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  • Brussels cannot say where its own pipeline inspectors are as Hungary’s oil lifeline remains shut — Will they magically reappear after the election?

    Brussels cannot say where its own pipeline inspectors are as Hungary’s oil lifeline remains shut — Will they magically reappear after the election?

    With just days until Hungary’s parliamentary election, questions are mounting over whether the European Union’s apparent inaction on a stalled oil pipeline investigation is politically motivated to avoid strengthening Viktor Orbán.

    The controversy centers on the Druzhba, or “Friendship,” pipeline, which has not delivered Russian oil to Hungary since the end of January. Ukrainian authorities insisted that the halt was caused by Russian attacks damaging the infrastructure, but initially refused to grant access to inspection teams from both Hungary and the European Union.

    The European Commission eventually announced its intention to deploy a team to the region to inspect the pipeline, in part due to Hungary’s refusal to sign off on any further financial assistance to Kyiv until the matter was resolved. However, no updates on the inspection have been forthcoming, and Brussels itself now appears unable to account for the status — or even the whereabouts — of its own delegation.

    Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen confirmed that a small EU expert team had been deployed to Ukraine following correspondence between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, she admitted she could provide no update on the mission’s progress.

    Zelensky says Druzhba will be repaired ‘by spring’ if Brussels pays up

    “I cannot provide any new information on developments since that exchange of letters,” Itkonen said, adding that she had no details about the team’s itinerary or current location.

    “At the time of sending the letter, they were in Ukraine. At that time, we indicated to Volodymyr Zelensky that we were ready and willing to launch such a fact-finding mission, but at present, I have no information about the team’s whereabouts or where exactly they might be,” she added.

    The lack of clarity has persisted for weeks. The European Commission first announced on March 12 that it was ready to dispatch a fact-finding mission to assess damage to the pipeline and determine repair timelines and costs. Yet, according to sources in Brussels and Kyiv, EU experts have still not been granted permission to inspect the affected section.

    Reports from Ukrainian media at the end of March suggested the team was prepared to travel but remained blocked by authorities who had yet to approve access.

    The episode has drawn criticism from Hungarian officials, who say the situation is wholly unacceptable. Máté Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, mocked the situation, saying it was “absurd” that the EU could not say where its own delegation was, adding sarcastically, “A delegation simply disappeared. This happens to anyone in Ukraine,” as cited by Magyar Nemzet.

    Hungary slams Ukraine no-show at energy talks as Germany warns Budapest of ‘serious consequences’ if it doesn’t back down in pipeline row

    The pipeline dispute has become a central issue in Hungary’s election campaign. Orbán’s government argues that Kyiv is deliberately withholding oil supplies to damage Hungary’s economy ahead of the vote, while also accusing Brussels of failing to intervene.

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has gone further, describing the shutdown as “a purely political decision,” and accusing Ukraine of refusing to engage in talks to resolve the situation. A planned trilateral meeting with Slovak and Ukrainian officials collapsed after Kyiv declined to attend, despite Hungarian efforts to organize negotiations in recent weeks.

    Hungary expects ‘unprecedented’ election interference from Kyiv-Brussels-Berlin axis, says Hungarian FM Szijjártó

    The Hungarian government has also alleged broader coordination between European and Ukrainian actors aimed at harming the current administration’s chances in Sunday’s election. Viktor Orbán has accused Brussels of seeking to install its own “puppet” in the shape of opposition leader Péter Magyar. Governing Fidesz claims that Magyar will be subservient to Brussels on major issues, including further military and financial assistance to Kyiv and the controversial EU Migration Pact.

    As the election approaches, the unresolved pipeline issue — and the EU’s lack of visible progress in investigating it — has intensified scrutiny of Brussels’ intentions. Whether the radio silence is bureaucratic inertia or a calculated effort to depose the government, the impact it is having on the election is undeniable.

  • Zelensky says Druzhba will be repaired ‘by spring’ if Brussels pays up

    Zelensky says Druzhba will be repaired ‘by spring’ if Brussels pays up

    Ukraine says it will repair the Druzhba pipeline this spring, provided the European Union’s offer of financial support remains valid.

    “If the issue of European financing in exchange for oil supply remains relevant, we have announced when we will repair the Druzhba pipeline,” President Zelensky has said.

    “Responsibility for supplies will rest with the Europeans. We will repair it, because that’s what has been agreed. I told them we will complete it this spring,” Zelensky told journalists on Friday, as quoted by PAP and cited by Business Insider.

    Zelensky’s words indicate that much work has already been done on the pipeline repair, but the damaged tanks cannot be repaired quickly. “This means transit will be possible, but it will carry all the risks, especially since we don’t know whether the Russians will refrain from further attacks,” the Ukrainian president noted.

    The Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine, was damaged in late January by a Russian attack. This escalated the dispute between Budapest and Kyiv. Slovakia also demanded that the pipeline be restored.

    Despite Ukrainian assurances that the pipeline was being repaired, Viktor Orbán’s government claims that the Ukrainian authorities are deliberately delaying the restoration of transit. In response, Budapest is blocking a €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv, and in March, it suspended gas supplies to Ukraine as well.

    Zelensky announced last month that he was accepting technical and financial support from the European Union to restore the Druzhba pipeline as quickly as possible. He noted at the time that repairing the pipeline was dependent on repairing the Brody pumping station, as the damage it had suffered caused a delay in restoring the entire facility.

    Zelensky added that Ukraine was considering the construction of underground storage infrastructure as a long-term and more sustainable solution.

  • Man who stabbed French woman in abandoned Italian church spared life sentence despite prior restraining order

    Man who stabbed French woman in abandoned Italian church spared life sentence despite prior restraining order

    The man convicted of murdering a 22-year-old French woman whose body was discovered in an abandoned church in northern Italy has been spared a life sentence, receiving 25 years in prison despite a history of violence and a restraining order against him.

    Sohaïb Teima, 24, was sentenced by the Aosta Court of Assizes over the killing of Auriane Laisné in April 2024. As reported by Actu, the young woman from the Lyon metropolitan area had been drugged with benzodiazepines before being taken to the remote location and stabbed multiple times.

    Her body was found on April 5, 2024, inside an abandoned church above La Salle. According to La Stampa, she suffered fatal stab wounds to the neck and abdomen.

    Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment. Public prosecutor Manlio D’Ambrosi told the court that investigators had built a “logical, coherent, precise, and timely reconstruction of the facts,” rejecting defense claims that the case was circumstantial. He said the investigation had produced “serious evidence” and dismissed suggestions that expert conclusions had been influenced.

    Teima had been in a relationship with the victim and had already been the subject of multiple complaints for violence. He was under a restraining order prohibiting contact with Laisné, yet the pair had still been seen together shortly before the killing.

    Ten days before the murder, the couple was stopped at the Mont Blanc Tunnel, but the restriction did not appear in the system, allowing them to continue their journey together.

    Following the killing, Teima fled and was later arrested in Lyon near Perrache before being extradited to Italy. He also faced additional proceedings for violent offenses in Grenoble after the murder.

    Despite the prosecution’s request for a life sentence, the court handed down a 25-year term. Defense lawyer Luca Tommaso Calabrò said the legal team was “only half satisfied,” arguing that life imprisonment would have been disproportionate while maintaining his client’s innocence.

    The victim’s family described the trial as deeply painful. The family’s lawyer said, “It is difficult to be here today, and all our thoughts are with Auriane on what would have been her 24th birthday.”

  • Orbán warns Hungary could ‘lose everything’ as election looms, with Trump and European allies backing reelection bid

    Orbán warns Hungary could ‘lose everything’ as election looms, with Trump and European allies backing reelection bid

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has issued a stark warning ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election, telling voters the country faces a decisive moment that will determine its future.

    In a campaign video released Friday morning, Orbán said Hungarians would be choosing “not just a government, but the fate of the country,” pointing to what he described as 16 years of stability under his leadership. He cited key achievements, including job creation, pension increases, and the construction of border barriers to halt illegal immigration.

    “We could now lose everything we have built together,” Orbán warned.

    The prime minister also accused his political opponents of working with foreign actors to destabilize the vote, claiming that outside forces were attempting to influence the outcome through allegations of election fraud and by organizing protests. He described the situation as an “organized attempt” to challenge the will of Hungarian voters through pressure and unrest.

    The election campaign has descended into entrenched warfare, with little actual debate between the two main parties of Fidesz and Tisza, and plenty of mud-slinging and accusations of foreign interference from both camps. Fidesz claims to have evidence of Ukrainian and EU interference, while Tisza has accused the Hungarian government of cozying up to Moscow.

    Calling for unity, Orbán urged supporters to mobilize in the final days of campaigning, stressing that “this is not the time for division, anger, or hatred.” He is scheduled to hold final campaign events in Székesfehérvár and Budapest before polls open on April 12.

    The Hungarian leader has also received high-profile backing from abroad. Former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Orbán on social media, describing him as “a truly strong and determined leader” with “a proven record of outstanding results.”

    Trump praised Orbán’s record on economic growth, job creation, and immigration control, and urged Hungarian voters to support his reelection, writing that he “fully” backed the prime minister and calling him “a true friend, a fighter, and a winner.”

    The endorsement follows a recent visit to Budapest by U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance, who criticized Brussels for what he described as unprecedented interference in Hungary’s election process.

    Support has also come from prominent European right-wing figures. France’s Marine Le Pen praised Orbán’s stance on the war in Ukraine, saying his position was “very brave” and arguing that peace efforts must take priority to end what she described as a “human massacre.”

    Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini framed the Hungarian election as a broader contest over Europe’s future, contrasting a vision of centralized EU control with one emphasizing national sovereignty and independence from Brussels.

    Backing has additionally been voiced by Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

    Hungary’s parliamentary election is expected to draw close international scrutiny, with observers across Europe and the United States watching closely. While the majority of opinion polls suggest a popular vote victory for the opposition, Hungary’s electoral system means that overall vote share does not always translate directly into parliamentary seats, and polling in the country is often viewed as politically partisan.

  • France: Knife-point rape of mother in Vannes leads to arrest of 19-year-old Malian migrant

    France: Knife-point rape of mother in Vannes leads to arrest of 19-year-old Malian migrant

    A 19-year-old Malian national has been arrested in connection with the rape of a young mother in Vannes, France, on the afternoon of Sunday, April 5, 2026.

    Prosecutors state that the two had been in contact over social media when the suspect showed up at her apartment uninvited. Once he had the woman alone, he pulled out a knife and forcibly raped her.

    After the woman contacted police, firefighters transported the woman, who was in a state of shock, to the Vannes hospital center.

    Following the incident, anti-crime officers found the individual at the Vannes train station, where he was attempting to board a Paris-bound TGV train. Police arrested him before he could board the train.

    France: 24-year-old migrant Mohammed D. snuck through a window and raped an elderly building caretaker at knifepoint in Paris, sentenced to 9 years in prison

    Vannes public prosecutor’s office declined to specify what legal proceedings it intended to pursue.

    The case is a stark illustration of a broader trend that has alarmed French authorities and the public alike. Crime rates in France soared in 2024, with an average of three murders, 600 burglaries, and 330 sexual assaults and armed robberies every day. In total, there were 1,186 victims of homicide — a 28 percent increase since 2016. Sexual violence surged to 123,210 offenses in 2024, a figure that has skyrocketed by 137 percent since 2016.

    ‘Monster of Cherbourg’ on trial for raping Frenchwoman Mégane into a month-long coma with broomstick

    According to Statista, violent crimes more broadly rose to around 384,100 offenses in 2023, a large increase of more than 30,000 compared with the previous year — and nearly double the 225,500 recorded in 2016.

    Last year, Astrid Mae, a spokeswoman for the French feminist group Collectif Némésis, placed the blame on mass immigration. “There is a problem of massive, uncontrolled immigration. We know that today, 62 percent of sexual assaults on public transport in the Ile-de-France region are committed by foreigners.”

    France’s High Council for Equality’s 2024 annual report stated that recorded sexual violence incidents doubled between 2017 and 2022. There are also concerns that the French authorities are not taking the issue seriously. The Institute for Public Policy Studies has reported that between 2012 and 2021, the French court system dismissed 94 percent of rape complaints and 86 percent of sexual violence complaints. Critics believe this reflects a systemic failure to hold perpetrators accountable, and one that does little to deter crimes of the kind that unfolded in Vannes on that April afternoon.

    Similar knife-point-style rapes are commonplace in France. In January of this year, 24-year-old Mohammed D. was sentenced to nine years in prison after he snuck through a window and raped a building caretaker at knife point in a case that dates back to the summer of 2023. In some cases, outright violence is meted out, such as in the broomstick rape case of Mégan, which left her in a coma and with permanent and horrific injuries. Oumar Ndiaye is on trial for the case.

    ‘The problem is not men, the problem is mass immigration’ – After attempted rape video goes viral, the French right says no to segregation and yes to immigration restriction
  • ‘No way to buy anything’ – New EU sanctions ban credit cards, freeze bank accounts, and hit targets with travel ban

    ‘No way to buy anything’ – New EU sanctions ban credit cards, freeze bank accounts, and hit targets with travel ban

    What if your bank account vanished overnight because of something you wrote? No trial. No crime. Just a decree. That is what happened to author Jacques Baud, a former Swiss colonel and intelligence analyst. Today, he can’t buy food or return home to Switzerland, but he has committed no crime and broken no law.

