In Spain, a record number of births among women over 50 and the lowest number in history of mothers under 19, all due to abortion.
The year 2024 confirmed two trends. Never before have so many women over the age of 50 and so few under the age of 19 given birth. If it were not for the liberal abortion law, the number of mothers would be much higher, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Last year, when 322,034 children were born in Spain, the record for births to mothers over 50 was broken. While in 2014 they made up only 0.028 percent of all births, in 2024 this number increased to 0.097 percent, a threefold increase.
Although these cases are a small part of the total number of births, they indicate a lasting increase. In 2023-2024, they went from 236 to 313 cases per year.
Fewer Teen Mothers
At the other end of the spectrum are young women who gave birth before the age of 19, and although they are much more numerous than those over 50, the opposite, downward trend is taking place here.
The fact that fewer children are being born does not mean that there are fewer pregnancies. More and more young women of this age are simply opting for abortion. Last year, Spain recorded the lowest number of births in this age group, totaling 5,447, which was 1.69 percent of all registered. Of these, 76 were aged 14 or younger.
Death by abortion
In 2009, when these data began to be collected, the number of births to women under 19 exceeded 13,000 and represented 2.68 percent of all births. The following year, in 2010, the Rodríguez Zapatero government approved a new abortion law that made abortion a presumed “right,” effectively allowing abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, i.e., killing a child that is around 5 months old in the womb.
As a result, the number of births in this group of young women fell below 9,000 in 2013. In 2021, after another change pushed through by the leftist PSOE of Pedro Sánchez, allowing abortions for underage mothers aged 16 and 17 without the consent or knowledge of their parents, the number of births fell below 6,000 per year.
The influential mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, is harshly criticizing the Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the powerful German domestic spy agency, after it labeled the Alternative for Germany (AfD) a confirmed “right-wing extremist” party. The former Green Party politician, who won Tübingen despite switching to run as an independent, said the secret, 1,000-page report used to justify the AfD’s designation basically just listed public incidents already known to the media.
“Unless Der Spiegel is simply poorly informed, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has compiled primarily what is publicly known,” wrote Palmer.
In addition, the report seems to focus on the AfD’s stance on migration, but Palmer himself says it is no surprise the AfD is critical of immigration.
He noted that there are vast differences in rates of violence between different regions of the world, and also within Germany, it is clear that some groups are more prone to violence than others, including groups like Afghans and Algerians. However, he argues that this is socially and not genetically determined.
“Terms like ‘knifemen’ are political exaggerations, but not evidence of racism,” he wrote.
“Just being staunchly right-wing and anti-immigration is not forbidden,” he added. “After all, the law of blood was still largely a reality in the Federal Republic of Germany.” He said the 2000 reform of the citizenship law improved this situation, which meant children born to non-German parents could still attain citizenship in Germany, “but were Helmut Kohl and Roland Koch enemies of the constitution because they clung to the old law?”
The report from the BfV could pave the way for a potential ban, but Palmer is also critical of a ban procedure, saying that not only could it benefit the AfD, but that the entire process may be legally questionable with a very uncertain outcome.
He said he cannot imagine that the Constitutional Court, the country’s top court, would classify the party based on statements it has made about migration and even the concept of Germans as an ethnicity. He said accusations about the AfD being racists, Nazis, or misanthropic are to be expected, but for judges to ban an entire party over it is not believable or constitutional.
Notably, the AfD is now polling in first place for the first time ever, and in some polls has reached 26 percent. It is currently the second-largest party in the Bundestag and the largest opposition party.
The BfV is a highly partisan organization. Run by President Thomas Haldenwang (CDU), he reports to the head of the Interior Ministry, Nancy Faeser (SPD). Both parties have a vested interest in removing the AfD as competition in the democratic process.
Regardless of a ban, the “extremist” classification from the BfV is a powerful blow against the party, as it enables the BfV to surveil members with impunity, including chats and emails. It also means civil servants cannot be members of the party, including police officers. In addition, the BfV can now install informants in the party, who can make extremist statements and tarnish the party’s reputation, all without the AfD knowing who is an informant and who is not. In short, it is a massive tool of intimidation and fear using Stasi-like methods with 21st-century technology, including AI tracking and monitoring.
U.S. President Trump has called for an end to Hollywood producing movies overseas, and Hungary has a lot to lose.
“The movie industry in America is dying,” Trump told his audience on Truth Social, seeming to then indicate that “messaging and propaganda” were being used to kill it by foreign parties. “This is a concerted effort by other nations and, therefore, a national security threat,” he wrote, calling on movies to be “made in America again.”
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 5, 2025
Citing the incentives used overseas to attract studios away from the U.S., Trump says he will be instituting a 100 percent tariff on all movies made abroad.
Targeted by such a move must certainly be Hungary. Making movies in Hungary is big business, with studios and talent flocking here for the scenic period architecture, professionally equipped sets, full-scale production talent, and post-editing masters the country has to offer. Because of all of this, Budapest has long been known as a top spot to make movies.
Famous flicks made in “Hollywood on the Danube” include I Spy, World War Z, Dune, Munich, Evita, The Day of the Jackal, Alien: Romulus, The Martian, Red Sparrow, A Good Day to Die Hard, Rebel Moon, Love and Death, Blade Runner 2049… the list goes on.
Budapest’s biggest attraction has been no doubt the financial incentive offered by the Hungarian government, one of the highest tax breaks for film production in the world, and it has paid off.
Back in March 2024, Makronom wrote that in the decade up until 2022, the Hungarian film industry had increased tenfold, reaching HUF 400 billion ($1.12 billion). This was followed by a massive growth in revenues of 30 percent in 2023, with Government Commissioner for Film Csaba Káel announcing this past February that for 2024 alone, nearly $1 billion had been spent on productions.
However, this has been in large part due to foreign productions, primarily American. In September 2023, Budapest Business Journal highlighted that of the more than HUF 250 billion in production recorded in 2022, a whopping 90 percent of this came from the U.S. versus just HUF 85 billion in 2016.
Despite its growing importance as “the film capital of Central Europe,” the film industry makes up just a fraction of Hungarian GDP, a mere 0.6 percent as of the start of 2024 according to Makronom.
However, it contributes massively in other ways, namely via tourism, already mentioned, but also local businesses and jobs. As the second-largest European film production base after London, the country has created a thriving domestic structure for all things “Hollywood,” relying less and less on imports and fueling revenues for domestic suppliers, i.e., domestic business.
As of the start of 2024, making movies in Hungary employed approximately 20,000 people, most of whom are freelancers. There is still a continuous labor shortage in the sector, and 12-14 hour workdays lasting for several weeks are not uncommon, noted Makronom.
The dependence on foreign productions is real. Csaba Káel told Origo in January 2024 that “large-budget international films generate 3.2 times more gross income in the Hungarian economy than tax breaks.” Because of this, Káel said, Budapest needs international projects with the largest possible budget.
There is, of course, more to the Hungarian film economy than profits. It is also a source of national pride. Hungary is no newbie in the movie business, with a long history both in Hungary and in terms of Hungarians who helped create present-day Hollywood.
Adolph Zukor and William Fox founded two of Hollywood’s first studios, Paramount Pictures and Fox Film Corporation, respectively. Fox also started the chain of Fox West Coast Theatres.
One of Hungary’s extensive studio lots, Korda Filmpark, is named after Sir Alexander Korda, a Hungarian-born filmmaker and founder of Hungary’s Corvin Film, Europe’s third-largest studio in the early 20th-century era of silent films. Home to the largest film studio in Europe, with the most advanced technical equipment, numerous permanent sets, and nine studios, Korda Studios is known as the Hungarian Hollywood or Etyekwood (as it is located in Etyek, just outside of Budapest).
Many Hollywood celebrities have also been vocal about their own Hungarian heritage, such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore, Adrian Brody, Goldie Hawn, Rachel Weisz, and Tony Curtis to name a few. Famed director Steven Spielberg has also claimed Hungarian ancestry, and of course, there is Hungarian-born producer Andy Vajna, of Total Recall, Rambo, and Terminator fame.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not happy about the sovereign moves of EU member states, despite Ukraine not being in the Union itself.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed he will attend Russia’s 80th anniversary Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, describing Zelensky’s warnings about security risks as “ridiculous,” the Magyar Nemzet newspaper reported.
Earlier this week, Zelensky asked foreign leaders to avoid the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, citing security risks.
However, Fico stated that threats from Kyiv would not deter him from attending the ceremony. “As a sovereign country, I will not allow anyone to tell me where I can travel,” he said, calling Zelensky’s threats “an intimidation campaign.”
“In my opinion, this is ridiculous. I reject such threats,” Fico said at a press conference on Sunday, reiterating that he will be in Moscow for Victory Day.
According to Fico, Zelensky implicitly threatened the politicians attending that Ukraine might retaliate in some way if they showed up at the ceremony. “These are unacceptable things for me,” he said. Responding to Zelensky’s claim that Kyiv could not guarantee the safety of the leaders attending, Fico responded:
“If Zelensky believes that his statements can prevent the participation of foreign delegations, he is making a huge mistake,” the Slovak prime mister told reporters, adding that “ensuring the safety of the participants is the responsibility of the Russian Federation.”
However, there are also reports Fico may not attend due to health reasons. As of now, it remains unclear if he will attend or not.
Zelensky has sent a similar warning to Hungary, expressing his dislike for the national vote Hungary is holding to allow the Hungarian people a say in the issue of Ukraine’s accelerated EU accession. According to the Ukrainian president, it is a threat to the EU that Orbán is making the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession part of the domestic political discourse.
“He’s doing something very dangerous,” Zelensky said regarding the matter.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was quick to respond, posting on X: “The President of Ukraine must accept that every Hungarian has the right to express their views on Ukraine’s accelerated EU accession. After all, Ukraine wants to join a union Hungary is already a member of, not the other way around…Kyiv should choose its tone accordingly.”
Perhaps most importantly, China’s Xi Jinping will be in attendance on Victory Day in Moscow, and any attack on Moscow that may target the Chinese leader or even accidentally harm him will shake the global order and lead to an international crisis.
The President of Ukraine must accept that every Hungarian has the right to express their views on Ukraine’s accelerated EU accession. After all, Ukraine wants to join a union Hungary is already a member of, not the other way around…Kyiv should choose its tone accordingly. https://t.co/ixnjoedDad
Meanwhile, the EU is encouraging all member states to stage a counter-rally to Moscow by coming to Kyiv on May 9. European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has even warned European leaders not to attend Moscow’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations and instead show their solidarity with Ukraine, reports Magyar Nemzet.
With over 94 percent of the votes counted, George Simion, of the ultra-nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) has won the first round of the Romanian presidential election by nearly 40 percent.
With over 3.3 million votes or nearly 40 percent, George Simion is in first, followed by the joint candidate of the governing coalition parties, Crin Antonescu, with 1.7 million votes, or 20.94 percent, and independent candidate Nicușor Dan in third place with 1.6 million votes, or 20.12 percent.
According to Mandiner, if Crin advances to the second round, he may have a chance at winning the post of president, with Nicușor less likely to prevail.
Simion won almost all of Romania, except areas of Szeklerland where many ethnic Hungarians live. In Harghita, Mureș, Covasna, Satu Mare and Bihor counties, Crin Antonescu is in first place, while Nicușor leads in Cluj-Napoca county with 95 percent.
The second round of the Romanian presidential election will be held on May 18.
The original first round was annulled last December by Romania’s Constitutional Court, citing foreign interference and illegal campaign financing that undermined the fairness of the election and the equal opportunities of the candidates. The move was sharply criticized as anti-democratic.
The winner of that first round, independent Călin Georgescu (previously of the AUR) was disqualified after the top court ruled, with no evidence, that Russia backed Georgescu’s candidacy.
Moscow has denied any involvement; however, after Georgescu was banned from running again in March, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference, “Any election held without him will be illegitimate. The will of the Romanian people has been suppressed.”
At the time, George Simion, president of AUR, announced a parliamentary strike on social media, declaring that all AUR MPs would cease attending parliamentary meetings, calling Georgescu’s disqualification “an attack on democracy.”
After the Romanian Constitutional Court rejected the appeal of the ruling by the Central Electoral Bureau, Simion posted on X: “Today, the masters have decided: no equality, no liberty, no fraternity for Romanians. Long live France and Brussels, long live their colony named Romania.”
The German government appears to be seriously preparing for a ban of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after the country’s powerful domestic spy agency classified the party as “definitely right-wing extremist.” Now, world leaders are reacting to the classification, with Hungarian Prime Minister saying he backs the party and its co-leader Alice Weidel.
After the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) gave the AfD its new designation, which paves the way for a ban of the entire party, Orbán asked on X “What the hell is going on in Germany?”
He then tagged Alice Weidel and stated: “You can count on us.”
Orbán and Fidesz kept their distance from the AfD for years, mainly under pressure from the German government. However, shortly before Germany’s national elections, Orbán hosted Weidel in the country in February, calling the AfD the “future of Europe.” Weidel described Orbán as a “role model.”
Orbán is far from the only one backing the AfD. The BfV’s new classification of the AfD gives the spy agency unbelievable powers to several AfD members, including access to their emails, phone calls, and chats. Considering it is the largest opposition party in the country, which now polls as the most popular party in the country, the threat to democracy and privacy is enormous.
🇩🇪❌Will Germany's AfD party be banned?@Dieter_Stein, the editor-in-chief of @Junge_Freiheit, discusses how the German establishment's strategy is designed to create a toxic atmosphere around the anti-immigration AfD party, with Stein describing it as a "war of attrition." pic.twitter.com/KV54nHKl57
The United States is now coming out against Germany’s tyrannical measures. The head of the U.S. State Department, Marco Rubio, wrote on X, “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies.”
The German Foreign Office even responded, writing: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.
Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk wrote on X that a ban of the AfD would be “an extreme attack on democracy.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance wrote: “The AfD is the most popular party in Germany (…). Now the bureaucrats are trying to destroy it.” Referencing German history, he added: “The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it was rebuilt—not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”
There are growing calls now, even in the CDU, to an outright ban on the party. However, Friedrich Merz has not yet commented on a ban, while his future interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has urged caution against one.
The AfD has already launched legal action against the BfV designation. A ban would disenfranchise millions of voters and descend Germany into the realm of an authoritarian system known for banning opposition parties. There are also doubts about whether a ban would even be successful, with the country’s top court, the Constitutional Court, potentially ruling against it; regardless of the outcome, it would take years of legal battles to finally conclude.
Germany and Poland have been at peace for decades, yet the border between the two is still fraught, with this new dispute arising largely due to migration. Germany’s Friedrich Merz, expected to become the country’s new chancellor in just a few days, has announced that his country would tighten the external border on the first day of his chancellorship.
In response, Poland is warning Germany against this move, with Warsaw fearing that these tightened controls could make Polish commuters’ lives very difficult, reduce commerce, and potentially even increase migration pressure on Poland, according to German newspaper Welt.
Polish diplomat Jan Tombinski told Politico magazine that the current controls are already a “problem for daily border traffic and the functioning of the EU internal market. We therefore do not want to see any tightening of the border controls.”
The Polish government “naturally stands by our commitment to protecting Europe’s external borders—especially with Russia and Belarus,” the diplomat said. He also emphasized that “free movement within the European Schengen area (should) be maintained.”
Germany could send up to 70,000 migrants to Poland per year, according to a Polish MP.@DariuszMatecki filmed the new massive migrant center near the Polish border.
Many migrants entering Poland make their way to Germany, which has become a problem for the German government. Polish conservatives accuse the ruling left-liberal government of quietly taking back thousands of these migrants from Germany, and in some cases, German police have been accused of “dumping” migrants back on Polish territory.
Tombinski, hinting that Poland may be willing to accept more of these migrants, said that his country will accept its “obligations under EU legislation,” including the new CEAS asylum policy.
The likely future head of the German chancellery, Thorsten Frei, told Spiegel: “We will intensify border controls and turn back those who have no right to enter Germany.” He said the federal police being supported at the border is “an essential point. It will have a short-term effect.”
In regard to the medium-term solution, Frei said he wants to regulate migration across the European continent so “that, on the one hand, we live up to our humanitarian responsibility and, on the other hand, prevent our societies from being overwhelmed,”
Designated German interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), said that new measures will be used to combat illegal immigration. “There is no doubt about my determination.” said Dobrindt, however, “borders will not be closed, but they will be more tightly controlled.”
The CDU, which fears the growing popularity of the AfD, played a huge role in the current immigration crisis when Angela Merkel first allowed over 1 million migrants to enter the country in 2015 and 2016, but now the party is attempting to talk tough on the issue.
“We have strong polarization in the country,” Dobrindt stated. “We have to reduce it. We can only achieve this if we get illegal migration under control.”
The Green Party is already trashing the move, stating that it is illegal and contrary to European law.
“I’m curious to see how long it will take this time for the courts to overturn this,” warned a Green Party member speaking to Welt.
Merz is headed to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw next week, where the issue will likely be discussed further.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been declared “definitely right-wing extremist,” by the powerful domestic spy agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The party is reacting with outrage.
The BfV claims that the party is pursuing efforts against the “free democratic order,” which the agency now says is “certain.”
Previously, the party was only declared as a “suspected case,” with this new designation paving the way for not only a ban but also mass surveillance of the entire party, including all its members. With this new designation, the BfV can surveil members, including their emails, phone calls, and chats, without a warrant. In addition, the BfV can now legally infiltrate the entire party with informants and use other spy techniques.
Already, other parts of the AfD at the state level were classified as “definitely right-wing extremist,” but the new designation now applies this label to the entire national party.
The party is reacting with outrage, with Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the party, writing:
“The decision of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is a severe blow to German democracy!”
Regarding the statement by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, AfD federal spokespersons Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said:
Today’s decision by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is a severe blow to German democracy: In current polls, the AfD is the strongest force. The federal government only has four days left in office, the intelligence agency doesn’t even have a president anymore. And the classification as a so-called suspected case is not yet legally binding.
Nevertheless, the AfD, as an opposition party, is now being publicly discredited and criminalized shortly before the change of government. The associated, targeted interference in the democratic decision-making process is therefore clearly politically motivated. The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against these defamations that endanger democracy.”
+++ Alice Weidel/Tino Chrupalla: "Entscheidung des Verfassungsschutzes ist ein schwerer Schlag gegen die bundesdeutsche Demokratie!" +++
Zur Erklärung des Bundesamtes für Verfassungsschutz teilen die AfD-Bundessprecher Alice Weidel und Tino Chrupalla mit: „Die heutige… pic.twitter.com/k8bPjekrcg
The BfV, however, is attempting to justify its decision, which will be seen by many as an attack on the country’s largest opposition party.
Due to the “extremist character of the entire party, which disregards human dignity,” the BfV noted in its statement. Vice presidents of the authority, Sinan Selen and Silke Willems, further indicated that statements and positions of the party “violate the principle of human dignity.”
One of the key factors that the BfV is attempting to use to justify the designation is the AfD’s alleged position on “ethnic Germans.”
“The ethnic-descendant understanding of the people prevailing in the party is not compatible with the free democratic basic order,” reads the statement from the BfV.“The AfD, for example, does not consider German citizens with a migration history from predominantly Muslim countries to be equal members of the German people, as ethnically defined by the party.”
🇩🇪‼️ Young German woman explains why voters are turning to the AfD
"I’m afraid to travel by train, afraid to go into town, afraid to do anything in public. And they talk about people being afraid of the AfD. The AfD has done nothing to anyone, unlike other people." pic.twitter.com/hYlQVKXb1Q
The BfV, which has been led by a Christian Democrat for years who was rabidly opposed to the AfD, a rival party, further writes: “The BfV reached this conclusion after an intensive and comprehensive expert review. Following its statutory mandate, the BfV was required to assess the party’s actions against the central fundamental principles of the constitution: human dignity, the principle of democracy, and the rule of law. In doing so, in addition to the federal party’s platform and statements, the statements and other behavior of its representatives, as well as their connections to right-wing extremist actors and groups, were examined in particular.”
The BfV is no longer led by Thomas Haldenwang (CDU), but here he is discussing the AfD during his tenure. Haldenwang gave up his position to run as an MP but he lost his seat.
The news comes at a time when the AfD is the number one party in the country, according to national polls, a position it has achieved for the first time. As the party surges, its democratic rivals are becoming increasingly concerned, prompting calls for a ban from not only the left, but also the traditional “center-right,” which has shifted more and more to the left over the years.
🇩🇪❌Will Germany's AfD party be banned?@Dieter_Stein, the editor-in-chief of @Junge_Freiheit, discusses how the German establishment's strategy is designed to create a toxic atmosphere around the anti-immigration AfD party, with Stein describing it as a "war of attrition." pic.twitter.com/KV54nHKl57
The latest designation was a key plan in the move to ban the party, with many so-called “moderates” waiting for the BfV designation to move forward with a vote to ban the party.
However, there is no sign yet of how a ban will move forward, with many in the CDU skeptical about banning the most popular party in the country, along with some from the left as well.
🇩🇪❌ Will X be banned in Germany?
"With his call to ban X, Mr. Hofreiter of the Greens has shown the ugly face of the totalitarian spirit that dominates you."
Previous attempts to ban the far-right NPD, which took some notably extremist stances, were unsuccessful, with the top court arguing that the party was not large enough to represent a serious threat to the democratic order. There were also questions about the excessive number of informants, making it difficult to ascertain how much of the extremism in the party was due to informants versus the party’s own members.
However, the AfD, in contrast, is not only popular but is now the most popular party in the country.
Emil Sänze, the AfD leader in the state association of AfD leader Alice Weidel, said this was a deliberate attempt to weaken the largest opposition party. He told Bild, “This is outrageous. A purely political decision in the run-up to the chancellor election on May 6.”
Despite the European Union being led by Ursula von der Leyen for years, she is calling out the abysmal deportation rate seen in the EU.
“It cannot be that only 20 percent of those whose asylum applications are rejected actually leave Europe,” said the German politician, who serves as European Commission president.
“We cannot explain this to our citizens,” she added.
The EU commission head made the comments in the context of falling illegal immigration.
“Since the beginning of the year, illegal border crossings have decreased by 30 percent,” von der Leyen said at a European People’s Party (EPP) congress in Valencia, Spain.
She said this showed that cooperation with southern countries is beginning to bear fruit, including deals with countries like Tunisia. Currently, other agreements are in the works with nations like Morocco.
Often, the problem facing EU nations is that third countries refuse to accept migrants with deportation orders. Many of these countries have no interest in receiving these migrants, and in some cases, they are used as a bargaining chip to obtain better deals with the EU.
In other instances, there are European nations with self-imposed restrictions in place, such as Germany’s refusal to deport Afghan migrants due to what the left argues is the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The policy has cost a number of German lives, including young children, who were stabbed or murdered by Afghans with deportation orders.
In other cases, authorities cannot even determine where migrants are from, as many arrive without identity papers and refuse to divulge which land they arrived from.
The illegal migration situation, which has resulted in a massive increase in crime and terror, put pressure on the left-liberal parties that dominate Europe, and fueled the growth of the right. While there is an emphasis on reducing illegal migration, the European Union wants to ramp up legal mass immigration from countries such as India. As has been shown in other countries where this has occurred, such as Canada, Australia, and the United States, this has had a dramatically negative effect on housing prices, social cohesion, and the education system.
The German Evangelical Church (EKD) is being accused of racism after banning White children from attending a workshop on being “courageous and strong” during its Church Congress in Hanover on Wednesday. The Church is now being questioned about its commitment to anti-racist and universalist principles.
The “Become Courage and Strong” workshop was only open to Black, indigenous and children of color. However, while ethnic Germans and ethnic Europeans are indigenous to Germany and Europe, the designation did not apply to them, only indigenous people from other continents.
“This offer is aimed exclusively at Black, Indigenous and children of color,” reads the program website.
The Church’s official program featured the seminar as a “protected space where children can sing or beatbox.” The church program for the day states children who attend will “develop strengths and strategies for dealing with experiences of racism.”
The Church is not only being racist towards White children with its program, but the logic of its program is that White people cannot experience racism, a complete contradiction of the universalist principles taught in the Bible.
At the congress, former Chancellor Angela Merkel also delivered a speech about climate and migration on Wednesday.
Workshop on ‘Critical Whiteness’
It did not end there. In fact, there was a workshop on “Critical Whiteness” where only White people were allowed to attend, namely White adults “who are not affected by racism.”
However, there is also a workshop that immigrants are not allowed to participate in called “Critical Whiteness.” There, white adults “who are not affected by racism” are supposed to critically examine their perceived privileges. This also implies that White people are not affected by racism and the only group that needs to address the issue of racism.
Remix News itself was even suspended from TikTok for showcasing a video that shows extreme anti-White racism, including labeling White people pigs.
The Church features a huge number of workshops on racism, climate change, and workshops “against the right.” There is an “interactive exhibition on anti-Muslim racism” as well as 24 other workshops and events on racism. Another 34 on climate change are featured and 13 in the “fight against the right.”
Meanwhile, Islamic groups continue to slaughter Christians in the Middle East in large numbers, including the ongoing massacre of Christians in Syria, which the European Parliament published a statement on, along with top politicians across the continent. However, what is going on in Syria is just one element of a long and ongoing story of ethnic and religious cleansing in the Middle East, which has seen its share of Christians plummet over the last two centuries, often through violent displacement. Much of this violence is also directed at Christians in Europe, including Church arson attacks and desecration.
However, the Church’s narrative about oppressed Muslims and other minority groups would be shattered by addressing these widespread and highly disturbing developments. Those who write about such subjects even face their books being banned, despite the liberal principles promoted by the West.
However, the evangelical church refuses to address the persecution of Christians with any kind of workshop or event. Often, Muslims and other religious groups and governments are responsible for this persecution, and as Remix News has reported in recent years, there are now a record number of Christians being persecuted.
The racist and anti-White workshop programs come at a time when the Evangelical Church in Germany is losing record numbers of members. In 2023, the Church lost nearly 600,000 people.
The Catholic Church is far from better, with the Church growing more political by the year. Recently, a German priest fired an altar boy and called him a “Nazi” for associating with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Karol Nawrocki, president of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and PiS presidential candidate, met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House during his visit to the United States, which will include celebrating Poland’s Constitution Day on May 3 with the Polish community in Chicago.
Aside from his talk with Trump, Do Rzeczy reports Nawrocki, an independent who scored support from the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), exchanged words with various officials in the Rose Garden during the National Day of Prayer ceremony. He was seen speaking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy.
“Great meeting with POTUS. It was an honour to discuss the bright future of Poland-U.S. relations,” Nawrocki posted on his own account.
Chicago’s May 3rd Day Parade, first started in 1892, celebrates the ratification of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791. This year’s slogan will be “1000th Anniversary of the Kingdom of Poland.” The largest Polish parade outside of Poland being in Chicago makes sense, as the city is home to the largest Polish population in a metropolitan region in the U.S. With more than 720,000 residents claiming Polish heritage, it is purportedly the most Polish city in the world outside of Poland.
According to wPolityce editor-in-chief Marzena Nykiel, Poland’s current Tusk-led government is subordinating the country to solutions created by Brussels and Berlin. While Three Seas held their 10th anniversary summit in Warsaw, the European People’s Party (EPP) also held a gathering in Valencia, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz devising his own concept of the future of the European Union under German leadership.
Nykiel highlighted three key points: “The region of countries that make up the Three Seas Initiative is of great geopolitical importance,” the alliance of 13 EU member states is not in Germany’s interest, and U.S. President Donald Trump favors it.
Poland is, she says, “the natural leader of this part of Europe,” and “a true, pro-Polish government” would take a greater interest in Three Seas to support Polish sovereignty. They would not boycott the summit, as did Tusk, not try “to push the United States out of Europe,” as the chief editor says Merz and Tusk hope to do as they formulate a stronger Europe with its own European army, i.e., no more orders from NATO.
“In terms of building an EU superstate, Germany is going further and further. It is therefore obvious that they are stifling any initiatives that would support the competitiveness of other countries,” Nykiel writes, then quoting Merz himself in Valencia: “With the government we lead, you will have the biggest EU supporters you have ever seen.”
According to Nykiel, Merz believes that with Trump in the White House, Europe must band together for military rearmament and other challenges on the horizon. Joint weapons development/purchases “is not optional, it is a necessary condition for maintaining peace and freedom on our European continent,” the German chancellor told the EPP Conference.
Nykiel then cites the EU’s white paper on the “Future of European Defence,” which she says PiS and Confederation MEPs saw as a danger to Poland’s security, as it outlines “regulations transferring competences and sovereignty in the area of security to foreign hands, de facto German ones, depriving member states of authority over the area of defense policy.”
