225 StGB, which explicitly mentions “tortures” in this context).
These are public prosecution offenses for severe cases, meaning the state would pursue charges regardless of the victim’s wishes.
Bringing the victim nearly to death could also qualify as attempted manslaughter (§212 StGB) or murder (§211 StGB), depending on intent. While voluntarily abandoning an attempt and preventing completion (e.g., by calling emergency services) could exempt you from punishment specifically for the attempted offense under §24 StGB, the hours of prior torture would still be treated as completed acts of bodily harm, which are independently punishable with imprisonment ranging from months to 10+ years, depending on severity.
Rendering aid afterward might be considered as a mitigating factor during sentencing under principles like victim-offender mediation or restitution (§46a StGB), potentially reducing the penalty, but it does not prevent arrest, investigation, or conviction for the harm already inflicted.
A dangerous precedent?
Ultimately, this case could be setting a very dangerous precedent.
It is scary to think about, but if there is indeed no arrest and no trial, it could effectively mean another suspect, such as Zoe, can torture another human being for hours at a time, lie to investigators, scrub a crime scene, and then walk away without any arrest — so long as they call the police.
In fact, a person does not need to even show “remorse” and work to save the victim’s life. They can simply start working on scrubbing a crime scene while a tortured individual continues bleeding out.
Is this really the precedent Germany wants to set?
The reality is that what happened to Stalzer is one of the more shocking cases in the German Republic’s history. Has a politician in modern Germany ever been tortured in such a manner?
If a trial determines Zoe, the daughter, is innocent of all criminal offenses because she called the police while reportedly scrubbing a crime, then let the courts decide that. It would be a horrible precedent, but it would have at least been tried in a court of law.
Furthermore, if the daughter did not torture her mother, stab her 13 times, set her hair on fire, fracture her skull, and did not lie to investigators and scrub the crime scene — which is what every major newspaper in the country is reporting right now — then she deserves to clear her name in a court of law.
However, this level of torture cannot stand in a civilized nation if it did indeed happen as the media is reporting.
Regardless of how this case develops, Stalzer herself did not deserve what happened to her. She is not only a tragic figure, but a victim of torture, allegedly from her own adopted daughter. Her world is likely shattered.
This should never happen again. Trying the suspect in court is vital to ensuring deterrence and justice for the victim, as well as set an important precedent: Torture will not be accepted in Germany.
Residents of a municipal housing complex on Franklinstrasse, in Vienna’s 21st district, say their neighborhood is unrecognizable from what they remember, and have complained to the media about a migrant family with six children they accuse of terrorizing residents, threatening violence, and behaving as though they “own everything.”
“I’ve lived here for 55 years – but it’s never been like this,” 62-year-old Brigitte R. told Heute. “People used to greet each other, but now there’s fear.”
According to Brigitte, the family’s children repeatedly damage her car. “The kids climb on my wheel arch and hit it with iron bars. If it breaks, I have to pay,” she said. When she told them to stop, the children’s mother “screamed that I had attacked her children and threatened: ‘I’ll kill you, I’ll really kill you!’”
She added that residents are regularly insulted if they speak out, revealing she had been called a “shitty Austrian” and told to “move out if she didn’t like it.”
Brigitte filed a police report but says, “The police, [Vienna housing association] Wiener Wohnen, and [social housing support service] Wohnpartner — everyone knows, but nobody does anything.”
Other tenants say the situation has spiraled out of control. “They behave as if they own everything,” Pejman M., a 50-year-old musician, told the Austrian newspaper. “If you politely ask them to be quieter, you’re immediately insulted or threatened.”
Even the children, he said, speak to adults with contempt: “Look, the old man is back!” According to Pejman, “You can hardly breathe here without an argument breaking out.”
🇦🇹 An Afghan caregiver raped an 82-year-old woman with dementia in her own apartment in Vienna, according to Austrian prosecutors.
The victim's son was forced to helplessly watch the rape in real-time on his smartphone after he installed a surveillance camera in his mother's… pic.twitter.com/P41zm1iEHD
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) housing spokesperson Michael Niegl accused the authorities of “failing across the board here. When neighbors are threatened and insulted, we can no longer stand by and watch. The house rules apply to everyone. Anyone who constantly disrupts, threatens, or attacks must expect consequences – up to and including eviction. People need protection, not a hotline.”
Social housing services told the newspaper they were aware of “several complaints,” but admitted that “resolution was not possible” because complainants were afraid to come forward and make themselves public in order to mediate.
A Wiener Wohnen spokesperson said court-ordered evictions were only possible “if there is evidence of intolerable behavior and it is witnessed by multiple tenants.”
The Franklinstrasse tensions are part of a much larger story about Vienna’s decline under the strain of uncontrolled migration; the Austrian capital is increasingly defined by gang violence, cultural fragmentation, and collapsing public order.
“The only solution left to restore order is the deployment of the military,” warned FPÖ Vienna chairman Dominik Nepp in September 2024, calling for soldiers on the streets after a wave of violent clashes between Syrian and Chechen youth gangs and a daily average of 460 reported crimes — more than half involving suspects with migrant backgrounds.
“Just as the armed forces can protect embassies, they must also be able to protect ordinary people,” he said.
The city’s schools reflect the same pressures. Around 70 percent of children in Vienna do not speak German in daily life, and 39 percent are not Austrian citizens. One headmistress told Kronen Zeitung that 80 to 85 percent of her students have a migrant background, most of them from Syrian families who “don’t speak any German at all.”
Teachers report escalating violence, including mock executions in classrooms, parents demanding they wear burqas, and students attacking staff.
“The school is getting worse and worse,” said one principal.
Veteran educator Christian Klar has warned of “rapid Islamization” and rising anti-Semitism in schools, saying, “Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want.”
The breakdown of order is also visible on Vienna’s streets. A 43-year-old man was stabbed in the back in June 2025 after asking a group of Syrian and Iraqi teenagers to turn down their music on the subway. A month earlier, a man was beaten to death by a Pakistani attacker, who told police he acted out of “bloodlust.”
An Afghan caregiver raped an 82-year-old woman with dementia in her own apartment in Vienna, according to Austrian prosecutors.
The victim’s son was forced to helplessly watch the rape in real-time on his smartphone after he installed a surveillance camera in his mother’s apartment due to suspicions he had. The perpetrator, 26-year-old Sarafaz Z., confessed to the crime after his arrest on the same day of the incident.
The family says the mother is constantly talking about suicide and has lost her will to live. Her lawyer, Manfred Arbacher-Stöger, told the Krone newspaper, “My client’s psyche was completely destroyed by the atrocity committed against her. She has therefore suffered lasting psychological damage.”
The son informed the organization that sent the Afghan caregiver to the woman’s house. They turned around and said the Afghan can now sue the family.
“I was told quite harshly that my mother’s continued care would only be possible if I deactivated the cameras on her premises. And I was told that her tormentor actually had the right to sue me because I filmed him without permission,” he said.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are drawing up detailed plans to evacuate vast numbers of their citizens to the countries’ west in the event of a Russian invasion, with officials warning that Moscow could attempt to overrun all three Baltic states in less than a week.
Reuters reported that planning has accelerated since May, when the three countries agreed to coordinate civil protection efforts amid mounting concern over Russian aggression.
The Baltic governments have doubled their defense spending since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, citing repeated Russian cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and recent violations of Baltic airspace by Russian fighter jets and drones as signs of growing hostility.
“It is possible that we will see a massive army along the Baltic borders with the obvious goal of conquering all three countries within three days to a week,” said Renatas Požéla, head of Lithuania’s fire and rescue service, as cited by Denník N.
While a conventional invasion remains the most serious scenario, governments are also preparing for a range of other destabilizing events, from sabotage of transportation networks and mass migration waves to civil unrest among Russian-speaking minorities and disinformation campaigns designed to trigger panic.
Exercises are already taking place. A recent drill in Lithuania involved evacuating just 100 people from Vilnius, but Požéla said real plans envision moving around 400,000 residents — roughly half of those living within 40 kilometers of the Russian and Belarusian borders. Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city, has prepared to accommodate 300,000 people in schools, churches, universities, and a stadium. The city is located further west than the capital Vilnius, which lies close to the Belarusian border.
Those fleeing west by car would be diverted to secondary roads to keep main routes clear for mobilization, with maps showing where evacuees could seek refuge already having been distributed.
None of the Baltic states currently plan to relocate civilians beyond their borders, which would require military convoys to negotiate Poland’s Suwałki Gap, sandwiched between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. “We have to take into account the risk presented by the Suwałki Corridor,” said Estonian security expert Ivar Mai.
Estonia is preparing to move around 10 percent of its 1.4 million residents into temporary shelters, with many more expected to stay with relatives. In Narva, a city with a large Russian-speaking population, two-thirds of its 50,000 residents could be evacuated, with the government assisting at least half. “It’s only for those who have nowhere else to go,” Mai explained.
Latvia is preparing for even larger displacements. Around one-third of its 1.9 million citizens could be forced from their homes in the event of war, said Ivars Nakurts, deputy commander of the Latvian Fire and Rescue Service. “Count on everything,” he warned.
Incidents involving Russian incursions into EU airspace have been reported more frequently in recent months, including the drones reported in Poland and fighter jets entering Estonian territory last month.
However, Moscow insists it has no intention of invading any EU member state.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “Threats of force against Russia, accused of practically planning an attack on NATO and the European Union, are becoming increasingly common. President Putin has repeatedly debunked such provocations.
“Russia has never had and does not have such intentions, but any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response.”
The far-left extremist portal “Indymedia,” associated with Antifa, was used to target three politicians of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Hamburg, including the publishing of their home addresses and calls to take action against the “fascists.” The information was published both on the platform but also on stickers, which were put up all over the neighborhoods where the three politicians live.
As a result, a state investigation has been launched.
Two AfD city council members were targeted, as well as a district council member, with the stickers distributed in the neighborhoods of all three individuals. The stickers featured the address and photos of all three politicians, along with a message that read: “Attention, AfD fascists in your neighborhood.”
The same information was published on the Indymedia website, which is well-known for publishing manifestos and calls to action for Antifa terror groups. Recently, a left-wing group took responsibility on the platform for a series of attacks on Berlin’s electrical grid, which resulted in the longest-running blackout in Berlin’s history since the end of the Cold War.
Indymedia also published the message that the “three AfD politicians in Hamburg have been outed.” The message read that the AfD politicians had been “visited” in their neighborhoods. The post also included a message: “We greet all Antifa members in hiding and in prison! Lots of strength and love to the antifascist Maja! We stand together! Free ALL Antifas! Fight Fascism!”
Dirk Nockemann, the Hamburg AfD parliamentary group leader, condemned the action as “attempts at intimidation” and said they should be “condemned in the strongest possible terms.” Nockemann also called on left-wing parties in the Hamburg Parliament to condemn the terrorizing of political opponents.
“Antifa means terror. It is a left-wing terrorist and anti-democratic group that, like no other, stands for public denunciation and violence against dissidents,” wrote Nockermann. He criticized political leaders who have often associated themselves with Antifa. The previous interior minister, Nancy Faeser, even wrote for Antifa Magazine shortly before she was installed in her position.
AfD politicians have long been targeted in attacks, including arson attacks and assaults. Bernd Baumann, parliamentary director of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, spoke to WELT TV about his own experiences after being named by Antifa via “Indymedia.” Baumann described the constant threat, saying, “I’m constantly being attacked on my house. My wife is really scared.” To feel safe, he said he installed “steel doors and got a dog so his wife could sleep again.”
Baumann also recounted an incident where his tenant’s car was burned in front of his house. He detailed the immediate online claim of responsibility: “And the next morning, Antifa wrote on Indymedia that we had once again burned an expensive limousine in front of Bernd Baumann’s house.” The resulting damages and fear meant he “could no longer rent the house.”
Notably, the West has been plagued with a wave of extremist left-wing violence as of late, with numerous assassination attempts against Donald Trump, along with the recent murder of Charlie Kirk, which was allegedly committed by Antifa and trans activist Tyler Robinson. As a result, Antifa has been declared to be a domestic terror threat in the United States by Donald Trump.
Other European leaders have called for similar action against Antifa. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was nearly killed last year in an assassination attempt, is one of the European leaders attempting to highlight the risks coming from left-wing terrorists.
Speaking at the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) congress in Cluj-Napoca, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán applauded the work of the RMDSZ over the past 35 years and spoke openly of the vital importance of the ethnic Hungarian community in Romania in next year’s parliamentary election in Budapest.
“The RMDSZ is also 35 years old. God bless it! It has proven that it is not size, but determination that gives the weight of a community. The question is not how big the dog is, but how big the fight is in the dog,” Orbán said, thanking the party for its continued support.
“The RMDSZ is stability and common sense in Bucharest. The reliable partner in Budapest. The representative of Hungarian interests in Brussels.”
“That is why I tell you that the RMDSZ is not a minority organization, but a national strategic factor,” he said, as reported by Magyar Nemzet.
“We in Budapest see it as a common interest of Romania and Hungary to have stability in the Danube basin. The peoples living here should not trample each other, but cooperate. If our neighbors are strong and free, we will be stronger and freer,” he continued.
“That is why we are interested in Romania’s development, and we are also interested in the success of the prime minister and his government,” said Orbán, then turning to the 2026 election in Hungary.
“Next year, we will decide not only about the next Hungarian government, but also about the future of the nation, the freedom and sovereignty of our homeland. And in April 2026, the homeland will need the Hungarians of Transylvania,” Orbán told those gathered.
A major issue pertaining to Hungarian sovereignty has been the country’s energy security. Long criticized for relying solely on Russian oil coming through the Friendship pipeline, which crosses through Ukraine and has been continuously targeted by Zelensky, Hungary has been working to diversify to other routes.
Just last week, it signed its largest-ever contract for the purchase of LNG with the French company Engie. However, at the time, FM Szijjártó made clear that “diversification does not mean replacing existing, well-functioning supply relationships with others.”
This week, Szijjártó has announced that U.S. sanctions against Hungary’s Paks II nuclear power plant have been waived and the project is moving forward. Hungary cannot meet its electricity demand without this plant, according to a ministry statement cited by Vasarnap. It will also save the environment from some 17 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Hungary has also reached an agreement with the U.S. to exclusively use American technologies for small modular reactors (SMRs), which, according to Szijjártó, will eventually be a part of Hungary’s energy mix as well.
Comedian and actress Nawell Madani is under investigation for kicking 6-year-old Djulian in the chest earlier this week after the child attempted to take a photo with her. The young boy “simply wanted to take a photo with her,” the father told press, a claim supported by other witnesses at the scene.
A local resident filmed the attack as well. The boy was hospitalized at Necker Hospital.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has confirmed that an investigation against Madani has been opened for “violence against a child under 15.” Madani, currently touring her new show “Tout Court” and recently a judge for Miss France 2025, voluntarily went to the 8th arrondissement police station, according to Le Parisien.
Madani’s statement to police included that she “had been approached by children, had been afraid of being robbed, and had struck a child.”
“We’d just had dinner when we ran into Nabil, a local who knows us from social media,” says the father of four sons, aged 6 to 13, who together have a TikTok account boasting over 10,000 followers.
It was then that Madani walked past the group, and Nabil, a former extra on one of the actress’s films, greeted her. Djulian then asked his father if he could take a photo with her.
“I said yes,” confided Bebethan, accustomed to this type of request from his children. “They often take photos with influencers, at events, concerts, in the street… It’s always gone well,” he told Le Parisien.
However, Dawani was apparently in no mood for fan pics, and angrily warned the brothers to stay away when they ran over to her to get a photo.
“She got angry with us, then she said, ‘Stay back,’” he recalls. “The older ones stopped dead in their tracks,” Bebethan recalled. “But Djulian was already running, and since he didn’t hear, he kept running toward her.”
Djulian then saw a small dog in the comedian’s purse and immediately went to pet it. “He wanted to pet it, like any child would,” the father said. That was when Dawani turned violent.
“She turned around and gave him a huge kick in the chest,” Nabil said, still in shock. “The kid flew and crashed to the ground. While he was on the ground, I heard her say to the child, ‘Now you’re going to respect me,’” he said.
Six-year-old Djulian reportedly got up, crying, before running screaming into his father’s arms.
“Luckily, the father kept his cool,” Nabil emphasized. “I was so furious and I told her she had no business hitting a 6-year-old,” added Bebethan.
Nawell Madani allegedly took out her phone and filmed Nabil trying to confront her about what she had done, as shown in her video sent to Le Parisien, continuously yelling that the boys wanted to take her purse.
“I think she realized her mistake and started calling us names, accusing the children of trying to rob her and calling them thugs and scum,” Nabil told the portal.
After Djulian was taken to the hospital, Madani reportedly left the scene. “She went her own way without even worrying about Djulian’s condition,” Bebethan stated.
Luckily, the boy had no serious injuries. “Djulian was mainly in shock and suffering from the impact,” said his father, who later that night filed a complaint at the 17th arrondissement police station.
Djulian went back to the hospital for further tests the next day, as he “continued to complain of chest pain,” Bebethan added.
A 26-year-old Syrian man has been sentenced to one year in prison and a 10-year expulsion order after sexually assaulting a 67-year-old woman under his care in Vänersborg, Sweden. The victim died under unclear circumstances just weeks after the attack.
The assault occurred on the morning of April 3 last year, when the woman’s son received a phone call from his mother. All he could hear at first were screams. She then managed to tell him that a man from the home care service had sexually assaulted her.
As reported by Samnytt, the victim later identified the perpetrator as Mahamad Almousa, a 26-year-old Syrian national who had previously worked in the NU healthcare system and was then employed in home care in Vänersborg.
The woman told investigators that Almousa groped her breasts under her clothing, climbed on top of her in bed, and “squirmed and moaned” while she felt he had an erection. Although she told him to stop, she was too weak to push him away.
Almousa was arrested but denied wrongdoing, claiming he had only massaged the woman at her request and that she had taken his hand and placed it on her chest, later pulling him onto the bed. He even alleged that the elderly woman had assaulted him.
The Vänersborg District Court dismissed his account, citing the woman’s frail health and limited physical strength as clearly contradicting his version of events. “In view of this and the other circumstances, Mahamad Almousa’s version of the incident can be disregarded,” the court concluded.
Almousa was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to one year in prison and 10 years of exile from Sweden after serving his custodial sentence. He was also ordered to pay 152,000 kronor (€13,800) in damages. The compensation will go to the woman’s estate and her son, as she died on April 20, just over two weeks after the attack. Police had managed to interview her three times before her death.
The cause of death remains unclear, but Almousa was in custody at the time.
Almousa is still visible on the NU healthcare website from his time as an intern at a Swedish hospital six years ago. It includes a quote attributed to him that reads, “In the future, I want to become a nurse, but I haven’t decided in which field yet. Everything is interesting. Everyone is very kind and I have enjoyed myself very much here. I can definitely imagine coming back and working here.”
The case has become part of a broader European trend of sexual abuse against elderly women by migrant care workers, with several disturbing incidents reported in recent months.
In Austria, an 82-year-old woman with dementia was allegedly raped by her Afghan caregiver on Sept. 18. The woman’s son witnessed the attack in real time via cameras he had installed in her apartment out of concern for her safety. The suspect, 26-year-old Sarafaz Z., confessed while in custody, and the investigation is ongoing.
In Sweden, prosecutors are preparing charges against a 33-year-old Iraqi man accused of multiple sexual assaults and rapes of elderly women in Umeå. Detained in April, he is believed to have assaulted three women between February and March this year. “There are different plaintiffs for whom he has been remanded in custody for crimes against,” prosecutor Petra Hedberg said, adding that charges for serious sexual assault, serious rape, and sexual harassment are expected.
Another case in Sweden saw 28-year-old Somali national Baasim Yusuf sentenced to eight years in prison in January for a series of aggravated rapes and sexual assaults against women aged 77 to 88 in Uppsala, two of whom suffered from dementia or Alzheimer’s. Yusuf filmed some of his assaults, but he cannot be deported because he has Swedish citizenship.
And in France, 39-year-old Laury Jean-Baptiste was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2024 for attempting to rape a 102-year-old nursing home resident in Rouen. The victim managed to fight him off but died less than a month later.
An African refugee from the country of Mali is in police custody, accused of raping and brutally beating a 44-year-old Italian woman in the city of Sondrio. During the incredibly brutal rape, the man bit off the woman’s entire ear, according to police.
The woman remains in critical condition, with the suspect arrested just hours after the assault soaked in the woman’s blood.
The incident occurred yesterday, Oct. 6 into Oct. 7, while the woman was walking home. She was attacked by the man near a car park near the local train station. The man grabbed her, dragged her away, and then beat her with extreme force near via Morbegno and via Tronale. During the subsequent rape, the suspect is accused of biting the victim’s ear off.
A passerby noticed the woman laying in an unconscious state, covered in blood. Her face was severely battered and swollen, her entire body was covered in blood and deep lacerations, and her ear had been bitten off, according to local newspaper Sondrio Today.
The witness who helped the woman called the police at 11:30 p.m.
The woman’s body also had clear signs of sexual violence.
JUST IN: A 20-year-old Moroccan man has been arrested for sexual assault, robbery, and physical assault against an Italian cyclist on the bike path along the Panaro River in Italy's Modena.
Police say he dragged the woman to a secluded area, tied her hands and neck with a rope,… pic.twitter.com/FCEUGE9KV4
The woman was immediately transported to a hospital in Sondrio, where she was sedated and intubated.
On Tuesday, she woke up, but her condition did not allow her to be interrogated by investigators.
A large police manhunt was launched and the 24-year-old suspect was found just a few hours later not far from the site of the attack. The man was drenched in blood and reportedly intoxicated with alcohol and drugs. He also had the woman’s belonging, her identification card, and her bank card in his backpack.
He has been charged with rape, sexual assault, robbery, and bodily harm. The man was assigned a translator.
“What happened is from extreme gravity and brutality,” stated Attorney General Piero Basilone
The suspect was born in 2001, has the initials of KM, and is original from the African country of Mali. He currently resides as a refugee in the Valle di Colorina refugee reception center, which is run by an NGO that welcomes refugees.
The Italian public has been shocked by yet another rape case involving a foreigner. The local parties Brothers of Italy and the League, along with others, condemned the attack.
The mayor of Sondrio, Marco Scaramellini, also spoke about the incident in the context of mass immigration and public safety, including how local migrant reception centers are managed.
In 2024, it was reported that 11,141 Italian women had been raped by foreigners since 2018, underlining the massive increase in sexual violence seen across not only Italy, but also other Western countries, since a surge in foreigners.
The Bundestag has voted to abolish Germany’s controversial “turbo-naturalization” program, but the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has denounced the move as a cosmetic change that leaves the liberal citizenship reforms introduced by the previous left-wing government largely intact.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel warned that the reform is being falsely presented as a hardening of policy when the most significant parts of last year’s liberalization remain untouched.
“Merz’s new migration lie: The naturalization boost remains in effect and is running faster than ever. German passports are granted after just five years and immediately at birth, with dual citizenship the norm. Only the three-year option is eliminated. A migration turnaround? Only with the AfD!” Weidel said following the vote.
Neue Migrations-Lüge von Merz: Der Einbürgerungsturbo gilt weiter und läuft schneller denn je. Deutscher Pass schon nach 5 Jahren & sofort bei Geburt, Doppelpass als Regelfall. Lediglich die 3-Jahres-Option entfällt. Migrationswende? Nur mit der AfD!https://t.co/9EiuhdY38bpic.twitter.com/fpMFeQ0yjw
The new law, proposed by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU and passed on Thursday with 450 votes in favor, abolishes the accelerated path to citizenship introduced by the previous “traffic light” coalition, which allowed highly integrated foreigners to apply for German passports after just three years. From now on, naturalization will only be possible after a minimum of five years of residence.
Support for the bill came from the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition factions as well as the AfD, while 134 MPs from the Greens and the Left voted against, and two abstained. Dobrindt said the reform redefines citizenship as a reward for successful integration rather than an incentive for migration. “The German passport will be available as recognition for successful integration and not as an incentive for illegal migration,” he told parliament. “Naturalization is an important factor for cohesion in our country, but it should come at the end of an integration process, not at the beginning.”
The three-year provision was part of a wider overhaul of citizenship law passed last year by the SPD-Green-FDP government. While that element is now gone, most of the rest remains unchanged. The general residency requirement for naturalization has been cut from eight years to five and will stay at that level, while dual citizenship — long opposed by the CDU/CSU — is now broadly accepted.
SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Sonja Eichwede emphasized that the dual citizenship change “resolves a long-standing conflict” and said the loss of the three-year provision was not significant because “it was hardly used.”
As Tagesschau reported in July, just 573 people – barely over one percent of all new citizens – had qualified for citizenship in the city state of Berlin after three years, while in Bavaria the figure was just 78, or 0.14 percent. In Baden-Württemberg, there were only 16 such cases, and in most other states, fewer than ten, reinforcing Weidel’s claim that the reform will do next to nothing to stop naturalizations.
The Greens criticized the reform’s reversal, arguing it risks deterring much-needed foreign workers. MP Filiz Polat warned that scrapping accelerated naturalization “harms integration and harms the economy,” without explaining how.