    “All my credit cards were canceled; all my bank cards were blocked. That means there is no way to buy anything,” he told AUF1, which interviewed Baud.

    In addition to his bank accounts and credit cards being frozen or canceled, he cannot be paid and therefore cannot work.

    Baud cannot even accept gifts from friends or family, including food. He is also currently trapped in Brussels, as he is under a travel ban, meaning he cannot leave the country to return home to his family in Switzerland.

    “I have not been allowed to travel within the EU since mid-December 2025. This means that I am not allowed to travel back to my home country. And if I were in my home country, which is Switzerland, I wouldn’t be able to go back to my house because I’m not allowed to. According to the sanctions, I am not allowed on EU territory. I cannot enter EU territory,” said Baud.

    In essence, the EU can now financially execute dissenters with this sanctions tool. It was only after months that Baud won an exemption from the Belgian Ministry of Finance that allowed him access to the bare essentials, such as food.

    Baud warns these same sanctions may be coming for dissidents across Europe in the coming years.

    “What happens to me can happen to anyone tomorrow because there is no rule of law here. I have not committed a crime or violated any law, yet the sanctions were still imposed,” he said.

    Notably, these sanctions have also been applied to German citizen and pro-Palestinian journalist Hüseyin Doğru, which has sparked intense political debate in Germany. Critics are describing the case as a “socio-economic death sentence” and a dangerous precedent for press freedom. He cannot buy diapers for his children and is facing eviction from his apartment due to the sanctions, which the German government has defended in its fight against “disinformation.”

    Perhaps most notably, the Frankfurt am Main District Court in Germany has recently upheld a German bank’s decision to maintain the suspension of his accounts, meaning he has little legal recourse left in Germany.

    ‘Socio-economic death sentence’ – German journalist threatened with homelessness after German court upholds EU sanctions to suspend bank accounts in landmark free speech case


    In both cases, the unelected Council of the EU was behind the sanctions on Baud and Doğru. The Council accused Baud of “implementing or supporting actions or policies attributable to the Government of the Russian Federation which undermine or threaten stability or security in a third country (Ukraine) by engaging in the use of information manipulation and interference.”

    Again, it is important to note that no criminal offense was alleged, and no judicial process was initiated. Baud and Doğru were simply punished by decree.

    Baud says that since mid-December, he has been unable to go shopping and has survived only on food given to him by friends—an act that likely puts those friends in criminal jeopardy. Baud notes that even if he had engaged in propaganda — which he denies — there is “no law against propaganda.”

    He maintains that he has no contact with Russia, has never received money from the Kremlin, and does not support Russian propaganda. Baud’s case is a worrying sign of where the EU is headed.

    However, Baud has written and spoken about his belief that Ukraine brought about the Russian invasion itself in order to join NATO. He also questioned Russian responsibility in the Bucha massacre, asserting that it “could have been planned by the British intelligence services and implemented by the Ukrainian SBU.”

    Is the EU censoring Remix News on X? Von der Leyen’s ‘pre-bunking’ claim raises concerns

    “That’s the crazy thing. People say I make Russian propaganda, but the majority, that is, 95 percent of my sources are from the West,” said Baud during his interview with AUF1 while referring to the books he has written on Russia and Ukraine.

    Such opinions are also normally protected under freedom of expression laws built into the EU and its member states

    As for claims that he is participating in “destabilization,” Baud contends that he has never done any such thing: “I have never done anything that could actually destabilize a country. By the way, imagine if one man could destabilize Europe. What then is the value of Europe? If that depends on one man.”

  • Orbán is still well poised for upset election victory, despite claims otherwise, says one Ukrainian analyst

    Orbán is still well poised for upset election victory, despite claims otherwise, says one Ukrainian analyst

    Political scientist Yevhen Magda, director of the Kyiv-based Institute of World Politics, believes Viktor Orbán is still well positioned to win national elections. Although he does not sympathize with Orbán, he acknowledged in his analysis of the Hungarian elections that the prime minister’s campaign is going well and is “on schedule,” reported Mandiner.

    Orbán, he notes, is supported by three of the world’s most influential centers: Beijing, Moscow, and Washington. His friendship with Donald Trump and the role of Chinese investments have also contributed to the Hungarian government becoming more independent from Brussels, the political analyst noted, which is good for Hungarian interests.

    “No one can be sure of the outcome, and Péter Magyar’s victory should not be taken for granted,” Magda said. “That’s why I say that despite all the dislike for him, Orbán is still a good political strategist,” he noted, adding that Fidesz’s campaign had led many to question Péter Magyar’s suitability to be a successful and independent leader.

    While some polls predict a Magyar victory in Hungary, analysts say that outcome is still far from certain, writes Polish newspaper

    “Those who say that Péter Magyar will definitely win on April 12, I would still ask you not to trust them,” Yevhen warned.

    Tibor Fischer, a British writer and novelist of Hungarian origin, also explained in his column published in The Telegraph why, contrary to popular belief, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is still popular among voters.

    Asking the question: “Could Sunday’s Hungarian general election end Viktor Orbán’s 16-year term as prime minister?” Fischer writes: “Of course it could. Hungary’s a democracy, although many of those now cheering on Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party have steadfastly maintained that Hungary gave up on democracy a long time ago. German Greens mostly. The Germans have a long tradition of intervening in other European countries, maybe it’s time they quit the habit.”

    Hungarian government warns of foreign election interference, violence in the streets ahead of Sunday’s election

    On Orbán being labeled “authoritarian,” the author believes this is overly simplistic and ignores anything actually going on on the ground in Hungary. “Success is precisely why Orbán’s so hated by the international Left,” he says.

    Noting Orbán’s long tenure as a successful politician, noting that if he loses he will still be the “GOAT,” Fischer says: “Sixteen years in office means you’ve probably done something to annoy or disappoint many voters,” adding that his detractors “obstinately insist, flat-earther style, that his success is down to foul play.”

    Ukrainian MP says Orbán will be ousted in April election, warns Hungarians that austerity measures, for the sake of Ukraine, are coming

    On one poll indicating a huge win this Sunday by the opposition party, Tisza, led by Péter Magyar, he says this poll was created by a former Socialist who had been in government with the Communist Party. All in all, he sees little in Magyar’s messaging: “Péter Magyar’s campaign is entirely ‘I’m not Viktor Orbán,’” he writes.

  • Hamburg school stabbing leaves boy unable to speak or breathe independently as Gaza suspect remains in custody

    Hamburg school stabbing leaves boy unable to speak or breathe independently as Gaza suspect remains in custody

    A 13-year-old boy stabbed outside a school in Hamburg may never be able to speak or breathe independently again, with doctors warning he could remain permanently dependent on care following the attack.

    The 13-year-old schoolboy was critically injured in a knife assault in late March outside his school in the Groß Flottbek area of the German port city. A Syrian boy was initially arrested and released, before a 15-year-old from Gaza was arrested and remains in custody.

    According to Bild, the victim remains in a coma, and medics fear the damage caused by the attack could leave him unable to live independently for the rest of his life.

    Remix News initially reported that the incident began with a series of insults before turning into a physical confrontation between the victim and the Gaza migrant teen. During the altercation, the attacker, identified as Omar A., allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the younger student before fleeing the scene.

    Migrant teen from Gaza arrested after Hamburg school stabbing as second suspect identified as Syrian

    Emergency responders treated the victim at the scene for severe injuries. The knife is believed to have pierced the victim’s heart and liver, triggering massive blood loss. Paramedics were forced to resuscitate the boy before he was rushed to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf for emergency surgery.

    Although surgeons were able to stabilize him, doctors now believe the long-term prognosis is bleak. A nerve may have been damaged in the attack, while prolonged oxygen deprivation caused by blood loss is thought to have led to serious brain injury.

    The suspect from Gaza was arrested shortly after a large-scale police operation. A second 15-year-old, reported to be Syrian, was also detained but released the same day.

    Omar A. remains in custody on suspicion of attempted manslaughter and aggravated assault. Bild reports he was already known to police for previous violent offenses. It is unclear why he remained at liberty to inflict further violence at the school.

    The suspect’s mother told the German tabloid newspaper that her son had been traumatized after fleeing Gaza and is undergoing treatment. He now appears to have inflicted further trauma upon others.

    Police have indicated that the victim and suspects were known to one another and that there had been prior disputes, though investigators have not confirmed a definitive motive. The weapon used in the attack has not yet been recovered despite a wide-scale police search on the school premises.

    Following the attack, several students have required psychological support from counsellors, and additional staff and security have been deployed on the school grounds as a precaution.

  • Hungary’s gas, oil and electricity supplies are secure, for now

    Hungary’s gas, oil and electricity supplies are secure, for now

    The Hungarian government will do everything it can to continue to protect Hungarian families from the additional expenses that would be caused by the abolition of the protected fuel price and the reduction in utility bills, contrary to the European Commission’s demands, Gergely Gulyás, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, told press during a Government Info session on Thursday.

    “The European Commission called on the Hungarian government to abolish and eliminate the protected fuel price, which it rejected, as well as the Commission’s demand for the marketization of gas and electricity prices,” Gulyás said, as quoted by Hirado.

    He added that implementing the European Commission’s demands and eliminating the protected price of gasoline and diesel would mean an additional expenditure of approximately HUF 48,600 (€128) per month for Hungarian families at today’s price level, marketization of electricity prices would result in an additional HUF 16,000 for an average consumer family, and the elimination of the preferential gas price would increase the bill of an average household by HUF 31,000.

    Hungary calls for Brussels to ‘immediately lift’ Russian energy sanctions as Middle East conflict sees oil prices soar

    With the Strait of Hormuz shut down and a quarter of the world’s oil supply blocked, the whole world is currently facing an energy crisis with skyrocketing energy prices and fuel shortages. Due to this situation, Gulyás said it is critical to have significant reserves and not block supply routes for ideological and political reasons. If anything, he added, new channels should be opened, while the European Commission, on the other hand, wants to pressure Hungary to remove and eliminate Russian oil and gas.

    He underlined that “common-sense Hungarian citizens will not be comforted” by the Commission’s proposal that people consume less and not get into cars. “In Hungary, common sense still has the majority, as we will see,” he said.

    For now, despite numerous risks to its energy supply, at the moment, both the country’s gas and electricity supplies, as well as fuel supplies, are secured, Gulyás noted.

    Germany’s decision to cut off ties to Russian energy is leading to economic collapse, writes Berlin newspaper

    “Thanks to the exemption won by PM Orbán at the European Council meeting in the summer of 2022, Hungary was able to enjoy uninterrupted supplies of Russian crude oil and natural gas until recently,” the minister noted.

    He indicated that although the Ukrainians have stopped the transport of crude oil, there are significant reserves available there as well, and procurement via alternative routes has also begun. “Thanks to this, we can maintain the protected price, so in Hungary we do not have to pay 700, 800, 900 or 1,000 forints for gasoline, as in other European countries, but 595 forints for gasoline and 615 forints for diesel fuel,” he pointed out.

    He indicated that the government intends to maintain these measures as long as possible and called on other European countries to do the same.

    Referring to the “bomb attack attempt” against the TurkStream gas pipeline, he thanked the Serbian authorities for their thorough procedure, emphasizing that the operation of this pipeline is a key factor in energy security for Hungary.

    With Europe vulnerable to an energy crisis, Putin says Russia may pull the plug on gas supplies to Europe

    Gulyás indicated that the investigation is ongoing in Serbia and that security measures have been increased on the Hungarian section of the pipeline.

    On opposition leader Péter Magyar, the minister said: “We have good reason to believe that his mandate extends to establishing a policy in Hungary that is not opposed to war, that does not want peace, but is willing to continue the policy of dragging the European Union and Brussels into war.” 

    Gulyás additionally reiterated the importance of NATO, Hungary’s standing as a reliable NATO partner, and new investments being made in the country.

    Eszter Vitályos also reported that the renovated Citadel, one of Budapest’s most famous attractions at the top of Gellért Hill, will be open to visitors again from April 5.

  • German corporate bankruptcies hit 20-year high in the first quarter of 2026, while high energy prices could only add to the despair

    German corporate bankruptcies hit 20-year high in the first quarter of 2026, while high energy prices could only add to the despair

    Germany has not seen corporate bankruptcies reach this high since 2005 in yet another worrying sign for Europe’s largest economy, according to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH).

    Construction and retail are coming under increasing pressure in Germany, while the IWH is warning of persistently high insolvency figures in the future as well.

    The number of corporate bankruptcies rose in the first quarter to its highest level in more than 20 years. According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), 4,573 insolvencies of partnerships and corporations were recorded in the first three months of the year — a figure that surpasses the levels seen during the 2009 financial crisis.

    ‘Worse than the 2008 financial crisis’ – Germany becomes a nation of bankruptcy with no end in sight

    The last time values were higher was in the third quarter of 2005, when 4,771 insolvencies were registered, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office.