She also bemoans its call to abandon the principle of unanimity in matters of international policy and defense, as Poland would no longer be able to control its own sovereign defense policy nor dictate where Polish soldiers were deployed.
Emphasizing the danger of Poland capitulating to Germany’s will, the chief editor points out that Poles should know how this ends, with examples from past history or even today, with Poland being forced to take on Germany’s surplus migrants per the EU’s migration pact and Germany clearly already doing so all while Merz claims he is fighting illegal migration.
Tusk and Merz have supposedly made a deal to stop these inflows, but many, like Marzena Nykiel, are suspect.
“There is no point in deluding ourselves that this approach of the Germans will ever change. We know Polish history too well not to draw conclusions from it,” she says.
Nykiel then accuses the Tusk government of caving to Berlin and Brussels, achieving nothing for Poles while president of the EU Council. “It does not use any means of opposition, does not take action to secure Polish sovereignty. It is not able to use the current presidency to promote its own country even to a minimal extent. (…) Can one imagine greater allies of external forces?” Nykiel asks.
Kyiv and Washington established a joint investment fund to exploit Ukraine’s raw materials and rebuild the country, under Ukrainian control.
Ukraine and the United States announced late Wednesday, after months of negotiations, that they had signed a joint agreement on raw materials and investment. Under the agreement, the two countries will establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which is intended to support new projects aimed at extracting raw materials and economic reconstruction.
The .U.S. Treasury Department was the first to release a statement about the agreement, stating on X, “On April 30, the United States and Ukraine signed an agreement to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. This historic economic partnership clearly signals the Trump Administration’s commitment to a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine.”
Yulia Szviridenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy, posted on X: “On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country.”
On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country. pic.twitter.com/8ryyAMqW83
According to Sviridenko, writes Mandiner, during the operation of the fund, the ownership of raw materials and the right to extract them will remain in the hands of Ukraine, decision-making will be equally divided between the parties, and the ownership structure of the fund will be 50-50 percent.
Ukrainian state-owned energy companies, such as Ukrnafta and Energoatom, will not be privatized. In addition, the agreement does not impose any debt obligations on Ukraine and is fully consistent with the country’s constitution and international obligations.
The fund will be financed exclusively from revenues from new production licenses, meaning that resources from projects already underway and planned in the state budget will remain outside the scheme. 50 percent of the income from new oil and gas licenses will go to the fund. The American side is represented by the International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), which not only provides financial contributions, but also provides technology and investment to Ukrainian projects.
In addition, Szviridenko said that funds are also expected from “other international partners who support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian aggressor.”
The agreement provides tax guarantees as well. Income and contributions related to the fund will be tax-free in both Ukraine and the United States.
The fund will be able to invest exclusively in Ukraine, and during the first 10 years, no dividends are expected to be paid, but profits will be fully reinvested in new Ukrainian projects. However, according to Sviridenko, “these conditions are subject to further discussions.”
“We have crafted an agreement that provides mutually beneficial terms for both countries. The United States reaffirms its commitment to long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes Ukraine’s contributions to global security – including its renunciation of nuclear weapons. This agreement reaffirms the United States’ commitment to the security, recovery, and reconstruction of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also posted a video message on X: “Thanks to President Trump’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace, I am glad to announce the signing of today’s historic economic partnership agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery. Economic security is national security.
“The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will work closely with the Government of Ukraine to establish this fund, and we look forward to quickly operationalizing this historic economic partnership for both the Ukrainian and American people,” Bessent continued.
“This agreement sends a clear signal to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine in the long term,” he added.
The minister emphasized: “And to be clear, no state or person can benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine that has financed or supplied the Russian war machine .” However, neither Donald Trump nor Volodymyr Zelensky have commented on the agreement on their social media platforms so far.
An Ivorian migrant has been jailed for five years for the rape of a 23-year-old French woman.
The Lorient Criminal Court sentenced Vassindou Junior Méïté on Monday to a custodial sentence after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a young woman who found herself stranded after a night out in the French town back in September 2023.
On Sept. 17, having lost access to her home, the victim accepted an invitation to spend the night in a shared apartment in Lorient. There, Méïté — who was present in the apartment — raped her despite her repeated refusals. According to the court’s findings, the woman was held down and strangled during the attack.
While her screams were reportedly heard by others in nearby rooms and apartments, no one intervened.
After the assault, the victim managed to lock herself in the bathroom and contact friends, who then helped her by calling the police.
At trial, Méïté denied any violence, claiming that the sexual encounter was consensual and attempting to explain away the victim’s injuries as the result of “somewhat rough” but voluntary behavior.
He claimed the allegations were false and accused the victim of crocodile tears as she appeared in court visibly upset and accompanied by her mother.
“I never saw her not cry. No, her tears are not feigned,” her lawyer said in response to the defendant’s remarks.
The attack has reportedly had a long-lasting psychological impact on the victim, who has difficulty sleeping and now has an overreliance on alcohol.
Méïté’s version of events was contradicted by medical reports, which documented visible signs of strangulation, bruises, and finger marks, consistent with forceful assault.
This conviction was not Méïté’s first encounter with the justice system. At the time of the Lorient rape, he was already under judicial supervision for another rape allegation. In that earlier case, prosecutors chose to reclassify the charge as sexual assault, reportedly to spare the victim, in a fragile psychological state, from the trauma of testifying in an assize court, which would have required a much larger trial by jury.
Méïté ultimately faced no trial in that case due to a dismissal of proceedings.
The court in Lorient sentenced him to five years in prison, accompanied by a 10-year ban from French territory upon his release.
Beyond the courtroom, the case has triggered debate over the media’s portrayal of such crimes. Breizh-Info noted how several media outlets referred to Méïté only as a “Briochin,” a resident of Saint-Brieuc, omitting his Ivorian nationality until the final paragraphs — if mentioned at all.
This is evidenced in a report by Le Télégramme, which led with the line: “A 21-year-old man from Brioche was sentenced on Monday, April 28, by the court of Lorient, to 5 years in prison for the rape of a woman from Lorient in September 2023.”
A family in Germany is demanding accountability after the brutal death of artist Kamilla N., 40, who was murdered while voluntarily undergoing treatment at a Munich psychiatric facility.
Kamilla was staying at the Isar-Amper Clinic for treatment in May 2022 when she was placed next door to Jayson David B., a Brazilian national and former trans sex worker, who had been admitted the previous day under alarming circumstances.
According to reports, the trans man had killed his own dog and explicitly warned authorities, saying, “Next up is a human.”
Despite this threat, Jayson David B. was allowed to move freely within the locked ward, and early on May 31, 2022, he attacked Kamilla.
According to court findings, he struck her with a piece of a shower curtain rod and strangled her, believing she was a witch, as part of a delusional episode linked to his paranoid schizophrenia. The coroner ruled that she officially died from asphyxiation.
He then threw mattresses and bed linen over her body and set fire to it, even taping off the fire alarm.
Only when the alarm was eventually triggered did the clinic staff realize what had happened.
In 2023, the Munich Regional Court ruled that the Brazilian national could not be held criminally responsible due to his severe mental illness. He was convicted of manslaughter and permanently committed to a secure psychiatric institution.
The court acknowledged that Jayson David B. had believed he was acting on “orders from the devil” and was mentally unfit to stand trial for murder.
However, Kamilla’s family has not found peace and has fought to hold the clinic accountable, accusing the institution of gross negligence. Despite the trans killer’s known history of violence and explicit threats, he was not properly medicated, closely monitored, or restricted in his movements within the ward, the family argues.
“The clinic failed Kamilla,” said Wiarda in a statement to Bild. “A dangerously ill man was allowed to roam freely in a closed psychiatric ward, with insufficient supervision and medication. This was not just a medical error — it was a catastrophic breach of duty.”
The family’s legal efforts hit a wall in January 2024, when Munich prosecutors dropped an investigation into possible negligent homicide by clinic staff, citing insufficient evidence of wrongdoing. But, lawyers for the victim’s family say the investigation was superficial and failed to consider a private forensic report that identified “clear and serious treatment errors.”
“The public prosecutor never conducted an independent investigation,” lawyer Jella von Wiarda claims. She has since initiated legal enforcement proceedings with the Munich Higher Regional Court, seeking a reopening of the case.
“The family can no longer accept the inaction of the Munich judiciary,” Wiarda added. “They demand clarity — because what happened to Kamilla must never happen again.”
An 18-year-old African alleged serial rapist migrant has been charged with rape in the Choisy-le-Roi park in a case involving a young woman last week on Friday. The man, a citizen of Guinea, is also being charged with sexual assault and attempted rape of two other young women in the same park, with the two incidents occurring on April 13 and April 17. Police have arrested the suspect, noting he was not wearing any underwear at the time of his arrest.
The suspect was brought before a court on Sunday and charged.
The first case occurred on April 13 at 9:30 p.m., in which he raped a woman, at which time she came to the police station and filed a criminal complaint. Four days later, a 16-year-old girl was the victim of an attempted rape from the same perpetrator around 8:00 p.m. at the same location.
Police connected the two cases, as both complainants gave the same description of the suspect. In both cases, the women were alone and were attacked from behind.
“The perpetrator put his hand over their mouths to stop them from screaming, and tried to undress them to sexually abuse them,” said a source close to the investigation to ACTU17.
Undercover officers then entered the park for the following days and attempted to catch the suspect. On Friday, the officers learned that a woman had been raped at exactly the same location at 7:00 p.m. The police then conducted a widespread search in the area and found the suspect at 8:45 p.m. They immediately took him into custody and determined he had no previous criminal record.
“His DNA matched that of one of the victims. During police custody, the man generally admitted to the facts,” stated the Créteil prosecutor’s office.
“He was not wearing underwear,” stated the same source.
Not only did the clothing match the description provided by the victims, but the police found him not wearing any underwear. One theory for his lack of underwear may have been to make it easier and quicker to rape his targets once he had them under his control.
He had a travel document issued to migrant minors, which was provided to him in the city of Créteil.
“According to the initial psychiatric examination, he is considered criminally responsible at this stage of the proceedings,” the prosecutor’s office added.
He is now being charged with rape and attempted rape.
“Investigations are continuing, particularly to determine whether this man may have committed other crimes,” the law enforcement source told ACTU17.
Tesla owners in Vienna are increasingly finding threatening flyers placed on their vehicles, warning them of potential vandalism and public backlash if they do not sell their cars.
The notes, which have appeared on multiple vehicles in recent days, are part of an apparent campaign by left-wing extremists who have made Tesla — and its CEO, Elon Musk — a target due to his political positions and support for populist parties across Europe.
One flyer, titled “Our condolences! It’s not your fault. It will only be your fault if you don’t act now”, warns Tesla owners that they are driving a vehicle associated with “right-wing agitator” Elon Musk. The note urges drivers to sell their cars while they still can, hinting at consequences such as public shaming and criminal damage to the vehicle.
The leaflet reads: “Now you own a car that you may be ashamed of, whose value has gone to its knees and you have to be afraid every night that someone will scratch a big ‘fuck Tesla’ into your paintwork.” The document continues with suggestions such as speaking to employers about removing Tesla vehicles from company fleets, and even discussing the matter with friends and family in an effort to ostracize the brand.
The campaign is not limited to Vienna. Similar anti-Tesla actions have been reported in several other European cities. In Berlin and Paris, Teslas have been defaced with spray paint and stickers labeling drivers as supporters of “right-wing conspiracy.” In Amsterdam, demonstrators have held protests outside Tesla garages and engaged in confrontations with drivers, calling their cars “capitalist machines” and demanding they abandon them.
In March, an arson attack that knocked out power to a Tesla factory and parts of Berlin was claimed by a left-wing terror group.
“Together, we are bringing Tesla to its knees. Switch off for Tesla. Greetings to everyone on the run, in the underground in prisons and in the resistance! Love and strength to all Antifa,” read a letter by the perpetrators published in the German media.
The vandalism is, in part, fueled by left-wing politicians who have made inflammatory remarks about Musk and his company.
In January, after Musk endorsed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the country’s federal elections, Poland’s Sports Minister Sławomir Nitras said, “I can only say this much, listening to these words: Probably no normal Pole should buy a Tesla anymore.”
Berlin Senator Cansel Kiziltepe, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), went further earlier this week, comparing Tesla to “Nazi cars.”
“Who wants to drive a Nazi car? Manufacturers of electric cars are experiencing a sales boom – apart from Tesla,” she said.
Authorities in Vienna have not yet commented on the distribution of these flyers, but some Tesla owners have expressed concern for their safety and the security of their property, according to Austrian news outlet Exxpress.
Russia’s budget hole is growing larger, and the Kremlin has limited ability to borrow money, as it is highly reliant on oil and gas for its budget, which has seen a sharp reversal in prices downward.
Brent crude fell 1.6 percent to $63.70 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London on Tuesday, marking the second day of rapid declines after more than 3 percent on Monday. Last week’s rebound thus proved temporary.
Barclays analysts on Monday cut their 2025 Brent price forecast by $4 to $70 a barrel, citing rising trade tensions and a shift in OPEC+’s production strategy as factors in a 1 million barrel-a-day surplus of crude supply this year. Downward pressure was also put on refineries on the Iberian Peninsula due to a major power outage, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, several members of OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, will suggest accelerating production increases for the second year in a row in June, sources told Reuters last week. Prices are falling, and their budgets need money too, and they see that production caps aren’t getting them the money.
Russia’s taxes on oil are decreasing
The discount at which Russia sells its Urals oil has recently exceeded $13, so at a Brent price of $63.70, that means about $50 per barrel of Urals oil that Russian oil companies actually get. These are critical levels for the Kremlin’s budget and for Russian oil producers, whose extraction costs were estimated at $42 per barrel from onshore sources a few years ago.
The tax base for the domestic oil and gas sector is the monthly export price of Russian oil, calculated by the government in dollars. The drop in oil prices registered in April will therefore not be felt by the state until May.
Oil in Russia is subject to a 30 percent export tax on the Brent price, but with a discount set by the government. In July 2023, this discount was $25, so with such a discount and at a Brent price of $64, the tax per barrel would be only $11.70. CIT revenues would probably drop to a minimum because oil companies sell oil for $50, and since their extraction costs are on average around $42, there may be no profit with the export tax.
On the other hand, the cost of extraction in the main deposits is lower than $42 and is only $15, so it is always possible to close down deposits with a higher unit cost. However, this means a decrease in total sales and therefore in revenues to the Russian budget.
Not only that, gas prices in Europe are falling, which, despite the embargo on gas from pipelines, has continued to make abundant use of liquefied gas recently, especially France. The price of May gas contracts fell by over 2 percent on Tuesday, and the price went down to as much as €31.21 per megawatt-hour. The last time it was this cheap was exactly one year ago, on April 29, 2024. Let us recall that at the end of February, the European price even exceeded €57.
But oil is key to Russia’s budget. The Russian Economy Ministry lowered its Brent price forecast for 2025 from $81.7 to $68 per barrel last week, the Russian news agency TASS reported a few days ago. The forecast for the price of Russian Urals oil is $56 per barrel.
Russia’s budget revenues from taxes on oil and gas were already 17 percent lower year-on-year in March, but May will be critical.
According to TASS, Dmitry Kasatkin, a partner at Kasatkin Consulting, believes that amid rising OPEC+ production and trade wars, there could be a “perfect storm” on the market that could push oil prices down to $20-30 per barrel. However, trade tariffs are likely to be eased, and OPEC+, which monitors the demand situation for oil, will take action to prevent prices from falling below $45-50 per barrel, he added.
Tax increases
One of the effects of falling oil prices on Russia is the pressure to raise taxes other than the export tax on hydrocarbons. In order not to eat up the remnants of the National Welfare Fund (money from oil and gas exports, which were supposed to be spent on improving the standard of living of Russians, but from 2022 will go to Putin’s war), the Kremlin announced a “reform of budget regulations.”
The “limit price” below which the authorities will “unseal the fund” may fall from the current $60/barrel to $50. In fact, this means a reduction in budget expenditure by 1.5-1.8 trillion rubles (PLN 67-80 billion), predict Alfa Bank and VTB, quoted by Polish media outlet Rzeczpospolita. And this leads to cuts in spending on social purposes, health care, education, social assistance.
The Netherlands has seen a marked decline in asylum applications from several Arab countries, according to new figures released by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) in its monthly Asylum Trends report.
Most notably, applications from Syrians dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, with only 940 new requests filed — a stark contrast to the 2,901 applications received during the same period last year.
This decrease is linked to dramatic political developments in Syria following the ousting of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad by Islamist forces in December 2024. With the regime change, many Syrians who previously fled violence are now either staying in the region or reconsidering their options.
A similar pattern has emerged among asylum seekers from Iraq and Yemen, whose numbers fell from 1,191 to 111 and from 471 to 83, respectively, over the same period.
Despite the drop in first-time asylum claims, the overall influx of asylum seekers has not decreased as quickly. This is largely due to a rise in family reunification, particularly among Syrians. In the first quarter of 2025, over 3,000 Syrian family members joined relatives who were granted asylum in the Netherlands — up from 2,311 last year.
Meanwhile, applications from people coming from “safe countries,” where there is no widespread conflict or persecution, remain high. These include Morocco and Egypt, where the Dutch government considers asylum claims to have minimal merit.
Even with declining numbers, the Dutch asylum system remains under immense pressure. The IND, under the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, continues to deal with a severe backlog and an ongoing shortage of accommodation. As a temporary measure, thousands of asylum seekers are being housed in hotels and even on cruise ships — a policy that has come under fire for its cost and optics.
Dutch political commentator Marianne Zwagerman recently wrote in De Telegraaf that Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber has been allocated billions in the Spring Memorandum to pay for temporary housing, with hotel rates reportedly exceeding €300 per night. “Some 10,000 asylum seekers now endlessly vacation in extremely expensive hotel rooms,” she wrote, claiming over 100 hospitality businesses are benefiting from the arrangement.
The situation has fueled public anger in some communities as asylum accommodation spills out into rural areas. In March, protests erupted in Berlicum over the planned construction of an asylum center that would house up to 270 refugees. Demonstrators threw eggs at the town hall, launched fireworks, and later hung pigs’ feet on the fence near the proposed site. The local action group “Nee tegen azc” (No to Asylum Seekers’ Center) organized the protest, drawing hundreds of angry residents.
Tensions have also flared in smaller villages like Doezum in the province of Groningen, where a plan to house 100 status holders in new chalets was announced without any public consultation. “My 25-year-old son has been trying to find a place to live for years, but there’s nothing available,” a local resident told De Telegraaf. “Yet housing for people from far away appears overnight. How is that fair?”
These developments come amid promises by the new center-right government, led by Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV), to enforce what it calls the “strictest asylum policy ever.” Minister Faber (PVV) has vowed sweeping reforms aimed at overhauling the Dutch asylum law. Proposed changes include scrapping automatic permanent residency after five years, creating a dual-track asylum system based on the severity of individual claims, and restricting family reunification rights for adult children and unmarried partners.
Additionally, the ministry aims to boost deportation powers, construct detention centers for failed applicants, reinstate internal border checks within the Schengen Area, and abolish laws that distribute asylum seekers across municipalities.
Though these plans have faced criticism from the Council of State, the government’s top advisory body, Faber has shown little interest in compromise. “Maybe a point and a comma, but that’s it,” she said, brushing off the Council’s concerns. “I am convinced that my lawyers have made a good proposal. The advice is not binding — I can do what I want with it.”
Wilders was quick to leap on the declining figures as evidence of the government’s progress in tackling the crisis.
“The PVV governs and the PVV delivers,” he wrote on X.
Other users were quick to suggest that this was not the “Faber-effect” but more the “Syria-effect,” with first-time asylum claims from the country dropping sharply and the government’s asylum plans not yet in force.
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again suggested that Vladimir Putin wants to end the war with Ukraine, despite ongoing attacks by Russia.
In an interview with ABC News‘ Terry Moran, Trump was asked if Putin really wants to end the war, to which Trump responded, “I think he does.”
“(Putin’s) dream was to take over the whole country. Thanks to me, he won’t do that,” Trump added. At the same time, the American president did not say he directly trusts Putin but that he believes Putin “respects” him.
“I don’t trust you, I don’t trust many people, but I think that, let’s say, he respects me and I think that because of me he won’t take all of Ukraine, but his first decision, choice, would be to take all of Ukraine,” Trump said.
The American president also expressed his displeasure over a recent Russian missile attack on Kyiv
“I will tell you, I was not happy when I saw Putin shooting missiles into a few towns and cities,” said Trump.
Trump said that while Putin may be “tapping him along a bit,” his overall desire is to end the war.
Others believe that Putin has no intention of ending the war. Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemueller said in late March that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “playing with Trump” and has no intention of signing any peace agreements.
The U.S. has begun to threaten to withdraw from the negotiation process. Vice President JD Vance said that Washington will not tolerate an endless conflict and expects Ukraine and Russia to be ready for a compromise.
With 174 votes in favor, the representatives in Hungary’s National Assembly unanimously adopted a new law that makes it illegal to sell or serve energy drinks to those under the age of 18.
The law will enter into force in 30 days, and violators of the regulation, writes Mandiner, will be subject to the same sanctions as those violating the rules on the sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, or sexual products.
Recent surveys show that 10 percent of high school and college students consume energy drinks on a daily basis, and in recent years, there have been hundreds of cases where young people have required medical attention due to excessive energy drink consumption.
The Hungarian Society of Cardiologists and the National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy submitted expert opinions for the law’s justification as well, unanimously stating that excessive consumption of energy drinks by young people poses a significant health risk due to their effects on the cardiovascular system.
The combined consumption of energy drinks and alcohol can cause permanent damage to the liver, heart and kidneys, the justification reads. Youth in Hungary are known to combine energy drinks with alcohol. Furthermore, the long-term impact of energy drink consumption is still unknown, as it is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Hungary is the fourth member state to implement such a ban. Lithuania was the first in the European Union to introduce an age restriction in 2014, followed by Latvia in 2016, where the sale of energy drinks is also prohibited in educational institutions.
Last year, Poland became the third EU country to introduce a ban on those under the age of 18, with a 2022 national survey revealing that nearly half, 46.4 percent, of young people between the ages of 10 and 14 consumed energy drinks, and the frequency of consumption increased with age.
In Turkey, too, minors are prohibited from purchasing energy drinks. In several countries, such as Great Britain and Sweden, there is no legal ban, but large retail chains voluntarily refuse to allow young people to purchase energy drinks. It is also typical that the ban applies to the sale of energy drinks in schools.
Hungary’s own Hell Energy brand commented on the new law, telling the Mandiner news portal: “Based on international experience, there is still no clear evidence that restricting energy drinks for those under 18 would be effective.”
“Healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine per day, which is equivalent to about five cans of Hell energy drink,” the energy drink maker continued. “We are convinced that the restriction currently adopted is not necessarily the most effective tool for protecting the health of young people.”
As to what they consider the best long-term approach, Hell added: “We believe that promoting informed consumer decisions through targeted information and education is worth supporting – this would be a sustainable and proportionate approach in the long term.”
They also pointed out what many have brought up: “Caffeine is indeed not recommended for children – but this is true for all caffeinated drinks, including coffee and cola.”
Hell famously had a multi-year collaboration with Bruce Willis, with billboards of him around Budapest promoting the drink. Their agreement was even renewed in early 2022. Shortly after this, the Hollywood star stepped away from acting due to aphasia and came public with his dementia diagnosis the following year. There has been no word since regarding his contract with Hell.
One Hungarian organization, the Young Families Club (Ficsak), told MTI that it “welcomes the fact that the parliament has amended the law to prohibit the sale of energy drinks to minors.” The regulation has long been justified, they say, as energy drink consumption has taken on dramatic proportions among young people in recent years.
A deadly shooting in central Uppsala, Sweden, has triggered a large-scale police response, with three confirmed dead and authorities launching what they call a “special incident” to mobilize resources.
The shooting occurred in broad daylight shortly after 5 p.m. near Vaksala Square, just hours before thousands were expected to gather for Walpurgis and May Day festivities.
“This is a very serious incident,” said police spokesperson Magnus Jansson Klarin. “Three people have been confirmed dead.” The victims had not been identified as of late Tuesday evening.
The area near a local hair salon quickly became the focus of an intense police effort, with helicopters deployed, door-to-door inquiries underway, and crime scene cordons set up.
One eyewitness told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that on his way to the shop, he saw a masked individual on an electric scooter moments before gunfire erupted. “I saw him come around a corner, and then it started to bang,” he said. The man fled to the Uppsala concert and congress center for safety. “You panic. After a while, I went back again, and then it was total chaos at the place.”
Another witness, who was in a playground with her son about 30 meters from the scene, initially mistook the sounds for something harmless. “At first, I didn’t understand what it was that banged so loudly,” she said. “But when I saw and heard the police helicopter and talked to other parents, it dawned on me. I don’t feel scared myself, but of course, it gets scary when it happens here.”
A resident who lives near the site of the shooting heard five to six shots around 5:10 p.m., followed by screaming. “Then it took about 10 minutes before the police arrived. It was on the street as far as I could see,” the witness said of the attack.
“We have information about a person on an electric scooter who left the scene,” police said. “If you have information about this, you are welcome to contact us. We are looking for one or more perpetrators.”
Police have not disclosed any information about the gender or age of the victims at the time of writing.
Investigators recovered initial evidence from the scene, believed to be cartridge casings on the ground.
Authorities are taking the proximity to the May Day celebrations seriously, as tens of thousands of people are expected to gather across Uppsala. Police spokesperson Klarin reassured the public, saying, “We see no danger to the public here now. I want to be careful to emphasize that, as many people are out celebrating.”
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer described the attack as “extraordinarily serious” in a written statement. “The police are on site, and an intensive investigation is underway. The Ministry of Justice is in close contact with the police and is following the development of events closely.”
As of late Tuesday night, no arrests had been made, and the motive remains unknown.
The attack comes just two days after a mother and her young daughter were seriously injured when a grenade was launched through the bedroom window of a residential property in Tumba, south of Stockholm, on Sunday evening. Authorities believe the incident was a gang-related attack on the wrong home.
Shootings and explosions have become commonplace across Sweden in recent years, reaching record highs as gang warfare intensifies and recruitment drives target the younger generation.
By the end of January this year, Remix News reported how 32 explosions had been recorded across the country already in 2025 — an average of more than one per day.
Swedish government data published in October last year revealed how three out of four murders in the country are now committed by migrants, and the rate of gun murders per capita in Stockholm is 30 times that of London.
Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has drawn praise from Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who described the move as “a choice of justice and freedom, of sovereignty and courage.”
The Hungarian parliament voted Tuesday to initiate the withdrawal, marking a significant break from European Union consensus on international justice.
In a social media post, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote, “With this decision, we refuse to be part of a politicized institution that has lost its impartiality and credibility.”
The announcement of Hungary’s intentions was made just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a four-day visit to Budapest last month. Netanyahu currently faces an arrest warrant from the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the European Commission, Anouar El Anouni, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the ICC, once again putting Budapest on a collision course with Brussels. “We support the International Criminal Court and the principles set out in the Rome Statute. The EU respects the independence and impartiality of the Court. And we are firmly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity,” he said.
El Anouni also reminded Hungary of its legal obligations under the EU treaties, stating, “Under Article 24(3) of the Treaty on European Union, Hungary is obliged to actively and unreservedly support the Union’s external security policy in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity.”
The Hungarian Parliament just voted to withdraw from the @IntlCrimCourt. With this decision, we refuse to be part of a politicized institution that has lost its impartiality and credibility. pic.twitter.com/C9dit8xaB8
Speaking in the Hungarian parliament, Szijjártó recalled Hungary’s early role in supporting the Court’s foundation. Hungary signed the Rome Statute in 1999 and ratified it in 2001, but the agreement was never enshrined into Hungarian domestic law. He also confirmed that a formal notification will be sent to the U.N. Secretary-General, and the withdrawal will take effect one year after that date.
Szijjártó criticized what he described as a broader trend of politicization in international institutions. “It is clear that when there is a conflict going on in the world, a conflict between nations or countries, everyone tries to politicize international organizations in such a way that they can then use them for their own political purposes,” he said. “We have always rejected this.”
The move echoes previous criticisms by U.S. President Donald Trump, who sanctioned the ICC in response to investigations into American and Israeli actions.
Both Trump and Hungary’s current government have characterized the Court as ideologically driven and hostile to national sovereignty.