The move comes as Germany experiences record-high naturalization numbers. According to data from 13 federal states published in June, 249,901 people acquired German citizenship in 2024 — more than the population of Chemnitz — with Syrians and Turks topping the list. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, 24,349 Syrians became German citizens.
Some regions are actively pushing to increase those figures. In Berlin, immigration officials are reportedly offered incentives such as remote work for processing as many naturalizations as possible, as the State Office for Immigration targets 40,000 new citizens in 2025. Internal documents obtained by Bild show staff are expected to complete eight naturalizations per week, with one employee describing “mounting pressure” to deliver: “We need to produce high naturalization numbers.”
The story of the Social Democrat (SPD) mayor from Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, has taken yet another incredible turn. New information now reveals that her 17-year-old adopted daughter reportedly tortured Stalzer for hours, nearly killing her own mother. Despite these details, the daughter still has not been arrested.
Stalzer has spoken to the police about what transpired during her ordeal, and now, the details have been leaked to Bild newspaper.
On Oct. 7, at 12:05 p.m., Stalzer’s daughter called emergency services saying her mother had been attacked by several men, was severely injured and was barely conscious.
A witness off the street found the politician bleeding in her armchair in the living room. Later, the adopted daughter told police that was also how she found her mother.
However, despite claims of “several men” torturing the mother, it turns out this was reportedly an orchestrated lie to cover up the horror that had occurred inside the house. Police have since learned that the mother was subjected to grueling torture for hours in the basement of the house.
The suspect attacked Stalzer with deodorant spray and a lighter, trying to set her hair and clothes on fire. The adopted daughter said she wanted revenge; however, it is still remains unclear what she wanted to take revenge for.
The adopted daughter also had two kitchen knives, which she used to stab and slice the politician’s body. Stazler faced critical injuries, including 13 stab wounds.
One of the bloody knives was also found in the 15-year-old adopted son’s backpack, along with bloody clothing from the daughter. The other knife was also found in his room.
Police investigators also found that large traces of blood were scrubbed from the scene, which were later revealed by the police forensics team.
UPDATE: The German mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, is now conscious and can speak, according to reports.
German media outlets, including Focus, are reporting that her adopted 17-year-old daughter is said to be a focus of the investigation.
Stalzer nearly lost her life and was transported to a hospital in Bochum via rescue helicopter.
Bild wrote that police sources believe the mother was sitting in her armchair for a long time, bleeding out, while the two alleged suspects cleaned the house of crime scene evidence.
Numerous German media outlets, including Spiegel, also reported that police were called to the house not so long before this latest attack during the summer. In that case, the daughter was accused of domestic violence and threatening the mother with a knife.
The case is not only unbelievable due to the details, but also due to the prosecutor’s response to the entire affair.
Instead of an attempted murder charge or charges for evidence tampering or even torture, which is also illegal in Germany, there is no arrest warrant being issued at all.
The prosecutor alleges that because the daughter called the police, it is clear that she did not want to commit murder. Instead, they are only investigating the case as “bodily harm.”
As Remix News detailed yesterday, this claim raises several doubts, including the fact that the daughter attempted to mislead police about who was responsible for the crime, as well as the fact that the two allegedly scrubbed the crime scene of blood traces. Those are clearly not the actions of actors who were attempting to save their mother’s life, but instead the actions of two suspects attempting to mislead investigators.
As Remix News reported yesterday, the public prosecutor in the case offered numerous excuses as to why the two teens are not being charged despite the severity of the crime.
Across X, commentators, influencers, and users are speculating about the case, pointing out the extreme double standard in modern Germany. Austrian right-wing political activist Martin Sellner wrote that Germans are being imprisoned for memes, while the daughter in this case will never appear before a court for her alleged heinous crimes. He wrote that it is clearly a case of “two-tier” justice.
Socialist major was tortured for hours with Knife and Fire by her African adoptive daughter. She barely survived.
Her only available pic is old. The devilish girl is now 17 – she did not have to go Prison.
The daughter and the son were transferred to the Youth Welfare Office instead of prison. When asked why the two suspects were not being transferred to the father, the prosecutor remarkably said that the father has also been the victim of violence by the daughter in the past. In other words, this is a pattern.
Is there a cover-up going on? Is the prosecutor trying to make the entire case go away? It remains unclear and speculation is running rife, but the details of the case are extraordinary, and the public prosecutor’s reaction to one of the most gruesome cases of attempted murder and torture in Germany is also perplexing.
Late last month, the Slovak parliament approved a constitutional amendment that has drawn ire — and possible legal action — from Brussels.
The new provision states that the interests of the Slovak nation take precedence over EU interests in cultural and ethical matters, officially recognizes only the two genders of male and female, restricts the right of same-sex couples to adopt children, and prohibits surrogacy.
As Remix News reported at the time, the text of the amendment states that the new rules are intended to protect “traditional values” and Slovakia’s “sovereignty in cultural and ethical matters.”
It also ensures that EU law cannot override issues related to such matters, as lawmakers effectively ignored warnings from Brussels not to follow through with the amendment.
Former Slovak President Ján Mazákhas charged that the European Commission has ample legal grounds to launch an infringement procedure under Article 258 of the EU Treaty, based on the current government’s constitutional amendment that gives it far more sovereignty over certain decisions, i.e., away from Brussels.
“If we had had such documents when negotiating our EU accession application, the EU would have slammed the door on us without a word,” he told press, as cited by Mandiner.
The European Commission has already expressed “regret” that the Slovak parliament has ignored its concerns about the primacy of EU law, a fundamental principle of the EU legal order. EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said of the amendments that the primacy of EU law “is not a basis for negotiation.”
Article 258 allows Brussels to initiate formal proceedings against a country that may be in breach of EU rules and require the member state to comply with the rules or impose sanctions.
Slovakia’s move is even more vexing to Brussels, as the European Commission just presented its new LGBTQ+ agenda: protect LGBTQ people against discrimination and violence; strengthen their social and economic situation; and enter into partnerships with member states, civil society organizations, and international partners to achieve these ends.
All of it raises concerns about significant overreach that potentially threatens freedom of speech in EU member states.
For example, the proposal underlines the need to support LGBTQ-inclusive schools and healthcare institutions, as well as standardize the legal regulation of hate crimes and online hate speech across the EU. It would also oblige all member states to recognize the rights of “rainbow families” and establish a memorial for the victims of “LGBTQ persecution” in Europe.
Three men were arrested Thursday in Antwerp on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack against Belgian politicians, with multiple media outlets reporting that Prime Minister Bart De Wever was the intended target.
The federal prosecutor’s office announced the arrests, which were part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.”
“Some elements indicate that the intention was to carry out a jihadist-inspired terrorist attack against political leaders,” federal prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a press conference in Brussels. “There are also indications that the suspects’ goal was to manufacture a drone to which an explosive charge would be attached.”
The suspects, born in 2001, 2002, and 2007, were detained following four searches carried out by the Federal Judicial Police in Antwerp. Two of them are being questioned by investigators and are expected to appear before an investigating judge on Friday, while the third was released.
During a search of one suspect’s home, police discovered an improvised explosive device that was not yet operational and a bag of metal balls. At another location, officers found a 3D printer believed to have been used to produce components for an attack. Prosecutors said the evidence pointed to a plan to deploy an explosive-laden drone against political targets.
In a statement, the police confirmed that several searches had been conducted by Antwerp Federal Judicial Police, including counter-terror and explosive detection dogs.
HLN reported that a family with four children lives in one of the properties, with the father indicating that his 17-year-old son is implicated and that a suspicious package was found in his home.
The Belgian justice system has not officially confirmed the identity of the intended target, but several Flemish media outlets, including RTL, named De Wever. His entourage later confirmed to AFP that the prime minister had indeed been the focus of the alleged plot. Belgian Defense Minister Théo Francken expressed “full support” for De Wever and his family on social media, while police reportedly searched a house just a few hundred meters from his Antwerp residence.
“Prime Minister, Bart, all our support for you and your family. Thanks to the security services. Never surrender,” Francken wrote.
Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden said the swift police operation may have prevented a major attack. “Today, an attack may have been thwarted. Thanks to the rapid and effective intervention of the federal prosecutor’s office and various federal police departments,” she said. “The threats may have been aimed at people holding public office. This affects the very foundations of our democracy. There is no place for intimidation and violence in our society.”
Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot called the revelations “deeply shocking,” saying it “highlights that we are facing a very real terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant.”
Authorities highlighted the growing threat to public officials in Belgium. In 2024, 101 people — including politicians, magistrates, police officers, and prison staff — were placed under protective custody after receiving threats linked to their duties. “They are increasingly being targeted,” Verlinden said, adding that security services “are keeping a close watch.”
Belgian authorities have released no further information as to the identity of the suspects, citing the ongoing investigation.
French analyst Marc Vanguard highlights a new explosion of migration in France in 2024 using data from the INSEE to showcase that country’s migration crisis shows no signs of slowing down. There are now a record 6 million foreigners living in the country, as demographic change accelerates.
“INSEE has just published the latest estimates of the foreign population in France. You’re not ready. Sit down before reading what follows. There are 6 million foreigners in France, an absolute RECORD,” writes Vanguard in an X thread.
👉 Autre record, en 2024, la hausse est de 406 000 étrangers en une année. Ça n'avait JAMAIS eu lieu.
👉Pour vous donner un ordre d'idée, c'est l'équivalent de la hausse cumulée de la population étrangère sur les années 2012, 2013 et 2014 ⬇️
‘We also saw a record increase of 280,000 foreigners in France in 2024, and we managed to reach 409,000 this year,” he added.
According to Vanguard, the country has gained 1.7 million inhabitants since 2017, including 1.3 million of foreign origin. In total, there are at least 6 million foreigners in the country, with a steep acceleration year after year.
👉 L'année dernière, on avait aussi connu une hausse record, de 280 000 étrangers en France.
🥇 Oui, vous avez bien lu, 280 000 était déjà un record et on a réussi à faire 400 000 cette année.
280 000, c'était déjà DEUX FOIS l'augmentation annuelle sous François Hollande ⬇️
The INSEE data he cites shows a rapid restructuring of the foreign population, 46 percent of whom are African compared to 35 percent European. Between 2019 and 2024, “Africans account for 59% of this increase, Europeans only 22%,” he writes.
For Vanguard, these figures reflect a profound migratory imbalance: “280,000 was already twice the annual increase under François Hollande.” In conclusion, he warns of a structural trend: a France that is growing more through immigration than through national birth rates.
Les données INSEE permettent de voir l'évolution du nombre d'étrangers par nationalité de 2019 à 2024.
👉 Les Africains contribuent à 59% de cette hausse, les Européens seulement 22% ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iUo1OV2Z2k
It is also worth noting that 115,000 foreigners were naturalized in France last year. Once these foreigners become French citizens, their foreign background is no longer tracked in the data.
In the past, higher numbers have been cited by other French figures, just never from INSEE. In fact, as Remix News reported in 2023, the mayor of the French city of Cannes, David Lisnard, said that France accepted 600,000 migrants the previous year during an appearance on Europe 1.
Part of the problem is that France has no official registry, which means organizations like INSEE are using projections and estimates based on research samples. As a result, researchers are trying to tease out the real numbers, in some cases even resorting to tracking the first names of children born in the country to ascertain demographic trends.
In fact, 74 percent of the French believe there are too many migrants in France, and 72 percent want a referendum on immigration, according to polling.
France also remains unable to deport many migrants, even those with criminal records, which in some cases has had tragic consequences, including the rape and murder last year of 12-year-old Lola by an Algerian migrant long scheduled for deportation. Data shows that only 0.2 percent of Algerians scheduled for deportation were actually deported in 2021.
Macron is now clinging to power despite horrendous polling and a general loss of power after a series of his prime ministers have been either kicked out of power or resigned.
“In our country, one person in four has a foreign grandparent. 40% of the population speaks at least two languages. We are destined to be a Creole nation, and so much the better! May the young generation be the great replacement for the old generation,” said Mélenchon.
He also went on to make a number of further statements, saying the new immigrants need “to heal France from the wounds of racism.”
Furthermore, he made inflammatory statements, calling for “torch-bearers” to bring about change, which has revolutionary undertones.
🇫🇷🚨 French far-left leader calls for the Great Replacement
Jean-Luc Mélenchon: “France is destined to be a Creole (mixed Black and French) nation and so much the better! Let the young generation do the replacement of the old… Each generation is a new people!" pic.twitter.com/uLgOMlMXs5
It is not just mass immigration, but millions of French citizens have a foreign background, and despite sometimes generations in the country, there are still stark integration challenges.
In 2024, 30 percent of births in France were to mothers with a non-EU background, with those from North Africa and the Middle East featuring nearly twice the birthrate of the French.
🇫🇷🔴Massive demographic changes happening in France.
70% of compound names in the top 10 for boys are of Arab-Muslim origin, according to L'Officiel des prénoms 2026. This category has seen huge growth for Arab-Muslims in recent years.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that she and two of her ministers have been charged with complicity in genocide in connection with Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.
During an interview with state television RAI, cited by Do Rzeczy, Meloni revealed that the same lawsuit sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) was also filed against Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and the executive director of the state-owned arms company Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani.
According to AFP, a Palestinian human rights organization is behind the complaint.
“I don’t think there’s another case like this in the world or in history,” the Italian prime minister said.
Meloni said she was “astonished” by the accusations of complicity in genocide because “anyone who knows the situation knows that Italy did not authorize new arms deliveries to Israel after October 7.”
Her right-wing government has recently distanced itself from the offensive in Gaza but has also stated that considering a Palestinian state at this time is “counterproductive.”
This morning, Meloni posted on X, thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for his successful first phase in bringing peace to Gaza.
“The agreement reached in Egypt for the implementation of the first phase of President @realDonaldTrump‘s Peace Plan is extraordinary news that paves the way for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces along agreed lines,” she wrote.
“Italy will continue to support the mediators’ efforts and is ready to contribute to the stabilization, reconstruction, and development of Gaza,” she also wrote.
Meanwhile, it was also reported yesterday that Meloni’s party, the Brothers of Italy, has proposed a law that would effectively ban the burqa and niqab in public spaces. The same people, touted as part of the battle to combat “Islamist & cultural separatism,” would force disclosure of funding for mosques, with any funds sent from abroad intercepted if deemed a “threat to Italian values.”
Twenty-three years ago, Imre Kertész won the Nobel Prize in Literature. And today, yet another Hungarian, László Krasznahorkai, has been named the recipient of the coveted prize.
Hungary boasts a long history of Nobel laureates, with the most recent before Krasznahorkai going to Katalin Karikó, who took home the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2023 (shared with Drew Weissman) for her work on mRNA vaccines to fight Covid, and Ferenc Kraus, who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with Pierre Agostini and Anne L’Huillier) for his work on attosecond light pulses.
László Krasznahorkai was born in Gyula in 1954. His father, György Krasznahorkai, was a lawyer, and his mother, Júlia Pálinkás, was a health insurance administrator. He attended primary school in Gyula between 1960 and 1968, and then the Latin department of Erkel Ferenc High School in Gyula between 1968 and 1972. He then studied law in Szeged andn in Budapest between 1974 and 1976. He earned a Hungarian-Folk Culture degree from the Faculty of Humanities at ELTE between 1977 and 1983,” reads a bio from Magyar Nemzet.
He worked as a documentarian at Gondolat Publishing House between 1977 and 1982, and since 1982 has been a freelance writer. His first novel, “Sátántangó” (“Satan’s Tango”), was published in 1985, in which he explored his vision of universal destruction. The book, which was highly acclaimed by critics, was followed by his first collection of short stories, “Kegyelmi vaszójok” (“Mercy’s Vassal”), in 1986.
He was first able to leave Kádár’s Hungary in 1987, spending a year in West Berlin as a guest of the DAAD. Since the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, he has been constantly changing his residences, almost constantly “on the road,” the portal writes. He often returns to Germany and Hungary, but he has spent and continues to spend longer and shorter periods in France, Spain, the United States, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, China and Japan.
Since his 1989 novel “The Melancholy of Resistance,” he has published a new book almost every year.
His artistic writings include a volume titled “Evening at Six: Some Free Exhibition-Opening Speeches,” published in 2001. In 2010, his book “Animal Inside” was published, inspired by a painting by the artist Max Neumann. His 2012 book, “He Neither Answers Nor Questions: Twenty-five Conversations on the Same Subject,” offers a selection of interviews he has given to Hungarian and foreign newspapers over the past 20 years.
His work, “Chasing Homer,” published in 2019, was illustrated by Max Neumann and came with a score accessible via QR codes by Miklós Szilveszter. His most recent work is the satirical novel “Zsömle odavan,” published in January last year.
His works have been acclaimed by critics from the United States to Japan. Susan Sontag called Krasznahorkai “the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse who inspires comparison with Gogol and Melville,” while WG Sebald wrote of him, “The universality of Krasznahorkai’s vision is akin to that of Gogol, who wrote Dead Souls, and dispels all our doubts about contemporary literature.”
An American critic (said to be Richard Powers) cited by MN stated: “Reading him is a bit like looking at people standing in a circle in a city square, seemingly warming their hands, and then, as you get closer, realizing that there is no fire and they have gathered around nothing.”
“While writing his novel War & War, he traveled extensively throughout Europe for several years. His greatest help in writing the work was Allen Ginsberg, in whose New York apartment he lived for a long time, and whose friendly advice greatly helped the book to come into being. In 1990, he spent his first extended period of time in East Asia, reporting on his experiences in Mongolia and China in his novels The Prisoner of Urga and Destruction and Sorrow Under the Sky. Since then, he has returned to China several times. In 1996, 2000, and 2005, he spent 6 months each in Kyoto, Japan,” MN writes.
His numerous prestigious domestic and international awards include the Attila József Prize in 1987, the Gyula Krúdy Prize in 1993, the Sándor Márai Prize in 1998, the Kossuth Prize in 2004, the Brücke Berlin Prize in 2010, the Prima Primissima Prize in 2012, the America Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2014, the Man Booker International Prize in 2015. In 2019, the English-language edition of his novel Báró Wenckheim hazatér won the U.S. National Book Award (works translated from a foreign language) in 2019, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 2021.
László Krasznahorkai became a member of the Digital Literature Academy in 2004 and of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts in 2010.
Bus services across the western suburbs of Paris were severely disrupted on Thursday after drivers from the Keolis Argenteuil Boucles de Seine network went on strike to protest a violent assault on one of their colleagues in Le Vésinet.
The 49-year-old driver was attacked late Wednesday afternoon by two passengers and left bleeding inside his vehicle before being taken to the hospital, according to Le Parisien.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. between the Vésinet–Le Pecq and Houilles–Carrières RER A stations. According to investigators, the confrontation began when the driver refused to make an unscheduled stop. The two passengers then attacked him before fleeing on foot through a nearby park. They were later arrested by police and taken into custody. Both suspects, aged 19 and 20, are residents of Val-d’Oise and were previously unknown to the authorities.
Further descriptions were not made public by the police.
Emergency services treated the driver, who sustained two deep head wounds. Keolis confirmed that he was released from the hospital the same evening and has since returned home. Following the assault, the driver exercised his legal right to withdraw from service — a decision quickly joined by other colleagues in solidarity.
On Thursday morning, multiple lines across the network were operating in “severely degraded mode” with some services completely suspended.
Keolis has filed a complaint and condemned the assault, reaffirming its “zero-tolerance policy for any aggression.” The company stated that “the safety of all passengers and staff, everywhere and at all times, is an absolute priority.” A reinforced security presence was deployed Wednesday night, and, from Oct. 13, transport police officers will patrol service routes throughout the night.
The incident comes amid rising concern over violence on public transport in France. Recent INSEE data indicate that foreigners committed 64 percent of violent robberies and assaults on Paris public transport in 2024, with North Africans accounting for 43 percent despite representing just 3.4 percent of the population. Nationwide, foreigners were implicated in 41 percent of such crimes.
Sexual violence has also sharply increased. According to the Ministry’s Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), 3,374 people were victims of sexual violence on public transport in 2024 — an 86 percent rise since 2016. Forty-four percent of these cases occurred in Île-de-France, and seven in ten women in the region report having experienced sexual harassment or assault.
Similar problems are being reported elsewhere in Europe. In Berlin, police recorded over 20,000 crimes on public transport between January and September 2024, a 36 percent increase on the previous year.
In Belgium, a 76-year-old man was killed in June in a knife attack aboard a De Lijn bus in Antwerp, leading to strikes by drivers demanding stronger protection.
After the election of Donald Trump, conservatives in Hungary were rejoicing, but nobody could have predicted the recent wave of subsequent wins: Nawrocki in Poland, Babis in Czechia, of course, we already have Fico in Slovakia, and now perhaps even Macron in France. In the words of Politico, “victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is now distinctly possible.”
On no.
In their article aptly titled “The EU’s worst nightmare has never looked so real,” a National Rally win would mean “a Euroskeptic, far-right figure might soon speak for France in the EU’s core institutions, adding to a growing chorus of populist, right-wing voices.”
“We are used to continuing to function with a lot of shocks,” boasted a European Commission official. Said “shocks” rightfully included war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns, but this official made sure to also include “a kind of light dictatorship in Budapest.” Because dealing with Orbán is allegedly on par with Russian aggression and a global epidemic…
But somehow, the EU has bravely functioned… so far. Because now, a win for Le Pen (her party) would destroy everything, so the ruling autocrats in Brussels maintain.
At stake are sanctions against Putin, support for Ukraine, NATO integrity and EU-wide defense policy, and—sacred to the EU—climate regulations and green energy. Oddly, the article fails to mention anything about illegal migration and the EU’s migrant quota scheme.
On the topic of Ukraine, peace seems far off. Zelensky has extended martial law and canceled elections this month, Moscow is threatening “consequences” for the use of U.S. Tomahawks, and former Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev was in North Korea, where he ominously stated: “The friends are together. The enemies are getting nervous,” reports Welt.
For many, a change in tack in Brussels couldn’t come soon enough.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Poland will not accept any attempt by EU institutions to impose migrant relocations within its borders.
In a letter sent to Brussels, Nawrocki stated that such actions would be unacceptable and urged the Commission to focus on securing the European Union’s external frontiers and combating illegal immigration.
“I would like to kindly inform you that Poland will not agree to any actions by European institutions that would be aimed at relocating illegal migrants in Poland, and I hope that you will take this fact into account in your actions,” the president wrote, honoring his electoral pledge to firmly reject the bloc’s Migration and Asylum Pact.
Nawrocki reminded von der Leyen that Poland’s eastern frontier has for years faced “constant migratory pressure, controlled by the Moscow regime with the help of the Belarusian state and intelligence services.” He noted that Warsaw has devoted “significant resources” to protecting the EU’s border and to supporting Ukrainian refugees displaced by Russia’s war.
“In 2025, there are still nearly a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland,” Nawrocki wrote. “After Feb. 24, 2022, the Polish state acted responsibly and accepted Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. We offered not only our own homes but also the state’s support that was needed at that time. Poland acted in solidarity, even though it was not bound by the obligation to show solidarity.”
Nawrocki said the bloc’s focus should not be on redistributing migrants within Europe but on stopping illegal crossings in the first place. “I agree that illegal migration is a problem that Europe must address, but the solution is not to forcibly return migrants to Central and Eastern European countries,” he wrote. “Our common task should be, above all, to seal borders and combat smugglers.”
The Polish leader also noted that opposition to migrant relocation is shared across the political spectrum in Poland, including, at least in principle, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s left-wing coalition government.
“If it occurs to anyone in Europe to consider that Poland should take on other burdens, then regardless of who says it, I will say that Poland will not implement it. End of story,” Tusk said earlier this year, albeit ahead of the presidential election.
“The overwhelming majority of Poles, regardless of political affiliation, oppose the forced relocation of migrants to Poland,” Nawrocki wrote, adding that his election campaign had centered on ensuring “that Poles feel safe in their own country” and preserving national sovereignty.
“One element of this security is undoubtedly the absence of the risk of illegal migration, which has been flooding Western Europe since German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s memorable decision in 2015,” he continued.
Nawrocki reaffirmed that he “will not consent to the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in Poland” but said Warsaw remains ready to cooperate in other areas. “At the same time, I remain ready to cooperate on border protection, joint operational activities, information exchange, and technical support for Member States most exposed to migratory pressures,” he concluded.
In February, the Polish legal foundation Ordo Iuris told Remix News that the European Union’s migration pact could see up to 100,000 migrants relocated to Poland every year.
“All will depend, of course, on the number of migrants arriving by the Southern routes, so it is a very rough estimate. But we stand by it,” said the institute’s Olivier Bault.
“In most cases, Poland will be unable to deport them, even if their asylum applications are denied,” Bault added.
When asked specifically about Poland and any possible exemption previously, EU commission spokesman Markus Lammert told press that “EU law is binding on the member states and the migration pact, as a result of its entry into force, is binding law.”
Following a brutal knife attack against the mayor of the small German town of Herdecke, the case has swerved into very strange territory. Despite Iris Stalzer telling police her daughter was the one who stabbed her multiple times, police say there is no arrest warrant for the daughter. The strange statements coming from prosecutors are leaving many German media outlets wondering what exactly is going on.