    The increase was particularly sharp in March, with insolvency figures running 71 percent above the average for the same month in the years 2016 to 2019. Record highs were recorded above all in the construction sector and in retail.

    Regionally, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and North Rhine-Westphalia were the hardest hit.

    The big immigration lie: China smashes the myth that foreigners are needed to secure the West’s economic future

    According to the institute, the rise is concentrated primarily among smaller companies. As a result, fewer employees were affected in March than in February or in the same month of the previous year. Nevertheless, the IWH does not expect a rapid easing of the situation, as leading indicators continue to point toward high insolvency numbers.

    “It is possible that the very high figures from March will repeat themselves,” said Steffen Müller, head of insolvency research at the IWH.

    At the same time that companies are facing soaring rates of bankruptcy, Germany’s fiscal picture is also darkening, with municipalities and cities reporting record levels of debt. This reality limits the government’s freedom to provide more financial stimulus to an economy that is quickly souring.

    This 20-year-high for the first quarter in Germany comes after a 20-year-high for the entirety of 2025. The wave of insolvencies grew significantly toward the end of 2025, affecting the lives of thousands of employees. According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle, the annual total reached a historically high 17,604 bankruptcies. This translates to an average of 48 partnerships and corporations going out of business every day in Germany, according to Bild newspaper.

    ‘Almost every German city is now on the verge of bankruptcy’

    Jonas Eckhardt, an economic expert from the transformation consultancy Falkensteg, told Bild just three months ago that “the German economy is no longer just struggling with headaches. She’s got a fever. That won’t change anytime soon.“

    With energy prices exploding, Germany has been hit with additional economic pressure at a time when the economy has already proven extremely weak. Earlier this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that parts of the German economy are in a “very critical state.” In the article from Bloomberg, it notes that while Merz did not specify which sectors, the car industry is seen as especially hard hit. This is due in large part to Chinese competition slowly crushing German companies, a topic Remix News has written extensively on.

    Germany is not the only country struggling in Europe. In December of last year, French President Emmanuel Macron went to China essentially to beg for help, saying, according to Politico, that “European industry is facing a ‘life or death’ moment.”

    “I am trying to explain to the Chinese that their trade surplus is untenable and that they are killing their own customers, mainly by not importing much from us,” Macron said, according to Politico.

    Now, after Europeans complained about Trump issuing tariffs against China and Europe, Europe is considering pursuing the same tactic. At least, that is the threat Macron just issued to China if the country does not refrain from relentlessly outcompeting the EU on trade, exports, and innovation.

    Following the meeting in China, notably, no major business deals were signed, and on most key points, analysts say Macron walked away mostly empty-handed in regard to the major issues.


  • France and Spain enforce just 1 in 10 deportations as over two-thirds of expulsion orders go ignored across Europe

    France and Spain enforce just 1 in 10 deportations as over two-thirds of expulsion orders go ignored across Europe

    Spain, France, and the Netherlands are the worst performers in the European Union when it comes to enforcing the deportation orders of foreign nationals with no right to reside in the bloc, according to the latest Eurostat data for 2025.

    Full data sets for all quarters of last year have now been published by the European Union’s statistics agency, which show that there are more than three times the number of third-country nationals ordered to leave the bloc than there are actual returns of those handed expulsion orders.

    Across the European Union, a total of 492,175 third-country nationals were ordered to leave EU territory last year, but only 152,610 deportation orders were actually enforced. This equates to an overall enforcement rate of roughly 31 percent.

    Those issued with a deportation order in 2025 and those returned are most likely different people, with deportation proceedings often taking years to enforce. The data, however, still exposes the reality that, each year, there are far more illegal migrants being told to leave than are actually being removed.

    Percentage-wise, Spain is the worst performer of all EU member states — the Socialist government issued 53,695 deportation orders last year, but returned just 5,705 people ordered to leave at an enforcement rate of just 11 percent.

    France is equally poor but on a greater scale. The country issued 137,550 orders to leave in 2025, by far the highest total in the bloc, yet only registered 18,925 actual returns at a rate of 14 percent.

    Similarly, the Netherlands issued 30,970 expulsion orders, returning just 4,855 at 16 percent.

    By contrast, Germany, which had enforcement rates of 35 percent and 33 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively, saw a surge in returns last year, with 36,075 returns to its 55,240 deportation orders issued — an enforcement rate of 65 percent.

    The highest performers with regard to enforcement rates could be found in Malta (97 percent) and Slovakia (89 percent), while several Baltic nations also posted strong returns compared to orders issued. Lithuania had an enforcement rate of 87 percent, Estonia 82 percent, and Sweden returned 76 percent of those issued, with a deportation order.

    What the data doesn’t tell us is how long those who were returned stayed in the country in question, only that returns in some countries, like Germany, have ramped up compared to the number of orders being issued. In simple terms, however, returns in Germany are on the rise, from 15,440 in 2023, to 18,695 in 2024, to 36,075 in 2025.

    Marine Le Pen, a grandee of France’s National Rally, highlighted the figures taken only from the last quarter of last year, to expose the flaws in the French government’s approach.

    “This immense gap demonstrates not only the evident incompetence of our leaders, but above all, it contradicts the narrative of those who endlessly repeat that it is not possible to regain control of our migration policy,” she wrote on X.

    It should be noted, however, that there are far more deportation orders issued across the European Union every year than those subject to one actually returning home. Last year, there was still a net increase of around 340,000 illegal migrants residing on EU territory who had been told to leave.

    As the graph from Eurostat above shows, each quarter results in tens of thousands of more illegal migrants being told to leave and failing to do so — and only a fraction of those are forcibly removed.

  • Italian court frees migrant accused of raping elderly woman because a legal document wasn’t translated into his native language

    Italian court frees migrant accused of raping elderly woman because a legal document wasn’t translated into his native language

    A 22-year-old man from Mali, accused of raping a woman in her seventies inside her home in Pistoia, has been freed after an Italian court annulled his pre-trial detention on technical grounds. Judges found that the original custody order had not been translated into French, a language the defendant understands.

    The assault took place on June 19, 2025, when the attacker allegedly followed the woman into her building, threatened her with a knife, and held her captive before carrying out the rape. He fled the scene but was located two days later at Florence’s main train station and arrested. Since late June, he had been held in custody while awaiting trial.

    Italy: Foreigners commit 44% of sexual violence cases in Italy, half of gang rapes, while only representing 9% of population

    Proceedings against him began last week in Pistoia, where the victim had to recount the attack in court. She gave evidence about what prosecutors describe as a sustained and traumatic assault inside her own home.

    However, on Tuesday, the Florence review court overturned the detention order after the defense successfully argued that the failure to translate the document into the defendant’s primary language constituted a serious procedural violation.

    The man is now free in Italy, and proceedings must be restarted.

    Italy: Tunisian on trial for rape and attempted murder of a 66-year-old Italian woman is sent for ‘psychiatric evaluation’

    The victim’s family said they fear the man could seek revenge and that the family is now reluctant to leave the house.

    “She identified him and testified against him, and now we are the ones living in fear,” said the victim’s daughter, as cited by La Nazione. She raised concerns that the suspect has no fixed address and has not been placed under electronic monitoring, making it highly likely he could either abscond or target the family.

    The controversy comes amid broader criticism in Italy over how the justice system handles serious offenses involving foreign nationals and asylum seekers. In a separate case earlier this year, an Italian appeals court refused to extradite a Pakistani man accused of murder in Greece, ruling that prison conditions there could violate protections under the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision led to his release in Italy despite an active European arrest warrant.

    Italian court frees Pakistani murder suspect wanted in Greece, citing concerns over his ‘human rights’ if jailed in Greek prison

    The judiciary has also faced mounting political pressure from the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with senior figures arguing that a pattern of rulings has undermined efforts to tighten immigration controls and enforce deportations. Previous court interventions have blocked migrant transfer policies and overturned detention orders for individuals earmarked for removal, prompting sharp criticism from ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who say such decisions weaken public confidence in the system.

    Italy has 30,000 foreign convicts serving sentences outside prison

    Even many of those who are successfully convicted of offenses are serving their sentences outside of prison. As of January 2026, over 30,000 foreign nationals who had been handed a custodial sentence were doing their time outside of prison.

    ‘Italian crime victims are abandoned while perpetrators are protected,’ says daughter whose parents were raped and murdered by Ivorian asylum seeker

    In January of this year, Rosita Solano, whose parents were murdered in Sicily in 2015 by an Ivorian asylum seeker, said that victims are often left without adequate protection or support. She argued that while offenders receive legal aid and state assistance, victims frequently face long-term consequences with limited support.

    “In Italy, those who commit crimes are protected, legally assisted with free legal aid, food, and lodging, while those who suffer a crime count for nothing,” she said. “Victims are abandoned and invisible.”

    “No immediate medical or psychological support, no help, no protection,” she said when asked what services had been made available to her in the aftermath of the gruesome double homicide, further revealing that families were left to cover legal and therapeutic costs themselves.

    ‘I had an impulse’ – After vile rape attack against Italian woman in Gallarate, mayor praises remigration and says foreigners commit half of sexual violence crimes in Italy
  • German government proposes blocking home and real estate sales based on political views in new threat to free speech

    German government proposes blocking home and real estate sales based on political views in new threat to free speech

    A new bill could block property purchases, including for homebuyers, if the potential buyer is suspected of “anti-constitutional activities” — even without any criminal conviction. The new dystopian bill, pushed by Construction Minister Verena Hubertz of the far-left Social Democrats (SPD), could mean those who hold the wrong political views are blocked from real estate purchases.

    Under the proposal, first reported by Nius news outlet, local authorities would gain a right of first refusal over real estate transactions if authorities believe the person is suspected of vaguely defined “anti-constitutional” views.

    To make this possible, the government also plans to amend the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Act, allowing the domestic intelligence agency to share personal data with municipalities for the purpose of reviewing prospective buyers. The Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) is Germany’s powerful domestic spy agency, which has been tasked with surveilling Alternative for Germany (AfD) members in certain federal states and has been implicated in a number of scandals, including the creation of hundreds of right-wing extremist fake accounts.

    German domestic intelligence is running hundreds of fake right-wing extremist social media accounts

    The draft bill is framing the measures as an effort at “strengthening the orientation towards the common good” and to “prevent social injustices.”

    Its stated aim is to stop the “spatial impact of organized crime as well as right-wing, left-wing or religiously motivated extremist activities.”

    In other words, those deemed to be “extremist” within the German political spectrum could have housing denied to them. Although, in practice, repressive efforts may focus on those on the right due to the backer of the bill, the SPD, being notorious for supporting left-wing extremist causes.

    Germany’s far left interior minister wrote for Antifa magazine published by organization with extremist ties

    The bill explicitly cites right-wing extremist settlement strategies as a key motivation, noting that civil society responses alone are insufficient:

    Most notably, both the right and left often buy up property or in the case of the left, even squat property, to create politically-oriented housing projects. However, while the case of the far-right or the right-wing attracts significant negative media attention and government oversight, many left-wing projects are actually supported by NGOs and other government initiatives. Some of the more far-left extremist projects, however, do face significant police pressure and surveillance.

    However, the SPD points to some of the right-wing projects in particular, citing prominent examples in Dortmund-Dorstfeld and the village of Jamel.

    The EU has a powerful new weapon to attack press freedom, and it’s already wielding it to devastating effect

    “Dominance in these areas is not a coincidence, but part of a far-right strategy. Handouts on prevention against right-wing extremism always refer to the involvement and activation of the local population. However, at a certain point, a counterweight of civil society initiatives can no longer be achieved, which can further promote segregation of the resident population,” write the backers of the bill.

    Perhaps the most controversial element of the bill is that it does not require a buyer to have broken any law, setting the stage for arbitrary and retaliatory measures against political rivals.

    Anti-constitutional efforts are defined as being “characterized by an active, not necessarily combative-aggressive or illegal approach to the realization of their goals. They must be objectively capable of producing political effects sooner or later.”

    ‘Socio-economic death sentence’ – German journalist threatened with homelessness after German court upholds EU sanctions to suspend bank accounts in landmark free speech case

    A municipality could act if it believes a buyer “strongly supports the realization of these efforts” and that the purchase threatens the “socially stable resident structure” or “the suitability of the area to meet the social and cultural needs of the population.”

    To enable this, authorities would be permitted to request information from both the BfV and the Federal Criminal Police Office. The draft states that “in order to examine whether the buyer meets the subjective elements of the right of first refusal, the municipality must rely on information from the security authorities.”

    Critics warn the law could be used far beyond its stated targets. The Federal Criminal Police Office has previously investigated individuals for offenses such as the “use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations” — a charge that has been applied to ordinary government critics. As Nius notes, one such case involved pensioner Stefan Niehoff, who had “criticized the traffic light government online using comparisons to National Socialism, which earned him a fine of €825.”

    There is also concern about the political independence of the bodies involved. Germany’s constitutional protection offices “are departments of the respective interior ministries,” making them subject to party-political influence. Past cases show the offices have already provided assessments used to exclude AfD candidates from elections and revoke gun licenses.