Social welfare fraud can now be added to the long list of reasons mass immigration has been a disaster for Austria, with the country experiencing 4,865 such cases last year. Alarmingly, nearly all such fraud is committed by foreigners.
Since 2018, the Social Benefits Fraud Task Force (SOLBE) has uncovered fraud with social benefits totaling €135.6 million. Of those cases, 70 percent of suspects are foreigners. However, if we factor in that many of the Austrians committing the crime also have a foreign background, it is clear that this is overwhelmingly a type of fraud committed by foreigners and Austrians with a foreign background.
“More than 70 percent of the suspects are not Austrian citizens,” said Gerald Tatzgern, head of the department for combating welfare fraud. One common form of fraud is couples registering at different apartments to receive higher benefits, while still living in the same house or apartment.
Numerous shocking cases abound. For example, one Bosnian mane was receiving €1,250 a month in social security benefits every month while renting out a number of condos in his home country and making healthy profits. In that case, taxpayers lost a total of €100,000.
“When important social systems are abused, the police and tax authorities take consistent action against the perpetrators,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.
The majority of cases, 2,626, were discovered in Vienna, while the second-most cases were in Lower Austria, totaling 508. The agency has investigated 25,156 cases since it was founded in 2018.
🇦🇹 This is now Vienna on a warm day. The Austrian city is often labeled the “most livable” city in the world.
Yet, the Viennese vote overwhelmingly for more mass immigration, even as the city becomes more packed every year.
The number of foreigners committing such fraud is truly astounding, as the share of foreigners is only 16.2 percent in the whole population. Of the Austrians listed as committing social welfare fraud, many of them also have a foreign background as well, but clear data on this not available.
Austria, however, does not want to get rid of its social welfare system, even if a huge share is going to foreigners, many who never even worked in the country.
“Through its investigations, the Social Benefits Fraud Task Force ensures that social systems remain fair and available to those who actually need them,” said Karner.
🇦🇹‼️ 534,193 criminal cases were reported in Austria last year.
The task force is also releasing information campaigns to help the public become more aware of social welfare fraud, as well as encouraging the public to provide anonymous tips on the web.
However, welfare fraud is often difficult to track, which means there are far more cases that go undetected.
As reported by Kurier, Criminal reports involving children aged 10 to 14 have doubled in recent years, reaching 12,049 in 2024. The proportion of non-Austrian suspects in this age group stands at 48 percent. Karner said reports involving Syrian minors had “practically increased tenfold,” jumping from 150 in 2020 to around 1,000 last year.
“You have to address the facts clearly and distinctly. The number of complaints by Syrian suspects stands out,” Karner said earlier this month.
Germany also rife with welfare fraud
Neighboring Germany is also suffering from such welfare fraud cases. In one cases, hundreds of thousands of euros in benefits were sent to a migrant clan family that was already earning millions form illicit activities.
In the small German city of Braunschweig, asylum seekers, mostly from Sudan, were accused of committing benefit fraud worth millions. The “record holder” in that case had 12 identities which he rotated to receive benefits under each new name. Authorities in the city were pursuing 300 different cases just in 2017 alone.
According to the government report, the refugees registered several times at the state reception center in Braunschweig. Realizing they could gain benefits under different names, they would give themselves at least three to four different identities.
“Sometimes they grow a beard, sometimes they put on glasses, sometimes their hair is shorter — they always have different surnames,” said SOKO director Jörn Memenga.
In another case from 2018, a criminal syndicate helped Nigerian immigrants gain residency by offering Berlin authorities fake papers. Despite repeated internal warnings, the immigration reportedly continued approving the applications for years.
Migrants in Germany are also participating in fake marriages and earning serious money doing it in exchange for helping these “wives” to obtain residence permits in Germany. Not only that, but the new “fake” fathers of these children then receives child welfare benefits for each child. One of them, a Nigerian migrant who named himself “Mr. Cash Money,” had 22 wives and was earning tens of thousands euros through his scheme through child welfare payments. Jonathan A., which is his real name, is far from the only one, and authorities estimate there have been tens of thousands of such cases in recent years.
A massive and unprecedented power blackout that swept across Spain on Monday has triggered fierce political backlash, with Santiago Abascal, leader of the populist Vox party, accusing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of “leading Spain into chaos.” Abascal is now demanding accountability for the hours-long outage that left millions without electricity.
The Vox leader lambasted the Sánchez government for “climate fanaticism” and failing to safeguard Spain’s energy infrastructure. “It’s not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last,” Abascal said. “They’ve dismantled power plants, made us dependent on renewables, and now we’re paying the price.”
Abascal also raised alarm about the government’s push toward digital payments, questioning what would have happened had Spain already eliminated cash or fully electrified its vehicle fleet. “Yesterday, cash was the only lifeline for many Spaniards,” he said.
The Vox leader also took aim at corruption allegations surrounding members of Sánchez’s government, rhetorically asking, “Who is getting rich from this chaos?” He urged the center-right Popular Party (PP) to sever any cooperation with the ruling Socialist government and join his party’s call for a complete reversal of Sánchez’s policies.
The blackout crisis began at 12:33 p.m., when the Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) reported a catastrophic cascade failure. Initial reports suggest the blackout was triggered by a sudden loss of photovoltaic generation in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, which was followed in rapid succession by grid destabilizations, disconnections from the France-Spain interconnection, and a massive collapse of renewable energy input.
At its worst, generation in the Iberian Peninsula dropped to zero.
REE’s director of operations, Eduardo Prieto, dismissed the possibility of a cyberattack or human error and said that no extreme weather event had occurred at the time. He confirmed that the root cause was still under investigation but likely stemmed from a technical failure in renewable generation systems.
The blackout claimed at least five lives. In Ourense, three family members died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper generator use. In Madrid, a woman perished in a fire, and in Valencia, another woman, dependent on an oxygen machine, also died.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced two independent investigations into the blackout: one led by Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition, and the other to be led by the European Commission in Brussels.
Unlike REE, Sánchez did not rule out any potential causes.
A Spanish law requiring men and women to have equal speaking time on news programs will now be monitored by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) to ensure compliance.
The gender law, promoted by the Socialist party, was first put forward by the department of Nadia Calviño, the first vice president of the government and minister of economic affairs and digital transformation. She said in February 2022 that she would no longer participate in debates where she was the only woman, but then went a step further and decided to spearhead a law requiring the presence of women.
Calviño’s law was approved by Congress in May 2022 and the fines for violating the law can be extremely high. In fact, “the broadcasting of content that clearly promotes situations of inequality for women” was defined in the 2022 law as a “very serious offense.” TV networks can be punished with fines between €60,000 and €1.5 million, depending on the offense and the income of the networks.
In practice, it remains to be seen exactly how this law will be determined and enforced.
Now, the CMAC is going to monitor Spanish news to ensure women and men are speaking equally. To do this, it will monitor 250 hours of broadcasting per year to examine the presence of females on a dozen networks, including both public networks RTVE and 24h, as well as private networks, according to El Mundo.
According to the law, newscasts must convey “an equal and non-discriminatory image” of women and men. They are not permitted to promote “directly or indirectly, situations of discrimination based on sex.”
The CMAC will review between 800 and 1,000 15-minute clips, which will be reviewed by a consulting firm that has been provided €121,000 for both 2025 and 2026.
“A worksheet will have to reflect the speaking time of each of the actors participating in the news, following the criteria established by the CNMC, and paying special attention to the representation of women in these spaces,” the contract documents state.
The CMAC is headed by Cani Fernández, who is close to Calviño.
As El Mundo reports, women are increasingly seen on news networks, but there is currently no official data on how much men and women are speaking.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Bratislava, where he held talks with Prime Minister Robert Fico on the EU budget, illegal migration and energy, followed by a signing of a mutual memorandum of cooperation.
At the press conference following their talks, Fico thanked Orbán for the visit and talked about how relations between the two countries have improved over the past 15 years, calling them now “excellent.” He, in particular, had friendly words for Hungarian communities in Slovakia:
“I am happy that the citizens of Hungarian nationality living in Slovakia live well together with the other residents of the Slovak Republic, and whenever I have the opportunity, I visit this southern part of Slovakia, and I feel that together we have done a lot for the peaceful coexistence of the people and residents of Slovakia,” he said.
Slovakia and Hungary are not just defenders of national sovereignty – we are constructive members of the European Union.
The Hungarian proposal to cut industrial tariffs to 2.5% is a clear example of this commitment: a real solution to avoid a US-EU trade war. pic.twitter.com/FIefqWvE9z
Regarding energy policy cooperation, the Slovak prime minister thanked Hungary, as Slovakia relies on energy shipments primarily via Hungary.
“I also appreciate the fact that the Hungarian government and the prime minister himself are in favor of renewing Ukrainian shipments to the West, which is extremely important,” he noted.
Highlighting that Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the Visegrad Four from July 1, he said, “I have asked the Prime Minister (Orbán) to do everything possible to ensure that this extremely important group, this foursome, can cooperate again.”
He also claimed that the V4 “was deliberately destroyed and liquidated because many people in Europe, in the European Union, did not want such regional cooperation, which represented more than 60 million people, to exist.”
Fico also expressed his confidence in American diplomacy’s ability to bring peace to Ukraine, stating that Slovakia is against prolonging the war in any way.
Fico particularly praised the Hungarian government’s stance on sovereignty and protecting national interests.
“I will never agree with anyone in the European Union being punished for their sovereign stance or behavior. I will never agree with procedures that aim to punish those who are merely doing what they promised their voters, who are sovereignly defending their own national, state interests,” he told reporters.
Fico referred to the long-standing cooperation between the two politicians, calling themselves “kind of matadors in politics” who have been around a long time and “still have a lot of energy.”
“We live in the best Slovak-Hungarian relations of all time. This required many courageous decisions,” Orbán opened his remarks, thanking Fico for helping achieve this.
“If someone had said 15 years ago that we would be standing here and talking about the relationship between the two countries like this, few people would have believed it was possible,” the Hungarian prime minister continued.
Referencing Slovakians living in Hungary, he said: “The Slovak national groups living in our country are considered a very valuable and respectable part of Hungary, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they preserve their identity and that their cultural and even political identity is preserved.”
Noting that Slovakia is Hungary’s third most important trading partner, with trade between the two exceeding €15 billion, both countries want to avoid war in Ukraine as well as any tariff war. He also welcomed, as had Fico, U.S. peace negotiations in Ukraine.
Touching on migration, he said that “no one can decide for Slovaks or Hungarians who they will have to live with as a result of migration,” before turning to the issue of energy supply. He expressed hope that shipments via Ukraine would be resumed soon, noting that such a move would help Ukraine “get closer to Europe.”
Hungary and Slovakia, Orbán said, will also be creating new infrastructure, including three new roads, three new bridges and new railway lines.
Answering a reporter’s question, the Hungarian prime minister said unanimity cannot be given up on foreign policy issues, because that would effectively eliminate the sovereignty of the member states.
“It is not Brussels that guarantees democracy in Slovakia or Hungary, but we guarantee the democratic nature of Brussels against bureaucracy,” he said.
Orbán added that Slovakia and Hungary serve as constructive members of the Union while also defending their national interests. This means resisting certain initiatives, such as the Green Deal, arming Ukraine, or tariff wars.
Advocating for the need for diverse opinions within the EU, Fico said, “We are the ones who support diversity. We need different opinions because if we always agreed on everything, the European Union would not be able to function.”
Lower Austria’s state parliament is set to adopt a sweeping legislative package aimed at combating radical Islam and strengthening integration obligations.
The legislation, which will be voted upon on April 30, was unveiled by state parliamentary party leaders Jochen Danninger (ÖVP) and Reinhard Teufel (FPÖ), marking a hardline stance against what they describe as “refusal to integrate.”
“In Lower Austria, integration means adapting to our way of life and culture — not the other way around,” said Danninger, emphasizing the province’s commitment to upholding traditional customs in kindergartens and schools, such as the celebration of St. Nicholas, Easter, and Christmas. Under the new law, failure to attend mandatory school or kindergarten meetings could result in fines of up to €2,500, with imprisonment of up to six weeks for repeated violations.
The legislative package also includes provisions for a ban on headscarves for girls, mandatory parental cooperation in schools, expansion of extremism prevention programs, a clear enforcement of German as the language of instruction and social interaction, and the codification of Austrian traditions in early education.
Danninger called the initiative a defense of “our blue and yellow identity” — a reference to the state’s flag — adding that Lower Austria is once again “a pioneer among the federal states.”
FPÖ state representatives Martin Antauer and Michael Sommer voiced their support at a press conference, linking the measures to long-standing Freedom Party demands. “Since 2015, we have seen a decline in public safety and cohesion,” said Antauer. “The federal government remains blind to the dangers of political Islam. We in Lower Austria are acting.”
Antauer praised recent changes in kindergartens, schools, and public dress codes, citing the establishment of the State Security Council and an observatory on radicalism. Sommer, FPÖ’s education spokesman, described the measures as a “milestone” for protecting children and criticized Vienna’s education system, which he said suffers from the consequences of failed integration: “Overcrowded classrooms, widespread lack of German skills, and cultural tensions.”
Remix News reported last month how, for the first time, Muslim students had become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools. Muslim students now account for 41.2 percent of all students, while Christian students fell to 34.5 percent. The trend is only growing and is accompanied by rising problems, including violence in schools, anti-Semitism, and contempt for women.
Sommer further demanded that federal authorities ensure ideological neutrality in schools, prohibit halal-only meal plans, and protect traditional Austrian festivities from being overshadowed by religious sensitivities. “Our traditions – like Advent or St. Nicholas – must be taught and lived freely,” he said.
The motion also includes a proposal urging the federal government to implement a nationwide ban on political Islam. FPÖ’s Reinhard Teufel said the move aims to send a “red card” to radical ideologies: “Mass immigration has brought political Islam to our doorstep. We owe it to our people to act decisively.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for a serious and substantive agreement between the United States and the European Union, saying the transatlantic relationship must be strengthened not only militarily but also politically and economically to meet modern-day challenges.
“What is needed right now is a real agreement between Europe and the U.S.,” Meloni told Corriere Della Sera in a wide-ranging interview with the Italian publication. “I think we need to bring the U.S. and the EU closer together, also because in the meantime other powers are stepping forward to prevail in the world balance, and I don’t think it is in Europe’s or the USA’s interest for this to happen.”
Meloni, who recently met with Donald Trump in Washington and has spoken with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, framed Italy’s role as a bridge between the two sides of the Atlantic. “It is in Italy’s vocation to work to bring the two sides of the Atlantic as close as possible to strengthen the West, understood as a civilization and not as a simple geographical space or set of interests,” she said. “There are different points of view, but I believe that by addressing them concretely, we can take important steps forward.”
She dismissed the idea that recent diplomatic events — such as the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, which gathered numerous world leaders — should have been used for political meetings. “I have never considered the Pope’s funeral an opportunity to bring together this or that leader,” she said. “It was a moment of profound significance for the Christian and Catholic community and the whole world. I didn’t want it to become the backdrop for political negotiations.”
While discussions about a potential summit between U.S. and EU leaders are ongoing, Meloni insisted such a meeting must have clear goals and be based on technical groundwork. “We are working on it, but it does not depend only on us. For meetings to lead to results, they must be prepared carefully and must not be formal, but substantial,” she said. “I am interested in bringing home a real agreement that serves Italy, Europe, and the USA. Without haste, but well done.”
Asked whether Italy might host such a summit, Meloni said the location is secondary to the outcome. “If Rome can be the right venue because our country is seen as a friend and not a ‘counterpart,’ I think it will be a great recognition. But even if it were elsewhere… I think I can say that I will have had some merit anyway.”
On her relationship with Trump, Meloni said the two leaders enjoy a productive rapport. “We are two leaders who respect and understand each other, even when we do not completely agree,” she said. She pushed back against criticism from Italy’s center-left opposition, who have questioned her closeness to the U.S. president. “When the leader of the Democratic Party says that ‘Trump cannot be our ally,’ what exactly does she mean? That we break the 70-year alliance and leave NATO? I don’t think our alliances change based on election results.”
The Italian premier argued that her government’s alignment with the Trump administration is not ideological but pragmatic. “We are not pro-American; we are part of the West. Our entrepreneurs invest in the U.S. because it makes sense. And we must also encourage American investment here. For example, in the joint declaration we signed with President Trump, we highlighted the special economic zone in southern Italy, which offers real opportunities.”
Turning to the war in Ukraine, Meloni reaffirmed Italy’s support for Kyiv and expressed cautious optimism about recent diplomatic developments. “We support Trump’s efforts and are pleased that Zelensky has said he is open to an unconditional ceasefire, showing that Ukraine also wants peace,” she said. “But the three-day truce announced by Putin is decidedly insufficient. Peace must be just and lasting. And that means solid security guarantees.”
Reflecting on her recent time in the global spotlight, Meloni acknowledged the praise Italy has received for its diplomatic efforts but remained modest. “If I have to give myself a grade, it’s six. I am never satisfied, especially with myself. The higher you go, the easier it is to go down. I’ve always had that in mind.”
Greece will not accept the return of migrants from Germany unless there is first an equal distribution of asylum seekers across the European Union, Minister of Migration and Asylum Makis Voridis has said.
Responding to a landmark ruling by Germany’s Federal Administrative Court that authorized migrant deportations to Greece for the first time in years, Voridis firmly rejected the idea of unilateral returns. “What returns are we talking about?” he asked. “When Greece is already the second most pressured country per capita in terms of asylum applications, it is unacceptable to discuss returns without first addressing the principle of equal distribution under European solidarity.”
Voridis insisted that the current migration burden is unevenly borne by frontline countries like Greece, which serves as an entry point into the EU for millions of migrants from the Middle East. He emphasized that under the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact, no member state should be forced to shoulder the crisis alone. “This discussion cannot take place in a vacuum,” he said in an interview on SKAI. “Before we talk about sending people back [to Greece], we must first ensure that each country is taking their fair share.”
The German court decision, handed down earlier this month, permits the return of single, able-bodied migrants to Greece despite acknowledging ongoing shortcomings in the country’s asylum infrastructure. The ruling found that while Greece faces bureaucratic and logistical challenges, it still offers basic provisions for migrants, including shelter, food, and access to minimal employment.
The judgment arose from lawsuits by two migrants — a stateless man from northern Gaza and a Somali national — who were granted asylum in Greece but sought protection in Germany. Their applications were deemed inadmissible, prompting legal action that culminated in the Federal Administrative Court’s decision. The ruling could impact tens of thousands of similar cases: More than 25,000 migrants who had already received refugee status in Greece reapplied for asylum in Germany in 2024 alone, according to German authorities.
Voridis warned that Greece would not readily comply with any incoming deportation requests. “We currently have no application for returns. And if they ask us, we will not be very friendly to the request,” he said.
He also addressed ongoing scrutiny over alleged pushbacks by Greek authorities, denying any knowledge of such incidents. “We have no information about any pending case. Greece is a European border — we are guarding it, and we are doing so in accordance with our obligations,” he stated.
Highlighting the daily struggle against illegal migration, Voridis noted, “Our Coast Guard arrests a smuggler almost every day. About 40 percent of our prison population are migrant smugglers. We are in a constant battle to protect the borders of both Greece and Europe.”
“I only hear criticism of the Coast Guard. What about those who send people out on dangerous journeys without any safety measures?” he asked. “Our Coast Guard is doing an extraordinary job under impossible conditions. Our position on guarding the borders will not change.”
For 2024, spending on German welfare, also known as “citizens’ money,” reached a record high of €46.7 billion, a massive 10 percent increase versus 2023, according to figures provided by the Federal Employment Agency (BA).
The CDU’s General Secretary, Carsten Linnemann, is warning against this trend. “Once again, it shows how urgently this citizen’s allowance needs to be abolished.” He said the new government, which his party will lead, will “tackle this quickly.”
Yet, his CDU party plays a large role in why these costs are rising so sharply. After his party’s former chancellor, Angela Merkel, set the stage for mass immigration by allowing over 1 million migrants to enter the country from 2015 to 2016, many of these migrants remain on welfare. In fact, half of all recipients of this welfare money.
As Remix News previously wrote, overall, 62.6 percent of all welfare recipients are migrants, and within the 15 to 25 age group, this number goes up to 71.3 percent.
A coalition agreement has not yet been finalized, but draft versions have a number of strategies to deal with these costs, according to Welt.
The citizens’ money should be transformed “into a new basic security for job seekers,” which will focus on getting welfare recipients into jobs, and sanctions will be tightened for those who fail to comply. In some cases, there could be a “complete withdrawal of benefits.
Pensions, long-term care benefits, and social benefits now make up nearly 50 percent of the German budget, a new historical first. This has led to significant strains on the German budget.
The “Super Express” debate between Poland’s presidential nominees lasted almost three hours, according to the Do Rzeczy news portal. After the fireworks, Magdalena Biejat, The Left’s candidate, announced she would be filing a report with the prosecutor’s office regarding the “hateful statements” of Grzegorz Braun (Confederation of the Polish Crown) during the debate.
Biejat made her announcement on the X platform.
“Democracy is a space for clashes of views. Sometimes extreme ones. But this freedom to clash views cannot be an excuse for propagating hatred. And this should unite everyone beyond divisions,” the Left’s candidate wrote, adding, “Regarding the hateful statements Grzegorz Braun made during today’s debate, I will file a report to the prosecutor’s office tomorrow.”
Demokracja to przestrzeń ścierania się poglądów. Czasem skrajnych. Ale ta wolność ścierania się poglądów nie może być usprawiedliwieniem propagowania nienawiści. I to powinno łączyć wszystkich ponad podziałami.
W sprawie nienawistnych wypowiedzi @GrzegorzBraun_, które padły…
Adrian Zandberg, the candidate of the Razem party, said to Braun during a debate: “You said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. Putin also has the blood of civilians on his hands. Why are you defending yourself from openly saying that Putin is a criminal?”
“Thank God we do not border a Jewish state located in Palestine, because then the genocidal policy advertised by Israel’s ministers, rabbis and generals could easily turn against us,” replied Braun.
“As we border Russia, we should strive to normalize relations,” in the name of not just friendship but good business, he argued.
Later, while debating Rafał Trzaskowski (KO), Braun spoke about the “Ukrainization” and “Judaization” of Poland, pointing out that just a few days prior, the KO candidate was wearing “a Jewish daffodil, this symbol of shame.”
Daffodils are used to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising every year in Poland on April 19, when Jews fought back against the destruction of their neighborhood and refused to surrender to the Nazi occupiers. Some 7,000 Jews were killed, while another 7,000 were ultimately deported to concentration camps.
“What are you talking about?! What a disgrace?! It was the ghetto uprising! What are you talking about?! These are the heroes of our history! Something unbelievable! I won’t listen to this, thank you,” Trzaskowski said before leaving the podium.
Braun is well known for his nationalist, Catholic antics, especially regarding Jews. His latest stunt, before this debate, was taking a female doctor hostage inside a hospital due to her having performed an allegedly illegal, late-term abortion. The complaint against him claims he verbally abused the doctor and shoved her, while keeping her from treating patients for nearly an hour, holding her inside her office against her will.
John Patelli says his son Alessandro is now suicidal in prison after being sentenced to 21 years for stabbing a Tunisian migrant — an act the father insists was self-defense during a violent attack by a group of drug traffickers
The case of Alessandro Patelli, a 19-year-old from Bergamo, reignited fierce debates across Italy over justice, self-defense, and immigration.
Upon returning home in the early afternoon of Aug. 18, 2021, Alessandro was confronted by a migrant gang who, according to his father, assaulted him without provocation. In the struggle, he used a small beekeeper’s knife he carried for work, inflicting fatal injuries on one of the men, 34-year-old Marwen Tayari.
In an emotional interview with La Verità, Alessandro’s father claims his son acted solely in self-defense during the violent assault. “My son is in a cell for defending himself. He was attacked and tripped by a drug dealer. Now he’s depressed and at risk of suicide.”
“He didn’t hunt anyone down,” John Patelli insists. “He was cornered, tripped, and beaten. It was either defend himself or be killed.” The family had private forensic tests conducted, which allegedly uncovered evidence favorable to Alessandro’s version of events — evidence they claim was dismissed during trial.
“I was already on me, I acted out of fear,” Patelli told the court.
The judge, however, considered an alternative version of events, insisting the trivial quarrel that the defendant had with Tayari occurred after the former innocuously bumped into the Tunisian national’s 12-year-old daughter sitting on the communal steps of the apartment block.
During the confrontation, Patelli is believed to have been threatened with a broken bottle — shards of which were found during the police investigation. The court found that Patelli stabbed Tayari six times, and he was subsequently convicted of voluntary homicide.
Despite an appeal last year, the court maintained the original conviction. “They painted my son like a monster,” John says, arguing that prejudice and a rushed investigation led to the harsh sentence.
Now imprisoned, Alessandro’s mental health has sharply deteriorated. “He weighs just 40 kilograms and is under psychiatric care for suicidal thoughts,” John explains.
The Patelli family expresses bitterness over how the media and institutions handled the case, lamenting that their initial trust in the judicial system prevented them from protesting more loudly. “We believed in justice. Now we see it was a tragic mistake.”
John has long campaigned against the court’s ruling, previously posting a viral video on Facebook against the decision and how the prosecution portrayed his son.
“Judged violent and racist, when all of us who know him know that he is neither violent nor racist. He was sacrificed on the altar of political correctness,” he said. “As a father, I cannot accept that. But, even as citizens, we cannot and must not accept it.”
Speaking at the Szakma Sztár Festival, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told students present that previously, in 2010, people believed they could not make a living from work in Hungary, so millions of people lived on welfare, swindled, circumvented the rules, or sought government jobs, reports Magyar Nemzet.
Such a country, he said, has no future, is doomed to decline and will sooner or later be destroyed. The prime minister added that his generation did not want to accept this, so “they changed the fate of the country.”
Orbán called on those present to be “proud of their parents, as it was thanks to them that the people present were students and adults of a hopeful country” and now, his generation is hoping that “there will be someone to continue what they started.”
The Szakma Sztár Festival is organized by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with the National Chamber of Agriculture, and features various competitions and info sessions to raise awareness of trade professions and invite students to consider a career as a skilled worker. The event also serves as the final stage of the National Vocational Study Competitions and the Excellent Student of the Profession Competitions.
Earlier, Veronika Varga-Bajusz, state secretary for higher education, vocational and adult training, and youth, called the event “not just a competition, but a national showcase of how much knowledge, determination, and creativity lies within Hungarian youth.”
The prime minister announced that the most modern vocational training has been developed in Hungary, adding that the workers’ loan and the tax exemption for those under 25 means that a good electrician can earn a million forints (€2,500) a month, or even more.
“If there is work, everything is there, there will be young people who want to work,” Orbán told the crowd. “Young people don’t want a fake life, living on their parents’ money, but they want valuable knowledge with a challenge. I feel this every year, and I see that the country will be in good hands.”
Hungary’s prime minister pointed to the numerous uncertainties in the world today, and called on Hungarians to stand strong. He also brought up the current mail-in vote for citizens to say if they believe Ukraine should be an EU member, warning of the burden this could be over the next couple decades, including the risk of migrants and guest workers.
“The country must appreciate talented people, and Hungary is such a country, if necessary, tough, warrior, heroic. It stands up for itself, does not hide, the blood of the Hunyadis does not turn into water,” the prime minister said.
A mother and her young daughter have been seriously injured after a grenade exploded inside their bedroom in what authorities believe was a gang-related attack on the wrong home — the latest in a wave of violent incidents linked to Sweden’s migrant-dominated criminal underworld.
Emergency services were called just before midnight on Sunday to a row of terraced houses in Tumba, south of Stockholm, after an explosion triggered a large fire. Police now confirm that a hand grenade, likely thrown through a bedroom window, caused the blast.
According to Aftonbladet, the injured family had no connection to criminal activity and were mistakenly targeted. The real intended victim is believed to have been a nearby resident with ties to a criminal network feud. He had reportedly received direct threats and, moments after the explosion, was sent a chilling message containing a bomb emoji.
“This was a targeted attack, but tragically it hit innocent victims,” said a police spokesperson. “A mother and her child are now fighting for their lives because of this reckless violence.”
The mother remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, while the daughter’s condition is serious but stable.
The attack has once again highlighted the spillover of Sweden’s gang warfare into everyday life. In recent years, the country, once regarded as one of Europe’s safest, has seen a sharp rise in shootings, bombings, and explosions, many linked to organized crime groups often involving individuals with migrant backgrounds.