According to an update from Focus magazine, Senior Public Prosecutor Bernd Halldorn held a press conference after the incident, where he said: “There are currently no plans to bring the accused before us to obtain an arrest warrant.”
Furthermore, Focus writes that “both adopted children will probably be released today and handed over to the Youth Welfare Office.”
Now, the crime is being classified as “dangerous bodily harm” rather than attempted homicide. The 57-year-old Stalzer was stabbed 13 times, yet despite the severe and brutal stabbing attack, both teenagers were reportedly released yesterday from police custody.
Halldorn also said during the press conference that “after the traces at the crime scene, we assume that the daughter is responsible for the injuries.”
UPDATE: The German mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, is now conscious and can speak, according to reports.
German media outlets, including Focus, are reporting that her adopted 17-year-old daughter is said to be a focus of the investigation.
The case follows after police took the adopted 15-year-old son and the adopted 17-year-old daughter into custody for questioning. Stalzer, who belongs to the far-left Social Democrats (SPD), initially refused to say who stabbed her when questioned by police. However, after she was questioned by police a second time, she allegedly firmly stated her daughter was responsible.
No longer attempted murder?
Despite a victim statement, forensic evidence, and the prosecutor himself saying the daughter is believed to be the stabbing perpetrator, there seems to be efforts to make the whole incident fade away as quietly as possible. There will be no trial for the daughter— not even an arrest.
Halldron said that from a purely legal perspective, they are only investigating “dangerous bodily harm”, no longer attempted murder.
A journalist asked Halldorn why they are not treating the case as attempted murder, and he said that the daughter had no intention to kill Stalzer and that she called an emergency number after the act.
Notably, there have been many murder cases in which the perpetrator called emergency services after the murder, often in an attempt to throw off investigators as to who actually committed the murder. In fact, Dutch newspaper de Telegraf states that the daughter said during the phone call that a group of men had stabbed her mother, which would be a clear act of deception on her part if true.
Police forensic units also determined that numerous bloodstains had been removed from the house using cleaning materials. If it were proven that the two teenagers had attempted to remove these bloodstains, normally they would be charged for attempting to tamper with evidence. However, once again, there does not appear to be any charges being issued in this direction.
When the crime scene scrubbing is factored in, it makes the prosecutor’s claims that the daughter was trying to call emergency services to help her mom even more questionable.
Halldorn also confirmed that “we didn’t see any traces (of the crime) outside the house.” The crime scene showed that the initial stabbing attack occurred in the basement.
“The traces further suggest that Ms. Stalzer then dragged herself to the ground floor.”
Police also reportedly found bloodstained clothing, which belonged to the daughter, in the son’s backpack. Furthermore, Dutch news outlet De Telegraf reports that the son also had one of the knives in his backpack, while Bild reported a second knife used in the crime was also found in his bedroom.
Son not even questioned
Adding to the strange elements of the case, Halldorn stated: “I believe that the boy has not yet been formally questioned.”
He “believes”?
Is he not the senior public prosecutor in this case? Should he not “know” whether the boy has been questioned? Furthermore, his excuse as to why the 15-year-old was not questioned appears to be a case of circular logic. He said that the 15-year-old did not have legal representation. And the reason for that? The parents had not authorized it.
Well, one parent was in the hospital, allegedly fighting for her life, and the father had returned from a trip on the same night as the incident, so was he even asked for authorization? This appears to be an open question.
Halldorn was also asked if the son supported the stabbing act in any manner. The prosecutor simply responds that it is a “good question. We are still establishing the facts.”
Perhaps managing to question him about the stabbing attack would be a good start?
Despite numerous mainstream media outlets reporting that there was a previous attack on the Stalzer by the daughter last summer, also involving a knife, Halldorn refuses to answer a question about this. He simply said: “All that matters to us is facts, not guesses.”
A neighbor also heard a shouting argument between the son and the mother shortly before she was attacked, yet another reason why the son should have already been questioned.
Presumably, there is a police report about this previous incident, and presumably, Halldorn, as the senior public prosecutor, would have access to this information. If this incident never occurred, as Spiegel reported, Halldorn should clear this up. He certainly does not need to “guess” about anything here, as he should have access to these “facts.” Instead, he seems to be creating more questions than answers.
Stalzer is now in “stable” condition, but she appeared to suffer horrendous wounds. In addition to the stab wounds, which punctured her lung, media reports also indicate that she suffered blunt force trauma to her skull.
There are also unsubstantiated claims circulating that the daughter of Stalzer was featured in an advertisement for her tax and law firm eight years ago, which is still up on Youtube. In the video, Stalzer is also featured.
The Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), Austria’s primary domestic intelligence body, has been struck by a scandal after an employee was accused of having passed secret information to a proscribed Islamist terror group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
The organization is officially designated as anti-constitutional in Austria, and one that the DSN itself is tasked with identifying, monitoring, and countering.
The man, who was temporarily assigned to the agency, reportedly maintained contact with members of the Muslim Brotherhood while working in a department responsible for counter-espionage and extremist threat assessment, Exxpress reported.
After weeks of surveillance, investigators confronted him following a meeting with Brotherhood representatives. He was immediately suspended and now faces prosecution for intelligence activities detrimental to the Republic of Austria.
DSN officials sought to reassure the public, claiming that “internal control mechanisms are functioning and were effective in this case,” but the department has come under fire as critics argue that the agency’s ability to uncover a mole only after confidential material had already been leaked demonstrates the exact opposite of control.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) accused Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, of the governing ÖVP, of gross negligence. “The fact that a radical Islamist is able to divert secret information from the heart of our intelligence service is the culmination of a chain of catastrophic failures under Interior Minister Gerhard Karner,” said FPÖ security spokesman Gernot Darmann, who called for the minister’s resignation.
He described the situation as “the height of cynicism and incompetence,” adding that “the ÖVP, which constantly attempts to defame the FPÖ as a ‘security risk,’ is revealing itself to be the greatest threat to the security of our homeland.”
Darmann argued that the incident casts a new light on the upcoming resignation of DSN Director Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, questioning whether his departure “for personal reasons” was in fact an effort to escape responsibility. “Did he know about this and other ticking time bombs in his own house?” Darmann asked.
The FPÖ also rejected the DSN’s attempt to label the affair an “isolated incident,” arguing that it “destroys trust in state institutions.” Darmann said, “There can be no talk of functioning control mechanisms when an extremist can obviously divert sensitive data unnoticed over an extended period.”
He further accused Karner of targeting “law-abiding citizens instead of Islamists,” citing the minister’s proposals for digital surveillance tools and stricter gun laws while claiming Islamist networks “can apparently do as they please within the state security services.”
A 27-year-old Tunisian migrant living illegally in France was indicted in Paris on Tuesday for attempted rape while intoxicated and has since been remanded in custody.
He is accused of attempting to sexually assault a 67-year-old woman in the street near Gare du Nord in the 10th arrondissement in the early hours of Oct. 5. The woman was saved at the last moment thanks to the intervention of a couple who interrupted the attack and chased down the suspect.
As reported by Le Parisien, at around 2 a.m., the woman was returning to her accommodation after attending a wedding. After arriving at Gare du Nord by public transport, she became disoriented in an unfamiliar neighborhood and asked strangers for directions.
The accused obliged, but as they walked down Rue d’Alsace, his demeanor suddenly changed. According to a source close to the case cited by Le Parisien, “the young man pulled her by the hair, struck her in the face, and threw her to the ground. He tried to tear off her clothes and took down his pants.”
The woman screamed for help, alerting a couple passing by who rushed to intervene, causing the attacker to flee while hastily pulling up his pants and stealing the victim’s watch. The pair, joined by a man on a scooter, chased him down.
The female passerby was the first to catch up with the perpetrator, at which point “he turned and touched her chest,” said the same source. The man was eventually detained by the group, who called the authorities.
“He was somewhat roughed up and likely took some blows before being restrained,” the source added.
Police quickly arrived and arrested the man, who was taken into custody. During questioning, the suspect, who is in France illegally, claimed he had been drunk and remembered nothing of the night’s events. Witnesses, however, insist he was preparing to commit a rape.
The victim’s stolen watch was recovered, and she was granted five days of total incapacity for work.
Sexual assaults by young foreigners against elderly women are growing increasingly more common across Western Europe.
This week alone, court proceedings began in Austria of a 26-year-old Afghan national accused of raping an 82-year-old Viennese woman who suffered from dementia. The migrant rapist had been the pensioner’s care assistant at her home, and the son of the victim had to watch the rape in real-time on his cellphone after installing cameras inside her apartment.
“My client’s psyche was completely destroyed by the atrocity committed against her. She has lost the will to live,” the victim’s lawyer said in a poignant address to the court.
Similarly, this week in France, a Guinean migrant living in the country illegally was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the rape of an 83-year-old woman during a daytime burglary at her home in La Penne-sur-Huveaune last year.
The attack took place on Feb. 17, 2024, at about 2 p.m., when the victim, identified in court as Odette, heard a noise in her house and went to investigate. According to testimony read in court, she came face to face with a man described as “African-looking,” wearing a black hat and a “very flashy” orange jacket. The intruder allegedly demanded money; when she said she had none, he reportedly replied, “You know what’s going to happen.” Prosecutors say he then raped her, leaving with a small amount of valuables.
And in Belgium last month, a Belgian pensioner collapsed and died during a heated exchange with a group of youths squatting in his French holiday home, after the youth gang had threatened to gang rape his wife, slit her throat, and then kill him.
“They killed him with words, and if nothing is done, in a year they will kill with a knife,” Philippe, a close friend of the victim, told local media.
An organized scam involving the false recognition of paternity is reportedly costing the German state millions of euros and allegedly driving migrant women into prostitution, primarily involving networks from West Africa. The city of Dortmund has emerged as a major flashpoint for this abuse of the system, with one case involving seven men and 122 children, all whom are not their own.
According to an exclusive report by the Welt, authorities have uncovered a widespread fraud involving the seven men. The scheme is used to illegally obtain residence permits and social benefits for the mothers.
Mr. Cash Money “bragged about banknotes and luxury cars on social media” after he had recognized paternity for 24 children of African women. However, this was not an isolated incident. The responsible Arnsberg district government confirmed to Welt that “there are currently seven fathers known in Dortmund with around 122 paternity recognitions.” They noted that some cases were “still under investigation.”
Dortmund, located in North Rhine-Westphalia, is considered particularly susceptible to this issue. The authorities speak of more than half a dozen similar “family businesses” operating in the city.
The roots of Germany’s problem date back to the 1997 child custody law reform, which was intended to simplify paternity recognition to help children without a known father. The unintended consequence is that the law now “opens doors to abuse,” especially for foreign nationals looking to exploit Germany’s generous welfare system.
As Remix News reported, Mr. Cash Money was earning at least €22,000 a month through his fake claims.
How does the scam work? There are millions — if not billions — of people who want to gain access to Germany and its social benefit system. For those foreigners who obtain citizenship, they can leverage that citizenship to make money by claiming fake paternity of children abroad. Germany already sends hundreds of millions in benefits abroad every year to real children, but increasingly, many of these children are fake.
At the time, Axel Boshame, an immigration official from the Arnsberg district government, said that “the suspected cases of children of mothers from West African countries and countries in the Western Balkans are increasing in (the German state of) North Rhine-Westphalia.”
He specifically points to Jonathan A., aka Mr. Cash Money, saying he assumes “systematic abuse of paternity recognition.”
“Sham paternity is about allowing people who actually have no prospects of staying in Germany to stay in Germany. These people are willing to pay money for this, usually to the person who takes on the fictitious paternity.”
The same issue is playing out in Dortmund. If a German man recognizes paternity, the pregnant migrant woman receives long-term residence rights, and the child becomes a German citizen, thus benefiting the mother. The “father,” who authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia report “collects up to 8,000 euros per case,” does not pay child maintenance. Instead, the state, through the youth welfare offices, “takes over the advance” payments.
Welt reports a distinct “modus operandi” has been established:
First, the migrants spend time in Italy, France or Spain and then enter Germany after pregnancy and then recognition of paternity, either prenatally or after a negative outcome of the asylum procedure or even in the asylum procedure itself.
However, the issue goes beyond mere paternity fraud, but is also morphing into large foreign networks that also focus on prostitution.
The Arnsberg district government highlighted the “Nigeria-Ghana issue,” noting that so-called “brotherhoods”(brotherhoods) in these countries recruit young women with the promise of a “lucrative job in Europe.” The grim reality is that they are “then forced into prostitution in Libya, France, Italy or Spain to pay off the travel money.” Upon becoming pregnant, they enter Germany, and a contact person handles the fraudulent paternity recognition.
The annual maintenance costs for the 122 children and mothers in Dortmund are estimated by the district government to be in a “mid-seven-figure euro range.”
In essence, it is just more German taxpayer money flowing into fraudulent operations that exploit women and children.
While reliable nationwide numbers are difficult to ascertain, the financial impact is significant. In 2017, the Ministry of the Interior estimated the cases of abuse nationwide at a “middle four-digit number.” In 2024, RBB reported that with 5,000 suspected cases, “the burden on taxpayers is 150,783,000 euros annually.” However, a BMI survey from 2018 to 2021 identified only 290 confirmed cases from 1,769 suspicious events.
Law professor Harald Dörig, an advisor to the Bundestag, is skeptical of the official figures. He criticized: “It doesn’t surprise me that the BMI survey only showed a small number of cases. Rather, it makes it clear that the majority of cases of abuse remain hidden from the authorities.”
A new law is being sought to address the loopholes. A draft from the former ‘traffic light government’ failed in the Bundestag in April 2024, but a new one is expected soon. Dörig remains critical of certain proposed solutions, such as a rule that a six-month “joint budget” excludes abuse. He states that “As the head of a large immigration authority reported to me, those affected are already claiming this in the form when they submit their application.”
German immigration authorities and law enforcement are struggling to combat a growing fraud scheme that allows foreigners to obtain German passports and residency permits with fake language and integration certificates. Furthermore, authorities say that they are being pressured to fast-track naturalizations, all while potentially thousands of foreigners are being awarded citizenship with fake credentials.
An investigation by journalists at RTL and “Stern” reveals a sophisticated black market, primarily on TikTok, where these fraudulent documents are sold for as much as €2,700.
The operation functions as a complete “worry-free package” for people seeking to live in Germany. TikTok videos, often set to music, advertise fake language certificates (A1 to C2) and proof of passing the “Living in Germany” test. The accounts, posing as language schools, show stacks of forged documents to prove their legitimacy.
These forged certificates may not only be a ticket to obtaining a German passport, with applicants required to have a B1 certificate, but may also help foreigners fulfill langauge requirements in a professional capacity, including for medical and government positions.
The posts on TikTok are generating huge interests, and as ntv reports, are viewed hundreds of thousands of times and generate massive interest, with comments in Arabic, Turkish, and Albanian asking about prices. The most sought-after document is the B1 language certificate, which can cost anywhere from €750 to €2,700. This is the specific certificate necessary to obtain citizenship.
In addition to language certificates, the fraudsters also offer fake German driver’s licenses and other professional certifications — all out in the open.
Journalists who went undercover to purchase the certificates found the process to be highly professional and fast. After a brief exchange on TikTok, communication moves to WhatsApp to finalize the details. They met with dealers in three major cities and received what appeared to be authentic documents within a week of placing an order. These certificates even included scannable QR codes that led to a fake, but convincing, website of the certificate provider.
Speaking to reporters, an anonymous immigration official said the system is completely overwhelmed and not equipped to handle this level of fraud. The forged certificates are often “hardly recognizable as a fake at first glance.”
“We are currently experiencing a loss of control of unimaginable proportions,” said an employee at an immigration authority in North Rhine-Westphalia, who wished to remain anonymous. “We are completely overwhelmed in terms of capacity, and many employees are not even trained or educated.”
He claimed that due to a lack of training and capacity, proper document verification rarely happens. “There has only been pressure from above to meet a quota, to naturalize as many people as possible,” the official stated.
The problem extends beyond naturalization, as these same certificates are required for people with “tolerated status” to obtain a residency permit. According to officials, this means a far greater number of people are affected by the fraud scheme. The official added that once a fake certificate is accepted by one authority, it’s unlikely to be scrutinized again. The phrase “once in, usually means in forever” sums up the risk of the flawed system.
This vulnerability has turned the system into a gateway for fraudsters, with law enforcement and interior ministries largely powerless to stop them. When asked for data on the issue, German authorities admitted they do not track these cases.
While some cities report a few dozen investigations, an anonymous police officer revealed that some ongoing investigations involve more than 1,000 suspected cases.
One determined immigration official, however, took matters into his own hands and discovered 340 fake certificates by manually checking a single QR code, leading him to wonder if there were “any honest applicants left.”
The official, when he went to the fake website, was able to find the 340 cases by changing the number on the URL slightly each time through “trial and error,” which revealed the 340 individuals had been given one fake certificate.
The investigation found that the motivation behind the fraud is often pragmatic. Some migrants prioritize work and don’t learn German until they need the certification. Others want to save time and get their residency permits faster. In some cases, people are illiterate and feel that buying a certificate is the only way for them to obtain the document they need.
“Some people simply cannot read or write,” said a police officer who wished to remain anonymous. “They may believe that buying a certificate is the only way for them to obtain the document. “
The full extent of this issue is difficult to quantify because authorities are not tracking it. While Germany revoked 1,009 naturalizations in the past five years, officials say they do not record the reason, making it impossible to know how many were due to fraudulent certificates.
Ion Țiriac, a former Romanian tennis player, businessman, and sometimes political commentator, gave an interview in the print edition of iamsport.ro, where he said Romania needs a leader like Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán or former Polish President Lech Walesa, according to the Mandiner news portal.
“It would be nice if I had an Orbán, it would be nice if I had a Lech Walesa,” said the former athlete. Țiriac also asked who he could count on to stand by him.
“Someone who can stand up to Brussels and says: Wait a minute. I am the border of Europe,” he said.
Viktor Orbán has often argued that being a border country to the EU presents very specific risks and challenges regarding migration and that the EU should be grateful to Hungary for keeping so many migrants out. Instead, Brussels has slapped Hungary with a €1 million daily fine for not accepting migrant quotas, a move that has become more and more of an embarrassment as EU member states scramble to close their borders themselves due to their social systems being overburdened by migrants and migrant crime levels rising to unprecedented levels.
As to Romania’s Ion Țiriac, the 86-year-old athlete concluded his comments by saying, “You made fun of me, you called me incompetent (…) if you were better than me, you would have come here and done something, since we are already a Union of European States.”
Figures elsewhere have also called for their “own” Orbán, with the founder of Junge Freiheit, Dieter Stein, writing a commentary commending Orbán for successfully building a conservative network in Europe, including Germany’s own AfD.
Stein commends the Hungarian leader’s political acumen, pointing out that Orbán recognized the need for greater conservative cooperation and actively worked to achieve this. He also gives Orbán credit for paving the way for the AfD’s success on the European stage.
A Tunisian national. 26-year-old Nidhal O., was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a permanent ban from the country by the Paris Criminal Court on Friday, September 26.
He was found guilty of six sexual assaults and one attempted rape, committed primarily in the Paris metro system. The prosecution had originally requested a 14-year sentence and a permanent ban from French territory.
Video of at least three of the sexual assaults were recorded and released to the public.
🇫🇷🔴 "it seems he is looking for prey."
Serial groper, Tunisian migrant Nidhal O., sexually assaulted 3 different women in the Paris Metro — all on camera.
He was arrested in December 2023 and was finally sentenced to 11 years in prison on Sept. 26.
The spree of attacks began on the night of December 5, 2023. Alicia, 18, was returning home on the metro when, during a connection at Miromesnil around 11 p.m., when Nidhal O. suddenly approached her, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.
“He grabbed my arm and pulled me against the wall,” she described during her hearing. He then placed his hand on her chest. Alicia, stunned, was on the phone with her sister, who heard the whole scene: “Let go of me,” “what are you doing,” “get out of here.”
🇫🇷🔴 On a Paris metro: "You French are poor sons of b**ches. It's Africa that’s rich. You motherf**ker."
"I f**k your mothers, in the name of Allah, in the name of Allah, I f**k their mother, in the name of Allah, you will see!" pic.twitter.com/pAWhgKH5lh
These “screams” would cause Nidhal O. to run away.
She was the first in a string of victims over the following three nights. Later that same evening, at Temple station, a 31-year-old woman felt “hands placed on her,” this time on her buttocks. The attacker, identified on video surveillance, ran away and was lost in the crowd.
The predatory pattern remained consistent: spot a victim, approach, quickly attack, and then flee.
On the morning of December 6, Christine, 50, noticed Nidhal O.’s insistent gaze on the train. She got off at the at her stop, but as she climbed the stairs, he pursued her:
“He pushed me against the wall and touching my genitals over my clothes,”she later said during her hearing. Her screams forced the man to flee. She later confided that she has been unable to take the metro without extreme vigilance ever since.
The violence escalated shortly after when he attacked a 51-year-old woman, made her fall, and “tried to remove her pants while pressing his hand over her mouth to silence her screams.” The woman scratched his face, and the arrival of a passenger led him to flee once again. Two other women, including a 17-year-old at the Palais-Royal stop, suffered similar brutality within a matter of hours.
Finally, on the night of Dec. 8, Nidhal O. followed Chloé, 27, to her apartment building. He rushed in behind her, closed the front door, and attempted to force her onto the bed:”You’re going to be here for me, I’m going to have a relationship with you,” he told her. However, the woman’s screams were heard throughout the building.
A neighbor rushed in and said in court: “I heard screams, it was unbearable. I saw a shirtless man, I understood that I had to intervene.” Three men detained the Tunisian until police rushed in and arrested the suspect.
Nidhal O. had already been deported from Spain and Belgium before ending up in France. He was a known threat for past offenses across Europe and is described as “unstable and unpredictable.”
Addicted to cannabis, he is reported to have great difficulty managing his emotions and impulses. His behavior continued in detention, where he had a string of disciplinary incidents.
“Mr. O. is receiving special attention and increased security,” the prison report states.
Regarding his actions, he said that “there is a devil in my head and it is he who spoke and guided my hands.” However, court psychiatrists said he had no psychiatric condition that would preclude him from standing trial.
Gergely Gulyás, the minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office, gave a show of support to his former colleague Judit Varga.
Gulyás read out a question from a follower in a Facebook video message asking about Hungary’s former justice minister returning to political life: “Please do something to ensure that Judit Varga returns, I have never seen such a huge backlash as has now arisen regarding Judit Varga. Please do something for her, thank you!”
Gulyás replied: “I read it out, with this we can send a message to Judit Varga to come back!”
Rumors have been circulating about Varga coming back to politics for months, with even PM Orbán commenting on the matter, offering up words of praise for his former justice minister.
Most recently, a Hungarian band wrote a song imploring her to return to the Fidesz ranks.
The former minister told 444 last July that she had no interest: “In this race, where they give points to a person like the formation called Péter Magyar, then I don’t want to run in this race.”
Nevertheless, the posts and public comments keep rolling in, making any eventual return less and less surprising.
Varga had resigned in early 2024 along with President Katalin Novák over a pardon given by Novák to Endre Kónya, who had been convicted of covering up an orphanage pedophile scandal. Varga’s signature had also been mandated on the pardon.
Although we hear very little in the press about Novák, there has been a lot of noise surrounding Varga, especially as her ex-husband is opposition leader Péter Magyar.
Pork dishes such as schnitzel, ham noodles, and roast pork have become rare or entirely absent from a growing number of school canteens across Vienna, the Farmers’ Association said, reporting that some institutions now offer pupils only a vegetarian option alongside meat-based menus that exclude pork entirely.
The association, cited by Heute, said it had been contacted by a Viennese mother whose daughter “only has the choice between vegetarian or ‘pork-free’ food at school.”
“A small number of schools no longer offer pork at all,” the association said, and in some cases pupils reportedly refuse dishes that do not contain pork out of uncertainty as to whether pork may nevertheless be present. The Farmers’ Association described the development as “worrying” and said it reflected a broader decline of pork in everyday school life.
“No one has to eat pork, but it must be offered. Pork is part of our culinary culture,” Corinna Weisl, director of the Farmers’ Association, said. Farmers’ Association President Georg Strasser urged that choices be preserved, adding, “Diversity on the plate means freedom of choice for everyone. Everyone can decide for themselves, but the offer must remain.”
The association’s revelations come amid rapid demographic change in Vienna’s schools. Data obtained earlier this year from the office of Bettina Emmerling, the city councilor responsible for education, shows that Muslim students now account for 41.2 percent of all pupils in the capital. Last year, the proportion of Muslim students was 39.4 percent.
The demographic shift has prompted broader debate about integration and pressure on school services. The Freedom Party of Austria has warned of cultural replacement.
In July last year, Remix News reported the concerns of an anonymous German-language teacher working in a city-funded program for migrant children, who described lessons that often “descend into disorder,” saying there is “Arabic roaring, soccer in the classroom, and zero respect.”