    Germany’s gun grab? Saxony-Anhalt begins disarming AfD members

    NIUS columnist Alexander Kissler was blunt in his condemnation, calling the bill intolerable: “This whole bill is unbearable. If he comes, then liberal democracy will have little say.”

    He added that what the bill labels “segregation of residential areas” is in reality “freedom of establishment,” and warned: “The campaign against freedom has overflowed its banks,” describing the proposal as an “entry into the arbitrary state.”

    Notably, the bill has some parallels with sanction powers already being utilized in Germany and the entire European Union. Just last month, a Frankfurt am Main District Court in Germany upheld a German bank’s decision to maintain the suspension of accounts belonging to Berlin-based journalist Hüseyin Doğru, who is known for his pro-Palestinian news coverage. The ruling rejected an urgent application by the journalist, who is currently facing the threat of homelessness due to EU sanctions. The court’s decision means Dogru remains without the necessary funds for rent or basic daily needs.

    The legal battle surrounding Hüseyin Doğru has sparked intense political debate in Germany, with critics describing the case as a “socio-economic death sentence” and a dangerous precedent for press freedom.

    Notably, these sanctions were enacted with no trial or judicial oversight, which means, just like the new bill being pushed by the SPD, extremely punitive sanctions can be issued in cases outside of typical legal channels, with extreme consequences for those who end up targets.

  • Berlin moves to end cash-only businesses as pressure grows for nationwide digital payments

    Berlin moves to end cash-only businesses as pressure grows for nationwide digital payments

    Berlin’s CDU-SPD administration is expected to approve a federal initiative to effectively outlaw cash-only businesses, as officials argue that tens of thousands of firms in the German capital still refuse to offer any form of digital payment.

    The proposal, expected to be advanced through the Bundesrat — Germany’s upper parliamentary chamber comprising representatives appointed by the state governments — would require all businesses across Germany to provide customers with at least one electronic payment option alongside cash.

    As reported by Junge Freiheit, around 80,300 businesses in Berlin currently operate on a cash-only basis, according to the Senate Department for Finance. Berlin’s Finance Senator Stefan Evers has argued that the scale of the practice undermines transparency and creates conditions in which tax avoidance can flourish. Estimates cited by policymakers suggest the German state may be losing billions of euros in revenue annually due to cash transactions that are impossible to track and often not declared to the authorities.

    Typical cash-only businesses include barbershops, street vendors, and car washes. The practice is common among small businesses to avoid card transaction fees and reduce administrative costs, but it remains open to abuse from a tax perspective.

    The initiative is backed by the state government of Mayor Kai Wegner, which is presenting the move as part of a broader effort to modernize the economy and align Germany with consumer expectations in increasingly cashless societies. Officials say mandatory digital payment options would improve convenience, strengthen competition between payment providers, and ensure a more consistent regulatory environment nationwide.

    “We want greater customer friendliness, more tax revenue – and to reward everyone who has already been acting in accordance with the rules,” CDU state parliamentary group leader Dirk Stettner told Tagesspiegel.

    The federal Grand Coalition, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has already signaled its support for gradually requiring businesses to accept both cash and at least one digital method. However, concrete legislation has yet to be introduced to federal lawmakers in the Bundestag.

    Dehoga, the leading trade association for the German hospitality industry, has warned that forcing businesses to accept digital payments could impose disproportionate costs on smaller operators working with tight margins. It pointed to transaction fees, especially for low-value purchases such as drinks or snacks, which businesses are often unable to pass on to customers.

    Critics have also framed the proposal as an intrusion into entrepreneurial freedom, arguing that firms should retain the right to decide how they accept payment.

    Supporters of the measure, however, contend that Germany risks falling behind other European economies if it does not accelerate its shift away from cash dependence. Tagesspiegel cites a Mastercard survey that revealed that 88 percent of Germans expect to be able to pay by card in stores. It also found that 40 percent of respondents have already left or avoided a store if it did not accept card payments.

  • EU loses €7 billion as US food exports drop nearly 25% due to Trump’s tariffs

    EU loses €7 billion as US food exports drop nearly 25% due to Trump’s tariffs

    The latest report from the Committee of the Regions shows that EU food exports to the United States have fallen by 23.5 percent, representing a loss of approximately €7 billion.

    The authors of the report, as quoted by Rzeczpospolita in the Do Rzeczy news portal, have no doubt that the situation is exceptionally difficult.

    “The EU agri-food sector is going through one of the most difficult periods in its recent history,” they emphasize. The problem is even more serious because the U.S. is the second most important market for European food, accounting for approximately 5.6 percent of exports.

    As Trump threatens 100% tariffs on overseas film productions, will studios say ‘bye bye’ to beautiful Budapest?

    The total economic relationship between the EU and the U.S. is worth approximately €1.6 trillion annually and supports millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

    The decline in exports is a direct result of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which have driven up the prices of European products. As a result, American importers have begun to seek cheaper alternatives from other countries.

    “Producers are facing not an abstract decline in export percentages, but the real prospect of inventory accumulation, collapsed margins, and forced market exit,” the report states.

    Premium products – wines, spirits, olive oil, cheeses, and sweets – suffered the most. The scale of the collapse in meat is even greater, with pork exports to the U.S. falling by a staggering 98.7 percent. In practice, this means the almost complete disappearance of this segment from the market.

    Meloni urges dialogue over retaliation as Brussels prepares response to Trump’s tariffs

    Losses are concentrated in a few countries – France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands – which account for over 75 percent of food exports to the US. Small and medium-sized businesses and cooperatives, which lack the financial resources to survive a prolonged decline in sales, are most vulnerable.

    The legal situation in the U.S. is deepening the uncertainty. Although in February 2026, the Supreme Court questioned the ability to impose tariffs without Congressional approval, little has changed in practice. According to experts from Rzeczpospolita, the rates remain in effect. “The Supreme Court’s ruling itself doesn’t automatically abolish the rates charged on imports,” emphasizes Marcin Majewski of PwC. “Companies still have to apply them, and the risk of further changes remains very high,” he adds. He emphasizes that it is increasingly impossible to predict what tariffs will apply at the time of delivery.

    The scale of the dispute is growing. Economists estimate that the value of potential tariff refunds could reach as much as $170 billion. While most of the costs are borne by U.S. companies, the impact is also felt by businesses in the European Union.

    Europe is looking for a way out, including via new trade agreements such as with Mercosur countries, India, and Australia. “New trade agreements could revitalize the European economy,” says Lisandra Flach of the Ifo Institute. According to her analysis, they could increase industrial production in the EU by 1.1 percent and GDP by 0.43 percent.

  • Hungarian government warns of foreign election interference, violence in the streets ahead of Sunday’s election

    Hungarian government warns of foreign election interference, violence in the streets ahead of Sunday’s election

    According to the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty (SZH), foreign-backed groups and pressure organizations are trying to shake Hungarian society’s trust in the elections.

    In a statement sent to MTI on Wednesday, cited by HIrado, the organization wrote that the most active participant in the disinformation campaign identified by the SZH is the newly founded De! Action Community Association. The association is working with influencers and content producers to distribute a film that makes it appear that the ruling parties are preparing to commit election fraud.

    Politico gets dirty? Media giant alters ‘Poll of Polls’ hours after Orbán’s party shown leading for first time in a year

    The association is recruiting “sentinels” for locations it says are at risk of election fraud, and it is building a database of applicants for this purpose, they said.

    They added that De! – whose leaders are reportedly linked to the Tisza Party – is already prepared for an international presence in English and collects donations on an international online platform. This significantly facilitates the inflow of foreign funds that are difficult to control.

    SZH noted that the increasing attacks against the Hungarian electoral system are part of a coordinated, foreign-funded operation to undermine public trust. Their aim is to destabilize, destroy the credibility of the Hungarian electoral system, and create the possibility of street violence, the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement.

    There is currently a sharp divergence between polls backed by the opposition and polls seen friendly towards the Hungarian government. In the last election, the polls seen as friendly to the government had a far better track record of predicting the actual results of the election.

    As Remix News reported last year, as soon as Fidesz moved into the lead in Politico’s poll of polls in Hungary, Politico removed a number of polls that showed Fidesz had the lead. Notably, Politico replaced the most accurate poll of the previous election with the pollster that had the biggest miss, amounting to 20 points.

    This large discrepancy in polling could spark unrest in Hungary, leading to claims of election fraud should Fidesz win.

  • More Hungarians now believe opposition will win in election this Sunday, according to opposition poll

    More Hungarians now believe opposition will win in election this Sunday, according to opposition poll

    With the election this Sunday, one poll indicates that, no matter their voting preference, more Hungarians expect the opposition Tisza party to win. The Iranytu Institute, which receives most of its funding from the Jobbik Party Foundation, which has been tied to the anti-Orbán opposition, also indicates that the elected parliament will consist of representatives of only two parties.

    According to their poll, writes wPolityce, Tisza, led by Peter Magyar, enjoys the support of 41 percent of the general public, while Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party would receive 34 percent. No other party crossed the 5 percent electoral threshold in the survey. Among declared voters, Tisza received 51 percent support, while Fidesz received 40 percent.

    Meanwhile, 62 percent of respondents believed Hungary was heading in the wrong direction, with 31 percent disagreeing. And 54 percent of respondents said they wanted Orbán’s government to be removed, while 38 percent wanted the current prime minister to remain in power.

    The Iranytu Institute noted that while in February most respondents expected a Fidesz victory, in the latest survey 43 percent of respondents believed that Tisza would win Sunday’s elections, and 40 percent said Fidesz would.

    The weekly “HVG” presented the Polymarket platform’s predictions the same day, according to which Tisza’s chances of victory were 69 percent, and Fidesz’s chances of winning a majority of seats in parliament were set at 31 percent. Hungarian authorities blocked access to the platform in January when it began predicting a Fidesz defeat, the daily “Nepszava” noted.

    It should also be noted that other surveys, accused of being tied to the government, show Orbán with a slight lead.

    Hungarians will elect 199 members of the unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules) on Sunday, 106 of whom will be elected in single-member districts, while the remaining 93 will be elected from nationwide party lists. Members of Parliament serve four-year terms.

    Another wildcard is the role of the Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk) party. Some pollsters predict the party will cross the five percent threshold, which would potentially benefit Orbán. Even if his Fidesz party lands fewer votes than the opposition Tisza, in such a scenario, Our Homeland would likely choose Fidesz as a coalition partner over Tisza, allowing Orbán to continue to rule.

  • France’s gig economy built on migrant labor as 99% of surveyed delivery riders are foreign-born and two-thirds are illegal

    France’s gig economy built on migrant labor as 99% of surveyed delivery riders are foreign-born and two-thirds are illegal

    A major new study has found that France’s food delivery sector is almost exclusively staffed by migrant workers, a majority of whom are living in France illegally.

    The Enquête report, based on a survey of more than 1,000 riders in Paris and Bordeaux, reveals that 98.7 percent of delivery couriers were born outside France, with nearly two-thirds lacking legal residency status, highlighting the extent to which the platform economy depends on a highly vulnerable migrant labor force.

    The workforce is dominated by recent arrivals from Africa, the majority of whom are not undertaking any other education or training in France.

    A total of 55.2 percent of riders come from West Africa, making it by far the largest group. A further 17.4 percent are from North Africa, while 4.6 percent come from other African countries, meaning that over 77 percent of all riders are African-born. By comparison, 16.6 percent are from Asia, 4 percent from the Middle East, and fewer than 2 percent from France.

    Most riders are new or relatively new arrivals. Some 98 percent of those surveyed had arrived in France after 2014, while 47.2 percent had arrived in the last five years.

    The vast majority do not have the right to work in France and are living there illegally — 64.4 percent of riders have no residence permit, meaning they are undocumented. Among the remainder, 12.4 percent hold a residence permit of at least one year, 9.7 percent have a permit of less than one year, and 13.3 percent have a 10-year residency card.

    Many operate using accounts rented from third parties to circumvent work requirements, creating an additional layer of economic dependency.

    The findings suggest that this structure helps explain the extreme working patterns documented in the report. Riders work an average of 63 hours per week, with most working six or seven days, often year-round. Despite this, average gross earnings were just €1,480 per month, with hourly pay equivalent to €5.83 before expenses.

  • Germany: Bremen police search for two Turks accused of 5 separate shootings, 1 murder

    Germany: Bremen police search for two Turks accused of 5 separate shootings, 1 murder

    Bremen has a problem with public violence, and it just got worse. Two Turkish suspects are now on the run for five separate shooting attacks, which targeted the legs of each victim.

    The small city-state — which holds the unwanted distinction of having the highest crime rate of any German federal state, recording nearly 15,000 offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024 according to Federal Criminal Police Office data — is now grappling with a wave of targeted shootings that have left one man dead and four others injured since the beginning of March.

    Germany: Major left-wing politician admits ‘massive immigration’ has sparked housing and crime crisis in Bremen

    Police have established a special commission called “Focus” to investigate what has become an alarming pattern: five separate shooting attacks in public spaces, all following the same method. In each case, the alleged perpetrators approached their victims on the street and deliberately shot them in the legs. One victim, a 32-year-old man, did not survive. The others ranged in age from 25 to 60.