Locals spoke to the Swedish newspaper about the attack, expressing their horror at how their community has descended into a warzone.
“I tried to help her, but there was nothing I could do,” said a neighbor. “How can this happen to a family with children?”
“It feels unsafe now,” said Lara, 20, who has lived in the area her whole life. “We’ve played together, and now this happens. It hurts my heart.”
There have been growing calls for stronger security measures, with locals demanding surveillance cameras and a greater police presence. “We can’t live like this,” said Amanda Pettersson, 27. “This area used to be safe. Now it feels like the violence is creeping right to our doorsteps.”
Authorities have launched a major investigation into what they are treating as aggravated destruction of public safety and gross violation of the Flammable and Explosive Goods Act. No arrests have yet been made.
In January, Remix News reported on the unprecedented wave of gang-related bombings across Sweden after 32 explosions were recorded in 28 days.
“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,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said at the time.
The government has consequently announced plans to consider lowering the age of responsibility to 14, in addition to renewed efforts to target online recruiters of gangs using social media platforms to target a younger audience.
Just three weeks before the first round of Poland’s presidential election, a new poll from OGB Pro reveals a major shift in voter sentiment, with conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki rapidly closing the gap on Civic Coalition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
The survey, conducted before major rallies by both leading candidates this weekend, shows Trzaskowski, the current Warsaw mayor and favorite of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, still leading but with significantly reduced support.
According to the poll, 34 percent of respondents back Trzaskowski, a drop of 1.4 percentage points compared to OGB Pro’s earlier survey from mid-April.
Meanwhile, Karol Nawrocki, the candidate supported by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, has seen his support climb to 31 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points. The gap between Trzaskowski and Nawrocki has now shrunk to just over three points, the narrowest margin seen yet in the campaign.
Sławomir Mentzen, the Confederation candidate, has experienced the sharpest decline. His support dropped to 14 percent, a steep fall of 6.1 percentage points compared to early April, and a significant drop from the 21 percent backing he had in February. His weakening position appears to be further polarizing the contest between the two leading candidates.
Other contenders have seen minor increases in support. Szymon Hołownia now polls at 5.4 percent, up two points. Magdalena Biejat has risen to 3.7 percent, Adrian Zandberg stands at 3.4 percent, Krzysztof Stanowski at 2.3 percent, and Marek Jakubiak at 1.3 percent. Only Grzegorz Braun experienced a decline, falling to 3.3 percent.
The OGB Pro survey was conducted after two key candidate debates in Końskie but before two major campaign events: Nawrocki’s electoral convention in Łódź and Trzaskowski’s rally in Poznań.
Speaking to RMF24 Radio, Paweł Szefernaker, head of Nawrocki’s campaign team, promised an unexpected result. “I guarantee that we will surprise many times within three weeks,” he said. Szefernaker also revealed that President Andrzej Duda’s surprise appearance at Nawrocki’s campaign event was a personal decision, following an invitation from Nawrocki himself.
Szefernaker said the decision reflected Duda’s frustration with the current government. “The government of Donald Tusk, which did not want to cooperate with the president, in a vulgar way broke all the rules established in Polish politics for years,” he said.
During his speech, President Duda praised Nawrocki as “a man who will do everything so that Poland is an honest country, a strong country on the international stage” and as someone who would help reinforce Poland’s position within the Euro-Atlantic alliance. Duda added that the 42-year-old historian “knows what Poland’s interests are” and would defend them vigorously.
With the gap between the two leading candidates shrinking rapidly, the presidential race has entered a decisive and unpredictable phase ahead of the May 18 vote.
From 2027, a cash payment limit of €10,000 for businesses and individuals will apply throughout the European Union, with member states able to tighten these limits even further in their own territory. The regulation applies to any product, and this may be a problem for Poles.
According to Salon24, Poles love cash: 59 percent pay with it out of habit, 47.5 percent believe that cash makes it easier to control expenses, and 39 percent simply do not like cashless payments. Many simply do not trust financial institutions and are afraid of new technologies.
Concerns abound especially in older age groups and among residents of smaller towns.
The introduced regulations apply not only to private purchases, but also to the activities of banks, financial companies, real estate agencies, casinos, and sellers of luxury goods. Importantly, cryptocurrency exchanges will have to identify customers even for transactions exceeding €1,000.
In Poland, a ban on cash payments above PLN 15,000 (€3,500) in business-to-business relations has been in force for several years. However, new EU regulations will be more stringent and also cover private individuals.
The ban on cash payments above €10,000 will come into effect in 2027, but sports clubs will be given more time to adapt – the new rules will only apply to them from 2029.
The main goal of introducing restrictions is to combat money laundering and terrorism financing by increasing the transparency of the financial system and hindering criminal activity.
Some resistance is expected, as many Poles prefer using banknotes and coins to pay for items.
As the 2024 PolCard from Fiserv study shows, about 18 percent of Poles rarely or never use cashless payments.
Hungarian beekeepers are facing serious challenges this year due to the halved bee population and spring frosts, while cheap Ukrainian and Chinese honey imports are further complicating their situation.
Half of the domestic bee population died in the winter, and the frosts in early April destroyed the harvest of two-thirds of the Hungarian acacia forests, which are a major source of food for the country’s bees. The situation is further aggravated by honey imports, as Hungarian farmers cannot compete with the prices of products coming from Ukraine and China, Infostart wrote.
This year, domestic beekeepers are starting the season with only 600,000 to 700,000 bee colonies, instead of the usual 1.2 million.
Significant population losses are a problem worldwide, and experts see the solution in more effective control of the varroa mite, which is proving deadly to bee colonies. In addition, there are concerns about pesticides. Domestic losses have particularly affected part-time and hobby beekeepers, while full-time farmers have been better able to protect their populations.
The president of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association spoke on InfoRádio that acacia trees are extremely sensitive to spring frosts, which drastically reduced the harvest this year. In Bács-Kiskun County, temperatures of minus 5 and minus 7 degrees Celsius were measured at the beginning of April, which caused serious damage. The expected second flowering due to frost usually results in a much worse honey yield, but the extent of the decline cannot yet be predicted. The lack of winter precipitation has also been a serious problem for years, especially in the case of woody bee pastures such as linden, sweet chestnut and acacia trees.
The cold caused significant damage
Péter Bross indicated that the acacia in the central mountains and valleys was almost completely frozen, only the flower buds remained on the hilltops, and on two April nights, the cold also caused significant damage in the Danube-Tisza region. Two weeks after the frosts, the acacia had already started to turn green, but only those trees with one-and-a-half to two-centimeter buds on their branches survived the period well. At the same time, the president of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association added: “The inflorescences of the majority of the trees are pitch black, almost two-thirds of the domestic acacia forests were damaged by the frosts.” The acacia begins to bloom in mid-May, and the fate of this year’s honey harvest depends mostly on the weather in the coming weeks.
Hungary is considered a beekeeping powerhouse: In an average year, domestic farmers produce around 30,000 tons of honey, two-thirds of which is exported. Around 90 percent of the exports are purchased by Italy, Germany and France.
“Honey can always be sold, but unfortunately, more and more often at a price level that does not bring positive income to beekeepers. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the bee population halved across Europe last winter,” added Péter Bross. According to the president of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association, the large-scale decline in the domestic bee population is a complex problem, the causes of which are still being sought, but “it is clear that the continuous deterioration of the environment also has something to do with it.”
Cheap honey from other countries like China, which is the world’s largest producer, has saturated world markets. In many cases, they can be only a sixth of the price of domestically produced honey in Europe. However, many Chinese producers are accused of diluting their honey with sugar syrups, which are not labeled.
The threat is also recognized in China. The Institute of Apicultural Research in Beijing wrote in a research paper: “In order to seek higher profits, high-quality honey is subjected to sugar adulteration through the addition of cheaper sweeteners.”
Mitchell Weinberg, a New York-based food fraud investigator, hired leading German laboratory OSI to test nine jars of UK supermarket honey bands. According to the Guardian, the researcher found “eight of the nine samples tested indicated adulteration, but the Food Standards Agency (FSA) says more work is required to ensure that such tests can be relied on.”
Millions of people across Spain and Portugal were left without power on Monday after an unprecedented electricity blackout struck both countries shortly after noon.
The cause of the disruption remains unclear, with government authorities investigating multiple possibilities. Spanish newspaper El País reported that a potential cyberattack had not been ruled out.
The massive outage saw infrastructure, mobile communications, and transport systems heavily disrupted. Roads were left chaotic with traffic lights failing across cities, while train stations, airports, elevators, factories, and businesses reported widespread interruptions. Hospitals, though impacted, managed to maintain critical operations through emergency generators.
According to Spain’s public grid operator Red Eléctrica, power began to recover from around 1:00 p.m., but full restoration remains a work in progress. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is understood to be personally overseeing the crisis from the Red Eléctrica Control Center. Across Spain’s regions, local governments have convened crisis cabinets to manage the fallout, including Catalonia’s President Salvador Illa.
Parts of southern France were also believed to have been affected, but have since managed to turn the power back on. The Balearic and Canary Islands were also spared due to their independent energy systems.
BREAKING:
Massive blackout in large parts of Spain, Portugal and France.
Spain’s railway network Adif reported major voltage losses, forcing a nationwide suspension of train traffic. State-owned railway company Renfe confirmed that no trains were departing from stations as of 12:30 p.m. Metro services in Madrid and Barcelona were similarly paralyzed, and elevator failures in cities like Madrid resulted in at least 150 emergency calls.
In airports such as Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, airlines reported significant delays and confusion among thousands of passengers. Portugal’s Lisbon airport faced similar chaos, with travelers stranded without information.
The Ford Almussafes plant halted production, and truck manufacturer Iveco paused operations in Madrid and Valladolid.
Financial operations remained largely unaffected. The Spanish Stock Exchange reported normal activity, and the National Securities Market Commission confirmed that market infrastructures operated without disruption, though some financial institutions faced localized connectivity problems.
Citizens in both Spain and Portugal rushed to withdraw cash, fearing prolonged outages. Público reported that in Lisbon, students and office workers queued at ATMs, some withdrawing hundreds of euros to prepare for potential extended disruptions.
Emergency services are on high alert, with Spain’s DGT, the national traffic authority, urging citizens to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary due to the failure of traffic lights and signage. In Madrid, police officers were manually directing traffic at critical intersections.
The Ministry of Justice in Portugal ordered the closure of registry offices and placed elite prison security forces on standby. Justice ministry facilities activated backup power systems, but warnings were issued that operations would be limited if the blackout continued for several more hours.
Telecommunications are also widely affected. In Portugal, mobile and fixed network operator NOS reported service disruptions and warned that, depending on the length of the blackout, connectivity problems could become more severe.
The Sweden Democrats have called for climate activist groups to be convicted under terrorism laws, arguing that sabotage by eco-extremists is making life miserable for ordinary citizens and must be stopped immediately.
Fed up with repeated disruptions from groups like Restore Wetlands, which have recently blocked rush-hour traffic, interrupted parliamentary debates, and even stormed the Royal Ship Vasa, the Sweden Democrats are calling for harsher measures to arrest the ongoing civil disruption.
Pontus Andersson Garpvall, a member of the Riksdag’s Justice Committee, told Aftonbladet that voters and citizens are exhausted by the relentless activism.
“Voters and citizens are very tired of this type of action,” he said. “We believe that it should be examined whether current terror legislation is applicable to this type of action. If that is not possible, we must look at changing the terror legislation.”
He emphasized that the goal is to introduce such severe penalties that socially disruptive sabotage will be eliminated altogether.
The Sweden Democrats intend to negotiate with the government to advance this proposal.
The right-wing populist group currently props up the center-right government led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson following the Tidö Agreement, which confirmed SD support for the current administration in exchange for certain policy proposals, particularly on migration.
Now, the party has eco-warriors in its crosshairs, with Garpvall accusing a small group of extremists of hijacking the lives of ordinary citizens by believing in apocalyptic scenarios and taking increasingly aggressive actions to spread their message.
“An ordinary worker who is on his or her way to work is not very happy if he or she is late because people have sat down on the road. There is irritation from the common man against this, so it is up to the politicians to come up with measures,” he told the Swedish newspaper.
He acknowledged that some level of civil disobedience should be tolerated in a democracy, but stressed that actions targeting protected sites such as airports must be dealt with much more severely.
“If it had been a foreign power that, for example, flew drones at Swedish airports to stop flights, they might have had a completely different view of it than they have now,” he said of the government.
Adding to their concerns, Garpvall pointed out that many of these activist groups have international ties and that it remains unclear who is financing their operations.
North Korea has officially confirmed that it has sent troops to the war with Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is thanking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an official statement.
The Russian president thanked the North Korean authorities for entering the war and driving Ukraine out of Kursk. In an official statement, he emphasized the “heroism” and “high level of training” of North Korean soldiers.
“We are sincerely grateful – personally (…) to Comrade Kim Jong Un, the entire leadership and the people of North Korea,” the official statement said.
North Korea has officially confirmed that it has sent troops to the war with Ukraine. A special communiqué was issued, emphasizing the importance of the alliance with Russia.
The KCNA news agency said the soldiers were sent to the front on the orders of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and their “war effort ended victoriously.” The news agency KRT also noted that North Korea had helped drive Ukrainians out of Kursk.
“The operation to liberate Kursk by repelling the adventurous invasion of Russia by Ukraine was successfully concluded. The sub-units of our armed forces that participated in the operation to liberate Kursk under the order of the DPRK leader, demonstrated their fighting spirit and military capability. (The units) made an important contribution in annihilating and wiping out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers by displaying mass heroism, unmatched bravery and self-sacrifice,” read a newscaster for KRT.
The Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party regime said the decision was the result of last year’s comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.
It was emphasized that Pyongyang considers it an “honor” to be in an alliance with a country like Russia.
In early November last year, the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, confirmed the agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea, which was signed in June. In October, the State Duma ratified the document. As the Moscow Times portal points out, in practice, the agreement means a de facto military alliance, although this term is not used in official documents.
Only in the fourth point of the agreement can we read that in the event of an attack on one of the parties to the pact, the other will immediately provide military assistance, as well as other types of support. This is not the end. In the event of a breach of security, Russia and North Korea are to begin joint consultations and take joint actions aimed at “neutralizing the threat.”
In growing frustration with the government, parts of the Czech police force are preparing for mass resignations on July 1, citing critical conditions that have worsened under the current administration, according to a report by Echo24.
Martin Červenka, vice chairman of the Trade Union of Security Forces and commander of the Písek Police, stated in an interview with CNN Prima News that the security forces have been treated as political toys in the run-up to the elections.
“Politicians do not perceive the extreme urgency of the situation. The elections are approaching, so there will be promises of what will be done after them. No one will deal with the fact that we cannot wait a day in the security forces,” he said. According to Červenka, the government has taken the situation from a “very serious” to an “extremely critical” state in just one election cycle.
Červenka reported that one group of officers plans to resign en masse on July 1, while another group is considering going on sick leave to address “health ailments,” a tactic previously used by police forces in Poland. “I’m terribly sorry and angry, but I completely understand them,” Červenka said, expressing regret but also support for their actions.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala met recently with President Petr Pavel to address the issue, although few details have been disclosed on how they plan to address the deteriorating situation.
President Pavel recently stated that he would inquire how the government plans to maintain balanced salary increases among all security forces. Fiala noted that any pay raises should consider the differing conditions among the corps. Defense Minister Jana Černochová has expressed hope that a salary increase for soldiers could be approved by early July, which could roll out to the police following a government-commissioned analysis comparing conditions across sectors.
Červenka warned that the only pending amendment to the Act on the Service of Members of the Security Forces is so flawed that it would be better if it fails to pass before the elections. “It will be better to sit down again after the elections and either make a comprehensive amendment, or rather a completely new law,” he said, arguing that the current structure, which treats each regional police directorate as a separate entity, is deeply dysfunctional and undermines national cohesion.
The officer also stressed that the problem is not just about money but about the structure and governance of the police itself. “In the Czech Republic, we don’t have one police force, we have 14.” This fragmentation, he argued, limits the Police President’s ability to enforce reforms across the country.
The opposition ANO movement, widely expected to lead the next government after elections later this year, responded swiftly to Červenka’s comments. Robert Králíček, ANO deputy chairman, condemned the government’s handling of the police force and warned of the consequences. “It is absolutely unbelievable how far the current government has allowed the situation in our security forces to go,” Králíček wrote on X.
He accused Interior Minister Vít Rakušan of wasting the entire term without implementing any real systemic changes. Králíček promised that if ANO takes control of the Interior Ministry after the elections, they have a specific plan ready to address the crisis, although he did not provide further details.
Only one in eight Afghans who entered Germany through special protection programs, such as for local staff and human rights activists, was fully vetted by German security authorities beforehand, according to a new report from Bild.
Over 31,000 Afghans, including family members, reportedly arrived without complete security checks, the report claims, revealing major security lapses in Germany’s handling of the Afghan admission program.
The federal government has been importing Afghan migrants from its reception center in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad since the return to power of the Taliban, insisting those being received were former collaborators with the German army against the new regime.
However, in reality, only a fraction of those on board these flights met these criteria as former Bundeswehr employees or their family members.
Last month, Remix News reported on a chartered flight carrying 157 Afghan nationals, of which just two individuals were former collaborators, along with 13 of their relatives.
The remaining 142 individuals have been selected under broader humanitarian programs, such as the Federal Admission Program (BAP), which prioritizes Afghans identified as at risk due to their “commitment to democratic values.”
Germany’s federal police union (DPolG) has long called for the suspension of Afghan refugee flights from Pakistan, citing security risks and identity verification issues among those on board. Last month, the union penned a letter to outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz urging an immediate halt.
“The current procedure, in which, despite the identity not being determined without any doubt, travel ID cards are issued for foreigners, is highly risky and irresponsible,” said DPolG federal president Heiko Teggatz.
“Against the background of the currently highly tense security situation in relation to Islamist terrorism, I think such a procedure is unacceptable,” he added.
The lax security measures have sparked outrage among police officials and politicians. There are now loud calls for the establishment of a special asylum task force (“Soko Asyl”) to re-examine all cases and, if necessary, deport individuals who do not pass renewed security screenings.
“All Afghans who have not undergone a full security check must either be transferred back to Islamabad or deported to Afghanistan, unless they can definitively verify their identity on-site with official documents and pass a security screening,” Federal Police Union Vice President Manuel Ostermann told the German tabloid. “A complete re-examination of the cases is essential.”
Several CDU/CSU politicians, whose parties will dominate the incoming coalition government in Berlin, have demanded action.
“What is now coming to light is inconceivable. At a time when Germany is burdened by migration pressures and rising violent crimes by individual asylum seekers, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock showed no awareness of Germany’s security needs,” noted Hesse’s Minister for International Affairs Manfred Pentz. “Her approach was amateurish, ideological, and a threat to national security.”
“The governing coalition is responsible for these frightening security risks. The Afghan admission programs must be terminated immediately,” said Alexander Hoffmann, parliamentary manager of the CSU in the Bundestag.
“This must not be repeated. Germany’s security interests must always come first,” added CDU MP Christoph de Vries in a stark warning to chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz, who vowed to tackle the immigration crisis in Germany but whose coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) has raised questions about his commitment.
A group of Israeli Orthodox Jews was attacked by a group of German tourists last Friday night in downtown Budapest, further raising alarm bells in a city known for being a safe haven for Jews. Meanwhile, such incidents have been on the rise for years across Western Europe.
The men last Friday started shouting “Heil Hitler” at the Israelis, and a violent brawl ensued, with both parties suffering injuries. The police eventually arrived on scene and put an end to the fight. They also took one of the German attackers into custody.
One Israeli tourist was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while one of the Germans was also admitted but with serious injuries, including a broken jaw, Neokohn writes, citing a report from the Action and Protection Foundation.
Just the day before, the portal also wrote about how Rabbi Izsák Stell was the victim of an anti-Semitic incident while praying in front of his car parked at the Újbuda synagogue. A man passing by gave him a Nazi salute, then yelled at him: “Achtung (Watch out in German) Jew! Auschwitz, Hitler!”
The rabbi ran after and took a photo of the perpetrator, and surveillance cameras recorded the incident as well. He has filed a report with the police.
In early April, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced Hungary was leaving the ICC over its arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who he received in Budapest amidst great fanfare.
Hungary has repeatedly been a staunch ally of Israel in various international forums, including the United Nations and the European Parliament. It has also been proud of its revival of Jewish life, culture, and synagogues in Budapest and the countryside.
Nevertheless, anti-Semitic incidents are far higher in neighboring Western European nations, mainly due to Muslim mass immigration. Tensions between Jews and Muslims have been high for years, but following Israel’s campaign in Gaza, anti-Semitic incidents have risen sharply.
Authorities in Brussels are urgently seeking the public’s help in locating a man suspected of causing the death of an 85-year-old Belgian man following an altercation at a Lidl store in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
The incident occurred on Saturday, March 8, around 3:30 p.m. at the Lidl supermarket located on Chaussée de Gand.
According to witness accounts reported by Sudpresse, the elderly man named Gilbert had momentarily stepped away from his shopping cart at the checkout to quickly pick up an additional item.
“When he came back, a young man had taken his place,” a supermarket employee told Belgian media. “The young man pushed the old man’s shopping cart aside. The elderly man who was just walking back to his cart at that moment saw that happen. It came to an argument between the two.”
A heated verbal exchange ensued, which escalated when the younger individual allegedly forcefully shoved Gilbert to the ground, causing him to sustain severe injuries. He was knocked unconscious and suffered skull trauma.
“We immediately called an ambulance, which took the man to the hospital. The victim was a regular customer of this supermarket. It’s very bad what happened,” said a witness.
Gilbert later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
“The individual is between 25 and 30 years old. He is of slim build, has a beard, and wears glasses,” a police report stated in its description of the suspect. “At the time of the incident, he was wearing a light tracksuit, black sneakers, and a beige patterned cap.”
At the request of the Brussels prosecutor’s office, the police issued a public appeal for assistance last Thursday, urging anyone who recognizes the suspect or who has additional information regarding this incident to come forward immediately and contact the investigators.
Gilbert had been the sole carer for his wife, both of whom were in their 80s and had lived in Brussels for over 50 years.
“Gilbert was still very spry for his age. He was still cycling around Brussels,” a neighbor told Nieuwsblad.
“For the rest, Gilbert was a very withdrawn person, but someone who would never let himself be done. The fact that he claimed his place in the queue in front of such a young guy says how Gilbert was. This is very bad for the wife. She has difficulty walking and really needed her husband for all the daily worries,” they added.
As of Monday morning, the alleged perpetrator is still at large. Authorities had received six reports from members of the public. “We hope that the right information is among these avenues,” a police spokesperson told the press.
Although the majority of illegal weapons are still located in Ukraine, weapons of Ukrainian origin have been identified in several European countries, Gabor Nagy says in a piece for Mandiner.
It is not an unwarranted fear or some side story on the part of the current government to claim that what is happening in Ukraine now poses security risks to neighboring countries, including Hungary.
Illegal arms trade and smuggling, on the other hand, are a source of danger that may persist even after the conflict is over, and may even continue in greater volume, with the justification that Ukraine no longer needs the equipment that was delivered there.
An extremely large amount of modern weapons have fallen into civilian hands and then into the black market (i.e., into uncontrolled circulation) both inside Ukraine, as well as on routes headed for Europe and the Americas.
According to the 2023-2024 report of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), although the majority of illegal weapons are still located in Ukraine, weapons of Ukrainian origin have been identified in several European countries (such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden).
In addition, investigations are also underway in the Balkans, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Croatia.
Although there is no evidence of widespread, illegally organized arms exports to Europe, the situation could pose a serious security risk to the entire continent, including Hungary, in the long term, which, due to its geographical location, serves as a transit route for smuggling towards Western markets.
At the dawn of the regime change, firearms and ammunition from the former Soviet federal republics, and from the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars, from the former Yugoslav member states, often reached Hungary, and from there on to Western Europe.
Several studies have drawn attention to the fact that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the instability in the Balkans created a favorable environment for organized crime, including arms smuggling, corruption, and money laundering.
Vienna’s regional parliament election saw the Austria Freedom Party (FPÖ) achieve a historic success, achieving a second-place result in the traditional left-wing city. The party almost tripled its support to over 20 percent compared to the previous election. The result could further destabilize the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), which shunned the FPÖ to form a national government with left-wing parties.
Despite a drop in support, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) remained in first place to continue leading the Austrian capital.
Sámuel Ágoston Mráz, director of the Nézőpont Institute, told Magyar Nemzet that the strengthening of the FPÖ could have a serious impact on the rest of the country, as well as internationally. Coalition negotiations have now begun, and the party leaders have also assessed the results.
🇦🇹 BREAKING: Austria's right-wing FPÖ party has TRIPLED its support in Vienna.
It is now the 2nd-strong party after city-wide elections, but the left still dominates.
In particular, the ÖVP saw its support in Vienna crater. The chancellor’s party plummeted to 9.6 percent—a drop of 10.8 percentage points compared to 2020. There is already speculation in Viennese party circles about a possible resignation of the 70-year-old city party chairman, Karl Mahrer. Despite the defeat, the People’s Party is determined to govern alongside the SPÖ.
Michael Ludwig, the socialist mayor of Vienna, made it clear in a statement on Sunday evening that the SPÖ remained the strongest party in the elections and that negotiations will begin with several parties about possible cooperation.
🇦🇹 This is now Vienna on a warm day. The Austrian city is often labeled the “most livable” city in the world.
Yet, the Viennese vote overwhelmingly for more mass immigration, even as the city becomes more packed every year.
“We want to form a stable city and provincial government before the summer,” Ludwig said while ruling out the possibility of a coalition with the FPÖ.
A continuation of the red-green coalition seems likely, but cooperation with NEOS is not ruled out.
On behalf of NEOS, Bettina Emmerling indicated that they would be happy to continue the “progress coalition” with the SPÖ, especially building on cooperation on education policy. The party’s secretary general, Douglas Hoyos, also welcomed the result, highlighting that NEOS achieved almost 10 percent, a historic high for the party in Vienna.
Judith Pühringer, leader of the Greens, said the party’s themes were in line with the SPÖ’s goals. Werner Kogler, the party’s national chairman, also confirmed that the Greens were ready to actively participate in shaping Vienna’s future.
Although the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) suffered heavy losses, party leader Karl Mahrer stated that if the mayor wanted to pursue a policy committed to the political center, economic stability, and social cohesion, the ÖVP was open to negotiations.
The Vienna leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, Dominik Nepp, told broadcaster ORF: “The huge vote of confidence from the voters has been clearly demonstrated. We have tripled our support. This is a clear sign that people want change. From our perspective, a red-blue coalition would be what many people want. Mayor Ludwig must finally abandon his exclusionary policies. We will consistently monitor the functioning of Vienna!”
Herbert Kickl, national chairman of the FPÖ, also spoke: “The strong result of Dominik Nepp and the FPÖ shows that people in Vienna also want change, and change that puts the people back at the center of politics. The people are sovereign, and this sovereign has given a clear signal in Vienna today.”
It has become official that North Korean soldiers are fighting in the war against Ukraine. Both Russia and North Korea have released details of the troop deployment, which they say involved North Korean soldiers in operations in the Kursk region.
The news comes from a statement by North Korean state news agency KCNA, which cited leader Kim Jong-un reporting on the troop deployment. According to the report, Pyongyang decided to send troops to Russia to support the country’s war in Ukraine based on a mutual defense agreement between the two countries, German newspaper Tagesschau reported
According to KCNA, North Korean units helped Russia recapture territories under Ukrainian control. North Korean army units participated in operations to liberate the Kursk region.
On Saturday, the Russian military leadership also acknowledged the participation of North Korean soldiers for the first time. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, said in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin that North Korean units played a significant role in the liberation of the Kursk region.
According to international law, North Korea’s participation in the Russo-Ukrainian war constitutes a serious violation. Gerasimov, on the other hand, stressed that the combat deployment is in accordance with the strategic partnership treaty between the two countries, which includes the possibility of mutual military assistance in the event of an attack.
According to American, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence sources, North Korea sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia last fall. South Korean intelligence estimates that the North Korean military suffered about 4,000 casualties, including wounded and dead.
In addition to soldiers, North Korea is also supplying Russia with large quantities of ammunition and weapons, including short-range missiles, self-propelled guns and multiple rocket launchers, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused North Korea of supporting Russia not only with weapons but also with military personnel.
According to the Ukrainian leadership, previously captured soldiers are irrefutable evidence of North Korea’s participation in the Russian war against Ukraine.