“I fight for two hours against a total refusal to learn,” the teacher told Exxpress. She said many enrolled pupils do not attend regularly and complained of students playing with phones, demanding to pray during lessons, or walking out of class because she is a woman.
The teacher also described incidents of intimidation and disruption. For example, she told of a colleague who tried to follow a child who left the classroom, only to find herself locked inside by other students. “Every time I turn on the electronic blackboard, one of the children immediately switches it off again,” she further recounted, adding that harassment is continuous. “One colleague is constantly mocked by a group of boys. Some leave in tears.”
She said some pupils told her they prefer to spend the summer abroad — “I don’t want to learn anything in the summer — I’m in Turkey for two months!” — and that when students are asked what they like about Austria, some reply, “Nothing at all.”
Union representatives and school staff say the strain on the system has led to a wave of departures, with up to 20 teachers leaving in a single day last summer. Thomas Krebs, a teachers’ union member, told reporters that teachers blame the state government for failing to set sufficient German language requirements for school entry and for not acting effectively against violence, extremism, and misogyny.
A Guinean migrant living illegally in France has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the rape of an 83-year-old woman during a daytime burglary at her home in La Penne-sur-Huveaune last year.
The attack took place on Feb. 17, 2024, at about 2 p.m., when the victim, identified in court as Odette, heard a noise in her house and went to investigate. According to testimony read in court, she came face to face with a man described as “African-looking,” wearing a black hat and a “very flashy” orange jacket. The intruder allegedly demanded money; when she said she had none, he reportedly replied, “You know what’s going to happen.” Prosecutors say he then raped her, leaving with a small amount of valuables.
As reported by La Provence, neighbors later found Odette disoriented in the street, and she was taken to the Conception Hospital in Marseille. Medical staff recorded traumatic injuries consistent with the alleged assault, and forensic testing recovered semen traces on the victim’s clothing that matched the suspect’s DNA.
An owl key ring belonging to the victim was reportedly recovered where the suspect had been staying.
The man convicted by the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Criminal Court was identified in court documents as Mamadi Cissé, said to be about 35 years old and originally from Guinea. He was arrested the day after the assault and identified by the victim in a photographic lineup.
In court, Cissé admitted the theft of items from the house but denied the sexual offense, answering through an interpreter with “No, I didn’t do anything,” “I don’t remember,” and “I don’t know,” and later telling the court, “I didn’t rape her.”
The trial heard that Cissé had a complex personal history. He was said to have arrived in France after a migration route that included Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Italy, and to have been living homeless in a tent on the Prado in Marseille.
Court papers state he had an outstanding obligation to leave French territory — an OQTF — that had been served about a month before the attack. He was also known to police for recent thefts.
Psychiatric reports introduced at the hearing described serious mental-health concerns. An expert had previously judged Cissé incompatible with police custody, and he was placed in a psychiatric hospital, where examiners noted delusions and schizophrenic disorders.
Cissé’s defense lawyers told the court that he had attempted suicide, and questioned the circumstances of his discharge from hospital two days before the assault.
The victim’s lawyer, acting for Odette and the seven relatives who joined the case as civil parties, told the court the assault had stolen more than possessions and had left the victim with “the shame of having been sullied, trampling forever on the memory of her lifelong love.” Odette, attended in court by her three daughters and several grandchildren, told the presiding judge, “I’m 85 years old and it was excruciating.”
Nice-Matin reported how the victim believed the attack had “stained the memory of her husband,” who had died two months earlier.
The court convicted Cissé of rape and related offenses and imposed a 12-year prison sentence. The victim has asked judges to return a personal Claude François blanket that has been held under seal since the events.
Journalist Grzegorz Krzywak has posted on X that Civic Platform politicians are forming secret groups where they discuss “how to fool residents” and encourage people to cheer for Krakow Mayor Aleksander Miszalski.
“Activists from outside Krakow are pretending to be Krakow residents and – according to instructions – are to be ‘maximally active’ under Mayor Aleksander Miszalski’s posts. But this is only one element of spoiling the public debate,” Krzywak writes.
He then adds: “I have obtained access to urgently concealed party recommendations. It’s time to remove the confidentiality clause from them.”
In his accompanying video, Krzywak offers up several examples proving that “Miszalski’s cronies” dominate among the residents praising the Krakow authorities.
Politycy Platformy tworzą tajne grupy, na których ustalają, jak robić w balona mieszkańców. Np. Działacze spoza Krakowa udają krakowian i – zgodnie z instrukcjami – mają być „maksymalnie aktywni” pod postami prezydenta Aleksandra Miszalskiego. Ale to tylko jeden element psucia… pic.twitter.com/hiNEKsXUte
According to Do Rzeczy, he cites posts by Ewelina Węgrzyn, who praises Miszalski and is an active Civic Platform activist. Anna Bałdyga, who also praises Miszalski on Facebook and works for the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways. Maciej Łazor, in turn, is Miszalski’s assistant.
Krzywak further explains that there are two groups involved. The first serves to gather people to praise the president. “Activists from outside Krakow are also being called upon to praise the president,” he says.
Meanwhile, the second group entails Civic Platform (PO) activists who post links to their online activities (posts, stances, debates).
“When someone from the Civic Platform (PO) gets into a debate with you and starts losing, they post the link to the group and call on their colleagues to bash you, ridicule your posts, and like (the PO supporter’s) post,” he claims.
When Krzywak asked for details on this whole campaign, the organizer of the online group told him that it was an internal party matter and that she could not provide any additional information.
A 52-year-old man was seriously injured after being attacked with an axe, knives, and a baseball bat near a mosque in France on Monday night, in what investigators believe was a dispute between worshippers over seating arrangements during prayers.
The assault took place around 9:10 p.m. about 600 meters from the Bellevue mosque in Nantes, according to the city’s public prosecutor, Antoine Leroy.
The victim was struck multiple times in the back of the head by two men armed with knives and a hatchet, while a third attacker hit him on the arm with a baseball bat.
The man, who suffered serious injuries, was taken to Nantes University Hospital. He has since been declared stable and was able to give his version of events to investigators, Leroy said.
One suspect has been taken into custody, while the others remain at large.
According to Le Parisien, witnesses to the attack are being interviewed by officers who have opened an investigation for “attempted intentional homicide with a bladed weapon.”
According to initial findings and statements made by the victim, the attack stemmed from a conflict “concerning the places occupied within the mosque during prayers by each of the protagonists, all being worshippers of the same mosque,” the prosecutor explained.
The newly elected Social Democrat (SPD) mayor of the German city of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, was stabbed multiple times yesterday inside her home. The woman’s two adopted children, a 15-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, were taken into custody after the incident. Photos of the son being led away in handcuffs were also published in a variety of German media outlets.
Stalzer’s life remains in danger, but according to Focus, she was briefly awake and was able to answer police questions. However, although she signaled she knew who her attacker was, she refused to provide any further details to police.
An investigation remains underway, and so far, it does not appear anyone has been charged in the attack. However, the two adopted children appear to be the focus of the investigation and were actively questioned following the stabbing attack. According to Focus, the 15-year-old son is the focus of the investigation now, with the youth featuring a history of “mental health” problems.
UPDATE: The German mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, is now conscious and can speak, according to reports.
German media outlets, including Focus, are reporting that her adopted 17-year-old daughter is said to be a focus of the investigation.
Stalzer’s life is still in danger, a spokeswoman for the Hagen police said Wednesday morning.
Crime scene investigators were active inside the home and on the street yesterday, securing evidence. Both children were also checked for forensic evidence. Investigators believe the crime has a family background and is not politically motivated. According to a report from Spiegel, police were called to the residence just a month earlier, after the 17-year-old daughter threatened the mother, also allegedly with a knife.
Security sources told Welt that neighbors reported hearing a loud argument between the 15-year-old son and his mother before the stabbing. The father was not home at the time, only returning home later that evening after a trip abroad.
Police press officer Tino Schaefer answers questions from journalists in Herdecke, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, after the newly elected mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, was found critically injured in her apartment. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
There has been much back and forth among media outlets over whether the son or the daughter might be responsible for the crime, but so far, police have left open whether either of them are suspects. There were also reports that the son told police his mother was attacked by a “group of men” on the street, but all reports confirm she was found bloody inside her home.
Stalzer suffered multiple stab wounds to her upper body and received first aid at the scene. She was later transported to the hospital by helicopter.
The newspaper Westfalenpost learned from security sources that Stalzer was awake during a brief moment of police questioning. She told police she knew who committed the crime but declined to further comment.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also wrote about the attack on X, stating, “We have received news of a despicable act in Herdecke. It must now be solved quickly. We fear for the life of the mayor-elect, Iris Stalzer, and hope for a full recovery.”
A narrow European Parliament vote to uphold the immunity of Ilaria Salis, an Italian far-left MEP accused in Hungary of violent Antifa assaults, has triggered a fierce political storm in Rome. League leader Matteo Salvini accused members of Italy’s center-right of betrayal after Salis was spared prosecution by a single vote in Tuesday’s secret ballot in Strasbourg.
“She is accused of aggravated assault with potentially lethal force and other criminal conduct in collusion with others, within a criminal organization,” Salvini said on X. “But with the trick of a secret ballot, requested by left-wing groups, even someone who calls himself ‘center-right’ voted to save Ms. Salis from trial. Shame!”
Accusata di lesioni aggravate potenzialmente letali e altre condotte criminose in concorso con altri, all'interno di un'organizzazione criminale.
Ma col trucchetto del voto segreto, richiesto dai gruppi di sinistra, anche qualcuno che si dice di “centrodestra” ha votato per… pic.twitter.com/a0ZHu0c4CZ
The League leader’s outburst was aimed at coalition partners Forza Italia, whose members sit with the European People’s Party (EPP), which had officially supported lifting Salis’s immunity. The measure failed by one vote — 306 to 305, with 17 abstentions — after several EPP lawmakers reportedly broke ranks.
Forza Italia’s leader, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, swiftly hit back. “Talk is meaningless; what counts are the facts, the results,” he said. “Forza Italia is the second-largest force in the center-right. We don’t accept slander or insults. When these little things are used to gain a few more votes, it means they’re lost.”
League MEP Silvia Sardone accused the EPP of “saving Ilaria Salis,” arguing that the missing votes could only have come from the party. “We know full well that the EPP and Forza Italia govern with the left here in Brussels,” she said.
Forza Italia deputy secretary Stefano Benigni called her remarks “nonsense,” pointing out that his party’s delegation voted unanimously. “First, she says the vote was secret, then she accuses Forza Italia and the EPP of betrayal as if she had a magic wand. Who are you, Maga Magò?” Benigni said, adding that 15 right-wing MEPs — including one from the League — were absent, which “proved decisive.”
The Hungarian government had asked the parliament to lift Salis’s immunity so she could stand trial for allegedly attacking people during a far-left “Hammer Gang” assault in Budapest in 2023. The victims, some wrongly identified as neo-Nazis, suffered serious and life-changing injuries.
Hungarian prosecutors accuse Salis of aggravated assault and participation in a criminal organization, charges that could carry an 11-year custodial sentence. She was under house arrest in Budapest before being elected as an MEP for the Green–Left Alliance (AVS) and receiving immunity from prosecution as an elected EU lawmaker.
The Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee recommended maintaining her immunity last month, citing evidence that the case was politically motivated. EPP rapporteur Adrián Vázquez Lázara opposed that conclusion, arguing that “immunity does not serve to protect politicians from justice.”
The final result was the tightest immunity vote in recent EU history. Parliamentary sources cited by Corriere della Sera said late lobbying by socialist and liberal MEPs convinced a handful of conservatives to switch sides.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán condemned the outcome, writing on X: “Brussels protects its own. Péter Magyar keeps his immunity, Ilaria Salis keeps hers. A politician facing criminal charges for insider trading and theft, along with a member of a terrorist group — both protected by Brussels.”
Magyar, the leader of Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, had been wanted by Hungarian authorities to face trial for allegedly making sexual advances toward minors andtaking a mobile phone from a nightclub and throwing it into the Danube in one instance, while he also faces criminal and civil charges related to defamation for calling a former Fidesz politician a criminal.
Salis celebrated what she called “a great democratic victory” and “a victory for antifascism.” Posting a photo of herself in the Strasbourg chamber with her fist raised, she wrote: “We are all anti-fascists!”
It is odd that in the face of Brussels going after Hungary and refusing the country funds owed to it due to measures it has taken to protect children, the EU has now decided to push legislation that would give it the power to view and seize your private online conversations — in the name of protecting children.
Denmark is leading the charge, as it is the presiding EU president, but it is Germany’s veto that will be needed to push “chat control” through, come the vote on Oct. 14, writes Welt.
So will Berlin heed the warnings from multiple fronts regarding the threat such a law would pose to data privacy, not to mention efforts to secure the ever-expanding cyberspace?
As pointed out by Welt, the chat histories of police officers, soldiers, and intelligence agents would be exempt from this law, exacerbating concerns that chat control will be abused by those in power to spy on civilians and create a Big Brother scenario.
The idea for such a measure started with EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. She tabled the law to combat the proliferation of child pornography online back in 2022 by essentially allowing authorities to look at all private conversations. “A noble intention, one that nevertheless met with considerable resistance from internet companies, civil rights activists, and digital experts,” writes Welt.
Device manufacturers and chat service providers have been ardent objectors, as they would be required to allow authorities “backdoor” access to view chats that people trust feature end-to-end encryption.
Johansson had brushed aside any concerns over what she dismissed as nothing more than a “spam filter.”
Here’s the problem: To allow such a “backdoor,” i.e., a way to break into and view encrypted messages to uncover child abusers, would expose EU civilians to other third parties with truly nefarious intentions. In other words, people could far more easily fall victim to financial fraud, personal data theft, blackmail, be spied on by foreign agencies, or simply become the target of their own government for political purposes.
A version of this project has been tried before — with disappointing results, according to Welt. “Client-side scanning” allowed chat providers to perform automated checks to flag anything suspicious. Only then would a message be sent for human review at a reporting center.
The result was a deluge of reports, with as many as 90 percent unrelated to any criminal activity, while actual red flags (situations where children could have been in real danger) were often overlooked.
As the law is now up for a vote this month, a warning from a group of 478 digital researchers from across the EU is pertinent: “It is simply not possible to detect known and emerging abuse images among hundreds of millions of users with an acceptable level of accuracy, regardless of the respective filter.”
The current proposal, they say, would “create unprecedented opportunities for surveillance, control, and censorship and carries an inherent risk of abuse by less democratic regimes.”
Will Cathcart, the CEO of WhatsApp, trusted by over 3 billion users for its default end-to-end encryption, posted his own warning on X on Oct 3: “The latest EU Presidency proposal still breaks end-to-end encryption, risking everyone’s privacy and security — a view shared by experts from over 30 countries. We continue to urge EU countries to stand up for stronger security for their citizens and reject this proposal.”
He followed up on Oct. 6 by stating: “The current EU presidency proposal that leaked today would do away with end-to-end encryption as we know it, leading to a major compromise of people’s privacy. We urge everyone working on this issue to reject the latest proposal and stand up for people’s privacy.”
Meanwhile, Signal has threatened to leave the EU, with Signal CEO Meredith Whitacker releasing a letter on Oct. 3 stating: “We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal.”
“In a very real way it could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe,” Whitacker warns, then sends a stern message to Germany.
“Germany has long been a champion for privacy; drawing on its own history of the terrible harm that can be facilitated by mass surveillance and standing firm to safeguard this right for all of Europe. To capitulate now, at a time of great geopolitical uncertainty where the cybersecurity of our core infrastructures matters more than ever, would be an incomprehensible strategic blunder, and a fundamental betrayal of Europe’s commitment to learn from history.”
“Under the guise of protecting children, the latest Chat Control proposals would require mass scanning of every message, photo, and video on a person’s device, assessing these via a government-mandated database or AI model to determine whether they are permissible content or not,” she writes.
Proper encryption, i.e., data privacy, has been a massive selling point for app/software makers, creating a huge ecosystem of B2B and B2D cybersecurity solutions for both the enterprise and consumer markets. Thus, during a live interview with Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley last summer, when updating users on X DMs, Elon Musk boasted about the new X Chat, emphasizing, “Even if somebody puts a gun to my head, I still can’t read your messages.”
In the end, the decision on chat users in the EU losing the right to private online communication all comes down to Germany, Welt reiterates, and how Chancellor Merz decides to position his government.
The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has been blunt in its criticism: “Every breach of E2E encryption increases the attack surface and carries high risks,” they warn.
Unfortunately, as Welt points out, the BSI stance is in direct contradiction to the Interior Ministry, to which the BSI reports, while the Justice Ministry opposes it.
An 82-year-old Viennese woman suffering from dementia was allegedly raped by her own care nurse, an Afghan national, and has since lost her will to live after the traumatizing experience, according to lawyer representing the woman in court. The son in the case had to endure watching his mother raped in realtime on his cellphone after he placed cameras in her apartment.
On Sept. 18, Claudia G., whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was sexually abused by her own nurse inside her apartment. Her son watched his mother raped in real-time on his phone after he installed cameras inside her apartment over concern of his mother and the nurse.
The 26-year-old migrant, Sarafaz Z., was arrested the same day. In custody, he confessed to the rape, but the investigation is still open.
Her lawyer, Manfred Arbacher-Stöger, told the Kronen newspaper, “My client’s psyche was completely destroyed by the atrocity committed against her. She has therefore suffered lasting psychological damage.”
The lawyer said she “lost the will to live.”
The family also told the paper that she now consistently talks about committing suicide since she was raped. They say caring for her is now increasingly difficult as she sinks into severe anxiety, depression, and withdrawal.
The organization that sent the Afghan caregiver to the woman’s house was made aware of the incident by the son, but the son says they have offered no support. Instead, they confronted him with harsh demands.
“I was told quite harshly that my mother’s continued care would only be possible if I deactivated the cameras on her premises. And I was told that her tormentor actually had the right to sue me because I filmed him without permission,” he said.
The family views the organization’s reaction as a major “slap in the face.”
They say the organization is more concerned with protecting the Afghan migrant than implementing stricter controls on their employees.
As a result, the family has gone to the Austrian press with their story, and with video evidence of rape and a confession from the suspect, they appear ready to battle for the rights of their mother.
The family says they no longer have faith in state-run care facilities but instead want to turn to a private organization.
Similar cases have plagued Europe for years, with elderly patients routinely sexually assaulted and raped by foreigners in countries like France and Germany.
Also, this year, Somali-born Baasim Yusuf was jailed for raping multiple elderly Swedish women but cannot be deported since he already received Swedish citizenship.
Greece is set to implement sweeping cuts to asylum-related spending and phase out rent subsidies for refugees, redirecting funds toward work programs and Greek-language training.
The Ministry of Migration and Asylum confirmed that total funding for asylum benefits will drop by almost 30 percent, from €400 million to €288 million per year.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said the reforms mark a fundamental shift in policy. “Those granted asylum in the future will no longer live on permanent subsidies, but will be integrated into society through work,” he said, adding that support payments will cover “only the absolute necessities.”
The changes, he stressed, are designed to make Greece less attractive for irregular migration while strengthening its labor market and complying with European Union standards.
According to Proto Thema, the government’s new plan involves three stages. The first, already underway, aims to save more than €288 million over two years in food and accommodation expenses across reception facilities. The second step is the immediate abolition of the HELIOS program, which provided rent allowances to recognized refugees. Funds from that scheme will now be redirected toward job training and Greek-language education. The third measure introduces a 50-percent cut in direct financial aid, reducing monthly support — currently about €75 — to what the ministry calls “bare essentials.”
Plevris signed a new agreement assigning the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (the “Superfund”) responsibility for all tenders related to food supply, security, cleaning, and maintenance at reception centers. The contract, signed with Deputy CEO Panagiotis Stampoulidis, is meant to improve transparency and efficiency in how migration funds are spent. “The funding we committed to was 30 percent less than in previous tenders, and our goal is to achieve even greater savings through competitive procedures and changes to the benefits model,” Plevris said.
He emphasized that Greece “will no longer finance rental housing” for asylum recipients, and that apartments leased under the HELIOS program in central Athens will be returned to local residents. “All funds will now be redirected toward equipping recipients with the skills needed to enter the workforce,” he said. “Anyone granted asylum in this country will no longer live off benefits at the expense of European and Greek taxpayers. They will be given the opportunity to work – and housing currently tied up in central Athens will be freed.”
Deputy Minister Sevi Voloudaki described the overhaul as “a new, clear migration policy era,” adding, “The mindset of passive residence and endless benefits is ending once and for all. From now on, support will be tied to employment, education, and genuine integration.
“Those in the country illegally will be returned or detained, in accordance with the law and our European commitments. Those who have been granted asylum will live from their own labor, not from state handouts.”
“For the approximately 20,000 refugees who receive asylum each year, mandatory work integration is a new reality,” Plevris said. “Instead of giving benefits, we will go in a fast direction to develop the skills they can based on the needs, and once they complete this program — five to six months — if they want to stay in Greece, they will have to work. There is no longer a benefit, where ‘I pay your rent and you sit and do nothing.’”
Public consultation on the new bill will begin within the month, with implementation expected to start next year.
The Ministry of Migration also highlighted early signs of success in reducing irregular entries following the announcement of harsher incoming policies. Official data show that arrivals dropped sharply from nearly 6,000 in August 2024 to fewer than 2,900 this August. September arrivals likewise fell from almost 7,000 last year to just over 4,000. The ministry says the figures demonstrate that “closing the windows of illegal entry can be combined with the creation of stable and institutionalized channels of legal immigration.”
“This is a necessary temporary response, based precisely on the same legal reasoning that the Greek government successfully invoked when dealing with the migration invasion of March 2020,” he told lawmakers at the time. “Those migrants who enter the country illegally will be arrested and detained.”
This threat was put into practice later that month when 247 migrants were intercepted at sea, handed over to police, and transferred directly to detention facilities.
In August, Athens announced further measures to combat illegal immigration, stating migrants whose asylum applications had been rejected would be required to wear electronic ankle bracelets so their movements can be tracked in the weeks before deportation. This would be a catch-all interim policy for those who had already arrived in Greece before the mandatory detention upon arrival had been implemented.
Negotiations on the formation of a new Czech government have entered a decisive phase after election winner Andrej Babiš confirmed that his ANO movement is in talks with Tomio Okamura’s hard-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Petr Macinka’s anti-establishment Motorists, and that said talks have progressed to divying up ministries.
Together, the three parties would command a majority of 108 votes in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies.
“Yes, we have 108 with the SPD and Motorists, so we are negotiating a joint government,” Babiš said in a video posted to social media on Tuesday. He explained that the SPD’s participation would take the form of “experts, people from the industry who know what’s going on,” while the Motorists plan to nominate politicians who ran for office.
“We discuss the program every day. And when we negotiate everything, then I will go to the president,” he said.
As reported by Echo24, Motorists chairman Petr Macinka confirmed that his movement was seeking “a stable agreement that would be valid for the entire four years of the mandate.” He described the negotiations as “substantive” and said his party “sees a chance to conclude them.” He declined to comment on possible cabinet appointments, saying it would be “unserious” to speculate before the deal was complete.
Macinka also downplayed earlier remarks by Motorists honorary president Filip Turek, who suggested he could become foreign minister. “We have 13 experts here in every field. They are de facto leaders, and any of them could be a minister. But at this point, it would be premature to appoint anyone,” he said.
Turek told reporters that his inclusion in the government was “likely,” but said he would not serve if the SPD controlled the interior or defense ministries. “I would not sit in such a government,” he said. “The SPD should not have defense or interior ministries, given its positions on the EU and NATO.” He added that he would accept the participation of SPD “experts” and found the names discussed “acceptable.”
Speculation has also linked former Supreme State Prosecutor Renata Vesecká to the post of justice minister under the Motorists’ quota, though she declined to confirm it, saying only that her focus would be “the area of law and security.”
President Petr Pavel has described such a three-party government as “a realistically possible option.”
Babiš later confirmed that negotiations had shifted to dividing ministries among the partners. “There is now a debate about the number of ministries. The SPD is part of the government in the form of experts in some ministries, and the Motorists are represented there by politicians. I think that is a good strategy,” he said outside ANO headquarters in Prague’s Chodov district.
Asked about Turek’s possible appointment as foreign minister, Babiš replied only, “I will not comment on that.” He also indicated that SPD leader Tomio Okamura could play a role in the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies, saying, “Hopefully it will work out, we’ll see.”
Babiš attacked the outgoing government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, accusing it of halting infrastructure projects and underfunding public services. “We can finally start informing people where Fiala’s government has led our country,” he said. “Transport projects have been stopped, and there is no money for healthcare.”
The ANO leader accused Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura of misrepresenting budget data. “Construction has stopped. This is unreal. Stanjura cheated, leaving empty coffers. He lied about having some income of 10 billion from the EU. There is a regular lack of 50 to 60 billion in total, so Stanjura normally cheats brutally in the deficit,” he said.
Babiš warned that the next government would inherit what he called a “completely drained country.” Without corrective action, he said, the deficit for 2026 would likely rise beyond what had been planned. “If a solution is not found, next year’s budget will have to have a higher deficit than the planned 286 billion crowns. There is a shortfall of up to 60 billion,” he said, implying the government would not implement austerity measures to address the issue.