    Two suspects are now the subject of public arrest warrants: 35-year-old Osman Sönmez and 39-year-old Ferhat Kokakelci, both Turkish nationals. Police believe them to be responsible for the attacks across the Neustadt, Walle, and Obervieland districts — areas that already struggle with elevated rates of drug-related crime and street violence.

    What is driving the shootings remains unclear. According to Apollo News, citing a police spokesman, investigators have not ruled out either a personal dispute or a connection to organized crime. Both possibilities are being actively pursued.

    Germany: Police search for Moroccan migrant who allegedly sexually assaulted 17-year-old boy

    The case lands in a city that has long wrestled with serious crime challenges. Bremen’s case clearance rate sits at just 44.5 percent — one of the lowest in Germany — and the city leads the country in predatory crimes such as muggings, with 194 cases per 100,000 residents. Drug dealing, property crime, and violence in outlying districts such as Gröpelingen have been persistent concerns for local authorities for years.

    Bremen’s crime wave is primarily driven by foreigners. In fact, an incredible 73 percent of all crime suspects are foreigners.

    Bremen’s Senator for the Interior, Eva Högl of the SPD, attempted to project a tough-on-crime approach. She said she had made clear from the outset that such crimes would be “prosecuted with the full force of the law,” thanking both the public prosecutor’s office and the police for their cooperation. “We will not tolerate violence on the streets,” she said.

    Whether the arrests of the two named suspects will bring the shootings to an end — or whether they are part of a deeper conflict yet to surface — remains to be seen.

    Bremen’s crime crisis tied to immigration

    However, other SPD members have been more open about the root causes of the city’s crisis.

    Bremen’s former Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer of the SPD, who served until 2025, even stated that the city’s immigration policy has been a disaster and is contributing to housing and social problems, including an exploding crime rate.

    The city is “completely overwhelmed with taking in so many people,” said Mäurer while speaking with German newspaper Weser-Kurier, adding that the problems have “worsened.”

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    Mäurer had been there since the start, helping guide the city’s radical policy towards immigration. The 73-year-old had been in office for 16 years. Only at the very end of his tenure did he blame “massive immigration” for the housing shortage and “enormous difficulties” in daycares, schools, and at job sites.

    Bremen has been one of the most open cities to mass immigration over the last decade. In 2018, the city declared itself a “safe haven,” and that designation is still in place. The declaration signed at the time states: “We welcome refugees – and are ready to take more people.”

    “If the problems are not solved,” said Mäurer, “it is no wonder that more and more people are turning away from our democratic community.”

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    Mäurer also spoke of a spiraling crime crisis in his liberal bastion of a city.

    “We have seen a massive increase in robberies since the summer of 2023, which we can clearly attribute to migration,” said Mäurer: “The majority of these crimes are committed by young men from North Africa.”

    In fact, the problem had grown so serious by the end of 2024 that Bremen’s police initiated a special force called “Young Robbers” to target these foreigners. The new force has opened 1,000 investigations and identified 350 suspects.

  • Vox accuses Spanish government of suppressing coverage after Moroccan axe attack suspect allegedly said ‘all Christians must die’

    Vox accuses Spanish government of suppressing coverage after Moroccan axe attack suspect allegedly said ‘all Christians must die’

    A violent axe attack on Monday in the southern Spanish town of Montefrío left two women in critical condition and another victim injured, and Vox leader Santiago Abascal has accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the state broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) of suppressing information about the incident.

    The attack, which took place in broad daylight, saw a 45-year-old Moroccan man accused of assaulting three people in the street with an axe, including elderly victims who sustained severe head injuries. Two of the victims remain in intensive care at a hospital in Granada, while a third victim suffered less serious injuries.

    The suspect, described in several reports as being of Moroccan origin, was arrested following a police manhunt, with reports indicating he was located in a nearby rural area after attempting to flee the scene.

    La Bandera reported on Wednesday that the suspect made a statement while in custody, claiming he had “heard the call of Allah” and that “all Christians must die,” suggesting a terror motive to the attack.

    Moroccan axe attacker in Spanish town leaves 3 injured as suspect hunted down after dramatic manhunt

    In the immediate aftermath, residents said the attack was the culmination of weeks of rising insecurity. Locals described a pattern of nightly thefts and escalating disorder, with one resident saying the situation had become “out of control” and that authorities had failed to respond adequately.

    El Debate reported that a local WhatsApp group formed in response to the perceived lack of action grew rapidly, with hundreds of residents joining to share concerns and demand stronger security measures. Demonstrations and protests followed, as residents voiced frustration over what they see as a breakdown in public safety.

    The incident quickly took on national political significance after Abascal, leader of the right-wing Vox party, accused authorities of deliberately minimizing the story. Writing on X, he claimed that “two women are fighting for their lives and a man has been injured with an axe in Montefrío,” adding that “TVE is hiding it” and that the government was attempting to silence the truth.

    “TVE is hiding it. Sánchez is silencing it. They know that if the Spanish people learn the truth, this Government has its days numbered,” he wrote.

    Criticism has centered in particular on the role of TVE, Spain’s publicly funded broadcaster. Opposition voices and some media outlets allege that the attack did not feature in major national news bulletins, despite the severity of the incident and the public reaction locally.

    However, coverage of the attack did appear on at least one TVE program, which reported on the violence and the protests in Montefrío, though without providing details about the suspect’s nationality.

  • New UN resolution on slavery omits African and Middle Eastern slave trades, ignores millions enslaved by Islam

    New UN resolution on slavery omits African and Middle Eastern slave trades, ignores millions enslaved by Islam

    In a piece in Le Figaro Histoire entitled “Why do we never talk about the responsibility of Africans in the enslavement of their own people?” Marie-Claude Mosimann-Barbier calls for Africans to acknowledge the role they played in the slave trade “as suppliers, intermediaries, or organizers.” She also calls upon Western institutions such as the United Nations, to stop skirting the issue.

    The article comes in the wake of the UN General Assembly resolution adopted last month that designated the Atlantic slave trade and its involvement in the slavery of Africans as “the most serious crime against humanity.” According to a UN statement, it seeks an order that “confronts historical truth while building mechanisms for equitable futures.”

    However, the clear involvement by various African and Middle Eastern nations in the African slave trade continues to be “taboo,” often disallowed from the conversation entirely, writes Mosimann-Barbier, who is an honorary lecturer at the École normale supérieure de Paris-Saclay, member of the GRER (research group on racism and eugenics) at Paris-Cité University.

    Muslims only contribute 0.1% of scientific achievement despite being 25% of the world’s population, says French author and journalist

    As Mosimann-Barbier points out, “since the beginnings of the trans-Saharan slave trade in the 7th century, Africans had been selling slaves to Arab Muslims,” and as demand grew from the New World centuries later, ethnic Africans happily met it.

    “Long before the arrival of Europeans and the development of the Atlantic slave trade, internal slavery was a structural reality in most African societies,” she writes.

    The Arab slave trade involved the enslavement of approximately 1 million White Europeans across Europe’s vast coastline. There was also ample involvement of the Arabs and Persians in the African slave trade.

    According to scholars, any non-Muslim could be enslaved according to Islamic doctrine, and prior to the 20th century, the number of slaves numbered between 12 and 15 million, which substantially dwarfs the number of slaves in the United States, which reached 4 million at its height.

    German foreign minister false claim that Turks were behind Germany’s ‘economic miracle’ is easily debunked, writes Welt historian

    Even in the modern era, there are an estimated 40 million slaves worldwide, and almost none of these slave networks exist in Western nations.

    What Mosimann-Barbier says is most alarming is that the resolution was the brainchild of President of Ghana John Mahama, who demanded reparations, formal apologies from slave-trading nations, and the return of looted cultural artifacts to address the lasting, systemic inequalities of slavery. Mosimann-Barbier notes that the Ashanti Kingdom, located in present-day Ghana, were one of the ethnic groups responsible for enslaving and selling slaves. Congo, Cameroon, Benin, and Nigeria were other nations known to have been home to active slave traders, ethnic Africans. She also noted the very robust slave (and ivory) trade in East Africa, run by Arab-Muslims.

    In 2006, the government of Ghana did formally apologize for the role it played in slavery, encouraging other African nations to do the same. Another public apology came in 2022, made by the head of the Obokese University of Excellence to the African diaspora at a UN event.

    “Ghana’s claim seems somewhat surreal: how can the seller absolve themselves of all responsibility in the trade and place the entire burden on the buyer?” However, Mosimann-Barbier asks:

    A day before the vote, President John Mahama said: “This resolution is a safeguard against forgetting.”

    Recently, Ferghane Azihari, columnist for Figaro Magazine and author of the new book “Islam against Modernity,” pointed out that slavery was widespread outside of Europe and remained widespread after it ended in Europe.

    “Before Western colonization, most Muslim societies were totally authoritarian, stratified societies, which were, moreover, slave-owning societies that practised slavery in proportions sometimes higher than those we find in the United States. The Sokoto Caliphate in what is now Nigeria was one of the largest slave-owning societies of its time. What we need to remember is that these societies were incapable of abolishing slavery on their own initiative.

    In another interview, he stated: “”It was the French who forced the Algerians to give up the slave trade, as it was known at the time, in 1848. It was the French who closed the slave markets in Morocco…I’m not saying that Islam has a monopoly on slavery. I’m telling you that unlike the West, Islam has not been able to challenge this institution. The slave trade, madam, is an invention of Islam. It was the Muslims who invented the first slave circuit. And why have they never been able to challenge it?”

  • Spain: Moroccan migrant stabbed to death after trying to steal a gold chain from a wheelchair-bound man

    Spain: Moroccan migrant stabbed to death after trying to steal a gold chain from a wheelchair-bound man

    Barcelona police are investigating the death of a man in Barcelona’s Bon Pastor neighborhood following a violent incident on a public street on Sunday, April 5, that left one Moroccan migrant dead and another person under arrest.

    The incident, first reported by El Caso, took place at around 2:00 p.m. when a call to emergency services alerted police to a man with serious stab wounds on Paseo de Mollerussa, at number 10, at the junction with Calle de Sas in the Sant Andreu district.

    Several units of the Medical Emergency System (SEM) responded, but paramedics were unable to revive the man, who died at the scene.

    According to initial information, the deceased man, of Moroccan origin, had allegedly attempted to steal a gold chain from the 66-year-old, who was moving in a wheelchair, thus taking advantage of his vulnerable situation. The wheelchair user, upon realizing what was happening, reportedly used a knife to defend himself, inflicting the injuries that proved fatal.

    Officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra attended simultaneously and arrested a 66-year-old man believed to be responsible for the fatal attack. The Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) has taken over the case, and the 66-year-old is under investigation for homicide. It remains unclear whether a self-defense legal protection will prevail in his case.

    It also remains unclear if the Moroccan man had prior criminal arrests on his record.

    Footage of the aftermath of the incident was widely shared on social media, which showed emergency services attempting to resuscitate the victim. The man died at the scene.

  • German cities buckle under record debt as national deficit surges despite rising tax revenues

    German cities buckle under record debt as national deficit surges despite rising tax revenues

    Germany’s fiscal problems are no longer confined to Berlin — they are now most visible in the country’s towns and cities, where local governments have recorded their worst deficit since reunification.

    According to a DeStatis press release on Tuesday, municipal finances deteriorated sharply in 2025, with the deficit climbing to €31.9 billion, up from €24.8 billion the previous year. While revenues rose to €391.4 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent, spending grew even faster to €423.3 billion, widening the gap between income and expenditure to unprecedented levels.

    The burden is being driven in large part by Germany’s major urban centers, including Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen, where rising welfare obligations, personnel costs, and social spending are placing sustained pressure on already stretched budgets. Local authorities, which are responsible for delivering many front-line public services, are increasingly struggling to keep pace with growing demands — particularly in areas such as housing support, childcare, and social assistance.

    Berlin spends billions on migrant accommodation, but asked its own residents surviving in freezing, dark apartments to cough up for hotel stays

    This record deficit at the municipal level exposes a deeper structural issue within Germany’s federal system, where problems are often passed over by the federal or state level to local governments without the provision of adequate funds to solve them.

    The crisis at the local level is mirrored across the broader public sector. Germany’s total government deficit reached €127.3 billion in 2025, an increase of €22.9 billion, or around 20 percent, compared to the previous year. It brings the country back to deficit levels last seen in 2022, when the country was emerging from the pandemic years.

    The fiscal paradox is that the federal government is actually in receipt of larger tax revenues, but it is simply spending too much to break even. Government income rose to approximately €2.08 trillion, but total expenditure was €2.21 trillion. Public expenditure increased by 6 percent overall.

    At the federal level, the deficit widened significantly to €85.4 billion. Federal spending increased to €658 billion, reflecting higher outlays on defense, infrastructure, and climate-related programs. Military procurement alone rose sharply, with spending reaching €39 billion, an increase of more than 23 percent.

    63% of all welfare recipients in Germany have a migration background

    Much of this expansion has been financed through increased borrowing, which in turn increases debt, with no guarantee that the federal government can spend itself into prosperity.