The United States has now officially expressed concern about North Korea’s direct involvement in the war. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email: “We continue to monitor North Korea’s direct military involvement in the war with grave concern. North Korea’s military involvement in Russia, as well as all reciprocal support from the Russian Federation to North Korea, must be immediately terminated.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko indicated in a recent interview with the BBC that Ukraine might be compelled to temporarily retreat from certain territories occupied by Russia to secure a ceasefire, marking the first public acknowledgment by a prominent Ukrainian leader of possible territorial concessions.
His comments come amid mounting international pressure, particularly from the United States, to reach a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Klitschko stated, “A number of discussions are currently underway about possible solutions. One of the scenarios is the surrender of part of the territory. It’s not fair. But for peace — temporary peace — it could perhaps be the way.” He emphasized, however, that Ukrainians would never accept Russian occupation as a permanent reality.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is proposing a peace plan that effectively recognizes Russian control over Crimea, annexed in 2014, and occupied areas in the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recently reiterated the U.S. stance, declaring that Ukraine must agree to territorial compromises or risk losing American mediation efforts altogether. Vance further suggested freezing the conflict along the current front line.
President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized earlier this week that Ukraine has not received any formal proposals from its allies regarding territorial concessions and reiterated Kyiv’s stance against recognizing any Russian occupation.
Meanwhile, Klitschko, known for his strained relationship with Zelensky, revealed he had never directly discussed concrete peace proposals with the president.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed cautious optimism about ongoing negotiations, noting that President Trump’s approach could help address the core issues of the conflict. Lavrov added, however, that specific points of any agreement still required refinement.
On Thursday, President Trump reacted sharply to new Russian attacks on Kyiv, which killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more, publicly calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin via Truth Social to immediately halt hostilities.
“I’m not happy with Russia’s attacks on Kyiv. They are not necessary and have very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers die every week. Let’s FINALIZE the peace agreement!” Trump wrote.
Kyiv, European capital in 2025.
Moments of the russian attacks on Kyiv tonight. Interior Minister Klymenko said that Ukraine lacks the necessary air defense capabilities to repel attacks.
Despite diplomatic discussions, violent attacks continue. Overnight, Russian drone strikes killed two people and injured eight others in Pavlohrad in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional military administration head Serhiy Lysak. Fires broke out in residential buildings, causing significant damage.
BREAKING:
Russia has struck a residential building in Pavlohrad, Ukraine.
Additional drone and rocket attacks also targeted the cities of Marhanets, Nikopol, and Kharkiv.
In turn, Ukraine reportedly targeted a top general in Moscow, Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, with a car bomb, although Kyiv has not claimed responsibility.
🇷🇺🚨 Russian general allegedly blown up in car bomb in the Moscow region.
Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, has died.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán firmly denied allegations made by Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk that Hungary might leave the European Union, clarifying that his intent is to reform, not abandon, the bloc.
Orbán’s comments came in response to an X post from Tusk, who suggested Orbán was openly considering a Hungarian exit from the EU — a claim that Orbán labeled as misleading.
“Prime Minister Orbán is speaking openly today about Hungary’s exit from the European Union. It was worth winning the elections so that Kaczyński’s dream of “Budapest in Warsaw” would never come true. This is also at stake in the upcoming elections,” Tusk tweeted, referencing the famous remarks made by the leader of the Polish opposition Conservatives (PiS), Jarosław Kaczyński, after his party lost the 2011 Polish election.
Addressing Tusk directly, Orbán replied on the same platform: “Dear Donald, don’t raise your hopes too high. Hungary will not leave the EU. We will transform it with the Patriots for Europe, to restore it to what it once was when Poland and Hungary joined.”
Dear Donald, Don’t raise your hopes too high. Hungary will not leave the EU. We will transform it with the @PatriotsEU, to restore it to what it once was when Poland and Hungary joined.
Back then, Brussels bureaucrats served the people instead of themselves. Back then,… https://t.co/AmbCyl6Q9d
He emphasized that the EU at that time was focused on serving the interests of its member states, rather than interfering in their internal politics, a criticism he frequently directs at current EU officials.
Tusk’s statement was based on Orbán’s recent appearance at a public forum, where the Hungarian leader discussed ongoing tensions with Brussels but explicitly stated that exiting the EU would be irrational. “It is not reasonable to quit,” Orbán stressed, reminding the audience of his own support for Hungary’s accession in the 2003 referendum.
Orbán also shared an anecdote of former U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly asking when Hungary would leave the EU, to which he joked in response, “Mr. President, we need a better offer.”
Orbán made clear that Hungary’s interest in EU membership extends far beyond financial benefits, pointing out the importance of a single market of 400 million consumers to Hungarian exports, 85 percent of which flow to EU member states. Instead, he advocated for substantial reforms, suggesting that his newly formed group in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe (PfE), would eventually become influential enough to “dictate” terms for the bloc’s transformation.
Tusk’s comments drew fierce criticism from Poland’s conservative politicians. PiS MEP Arkadiusz Mularczyk accused Tusk of “scaring people” instead of engaging in meaningful discussions about the EU’s challenges. Konrad Berkowicz, vice president of the right-wing Confederation party, went further, asserting that Tusk was once again embarrassing himself by needlessly antagonizing influential leaders and countries.
The debate between Tusk and Orbán comes at a sensitive political moment in Poland, ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for May 18. Rafał Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw and a close ally of Tusk, is seen as the frontrunner but faces growing competition from conservative rivals Karol Nawrocki of PiS and Sławomir Mentzen from Confederation.
While emphasizing that both Moscow and Kyiv will need to compromise, Polish President Andrzej Duda said only leadership from the U.S. will bring peace to Ukraine.
“Today, my conclusions are absolutely clear. There is no one except the United States who can stop Vladimir Putin,” said Duda in an interview with Euronews, reported on by wPolityce.
The Polish head of state said that only Trump’s “determination” and “American pressure” will find a way to bring a deal for lasting peace, which “will not be comfortable for either side.”
Pointing out the high cost of the war for both Ukraine and Russia, Duda said, “It has to be a compromise (…) neither side will be able to say that they won this war.”
He did not know to what extent Zelensky would have to give in to Putin’s demands, nor how willing he is to give in at all, but he reiterated that both countries are being worn thin.
“The war is exhausting Russia and Putin is playing a risky game, and the war is destroying Ukraine in a terrible way,” he said.
On Trump’s overall foreign policy and negotiating style, Duda commented: “I expected Donald Trump to act this way, to pursue a very tough policy of evening out what he sees as imbalances in trade relations and protecting America’s interests.”
Trump has made headlines for coming down hard on Zelensky for being difficult to negotiate with and refusing to make any concessions. Many have claimed his tough stance against Ukraine has made him look like he is bending too easily to Putin.
However, in the wake of the recent bombing campaign on Kyiv carried out by Russia, Trump posted on his social media platform, telling Putin to “STOP!”
Dutch Minister of Asylum and Migration of the Netherlands Marjolein Faber was given a few billion euros extra in the Spring Memorandum to house asylum seekers in hotels and cruise ships. Some 10,000 asylum seekers now “endlessly vacation” in what Marianne Zwagerman in De Telegraaf calls “extremely expensive” hotel rooms.
According to Zwagerman, over 100 hotels and cruise ship owners are benefiting from this scheme and “are laughing their heads off” as the government currently pays far more than an average Booking.com user, with rates breaching €300 per night.
The bill for catering for asylum seekers staying in other places is also getting completely out of hand.
Citing one hotel in Rijswijk, she says that while it was once bustling with businessmen, it is “now full of asylum seekers.” She also takes a jab at the EU’s Green deal: “Formerly full of Shell employees who flew in from all over the world to be retrained on the production of oil and gas. But yes, a country that drives away businesses, bans fossil energy, and opens its borders to everyone ends up with hotels full of asylum seekers instead of businessmen.”
“It is a nice place. Our beds are washed for us, we get food, and we get help with everything we need to arrange,” says Ukrainian Yevheniia, who has been living in the Rijswijk hotel for three years with her husband and children. Zwagerman notes that she hopes to stay in the Netherlands even after the war.
Sadly, migrant workers from within the EU are treated drastically differently, in what Zwagerman calls a “modern slave industry run by rock-hard temp agencies.” Low wages, hard work, no guarantees, and no future. As for posh hotel rooms with inclusive meals and free cleaning, well, that is a pipe dream for many of these European migrant workers.
A 42-year-old female Polish migrant worker, Julia, whose story Zwagerman notes was told by RTV Utrecht, sleeps in a homeless shelter, “scared and lonely, with a drunk neighbor next door.” She had moved to the Netherlands for more opportunities, but got picked up by one of the agencies that eagerly recruit Eastern Europeans looking for a better life and in need of a job.
Despite working in the Netherlands for 12 years, she had no permanent contract and no savings. Then, she lost her warehouse job for being too slow. Returning to Poland is not an option either. Her family there does not have the means to accommodate her.
“No work means no shelter. Sick for a week? F**k off. Ten others are waiting for your job.” Julia was apparently “lucky,” as many migrant workers sleep outdoors in tents. Zwagerman says an update from RTV Utrecht indicated that Julia found new work. One may ask how many haven’t.
The Dutch commentator then ties the migrant crisis to the pro-war fever common throughout Europe, where more war inevitably means more refugees. A real boon for the miliary-industrial complex as well as the lucrative refugee-industrial complex.
She writes the Dutch government is busy prepping for war. Mark Rutte, former Dutch PM and current NATO secretary general, is prepping for the NATO summit in The Hague and rallying members to spend hundreds of millions more on war. Of course, all this only means more migrants fleeing and in need of work.
“For asylum seekers, the hotels in The Hague have no room for the time being, all rooms are reserved for the NATO circus where world leaders meet to discuss even more war. So that even more refugees will come our way. Because peace is out of fashion and war is hip,” writes Zwagerman.
Police in Hamburg arrested 33-year-old Syrian migrant Firas A. on Thursday, nearly two weeks after he allegedly stabbed and severely wounded two people in the district of Billstedt.
The incident occurred on April 12 when the suspect, reportedly known for hundreds of previous offenses, coughed repeatedly at passengers on a public bus, prompting the driver to ask him to leave. After refusing, the Syrian national was forcibly removed by passengers, leading to a violent altercation.
Two individuals — a man and a wheelchair-bound passenger — attempted to mediate, at which point Firas A. is accused of producing a knife and stabbing both victims before fleeing.
Authorities launched an immediate public manhunt, initially describing the man as being of “southern appearance” and speaking German with an accent. The investigation led to his eventual arrest.
🇩🇪‼️ A manhunt is underway in Hamburg after a knife attack on a wheelchair user and a 60-year-old man aboard a public bus in Hamburg on Saturday evening.
The suspect, described by police as being of "southern appearance" and speaking German with an accent, was asked to leave the… pic.twitter.com/vyl3KUQebp
This latest incident follows multiple violent and criminal acts attributed to the suspect, including in 2023 when he was convicted of smashing the windows of 245 parked vehicles after police confiscated his car keys for driving without a license.
Later that year, he attacked and injured an 84-year-old woman at an ATM. Additionally, last fall, he threatened his former employer’s life and was found carrying a banned butterfly knife; however, he was released shortly after a brief pre-trial detention.
Firas A. entered Germany during the migrant influx of 2015 under Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy and was granted permanent residence in 2021, receiving subsidiary protection status.
Remix News has written extensively about the serial offender’s incredible rap sheet.
He has already been convicted eight times, including the last instance on July 24, 2024. He has compiled a total of €10,500 in fines.
Despite his lengthy criminal record, Hamburg authorities maintain that deportation is currently impossible due to concerns over his safety in Syria, with expulsion only permissible under conditions posing compelling threats to national security.
The German port city is presided over by a left-wing coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. It is a migrant hub with a foreign population of well above the national average.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) state parliamentary group has repeatedly called for the revocation of Firas A.’s protection status.
“We need tough consequences for repeat offenders. Repeat offenders must be stripped of their protection status. Anyone who abuses our hospitality in this way must be consistently deported,” said Hamburg’s AfD parliamentary group leader Dirk Nockemann previously.
Berlin Senator Cansel Kiziltepe, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), decided to attack Elon Musk on X, comparing his Tesla cars to “Nazi cars,” creating a massive backlash in the neighboring state of Brandenburg, home to Europe’s only Tesla car factory. The post is particularly odd, given her role as state minister for labor.
In what appears to be a now-deleted post, the SPD politician had written on X: “Who wants to drive a Nazi car? Manufacturers of electric cars are experiencing a sales boom – apart from Tesla,” according to Welt.
Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Daniel Keller (also SPD) called on her to retract the statement.
“Such a Nazi comparison hurts the people who work there and is completely inappropriate for a labor senator,” Keller told the dpa news agency. “I expect the labor senator to retract her historically unacceptable comparison and return objectively to the major economic and labor market policy challenges that Berlin and Brandenburg should tackle together.”
Keller continued, saying, “Everyone can have their own personal opinion about Elon Musk. But it’s important to me that we don’t forget the people behind the Tesla factory in Grünheide. 11,000 people from 150 nations work here – more than half of the employees live in Berlin.”
Senator Kiziltepe still has a more diplomatic statement posted regarding the electric car company:
“Tesla is currently experiencing a sales slump because customers attribute the right-wing extremist positions of its shareholder Elon Musk, who holds around 13% of the company,” she wrote.
Tesla erlebt gerade eine Absatzflaute, weil dem Unternehmen von den Kunden die rechtsextremen Positionen seines Anteilseigners Elon Musk zugeschrieben werden, der rund 13% am Unternehmen hält.
“I explicitly stand by my assessment of Elon Musk. Of course, this does not mean that I hold Musk’s employees or customers responsible for his political positions,” she added.
But not everyone felt this was enough, especially given her comment was seen by most as potentially endangering jobs.
“Denigrating the Tesla as a Nazi car shows what you’re really like. Full of hate and division. Simply disgraceful. Better to eliminate all jobs in Germany. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? After all, we’re paying you,” reads one reply.
“Are you still a senator, or have you already resigned to avert further damage to your office and democracy after your unspeakable trivialization of the Nazis? If not, you should do so immediately” another commenter posted.
“Yeah, everyone knows by now that you hate Elon Musk. What are the reasons for your hatred? As a civil servant, don’t you have better things to do than vent your hatred online? another X user asked.
Tesla has become the largest employer in Brandenburg in Grünheide, with some 11,500 people working there. The jobs at its Gigafactory, which opened just three years ago, are permanent with good salaries. The automaker’s net profits took a hit last quarter; the drop in sales is attributed to both a model change as well as controversies surrounding Musk’s politics.
“Brandenburg and Berlin benefit from this in terms of employment and value creation,” AfD deputy leader Stephan Brandner told the “Rheinische Post” newspaper.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Business Association (UVB) also called out the comparison for insulting Tesla employees and scaring away new investment, not to mention hurting Kiziltepe’s own re-election. Managing Director Alexander Schirp stated that such defamation was unworthy of a member of the Berlin Senate.
“This doesn’t increase the manufacturer’s chances of investing in the capital. Statements of this magnitude do not bode well for the election campaign,” the UVB MD said.
As EU leaders rally for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine and push the idea of a European military no longer dependent on America, the Netherlands’ monarch has joined the chorus.
“We may have taken it a bit too much for granted that we would always have freedom and peace,” King Willem-Alexander said at the Lieutenant General Best Barracks, writes De Telegraaf. “Unfortunately, Ukraine and other conflicts prove that this is no longer the case. And that we really have to prepare ourselves to continue living in peace and security. If you are not prepared, then you are not doing well,” he said.
Such a rearmament means the Netherlands must rebuild its defense industry, the monarch continued, adding, “It really needs to be able to start producing for a conflict again.”
The country, he said, must “arm itself to the teeth” to remain safe.
Following talks with military personnel and weapons manufacturers, the country will focus on producing better drones to take on enemy drones, given their dominance on the battlefield. Of key concern is making drones capable of say, securing the upcoming June NATO summit at The Hague
King Willem-Alexander himself served in the military, and as a reservist for the Air Force held the title of air commodore. He also was a commodore as a reservist in the navy and a brigadier general as a reservist in the army.
After testing out a Dutch-made drone Ukraine used to detect mines, the king explained: “The operator must also be able to do very complicated work,” like mapping a minefield.
Soldiers also demonstrated weapons capable of disrupting the operation of a drone to take it out of the air, including taking over its controls, although even the king was not told how this is done.
There have never been as many vacant office spaces in Germany as there are now, writes NIUS, bemoaning that these spaces could be used to solve a major crisis: the lack of affordable housing across Germany.
Around 152,000 additional apartments with an average size of 70 square meters could be created in Germany’s seven most important cities if offices were redesigned accordingly, claims a study by the real estate consultant Bulwiengesa on behalf of Berlin Hyp.
Due to the Covid crisis that impacted businesses, followed by general economic stagnation, office vacancy rates have been spiking. Meanwhile, Germany faces a shortage of some 800,000 apartments.
As pointed out by NIUS, there is the issue of converting offices into residential spaces. Germany currently has some 20,000 building regulations. “These, along with rising interest rates and construction and material costs, are responsible for making construction comparatively expensive,” says Alexander Fieback of Bulwiengesa.
New permits, complex retrofitting of plumbing and balconies, different fire and sound insulation requirements, and new staircases are just some of the things that must have to be addressed — not to mention converting the normally grandiose entrances of office buildings into ground-floor apartments. All the above often also mandates structural retrofits.
Nevertheless, money is being spent to overcome these challenges in the name of housing more migrants, at taxpayers’ expense.
The Berlin Senate, for example, is planning large-scale accommodations for asylum seekers to live permanently in one building where the owner had offered offices for €25.80 per square meter; according to the Berliner Morgenpost, the State Office for Refugees is paying €40 per square meter.
Other examples include €165 million in Kreuzberg (1,500 people, 10-year lease); €143 million in Lichtenberg (1,200 people, rental period 10 years); and €118 million in Westend (950 people, rental period 10 years).
Dutch Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber, of the Party for Freedom (PVV), is initiating trial detention areas for disruptive asylum seekers in the Ter Apel registration center, as well as restrictions on where they can go, De Telegraaf reports.
A trial “process availability location” (PBL) will be created in Ter Apel to detain “disadvantaged” asylum seekers who misbehave on public transport or shoplift. They must report there twice a day, may only stay in and around the asylum seekers’ center, and will be banned from entering residential and village areas.
Faber adds that anyone who does not comply with the rules can be locked up.
“The behavior of a group of disruptive and criminal asylum seekers who abuse the hospitality offered in the Netherlands and cause nuisance and damage is, in whatever form, absolutely unacceptable,” said Faber.
The PVV minister is taking action after the majority in the Dutch House of Representatives agreed that repeatedly disruptive asylum seekers need to be dealt with more quickly and severely. Her suggestion for the PBLs comes after her predecessor, Eric van der Burg (VVD), tried to do the same but had to stop it after a court ruling
Faber claims this will help get those migrants with behavioral problems — and little chance of being granted asylum — out of the Netherlands faster. The PBLs will help keep an eye on them and record their behavior as (and if) it deteriorates, she says.
The new PBL in Ter Apel is specifically designed for lighter forms of nuisance and recidivism, such as shoplifting. Although not strict enough in cases demanding even tighter security, they are sufficient to justify restricting freedom.
“It is unacceptable that asylum seekers who come to our country for safety, intimidate residents, and cause insecurity. These troublemakers deserve the toughest possible approach. I will not tolerate any nuisance. Not now. Not ever,” she posted on X.
Germany’s Neutrality Act, in force for 20 years, prohibits the wearing of religious symbols and clothing while on duty for “officials employed in the legal system, the prison system, or the police.”
However, after several lawsuits and a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the ban no longer applies to teachers in Berlin. No changes were made, however, that would have been in line with the constitution due to a new governing coalition in 2023.
The CDU and SPD coalition agreed to adapt the Neutrality Act “in a legally binding manner to the current jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court.”
Now, the Berlin Green Party faction has put forth a motion, set to be debated in the House of Representatives, claiming that the neutrality law “hampers the access of women who have chosen to wear a headscarf to public service jobs and in some cases makes this impossible,” Welt writes, based on an initial report out of Berliner Tagesspiegel.
The Green Party politician Tuba Bozkurt told the Tagesspiegel: “Highly qualified women are not allowed to practice their profession because they wear a headscarf. That’s a problem.”
Algeria is one of the countries well known for refusing to take back illegal migrants from Europe, including those convicted of serious crimes. However, the North African country has no qualms about partaking in mass deportations, often with brutal methods, with little in terms of consequences from the so-called humanitarian West.
More than 1,100 irregular migrants were simply expelled into the desert by Algerian authorities last Saturday, with most of them sub-Saharan Africans, according to French publication RFI. It marks the first time this many migrants have ever been expelled by Algeria into this desert, notoriously known as Point Zero, at once.
However, it is far from the only time Algeria has partaken in such methods.
In fact, in 2024, a record number of migrants were expelled from Algeria into Niger, equaling 31,404, according to Nigerien NGO Alarme Phone Sahara (APS), which aids migrants traveling in the desert between the two nations. Some believe that this figure may be far higher, as the data is unreliable.
The APS NGO described the expulsions as “violent” and “fatal,” but Algeria appears to simply conduct pushbacks with impunity. Since 2014, the country has become a major transit point for illegal migrants into Europe, but when Algeria decides to, it simply pushes migrants into the desert en masse, hundreds at a time.
“At least 31,404 people… were expelled from Algeria to the Niger border during the year 2024,” wrote Alarme Phone Sahara in a press release. In 2024, the number of people expelled by Algiers “exceeds all documented figures from previous years,” including that of 2023 when Algerian authorities turned 26,031 people back to Niger.
What does such a pushback into Point Zero look like?
Algerian authorities simply pull a bus up in the desert loaded with migrants and tell them to start walking through blistering heat towards the Nigerien town of Assamakka, where an International Organization for Migration (IOM) transit center operates. In other instances, they release the migrants in the middle of the night and let them walk through the dark.
Western countries often feature months or years of court battles featuring NGOs, lawyers and human rights groups, often all well-funded by European taxpayers. Algeria appears to cut through all of this and just drops migrants off in the desert with little fanfare.
Speaking to InfoMigrants, Mamadou, a 22-year-old Senegalese national, said he spent more than 20 days in an Algerian prison after being arrested. He does not mention any court or human rights lawyers. He says he was simply handcuffed and forced onto a bus.
“After five or six hours… we were dropped off in the desert, there was nothing around. He said the Algerian police shouted: “Here is Assamakka!’ while pointing to the horizon. ‘The IOM, it’s straight ahead’”
“We set off, I don’t remember for how long. All I remember is that I was exhausted, completely exhausted. I still managed to walk the 10 kilometers that separated us from Assamakka,” he added.
In another piece from InfoMIgrants, the paper interviewed another migrant, Alpha Mohamed, who said: “We were abandoned at Point Zero at 2 a.m. and we had to walk on our crutches for hours. We finally made it to Assamakka at 11 am.”
Reportedly, some migrants do not ever reach Assamakka. For those in poor health, the extreme heat can be deadly.
Once in Niger, the situation is not better, as the country has limited resources and food to offer the migrants. The majority register with the IOM in order to return to their countries, but some seek other methods to head north into Europe.
Algeria refuses to take back illegal migrants from Europe
Of course, while some European NGOs and human rights groups are going to call attention to Algeria’s pushbacks, the global media will barely bat an eye at Algeria’s mass desert deportations. For one, it does not fit the narrative. Arabs are supposed to be a repressed group incapable of racism, colonialism, or bigotry, while Europeans are portrayed supposed to be uniquely xenophobic. If Arabs are participating in mass deportations, the European population also may begin to question why they are not mass deporting Arabs, especially when they commit serious crimes in Europe.
For instance, when an Algerian female migrant murdered, raped and tortured 13-year-old Lola in Paris, the data revealed that only 0.2 percent of Algerians who were ordered to be deported in France had actually been deported. The problem? Algeria refuses to take these migrants back.
While the European left endlessly goes on about “White colonialism” and “White racism,” in many cases, the Arab countries are just as concerned with “demographic replacement” as any European nationalist. As Remix News reported in the past, Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has routinely talked about a “plot to change Tunisia’s demographics” through mass immigration.
“Migration is a plot to change Tunisia’s demographics. Traitors who are working for foreign countries and shady parties are targeting the Tunisian state, said Saied last month. “Today, they are speaking about the issue of (Sub-Saharan) African (migrants), and we’re proud of our African identity. We helped them during the Covid-19 pandemic, distributing medicines. But today they want to change the demographic composition of Tunisia. It’s a plot and they got paid for it, like they got paid in other fields to attack the state.”
The Tunisian leader had said in February that “urgent measures” were needed to tackle the issue of irregular immigrants from Sub-Saharan countries, “with their violence, crimes and unacceptable practices.”
In fact, Tunisia, which neighbors Algeria, is known to partake in the same practices of forcing Blacks to the border.
In the videos, the Black migrants accuse Tunisian police of beating them and pushing them into Libya.
French publication Marianne has released an exclusive investigation revealing widespread exploitation of the “residence permit for care,” initially created for exceptional medical cases but now widely used by non-resident foreigners seeking expensive, free treatments in France.
According to the report by Ève Szeftel, Marianne’s editorial director, this practice significantly burdens France’s already overstretched public hospitals.
Initially introduced by Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement in 1998, the permit aimed to assist critically ill patients, including those originating from France’s former African colonies with AIDS, whose deportation would equate to a death sentence.
Foreigners are effectively permitted to obtain or renew a residence permit for the duration of their medical care. Anyone living in France for up to a year beforehand, who can prove they are unable to get the necessary treatment in their home country and who have not been convicted of any serious offenses, can apply for residency using this method.
However, the original intent has been considerably diluted. The report suggests that permits are frequently granted today without proper adherence to the original criteria. Many recipients, including those from countries like Algeria, Kosovo, Georgia, Bangladesh, and even the United States, reportedly come to France solely to receive costly medical treatments unavailable or unaffordable in their home countries.
Between 2017 and 2024, 228,000 applications were submitted, with 58 percent being granted. As a result, State Medical Aid (AME) expenditure has soared from €139 million in 2000 to €1.2 billion a year, with more than 440,000 ongoing beneficiaries.
The influx has generated substantial financial strain, raising concerns over the sustainability of France’s social security system, currently experiencing a deficit of €15.3 billion. The situation has also caused tension within healthcare facilities, with medical staff reporting pressure or being threatened to issue false diagnoses to make it easier for illegal migrants to obtain legal permission to stay on medical or compassionate grounds.
Dr. Thanh Le-Luong, former chief medical officer of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), confirmed the exploitation of the system, noting that smugglers actively promote specific medical destinations within France based on treatment types.
Political implications are becoming increasingly clear, as healthcare professionals reportedly shift their political support due to frustrations over unchecked abuses and worsening working conditions. Between the 2017 and 2024 presidential elections, support for Marine Le Pen among hospital civil servants reportedly doubled, rising from 17 percent to 34 percent.
In December last year, lawmakers from the center-right Les Républicains (LR) tabled a bill to abolish the residence permit for care.
The bill states, “Originally, it was mainly a question of allowing foreigners in an irregular situation, who had been present on our soil for some time, to be regularized to receive treatment against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which did not exist in their country of origin. However, it now overwhelmingly concerns foreigners who have come specifically to France to benefit from the treatment of chronic diseases linked to lifestyles (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers).”
It further highlighted that the migrants can still claim residency using this method if the treatment is simply more expensive in their country of origin.
In its most recent annual report, the OFII stated, “It is not always a question of looking for care that is not available in the country of origin, but that of care of better quality than that which exists there, or of very expensive and innovative care, which only a system such as the Health Insurance in France can offer.”
Head of the LR parliamentary party, Laurent Wauquiez, told Le Parisien earlier this year that the scheme “is not talked about much and is very expensive,” costing the state “hundreds of millions of euros” every year.
In the latest data available for residence for care permits, some 2,103 Algerian nationals were granted residency this way in 2022 — 7 percent of all Algerians to be granted permits that year.
Algerians were the largest recipients of these residency permits that year, followed by migrants from Côte d’Ivoire (1,700) and Georgia (1,500).
Head of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, has also vowed to abolish the scheme should his right-wing party enter the government, calling for “an end to the scandal of visas for care, that is to say, visa holders to be treated in our country at the taxpayers’ expense.”
The bloodshed continues in the war in Ukraine, with a Russian strike on Kyiv during the night reportedly killing 10 and injuring 70, including a pregnant woman
According to a report from Euronews, 42 of the injured were taken to the hospital, including six children; and even a pregnant woman.