In a plenary vote, the European Parliament has decided that Hungarian politician Péter Magyar can keep his immunity, protecting him from prosecution in three cases.
This result was largely expected, as in September, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) voted to uphold his immunity, and the European Parliament rarely goes against their decision.
Zoltán Kovács, Hungarian Secretary of State for International Communication, posted in reaction:
“That’s how Brussels works, those who serve its interests are protected at all costs. But only as long as they remain useful.”
Taking aim at the Brussels elites hoping to see the Tisza Party head as prime minister in Hungary, Kovács continued: “Péter Magyar is preparing to carry out Brussels’ political orders. Anyone hiding behind parliamentary immunity now will never make free, independent decisions.”
In a final warning to Hungarian voters, he sad, “He is a compromised man—and a politician who is beholden to others will never defend Hungary or the interests of the Hungarian people.”
Magyar had posted on Facebook before the vote that he would not take part in the vote and had asked the other Tisza members to either abstain or not press the button.
“I cannot waive my immunity in the face of Fidesz’s lies,” he added.
Yet another case involves politicians filing suits against Magyar for inferring that they were “Russian agents.”
Another Hungarian opposition politician and MEP, DK president Klára Dobrev, will also keep her immunity, shielding her against defamation charges stemming from her claims that the brother of former President János Áder knew about the actions of a pedophile in a case from a few years ago.
Lastly, Italian MEP Ilaria Salis will officially not face trial in Hungary for her involvement in the infamous and brutal Antifa Hammer Gang attacks, which took place in Budapest in 2023.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán also took to X to express his disgust: “Brussels protects its own: Péter Magyar keeps his immunity, Ilaria Salis keeps hers. A politician facing criminal charges for insider trading and theft, along with a member of a terrorist group – both protected by Brussels. The Brusselian bureaucrats like to lecture, but the pieces of their rule-of-law puzzle just don’t fit.”
Brussels protects its own: Péter Magyar keeps his immunity, Ilaria Salis keeps hers. A politician facing criminal charges for insider trading and theft, along with a member of a terrorist group – both protected by Brussels. The Brusselian bureaucrats like to lecture, but the… pic.twitter.com/Xo2YeyzDHG
Yesterday, two motions were tabled in the European Parliament: one submitted by the Patriots for Europe group, the other by the left-wing faction. It is a strange coincidence that both were submitted by French politicians, Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally and Patriots leader, and Manon Aubry, a member of La France Insoumise.
The Patriots criticized the EU’s trade policy, the Mercosur agreement, and the US-EU customs and trade agreement, while the left accused von der Leyen of “complicity in the Gaza genocide,” reported Politico, as cited by Mandiner.
The debate was opened by Bardella, who said that the European Commission “is rushing headlong into nothingness,” and its policies “betray European farmers and sovereign nations.”
He believes that the Mercosur agreement and the enlargement policy symbolize Europe’s self-abandonment. As he put it: “The motion of no confidence is not against Europe, but for saving Europe. This is a vote against Macron’s Europe, for a Europe of free nations.”
Ursula von der Leyen responded by saying: “We live in a time of uncertainty and explosive tension.” She then warned that “Europe is being threatened from the east, divided from within, and Putin is watching all this with relish.”
“This is Putin’s oldest trick: division, disinformation, mistrust. This is a trap, and we cannot fall for it,” von der Leyen added.
The EC president was even more subtle now than at the EP session in July, when he called the Patriots “Putin’s useful idiots.” She was even willing to admit that “much of the criticism of the Commission stems from legitimate concerns.”
The leader of the People’s Party faction, Manfred Weber, who famously said that “national sovereignty does not exist” in a speech last month, accused the Patriots and the radical left of political profiteering:
“The motion of censure is one of the most serious tools of the European Parliament, and you are degrading it to a propaganda tool,” he said.
He then mentioned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán by name, along with the president of the German AfD and the Italian League:
“Where were you, Alice Weidel, Viktor Orbán, Matteo Salvini, when von der Leyen was fighting for farmers? You are the ones with close ties to the MAGA movement, so what are you doing for us now?” Weber asked, alluding to the Patriots’ American ties.
The People’s Party politician also noted: “It is becoming ridiculous that French election campaigns are being played out in the European Parliament.”
Spain’s public healthcare system is treating a growing number of undocumented migrants and displaced foreigners, despite Spaniards enduring increasingly longer waiting times for appointments and operations.
Figures released by Madrid’s Ministry of Health show that the Spanish capital alone has registered a 44 percent jump in patients without residency papers in the last year, while the Canary Islands have agreed to take in sick and wounded minors from Gaza at the request of the central government, despite its own residents having to wait an average of 122 days for surgery appointments.
According to data published by El Confidencial, the Madrid Health Service (Sermas) provided medical care to 190,000 people in an irregular situation over the past year, compared with 134,000 the year before. The figure represents an increase of 60,000 patients in 12 months, as the region’s total population grew by about half a million.
Regional Health Minister Fátima Matute told reporters that the municipality had issued 140,000 new health cards and delivered 360,000 services to displaced persons. “No one has been denied care or been asked for a credit card,” Matute insisted, noting that Madrid’s hospitals and clinics handled 51 million consultations in a year, seven percent more than in 2024.
Matute complained that the regional system was receiving little help from the central government, accusing Spain’s Ministry of Health of cutting its funding by around €1.5 billion and warned that further reductions were expected as funds were redirected to the Ministry of Defense and NATO commitments.
“They have already cut €40 million from the Carlos III Health Institute,” she said. “I can think of several ministries I would eliminate to provide resources for defense rather than taking them away from health.”
Meanwhile, the Canary Islands government — led in tandem by the Canary Coalition (CC) and the People’s Party (PP) — has announced it will immediately provide medical care to sick and injured children from Gaza, after receiving a request from Madrid. Spokesman Alfonso Cabello said the regional authorities were among the first to volunteer assistance. The transfer will be organized on a Defense Ministry aircraft, with the Ministry of Inclusion responsible for accommodation and social support once the children arrive.
The number of minors and the date of arrival remain unconfirmed, but Cabello said the offer “has already been made immediately by order of the president of the Canary Islands.”
La Gaceta reports the decision to transfer more foreigners to the islands has been met with considerable public criticism amid widespread frustration with the state of the islands’ health services.
The move is despite waiting lists barely decreasing on the Spanish archipelago last year, and the local authorities having, for some time, pleaded with the mainland government for additional support and resources to combat its own illegal immigration crisis.
In a scathing interview with El Mundo back in January, President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo accused Spain’s major political parties — the left-wing Socialists (PSOE) and center-right People’s Party (PP) — of leaving his territory in a “state of abandonment” and urged them to act to address the ongoing migration crisis affecting the islands.
His remarks came after a record number of illegal arrivals onto the islands was recorded last year, totalling over 46,800 and saturating local services.
A young woman from Bilbao says she has been abandoned by Spain’s institutions and re-victimized online after the Malian migrant she accused of raping her last year fled the country. She has accused the anti-immigration Vox party of politicizing her ordeal to stir up racial hatred.
The assault, according to her account to El Correo, took place on Sept. 8, 2024. The woman, identified as Izaro, said she met the Malian national for drinks and later accepted his help when she felt unwell. She said he led her to “a place away from public view, without cameras,” and raped her. “It was a black spot in the city center. I’m sure he planned it,” she said.
Friends who came to help her stopped a police patrol, and the suspect was detained shortly afterward. Local police issued a press statement describing the arrest, and Bilbao’s city government also released a message expressing solidarity with the victim and offering municipal support.
“I was not protected at any point when I presented my case to the media,” she said, as cited by El Mundo. “I found out because my mother heard about it on the news. The city council has never contacted me either. They don’t follow through on anything they say. They do it all for show.”
A first judge decided the case should proceed, but imposed no restrictions on the accused. A second judge required him to report to court every two weeks, but again did not confiscate his passport. “He hadn’t been in attendance the last time he was scheduled to be in the courtroom,” she said, later finding out her alleged attacker had fled to his homeland. “I was in shock,” she said.
After she shared this publicly, the Basque branch of Vox wrote on X: “This is how these scoundrels operate. They commit their crimes, spend barely a few hours in the police station, and when danger looms, they disappear. We urgently need to close borders, even more so to eradicate this irrational do-gooderism. A firm hand, or the system will never work.”
Rather than solely directing her criticism toward the left-wing parties facilitating the arrival of such men, or the leniency of the judiciary in enabling his escape, Izaro took aim at the Vox party advocating for greater border security and more effective law and justice.
“My case is a summary of how to do things wrong when a woman reports a rape: your case of sexual assault is publicized, although without giving any information about me, but without even telling me whether I approve of it or not; the rapist’s passport is not taken away when it is known that, whenever he wants, he can go back to his country of origin; and, finally, a political party uses your story to spread racist junk propaganda,” she told the Spanish news outlet.
Izaro, who revealed she has been diagnosed with PTSD following the attack, said she decided to speak publicly because she does not want her story used for political ends. “Vox is going too far with me,” she said. “They’ve issued a statement saying that we need to close the borders. I’m not against foreigners; I’m against people who commit crimes, wherever they’re from. I don’t want anyone to link me to Vox or for that party to use me in their racist rhetoric.”
The figures, however, show an undeniable link between foreigners and rape, which soared to a record high in Spain last year with 5,206 incidents, or 14 reported rapes per day.
“You meet someone, you like them, they take you out because you trust them… But they end up raping you, and since then, everyone who’s supposed to understand, care for, and protect you has been taking steps in the opposite direction, Izaro said.
“The last thing I needed was Vox. Seeing myself involved in that dirty game has made me feel re-victimized.”
Seven teenagers are standing trial in Vienna, Austria, accused of raping, blackmailing, and terrorizing a 29-year-old teacher over several months. The defendants, aged between 14 and 17, are also charged with burglary and arson after allegedly breaking into the woman’s apartment and setting it ablaze.
The case began after the teacher entered into a relationship with a 16-year-old former student in April 2024. The boy, no longer in her class, had contacted her through Instagram, and they met several times. Prosecutors ruled out any abuse of authority, noting that the student was “sexually self-determined” and that the encounters were consensual.
However, the relationship led to a sustained campaign of intimidation and abuse. In May 2024, the teenager invited friends to a party at his home, including a 15-year-old Iraqi and a 17-year-old Romanian. After discovering the affair, the two allegedly threatened to expose the teacher and release compromising photos taken in her apartment.
According to prosecutors cited by Kurier, the 15-year-old Iraqi was the main instigator and used threats to control the woman. “He threatened to publish photos taken during a meeting in her apartment,” the prosecution said. The teacher was reportedly terrified of him and went on sick leave at the start of the 2024 school year due to psychological distress.
In November 2024, the teenagers allegedly sexually assaulted the teacher on her balcony and filmed the act. The group then used the recordings to blackmail the woman for months. They demanded money for drugs, alcohol, and the use of her apartment for parties, while continuing to abuse her. Her lawyer noted that a psychiatric report found she suffered from chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the assaults.
The three main defendants — a 15-year-old Iraqi, a 17-year-old Romanian, and a 15-year-old Afghan — are charged with rape, sexual abuse of a defenseless person, and aggravated extortion. All three are in pre-trial detention. Four other boys, including the teacher’s former lover, face lesser charges such as theft and complicity.
Prosecutors believe some of the defendants were involved with the so-called “Liesinger Gang,” a youth group in Vienna’s Liesing district said to have up to 80 members. One of the accused denied it was a criminal organization, saying they simply met to socialize.
The abuse culminated in a break-in and arson attack in January 2025. Prosecutors say the 15-year-old Iraqi, the 15-year-old Afghan, and a 14-year-old accomplice used a hammer to break through a window in the victim’s apartment, stole jewelry, watches, and other valuables, and then set the premises on fire.
During the investigation into the fire, police uncovered evidence of the sexual assaults and ongoing blackmail, leading to the arrests of all seven suspects. The teacher’s former student later admitted to stealing €800 from her but denied taking part in the later crimes, claiming he had “only told two friends” about the relationship.
As Remix News reported back in August, police found DNA evidence of two of the youth gang members on cigarette butts at the crime scene.
One 15-year-old youth admitted to taking taxi rides to the tune of €545, which the teacher paid for. They all say the woman consensually had sex with them.
The trial is taking place at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court and is expected to last four days.
Ukraine is interested in influencing Hungarian national elections in April, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in a new video posted to his Facebook page.
He points to work done by Ukrainians in creating an app for the rival Tisza Party, which is the main opposition facing Orbán during April national elections.
“It is clear what Ukraine’s interest is in the Hungarian parliamentary election, and it is clear who and through what they want to act in line with this interest,” said Szijjártó.
He added that “if anyone had any doubts about whether the Ukrainians would interfere in next year’s Hungarian parliamentary election, they could be sure that the Ukrainians are strongly interested in influencing the outcome of the Hungarian parliamentary election.”
The foreign minister is referencing a data leak that showed that individuals connected to Ukraine were behind the creation of an app for the Tisza party. The leak affected approximately 18,000 users of the party’s mobile app. Among the data leaked was that of one of its admins, a Ukrainian developer, Myroslav Tokar, who works for app development company PettersonApps.
This has aroused concerns that Péter Magyar, the leader of Tisza, used a Ukrainian company to develop the app, thus presumably transferring the data of Hungarian citizens to Ukraine.
The CEO of PettersonApps is Oleh Ostroverkh, a supporter of Zelensky and a member of the supervisory board of the NGO Defense Robotics UA, writes Mandiner. This NGO has close ties with the Ukrainian army’s “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion, particularly in the development, deployment, and tactical testing of ground-based drones.
Orbán’s government has pounced on the data leak, pointing to foreign influence in the hotly contested election.
“This is not surprising, as the Ukrainians and everyone else know that if a national government remains in office, then the Hungarian government’s decisions will exclusively follow the Hungarian national interest, and then Ukraine will not become a member of the European Union,” said Hungary’s foreign minister.
It is clear that there are numerous foreign interests involved in the upcoming Hungarian national elections, with Ukraine in particular likely to pull out all the stops to remove Orbán from power. Szijjártó himself makes it clear that his party will reject Ukraine’s EU and NATO membership bid if his party remains in power.
“We will not allow Brussels to unleash the Ukrainian mafia, the shoddy Ukrainian agricultural products and the war itself on the European Union. If a Brussels puppet government is established in Hungary, then obviously all obstacles to Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will be removed. It is clear what Ukraine’s interests are in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, and it is clear how they are pursuing these interests,” he concluded.
As Israel and Hamas begin talks in Sharm el-Sheikh on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Polish international affairs commentator Paweł Rakowski says this is all due to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This is the result of the intense pressure Donald Trump put on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Rakowski said on the “Gość Wydarzeń” program on Polsat News, as cited by Do Rzezcy.
The expert made no secret of his belief that the White House meeting was difficult for the Israeli leader. “Trump has laid such heavy blows on Netanyahu that he should be glad he was sitting in the White House with his wits about him,” he stated.
Rakowski emphasized that the current talks are historic: “This is most likely the first time in history that representatives of Hamas and Israel are sitting at the same table. Typically, these were different rooms, different hotels, even different cities,” he noted.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that the negotiations will not be easy: “Hamas is placing very difficult conditions on Israel. Trump’s plan is – as Trump would like to hear – outstanding, the most outstanding in history and in the history of humanity. However, it is very general, and the details are what matter most,” he said.
Rakowski noted that neither side wants to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip. “Israel won the regional war, but lost the battle for the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu is not giving up and has no intention of allowing the emergence of an independent Palestine,” he added.
According to him, Trump’s primary goal is to weaken Hamas: “Hamas knows that if the Palestinian issue is not resolved, they could return to power in a few years,” he stated.
The expert also commented on the reaction of the Israeli public: “When they see Palestinians taking to the streets in ruined Gaza, rejoicing, dancing, showing that they survived – that’s rage. It was supposed to be a show of full fury, and Hamas survived that fury. It’s a trap of sorts,” he concluded.
Germany’s pension system should gradually raise the retirement age to 73 by 2060, according to a report by the Economics Ministry’s new scientific advisory board.
The panel of economists warns that without significant reform, the system will become unsustainable as productivity stagnates and the population continues to age.
The report, presented on Monday and cited by Bild, concludes that demographic realities and low economic growth leave no alternative but to extend working lives. It was prepared by economists Justus Haucap of the University of Düsseldorf, Stefan Kolev of the Ludwig Erhard Forum, Volker Wieland of the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability in Frankfurt, and Veronica Grimm of Nuremberg University of Technology. All four are known for advocating free-market solutions and limited government intervention.
“The time for reforms is becoming increasingly urgent,” the authors wrote. “Economic output has been stagnating for years, while comparable economies are growing significantly more dynamically.” The report attributes this to weak productivity growth and demographic decline, arguing that Germany must adjust its retirement policies to reflect rising life expectancy.
“We will have to work more if we want to maintain the scope of social security without leaving even greater burdens for future generations,” the economists warned. “The retirement age must be linked to life expectancy.”
The advisory board cites Denmark as a model for its proposal. Since 2006, Denmark has tied its pension age directly to average life expectancy. The statutory retirement age there has gradually increased from 65 in 2006 to 67 today, and it is set to rise to 70 by 2040 under a reform approved by parliament in May 2025. The legislation applies to all Danish citizens born after Dec. 31, 1970, and ensures automatic adjustments every five years based on demographic forecasts.
Despite having a more favorable demographic profile than Germany, Denmark’s approach means that future generations are expected to retire later as they live longer. If current trends continue, Danes born after 1997 could face a retirement age of 73 by 2060, with average life expectancy projected to reach nearly 90.
Germany’s current plan is far less flexible. The statutory retirement age is set to rise to 67 by 2031, but any further increases would require explicit political approval. Unlike Denmark, Germany has no automatic mechanism linking pensions to life expectancy, meaning each adjustment must pass through the political process — a debate that regularly provokes strong opposition from trade unions and social groups.
Another important factor in the pension system, however, is government expenditure. A prominent issue for Europe’s largest economy currently is the fact that fewer people are paying into the coffers through income tax; meanwhile, its welfare budget has ballooned to unprecedented levels, and mass immigration is playing a critical role in this imbalance.
In November last year, Federal Employment Agency (BA) statistics 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.
Similarly, 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. Of the total, €8.15 billion went to people without German citizenship, even though they make up just around 15 percent of the population.
BA data published in April showed how the citizen’s benefit reached a record total high of €46.7 billion in 2024, a massive 10 percent increase versus 2023.
Germany’s ruling CDU/CSU bloc is now seeking to limit welfare entitlement for foreign nationals, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan and Syria, who typically remain on handouts for longer than other migrants.
“We cannot accept that hundreds of thousands of young asylum seekers here in Germany are unemployed for decades,” said CDU deputy parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg in August.
A rising welfare budget is just one of the factors in the spiraling crisis, however. Typical of much of Western Europe, Germans are having fewer babies, leading to an ageing workforce. Without addressing this fundamental issue, politicians may feel that raising the retirement age is inevitable, no matter how unpalatable for the electorate.
After Germany dropped its long-standing opposition to EU chat control, leading encrypted messenger Signal issued a dire warning about privacy in Europe, with the post going viral.
However, now European parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have joined in the criticism, with the party warning just before the EU Council vote that so-called “chat control” could end privacy entirely in Europe.
The protest from the AfD comes after Signal threatened to pull out entirely from Europe if the EU implements its surveillance plans. If Signal went through with such a move, it would be a major black eye for the EU, putting it on par with surveillance states like China.
Ruben Rupp, the digital policy spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary group, warned against “total surveillance under the guise of child protection.”
“What is being sold here is, in reality, a frontal attack on the fundamental rights of all citizens. Such a measure places the entire population under general suspicion,” Rupp said. He added that millions of innocent users would be spied on, and instead, the focus should be on harsher punishments for those who hurt or abuse children, not mass surveillance.
AfD politician Rupp wants Berlin to turn against the new spying powers that would be granted to the EU.
He said that “Germany can no longer duck away, but must vote against this surveillance madness together with freedom-oriented states like Poland and Austria. Freedom and privacy are not negotiable goods.”
The upcoming vote, scheduled for Oct. 14, would see the EU Council vote on the “Regulation on the Prevention and Combating of Child Sexual Abuse,” also known as the CSAM regulation for short.
One of the major countries long opposed to such a measure has been Germany. What the law would actually do would allow automated searches of all private messages across the entire EU, including messages, photos, and videos, in order for the EU to look for child abuse or child pornography materials. Most importantly, these messages would be accessible to the EU even if they were encrypted.
On the surface, the EU says this is necessary to view all data flow in the European Union, including all end-to-end encrypted communications. However, data protection advocates indicate that the move would lead to digital mass surveillance on par with China.
“Under the guise of protecting children, the latest Chat Control proposals would require mass scanning of every message, photo, and video on a person’s device, assessing these via a government-mandated database or AI model to determine whether they are permissible content or not,” writes Signal in a call to action.
Signal wrote a press release opposing the EU chat control plan, which gained 4 million views on X alone.
“We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe,” wrote the messaging app non-profit, which is used by hundreds of millions of people.
We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. https://t.co/015qmQnIS2
Signal further warned in its press release that the EU’s proposal “is a horrifying idea for many reasons. First, the technical consensus is clear. Scanning every message–whether you do it before, or after these messages are encrypted–negates the very premise of end-to-end encryption. Instead of having to break the gold-standard Signal encryption protocol to access someone’s Signal messages, hackers and hostile nation states only need to piggyback on the access granted to the scanning system. This threat is so severe that even intelligence agencies agree it would be catastrophic for national security.”
There are further fears that the program could be rolled out to protect children, but over time, it could be expanded to censor political speech and arrest or punish political opponents of the ruling liberal establishment in Europe. Notably, users have been prosecuted for sharing memes, political content, and “off-color” jokes, oftentimes in private groups, such as the case of Dries Van Langenhove in Belgium.
Czech President Petr Pavel has acknowledged that there is “an interest in a coalition government of three parties” following the first round of post-election consultations with leaders of the political movements that entered the Chamber of Deputies.
Speaking after two days of meetings at Prague Castle, Pavel said discussions have so far been “open, factual, and fair,” and that further talks will depend on program and personnel agreements between the parties, iDNES reported.
“It is clear that there is an interest in the coalition government of three parties,” said Pavel, who on Monday received right-wing SPD leader Tomio Okamura and anti-establishment Motorists chairman Petr Macinka, both of whom are in active talks with Andrej Babiš, the chairman of the victorious ANO movement.
According to the president, the process of forming a government will proceed in parallel with the establishment of the new Chamber of Deputies. “The distribution of forces in the Chamber — how the individual political parties will be represented in its bodies — will naturally also influence the composition of the government,” he said, adding that there was no attempt to rush the process.
Okamura confirmed that the SPD is seeking direct participation in the new government, with ambitions for “at least one, ideally two or three ministerial positions.” He said that talks with ANO are ongoing, with the next round of meetings expected this week.
“Specific ministries are still a matter of negotiation, it depends on the winner of the elections and what constellation he will choose,” Okamura said, emphasizing that his party’s main goal is to “implement a program so that people have more money.”
Echo24 reported the SPD’s negotiating team, led by deputy chairman Radim Fiala, is coordinating daily with ANO officials, while the newly elected SPD parliamentary group — 15 deputies, including representatives of allied parties such as Trikolóra and PRO — will meet for the first time on Tuesday.
Babiš, who won the election with a strong mandate but fell short of an overall majority, has said his preference remains a single-party minority government supported by ad-hoc agreements with other factions. However, several senior ANO officials have signaled that forming a coalition may be unavoidable.
ANO vice-chairman Robert Králíček told Echo Prime Time that while a “single-color government” remains the goal, political realities require flexibility. “Negotiations are at the beginning — it is premature to talk about any specific outlines now,” he said. “Andrej Babiš has a clear mandate from the movement’s presidency to negotiate a single-party government, which is our priority, but politics is the art of the possible.”
Králíček added that ANO is more politically aligned with the Motorists party than with the SPD, citing previous cooperation in the European Parliament and shared economic objectives. However, he warned that the SPD’s proposal for a referendum on leaving NATO and the EU remains a “red line” for ANO. “Each party wants to push through its program, but there are limits we will not cross,” he said.
Motorists leader Petr Macinka has already signaled his readiness to join a governing coalition, calling for a balanced budget within four years — an idea Babiš has called “nonsense” — while agreeing on tax and investment reforms to boost state revenues.
President Pavel said his role at this stage is to ensure a constructive and transparent process, not to set deadlines. “If there is a consensus on programmatic intersections and personnel, I am ready to give the election winner the mandate to form the government,” he said.
The International “Tisza Islands” meeting was held in Munich on Aug. 30-31, but a speech given by Attila Gáspárik, a Transylvanian actor and Tisza Party sympathizer, is just hitting the headlines.
Other speakers included those close to Tisza’s campaign, including one female economist, Mária Zita Petschnig, who opposes Orbán’s family benefit programs.