    Despite these isolated improvements, the broader trajectory remains negative. Economists warn that the current fiscal path reflects deeper, long-term pressures on the German state, including rising social spending, demographic change, and increasing interest costs. The fact that deficits are widening even during a period of relatively strong revenues suggests that the problem lies not in insufficient income, but in the structure and growth of expenditure.

    The return to energy-crisis levels of borrowing without an equivalent external trigger has intensified concerns about Germany’s fiscal sustainability. In 2019, before the pandemic, the country recorded a budget surplus of around €50 billion. Within just a few years, that position has reversed dramatically, with deficits now exceeding €127 billion.

    After pensions and healthcare, welfare benefits are the next-largest spending item for the federal government, and many programs are running at record highs.

    Immigrants comprise a disproportionately large percentage of those in receipt of welfare benefits. In November 2024, statistics from the Federal Employment Agency (BA), provided to Welt newspaper, showed that of the more than 4 million people who can work but receive social benefits, more than 2.5 million have a migration background, constituting 63.5 percent. This group included foreigners and those who have a foreign background, which means their parents may have been born abroad.

    Similarly, nearly half of Germany’s €17.68 billion in housing support for 2024 was paid out to foreigners. Of the total, €8.15 billion went to people without German citizenship, even though they make up just around 15 percent of the population.

    The remaining €9.53 billion went to German citizens — this included German-born individuals and those born elsewhere who have become naturalized.

    DeStatis reported at the end of 2023 that 972,000 Syrians were living in Germany, around 1 in 20 of all Syrian nationals. Of those, 513,534 were in receipt of the German welfare benefit known as citizen’s money (Burgergeld).

    More recently, it was revealed in February that over 70,000 migrants who had been told to leave the country remained in receipt of state welfare benefits. According to Germany’s Central Register of Foreigners, 235,485 people were required to leave the country but remained living in Germany.

    Mohammed becomes most common name among welfare benefit recipients in Germany

    Of that figure, 12,005 were subject to enforceable departure orders, while a further 58,705 had “tolerated status,” meaning they were legally obligated to leave the country but had extenuating circumstances. All were still in receipt of benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act.

    The largest national groups among those required to leave were from Turkey, with 25,652 cases, followed by Iraq with 20,770, Afghanistan with 12,888, Russia with 11,938, and Syria with 10,718.

  • Hungary’s nuclear power plants are key to its energy survival, something the EU-aligned opposition does not seem to grasp

    Hungary’s nuclear power plants are key to its energy survival, something the EU-aligned opposition does not seem to grasp

    The debate over the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant goes far beyond the issue of an energy investment. Its fate also determines whether the country moves towards a stable, predictable and self-resourced energy system or embarks on a more uncertain, expensive and vulnerable path, Zsolt Hárfás, an engineer and nuclear energy expert, tells Hungarian news outlet Magyar Nemzet.

    The expert emphasized that Hungarians will have a critical choice at the polls this Sunday.

    The opposition ideas formulated in the recent period – especially the statements regarding the “full review” of the Paks II project, and the intention to immediately exclude Russian energy carriers – project a change in energy policy direction, the consequences of which go beyond political rhetoric.

    In practice, these steps would lead to a weakening of supply security, an increase in energy prices and a deterioration in economic competitiveness. Zsolt Hárfás, an engineer and nuclear energy expert, drew attention to the fact that a change in direction would also affect the nuclear power plant under construction.

    Trump cuts money flowing to Hungarian outlets that spread misinformation about Hungary’s top nuclear energy project, Paks II

    The Paks II project is an advanced, licensed investment that aims to ensure stable electricity production in the country even after the gradual withdrawal of the current Paks units. The two new units represent an installed capacity of 2,400 MW, available in winter and summer, day and night, and can produce approximately 19 TWh of electricity per year. This could prevent the emission of 17 million tons of carbon dioxide and replace approximately 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Without this, the Hungarian electricity system would increasingly rely on imports or fossil-based production.

    Hungarian FM says nuclear power plant expansion on track to break ground in February

    Stopping or delaying the project would therefore not only decide the fate of an investment, but would also create a critical capacity shortage that could only be filled from more expensive and uncertain sources in the short and medium term. Moreover, increasing import dependence poses not only an economic but also a national security risk, as the country would become increasingly vulnerable to price movements in international energy markets and the decisions of foreign energy providers.

    As Zelensky attacks TurkStream, Szijjártó slams ‘serious attacks on our sovereignty’ and Kyiv’s denial of any official visit to inspect Druzhba

    The issue of natural gas supply is also crucial. Hungary’s current system is largely based on long-term contracts and existing infrastructure. The political exclusion of Russian sources is not only economic, but also physical. Alternative supply options, such as LNG, are available with limited capacity and typically come at higher costs. Experience in recent years has clearly shown that rising gas prices directly affect electricity prices, so such a change in direction would inevitably result in more expensive energy.

  • Germany’s decision to cut off ties to Russian energy is leading to economic collapse, writes Berlin newspaper

    Germany’s decision to cut off ties to Russian energy is leading to economic collapse, writes Berlin newspaper

    Germany is facing the cumulative effects of three crises involving war, energy, and raw materials. As a result of not taking action 15 years ago, Europe’s economic powerhouse finds itself in the grip of both the United States and China regarding the energy market and raw material extraction. This is the analysis set forth by Berliner Zeitung.

    Germany’s economy has hit a “dead end,” the German portal argues, for three primary reasons. First off, Germany lacks a strategy to access critical raw materials needed to boost its economy, which could lead to Chinese dominance in the sector.

    Secondly, the Merz government continued the ideologically motivated energy policy of Robert Habeck and the traffic light coalition without question, rendering Germany vulnerable to American energy imports.

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    Lastly, Germany allowed itself to be dragged into wars that were not its own, both the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Iranian war.

    The country’s previously established green energy policies have left Germany excessively dependent on the supply of American liquefied natural gas, which, the authors in Berliner Zeitung say, “is more expensive, more uncertain, and more politically subject to blackmail than Russian natural gas and crude oil imports.”

    “The claim that Russian gas and oil are cheaper than their alternatives is treated as a political conspiracy theory in Berlin. Anyone who points out the obvious fact that Russian pipeline gas was cheaper than American or Qatari tanker-delivered LNG is simply told that they are pushing the Kremlin’s cart,” they write.

    Germany in ‘historically deepest crisis’ with economy in ‘free fall,’ warns president of Federation of German Industries

    When Robert Habeck led the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany also invested heavily in LNG terminals, building three in Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbüttel and Lubmin, all to ultimately benefit the U.S.

    Monthly U.S. LNG exports increased from 1.7 billion cubic feet per day in January 2017 to more than 12 billion cubic feet per day after three years of war in Ukraine. Almost half of the Russian natural gas displaced from the EU market was replaced by American companies.

    Patrick Pouyanne, the head of TotalEnergies, was quoted as saying in November 2025 that Donald Trump was trying to replace dependence on Russia with dependence on the U.S.

    Since the outbreak of the war in 2022, Berlin has been supporting Ukraine with financial and military means, regardless of the composition of the government, as well as economic sanctions against Russia, including the ban on the import of cheap Russian oil starting in 2027. That is why the US-Israeli air campaign against the Iranian terrorist state that began in late February and early March, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have hit Germany particularly hard.

    Germany’s industrial economy could lose tens of billions if Iran war sends oil price soaring

    “The Iran war has pushed energy and fuel prices to all-time highs, jeopardizing supply chains and fuel supplies, destroying the German tourism industry, and severely impacting German household savings,” writes the Berliner Zeitung.

    Diesel prices have risen to an all-time high. During the Easter weekend of 2026, a liter of diesel cost an average of €2.44. Super E10 fuel was around €2.19 per liter at German filling stations – far exceeding the wartime record prices of 2022. There are worries the price could still go higher.

    A new German regulation imposed on gas stations mandates that they can only increase fuel prices once a day. But this provision has proven counterproductive, as oil companies are exploiting this opportunity to realize extra profits. The gas stations simply raise their prices once a day to a maximum price and slowly bring down the price over the course of the day. The federal government’s measures are therefore driving up prices, rather than bringing down fuel prices.

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    According to the BZ analysis, “Germany is in a bind – America is squeezing it in the energy market, China is squeezing it in the area of ​​raw material extraction, and German defense capabilities are also at risk.”

    Germany should have foreseen this 15 years ago, according to BZ.

    “Unlike oil and gas, there are no German national reserves for critical mineral resources,” the portal states. Berlin should have a strategy already in place for access to raw materials, without which neither the energy transition, nor digitalization, nor defense capability is possible.

    The EU’s list of critical raw materials currently includes 34 minerals, including lithium, cobalt, copper, rare earths, graphite, and nickel. Without these, there are no batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, digitalization, or defense capabilities.

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    The International Energy Agency predicts that global demand for critical minerals will increase almost sevenfold by 2030. The European Commission estimates that demand for lithium will increase 21-fold by 2050.

    Germany does have lithium, but red tape is also an issue. German licensing procedures for mining are extremely slow, which means they are not producing their own lithium reserves. With zero domestic will to change this, China is further expanding its market dominance in the sector, including through targeted overcapacities that stifle any attempts to create alternative production sites at an early stage.

    China has also responded to U.S. tariff policy by introducing export restrictions on rare earths and magnets, which has a direct impact on German companies, as they now have to apply for permits from the Chinese authorities without knowing whether they will receive them and, if so, when.

  • ‘Exceptionally savage acts’ – Algerian man accused of raping and torturing 74-year-old Frenchwoman with a stick inside her home outside Paris

    ‘Exceptionally savage acts’ – Algerian man accused of raping and torturing 74-year-old Frenchwoman with a stick inside her home outside Paris

    A 74-year-old woman has been subjected to an extreme attack, which involved the suspect reportedly torturing and raping the victim in her own home in Romainville, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department outside Paris.

    According to police, a hooded man broke into her apartment in the middle of the night and raped her with a stick before subjecting her to prolonged torture. A 25-year-old suspect who identified himself as Algerian was arrested shortly after the rape.

    The victim was asleep when the masked suspect entered her home, apparently without forced entry — possibly through an unlocked window.

    France: 24-year-old migrant Mohammed D. snuck through a window and raped an elderly building caretaker at knifepoint in Paris, sentenced to 9 years in prison

    He then subjected her to “exceptionally savage acts,” according to French news outlet Actu17. Police report the attacker used a stick to carry out the rape, followed by further beatings, humiliations, and prolonged abuse. The elderly woman sustained serious physical and psychological injuries requiring extensive medical and psychological care.

    Neighbors alerted police after hearing unusual sounds or muffled cries, but by the time the police arrived, the suspect had already concluded the assault.

    Investigators went to work collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, and other materials. Based on this evidence, investigators quickly identified the suspect in the case.

    France: 72-year-old woman assaulted, raped and robbed inside her own apartment while simply trying to close her window

    The police arrested the 25-year-old suspect, who told investigators he was Algerian. It appears the police were not yet able to identify the man’s nation of origin independently, which may point to the man being in the country illegally.

    The man has been placed in pre-trial detention and charged with rape, torture, and acts of barbarity.

    “These attacks on vulnerable elderly people reveal a disturbing drift in violence within our society,” said one source close to the investigation.

    France: Afghan man charged with raping 80-year-old woman to death in the city of Niort

    Could he be connected to other crimes?

    So far, the police have not released any information about the man’s criminal history, but investigators are looking into the possibility that previous similar crimes may be tied to him. In fact, Remix News reported on a very similar case in the nearby neighborhood last year. In that case, an elderly French woman was simply trying to close the window to her apartment when an unidentified individual slipped into her home to rape and rob her in the “sensitive” Mureaux district in Yvelines, outside Paris. The neighborhood is known for its extremely high number of North African residents. So far, no suspect has been arrested in this case, but the police will certainly be examining whether the Algerian in this case has any connection.

    Remarkably, Remix News also reported on a number of similar cases from last year. In Paris, 24-year-old migrant Mohammed D. snuck through a window and raped an elderly building caretaker at knifepoint and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

    Illegal Algerian migrant accused of raping elderly woman in her Paris apartment after offering to help her with her groceries

    Also last year, an illegal Algerian migrant was arrested for raping an elderly woman in her Paris apartment after offering to help her with her groceries. In addition, an Afghan man was charged with raping an 80-year-old woman to death in the city of Niort in a crime that shocked the entire region.

    The elderly being targeted for rape by foreigners in France is nothing new in previous years either, with a wave of such attacks occurring in recent years. In many cases, the victims have been in their 80s, but some have also been in their 90s, and in one case, the victim was 102.

    This latest rape case and others have reignited debates about immigration and public safety in Seine-Saint-Denis and in broader France as well. Seine-Saint-Denis is one of France’s most densely populated and multicultural departments. Recently, a new controversial far-left mayor in the department was elected, Bally Bagayoko, who has promised to disarm municipal police despite continued public safety threats.