The strikes, which began on Wednesday night and lasted until the early hours of the morning, caused extensive damage in several districts of Kyiv; more than a dozen locations were on fire, and fires were extinguished throughout the night in the city.
A news outlet funded by the Ukrainian government published footage of the attack on its Youtube channel.
The military commander in Kyiv spoke of a coordinated attack, even mentioning ballistic missiles, and ironically remarked, “this is Russian peace in all its glory.”
The capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said apartments, garages and cars had been destroyed in the blasts, adding that children and a pregnant woman had been taken to the hospital. Rescue teams were still searching for survivors under the rubble.
Moscow has not yet commented on the attack.
Efforts are being made to end the war by the Trump administration, but it remains unclear whether an agreement can be hammered out.
Well pro-war forces in the EU want to drag the war on for years, Poles cannot be party to such plans, said former Prime Minister Leszek Miller on Thursday as a guest of Radio Zet.
“In reality, only one thing is priceless – life,” said Leszek Miller when asked about the status of Crimea.
At the beginning of the interview, the host Bogdan Rymanowski asked whether “Ukraine should agree to give up Crimea as the price of peace”.
“Yes,” said Leszek Miller.
The former head of government also touched on the most important issue. He said that in his opinion, accepting the loss of Crimea by Kyiv would also be in Poland’s interest now, because “we cannot be a country that would like to fight in Ukraine until the last Ukrainian.”
Leszek Miller Source: PAP / Radek Pietruszka
“This would seem to us as the worst testimony about ourselves,” assessed the guest of Radio ZET.
Justifying his opinion, Miller pointed out that “the Americans are close to making a decision to withdraw aid for Ukraine, which would mean that Ukraine’s situation would definitely worsen.” He recalled that the Americans articulate that they may lose patience. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that this is not a U.S. war, reminding that this country has much more important priorities on the international stage.
According to press reports, Ukraine giving up Crimea supposed to be one of the points of the Russian-Ukrainian peace agreement that American diplomacy is trying to bring about.
According to Miller, General Bogusław Pacek is right when he says that the U.S. proposal – although difficult for Ukrainians to accept – is the only one that can stop the war.
“He said that Ukrainians must ask themselves what is their priority at this stage of the war – whether to fight to the last drop of blood or, at the cost of saving lives, to accept that some territories will still be occupied by Russians,” he quoted the words of the former general.
“I keep hearing that there are very important, valuable things, territories, etc., but in reality only one thing is priceless – life…. I am on the side of concluding even a fragile peace, and preferably a full-scale peace. Because I share the words of General Pack, Trump and other politicians who say that people in Ukraine must stop killing each other, at any cost,” said the politician.
Miller explained that “people have to survive because people are able to change any borders in the appropriate historical and diplomatic process. For over 100 years, Poland had no official territory, and our nation existed.”
A new proposal from the Swedish government would dramatically raise financial incentives for migrants to return to their countries of origin, with individuals eligible to receive up to SEK 350,000 (€32,000) and families up to SEK 600,000 (€55,000) as part of a broader effort to curb immigration and address integration challenges.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell confirmed the agreement among the coalition parties and emphasized that the program would include strong oversight mechanisms, telling Swedish news agency TT that the government wants to minimize the risk of people exploiting the allowance by coming to Sweden solely to claim the payment.
As reported by the Samnytt news outlet, the proposal also includes a clause requiring full repayment of the grant if the recipient returns to Sweden, regardless of the time elapsed.
The remigration proposal is the latest in a series of measures aimed at reshaping Sweden’s migration and integration policies. It comes amid growing public concern over violent crime, particularly gang-related violence involving individuals with migration backgrounds. Reports have highlighted a surge in homicides and increasingly brazen criminal activity in Swedish cities. Sweden now reportedly records 50 percent more homicides than El Salvador, a country once plagued by gang violence until a sweeping crackdown by President Nayib Bukele.
The Swedish government has framed its remigration policy as one response to what it describes as a decline in social cohesion and the failure of decades of integration efforts.
In March, the Swedish Ministry of Justice also introduced a proposal to tighten citizenship eligibility by raising the minimum income threshold for applicants. Under the draft, migrants applying for citizenship would need to demonstrate an annual income equivalent to three income base amounts, amounting to a gross monthly income of approximately SEK 20,000, or around €1,820.
“Being granted Swedish citizenship is something you should feel proud of. We are tightening the requirements to make it more meaningful and to ensure that those who become citizens have made an effort to become part of our society,” said Forssell at the time.
If approved, the new citizenship rules will take effect on June 1, 2026.
Despite the tough rhetoric from the ruling coalition, which is propped up with votes from the right-wing Sweden Democrats, skepticism persists about the government’s follow-through.
Remix News reported in March how Sweden granted citizenship to 60,000 foreign nationals in 2023, a number that has raised eyebrows among conservative commentators and immigration critics.
In an editorial last month, the newspaper Expressen warned that many of the new citizens had not sufficiently proven their identities, writing, “It is dangerous. Especially considering that citizenship cannot be revoked.”
Complaints regarding Germany’s election in February have been submitted to a monitoring committee, and Berliner Zeitung has seen the details. In addition to Sahra Wagenknecht, whose party barely missed reaching the 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament, Marcel Luthe, a former member of the Berlin House of Representatives and current president of the Good Governance trade union, also filed an 80-page complaint, with more than 200 pages of supporting documents.
Luthe lists the shortcomings of the federal election and how they may have influenced its outcome, perhaps even intentionally.
Just 10,000 votes could have significantly changed the composition of the German parliament, since with the entry of BSW, for example, the CDU/CSU and SPD government coalition would no longer be possible.
One of Luthe’s primary issues revolves around the difficulties Germans living abroad have in voting. His union collected numerous complaints from Germans overseas whose voting documents did not arrive on time, meaning they could not participate in the federal election.
Calling the election a “farce” on X, Luthe said it was “deliberately and systematically sabotaged” in such a way that “especially Germans living abroad, who don’t usually vote for the governing parties, were unable to vote effectively.”
Morgen wird die Bundestagswahl 2025 zwei Monate zurückliegen.
Zwei Monate, in denen der geänderte Wille des Souveräns nicht umgesetzt wurde, sondern dieselben Appartschiks weiter wursteln wie bisher.
— Marcel Luthe – Good Governance (@GGLuthe) April 22, 2025
“Two months in which the changed will of the sovereign was not implemented, but the same apparatchiks continued to muddle along as before. As announced, tomorrow we will challenge this farce of an election – in due form and within the deadline… I am curious to see how those responsible intend to wriggle out of the 85 pages of justification for the challenge – plus attachments. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Foreign Office play a central role in this,” he wrote.
Luthe also complains in his filing about the lack of accessibility at polling stations; the leak of “exit polls” by journalists on election day, which may have influenced the outcome; and the existence of the 5 percent hurdle itself.
The issue of voter ID also comes up. According to Luthe, the Federal Election Code mandates that voters must in most cases prove their identity using their official photo ID. However, going even further, he calls Germany’s voter notification itself a letter “without any forgery-proof feature,” which is insufficient in the effort to prevent unauthorized persons from voting.
In one glaring example provided in his complaint, the city of Stuttgart issued a letter to electoral boards requesting that voters with a voting notification be checked “only in cases of doubt, using ID.” In a leaflet for electoral boards, the city even stated that if a voting notification was available, this was “generally” sufficient.
Luthe says such policies allow for “significant abuse,” and given the 65,000 polling stations at stake, this could have led to tens of thousands of incorrectly cast votes and thus had a decisive influence on the election outcome.
Discrepancies are also said to have arisen due to voting notifications disappearing in the mail. There was reportedly at least one case of mass loss or theft of voting notifications in the 2021 election and also in the most recent federal election.
Further compounding concerns include eligible voters who had supposedly already voted were turned away from polling stations. Luthe cites a case in Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, where a voter was initially turned away from his polling station on the grounds that his vote had already been cast. He was eventually allowed to vote, but this was not an isolated case and raised concerns of false votes having been submitted.
In the polling station for Bad Kreuznach, more ballot papers were found than voters registered. Luthe is therefore demanding that all records from all polling stations be made available to him for review, as such an error violates “the integrity of the election in a significant way.”
Another issue already raised back in 2021 for Berlin’s parliamentary election is that of voter registers not being cross-referenced with death registers, with notifications mistakenly sent out to people no longer alive.
“The right to vote in Berlin still extends to residents in our cemeteries,” Luthe said.
For the election this past February, he says that more than 2.5 million additional eligible voters were registered who are actually dead.
Luthe told Berliner Zeitung: “As in 2021, the deliberate organizational failure is not apparent if one only considers individual cases without context and background.” In 2021, a repeat election to the Berlin House of Representatives was held. The most recent federal election also failed to meet the “requirements of the Basic Law for democratic elections,” he said.
The paper says the Electoral Review Committee can take months to process complaints, and an election review complaint can only be filed with the Federal Constitutional Court after these complaints have been rejected by this committee.
However, today, Luthe posted again on X, saying, “The media will address and dismiss the objections of the BSW and AfD. All the massive electoral errors will then go unreported, and the issue will be dead.”
In an EU-funded article, an organization close to the European Commission urges the “Coalition of the Willing” of countries to deploy troops to Ukraine before the ceasefire. The coalition is made up of 33 countries, with most of them consisting of EU countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Estonia, but also non-EU countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.
The article, produced on the website of the European Policy Centre (EPC), a Brussels-based think tank, featured an opinion piece that suggested EU member states to begin sending troops now, which would be the only way for Ukraine to maintain its resistance against Russia. These troops would not serve on the frontline, but in “advisory” and support roles.
The piece states that if this does not happen, Ukraine will collapse, and in turn, the Russians will become more aggressive.
However, a surge of Western troops in Ukraine, may also be seen by Russia as a sharp escalation that could draw them away from peace talks. In other words, it would be an excellent way for the pro-war wing in the EU to keep the war going for the foreseeable future.
As Hungarian news outlet Mandiner writes, “The article is, of course, much more than a simple opinion piece: The EPC is one of the most influential think tanks, with many ties to the European Commission; and the article itself was funded by the EU.”
The Coalition of the Willing (CoW) is, they say, evolving into a real military force, and rapidly moving beyond the original four-step approach of British and French leaders. However, it remains unclear if and when this force will deploy to Ukraine, as Russia has labeled such a move one of its “red lines.”
However, the think tank writes that this coalition must “set credible limits on Russia’s ability to escalate.”
The think tank points out that the Russians ignored the 30-day unconditional ceasefire and instead “escalated strikes against civilian and energy infrastructure,” with many civilian casualties, including minors.
In addition, there was the strike on Krivoy Rog on April 4, where 21 people died, including nine children.
According to the authors, the Russians’ willingness to negotiate increases if they see a strong deterrent on the other side, and the CoW may be able to demonstrate this, and indeed, only this can bring diplomatic solutions closer, which “objectively … have the means to deter Russia.”
They also cite reports from the Ukrainian intelligence service, claiming that Russia is preparing for a decisive attack on a 1,200-kilometer front this summer.
The article also supports this assertion with the fact that Russia is mobilizing 160,000 Russian recruits, although Mandiner points out that this recruiting drive has happened every year, and the number is only a few tens of thousands higher than before.
The decree to this effect, signed by Putin, was posted on the Kremlin website on Sunday.
The article admits also admits that Ukraine is on the verge of collapse. It lacks human resources, ammunition, and logistical capabilities. However, this has often been claimed in order to justify more billions for Ukraine, as well as more military equipment. The article says sending EU troops to Ukraine is essential to help it before the summer, because this is also the key to Europe’s security.
All of this requires immediate reinforcement of forces, protection of critical infrastructure, and increased training and tactical assistance.
The article laments the delay in arms deliveries and the insufficiency of financial assistance, and of course brings up the political changes in Washington, namely the return of President Donald Trump, while also acknowledging NATO’s insufficient role.
The article envisions the current rapid deployment of those willing countries in the form of thousands of “advisors and operational planners.” This means that these troops would not yet be on the front lines, but could improve Ukrainian capabilities by setting up training and logistics centers. According to the article, this in itself could unsettle the Russians, as it would send a strong message.
It also lists the acquisition of air defense solutions needed to protect critical infrastructure, as well as the air defense of Kyiv and other hinterland cities, as part of the CoW. Marines would be deployed in Odessa to protect the Black Sea coast, it lists. These troops would also focus on cyber defense.
They would also speed up the training of Ukrainians with new, Western-style weapons. Military advisors would also help with their strategic use.
The article argues at length that the Russians are now planning their latest large-scale attack, lambasting Europe for “failing to take decisive action for more than a decade” and for missing many opportunities to deter Moscow.
“Failure to provide adequate military and strategic support at this critical stage of the war will embolden Moscow, especially in the face of a significant shift in U.S. policy,” they write. Failure to do so will reward Russian aggression, they add. But they also suggest a small advantage for Europe, beyond the fact that a Ukraine collapse would undermine European security stability: The West could gain valuable experience in the nature of modern warfare, essential in the event of a potentially widening conflict.
Two Afghan nationals have avoided immediate jail time in France after being found guilty of stabbing another Afghan male in a violent brawl in the western town of Parthenay earlier this month.
The defendants, aged 26 and 28, were arrested and held in pre-trial detention for group violence following the fight in front of Le Baratin bar on rue Jean-Jaurès in the French town during the night of April 14 to 15.
The altercation left two individuals seriously injured — one of whom is believed to be one of the perpetrators.
On Tuesday, the criminal court in Niort heard how the two Afghan males embarked on an aggravated assault on the night in question, with witnesses describing scenes of bloodshed, suggesting knives had been used.
The victim suffered stab wounds to the head and shoulder, while one of the accused was still recovering from his own injuries, appearing in court with a head bandage and one of his arms in a sling.
The court heard how the 28-year-old defendant arrived in France as an asylum seeker in 2018 but had his asylum request refused three times. He is the father of an 11-year-old also living in France, which suggests the difficulty in returning him to his home country.
The younger defendant had been granted refugee status, having also arrived in 2018 and had no prior criminal convictions. Despite both being in France for seven years, they spoke only through an interpreter during the hearing.
As reported by La Nouvelle République, the court reviewed CCTV footage, which showed the eventual victim stopping a car near the suspects, then walking toward the bar before the violence began. “You’re seen running after him. He heads toward the bar, and that’s when the violence starts,” the magistrate said.
The bartender on duty witnessed the scene unfold and described the attackers as overtaken by rage, which rendered her unable to intervene. “We made a big mistake,” one of the accused admitted. “We just wanted to explain ourselves. He had been threatening us for years. He scares people,” he said of the victim, who works for an integration association in the area.
Defense attorney Olivier Martinez echoed this characterization of the victim. “It doesn’t excuse their actions,” he said, “but the man who now claims victimhood could just as well be sitting in their place today. He’s known in the neighborhood for intimidating others. Maybe alcohol gave them the courage to push back.”
The prosecution, however, rejected any attempt to shift blame. “Based on testimony and video footage, I’ve closed the defendants’ counter-complaints against the victim. I ruled out self-defense,” the prosecutor stated, requesting 10 months of imprisonment for each.
The court, however, opted for leniency. Both men were sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended, effectively allowing them to walk free following the hearing.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for recent remarks on Crimea, accusing him of endangering ongoing peace efforts and prolonging the war with Russia.
In a post published on Wednesday on his Truth Social account, Trump called Zelensky’s refusal to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea “inflammatory” and urged immediate action to secure a peace agreement.
The controversy stems from a Wall Street Journal interview in which Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine “will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea.”
“There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” the Ukrainian president added.
Trump responded forcefully, stating that the matter “is not even a point of discussion,” claiming that Crimea was “lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama.”
“Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian territory,” Trump wrote. “But if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
President Trump accused Zelensky of making statements that could “do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’” and warned that Ukraine could “lose the whole country” within three years if it continues down the current path. He also emphasized the heavy toll of the war, stating that thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are dying each week “for no reason whatsoever.”
“The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or he can fight for another three years,” Trump added, insisting that a peace deal is within reach and imploring Zelensky to stop resisting. “We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump wrote.
The statement has already ignited fierce debate in both Washington and Kyiv. Critics say Trump’s remarks risk legitimizing Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory and undermining U.S. support for Ukraine. Supporters, however, view it as a realistic push toward ending a long and bloody war.
While the White House has yet to elaborate on Trump’s comments, they mark a significant shift in tone from the Biden administration’s previous firm backing of Ukraine’s territorial claims, including Crimea.
Zelensky’s perceived intransigence reportedly resulted in the last-minute cancellation of peace talks in London with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Kyiv is digging its heels in against a framework presented to its officials last week in Paris, with Ukraine believing the prospective deal rewards Russia for its aggression, leading to exasperation from the Trump administration.
On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters during a trip to India that the U.S. is prepared to abandon peace talks should Ukraine not budge.
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process. We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work,” he said.
“The Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own. There’s gonna have to be some territorial swaps,” he added.
A new INSA survey has revealed that a majority of German citizens now believe that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) could become the strongest political force in the next federal election.
At the same time, nearly half of respondents say the AfD should be treated like any other party, amid attempts by Germany’s legacy party to ostracize the populist faction with an ongoing political firewall.
According to the survey, reviewed by the Junge Freiheit news outlet, 51 percent of respondents believe it is likely the AfD will win the most votes in the next Bundestag election. Only 27 percent disagree.
The findings, presented by INSA head Hermann Binkert on YouTube, point to a growing normalization of the AfD’s rise. Alice Weidel’s party became the second-largest party in the Bundestag after February’s election, but its popularity has continued to rise following the election-winning Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) decision to team up with the Social Democrats (SPD) to form another Grand Coalition.
Among AfD voters themselves, belief in victory is overwhelming at 87 percent. However, even supporters of traditionally centrist or left-leaning parties express similar expectations: 63 percent of BSW voters and 60 percent of FDP voters also think the AfD could come out on top. Only the SPD and Greens’ bases remain broadly skeptical.
Some 46 percent of Germans say the AfD should be treated like any other democratic party, compared with 33 percent who oppose this. While opposition remains strong among SPD, Green, and Left Party supporters, majorities within the CDU/CSU (49 percent), FDP (63 percent), and BSW (47 percent) now favor equal political treatment for the AfD. Unsurprisingly, 83 percent of AfD voters agree.
The softening of opposition contrasts with the hard stance taken by Germany’s major Christian churches, which have repeatedly condemned the AfD. However, voter behavior within the religious communities tells a different story.
Among Protestants, 26 percent support the AfD — second only to the CDU/CSU (28 percent) and way ahead of the Greens (7 percent). Catholic voters also give 25 percent support to the AfD, with the CDU/CSU again leading at 34 percent. The Greens trail with just 13 percent.
Among non-religious voters, the AfD is the most popular party (26 percent), surpassing the CDU/CSU (19 percent) and SPD (14 percent). Muslim voters, on the other hand, typically show strong support for left-wing, pro-migration parties, including the SPD (37 percent) and the Left Party (25 percent), with AfD support negligible at 5 percent.
If the vote back in February were held today, the two parties set to enter government, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the CDU, would not have enough seats for their agreed coalition.
BREAKING: 🇩🇪The AfD party is now the most popular party in Germany for the first time ever, soaring to 26%.
The main German parties are working to ban the AfD, and a vote on a ban is expected in the coming months in the new Bundestag.
Mobile phone footage has surfaced showing the moments before a violent attack on a German mother holding her 12-day-old infant by another woman, reportedly of Syrian origin, following a children’s dispute on a playground in Kronach, Upper Franconia.
The incident, which occurred on Easter Sunday, has sparked a police investigation involving allegations of dangerous bodily harm and incitement to hatred.
The 20-second video, obtained by NIUS and shared briefly on social media by the father of one of the children at the playground before being taken down, shows the Syrian woman approaching the German mother, who is holding her newborn.
Seconds later, chaos erupts. According to the injured woman and her husband, the confrontation escalated into a physical assault involving multiple family members, leaving several people injured.
A Syrian woman attacks a German mother holding her 12-day-old baby following a dispute at a playground on Easter Sunday. pic.twitter.com/zinOILcUAO
The incident is believed to have been triggered by an earlier argument between two children — reportedly a 10-year-old German girl and a 12- to 13-year-old Syrian girl — which then drew in their families. According to police, three mothers and their children became involved in the subsequent altercation. A 36-year-old bystander who tried to intervene was also injured.
“As a result, there was a verbal and then a physical altercation between a total of three mothers and their children. In addition to those involved, a 36-year-old woman also suffered injuries, who intervened to mediate between the families of German and Syrian origin,” the police stated.
Police confirmed that the mother of the 6-year-old boy involved in the initial playground dispute suffered injuries during the clash, as did her newborn, who was taken to the hospital with a suspected concussion.
The father later published the footage on Facebook, writing: “We wish you a happy Easter. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a nice one.” The video went viral and received a number of comments that could be classed in Germany as hate speech, leading to its removal and a statement from the father which read, “We have nothing against foreigners.”
Investigators from the Coburg Criminal Investigation Department seized the father’s phone and launched a probe into possible incitement to hatred under German law. Authorities cited both the content of the video and online reactions as grounds for the investigation.
“Comments and contributions by the account owner are being investigated for incitement to hatred,” said a spokesperson for the Upper Franconia police.
Meanwhile, the broader altercation remains under active investigation by the Kronach Police and Coburg CID, with multiple individuals facing scrutiny for suspected dangerous bodily harm and insult.
With tens of thousands of people expected to descend on the Vatican, and the city of Rome, in the coming days, including as many as 170 foreign delegations, authorities in Italy are leaving nothing to chance.
Italian railways announced that they would be running special trains to Rome on Saturday to avoid crowds arriving in vehicles for the funeral. Rome taxi companies have promised 10-hour shifts in the coming days, writes Hungary’s Hirado news portal.
The Italian government and the civil protection services met in a separate meeting to discuss the necessary security and operational measures that would provide protection and a dignified welcome for both the crowds of believers and the high-level delegations.
Security checks have already been tightened, with those arriving at St. Peter’s Square only being allowed to enter and leave the square and its surroundings through designated gates. Parking is also prohibited in the streets surrounding the Vatican.
The construction of stands reserved for the press and the installation of projectors have begun on the avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square. According to Vatican sources cited by Hirado, more than 2,000 journalists and cameramen have been accredited for the funeral, with crews hunting for apartment terraces overlooking St. Peter’s Square, and owners asking a good price for them.
Souvenir sellers are also abuzz offering mementos commemorating the late pope.
Members of the College of Cardinals from different parts of the world are arriving as well to pay their respects at the coffin of Pope Francis in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. The second floor of the Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis has room number 201, and the third floor of the apostolic palaces have been sealed — only to be reopened by the Holy See
About 60 cardinals attended the first meeting of the cardinals on Tuesday morning behind closed doors. The cardinals decided on the date of the funeral on Saturday, postponed the beatifications until the election of a new pope, and participated this morning in the ceremony in which Pope Francis’ coffin will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The coffin will leave the Casa Santa Marta, be carried through St. Peter’s Square, and then proceed through the main entrance of the basilica, where it will remain for public viewing until Friday evening.
Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Stanislaw Rylko and Fabio Baggio, will assist Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, and have been appointed to handle current affairs until the election of a new head of state.
Saturday’s Mass will be followed by a thanksgiving ceremony led by Pietro Parolin in St. Peter’s Square.
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) has added PLN 32 billion (€7.4 billion) to its assets in gold last year, wPolityce writes, citing a podcast from news portal “Puls Biznesu.”
Few central banks in developed countries have made such a large bet on gold. Over the past five years, Poland’s central bank has doubled its reserves of the metal, from 229 to 448 tons. The share of gold in the bank’s assets has increased from 9 to 15 percent, the podcast noted.
It added that, for example, the Czech central bank holds about 3 percent of its assets in gold, Hungary’s has 8 percent, and the Romanian central bank has 10 percent in gold.
Gold has become more attractive due to growing geopolitical uncertainties, from war to the economy. Since the beginning of 2025, the price of gold in Polish zlotys has gone up by over 15 percent.
“The U.S. is signaling that its Treasury bondholders may face costs. In that case, owning gold may make more sense than usual,” Puls Biznesu said.
NBP recorded a loss exceeding PLN 13 billion (€3 billion) last year, primarily due to high interest rates and an increase in the value of the national currency.
“Central banks of countries such as Poland hold most of their assets in instruments denominated in foreign currencies, which means that when the domestic currency strengthens, their assets denominated in that currency lose value,” explained “PB” journalists.
The central bank’s losses do not pose a threat to the currency, inflation and financial stability of the country “as long as they do not limit the bank’s ability to control interest rates, i.e., in fact, until the bank is forced to print money to cover the costs of its operations.”
“We are far from that,” Puls Biznesu indicated.
Currently, gold is experiencing a surge, jumping approximately 25 percent this year. Some experts believe that the dollar could lose its global reserve currency status, with more countries like Russia and China seeking to shift to gold as an alternative. Others claim that the dollar’s reign as king is far from over.
A 56-year-old Islamist caused panic aboard an inter-city train in France on Monday morning after claiming to have planted explosives, triggering a full-scale security operation at the Achères–Grand Cormier station in the Paris suburbs.
The incident occurred on the 7:02 a.m. train from Le Havre to Paris when the man reportedly began shouting “Allahu Akbar” repeatedly and announced that he had planted a bomb on board, threatening to detonate it.
As reported by Le Parisien, frightened passengers rushed to the front of the train to escape the man, prompting immediate action by fellow travelers and an SNCF conductor who alerted authorities.
At approximately 9:20 a.m., the train was halted at Achères–Grand Cormier station, where police officers subdued the suspect at gunpoint.
The station and the train, which carried around 150 passengers, were promptly evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bomb disposal experts were called in to inspect the scene, though no explosives were ultimately found.
The incident disrupted regional rail service, with some trains rerouted and others cancelled entirely.
Authorities placed the suspect, a resident of Seine-Saint-Denis, in police custody under suspicion of “glorifying terrorism.” However, a subsequent psychiatric evaluation determined that the man, who had no prior police record, was suffering from severe mental health issues.
He was declared criminally unfit and ordered to be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility.
Police confirmed there was no indication of an actual terrorist plot, and no other individuals are believed to have been involved.
The investigation has since been closed with no criminal charges filed.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a message of condolence on its various social media accounts following the passing of Pope Francis, only to delete it shortly after.
“Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing,” the now-erased message said according to the Jerusalem Post. It also included a photo of the Holy Father in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem during a visit in 2014.
JP noted that neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have commented on the pope’s death so far.
The only Israeli official who has spoken out is President Isaac Herzog, who bid Francis farewell on Monday in a lengthy post in Arabic on X. “I offer my deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the Christian world in general, and to the Christian communities in the Holy Land in particular, on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” part of his post read.
He added: “I hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East will be fulfilled and that all those abducted will return soon.”
The paper states that the decision to remove the post should come as no surprise, given Israeli officials’ ire over the pope’s recent statements regarding Israel’s attacks in Gaza. Specifically, Pope Francis had called Israel’s bombing raids, leaving scores of children dead, “cruelty, not war.”
“What is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the Holy See had commented.
Former Israeli ambassador to the Vatican Raphael Schutz believes that Israel is making a mistake in erasing their condolences. “We shouldn’t keep score like this after someone’s death,” he said.
Francis’ statements deserve “strong condemnation,” Schutz says, and should have been responded to diplomatically, but keeping silent about the death of a man who was “a spiritual leader for over a billion people is not the right message.”
The pope’s funeral is set to take place this Saturday. Whether Israel will send an official representative to the Vatican or not is unclear, the Jerusalem Post notes.
According to Schutz, the possible absence of the Israeli delegation would be “unfortunate” and “could reinforce a sense of isolation, already heightened by the ongoing war, and unnecessarily add fuel to that fire.”
Not only must Poland refuse mass migration due to the societal costs, but the country also simply cannot afford it. Due to this reality, there can be no compromise over mass immigration, says Polish professor and lawyer Witold Modzelewski, who works at the University of Warsaw.
In a conversation on the FMC27NEWS YouTube channel, Prof. Witold Modzelewski said he can provide a conservative estimate of how much each migrant costs Poland per day, which he said is 150 Polish zlotys (PLN), or €35 per day.
“If we chose an assimilation policy – assimilating those who choose us and we agree to have them here – then in today’s reality it is not just about mere food. After all, these people need to be provided with a place to stay…. they need to be covered by a state umbrella financing the so-called security services. If we were to assume the reality of today’s cost, it is an estimated PLN 150 per day. However, this is an underestimate,” said Prof. Modzelewski.