In his speech, Gáspárik went on a long-winded rant, insulting fellow Transylvanians, including famous writers; questioned the legitimacy of nation-states; and spoke disparagingly about Transylvanians in general, Mandiner reports.
Previously, Gáspárik stated about Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party: “I feel that many people are looking with confidence and hope at Péter Magyar’s political activity from Transylvania, and he will have enough to do here to help clean up the intellectual mess that Fidesz has caused here by building up its clientele.”
Gáspárik asked attendees, “If you don’t pay taxes, then why do you vote? What does it have to do with you?” he asked, taking aim at Fidesz allowing ethnic Hungarians living outside the borders of Hungary to gain citizenship and vote.
He also had some bad news for those ethnic Hungarians in Romania who stick to the importance of nation-states. Those who think in terms of nation-states, he said, do not take into account that “minorities cannot fit into a nation-state” and “if Romania were to ever truly build a nation-state,” Transylvanian Hungarians would either have to go to Germany to wash dishes or be “non-thieving Romanians” in Hungary for the rest of their lives.
After questioning the talent of writers Sándor Márai and Albert, he then insulted all Kossuth Prize-winning Transylvanian artists collectively, who, in his opinion, were all unknown and only received the recognition for political reasons.
“They tell us who the writer is, who the poet is, who the artist is. So, for example, people from Transylvania received Kossuth awards, which even in a well-equipped newspaper editorial office it would take ten minutes to find out who they were,” he said.
He even reportedly compared high-ranking officials in Hungary to Germany’s Sonderkommandos in World War II.
In a final statement, he glorified Trianon to those gathered with what could only be called a tasteless joke: “In fact, Hungary’s old dream of a unified Hungarian state, without minorities, was realized in Trianon,” he said, referencing the post-WWI treaty that saw Hungary lose two-thirds of its territory.
Meanwhile, Tisza, the main contender against Fidesz in next year’s parliamentary elections, is scrambling to contain a data leak impacting some 18,000 users of the party’s mobile app. Among the data leaked was that of one of its admins, a Ukrainian developer, Myroslav Tokar, who works for app development company PettersonApps.
This has aroused concerns that Péter Magyar used a Ukrainian company to develop the app, thus presumably transferring the data of Hungarian citizens to Ukraine.
The CEO of PettersonApps is Oleh Ostroverkh, a supporter of Zelensky and a member of the supervisory board of the NGO Defense Robotics UA, writes Mandiner. This NGO has close ties with the Ukrainian army’s “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion, particularly in the development, deployment, and tactical testing of ground-based drones.
Yet another leak hurting Tisza is related to its plan to hike taxes on Hungarians once elected. Balázs Orbán, PM Orbán’s political director, posted on X that the so-called champion of free speech was busy trying to shut down negative press, even forcefully.
According to him, “Zoltán Fekete-Szalóky, editor-in-chief of Index, the outlet that published Tisza’s leaked tax plans, Péter Magyar repeatedly harassed their journalists, even phoning one while on vacation and shouting at him over an article.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has again denounced the European Union’s handling of the war in Ukraine, declaring that Slovakia’s goal is not Russia’s defeat but peace between “Slavs killing each other.”
Speaking during a televised discussion marking the 81st anniversary of the Battle of the Dukla Pass, Fico said that “the war could have ended three months after it started,” accusing Western powers of prolonging the conflict to fight Russia indirectly.
“War is no solution. If the EU had spent as much energy on peace as it does on supporting the war in Ukraine, the war could have ended long ago. I will never be a wartime prime minister,” Fico said, insisting that if Slovaks wanted such a leader, “they should elect someone else.”
The prime minister added that he would “never allow Slovakia to be dragged into any war adventure,” citing “no moral, historical, or legal reasons” for the country to become involved in the conflict.
“It is not our war,” he said. “It is a regional conflict with historical roots. Why should Slovakia talk about war now?”
Fico also dismissed recent EU discussions on creating an anti-drone defense wall along the bloc’s eastern flank. “Let the experts talk about it. What can a prime minister who has never fired a gun say about drone protection? That is an expert question,” he remarked.
He also confirmed that a new round of talks between the Slovak and Ukrainian governments would take place in Michalovce on Oct. 17.
Marking the wartime commemoration, Fico warned against what he described as historical amnesia, saying that Europe was “forbidding” celebrations of the end of World War II and dismantling Red Army monuments. “We have to talk about what the hell is happening today,” he said, condemning leaders who “speak so lightly about war” and “talk about defeating Russia” without recalling “the terrible suffering” of past generations.
Fico’s comments are in sharp contrast to those made last week by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who told the Warsaw Security Forum that the Ukraine war is “our war.” Tusk described it as “central to Europe’s security and values,” warning that “if we lose this war, the consequences will affect not only our generation but also the next generations in Poland, all of Europe, in the United States, everywhere in the world.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán swiftly rebuked Tusk, posting on X: “Dear Donald Tusk, you may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union. You are playing a dangerous game with the lives and security of millions of Europeans.”
The divide highlights the deep fracture running through Central Europe’s response to the conflict. Orbán and Fico, both critical of EU sanctions and weapons deliveries, have positioned themselves as advocates for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations with Moscow.
They have also acquired a new ally over the weekend in Prague after Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement won national elections, leaving Tusk isolated within the Visegrád Group.
Babiš has pledged to withdraw from a Czech-led initiative to procure artillery shells for Ukraine and declared that Kyiv is “not ready” for EU membership. “We have to end the war first,” Babiš told a Ukrainian journalist. “Of course, we can cooperate with Ukraine. But you are not ready for the EU.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave a sweeping interview to the EconomX channel on YouTube.
Talking up some recent measures the government launched in July, he was confident they would be a boost to the economy. He also touched on new family tax credits, the personal income tax exemption for mothers with three children, and the new 3 percent loan to be introduced for small businesses.
Taxes were front and center on the agenda, especially as elections are next spring, with Orbán emphasizing that under Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party, taxes would be raised, as that is what Brussels demands.
He also addressed rumors that the popular flat-tax KATA vehicle for self-employment taxation would be expanded again, “particularly for intellectual or ‘brain-based’ work, as noted by the government’s About Hungary portal.
“’The Hungarian brain is the most valuable economic asset,’ he declared, suggesting that the government is looking for ways to support high-skill, individual entrepreneurship more effectively,” it wrote.
Nevertheless, given past abuses of KATA, the government must ensure there is no repeat of such instances before allowing more people to utilize it.
The focus of this government, the prime minister made clear, is to have a tax system that is “as simple as possible and would provide a financial source accessible to everyone,” according to Index.
On this front, the VAT exemption limit for individual entrepreneurs may change as well. Currently, the measure would affect approximately half a million entrepreneurs, who would see the VAT deduction go as high as HUF 24 million ($72,000).
Turning back to the economy in general, Orbán noted that the availability of energy and its price will be a decisive factor in the next 5-10 years across the globe, indicating that investors will simply go where energy is cheap.
As to Hungary joining the euro, the Hungarian prime minister flat-out said there is zero chance of this, as it would tie the country even closer to the EU by way of adopting the euro.
“Let us have a forint, a forint with a strength that is good for the economy. The more people work, the more money they earn, and the exchange rate serves this purpose,” he said.
Emphasizing improved relations with the U.S., Orbán told viewers that since Donald Trump’s presidency, around HUF 150 billion of American investment has come to Hungary. Nevertheless, with the push by the new admin for more investment in America, he expects a multiple of that amount from the U.S. to be invested in Hungary.
This will be front and center when the two leaders meet again, which Orbán indicated will be soon.
France was plunged into deeper political chaos on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned just 27 days into office, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history.
His government collapsed only hours after officially taking office following cabinet appointments, leaving President Emmanuel Macron scrambling to restore stability amid mounting calls for snap elections.
Lecornu’s sudden departure marks the fifth change of prime minister under Macron in barely two years. His resignation followed fierce backlash over his newly announced cabinet, which angered both left and right-wing factions for being, in their view, either too conservative or insufficiently so.
In a brief statement, Lecornu said he could not continue under the current political conditions. “Being prime minister is a difficult task. You cannot be prime minister when the conditions are not right,” he said. Citing his failed efforts to govern without relying on Article 49.3 — an emergency constitutional clause allowing laws to pass without a parliamentary vote — he added, “Certain political parties have pretended not to see the change, the rupture represented by not using Article 49.3.”
Just 14 hours elapsed between Lecornu announcing on social media the appointment of his new government and his resignation speech.
Following Lecornu’s resignation, National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella demanded new elections. “There can be no restored stability without a return to the polls and without the dissolution of the National Assembly. The National Rally will be ready to assume its responsibilities and govern if the French people grant it a majority,” Bardella declared.
Marine Le Pen went further, saying “there is no solution, there will not be one tomorrow,” and urged Macron to dissolve parliament, adding that the president’s own resignation would be “wise.”
Il n'y a pas de solution, il n'y en aura pas demain : j'appelle le président de la République à dissoudre l'Assemblée nationale. pic.twitter.com/z9TfxNK8ke
On the far left, France Unbowed (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called Lecornu’s departure “the final proof of Macron’s failure” and demanded that the National Assembly approve a motion to oust the president. “Following the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu, we call for immediate consideration of the motion tabled by 104 MPs for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron,” he said. LFI MP Louis Boyard echoed that “the time has come for the Sixth Republic,” ominously warning that “Macron must resign or the people will force him out.”
Après la démission de Sébastien Lecornu, nous demandons l’examen immédiat de la motion déposée par 104 députés pour la destitution d’Emmanuel Macron.
Éric Ciotti, head of the Union of the Right and Centre (LRLC), said Macron “must learn the lessons of this chaos. When there is a crisis, the only solution is elections.” He added that “the best would naturally be a presidential election,” something Macron has — understandably, given the current polling — resisted.
The latest crisis leaves Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance in disarray, with polls showing it trailing badly. According to current data, the National Rally leads with 32 percent support, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front on 25 percent, Macron’s Ensemble on 15 percent, and the Republicans on 12 percent.
The political paralysis has had a profound knock-on effect on the French economy. Public debt has soared to 113.9 percent of GDP, and its public deficit is nearly twice the EU’s 3-percent limit.
A 28-year-old Algerian man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 2, on a European arrest warrant, for the brutal murder of Iraqi Christian activist Ashur Sarnaya, who was living in France after fleeing from Iraq due to the threats from ISIS.
The 28-year-old Algerian suspect is expected to be returned to France within a few weeks, according to Paris Match, which broke the news of the arrest, which took place in Bari, Puglia, in southern Italy.
At the moment, it is unclear what role the Algerian may have played in the murder of Ashur, but he was near the scene of the crime.
🇫🇷 A French woman is allegedly told her outfit is "haram," which means "forbidden" in Islam.
The girl, wearing a cross necklace, responds: "It’s a good thing I’m a Christian."
The incident happened at Music Festival 2025 in Paris, which saw widespread violence and 371 arrests.… pic.twitter.com/f8s2H25WiG
Originally from Iraqi Kurdistan, Ashur was confined to a wheelchair and was murdered in front of the entrance to his building.
He had been dealing with years of death threats from Islamic extremists, including after he moved to France.
Emergency services discovered Sarnaya in cardiorespiratory arrest and were unable to keep him alive.
“According to his shocked neighbors, Ashur Sarnaya had been living with his sister for at least 10 years in the building in front of which he was killed,” wrote Paris Match.
Sarnaya and his sister fled Iraq in 2014 after the Islamic State group threatened Sarnaya over his Christianity. He and his sister ended up in Lyon, France.
“On his online accounts, the victim spoke Arabic and posted videos often devoted to the Christian religion. In one of these videos, he claimed that his content was regularly blocked and his accounts suspended due to, according to him, reports from Muslim internet users,” the paper further wrote.
The Œuvre d’Orient, a Catholic association that helps Christians in the Middle East, issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms the murder of an Iraqi Christian in a vulnerable situation” and hoped for “the conclusions of the investigation as quickly as possible.”
The murder has had far-reaching repercussions in France, with Christians increasingly fearful of expressing their beliefs.
French TikTok influencer “Margow_en_Christ,” with 225,000 followers, specifically cited the recent murder of Sarnaya as a reason why she would stop talking about her own Christianity. Margow said she has received constant death threats for her content.
🇫🇷✝️ After Iraqi Christian murdered in France, a French TikTok influencer says she is being forced to stop her Christian content out of fear for her family.
"Margow_en_Christ," with 225,000 followers, specifically cites the recent murder of Ashur Sarnaya, a Christian killed with… pic.twitter.com/HMQ1XAV4GF
Even if a motive has not yet been established in the murder of Sarnaya, Christians still fear the case was tied to Sarnaya’s open Christianity and statements opposed to Islam.
The attack has already been labeled a hate crime by authorities, with such hate crimes against Christians commonplace in France. The Centre de Réflexion sur la Sécurité Intérieure (CRSI) reported that the first half of 2025 saw a 13 percent increase in anti-Christian acts compared to the same period in 2024.
The president of the Assyrian-Chaldean Association of Lyon also released a statement, saying Sarnaya was a “very kind, discreet, deeply religious person who liked to talk about the Christian faith.” Sarnaya’s distant cousin had this to say about his relative’s death in a Facebook post: “He spent his last moments doing exactly what he loved: spreading the gospel. (…) In my opinion, he is a martyr, and his faith will always be an inspiration.”
As for “Margow_en_Christ,” she said: “I am a Christian and I always will be…but I’ve been making videos about Christianity for five years, and in five years, I’ve received a lot of unpleasant messages, including death threats.”
“I think you saw the person with a disability who was killed in Lyon because he claimed his faith live on TikTok”, she says, referring to Sarnaya. “I can’t afford to put my family in danger.”
France has the largest Muslim population in the EU. The country has faced a massive problem with radical Islam, with security services and the government constantly working on policy and law enforcement methods to fight these threats, including the serious threat of terrorism in France.
Spain’s nationalist Vox party has pledged to reverse what it calls the “Islamization” of the country after new government data revealed that the number of mosques has almost doubled in just over a decade.
According to figures published by the Observatory of Religious Pluralism, an agency under the Ministry of the Presidency, Spain now has 1,945 Muslim places of worship — a rise of 95 percent since 2011.
These are spread across 1,045 municipalities, which The Objective writes is an indication that mosques are no longer confined to major cities but have also become established in small towns and rural areas as Islam becomes more prominent in Spanish society.
Nearly 60 percent of all mosques are located in four autonomous communities: Catalonia, Andalusia, the Valencian Community, and Madrid. Catalonia tops the list with 371 mosques, followed by Andalusia with 322, Valencia with 243, and Madrid with 143. In Andalusia, the distribution is more even, with Almería leading at 81 Muslim places of worship. At the opposite end of the scale, Cantabria has only six mosques, the fewest of any region.
Some, of course, are architectural landmarks that remain from historic caliphates and Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Most, however, are not and cater to the increasing Muslim demographic residing in the country.
The report notes that the increase is not solely due to new immigration but also to the consolidation of long-established Muslim communities, many of whose members are now Spanish citizens. The Observatory attributes this to both demographic change and the expansion of organizational and cultural structures within these communities.
Vox’s secretary general, Ignacio Garriga, accused both mainstream parties and regional separatists of fostering policies that he claims have “led to the Islamization of Spain.” In a post on social media, Garriga wrote: “The suicidal migration policy of the two-party system and separatism has led to the Islamization of Spain and turned Catalonia into a Mecca for European jihadism. We will reverse it to guarantee our security and ensure the historical continuity of our nation.”
La política migratoria suicida del bipartidismo y del separatismo ha provocado la islamización de España y ha convertido a Cataluña en la meca del yihadismo europeo.
Lo revertiremos para garantizar nuestra seguridad y asegurar la continuidad histórica de nuestra nación. https://t.co/DIwyQDc4WO
Garriga’s statement reflects a broader Vox narrative that links rising immigration to insecurity and cultural decline. The party has repeatedly called for tighter border controls, the closure of “radical mosques,” and the prioritization of Spanish cultural identity.
The figures come at a time when Spain continues to see unprecedented numbers of illegal migrants arriving from across the Mediterranean, many of whom arrive on the Canary Islands archipelago to then be transferred to the Spanish mainland.
🇪🇸 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
Meanwhile, churches continue to be targeted, not just in Spain but across wider Western Europe. In August, a 21-year-old Moroccan national was arrested after he broke into and set fire to the historic Church of Santiago Apóstol in El Pozuelo, Granada.
That same month, a church in Mainz, Germany, was vandalized, and French clergymen have reported an uptick in attacks and thefts in their places of worship.
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.
“They didn’t insult me directly, but they shouted things like, ‘Jesus, we’re f***ing you,’” Fr. Laurent Milan told local media. “They were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ and told us several times, ‘We’re going to come back and burn your church.’”
It is unclear how Vox would seek to reverse the trend. Other nationalist parties, including Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands, have campaigned on mosque bans previously, but have ultimately ended up dropping proposals deemed unpalatable by prospective coalition partners.
In 2023, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson called for Swedish authorities to be handed the power to requisition and demolish mosques that are proven to be used to promote messages incompatible with Western values, and said Sweden should impose a ban on the construction of new mosques.
“It is not a right to come to our country and build monuments to a foreign and imperialist ideology,” Åkesson told his party’s members.
“In the long term, we need to start confiscating and demolishing mosque buildings where anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, or anti-Semitic propaganda or general misinformation about Swedish society is spread.
“Minarets, domes, crescents, or other attributes that serve as Islamic monuments in the cityscape should be completely removed,” he added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed condolences to Sweden following the mass shooting in Gävle on Saturday night, in which a 14-year-old boy opened fire outside a restaurant, injuring six people.
Orbán wrote on social media that he was “praying for all Swedes seeking safety in their own communities” following the latest attack in the Scandinavian country plagued by gang violence.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. in Gävle’s Söder district. Police found six people wounded, all young adults, several aged 18. Four victims remain in the hospital, though none are in life-threatening condition. According to police, the suspect — described by Swedish media as a 14-year-old from the Gävleborg area — was apprehended shortly after the attack and has alleged ties to a criminal gang.
My deepest condolences to @SwedishPM, Ulf Kristersson, and the people of Sweden, following the heinous shooting in Gävle. We pray for the victims, their families, their parents, and for all Swedes seeking safety in their own communities. 🙏
Because the suspect is under 15, he cannot be held criminally responsible under current Swedish law; the case has been referred to social services. The government has announced plans to temporarily lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, but the reform has not yet taken effect.
Karin Wessén, head of investigations in Gävleborg, said the police had made “several interesting seizures” and now had “a good picture of the course of events,” including from digital evidence. Aftonbladet reported that the case is being investigated as six counts of attempted murder and aggravated weapons offences.
The attack came less than a month after two 14-year-old boys with a migration background were arrested for a grenade attack on a family villa while family members, including children, were inside in Eskilstuna back in April. Again, due to their age, they cannot be found criminally responsible, something gangs take advantage of by using minors to perpetrate their crimes.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement that the shooting “shakes all of us” and emphasized the importance of continuing the government’s “comprehensive reorientation of policy” aimed at restoring security. “The police are doing everything they can to find out what happened, prosecute those responsible, and create safety and calm,” he wrote.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer described the incident as marked by “extreme ruthlessness” and called it another dark example of Sweden’s spiralling gang violence. “If it is true that the person holding the weapon is under 15 years old, it is yet another grim example of how far the violence has penetrated down the age groups,” he said, stressing that his ministry was in continuous contact with police.
In Gävle, police increased their visible presence in public places over the weekend. “These types of events create insecurity,” Wessén said. “That’s why we will continue to be visible and accessible to the public.”
Orbán’s public sympathy for the Swedish victims follows months of friction between Budapest and Stockholm, which only recently concluded its NATO accession process after Hungary delayed ratification for over a year.
The two EU member states locked horns over remarks made by Swedish lawmakers about democracy in Hungary, while officials in Budapest hit back over the damning consequences of liberal policies and mass immigration across the Scandinavian country.
Remix News reported last October that, according to Swedish government data, three out of four murders are committed by migrants, and the rate of gun murders per capita in Stockholm is 30 times that of London.
In 2018 alone, 162 bomb blasts rocked the country — almost one every two days. In Sweden, the number of fatal shootings has increased significantly since 2017, resulting in a record-high number of shooting murders.
In January of this year, there was more than one explosion recorded per day across the country as bomb and grenade attacks became commonplace.
“Sweden is facing an epidemic of shootings and bombings unmatched in the Western world. It is reasonable to address the reality that criminals are getting younger,” Strömmer said at the time.
After four long years in the political wilderness, Andrej Babiš returns to presumably lead the Czech Republic after his blowout victory. In neighboring Hungary, Viktor Orbán was jubilant, celebrating the victory of his ally, while in Slovakia, Robert Fico also toasted to Babis’ huge win.
Orbán and Fico are grizzled veterans of the political wars within their own countries, and now Babis is being welcomed back into the fold. One cannot help but think back to the famous “Hangover” scene. Orbán, long in the driver’s seat in Hungary, with a tired Fico smiling warily from the backseat, still recovering from an assassination attempt that nearly killed him last year, and Babis fist-pumping from the passenger seat. At least that is one way to imagine Babis’ comeback victory.
Hungarian media is also doing the victory rounds, with Magyar Nemzet writing that Babis’ “return will further strengthen the influence of patriotic leaders in the European Union.” The paper further wrote that “his result could create another opportunity to increase the influence of the V4 and Patriots in Europe.”
Notably, Babis’ ANO party is already a member of Orbán’s group in the European Parliament, the Patriots of Europe.
“The Patriots will have two prime ministers, and we will continue to fight against the crazy green strategy of the European Commission. Hopefully, we will win the next elections and destroy this coalition that Weber represents and that is destroying Europe. Look at the energy prices, look at the EU migration pact, and so on. Whatever happens in Germany and other countries, we were strong and we are strong,” Babis told Magyar Nemzet right before the national election.
Orbán will also have a leader who backs his position of rejecting Ukraine in NATO and the EU, which is a huge boost to the Hungarian position. Orbán was mostly alone on this front until now.
Speaking to a Ukrainian journalist about EU membership, Babis said: “You are not ready for the EU. First, we need to end the war. Of course, we can cooperate with Ukraine. But you are not ready for the EU. The Western Balkan states have been waiting for 20 to 25 years and are ready to join, but Ukraine is not ready for this.”
Babis has also said that although Czechia provides financial assistance, his country will now give priority to the citizens of the Czech Republic if they have to decide on resources.
“We will not ban Czech companies from exporting weapons to Ukraine — there is no problem with that, but when people can’t afford cancer treatment and teachers and single mothers can’t even pay their bills, we give this money to Czech citizens instead,” he said.
Babis himself noted that his goal is to weaken the coalition that he believes is taking Europe in an unfavorable direction.
Babis’ victory may be so huge that it could change the internal dynamics of the European Union, and greatly boost the perspective of the Hungarian government, all of which the Budapest media is openly stating.
“A new government could confront the EU migration pact, and we predict that before the Dutch elections at the end of the month, the Freedom Party, which also strengthens the Patriots for Europe group, will have a towering lead, led by our good friend Geert Wilders,” writes Hungarian media commentator László.Szőcs.
“From our perspective, this is especially important because, together with Fidesz President Viktor Orbán and Austrian Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl, Babis was a co-founder of Patriots for Europe, a right-wing alliance organized in Central Europe that can now boast it is the third-largest faction in the European Parliament. The others joined later. All three are well-known speakers at CPAC, the global rallying cry of the right; Babis has also been invited to Budapest in 2026,” he further writes.
However, there are still aspects about Babis’ victory that should give conservatives pause before they drink the whole bottle of champagne and wake up with a terrible hangover.
For one, Babis will rule a minority government, scoring 80 seats out of the 200-seat lower house in Prague. That means coalition negotiations and external support are required to rule. This could make Babis’ rule unstable from the very beginning, with parties like the SPD likely trying to push him even farther to the right than he might be comfortable with.
There is also the matter of Czech President Petr Pavel, who has already signaled he may not even seat Babis as prime minister due to Babis’ “business dealings,” which he finds questionable. That outcome, however, is unlikely.
For now, it seems a lot like the “boys are back,” and all those annoying details can wait for a bit. There was once a time when the Visegrád Four (V4) was a real force in Europe, with four conservative leaders remarkably unified on core issues affecting the nations of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia. It is quite remarkable that much of the old crew, Fico and Babis, are now back in power with Orbán, who never left power. The only odd man out now? Poland’s Donald Tusk, who remains obstinately opposed to Orbán, in particular, with the two battling each other on X on a regular basis.
Of course, Orbán is arguably in a fight for his political life in Hungary, with the Tisza party the greatest threat he has faced in the last decade. Hungarian national elections in April will determine much about Europe’s future direction.
After Germany’s former chancellor, Angela Merkel, dispelled talk of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán working for Putin as “nonsense,” one opposition politician in Hungary had a fervent message.
While visiting Budapest last week and holding talks with Orbán, Merkel gave an interview to Partizán, during which she was asked about the relationship between Putin and Orbán.
“Have you ever felt that Viktor Orbán is President Putin’s Trojan horse inside the European Union?”