  • ‘What have you done for peace?’ – Orbán challenges Tusk after the Polish PM questioned his contact with Putin

    ‘What have you done for peace?’ – Orbán challenges Tusk after the Polish PM questioned his contact with Putin

    Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded to the latest reports about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, taking the opportunity to attack President Karol Nawrocki and Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński.

    “Orban declared to Putin that he is at his service in every matter. Karol Nawrocki, Jarosław Kaczyński, do you support Orban in this too?” Tusk asked on the X platform.

    Tusk’s tweet is a reference to Bloomberg reports, cited by Do Rzeczy, revealing a transcript of a conversation between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 17 of last year. During the conversation, the Hungarian prime minister allegedly offered the Russian leader all possible assistance “in any matter.”

    “Yesterday, our friendship reached such a high level that I can help in any way possible,” Orbán reportedly told Putin. “I am available for any matter,” he emphasized.

    Orbán explained that his contact with Putin allow him to actively engage in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The Hungarian prime minister indicated that he was ready, for example, to organize a peace summit in Budapest.

    The Hungarian prime minister responded on X, telling Tusk: “It’s true. I spoke with President Putin about ending the war and organising a USA-Russia peace summit in Budapest. What have you done for peace?”

    Hungary is currently in the final stages of its election campaign ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12. U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest on Tuesday, where he met with the prime minister and other leaders.

    JD Vance says Brussels’ attempt to sway Hungarian vote is ‘worst foreign election interference he has ever seen’

    “President Trump supports Prime Minister Orbán because together they can do incredible things, and I’m here today to celebrate that cooperation. We’re supporting the prime minister as much as we can before the election,” Vance said at a press conference with Orbán.

  • JD Vance says Brussels’ attempt to sway Hungarian vote is ‘worst foreign election interference he has ever seen’

    JD Vance says Brussels’ attempt to sway Hungarian vote is ‘worst foreign election interference he has ever seen’

    U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance used a high-profile appearance in Budapest alongside Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to accuse Brussels of carrying out “one of the worst examples of foreign and election interference” he had ever seen, claiming EU officials had targeted Hungary because they “hate this guy” and want to weaken his government ahead of the country’s election.

    Speaking at a joint press conference in the Hungarian capital on Tuesday, Vance said the “bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary,” had sought to make the country less energy independent, and had “tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers.”

    “They’ve done it all because they hate this guy,” he added, pointing at Orbán.

    The U.S. vice president cast the vote as a test of national sovereignty and told Hungarian voters to ask not who was pro-Europe or pro-America, but “who is pro-you” and “who is pro the people of Hungary.”

    He caveated his address by insisting he was not telling Hungarians how to vote, and urged the “bureaucrats in Brussels to do the exact same thing.”

    Meanwhile, Orbán hailed a new “golden era” in ties with Washington under President Donald Trump and said the return of Trump had transformed bilateral relations after years without a visit by such a senior American official. He said 2025 had been a record year for economic cooperation and that 2026 was already bringing further momentum, pointing to expanded collaboration in defense and space technology as well as new U.S. investment.

    Both men used the press conference to present Hungary and the Trump administration as ideological allies. Orbán said the two sides were in constant contact on migration, “gender ideology,” family policy, and global security, while Vance said the partnership was rooted not primarily in economics but in “moral cooperation.”

    “What the United States and Hungary together represent under Viktor’s leadership and under President Trump’s leadership is the defense of Western civilization,” Vance said. He said that meant defending the idea that children should be educated “and not indoctrinated,” that families should be able to afford their energy bills, and that the West remained grounded in “Christian civilization and Christian values.”

    The vice president also praised Orbán’s handling of energy policy, saying the Hungarian leader had been “the single most profound leader in Europe on the question of inter energy security and independence.” He argued that other European governments were now paying the price for failing to follow a similar path, saying Hungary’s energy price pressures were still less severe than those seen in much of the rest of Europe.

    Both leaders argued that Trump’s return to power had strengthened the cause of peace in Ukraine. Orbán said Hungary had lived “in the shadows of a war for four years now” and repeated his long-held claim that the conflict would never have begun had Trump been in office in 2022. He also accused Brussels of obstructing peace efforts, saying that if European leaders had not been “blocking the peace efforts of the president, peace would prevail” in Ukraine already.

    The Hungarian prime minister also used the appearance to accuse Ukraine of taking steps designed to damage Hungary before the election. He said Kyiv had earlier blocked a gas pipeline route and had now also blockaded an oil pipeline that he described as “the umbilical cord of the Hungarian economy.” Orbán said Hungary had been forced to tap its reserves, but insisted he had a plan to force Ukraine to reopen the route after the election.

    “We have to force the Ukrainians to reopen the pipeline, and we have a plan to do that,” Orbán said. “After the national forces win the election here in Hungary … there will be no option left for the Ukrainians than to lift this blockade.”

    Vance echoed that confrontational line, saying there were “elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services” that had tried to “put their thumb on the scale of American elections” and Hungarian elections too. He said that behavior was “just what they do,” though he added that Ukraine, like the United States, contained both “good people and bad people.”

    At another point, Vance was asked whether the United States would work with a different Hungarian leader if Orbán were defeated. He replied that Washington would work with whoever won because it loved “the people of Hungary,” but immediately added: “Viktor Orban is going to win the next election in Hungary.”

  • Instead of cracking down on migrant fare dodgers, German justice minister pushes for decriminalization

    Instead of cracking down on migrant fare dodgers, German justice minister pushes for decriminalization

    Fare dodging on Germany’s public transport has been steadily rising over the past decade, with foreign nationals disproportionately represented in the stats, but instead of cracking down on the issue, Germany’s justice minister has called for fare evasion to be decriminalized.

    Stefanie Hubig, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), argued that prosecuting passengers for travelling without a ticket places an unnecessary strain on the justice system, questioning whether those unable to pay fines should be sent to prison at all.

    She said courts are being clogged with minor cases that absorb time and resources, which could be better directed toward more serious criminal matters, a view not shared by public transport operators.

    “From my point of view, there are good reasons for decriminalization,” she said, adding that lawmakers must consider whether fare evasion should continue to be treated as a criminal offense at all.

    As noted by Bild, travelling without a valid ticket is a criminal offense under Section 265a of the criminal code. Offenders face fines or up to one year in prison, and those unable to pay can be jailed under so-called substitute custodial sentences. Each year, between 7,000 and 9,000 people are imprisoned under this provision alone.

    Some argue that the system is both inefficient and socially counterproductive. The German Bar Association has backed calls for decriminalization, with legal experts questioning whether the punishment delivers any meaningful benefit to society. They argue that the current approach disproportionately affects poorer individuals while offering limited deterrent value.

    Green and Left Party MPs have already introduced draft legislation to remove criminal penalties for fare evasion and instead treat it as a civil offense.

    However, the proposal has been ridiculed by conservatives who argue that weakening enforcement sends the wrong message at a time when rule-breaking on public transport is already rising. CDU MP Günter Krings dismissed the initiative, saying there would be no end to criminal prosecution under the CDU/CSU.

    Public transport operators have warned that removing criminal penalties would only further embolden fare evaders, especially repeat offenders, while leaving companies and law-abiding passengers to absorb the financial consequences.

    Germany: Train conductors urged not to check tickets of foreigners to keep the peace

    In some regions, such as in the eastern state of Thuringia, inspectors and conductors have reportedly been told to avoid checking tickets amid a rise in violence against staff.

    A series of violent incidents linked to fare disputes has intensified concerns. In one case in Dresden, a man who had been removed from a bus after travelling without a ticket returned and stabbed a ticket inspector, leaving him seriously injured. In another incident in Magdeburg, a woman without a valid ticket attacked multiple railway staff and bit police officers after being asked to leave a train.

    Germany: Husband-wife duo Mohammad and Israa beat Berlin ticket inspector until he went blind in one eye, called him ‘dirty n****r’ during attack

    In Berlin, a ticket inspector was left permanently blind in one eye after being brutally beaten by a couple during a dispute over fares, with the victim later telling a court that his “old life had been taken” from him. The inspector was called a “dirty n****r” during the attack by 24-year-old Mohammad A. and his wife, Israa M. (22).

    Germany: DB train ticket controller dies after brutal attack, Greek national arrested

    In February of this year, a 36-year-old railway employee died after being violently assaulted by a passenger during a ticket inspection.

    In 2023, Germany’s rail system saw an explosion in violence, with 75 violent and sexual crimes every single day. There were 25,640 violent crimes recorded in 2023, a 42 percent increase from 2019. There were 1,898 sexual crimes, a 60 percent increase, and 555 knife crimes.

    Against this backdrop, opponents argue that removing criminal penalties for fare evasion risks further weakening already strained enforcement mechanisms. Without the threat of prosecution, they say, authorities will have fewer tools to deal with persistent offenders, potentially exacerbating existing tensions.

  • Swiss cantons sound alarm over migrant crime as 60% of North African asylum seekers accused of an offense despite just 1% likely to be granted asylum

    Swiss cantons sound alarm over migrant crime as 60% of North African asylum seekers accused of an offense despite just 1% likely to be granted asylum

    Swiss authorities are under growing pressure over a surge in crime linked to young North African men moving through the country’s asylum system, with several cantons warning that repeat offenders are overwhelming police and prosecutors, even though their chances of being granted asylum are effectively nonexistent.

    The issue was raised in the NZZ am Sonntag, which reported that Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian asylum applicants are not only almost always rejected, but are also disproportionately represented in theft and petty crime cases across several parts of Switzerland.

    The problem is particularly prevalent in German-speaking cantons, where officials say they are being forced to increase patrols, speed up prosecutions, and tighten coordination in an attempt to curb offending before suspects disappear, reoffend, or move on.

    According to the latest figures cited in the report, 2,127 Algerians applied for asylum in Switzerland last year, but only 0.3 percent were granted protection. The corresponding rates were 0.7 percent for Moroccans and 2.5 percent for Tunisians, all dramatically lower than for applicants from countries such as Eritrea and Afghanistan. Despite those negligible approval rates, Swiss authorities continue to process large numbers of applications from Arab nations, enabling applicants to stay in the country throughout the process, and often afterward.

    A study by consulting firm Ecoplan, prepared for the federal government and cantons, identified North African asylum seekers as the main problem group in crime stats. The report said that although they tend to spend only a short period in Switzerland, almost 60 percent are accused of a crime during that time. The men involved are often referred to as “Harraga,” a term used for young North African migrants who travel without documents and are said to “burn their papers.”

    Security officials in several cantons now say the scale of the problem may be even worse than initial figures suggest. In Thurgau, a recent security report highlighted a 242 percent rise in thefts from vehicles, with the number of cases climbing from 74 to 253. According to the report, half of the solved cases were committed by North African asylum seekers.

    ‘We’re not xenophobic, we’re just not stupid!’ — Locals protest plans to turn Zurich retirement home into migrant shelter

    In Aargau, officials said a large share of thefts is also being carried out by men from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Three-quarters of the 900 solved cases were attributed to suspects from those three countries. Authorities there also keep a list of repeat offenders, and 19 of the 50 names on that list are from the Maghreb nations. One 17-year-old Algerian, according to a police spokesman, was convicted last year of eight thefts from vehicles, along with shoplifting, burglaries, pickpocketing, and other offenses.

    Similar warnings have been issued elsewhere. In Zurich, security director Mario Fehr said Algerians and Moroccans are especially noticeable in theft offenses of all kinds. Solothurn has announced the creation of a new cantonal body in part because of petty-crime repeat offenders in the asylum sector. In St. Gallen, the cantonal government said people from the Maghreb are keeping both police and prosecutors busy with stolen cell phones, car break-ins, and burglaries, often using multiple aliases.

    Prosecutors in St. Gallen issued 1,765 penalty orders against this group alone last year. Florian Schneider, spokesman for the St. Gallen cantonal police, said some offenders were being encountered repeatedly within hours. “We saw some repeat offenders three times in a single day,” he said, describing a demoralizing cycle for law enforcement driven by low deterrence and relentless reoffending. He also said officers regularly encounter suspects who are “often hot-tempered and very disrespectful,” as cited by 20 Minuten.

    Geneva court sentences Algerian migrant to 8 years for rape of American tourist in hotel stairwell

    Swiss authorities are attempting to respond with faster legal processing and tighter coordination between police and migration officials. At the federal level, the State Secretariat for Migration has pointed to several measures already introduced. Since the start of 2024, authorities have held strategic roundtables, recruited former police officers to improve information-sharing with regional forces, and set up a dedicated task force focused on repeat offenders. The government has also said it is accelerating asylum procedures and prioritizing the deportation of convicted criminals, with an initial assessment of the pilot effort expected in the coming months.

    Critics argue that these steps do not go nearly far enough. Beat Stauffer, a veteran journalist and longtime Maghreb expert cited in the report, said the current situation is “madness” and called for a much tougher approach. He argued that Switzerland is spending tens of millions of francs each year processing applications from countries whose nationals are rejected at rates approaching 99 percent, only for many of those rejected to remain on emergency aid for years afterward. In his view, asylum claims from countries such as Algeria and Morocco should only be processed if compelling reasons can be demonstrated at the outset.