However, in other countries like Germany, these cost estimates are far higher, in part due to the higher cost of living. Modzelewski may also not be factoring in social welfare, medical costs, integration courses, and education into his estimate.
🇵🇱 Migrants in Poland enjoy billiard and table tennis competitions to celebrate the International Day of Tolerance.
The men from countries like India, Iraq, Iran, and Sri Lanka then received free burgers, Belgian fries, and soft drinks at the asylum center in Lesznowola. pic.twitter.com/ddWMUo1ed0
As the professor pointed out, this amount concerns direct expenses, and there would also be indirect expenses.
“Who can we take from to finance it? There is no one to take from. Therefore, let’s put this problem aside as one we cannot afford and as one we will not participate in,” the professor stated.
He said that even if they can assume that Polish society would like to take on part of the costs of supporting migrants for humanitarian reasons, Poland cannot afford it.
Prof. Modzelewski emphasized that Poland bears no responsibility for the criminal colonial past of “Old Europe.” He pointed out that the people who are currently inhabiting Europe through generational transmission “want to take revenge.”
“Their rebellion is today, but the motive is the past. And we cannot participate in this,” said the professor. “We have nothing in common with the colonial past of the old West and let’s not look for anything in common. If someone wants to drag us into collective responsibility for those crimes, for centuries of objective wrongs, then we have to say ‘no.”‘
Germany could send up to 70,000 migrants to Poland per year, according to a Polish MP.@DariuszMatecki filmed the new massive migrant center near the Polish border.
According to Polish publication Do Rzeczy, “although mainstream media does not show it, a wave of protests is growing in Poland against the transfer of illegal immigrants from culturally alien regions – Africa and the Middle East – from Germany to our country. The lack of consent of Poles to open borders for mass migration is clearly shown by all polls.”
The number of weddings in the Czech Republic in 2023 was the second lowest since the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918, according to preliminary data released by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).
Only 44,486 couples tied the knot in 2023, just under 1,000 more than the record low set in 2013.
The report, published in the April edition of Statistika & My, showed how marriage numbers have fluctuated over the past 11 years, peaking in 2019 when nearly 55,000 couples got married.
While the overall number of weddings has dipped, the ČSÚ highlighted a positive trend: The divorce rate has been falling steadily. For the past four years, it has remained below 40 percent, with 20,800 marriages ending in divorce last year, down from 26,764 in 2013.
“Divorced people most often remarry soon after divorce. Their willingness to marry again decreases as time after the divorce increases,” the ČSÚ stated.
Marriage appears to offer more than emotional and social benefits, with married couples reportedly having a lower mortality rate compared to their divorced or widowed counterparts.
“However, this is also influenced by the fact that individuals with serious health issues often do not marry in the first place,” the ČSÚ noted. Current data suggests that unmarried individuals have a 1.8 times higher mortality rate than married people.
The average age of both Czech men and women when they first get married has increased to 32.7 years and 30.6 years, respectively, as societal and economic factors mean Czechs are no longer in a hurry to move out, marry, and start a family. In 67 percent of married couples between 2019 and 2023, the groom was older than the bride.
On average, Czech couples now stay married for about 13.5 years before divorcing. While people aged 45 to 49 — born during the country’s 1970s population boom — are most frequently involved in divorce proceedings, those under 25 face the highest divorce rates relative to the number of people married in that age group. Divorce rates tend to decline with age for both genders.
International marriages have also been on the rise. A record 15 percent of weddings in 2023 were between a Czech citizen and a foreign national, reflecting the country’s increasing international mobility. The most common nationality of a foreign national was Slovak.
The answer to the question, “Why do Poles dislike banks?” may seem obvious. According to the CEO of one of Poland’s major banks, this is not necessarily the case, and may actually be partly due to anti-Semitism.
On Tuesday, social media users were drawn to a story printed in the Polish financial industry magazine Puls Biznesu, which interviewed Przemek Gdański, president of BNP Paribas Bank Polska.
The article, entitled, “Gdański: Why Poles do not like banks,” proved controversial due Gdański putting forward one reason that Poles not liking banks is due to anti-Semitism.
The interview is preceded by a statement from the journalist Eugeniusz Twaróg, who introduces the interview subject: “Poles’ negative associations, including with usury and paying installments, plus a lack of basic knowledge about how the banking business works, are a recipe for a serious image crisis for the entire sector. Przemek Gdański, president of BNP Paribas Bank Polska, diagnoses and seeks advice.”
Among the issues explored are high profits and high bonuses for banking management. However, Gdański then moves on to one of the reasons he believes is behind Poles having little love for banks.
“I haven’t finished listing the reasons yet. I’ll move on to the second, more controversial one. In my opinion, the antipathy to banks is rooted in anti-Semitism. Historically, money lending, in some periods called usury, was done by Jews. You went to a Jew and borrowed at interest when you needed it, even if you didn’t like him, because there were no other ways to borrow money,” said the banking president.
However, this may be actually taking one stereotype, that Jews are invovled in banking, and morphing it into another stereotype, which is that Poles are inherently anti-Semtitic. There was a sharp war of words, for instance, with Israel and Poland back in 2019, which involved former Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz stating that Poles “imbibe anti-Semitism in their mothers’ milk.” It did not help afterwards that op-eds appeared in the Israeli press affirming that this statement is true.
The Polish publication Do Rzeczy writes that, in light of the banker’s statement, “it is worth recalling that the average interest rate on new loans in Poland is the highest in Europe. Moreover, according to data from the Central Statistical Office, in 2024 the net financial result of banks amounted to PLN 42,001 million, which means an increase of 51.9 percent year-on-year.”
The balance sheet total of banks at the end of 2024 was 10.8 percent higher than a year earlier and amounted to PLN 3.317 trillion, or €773 billion.
A Black footballer from Cameroon mocked Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insulted the police, boasted that he eats for free and does not pay rent, and that he “f**ks Italian girls.” He has now been fired from the Cluentina Calcio football club in Italy.
The striker, Domingue Ibii Ngwang, filmed himself in front of a police vehicle parked in front of the police headquarters in Macerata. He made the extremely vulgar and pedophilic remarks towards Meloni’s 7-year-old daughter.
“Meloni, I heard that you have a beautiful daughter… I’m black, handsome and hot, with my handsome and hot brother. We eat for free, we sleep for free, we don’t pay rent and then f**k Italian girls.”
🇮🇹 An African migrant has been fired from his Italian football team after threatening Giorgia Melon's 7-year-old daughter.
"Meloni, I heard that you have a beautiful daughter… I'm black, handsome and hot… We eat for free, we sleep for free, we don't pay rent and then we… pic.twitter.com/0RZIV5SzdR
Before making the statements, he offered to sell Salvini a police car for 50 cents in what appears to be an attempt to belittle Salvini and the police — a sort of sign of disrespect.
“Salvini, do you see this car? I’m selling it for 50 cents,” says Ngwang.
The football club, which is located in the Marche region, has now terminated the 27-year-old Cameroonian striker’s contract due to the sexist and violent remarks, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta.
Salvini commented about the video himself on Instagram, calling the footballer an “idiot.”
“Asd Cluentina Calcio totally dissociates itself from the contents represented in the video published by its member,” wrote the team after terminating the footballer’s contract.
“We also communicate our intention to immediately terminate the contract that binds us to his sporting performances, as we consider his serious statements to be deeply damaging to our reputation. We recall, in fact, that Asd Cluentina Calcio has distinguished itself in the football panorama of the territory for over 50 years for inclusion, solidarity and friendship. For this reason, we firmly believe it is necessary to nip in the bud any undue association between the violent and unacceptable contents expressed by Ibii Ngwang in the video and the history of Asd Cluentina Calcio, reserving, in the event of undue instrumentalization, the right to protect our image in the competent offices.”
The police are also investigating the case. His threat towards Meloni’s daughter may be especially problematic.
Hungarian Minister for the National Economy Márton Nagy announced on his Facebook page that the government will now go after insurance companies for excessive fees and has met with representatives from several banks to get them to comply.
“After food retailers, banks, and telecommunications companies, insurance companies are next. The goal remains the same: protect the Hungarian population against price increases!” he posted on the social media platform.
Insurance premiums have increased significantly in recent years, writes business news portal Portfolio, due to contractual indexations following the previous year’s inflation.
For home insurance, for example, despite the home insurance campaign that also had a price-reducing effect, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) registered average premiums that were 17.1 percent higher at the end of 2024 than at the end of 2023, while the level of claims expenditure did not change significantly.
For compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance, the average annual premium increased by 8 percent, which was more than double the 3 percent annual increase in claims expenditure.
This year, insurers were given the opportunity to reduce their extra-profit tax sector level by increasing their government securities portfolio by about HUF 200 billion (€490 million), thus reducing their total special tax burden from last year’s 240 billion forints to under 220 billion forints.
It is not known to what extent insurers will pass on this HUF 20 billion reduction in the special tax burden to customers in the form of premium reductions or reductions in premium increases.
However, it is expected to negatively affect insurance brokers, who typically realize their commission income proportionally to premiums.
A few weeks ago, Hungarian banks agreed to voluntarily roll back the increases in bank account fees that they have implemented since December. They also undertook until mid-2026 to no longer pass on the increase in their internal operating costs and the inflationary impact to their customers.
Insurance companies may now follow suit.
Earlier this month, Remix News reported that data out of Hungary’s Central Statistical Office showed that the margin freeze on basic food items had had an impact, as consumer inflation came in lower than expected.
An African migrant has been arrested in Milan on suspicion of murdering 61-year-old Filipino house servant Angelito Acob Manansala during a burglary in one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods.
Italian media reported on Tuesday how Dawda Bandeh, a 28-year-old Gambian national, allegedly broke into an upmarket villa on Via Giovannia Randaccio on Easter Sunday, where he began ransacking the property in search of valuables.
Bandeh is believed to have waited until Manansala left the property to walk the dog. However, upon the domestic worker’s return, the burglar was confronted, and a fatal struggle ensued.
Investigators believe that Bandeh strangled his victim to death.
The shocking crime unfolded just hours after Bandeh had been released by police for attempting to steal an umbrella and a pair of jeans from a balcony in another part of the city. Despite previous run-ins with law enforcement for minor thefts and a record of drunk driving, Bandeh had not been detained due to the low severity of the offenses.
Il Giornale reported that CCTV footage captured Bandeh scaling the villa’s boundary wall before the murder, and he remained in the house for hours afterward, even with the victim’s body inside. The villa’s owner, a 52-year-old man who had just returned from vacation, discovered the scene and discreetly alerted police while avoiding detection by the suspect.
When officers arrived, Bandeh tried to attack them and had to be subdued with a taser. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying around €80 euros and some food.
Manansala, a long-time resident of Milan, had been planning to marry his partner Laurelia Arriola in the Philippines later this year, according to Corriere Della Sera. The couple had been together for six years.
On the day of the murder, they had planned to attend mass and then have lunch together to celebrate Easter, but when he stopped answering his phone, Arriola became alarmed. She arrived at the villa only to find police at the scene and quickly understood what had happened.
The Consul General of the Philippines has met with the victim’s family to offer condolences and confirmed that the consulate would assist with repatriating the body, in accordance with the wishes of Manansala’s partner.
In a post on social media, the consulate asked “the Filipino community to pray for the eternal rest of our deceased compatriot.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate Bandeh’s behavior and state of mind, particularly why he remained in the house for such an extended period after the killing.
Marcin Romanowski, former deputy minister of justice and PiS MP, will not be covered by Interpol’s red notice. According to Salon24, notwithstanding an earlier request to supplement its file on Romanowski, Interpol rejected the application of the Polish prosecutor’s office for a red notice.
The Polish MP is suspected of participation in an organized criminal group and defrauding Poland’s Justice Fund, accusations he has denied. He was granted asylum in Hungary in December last year, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán saying, “This is a legal process, not a political decision.”
Hungary, however, in its decision stated that it had found evidence that the charges against Romanowski were politically motivated, enough to determine he would not stand a fair trial in Poland. This marked the first time an EU member state offered asylum to a Polish politician since the fall of communism.
The MP had been arrested in July but was released due to his immunity as a member of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. The current justice minister, Adam Bodnar, then called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to revoke Romanowski’s immunity, which it did in October.
Although rulings by both a district and regional court in Poland subsequently upheld his immunity, Romanowski is wanted by Polish authorities, with a European Arrest Warrant and a European Investigation Order both issued against him.
Failing to secure a red notice from Interpol, the Polish government says it is pursuing other options.
A red notice is given to criminals classified as the most dangerous. Only four wanted Poles have such a designation so far: Kamil Żyła, wanted for the murder of a TVN journalist in the Silesian Park in Chorzów in 2022; Jakub Jakus, accused of participating in the terrorist organization ISIS, illegal possession of weapons and theft of documents; Krzysztof Pomorski, wanted for distributing child pornography; and Rafał Zabłocki, listed on the Interpol list for serious crimes.
Germany’s migrant crime crisis continues to make headlines nearly every single day. Now, after a double murder, two Turkish citizens are under arrest. However, the man police believe actually pulled the trigger and killed the two victims is still being sought by police.
The arrests occurred in the Main-Kinzig of Hanau, and involved police searches of the homes of two men, aged 31 and 36. Police believe the two were connected to the murder of a 59-year-old man and his 28-year-old son-in-law, who are both Turkish citizens, which occurred on Friday in front of a building in the spa town of Bad Nauheim.
Both victims died after being shot multiple times, according to an autopsy report.
🇩🇪 Organized foreign criminal gangs are costing Germany BILLIONS
🔺A new federal police report (BKA) shows damage from organized crime in 2023 cost taxpayers €2.7 billion, more than double the previous year's figure of €1.3 billion.
On Monday morning, the Friedberg District Court ordered an arrest warrant for the two arrested suspects on suspicion of incitement to murder, according to German newspaper FAZ. Both men are also Turkish citizens and have no arrest history in Germany, but prosecutors believe they ordered the killing. Both men have remained silent and refused to speak to police.
The suspects arrived in Germany in different years, 2013 and 2018, respectively.
So far, the prosecutor’s office has said the murder originated over a “dispute” between the men.
Only one shooter is believed to have been involved in the actual attack, although the exact motive remains unclear. Prosecutors say they have a lot of information about the background of the case, but do not yet want to make it public.
“We currently assume that only one perpetrator was on scene,” said the spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office. “We are searching intensively for him.”
Although initial reports spoke of a lone shooter, prosecutors believe it was an organized hit by the trio. A photo or name of the suspect who remains on the run has not been released.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has hit a historic watermark, and is now the most popular party in Germany for the first time ever, reaching 26 percent. The poll, from Forsa, shows the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in second place with 25 percent.
If the vote were held today, the two parties set to enter government, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the CDU, would not have enough votes to enter government. The SPD is at 15 percent, giving the two parties a combined total of 40 percent. The poll showed that support for the Greens dropped a point to 11 percent and the Left Party also dropped a point to 9 percent.
BREAKING: 🇩🇪The AfD party is now the most popular party in Germany for the first time ever, soaring to 26%.
The main German parties are working to ban the AfD, and a vote on a ban is expected in the coming months in the new Bundestag.
The news comes at a time when the left is racing to vote on a ban on the AfD in the German parliament, the Bundestag, a topic covered in detail by Remix News. However, despite inital reports that the CDU would back such a ban, the picture is becoming muddier.
For one, there are more and more voices in the CDU and its sister party, the CSU, who are calling for “more calm” towards the AfD, including from the influential vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn. Spahn even said that the AfD should be able to lead some of the committee in the Bundestag, which would give the party more say and power. Given that it received the second-most votes during the German election, it should, like all other parties, have access to these committees, but many want to shut it out completely, especially from intelligence committees.
The issue could lead to a major split in the coalition between the CDU and SPD. SPD Bundestag member Ralf Stegner told Welt his party has “absolutely no sense of humor” on any attempt to go easy on the AfD.
🇩🇪🚨 "Germany needs the AfD"
Young women are increasingly promoting the AfD party on TikTok.
Many of them feel increasingly unsafe in Germany, and they believe AfD is the answer. pic.twitter.com/iXemPYBV0c
He said any kind of rapprochement would represent a “maximum stress test” for the new coalition govenrment.
“Anyone who wants to form a coalition with the SPD cannot join forces with right-wing radicals. And joining forces also means voting for enemies of democracy,” he said. The MP, known for his left-wing views, instead is calling for a ban on the AfD if the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classifies the party as “confirmed right-wing extremist.”
“If the Office for the Protection of the Constitution upgrades its classification, then we also have a duty to work towards initiating a ban on the party,” Stegner said.
🇩🇪‼️ Young German woman explains why voters are turning to the AfD
"I’m afraid to travel by train, afraid to go into town, afraid to do anything in public. And they talk about people being afraid of the AfD. The AfD has done nothing to anyone, unlike other people." pic.twitter.com/hYlQVKXb1Q
However, Welt reports that CDU is rejecting an “automoatic” approach to banning the AfD.
The CDU/CSU, in turn, rejects this automatic approach: “To derive an obligation to initiate ban proceedings from an upgrade by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution clearly ignores the legal situation,” said Günter Krings, legal policy spokesman for the CDU-CSU parliamentary group. He instead wants to “fight the AfD politically by exposing its extremism…The best recipe against the AfD is concrete successes by the new federal government, especially in migration, security, and the economy.”
🇩🇪 AfD's Alice Weidel backs mass deportations in party conference speech.
"I have to tell you quite honestly that if this must be called remigration, then let it be called remigration." pic.twitter.com/lyB8aOBCv6
He also claims that initiating proceedings “would only make the AfD rub its hands together and use it as free support for its victim myth.”
Meanwhile, the AfD is slamming calls for a ban. “The renewed call for an AfD ban is completely unfounded and would be completely hopeless,” said Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD. “Instead of engaging in absurd and anti-democratic ban fantasies, Mr. Stegner should be thinking about why his party has been losing voters in droves for years.”
Sahra Wagenknecht, who is the leader of the left-wing BSW, told Welt: “First gigantic electoral fraud, then the ban debate: could it get any more stupid? The fact that such proposals are now coming from the self-proclaimed ‘democratic center,’ of all places, is disgraceful and will further strengthen the AfD.”
She went so far as to say it was a purely autocratic move.
“No question, in an autocracy, the ‘problem’ would be solved in exactly the same way.”
Even in the SPD, there is debate about a ban.
SPD Minister President of Saxony Stephan Weil (SPD) warned a ban could also fail, which would be “a feast for the AfD.”
The number of asylum applications in Austria dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant decline of 33 percent compared to the same period last year.
From January through March, a total of 4,644 applications were submitted. With 1,329 applications, March saw the fewest monthly asylum requests since July 2020.
As reported by Heute, only around one in three asylum requests are new, with the remainder typically involving requests for an upgrade in status, such as moving from subsidiary protection to full asylum, as well as applications for children born in Austria or those related to family reunification.
This pattern is particularly evident among Afghan nationals. Of the 504 Afghan applications submitted in the first quarter, just 93 were first-time filings. One contributing factor is the continuing effect of a European Court of Justice decision, which states that Afghan women do not require individual hearings in certain cases. As a result, individuals previously granted subsidiary protection are increasingly applying for full asylum status.
Syrians show a similar trend, with 268 follow-up applications compared to only 58 new ones. The Austrian government continues to accept asylum applications from Syrians, but generally does not process them while the political future of Syria remains uncertain following the Islamist coup in Damascus and the fall of the deposed former president Bashar al-Assad.
As of now, there are 12,918 pending asylum cases involving Syrians, followed by 4,112 involving Afghans. In total, Austria is handling just under 15,300 asylum cases a year. During the first quarter, asylum status was granted in 2,120 cases, while subsidiary protection was approved 451 times and humanitarian residence in 299 cases.
Afghans were the most likely group to receive asylum or residence, with almost 1,500 individuals granted asylum titles alone. In contrast, only 77 Syrians were granted asylum during the same period.
The new coalition government in Vienna is expected to introduce new legislation to suspend family reunification for at least a year, which is expected to further halt the flow of asylum applications in the country.
Austria's new government announced it will “temporarily” suspend family reunification for migrants.
The right-wing FPÖ says it's all smoke and mirrors.
"The quota is supposed to be zero for only half a year, then more people will be reunited." said FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. pic.twitter.com/7n807KB4vm
A general decline in asylum applications was also observed across the wider European Union, with 210,641 applications filed by the end of March, representing a 19 percent drop. However, some countries, including Poland, Croatia, Luxembourg, and Belgium, have seen increases in applications.
When population is taken into account, Austria now ranks tenth among European countries in terms of asylum application rates.
Despite the drop in new applications, Austria’s basic support infrastructure remains under pressure. As of early April, more than 65,000 individuals were receiving basic care services, although this number has decreased by nearly 3,000 since the beginning of the year.
These services were particularly affected by the influx of Ukrainian refugees over the past few years, with 55 percent of those receiving support coming from the war-torn country.
Poland’s public finance deficit amounted to as much as 6.6 percent of GDP in 2024, and public debt increased to 55.3 percent of GDP, nominally exceeding PLN 2 trillion (€466 million).
As reported by the Central Statistical Office on Tuesday, the deficit of the central and local government sector, the so-called general government, amounted to 6.6 percent of GDP at the end of 2024, compared to a deficit of 5.3 percent a year earlier.
The debt of this sector reached 55.3 percent of GDP at the end of 2024, against 55.3 percent of GDP estimated earlier. This is compared to 49.5 percent of GDP a year earlier, based on revised data.
“According to the notification, the deficit of the general government sector in 2024 amounted to PLN 239,809 million, which is 6.6 percent of GDP. The sector’s debt amounted to PLN 2,011,840 million, i.e. 55.3 percent of GDP,” read the announcement.
The Central Statistical Office also reported that the nominal value of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 amounted to PLN 3,641,208 million.
Nominal public debt exceeded PLN 2 trillion. For the first time in history
Business Insider notes that for the first time in history, nominal debt has exceeded PLN 2 trillion. This means an increase of over PLN 320 billion per year. In 2022, this debt amounted to PLN 1.513 trillion, and in 2021, PLN 1.411 trillion.
The nominal public finance deficit is also record-breaking, at PLN 239.8 billion, which means that it was almost PLN 40 billion higher than in 2023 (revised data).
“In 2022, it was PLN 106.6 billion, in 2021, only PLN 46.5 billion. Previously, only once was a deficit of over PLN 100 billion recorded: it was in the post-crisis year 2010, when it reached PLN 107 billion,” the text states.
BI points out that, excluding the pandemic, the last time such a large deficit as in 2024 was recorded in Poland was in 2010 (7.4 percent).
“Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” notes that Poland has the second-largest public finance debt in the European Union. Only Romania is ahead of Poland, which had a 9.3 percent GDP deficit in 2024.
The distribution of several hundred small Qurans across multiple neighborhoods in the Belgian city of Liège over the Easter weekend has prompted an active police investigation.
On Saturday morning, residents reported that their vehicles had been covered with miniature French-language Qurans, placed on car windshields, in mailboxes, and even at a local synagogue.
According to local reports from RTBF, the Islamic texts were found in districts including Droixhe, Coronmeuse, Bressoux, Longdoz, Outremeuse, and along the Churchill and Marcellis quays.
Police were alerted by concerned residents and dispatched officers to collect the items, removing around 800 copies of the Quran from various locations.
🔴 À Liège, Belgique 🇧🇪, après la prière, des musulmans ont déposé des corans sur toutes les voitures. pic.twitter.com/0lmLeZM0o5
While no offense has been formally identified, the Liège police have launched an inquiry, reviewing CCTV footage from affected areas. Two individuals were reportedly seen placing the books, but have not yet been publicly identified.
The vehicle believed to be involved in the distribution was tracked leaving Belgium for Germany later that same day.
A local imam, speaking with Belgian media outlet RTBF, speculated that the move could have been a “clumsy attempt at proselytism,” but emphasized that such behavior is neither customary nor endorsed by the broader Muslim community.
“It is not in our habit to impose like this… it may well harm us,” he told the broadcaster.
The presence of the books in a synagogue has been interpreted by some within the Jewish community as provocation, though the exact intent remains unclear.
The Regional Court in Brno has confirmed that four members of the Czech Republic’s elite 601st Special Forces Group have been formally indicted in connection with the death of an Afghan detainee following an interrogation in 2018.
The case, which has drawn significant public and media attention, is being handled under a special judicial regime due to its sensitive nature.
“I can confirm that the Regional Court in Brno has accepted the indictment in this matter,” court spokesperson Klára Belkovová told iRozhlas.cz on Tuesday. “Last week, it was filed by the Regional State Prosecutor’s Office in Brno. Given the classified regime of this matter, I cannot provide any further information at this time.”
The charges pertain to an incident back in the fall of 2018 at an Afghan military base in Sindand, Herat Province. During a deployment, Afghan soldier Khan opened fire on Czech personnel, fatally shooting dog handler Tomáš Procházka and injuring two others. Khan was subsequently apprehended and held by Western forces, where he was reportedly interrogated by both Czech and U.S. soldiers and allegedly severely mistreated during custody.
Six U.S. military personnel have already been sentenced for assaulting the man during the interrogation, all receiving a reprimand which deprived them of the right to promotion and will see their military benefits revoked upon leaving the armed forces.
The man was eventually handed back to Afghan authorities. He died shortly afterward in hospital.
It was previously reported that the interrogation of Khan, lasting approximately 20 minutes, involved audible “screams of pain,” according to an Afghan interpreter working with U.S. forces.
The Czech soldiers allegedly filmed and photographed the interrogation, later deleting the material. Investigators were able to retrieve the files, which have since become key pieces of evidence.
Charges against the four soldiers include extortion, disobeying military orders, breach of guard duty, and failure to render assistance — offenses that, under Czech criminal law, carry severe penalties, including potential life imprisonment if committed under combat conditions with aggravating factors.
The identities of the accused soldiers have not been publicly disclosed.
After Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, speculation is already brewing as to who his successor may be, and many are noting that Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő, the archbishop of Budapest-Esztergom, may be a likely choice, Magyar Nemzet reports.
Erdő, 72, was ordained to priesthood in 1975 and became a bishop in 1999. The leader of the Hungarian Roman Catholic Church since 2002, he became a member of the papal conclave in 2003.
Citing the U.K. gambling company, William Hill, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin are the frontrunners to succeed Ferenc, both with odds of 7/4 and a probability of becoming pope at 36.4 percent.
In third place is Cardinal Péter Erdő, whose odds stand at 8/1, with a probability of leading the Catholic Church of 11 percent. Behind him are Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson and former Canadian Archbishop of Quebec Mark Ouellet. Erdő is broadly seen as a conservative but has a good reputation with the liberal wing of the Catholic Church as well.
Meanwhile, former diplomat and security policy expert Attila Demko wrote on Facebook about Erdő as well: “Following the death of Pope Francis – it’s not pretty, but that’s the way the world is – speculation has already begun about his successor. If ever, then in the current internal Western culture war, it is a particularly big question as to who will lead the Catholic Church, which has 1.4 billion followers,” he said.
Demko then cited an article out of Newsweek, which named the Hungarian cardinal the 4th most likely candidate, and recalled that Erdő had already been among the possible successors after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI back in 2013.
Erdő’s name popped up again three years ago when Pope Francis fell ill and speculation about who may succeed him began.
Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén has announced that the day of Pope Francis’ funeral will be a national day of mourning in the country to express the nation’s gratitude to the Holy Father and the nation’s grief.
The pope last appeared before the faithful on Easter Sunday, April 20, before passing on Easter Monday. He was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
“We were shocked to learn of the news of the Holy Father’s death. Hungary can be grateful to the Holy Father, not only Catholics, but all Hungarians, as he visited the Hungarians three times,” Semjén said, as reported by Magyar Nemzet. “He came to our national shrine, Csíksomlyó, during his visit to Transylvania, then to Budapest, for the Eucharistic Congress, and later on an apostolic visit to Hungary,” recalled the leader of The Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP), which rules Hungary in coalition with Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Hungary also sent a letter of condolence to the papal chamberlain, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, in accordance with protocol traditions.
PM Orbán, whose wife is a devout Catholic, posted his condolences on X as well, noting the pope’s prayer, “Instill into the hearts of people and the leaders of nations the desire to build peace.” He added that Hungary “will honour his legacy. May he rest in eternal peace.”