“No, that’s nonsense,” Merkel replies, shaking her head. “We’re not falling for that. We would never fall for such things. I find it absurd.”
⚠️ Years of politically driven accusations, reduced to a single word by 🇩🇪 Angela Merkel: “Nonsense.” The former German Chancellor dismissed as absurd the claim that 🇭🇺 @PM_ViktorOrban is "Russia’s Trojan horse". Even she refused to endorse such propaganda. pic.twitter.com/Dq9foEjJ83
“Years of politically driven accusations, reduced to a single word by Angela Merkel: ‘Nonsense,’” posted Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán.
In what has become a widely covered outburst, Agnes Vadai, an MP for the Democratic Coalition (DK), posted on Facebook a rebuke to Merkel’s statement, essentially disregarding her as just another one of Putin’s cronies and indicating she believes that Merkel and Orbán are working together for Russia.
“The former chancellor, who grew up in the GDR, was one of those who did not stop Putin in 2014 when the Russians occupied Crimea. She was the one who insisted that economic relations would promote stronger political relations with Russia,” she wrote.
“Merkel only cared about the German economy, which is based on Russian energy! She often saved Orbán in the interests of German investments in Hungary, while showing no interest in the steadily deteriorating state of Hungarian democracy,” her post continues, full of exclamation marks.
Vadai then put forth her theory that both Orbán and Merkel are “Trojan horses” for Russia. “For the sake of her own reputation, she made unprincipled deals with Orbán in the European Union. In my opinion, Orbán is indeed Putin’s Trojan horse. But now it is clear that he was not alone!”
Vadai was one of the founding members of DK when it was still a faction inside the Socialist Party (MSZP) and then became its vice president after it became its own party in 2010 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.
Merkel held a meeting with Orbán as well, with Orbán posting photos of the two together on Facebook captioned: “Once a Chancellor, always a Chancellor in our eyes. Welcome to Hungary, Angela Merkel!”
Orbán Viktor Facebook
The friendly meeting between the two was a surprise for some, given their staunch disagreement over migration and Orbán’s continuous stance that Merkel’s “Welcome culture” of open borders during the 2015-2016 migration crisis has led to the downfall of Europe.
Andrej Babiš’s ANO party has won the Czech parliamentary election held on Oct. 3–4, securing 34.5 percent of the vote and 80 of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
Despite the commanding victory, it leaves Babiš short of the 101 seats required for a majority and facing difficult coalition talks with smaller, more radical parties.
The center-right SPOLU coalition, led by outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala, suffered heavy losses, taking just 23.4 percent and 52 seats. The centrist Mayors and Independents (STAN) followed with 11.2 percent and 22 seats, while the Czech Pirate Party rebounded strongly with 9 percent and 18 seats. Tomio Okamura’s nationalist Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) secured 7.8 percent and 15 seats, and the anti-establishment Motorists party secured 6.8 percent and 13 seats.
No other party crossed the five-percent threshold. The left-wing Stačilo! alliance narrowly failed to enter parliament with roughly 4.3 percent of the vote, marking another setback for the Czech left.
Turnout stood at nearly 69 percent, one of the highest in recent years.
Babiš, who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, declared victory on Saturday night, telling supporters that “voters have made it clear that they want change.” He vowed to “form a strong, stable government that will put Czech citizens first” and said his priority would be tackling inflation and cutting energy prices.
Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala conceded defeat and congratulated Babiš, acknowledging that “the governing coalition no longer has the mandate to continue.” He said SPOLU would now serve as a constructive opposition and “defend the Czech Republic’s European and democratic orientation.”
With 80 seats, ANO cannot govern alone. Babiš has ruled out cooperation with SPOLU, STAN, or the Pirates, and instead plans to form either a minority government tolerated by smaller right-wing parties or a formal coalition with SPD and the Motorists. Together, those three groups would control 108 seats.
Such a coalition would, however, face resistance from President Petr Pavel, who has signaled that he would refuse to appoint ministers hostile to the European Union or NATO. SPD leader Tomio Okamura said he would only back Babiš if his party received ministerial positions and if the government pledged to oppose further migration quotas and European climate regulations. Motorists leader Petr Macinka likewise demanded “real influence, not just symbolic gestures.”
However, ANO deputy leader Karel Havlicek told Czech Television on Sunday, “We will not compromise on our promises and program. It is true that the key to starting the economy is our Economic Strategy. We are a solid part of NATO and the EU, and it will remain that way. The Alliance is the basis of security, but the Union must undergo fundamental reform.”
The most likely outcome is a minority ANO government relying on support from the fringes in key votes. “Babiš will try to govern alone but with external backing from SPD and the Motorists,” political scientist Lukáš Jelínek told Czech Television. “The president may tolerate that arrangement, but it will be a fragile one.”
No major resignations have been announced so far, though leaders of the defeated Stačilo! alliance said they would “review the campaign and leadership structure” after falling short of parliament.
The election signals another nationalist shift in Central Europe, aligning Prague more closely with Hungary and Slovakia in opposing EU migration and environmental policies, while maintaining formal support for NATO.
It will also inevitably have ramifications for Ukraine, with Babiš far more in the camp of Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on further financing and arming Kyiv.
Truth has prevailed! @AndrejBabis has won the Czech parliamentary elections with a convincing lead. A big step for the Czech Republic, good news for Europe. Congratulations, Andrej! pic.twitter.com/jyqU5EVqc6
Orbán took to social media to congratulate his political ally, writing, “Truth has prevailed! Andrej Babiš has won the Czech parliamentary elections with a convincing lead. A big step for the Czech Republic, good news for Europe.”
Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, an ally of Babis’ ANO in the Patriots for Europe parliamentary party, also wrote, “The Patriots are advancing all across Europe! Our friend Andrej Babiš, an ally of the League in the EU, wins the elections in the Czech Republic, crushes the left (at historic lows!), and is preparing to lead a government that will focus on fighting illegal immigration, saying no to war, and stopping Brussels’ crazy policies.”
Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński has taken aim at Poland’s former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, reportedly due to his rising popularity.
Morawiecki, PiS vice president and president of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament, once ruled the Lower Silesian structures of Law and Justice, along with MEP Michał Dworczyk. Now, PiS head Kaczyński has decided to expel seven councilors from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Assembly and suspend their party membership rights.
All seven were closely linked with Morawiecki and Dworczyk’s former faction. According to Onet, this decision is “the beginning of Mateusz’s expulsion from PiS.”
Onet learned from one politician that Morawiecki “meets with MPs whose names are almost unknown, but in doing so, he gathers new people around him.”
“It’s about who will take over the PiS party and have a chance at becoming the next prime minister. Mateusz has been under fire for some time now: He’s not invited to internal party meetings, and the chairman no longer looks at him as uncritically as he once did,” a PiS parliamentary politician told Onet.
Local media reported, according to Do Rzeczy, that the changes were prompted by friction within the PiS caucus and the attitudes of some councilors toward decisions by the party’s regional authorities. This reported split in the Lower Silesian PiS party coincided with Jarosław Kaczyński’s visit to Wrocław. The PiS leader visited the Lower Silesian capital on Monday as part of a series of meetings with voters called “Poland Won.”
Asked about the conflict on Radip ZET, former Minister of Digital Affairs Janusz Cieszyński noted that there are currently two factions in the Sejm: that of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and that of former Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek.
“We’re in a situation today where if we split internally, only one person will be happy about it – Donald Tusk, who will thus postpone the moment when his incompetent government will be toppled.”
“In my opinion, this is being said by people who live in Warsaw and see that Mateusz Morawiecki has been doing very well in politics lately, and the goal is to weaken his position,” said Cieszyński.
“I think Mateusz Morawiecki would be an excellent prime minister. He’s proven this over six years in this position. However, Law and Justice – and that’s our strength – has many faces. And that’s a good thing. There are no parties that can be led by just one person,” he added.
The Spanish National Police has announced the arrest of 12 people in Vic for orchestrating fraudulent partnerships between Spaniards and illegal immigrants, part of a growing Europe-wide problem involving forged documents, sham marriages, and black markets for residency permits.
According to police, the network operating from the Catalonian town specialized in manufacturing fake family links to secure residence permits reserved for relatives of EU citizens.
As reported by 20 Minutos, the investigation began in November 2024, when authorities noticed a cluster of suspicious applications. In each case, the foreign applicant was living illegally in Spain and claimed to be in a stable partnership with a Spanish citizen. All applicants listed the same address on Rambla del Passeig, which investigators discovered was in fact a café.
The fraud unraveled when police found that the couples had not registered with the official Registry of Stable Partnerships and instead submitted forged documents to immigration officials. Among the arrested is the alleged mastermind who arranged the sham marriages, provided the fake paperwork, and advised clients on how to present their applications.
At least five foreigners managed to obtain legal residency before the scheme was uncovered, halting their deportations and granting them full EU benefits. In total, 14 applications were examined, with authorities seizing forged registration forms, partnership certificates, and payroll slips.
The case follows a separate investigation in northern Spain back in February, where police dismantled a ring arranging marriages of convenience between Spanish women and foreign men seeking legal residency. A lawyer from Miranda de Ebro, a male recruiter, and a female intermediary were arrested after police uncovered 13 planned sham marriages. Migrants allegedly paid up to €10,000 each to be paired with a Spanish partner, while women were offered between €3,000 and €4,000 to go through with the marriage.
Spanish authorities noted that such networks are lucrative for those involved. In 2020, another criminal group was disbanded for arranging over 50 sham marriages for Indian and Pakistani migrants, charging €20,000 each. That network had members operating across Barcelona, Valencia, and Sitges.
The Spanish operations are far from isolated. Earlier this year in France, prosecutors charged a civil servant from the foreigners’ admission service in Nancy with corruption and fraud for helping irregular migrants stay in the country. The official allegedly accepted bribes of €25,000 per case, altering documents to approve residence applications. Investigators traced at least 15 fraudulent files to her office, sparking a judicial probe into her network of accomplices and beneficiaries.
Similarly, last month in Germany, an investigation by German broadcasters NTV and RTL, along with Stern magazine, revealed a booming black market on TikTok for forged integration and language certificates — a prerequisite for permanent residency or citizenship in Germany.
Under German law, foreign nationals must demonstrate language proficiency and integration by passing tests administered by accredited providers such as Telc or adult education centers. Yet on TikTok, vendors openly advertise fake certificates with messages like “A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, no school, no exam.” Videos in Arabic, Turkish, and Albanian promise fast-track paperwork, with prices ranging from €750 for basic certificates to €2,700 for higher-level documentation. Family “discounts” were even offered for multiple applicants.
Investigators also found forged driver’s licenses and industry qualification certificates circulating on the platform. Posts routinely attracted hundreds of thousands of views, with users openly commenting with requests for prices and availability.
A Moroccan “minor” who claimed to be 17 years old when arrested for the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Madrid has been revealed to be 23, shifting his case from juvenile to adult court and exposing his long record of violent crime.
The attack occurred on Aug. 29 near the Hortaleza juvenile center, where the man was living under the guise of being an unaccompanied minor. According to police and medical reports, the victim was beaten, stripped, and raped.
Officers responding to the scene found the suspect, identified as Mohamed Rifai, hiding in the bushes nearby. As reported by OKdiario, he resisted arrest, punching and kicking the officers, threatening to kill them, and later lashing out violently in custody.
Once detained, Rifai vandalized his holding cell, threatened police and forensic staff, and refused to cooperate. His outbursts escalated to the point where authorities were forced to sedate him.
Though he presented himself as 17, forensic examinations of his teeth, wrist, and collarbones concluded he is at least 19, with a most probable age of 23.2. As a result, his case was formally transferred from the juvenile court to a regular one. The ruling stated that on the date of the attack, he was “in any case, over 18 years of age.”
This reclassification carries significant legal consequences. If convicted of rape as an adult, Rifai could face up to 15 years in prison. Had he been tried as a juvenile, the maximum penalty would have been eight years in a detention center.
Que esta gentuza esté en España es responsabilidad de todos los partidos, desde PP/PSOE hasta Bildu. Todos menos VOX.
Son culpables de abrirles las puertas, de hacer que algunos se enriquezcan trayéndolos, que otros se enriquezcan atendiéndolos, y de que los españoles, y en este… https://t.co/ge1bIGPJmV
It was later revealed that the suspect had already amassed 14 convictions in Spain, ranging from shoplifting to violent robbery and assaulting a police officer, before the alleged rape.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal criticized the legacy political parties in Spain for continuing the mass immigration policy that is threatening public safety. In a post on social media, he wrote, “The fact that these people are in Spain is the responsibility of all parties. All except VOX. They are guilty of opening their doors to them, of making some people rich by bringing them, of making others rich by serving them, and of making Spaniards, and in this case a poor Spanish girl, suffer the consequences every day.”
The revelation regarding Rifai’s age comes the same week that Spain’s socialist government began the gradual transfer of more than 600 Moroccan nationals claiming to be minors from the North African enclave of Ceuta to the Spanish mainland.
The decision has reignited debate in Madrid over how to manage unaccompanied minors entering the country, as new figures revealed just 41 of the nearly 30,000 minor arrivals since 2018 have been repatriated.
A Sudanese refugee who was prevented from molesting women in France is accused of returning an hour later armed with a knife and carrying out a deadly rampage that left three young men dead and several others injured.
The trial of 35-year-old Al Khawad Al Zine Sulaymane opens this Friday before the Maine-et-Loire Assize Court, where he faces life imprisonment.
The violence unfolded in the early hours of July 2022 on the Cœur de Maine esplanade in Angers. According to Le Parisien, witnesses say Sulaymane, who had been drinking heavily, first drew attention for his aggressive behavior toward women — tearing off one girl’s shirt and insulting another.
When rugby players Atama and Manuolito stepped in to defend the women, he was knocked down in a brief scuffle and led away. Witnesses later recalled hearing him threaten to return.
About an hour later, he did, with a knife hidden under his shirt. Three young men were fatally stabbed: 16-year-old Ismaël, who had tried to shield a girl; 18-year-old Manuolito, stabbed in the throat; and 20-year-old Atama, struck in the heart. Several others were seriously injured during the rampage.
Survivors described the attacker as calm and determined. One victim, who escaped with injuries to his hand and thigh, told investigators: “He knew how to handle a knife. He didn’t hesitate; he really wanted to kill us.”
Prosecutors say the sequence of events demonstrates clear homicidal intent, though the defendant insists he remembers nothing of the night because of alcohol. Questioned by the judge, he admitted it was possible he committed the killings, saying: “With alcohol, anything is possible — you can kill people, commit suicide, or have an accident.”
The accused arrived in France back in 2016 and was granted refugee status and later a residence permit. He has since had his asylum revoked. His personal history, recounted to investigators, includes alleged childhood abuse in Sudan, imprisonment and torture, and traumatic experiences during migration through Egypt and Libya.
Psychiatric experts diagnosed him with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and said alcohol exacerbated his condition, but stopped short of declaring him legally insane and therefore not criminally responsible for the alleged crimes.
In addition to three counts of aggravated murder, he is charged with three counts of attempted murder and two sexual assaults, one on a 15-year-old girl.
Jurors will be asked to decide whether his claimed amnesia and psychiatric disorders mitigate his responsibility.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and opposition leader Andrej Babiš of the ANO movement confronted each other for the last time before the upcoming elections in a heated debate on TV Nova on Wednesday evening.
The discussion ranged from the economy to highway construction, taxes, energy, and housing, with both men repeatedly accusing one another of lies.
Despite their clashes, they shared two rare points of agreement: Neither would allow the introduction of EU-mandated household emission allowances, and both identified Russia’s aggression as the greatest security threat to the Czech Republic.
As reported by Echo24, Fiala defended his government’s handling of recent crises, saying the economy was growing faster than the eurozone. Babiš countered that the government had failed to manage energy prices, the EU migration pact, and public finances.
On debt and spending, Babiš accused Fiala of letting state debt balloon by 1.2 trillion crowns (€49 billion). Fiala responded by highlighting contributions from Ukrainian workers and successful integration policies.
Highway construction became another flashpoint. Fiala boasted of 200 kilometers built under his government compared to just 100 under former prime minister Babiš, but Babiš dismissed the claim as false, insisting that his administration had left behind 300 kilometers ready for construction or already underway.
Fiala admitted reluctantly raising taxes but promised no further changes, and pledged to oppose the EU’s ETS 2 emission allowances for households. “I would prefer to cancel it, my government will not implement it,” he said, calling the measure unwise. Babiš dismissed his words as “PR,” insisting he had the backing of 19 EU states to push for caps and had not done so.
Energy security also divided the leaders: Babiš vowed never to let the country become an importer of electricity, while Fiala shot back that Babiš misunderstood how energy trading worked.
On housing, Fiala cited reforms to the Building Act and state land transfers, including 120,000 square meters in Prague’s Letňany, while Babiš argued that his rival’s government had “destroyed” housing availability and promised a stronger focus on rental properties.
The only real consensus came on national security. Both men named Russia’s aggression as the greatest threat, though Babiš added illegal migration and blackouts. He then pivoted to his campaign line: “The biggest threat to the Czech Republic is the government of Petr Fiala.”
The exchanges also turned personal. Fiala criticized Babiš for refusing to look him in the eye when accusing him of lying, while Babiš claimed he was simply talking to the moderator.
In closing, the candidates were asked what they valued in each other. After hesitation, Babiš acknowledged Fiala’s speaking skills and background as a teacher. Fiala, in turn, praised Babiš’ “perseverance” and willingness to keep fighting politically.
Czechs head to the polls this weekend for parliamentary elections that are likely to result in Babiš’ ANO movement being returned as the largest party. Whether the former prime minister can garner enough support to rule outright, or whether he will need the support of other minor parties in a coalition, remains to be seen.
Hungary signed the largest contract in its history for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Thursday with the French company Engie.
The contract covers the supply of 400 million cubic meters of gas per year from 2028 to 2038, which represents approximately 5 percent of Hungary’s total annual gas consumption.
This agreement is another step in Budapest’s efforts to diversify its energy sources. Last month, Hungary signed a contract with Shell for the supply of 200 million cubic meters of gas annually starting January 2026, which is expected to cover an additional 2.5 percent of the country’s demand, writes the Do Rzeczy news portal.
Despite these deals, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjárto said at the signing ceremony that Hungary has no intention of giving up its Russian imports.
“For us, diversification does not mean replacing existing, well-functioning supply relationships with others,” he said.
He further reiterated this on X, posting: “We signed Hungary’s longest-term LNG contract: from 2028 we will buy 4 bcm of gas over 10 years from Engie. Our energy supply is safe only if we can import from as many sources and routes as possible. Diversification means adding new sources while keeping existing ones.”
We signed Hungary’s longest-term LNG contract: from 2028 we will buy 4 bcm of gas over 10 years from @ENGIEgroup. Our energy supply is safe only if we can import from as many sources and routes as possible. Diversification means adding new sources while keeping existing ones. pic.twitter.com/bX84vrtlSV
Although Engie did not disclose the source of the gas destined for Hungary, experts point out that European LNG suppliers typically use a variety of sources – from the United States, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and also Russia.
Still, recent reports have made it clear that Hungary is not the only European country still largely dependent on Russian gas.
In 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government signed a 15-year contract with Gazprom for the supply of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually, and just last year increased purchases to approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters, transmitted primarily via the Turkstream pipeline.
This pipeline is a valuable alternative to the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which has come under constant attack by Ukraine.
According to data presented by Szijjárto, by the end of August this year alone, Hungary had already imported 5 billion cubic meters of gas via Turkstream, which could represent a record level of supplies via this route.
In July, Hungary also announced plans to build a new crude oil pipeline linking it with Serbia to help it bypass European Union restrictions on Russian energy. It will carry 5 million tons of crude oil annually and will span 180 kilometers on the Hungarian side. According to the minister, the aim is to secure stable, affordable energy supplies and to resist what he described as harmful EU policies that have led to higher costs for households.
Energy security has been a key focus for landlocked Hungary over the years. Back in December 2022, it reached an agreement with Qatar on LNG imports. “It is in Hungary’s interest to be able to attract new resources. Qatar is making major developments in extraction and LNG transport capacity, so from 2026, they will export much more LNG than they do now,” Szijjáró said at the time, emphasizing the need to build relations with multiple states to hedge the Hungarian economy against a European recession.
This past June, Hungary also announced a new focus on energy sovereignty, i.e., domestic energy production, with crude oil production exceeding 1 million tons again in 2024 for the first time in 20 years. Hungary’s MOL had also stated that it plans to spend some HUF 150 billion in domestic oil and natural gas production over the next five years.
Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has reacted to Fitch’s decision to downgrade Poland’s credit rating, saying it should serve as a wake-up call for the ruling left-liberal government under current Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“The current government is pursuing a tragic fiscal policy – they are lowering our rating while simultaneously increasing the astronomical debt. Are we heading towards bankruptcy?” Morawiecki posted on X, along with a video message on the subject.
Morawiecki explained that following Fitch’s downgrade of Poland’s sovereign outlook to negative from stable, Moody’s has done the same, and he fears Standard & Poor’s will follow suit.
“Moody’s and Fitch agencies have sent a warning to the government! A downgrade is a signal that the management of the country’s finances is faltering, and the coalition is not in control of the situation. The new rating means more expensive loans, higher debt, and increasing pressure on the budget,” he wrote in another post.
Expressing concern about the signal this sends regarding Poland’s creditworthiness, he explained to viewers that “the better the rating, the easier and cheaper it is to obtain funding for development.”
This is “a yellow card for politicians and a strong message to the current prime minister,” indicating serious fears that current policies could lead to more spending, meaning higher debt and a higher deficit.
Citing the latest data from the Ministry of Finance, Morawiecki said, “In August alone, the State Treasury’s debt increased by PLN 20 billion, an increase of 1.1% compared to July.”
If zero progress is made in a couple of quarters, Poland could be “relegated to a lower league,” the former prime minister adds.
Police in Frankfurt arrested a 22-year-old man earlier this month after he approached and harassed several women in broad daylight, demanded sex, and resisted officers during his arrest. Despite the violent incident, the man was released shortly afterward, with authorities citing psychological distress.
According to the official police report, the incident occurred on the morning of Sept. 10 in the Ostend and Nordend districts. Around 9:00 a.m., the suspect confronted multiple women, demanding sexual acts and, in some cases, following them.
Remix News has followed the case with interest after publishing a translated video of one particular altercation, which garnered more than 6 million views.
🇩🇪 "If I don't have sex, as a man, I feel unwell."
Shocking footage of a migrant in Germany harassing a woman walking through Eschenheimer Anlage in Frankfurt.
He refuses to take 'No' for an answer when he demands sex, and a passerby steps in and calls the police. pic.twitter.com/wilfwVNKHX
The footage shows the man, who bore a noticeable dark prayer mark, or “zabiba,” on his forehead, harassing a woman near Eschenheimer Anlage. In the video, he repeatedly tells her, “I have needs” and insists he is fighting for his survival. When a passerby intervenes, the man retorts: “Yes, you want to sleep with her too, but I’m here first.”
He later told the woman, “If I don’t have sex, as a man, I feel unwell.”
Police officers arrived at the scene shortly after and attempted to arrest him. During the struggle, the man tried to punch one officer in the face, according to the police report. He was eventually subdued and taken into custody.
The case drew further attention after Aktuell Informiert reported that both the Frankfurt police and the district court concluded the man was in a state of “exceptional psychological distress.” As a result, neither pretrial detention nor psychiatric commitment was ordered. Instead, the man was released after being processed at the station.
Police confirmed that the suspect “must answer for his actions,” but it remains unclear whether charges will proceed. The police report did not categorically state whether or not the suspect had been charged.
When asked about the man’s nationality or whether he has since left Germany, Frankfurt police declined to comment, saying that such details are not included in press releases.
Since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pushed for peace. And he has been maligned all along for doing so.
Against the backdrop of other alleged rule-of-law violations, Hungary has come under further attack for breaching the unity of the EU and its principles for not sending weapons to Ukraine, for vetoing Russian sanctions packages, and promising to never vote for Ukraine’s membership in the EU.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Remix News reported on how other member states were working to get around Orbán’s veto, specifically regarding initiating talks on Ukraine’s accession. And Denmark, as the current EU president, was presumably leading the way, even linking its membership to the security of the entire EU.
Now, according to a report out of Politico, it appears some cracks are showing in the unified front against Orbán’s campaign to keep Ukraine out. Even Denmark.
As we reported earlier, European Council President António Costa has been pushing to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession using majority approval, thus circumventing Hungary’s veto.
But according to Politico, behind closed doors, many are voicing concerns about abandoning the principle of unanimity and allowing majority voting any consideration.
Costa’s plan “faces pushback from several EU countries, including France, the Netherlands and Greece, and is unlikely to get wide approval in Denmark, according to three EU diplomats and a French presidency official,” the portal writes. Apparently, the concern “is that by changing the accession rules, they would also be limiting their own ability to block membership bids they see as problematic.”
So, which other EU accession processes could be vetoed?
Greece, Cyprus, and France have been adamantly against Turkey’s accession; Bulgaria is dead set against North Macedonia joining; and Croatia has said no to Serbia. These are just the ones Politico lists.