🕯️ We mourn the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex – a shepherd who led with courage & unwavering faith. Twice, we had the honour of welcoming him to Hungary. His prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Hungary, still resonates: “Instil into the hearts of… pic.twitter.com/xZuqeZtHt1
Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén also reiterated the pope’s and Hungary’s dedication to peace, saying that “the Hungarian government’s commitment to peace met his peace aspirations.”
“The Holy Father was rightly called a man of peace, because if anyone did everything for peace, it was the Pope. he supported everything so that there would finally be peace and diplomacy instead of weapons taking control of events,” he said.
Semjén noted that Pope Francis had a special connection to Hungarians. “He had worked among Hungarian nuns, so when he met a Hungarian, he always said in Hungarian, ‘God bless you!’ He always had great love for the Hungarian people, which was also expressed during his apostolic visit. He himself said he was deeply touched by the love with which the nation welcomed him,” the KDNP chairman noted.
Pope Francis shared two primary goals with Hungary: peace and family. Both topics featured prominently in talks between the Holy See and Orbán in recent years. In fact, few leaders have met with a pope so often, with the Hungarian leader sitting down with the head of the Catholic Church just last December, their fourth meeting since 2021.
The pope also shared the Hungarian government’s view on gender ideology.
Prime Minister Orbán also posted on Facebook, a simple message with the same black and white photo: “We thank you for everything, Holy Father. We say goodbye We bid farewell.”
Israeli police and military prevented Christians from participating in religious ceremonies on Easter Sunday. Faithful, including the papal nuncio, were blocked from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem, reports Do Rzeczy.
Israeli police set up checkpoints on roads leading to the church in the Old City, with many worshipers refused entry, including Papal Nuncio Adolfo Tito Yllana. Since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, obtaining the necessary permit to travel to Jerusalem has become almost impossible.
While it was reported that the papal nuncio was eventually allowed through, the account Catholic Arena had posted that he had been prevented from doing so, with images of him clearly blockaded with others and Israeli soldiers standing guard.
"Israel has REFUSED to allow the Papal Nuncio Adolfo Tito Yllana to attend Easter ceremonies at the Holy Sepulchre tonight": 1.6M views
"UPDATE: The Nuncio WAS allowed to attend Mass": 14K views
Others called the Palestinians out for lying, saying this was simply a checkpoint, but the papal nuncio is clearly waiting, with no one seemingly checking anyone and with no intention shown that anyone would be getting through, which was reportedly the case for most.
Disturbing footage was also circulated online of Israeli soldiers getting violent with worshippers, with one soldier point-blank pointing a gun at a Christian’s head.
Israeli forces threatened Christians trying to celebrate Easter as they corralled worshippers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel also imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian Christians hoping to attend services. pic.twitter.com/aoNFlHA76i
Another post shows a priest being forcibly pushed back.
Israeli soldiers assaulting the Christian priests, pilgrims, worshippers, and local Christians in the holy sepulcher church, today in occupied Jerusalem during the “Holy Saturday” Christian holiday. pic.twitter.com/0u5C7jfl6N
Do Rzeczy reminds readers that what happened on Sunday is nothing new. In 2023, Palestinian Christian worshippers and foreign pilgrims were beaten by Israeli officers as they tried to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the holiday as well. Israel contends that their restrictions and actions are justified on security grounds, while many Christians see them as just another way for the state of Israel to impose its dominance.
“One of the uniformed officers stepped on the Stone of Anointing in the temple, on which the body of Jesus was supposed to be prepared for burial. When one of the faithful pointed this out, another policeman forcibly removed him from the Basilica,” reports the Kresy.pl portal.
“This Easter, the Israeli government announced that it had issued 6,000 permits, even though 50,000 Christians are living in the West Bank outside East Jerusalem – mostly Catholics or Orthodox. However, Israeli opposition media reports that in reality only 4,000 were issued, and often only to a few members of each family that applied,” reports Kresy.pl.
The permits are valid for only a week and do not allow Palestinian pilgrims to stay overnight in Jerusalem, meaning they must make the grueling return journey to the West Bank by bus or taxi, passing through multiple Israeli army checkpoints that limit participation in the festivities.
On Good Friday, just before Easter Sunday, PM Netanyahu continued Israel’s bombing campaign, with nearly 60 killed, according to Al Jazeera. A reporter on the ground told the paper that Christians were “holding onto their faith” and celebrating Easter “at one of the oldest churches in the world.”
“In Gaza, Good Friday is the power of faith and the quiet strength of those who still believe in peace even when the world around them is nothing but a stage filled with violence and death,” the reporter told the paper.
“This Easter, I’m particularly mindful of the often-overlooked struggles faced by approximately 185,000 Palestinian Christians living in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Around 140,000 hold Israeli citizenship, 45,000 reside in the West Bank, and about 500 remain in Gaza,” wrote Ed Gaskin for the Times of Israel.
“Palestinian Christians are largely committed to nonviolence, but they suffer the same as other Palestinians who don’t share their nonviolent belief,” he added.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted a “Happy Easter” message with a photo of Israeli soldiers in what appears to be a combat operation, guns ready. And the lavender flower-like drawings around the text are eerily similar to the gray clouds of exploded bombs.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán isn’t just a capable national leader. He’s also a pretty good cook. In a video which was originally produced in 2018, Orbán demonstrated his particular method for preparing an Easter ham. His recipe calls for garlic, pepper, bay leaves, pure water, and a lot of patience: it takes 4-6 hours to cook the ham, depending on its size.
🇭🇺✝️ Hungarian PM Orbán demonstrates how to prepare a traditional Easter ham in this classic video. pic.twitter.com/U0TNNkHzIm
The PM explains that you need to begin preparing the ham the night before Easter so that it’s ready before the children wake up.
Orbán sports an apron that he personally received from the famed French chef Paul Bocuse in the video. The chef was hailed as “the pope of gastronomy” for his culinary achievements.
Orbán has often posted family-oriented Easter videos and photos to his social media. In 2023 he presented yet another video showing him preparing an Easter ham, this time cooking it with the help of his grandchildren.
In a new video that was posted to Orbán’s Facebook page on Holy Saturday, clips from the 2018 video were interspersed with additional suggestions on how to prepare the best Easter ham offered by other sitting Hungarian politicians, including Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, Justice Minister Bence Tuzson, and Chairman Zsolt Semjén of Fidesz’s coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People’s Party. (There are unfortunately no English subtitles for this video.)
Frustrated with the current, “archaic,” political system, Dawid Jackiewicz, former Law and Justice (PiS) state treasury minister and MEP, has announced the creation of a new formation, Ambitna Polska (Ambitious Poland), as an alternative to the dominant political parties.
Jackiewicz had planned on running in the upcoming Polish presidential election this May and collected more than the 100,000 signatures of support required to run. However, the National Electoral Commission rejected his candidacy, saying that many signatures could not be verified. Errors found included some minor issues, such as abbreviated names of cities (“Wawa” instead of “Warszawa”) and incomplete addresses; however, other issues concerned outdated PESEL (national ID) numbers and signatures of people who may have already died.
The former minister says candidates do not have any tools to independently check the correctness of signatures.
“We are condemned to good faith. We do not have access to databases. Accusing candidates of irregularities is absurd. The system is archaic and must change,” Jackiewicz told Salon24.
Jackiewicz is calling for the introduction of modern digital solutions, such as electronic signatures via the mObywatel application, which would eliminate problems with signature verification.
“Politics has gone to the dogs – literally,” he said, in reference to the current presidential campaign. In particular, Jackiewicz is calling out how candidates, wanting to please voters, make empty promises that go beyond the real competences of the president.
“We have a festival of shameless promises, politicians say anything to get votes,” he told the portal, adding that society has already become accustomed to the fact that after the elections politicians forget about the declarations they made. He also accused the two main candidates, Rafał Trzaskowski (KO) and Karol Nawrocki (PiS), of partisanship and lack of independence.
“Poles need an independent president,” Jackiewicz said.
He is appealing both to politicians for responsibility, and to voters to hold politicians accountable for their promises.
His new party, Ambitna Polska, plans to attract voters tired of the dominance of PiS and Civic Platform.
“Poles are tired of the conflict between the two main parties. More than half of society would like a new formation — a more pragmatic party, focused on solving real problems,” argued the former state treasury minister.
According to him, the new movement should focus primarily on economic issues, improving the quality of state management and reducing overregulation.
“We want to put ideological issues on the back burner. What counts are pro-development, deregulation issues, such that will allow Polish entrepreneurs to develop,” said Jackiewicz.
Ambitious Poland does not intend to build support on emotions around moral issues, but on improving the living conditions of Poles who create jobs and pay taxes. “Less ideology, more economy, this is what Poles expect today,” Jackiewicz sums up, adding that talks are already underway with representatives of business, non-governmental organizations and local government officials.
“My mission is not over. In politics, you have to try until you succeed,” he said. He also encouraged citizens to be more politically active and participate in public life, despite the obstacles posed by the system.
Two Swedish citizens, one which was born in Eritrea, are now wanted for murder, with the two suspects belonging to a group of swindlers who scammed 150 Swedish pensioners.
District prosecutor Linda Wiking told the Samnytt news portal they have submitted an indictment to the Gothenburg District Court at the end of March. The indictment charges 14 people, ten men and four women, for scamming 139 Swedish pensioners out of 17 million kronor (€1.6 million) using overseas call centers.
The two primary suspects in the indictment are 24-year-old Nathnael Merkonen, born in Eritrea as Natu Binjam but a Swedish citizen with a new name since 2015; he has a criminal record. The other man is a 23-year-old born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and a father from Guinea-Bissau, and he has no prior record.
The two men employed several Swedes, with a fully Swedish background, at illegal call centers in countries including Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, Thailand, and the U.S.
Both suspects are also now under investigation for murdering two Swedish citizens in Ethiopia. There have been “no signs of life” from the reported victims since March 2022.
The illegal call center operations are conducted from countries such as Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, Thailand and the USA. And the two men have several Swedes, with a fully Swedish background, employed at the foreign call centers where the fraud operations are systematically conducted.
But during the course of the investigation, even more serious accusations emerge against the two main defendants. They are suspected of having murdered two Swedish citizens in Ethiopia.
District Attorney Linda Wiking says that the murdered citizens are men, and that they were born in the late 1990s.
“The plaintiffs have been missing,” she tells Samnytt.
“I don’t know if both have been reported missing, but there have been no signs of life from them since March 2022.”
Prosecutors say that Ethiopia is one of the countries where the two murder suspects allegedly had one of their call centers — even though that particular country does not appear in the fraud case. The two victim were in that country to work at the call center operation.
“The idea was that they would work there,” says Linda Wiking.
While in Ethiopia, the two employees were murdered.
On Wednesday, Nathnael Merkonen and the 23-year-old man were arrested and charged with murder, but the two have a long history of being charged for fraud. They are also being charged with kidnapping and rape, but the details of the investigation are being kept confidential, so much remains unknown.
“Before we started questioning people and moving around a bit, we wanted to be sure that they were detained with restrictions in our case. So that we simply control who they can have contact with,” the prosecutor told Samnytt.
“What I have come up with is the basis for the suspicions, partly interrogation data. Then we also have a certain film sequence and various data that tell us where people have been,” says Linda Wiking.
The prosecutor would not disclose what was seen on the film or provide other evidence.
“We should hear from people. If I go into too much detail, it will be difficult to know whether those people have the information themselves, or whether they have read it in the media, said Wiking.
Spain’s birth rate has continued its steady decline, with February 2025 marking a new low in the country’s ongoing demographic crisis.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), 24,136 babies were born in Spain during the month, a 2.83 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2024, when 25,557 births were recorded.
This drop is part of a long-term downward trend that has been evident for over a decade. In 2015, Spain registered 31,335 births in February, meaning that the country now sees more than 7,000 fewer births in the same month, a reduction of 23 percent over 10 years.
In recent years, the number of births during February has remained relatively stable, though consistently low: 26,946 births were recorded in 2020, followed by 24,413 in 2021, 24,946 in 2022, and 24,435 in 2023.
January and February have seen a combined total of 51,306 births, the lowest number for this period since 2016, when 66,583 children were born.
The latest figures also reveal that births have declined across nearly all maternal age groups compared to February of last year. The only exceptions are women aged between 45 and 49, whose birth numbers rose negligibly from 266 to 267, and those aged 50 and older, where births increased from 26 to 27.
Andalusia, Catalonia, and Madrid registered the highest number of births during January and February, with 14,654, 13,458, and 12,510, respectively. On the contrary, the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla recorded the fewest, with just 188 and 211 births.
Only a few regions showed increases in birth numbers over the past year, including the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Extremadura, with growth rates of 3.36 percent, 15.58 percent, and 3.34 percent, respectively.
Several communities, however, experienced sharp declines. Cantabria saw the most significant drop, with births falling by 12.14 percent, followed by Castilla y León with a 7.67 percent decrease, the Balearic Islands with a 7.39 percent reduction, Murcia at minus 7.18 percent, and Aragón with a 4.19 percent drop.
These regional differences reflect a broader national pattern of demographic contraction, raising concerns about long-term population sustainability in many parts of the country.
In the first three months of 2025, the number of deaths registered in Spain increased slightly from the same period last year, by 121,800 to 122,852.
Gergely Gulyás, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, reported after the government meeting that it had been working on the budget, which will focus on families.
Gulyás reiterated Hungary’s hopes for peace in Ukraine to help fuel economic growth, Magyar Nemzet reported. He also said he hopes as many Hungarians as possible will send in their vote on whether or not Ukraine should be allowed into the EU following the announcement by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of a national consultation on the issue.
“The difficult years are behind us. We are presenting a budget that is built on peace, and also a budget to support families raising children,” he said.
National defense will also be a priority, which requires an adequate army. Hungary expects to maintain the NATO-required defense spending of 2 percent of GDP.
Regarding the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ (LIBE) request regarding Pride — that they would like the pro-LGBT parade to be held in our country — Gulyás said that there is no legal possibility for the committee to raise such an issue in Hungary.
National Economy Minister Márton Nagy also chimed in with some economic numbers. Next year, real GDP is expected to grow by 4.1 percent versus 2.5 percent in 2025, with inflation of 3.6 percent, after this year’s 4.5 percent.
The public finance deficit will be further reduced from around 4 percent this year to 3.7 percent next year.
Regarding expected EU funds, the government is counting on EU funds of HUF 2,360 billion (€5.8 billion) in 2026. They are counting on this money for weapons, a 13 percent increase in the minimum wage, and a salary raise for teachers.
Nagy added that the extra-profit tax will remain in place as long as the economic actors concerned realize the extra profit.
The 2025 budget was designed as a peace budget, he noted, so they calculated with higher macroeconomic figures. They thought that after Trump’s election, he would bring economic security in addition to physical security, and they still think that Hungary will stay out of the war, and peace will follow, which would put the economy on a growth path.
“If this year had not been a peace budget, the pension and wage increases would not have been possible,” Márton Nagy pointed out.
The current German government is reportedly continuing to fly migrants into Germany despite commitments from the incoming black-red coalition, led by CDU leader Friedrich Merz, to limit immigration and potentially terminate refugee admission programs.
According to recent reports by Bild, secret preparations are underway for an upcoming flight scheduled to arrive in Hanover from Cairo, Egypt, just 11 days before the planned election of Merz as chancellor.
The flight is set to land discreetly in the early morning hours of April 25, bringing approximately 170 migrants, about two-thirds of whom hold Sudanese citizenship. Documents from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, under Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), reportedly cite Germany’s Residence Act as the legal basis for the flight, which authorizes the ministry to permit admission for selected asylum seekers under resettlement programs the new government has vowed to abolish.
The announcement of the latest flight comes just a day after Germany’s Federal Administrative Court authorized the return of migrants to Greece for the first time in years, allowing the federal government to expel those who flout the rules and travel on through several safe countries to reach Germany.
Instead, it seems Berlin is intent on taking migrants directly from the source.
The Ministry of the Interior explained to BILD that, since coalition negotiations began between the CDU, CSU, and SPD, resettlement activities had generally been paused. Exceptions were made for cases where admissions were already significantly advanced, involving specific obligations or the protection of legitimate expectations.
Afghanistan, jetzt Süd-Sudan, demnächst Gaza – es geht immer weiter, denn sie sind einwanderungsbesoffen! pic.twitter.com/1SyU4xmVDy
These exceptions have included several flights from a German refugee center in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, where hundreds of Afghan nationals have been brought to Germany in recent weeks.
A spokesperson for Faeser declined to provide detailed comments on this specific flight, stating, “In principle, the Ministry of the Interior does not comment in advance on possible upcoming flights.”
Germany’s resettlement commitments were made in 2023 to both the EU and the United Nations, pledging a total of 6,560 resettlement places in 2025 — the largest contingent among EU nations. Refugees and stateless individuals from countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Libya are part of the planned resettlement.
The government claims it is legally obliged to follow through with promises of resettlement to those whose visas are mostly completed, and for whom exit permits have already been requested.
Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) sharply criticized the continuing resettlement policy. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel took to X to voice her disapproval, writing, “In addition to the planes carrying Afghans, the government is now also secretly flying Sudanese to Germany. A total of 6,560 additional migrants are to be ‘settled’ in this way by 2025. Germany is not a ‘settlement area’ — the AfD will put an end to this madness!”
Neben den Maschinen mit Afghanen fliegt die Regierung nun auch noch heimlich Sudanesen nach Deutschland ein. 2025 sollen so insgesamt 6560 Migranten zusätzlich „angesiedelt“ werden. Deutschland ist kein „Siedlungsgebiet“ – die AfD wird diesen Irrsinn beenden! pic.twitter.com/TkHKlGAvAD
Fellow AfD member and MP Max Krah similarly rebuked the government’s immigration stance, stating, “Afghanistan, now South Sudan, soon Gaza — it goes on and on, because they are drunk on immigration!”
Presidential candidate MEP Grzegorz Braun and MP Roman Fritz arrived at the hospital in Oleśnica on Wednesday to intervene in abortions taking place at the facility. Both politicians belong to the Catholic, monarchist Confederation of the Polish Crown. The prosecutor’s office responded by announcing proceedings against both men, writes Do Rzeczy.
Braun reportedly broke into the ward and locked himself in the administrative room with gynecologist Gizela Jagielska, deputy director of the facility, who oversaw an abortion of a boy in his 37th week of prenatal life, nearly at the full-term of birth at nine months. He has posted a video of the incident, but X has blocked it from being embedded in articles.
Interwencja w Oleśnicy. Gizela Jagielska w ogniu pytań proliferów!
"Nie znam historii, miałam na studiach tylko historię medycyny."
"Życie zaczyna się od porodu."
"Aborcja powoduje urodzenie martwe."
Przerażający stan umysłu osoby, która mieni się lekarzem.
The media reports indicate that the Dr. Jagielska used a method involving injecting potassium chloride into the fetus’s heart, which results in cardiac arrest.
The case has led to a shockwave on social media and amongst pro-life activists in Poland, due to the death of the child so close to the due date. Organizations and public figures are demanding more details about the case and the procedure, with some raising questions about how legal the procedure actually was. Some are also calling for the arrest of the doctor involved.
Kaja Godek, a member of the Management Board of the Life and Family Foundation, praised Braun, writing: “Gizela Jagielska locked in her room at the disposal of the Police and Prosecutor’s Office. This is how abortionists end up! The parliamentary intervention of @GrzegorzBraun_ and @Roman_Korona is ongoing, with the participation of members @KoronaMlodych and pro-lifers of the Life and Family Foundation @ratujzycie_pl_ – always on the front line!”
Gizela Jagielska zablokowana w swoim pokoju do dyspozycji Policji i Prokuratury. Tak kończą aborterzy!
There was reportedly a struggle inside the hospital, but it is unclear if Braun was involved. The politician accused the doctor of violating his inviolability and the police officers for not performing their duties. He called the Police Headquarters and Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak, but in the end, left for a meeting with voters in Nowy Sącz.
Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar commented on the matter on X: “The behavior of MEP Braun in the hospital in Oleśnica exceeds all ethical and perhaps legal boundaries. In such situations, the prosecutor’s office must react quickly and decisively.”
“The preparatory proceedings were initiated by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Oleśnica,” he added.
Karolina Stocka-Mycek, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Wrocław, also stated: “On April 16, 2025, proceedings were registered at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Oleśnica concerning an act under Art. 189 § 1 of the Penal Code.”
“In connection with media reports and information provided by the police regarding the incident that took place today at the District Hospital Complex in Oleśnica, the District Prosecutor’s Office has registered proceedings concerning the deprivation of liberty of gynecologist Gizela J. by preventing her from leaving her office and performing her professional duties at the Gynecology and Obstetrics Ward for a period of almost an hour,” reads the prosecutor’s office in a statement.
Stocka-Mycek emphasises that “the subject of these proceedings is also to clarify whether the physical integrity of the doctor was violated or insulted during the incident.”
Braun is well known for his anti-Semitic act in 2023, in which he dramatically put out Chanukah candles in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher. And in March, he was barred from taking part in plenary sessions of the European Parliament until October after disrupting a minute of silence for Holocaust victims.
A Somali man with an extensive criminal record is finally ordered to be deported, but before that can happen, he allegedly stabbed a man to death in an asylum center. Now, the man has disappeared and police cannot find him. This all comes after Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised “smooth” deportations of Somalis.
The murder dates back to Dec. 14, 2024, when the 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. killing the man.
🇩🇪🇺🇸 "Deportation, Germany vs. the US"
Social media influencers are mocking the German government's weak immigration policy.
After Trump's beatdown of Colombia's president, all of Europe looks increasingly absurd when claiming deportations are not possible.
Police spokesman Björn Gustke told Bild newspaper: “The 29-year-old suffered a stab wound through the left abdominal wall. Despite immediate rescue measures, he died on the way to the hospital. At the time of the incident, a situation of self-defense could not be ruled out.”
However, the Somali already had a long criminal record, including an assault in 2023, which led to authorities requiring him to leave the country. Among his various crimes, he also insulted a German woman on a train and poured a bottle of beer over her head. He was sentenced to prison and was sent to a deportation center for migrants ordered to leave the country.
After the murder, the man escaped and is still in hiding.
🇩🇪 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
He is far from the only Somali citizen required to leave the country. As of the end of February 2024, a total of 3,657 Somali citizens are required to leave Germany, with 3,311 given a temporary suspension of deportation and 346 without this designation.
However, in 2024, there were only 12 people who were actually deported to Somalia.
Once again, the left made big promises in this regard. In November 2024, Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. With much fanfare, Scholz announced that Somalis with deportation orders would be deported “smoothly” back to their homeland.
BREAKING: ‼️🇩🇪 Germany's worst-kept secret is out — straight from the horse's mouth.
"This year, we have to talk about non-German suspects," says Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who admits that foreigners are significantly disproportionately represented in the country's crime… pic.twitter.com/KLZpwz6vH5
However, there was no binding document signed — Scholz only announced it. The German Interior Ministry refused to comment about when such a deal would actually be implemented, according to a report from Bild.
The case ultimately highlights just how broken Germany’s deportation system is. The German state can track down nearly anyone deemed guilty of “insulting” a politician or an “inappropriate meme,” but for illegal migrant murderers, the police are left scratching their heads.
Swedish Police have released a statement on their work to counter the wave of violence seen across the county of Stockholm, home to Sweden’s capital of the same name.
“Fewer people are dying from deadly violence and there are more people in custody than ever in Stockholm County. These are some of the results of the work that is underway to stop the wave of violence that has hit the capital – but the wave of violence is not over,” the statement opens.
Magnus Mowitz, deputy chief of the Stockholm North Police Region, is then quoted as saying the area presently has “the largest number of detainees to date,” but that “a long-term approach” is required to continue making progress.
The Stockholm Region registered an decrease of deadly violence from 44 cases in 2023 to 25 in 2024, the lowest figure in 10 years. While a large number are in custody, there are also several suspects under the age of 18 and thus taken into care under other legislation, such as the Youth Care Act (LVU).
“We see positive developments in some respects, but at the same time it is important to emphasize that the wave of violence is not over. It can flare up in other forms for various reasons. From shootings, to explosions or, for example, to an increased number of threats and extortion or other serious violent crimes that affect individuals. We are following developments closely to constantly try to stay one step ahead,” says Magnus Mowitz.
Measures underway include early detection, rapid action, the expanded use of surveillance cameras, and other ways to monitor profits from criminal activities — all to help deter youth from choosing a criminal lifestyle.
The statement emphasize the need for collaboration with author local authorities and the business community, including taxis, hotels, and shops, to help stop violent crimes before they happen. Along the same lines, efforts are being made to monitor youths and find out if/when they deviate/run away from various institutions so as to quickly find them and intervene.
“We have contacted the taxi industry, hotels and shops for help. We want them to contact us to an increased extent when they react to something unusual. It could be a young person who seems lost in a taxi or people who buy a large number of thermoses. The collaboration means that we receive more and more tips that help us prevent crime and contribute to the investigation work,” says Max Åkerwall, deputy chief of the Stockholm South police district.
Focus is also being placed on going after “so-called instigators” who assign youngsters violent crimes to commit.
“We will continue to work in different tracks. It is about continuing to stop the young perpetrators who carry out the crimes on assignment – and we are well ahead in that and arrest and stop young people basically every week. Now, the work continues to stop those who are enablers and instigators to an even greater extent and extensive work is underway here together at different levels,” Åkerwall added.
A Syrian asylum seeker residing in Ronneby, Sweden, who was detained for over a year on suspicion of involvement with ISIS-related war crimes in Syria, has now received substantial financial compensation from the Swedish state following his acquittal by Blekinge District Court.
The man, in his 50s, faced serious accusations of participating in two executions in the village of al-Sawana, near Palmyra, Syria, in 2015.
As reported by Aftonbladet, witnesses implicated him in the execution of two unarmed individuals carried out under the ISIS flag, as well as the desecration of a corpse, which was dragged behind a vehicle and publicly displayed.
Despite numerous witness testimonies linking him to ISIS and the crimes in question, the district court ruled that the evidence, much of which relied on oral testimony, was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, he was acquitted in May last year.
Following his acquittal, he has now been awarded approximately SEK 787,000 (around €71,200) from Swedish taxpayer funds, SVT reported on Wednesday.
This compensation includes SEK 465,000 for personal suffering experienced during detention and SEK 322,000 for disruptions caused to his business operations and loss of earnings, as he was managing a company at the time of his arrest.
The man arrived in Sweden and claimed asylum in 2015, shortly after the atrocities.
The investigation into the violent murder of Federico Perissi, a 45-year-old Italian security guard from Florence, has led to the discovery that the entire incident was captured by a dashcam installed in Perissi’s red Toyota Yaris.
Il Terreno reported on Wednesday that investigators from Florence’s Flying Squad had obtained the footage, which reportedly shows the victim being repeatedly struck on the head with the butt of a firearm by the suspect, identified as Mor N’Diaye, an Italian-born former amateur MMA fighter of Senegalese origin.
During initial reports, La Nazione claimed the victim was “most likely also shot;” however, it later transpired the firearm in question was a starter pistol — one that fires blanks — and the butt of the pistol was used to inflict blunt force trauma to the victim’s skull.
The footage is believed to reveal that the gruesome attack occurred late on Sunday evening. However, it remains uncertain whether the initial attack killed the victim or whether subsequent injuries sustained after his body was dumped under an overpass near Lake Bilancino proved fatal.
An autopsy ordered by the Florence prosecutor’s office is expected to clarify the exact cause of death.
Mor N’Diaye, 41, known professionally as Jamie Mike Stewart, was arrested on April 14 after a dramatic series of events. N’Diaye, who recently worked as a security guard at a luxury store in Florence, was apprehended following an accident on the A-13 motorway near Ferrara, having crashed Perissi’s vehicle as he attempted to flee the murder scene.
He abandoned the vehicle and stole clothing from a nearby swimming pool locker room before later trying unsuccessfully to carjack another vehicle from a woman who resisted and called the police. Authorities eventually captured him, still in blood-stained clothing and in possession of the victim’s credit cards. During police interrogation, N’Diaye confessed to the murder.
Media reports on the incident remain light on facts, and it is unclear how Perissi and N’Diaye knew each other and in what capacity.
Both men had recent employment in security, and it appears N’Diaye had requested a ride from Perissi, who planned a short vacation in Austria. N’Diaye was reportedly attempting to flee Italy before the activation of his court-ordered electronic tag. The suspect was under house arrest at the time of the murder, facing charges of kidnapping, drug possession, and assaulting a public official stemming from an earlier incident on April 4.
Police located Perissi’s body late on Monday evening after tracing his active mobile phone signal, which led them to the site near Lake Bilancino.