“If you do qualified majority voting [to push the accession process forward], there is a very big risk of the process being extremely politicized,” a senior EU diplomat told the portal.
There is also the simple issue that to change the rules to majority voting would itself require a unanimous vote, which begs the question: Why is any of this even being discussed, given we know one veto to this can be counted on — Hungary’s.
In the meantime, Hungary is getting satisfaction from emerging data showing just how dependent other EU member states have been on Russian energy, helping fuel the Russian aggression they say they so oppose.
“Rather than phasing out Russian gas, Europe has effectively locked in LNG deliveries as a replacement for lost pipeline flows,” a Greenpeace report reads.
It further points out that France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands bought €34.3 billion of Russian LNG between 2022 and June 2025 while sending Ukraine just €21.2 billion.
As pressure for peace mounts, and U.S. President Donald Trump is signalling that Europe must get its act together (namely, cease purchasing Russian energy and also focus on their own countries), it looks like allies may start crawling out of the woodwork and finally admit, Orbán may be right — on more than one front.
Spanish police have arrested a young Moroccan national in connection with the killing of Antonio Campos Reyes, a 54-year-old historian and civil servant from Berja whose body was discovered bound and showing signs of violence in the trunk of his car earlier this week.
According to OKdiario, Campos’ family last saw him on Sept. 27, at around 9:00 p.m., when he left home in Berja to travel to Granada for the Virgin of Angustias festivities. When he failed to arrive, relatives grew increasingly concerned and formally reported him missing to authorities on Sunday afternoon.
Local residents joined in the search efforts, but investigators ultimately located his white Volkswagen Passat in the San Agustín neighborhood of El Ejido, parked near a fruit and vegetable company. Breaking into the trunk, Civil Guard officers found Campos’ lifeless body. Knife wounds, bruises, and signs of struggle suggest that he had been tortured before being killed.
Diario de Almería reported that the violent nature of the crime, combined with Campos’ prominence as both a local official and a historian, caused “enormous social alarm” across the Poniente region. The victim was widely known in Berja not only for his public role but also for his contributions to the study and preservation of local history.
On Thursday afternoon, Almería Today confirmed that the Civil Guard had arrested a 23-year-old Moroccan man suspected of involvement in the killing. The detainee remains in custody, while investigators have not ruled out further arrests.
Diario de Almería added that the case is currently under a judicial gag order to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings. Authorities emphasized that this measure is essential to ensure the success of the ongoing investigation, which may reveal whether additional individuals were involved in the murder.
Vigils and tributes have already been held in Berja in Campos’ honor, with residents expressing grief and disbelief at the loss of a figure described as both dedicated to his town and passionate about its history.
No motive, nor previous connection between the victim and suspect has been revealed.
Welt newspaper ran a commentary that relentlessly mocks the establishment parties and their efforts to outdo each with fearmongering claims against the AfD. The paper focuses on a recent CDU politician and his warning that the AfD would deliver a “completely different country.”
The problem for the CDU and other establishment parties? Germans also want a different country.
Andreas Rosenfelder, the chief commentator for Welt, points to Reiner Haseloff, the CDU Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, who spoke with Stern Magazine.
“We have to make it clear to people what is at stake,“ said Haseloff: “The AfD wants a completely different country.“
Rosenfelder responds with biting text, writing: “Yes, exactly, we too – that’s what many of the (AfD) party’s sympathizers will think with regard to mass layoffs, deindustrialization, migration problems and over-indebtedness.”
“For months, bourgeois politicians have been outdoing each other with apocalyptic threatening backdrops, which would happen after an AfD election victory. They want to deter potential AfD voters — and don’t realize that they are having the opposite effect,”
The Welt columnist writes that this is the central paradox currently gripping German political discourse. Instead of stemming the tide of support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the increasingly dramatic warnings from established parties appear to be serving as the party’s most potent election advertising.
He writes the piece at a time when the AfD continues to soar in the polls, and is now firmly polling as the most popular party in the country. In turn, rival parties like the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) continue to issue dire warning after dire warning against the AfD.
Rosenfelder continues to go on the offensive against the CDU’s Haseloff, who stated in the Stern interview that “There is no need for a revolution for a system change,” said Hasselhof.
“A system can be brought down at the ballot box,” he added, while referring to the AfD’s 39 percent support in his state.
Rosenfelder notes for Welt that this claim about the AfD bringing a “system change” is actually exactly what more and more Germans want. In this manner, Haselhoff is actually feeding into the AfD’s narrative that they are the real opposition and that the system does require a complete revolution at the ballot box.
“What is supposed to be a warning is actually the best election advertising for the AfD,” Rosenfelder writes. He continues by stating that the idea that a single cross on a ballot paper can cause the “system to falter or even fall” is seemingly irresistible to a growing cohort of citizens feeling alienated by politics.
Crucially, this “criticism of the system” should not automatically be equated with a rejection of democracy. The source text argues: “Contrary to what the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and left-wing sociologists claim, the trend towards ‘criticism of the system’ cannot simply be equated with a move away from democracy and the rule of law.” Instead, many citizens feel that the state itself, and its representatives, are the ones moving away from basic democratic and constitutional principles.
The text is essentially lambasting the powerful domestic spy agency, the Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), along with various establishment politicians, NGOs, and their media arms, who are seeking to ban the AfD. Rosenfelder is, in fact, alluding that these forces, which claim to “defend democracy,” are actually revealing themselves to be actively pursuing anti-democratic actions.
“This alienation began with the Coronavirus policy. Today it is extended by the feeling that a dysfunctional state apparatus no longer fulfills the promise of a life of security, freedom and prosperity – and does not look for the problem within itself, but vice versa in the milieu of those citizens who are disappointed and frustrated by it,” writes Rosenfelder
The Welt columnist notes that the chaos the parties warn about if the AfD comes to power is actually already here.
“For months, politicians from bourgeois parties have been talking to voters’ consciences with apocalyptic sermons. But the belief that these voters would introspect and then vote for the Union or SPD again out of civic responsibility is naive. When the established parties are so afraid that they outdo each other with the most shrill alarmism, a right-wing mood arises in the milieu of the dissatisfied: The voter is not an underage child and does not want to be treated as if the ballot paper were a dangerous toy,” the Welt commentator continues.
However, Rosenfelder also discusses a promise delivered by many parties, including the AfD, which in the end, has proven elusive in all democracies in the West — namely, the idea that dramatic change is even possible.
“But the main problem with the argument that our system can simply be voted out is completely different: It’s not true,” writes Rosenfelder.
“Even the absolute majority that the AfD may dream of in the state of Saxony-Anhalt with 2 million inhabitants would not shake democracy in the Federal Republic. We live in a highly complex system with political, legal and fiscal control mechanisms. A simple implementation of political ideas is difficult or impossible — the black-red coalition is also experiencing this painfully. When government politicians act as if the AfD could turn the entire country to the right overnight, they are simply confirming the opposition party’s wishful fantasies,” he writes.
“Instead of responding to the AfD’s survey successes with warnings, those responsible should rather see these surveys themselves as warnings,” he concludes.
A sticker featuring a target over a photo of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader, Alice Weidel, is allegedly being distributed by the Left Party Youth in Hannover, Germany. The sticker, which also features the text, “Aim Here,” has sparked an investigation by the German police.
“This sticker is being distributed by the youth organization of the Left in Hannover. This is not just a call to violence, this is an incitement to attack in the spirit of the left-terrorist Antifa. The radical Left should finally have the plug pulled. Criminal complaint is being filed!” wrote Thorsten Weiß, the deputy chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in Berlin.
Diesen Aufkleber verteilt die Jugendorganisation der Linken in Hannover. Das ist nicht nur ein Gewaltaufruf, das ist eine Anschlagsaufforderung im Geist der linksterroristischen Antifa. Der radikalen Linken gehört endlich der Stecker gezogen. Strafanzeige geht raus! pic.twitter.com/4TO9RT4I8E
The police were responding to a post pointing to the dangerous image.
“Mrs. Dr.@Alice_Weidel in the crosshairs of the youth organization of the party DIE LINKE. The question is, what are the State Security and the @BfV_Bund doing? Isn’t that an incitement to a crime (murder)?” wrote X user J. Eckleben.
Notably, this is not the first post from the Left Youth in Hanover that has been condemned as of late. The group wrote a message after the assassination of Charlie Kirk that celebrated Kirk’s death in graphic terms.
“Bloody and right-wing politics lead to bloody bullets,” the group wrote in an image, adding: “With a targeted shot to Kirk’s neck, the end of his right-wing inhumane and exploitative policies was sealed.”
This is a machine translation, the original image is attached.
It further reads: “There is international mourning – but this is a fatal mistake.”
Notably, the first post on this topic from Remix News was censored on X, potentially at the request of German or European authorities.
The Left Party Youth message of hate against Kirk was widely condemned across the political spectrum, including from conservative youth from the Christian Democrat Union (CDU), known as Young Union (JU).
“Immediate monitoring of the Hanover Left Youth the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, due to extremist activities that glorify violence and undermine the rule of law. Immediate funding freeze for the Left Youth Hanover, so that state funds do not benefit organizations that publicly glorify violence and act against democracy,” wrote the JU.
Apparently, the criticism did not phase the Left Party Youth in Hanover, with the group issuing an arguably even more explicit image of Weidel.
The federal Left Party has not yet commented on the image.
The Italian government is preparing to relaunch nuclear power after more than three decades of absence, in what ministers have called a “historic turning point” for the country’s energy policy.
On Thursday, the Council of Ministers is set to approve an enabling bill that paves the way for a National Program for the Development of Sustainable Nuclear Energy, with a final ruling expected in Parliament in the coming months.
Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto, who is spearheading the initiative, said the aim was to guarantee national energy security while meeting climate commitments. “I respect all ideological positions, but I hope the debate focuses on the content, the science, and the national interest,” he said.
“We need to explain what new nuclear energy is, which is not the atomic bomb, and what needs to be done to provide the country with security and a regulatory framework for future generations, given the expected explosion in energy demand.”
As reported by Il Giornale, the bill sets out a legislative framework for the construction of new-generation reactors, the management of nuclear waste, training of technical staff, and reorganization of oversight responsibilities. It introduces faster approval procedures, declaring nuclear projects of public utility and national interest, thereby limiting the possibility of local resistance or bureaucratic delays.
The new law also allows for public-private partnerships, replacing earlier rules that placed the financial burden exclusively on private operators.
Waste management, long cited as a barrier to nuclear development in Italy, is also addressed in detail, with provisions for both temporary storage and permanent disposal. Safety and radiation protection will be required to meet international standards.
The government has stressed that this program represents a break from past nuclear projects, which were abandoned after two national referendums in 1987 and 2011. Instead, Rome is focusing on advanced technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), microreactors, and fourth-generation fission. Investments in nuclear fusion are also included, signaling a long-term commitment to innovation.
According to government projections, nuclear energy could provide between 11 and 22 percent of Italy’s electricity supply by 2050, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting decarbonisation costs by as much as €17 billion by mid-century.
Pichetto has previously stated that he is convinced Italy will have nuclear power back on the grid by 2030.
The initiative aligns Italy with several other European countries that have maintained or expanded nuclear energy programs, including France, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, and Sweden.
Demonstrations were held outside the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig on Wednesday as a trial began of a Bavarian woman who is suing Germany’s public broadcaster for bias and refusing to pay the compulsory broadcasting fee.
The plaintiff claims that ARD and ZDF provide one-sided political reporting, and thus, the annual license fee is not justified.
The high-profile case has drawn protests and public attention, with protesters calling for the abolition of the “propaganda tax.”
As reported by Die Welt, the Bavarian woman accused public broadcasting of failing to meet its legal mandate for diversity and balance and instead acts as “an agent of the dominant state power in shaping public opinion.”
She also criticized the independence of supervisory bodies, describing the complaint system available to viewers as ineffective and biased in favor of the broadcasters.
Lower courts had already dismissed her lawsuit, but Germany’s highest administrative court allowed the case to proceed because of its “fundamental importance.” Chairing Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Ingo Kraft stressed that only systemic shortcomings across the entire programming spectrum, not individual broadcasts, could constitute a breach of mandate.
Bayerischer Rundfunk, the defendant, rejected the accusations. Its representatives insisted that program complaints are taken seriously and that regular internal review ensures broadcasters fulfill their role. “No one wants to indoctrinate anyone,” the broadcaster’s lawyer said.
The courtroom in Leipzig was packed with about 250 observers, while another 100 protesters demonstrated outside carrying banners such as “Abolish the propaganda tax” and “No more lies and deceit.” The plaintiff herself was not present, but her case was presented by lawyers alongside Jimmy Gerum, founder of the “Bürgerinitiative Leuchtturm ARD” initiative.
„Wir sind am wunden Punkt unserer unaufrichtigen Demokratie angelangt.”
Jimmy Gerum, Initiator der Bürgerinitiative Leuchtturm ARD, spricht nach der Revisionsverhandlung gegen den ÖRR vor dem Bundesverwaltungsgericht in Leipzig von den langfristigen Zielen und davon, dass wir… pic.twitter.com/8d7TBqd6So
Speaking about the initiative, Gerum said in a recent interview, “Things have gotten really heated. And in that sense, we’ve already achieved our main goal, which is to touch on a sore spot in our currently dishonest democracy. I’m grateful that the grassroots fully stand for core values such as limiting power and direct democracy. These are crucial elements for moving democracy forward.”
A 19-year-old Czech tourist was reportedly been raped at Dresden’s main train station by two 15-year-old Syrians, who threatened the man with a knife on Sunday morning before robbing sexually assaulting him.
News of the case was quite controversial at the time, with the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government in Poland saying it was a perfect example of how Germany’s open borders policies had led to an unsafe environment for citizens. At the time, Remix News produced a video detailing the statements from then Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
However, not much has changed, with Syrians this time targeting a young Czech man.
The Syrian youths allegedly attacked their victim at around 4.15 a.m. as the 19-year-old was on his way home from a night out at Wiener Platz.
German police say the Czech tourist began talking to Hasan H. and Hani A.
Suddenly, however, the situation quickly turned into a horror scenario. Hani A. pulled out a knife, and then the Syrians demanded money, only for the situation to turn into outright rape.
“The accused are said to have stolen 300 euros from the man while holding a knife and raped him,” police told Bild newspaper.
After the rape, the victim immediately contacted police. The two 15-year-old Syrians did not get far, who tracked the suspects down almost immediately.
“The two were in close proximity to the crime scene,” and were arrested after an investigating judge in Pirna issued an arrest warrant.
The Czech man lives in Dresden and received outpatient medical care, but it remains unclear how serious his injuries were.
🇩🇪🔴Serial Iraqi groper keeps molesting women in the German city of Dresden.
A court trial for a 23-year-old Iraqi migrant has begun before the Dresden Regional Court, in Germany.
Prosecutors say the man has no ability to limit his sexual impulses after a series of groping… pic.twitter.com/e9b0CefSP3
In fact, Dresden, which has historically featured a much lower rate of immigration, is now seeing a crime surge, as the city also becomes burdened due to mass immigration.
🇩🇪 2 young Germans were brutally attacked with bottles by 2 Tunisians in Dresden.
The victims are seriously injured.
Young people are bearing the brunt of mass immigration on the streets, in the clubs, and in the parks.
On Sept. 1, a group of ten men, made up mostly of Syrians and Tunisians, became engaged in a major knife battle in downtown Dresden. A Tunisian, 24-year-old Muhamed K., and a Syrian, 16-year-old Youssef O., were arrested at the scene with stab wounds, with both found to have knives in their possession. The two groups were reportedly battling over control of the narcotics trade.
On Aug. 28, around 7.30 p.m., a 31-year-old Libyan and a 41-year-old Tunisian got on the E63 bus together before they became engaged in an argument. The Libyan severely injured the Tunisian with a broken bottle, and the 31-year-old was arrested.
The Czech victim was also not the only headline-grabbing sexual victim in Dresden as of late.
Currently, a serial 23-year-old Iraqi groper is standing trial in Dresden Regional Court for molesting women in Dresden.
Prosecutors say the man has no ability to limit his sexual impulses after a series of groping incidents targeting women and children.
In March 2025, according to the prosecutors’ indictment, he sexually harassed several women and even a child. Among the incidents, he grabbed a 22-year-old’s buttocks in front of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), and in Blasewitz, he harassed a 17-year-old. Both victims were fortunately able to defend themselves from the stranger’s sexual assaults.
Many Ukrainian men have been killed on the frontline or fled the country to avoid being killed on the frontline, leaving the country with a greatly depleted workforce. This is not news.
But now, Ukraine’s former minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has come out saying that Ukraine may have to open its borders to Asian migrants because of this reality. And this is on the back of Ukraine already having the worst population growth in Europe, even before the war. Already back in 2023, Remix News reported on the unfortunate reality of Ukrainian women fleeing the war.
“The population collapse will soon cause very serious economic and social problems,” Italian daily Corriere della Sera wrote at the time.
Kuleba also clarified why there’s no chance of raising the retirement age anytime soon.
According to him, emigration due to war is “good for the people” but “bad for the state,” he told UNIAN.
“The more people leave the country, the worse it is for the country. In addition, we will have a lot of old, unproductive people left, and it will be extremely difficult to raise the retirement age. Because young people go to demonstrations, and grandmothers and grandfathers go to elections. Therefore, they will elect politicians who do not raise the retirement age,” the former minister explained.
At the same time, Kuleba said Ukraine has to focus on people “who need this country and are ready to rebuild it.” These people exist, although they are in the minority, he said. The only real solution is to bring in migrants.
“Bangladesh, Nepal, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, for example, offer great opportunities. We are facing difficult times. But I am calm because I see that there are enough people in the country who need it,” he added.
It has already been well documented that a majority of Ukrainian refugees in Western Europe have no intention of going home, even after the war.
Although some maintain that those in neighboring countries may return, a poll from 2024 showed different intentions, with two-thirds of Ukrainian refugees living in Poland, Germany, and Czechia claiming to be happy with their new lives and indicating they will seek citizenship in their respective host countries.
Meanwhile, UNIAN also noted that Ukrainian schools have reported 62,000 fewer first-year students this year than last year — not a surprising fact given Ukraine’s already low birth rate and the floods of women and children who have already left.
A youth gang in Vienna that was recently acquitted of charges relating to the alleged abuse of a 12-year-old girl is now facing new and serious accusations involving another child victim.
According to the Vienna public prosecutor’s office, seven of the young men aged between 16 and 21 are under investigation for allegedly raping and humiliating a girl of the same age group.
Prosecutor Judith Ziska confirmed the developments, telling the Bild newspaper, “I can confirm that there is another investigation involving some of the same accused.”
The new case centers on an alleged incident in Antonsplatz, where the youths are accused of luring a 12-year-old girl into a stairwell by promising her a “surprise” before forcing her to perform oral sex. Prosecutors say the group also subjected her to bullying and degrading treatment, including kicking, insulting, and spitting water on her. They reportedly photographed her afterwards and circulated the images, joking to others that the liquid was semen. According to Austrian broadcaster OE24, the girl came forward after learning of the other victims’ cases.
The allegations follow a controversial acquittal last week, when several of the teenagers were cleared by the Vienna Regional Court of sexually abusing another 12-year-old girl in 2023. That girl told investigators she had been pressured into sex in parks, stairwells, hotel rooms, and apartments across the city’s Favoriten district after first meeting one defendant on Snapchat. She said she complied out of fear of the gang’s numerical dominance and intimidation, having also been shown violent videos.
In one incident, prosecutors claimed an 18-year-old defendant booked a hotel room where as many as twelve teenagers, aged 13 to 16, allegedly abused her. The assaults reportedly ended only after the girl’s mother forbade her from leaving the family apartment.
Despite the graphic allegations, the defendants were acquitted after the court raised doubts about the girl’s testimony. Judges cited inconsistencies, including her initial failure to report coercion, her having presented ID and claiming to be older, and her appearance, which led the court to conclude it was unclear whether the defendants knew she was underage. The charge of aggravated sexual abuse of minors was ultimately dropped.
At the time of the alleged offenses, most of the defendants were between 14 and 20 years old, meaning nine were considered juveniles and therefore faced lesser charges under Austrian law. Three others were under the age of criminal responsibility and could not be prosecuted at all.
The majority of the accused are not Austrian citizens, with backgrounds from Macedonia, Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Italy. One is an Austrian with a migration background.
Prosecutors have appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court. A forensic expert from the State Criminal Police Office has reportedly identified a modus operandi among the gang, revealing through phone data that they repeatedly rented rooms and arranged situations in which minors were forced into sex acts.
Kronen Zeitung reported politicians’ responses to the verdict earlier this week, citing Justice Minister Anna Sporrer as expressing sympathy for the young girl and her family and stating she understands “the great consternation and public interest in this case.”
“Strengthening sexual self-determination and the effective protection of women and girls against violence are my top priorities,” she added.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner was more forthright. She said she “no longer understands the world,” describing the acquittals as “wrong as a mother and politician.”
The Austrian government is now seeking to amend the law on consent, with Sporrer announcing her intention for an “Only yes means yes” clause, meaning only explicit consent can justify sexual intercourse.
An asylum seeker in the U.K. accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in Oxford boasted afterwards that he had “never f***ed a pussy like that”, a jury was told.
Amin Abedi Mofrad, 35, of Mill Lane, Reading, is on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with rape and assault by penetration following an alleged attack on Valentine’s Day last year. He denies both charges.
On Tuesday, prosecutors told jurors that the complainant and a friend had been to a nightclub in Oxford before buying alcohol and heading towards Westgate shopping center, where they were accosted by Mofrad and another man sitting on a public bench.
The court heard Mofrad kissed the complainant, bit her ear, and groped her before forcing her to the ground.
“She tried to stop him,” Mr Upward said. “She says he forced her to the ground and said, ‘I want you to be our sex doll.’ He forced her to her knees and forced his penis into her mouth. This was for his own criminal gratification.”
As The Sun reported, the man is then accused of leading the girl down a side street where he raped her.
The jury heard that the girl and her friend managed to escape but were pursued.
She did not report the incident immediately, but later came forward in April after contacting a victim support service.
In a police interview shown to jurors, the complainant described how Mofrad bit her earlobe, touched her breasts and bottom, and whispered disturbing remarks in broken English, including, “When you die, I’m going to buy the body,” and, “I want you to be my sex doll.”
She told police he covered her head with his coat, pushed her down, and said he wanted to take her home. “I think he found it a bit of a joke,” she added.
Prosecutors also presented evidence that, after the incident, Mofrad sent a text message to a friend named Ali, in which he wrote: “I have never f***** a p**** like that.”
Hours later, another message was sent to acquaintances that read, “I have just f****d two different p*****s tonight.”
The Sumud flotilla, which includes representatives from over 40 countries attempting to bring aid to the residents of Gaza, entered the so-called high-risk zone on Wednesday, some 140 kilometers from the Gaza coast. Although still in international waters, approximately 20 Israeli warships appeared to intercept them.
Contact was lost with some of the ships after 8 p.m., according to Do Rzeczy, although communication with others was later restored.
“It looks like we’ll be kidnapped and transported to Israel. The slogan ‘Free Palestine’ is still relevant,” reported one of the mission participants.
Aside from well-known activists, including Greta Thunberg, Civic Coalition (KO) MP Franciszek Sterczewski was also on board one of the boats.
“MP Franciszek Sterczewski was kidnapped by the Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters during a legitimate, peaceful humanitarian mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla. Intercede with the Polish authorities on Franciszek’s behalf and his companions!” reported the Global Movement To Gaza Poland profile, as cited by wPolityce.
Poland’s deputy speaker of the Senate, Magdalena Biejat, has called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action on the matter, which says it is monitoring the situation.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs argues that the flotilla was violating the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and was ordered to change course. It also offered the activists the opportunity to deliver humanitarian aid through “secure channels.” The mission participants, in turn, claim their goal is to directly provide support to the residents of Gaza.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had received assurances from the Israeli authorities that the interception operation would be non-violent and should end by this morning.
The Israeli navy has previously stopped ships attempting to break the blockade, and Israeli authorities made it clear they would not allow the flotilla to enter the Gaza Strip.
Franciszek Sterczewski’s last post on X read: “I confirm. We are less than 100 nautical miles from Gaza. An alarm has been initiated. Everyone is wearing life jackets on board. We are waiting for events to unfold.”
Reactions came fast on social media, with Marcelina Zawisza, MP from Razem, posting: “Israel is hijacking civilian ships carrying humanitarian aid to starving Gaza in international waters. Radosław Siorski, sanctions on Israel immediately! Will you continue to be blind to genocide?! What more does Netanyahu have to do to be treated on par with Putin?! How many children does he have to murder before you finally do something?!”
Meanwhile, attorney Bartosz Lewandowski, who works at the Ordo Iuris Center for Litigation Intervention, posted: “I hope MP Franciszek Sterczewski will be okay. At the same time, I wonder if he’s as bold and outspoken towards Israeli services as he was towards Polish soldiers and Border Guard officers on the Polish-Belarusian border in 2021…”