  • Germany: 13-year-old Iraqi repeat offender beats elderly bus driver into a coma after the driver asked his group to be quiet

    Germany: 13-year-old Iraqi repeat offender beats elderly bus driver into a coma after the driver asked his group to be quiet

    A 13-year-old Iraqi-born youth and repeat offender has been arrested for beating a 62-year-old bus driver into a coma following a brutal confrontation in Leipzig. The bus driver allegedly told a group of disruptive youths to be quiet. Due to the youth’s age, he cannot be held criminally responsible.

    The incident occurred on April 1 around 7:00 p.m. on bus route 90, with the initial police report providing sparse details: “There was a physical altercation with the 13-year-old, in which the bus driver was injured. Due to his injuries, he had to go to a hospital and treated as an inpatient.”

    However, as more details came out, it became clear the incident was far more serious. Police sources indicated the Iraqi-born youth struck the driver with at least three headbutts near the Sophienstraße stop.

    Germany: DB train ticket controller dies after brutal attack, Greek national arrested

    The driver collapsed and began to bleed, and a subsequent hospital diagnosis revealed he had suffered a stroke during the attack.

    The bus driver was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He remains in a comatose state.

    Medical experts are now tasked with determining if the head trauma directly caused the stroke or simply contributed to it, though it is noted that the victim had no prior symptoms before the attack.

    The suspect was “quickly identified“ by police after fleeing the scene, but he likely faces no significant legal consequences. In Germany, children under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible, shifting the matter to youth welfare offices.

    ‘Increasingly becoming no-go areas’ – Violent crime explodes at German train stations due to mass immigration

    The 13-year-old, who reportedly does not attend school, is unlikely to be institutionalized due to high legal barriers and a lack of available placement facilities.

    Speaking to Bild, Silko Kamphausen, head of the Leipzig Youth Welfare Office, said he has faced similar challenges before, having used “immediate measures of intervention and repression“ to handle a youth gang responsible for over 150 crimes.

    The attack on the bus driver comes at a time when public transport workers are facing soaring risks in Germany. Earlier this year, a ticket collector on the Deutsche Bahn rail system was beaten to death by a Greek national.

    Based on data received from the Federal Ministry of the Interior in response to an inquiry from the Left Party, for the first 10 months of 2025, on average, five employees of Deutsche Bahn are physically assaulted on duty every day. In addition, there are four cases of threats per day.

    In total, 1,231 Deutsche Bahn employees were victims of physical assault, and 324 were victims of aggravated assault during this period.

    In 2024, German train conductors in the state of Thuringia were given permission not to check the tickets of foreign passengers after an increase in threatening behavior from asylum seekers towards staff.

    Foreigners have been implicated in numerous incidents targeting train staff, including brutal assaults. As noted in previous articles, European train conductors, ticket controllers, and other staff are bearing the brunt of mass immigration in Europe.

    Data has shown that foreigners are vastly overrepresented in serious crimes at German train stations and on German trains. Foreigners only make up about 15 percent of the German population, but these same suspects account for a tremendous 59 percent of all sexual crimes at German train stations, according to federal police data obtained by the NIUS outlet.

    Germany: Yemeni migrant raped 14-year-old girl at Munich bus stop after demanding sex through translation app

    These serious crimes include everything from migrants masturbating on rail lines, resulting in regional traffic shutdowns, to German staff being terrorized to the point that they are not showing up for work, including due to physical assaults and sexual violence. There is now even a policy in place to not check train tickets for people who look to be foreign out of fear of assault.

  • Moroccan axe attacker in Spanish town leaves 3 injured as suspect hunted down after dramatic manhunt

    Moroccan axe attacker in Spanish town leaves 3 injured as suspect hunted down after dramatic manhunt

    A Moroccan national armed with an axe injured three people in a random and unprovoked attack in southern Spain on Monday, triggering panic in a small town and a major police operation that ended with his arrest hours later.

    The violence unfolded in Montefrío shortly before 10 a.m., when a 45-year-old man allegedly began targeting passersby in a central part of the town near Fuente y Prado Street.

    Authorities said the suspect, a Moroccan national who had only recently arrived in the area, acted without any clear motive. Investigators have so far found no indication of a prior dispute with the victims.

    According to local police, the first person targeted was an older man walking nearby. The attacker is understood to have lunged at him with the axe, but the man managed to defend himself and escape with minor injuries.

    Moments later, two women who had shouted at the attacker were confronted and struck. One suffered a serious head injury and had to be airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Granada, where she remains in serious condition.

    The second woman sustained severe injuries to her hands, with Granada Hoy reporting that one of her fingers was amputated in the attack. She was transported by ambulance for urgent medical treatment.

    The suspect fled the scene, sparking a manhunt for the armed man.

    A local nursing assistant, Claudia, told the CanarSur broadcaster how she was pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair around the town when she was approached by the suspect. He reported swore at her and told her not to say anything, before running away.

    He then launched the axe at a delivery woman, embedding the weapon in her van.

    Local police officers used drones to track the suspect, who was later involved in a car crash during his attempted escape. He was eventually arrested and remanded in custody.

    An investigation to ascertain a possible motive remains ongoing.

    Commenting on the attack, Santiago Abascal, president of the right-wing Vox party, wrote, “Two women seriously injured and an entire town terrorized. It’s always the same: those who demand them, those who call for them, those who bring them, and those who regularize them are never the ones who suffer them. The invasion kills.”

  • Poland: Naked black man photographed walking across bridge is a university student from Zimbabwe, police make arrest

    Poland: Naked black man photographed walking across bridge is a university student from Zimbabwe, police make arrest

    Poland’s Municipal Police Headquarters issued a statement regarding a naked black man who 
    was parading across the Piłsudski Bridge in Toruń just before midnight on April 4.

    A woman reported having stopped her car after seeing a cat that had been struck on the bridge. She turned on her hazard lights and exited her vehicle to place the cat on the side of the road, Do Rzeczy writes, citing Dobrytorunlepszapolska.pl. It was then that she “saw a dark-skinned man walking toward her. He was approaching down the middle of the street, walking confidently, and was completely naked.”

    A passing driver filmed the man in a video that spread on social media. A taxi driver provided shelter to the woman and immediately called the police.

    “On Saturday (04/04/26) at 11:51 PM, Toruń police officers received a report from a man who had seen a naked, black man walking near the General J. Piłsudski Bridge. The officers who arrived at the scene detained the man in question and then transported him to a police station. Due to his behavior, an ambulance was called to the scene and the crew decided to transport the detainee to a specialist health facility. The man turned out to be a 25-year-old student from Zimbabwe residing in Poland,” read a statement from police.

    Poland: Two naked Ethiopian men found running through Lubin spark police investigation

    It is not yet known at which university the accused is attending nor what he is studying.

    “Tomorrow (Tuesday, editor’s note), the 25-year-old will be taken to the Border Guard station with a police request for deportation. Currently, the man is being held in a police detention facility,” the Toruń police added in a post on X.

    In recent years, there have been a number of headline-grabbing cases involving naked men from Africa inside Poland. Last year, two naked Ethiopian men were found running through Lubin, sparking a police investigation.

    In another incident, a Senegalese illegal migrant was detained by Polish police and deported after defecating in public at a popular swimming area

    Senegalese illegal migrant detained and deported from Poland after defecating in public at popular swimming area

  • Evidence points to Ukraine being behind TurkStream attempted sabotage, but that should come as no surprise

    Evidence points to Ukraine being behind TurkStream attempted sabotage, but that should come as no surprise

    Secret service documents allegedly prove that the Ukrainians planned to blow up the Turkish and Blue Stream pipelines years ago, permanently cutting Europe off from cheap Russian gas, reports Magyar Nemzet, citing a report out of Ellenpont.

    However, Serbia’s intelligence chief is denying that Ukrainians were the perpetrators, instead claiming that they had reports of a possible attack planned by a certain migrant gang group of radical muslims but had not considered it legitimate intel. However, this same chief also does not rule out that Ukraine was the contractor behind the scheme.

    The Serbian section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline was set on fire in a sabotage operation on Sunday. Since this pipeline supplies Hungary with gas, blowing up the pipeline would have put the country’s gas supply at risk.

    The portal also reported that, in response to the explosives found near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia last weekend, a presenter on one of Zelensky’s propaganda TV stations stated: “If the Ukrainians want to blow up the Turkish Stream, they will blow it up.”

    President Zelensky has been accused by Budapest of openly interfering in the Hungarian elections by creating an energy crisis to help opposition leader Péter Magyar. Kyiv wants to cut Hungary off from all Russian oil, and they are counting on Magyar’s Tisza Party to do this.

    Since January, Kyiv has refused to reopen the Druzhba after a Russian attack, with Hungary and Slovakia claiming Zelensky is keeping the pipeline closed on purpose. Back in August last year, after a Ukrainian attack on part of the pipeline in Russia, the section was repaired quickly, and Hungary’s foreign minister made it clear that they expected no further attacks on such vital energy infrastructure.

    Hungary stands firm on demanding Ukraine reopen Druzhba pipeline if it wants EU loan money

    In September 2022, when the Ukrainians destroyed Nord Stream, they were allegedly planning a double attack, writes Magyar Nemet, with the other target being the TurkStream.

    “This pipeline is essential for Hungary’s natural gas supply, as 56 percent, or more than half, of the natural gas in our system comes through the Turkish Stream pipeline,” wrote Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó after the incident.

    After attempt to blow up TurkStream, Orbán says ‘Hungary’s gas supply is not in danger’ while warning of ‘extremely serious’ situation

    Calling the situation “extremely serious,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, “We are currently under a Ukrainian gas blockade, but we can make up for the loss from the south. If this umbilical cord is cut, the Hungarian economy will come to a standstill.”

  • Hungarian boxer defeated by alleged transgender at Paris Olympics says she’ll be ready to box him again in LA

    Hungarian boxer defeated by alleged transgender at Paris Olympics says she’ll be ready to box him again in LA

    At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Luca Hámori finished fifth after losing to Algerian Imane Khelif in the quarterfinals. The loss was especially difficult, as Khelif was embroiled in a gender controversy, with Khelif’s gender unclear to this day.

    Having just won her first professional match and currently preparing for the Brazilian World Cup, Hámori intends to meet Khelif back in the ring in Los Angeles in 2028 and bring home Hungary’s first Olympic medal in the sport for women, writes Magyar Nemzet. She will also be participating in the European Championship this September.

    Back in 2024, Hámori was up against a stadium of Algerians. As she said: “When I entered the ring, I was already enjoying it, even though the whole hall was booing me and I was the one who was considered the enemy.”

    Khelif went on to defeat Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting to win gold. Both athletes had been disqualified from the women’s world boxing championships for failing a chromosomal test with the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023. The tests clearly proved they had XY chromosomes. However, the IOC, unlike the IBA, decided to allow both of them to compete against biological women at the Olympics.

    Khelif had defeated Italy’s Angela Carini in a preliminary match in just under a minute, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not hold back in her criticism. “Athletes with male genetic characteristics should NOT be allowed to compete in women’s competitions!” she told press at the time.

    Later that year, a leaked fragment of a medical report, first reported by the German Bild outlet, stated that Khelif is indeed a “biological male.” Originally written in 2023 by French and Algerian endocrinology experts at the Kremlin-Bicètre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers, it says Khelif suffers from a sexual development disorder found only in biological males.

    The test Khelif underwent allegedly clearly showed that he had no uterus, but had “internal testicles” and a “micropenis” resembling an enlarged clitoris. He also had an XY karyotype and testosterone levels typical of men.

    IOC pummeled by IBA and top athletes after ‘female’ Olympic boxer found to be a man after all

    Back home in Hungary, Hámori is as focused as ever. “I have said several times that my primary goal is to qualify for the 2028 Summer Games and win the sport’s first Hungarian women’s Olympic medal there. I discussed this with the federation, the captain and my club coach.”

    Calling the defeat by Khelif a gift from fate, she told Magyar Nemzet: “God marked this path for me, and I made the most of it.”

    Hámori has been training non-stop with male boxers, although this is not only because of her loss to Khelif.

    “I’ve been fighting a lot with both boys and men since then, because here in Hungary I have very few quality female opponents with whom I can train properly,” she said.

    She added that this training helps her be her strongest self in the ring against someone like Khelif, as she often faces a wall when entering the ring with a male.

    However, Hámori should have nothing to worry about in terms of facing Khelif or Lin Yu-ting in Los Angeles in 2028. The IOC will ban transgender women from competing in women’s events, limiting participation to biological females. This new policy is based on mandatory genetic testing (SRY gene screening). And yet, Hámori maintains that were Khelif to pass, she will be ready.

    “I am especially happy about the introduction of gender tests, because from now on, no one can find themselves in a situation like I was in Paris. (…) If Khelif were to successfully pass the test, then, having learned the lessons of our first match, I would gladly box with him again.”

  • Another ethnic Hungarian dead in Ukraine, this time at the front

    Another ethnic Hungarian dead in Ukraine, this time at the front

    Another ethnic Hungarian has fallen victim at the frontline in Ukraine. István Huszti, a resident of the Korolevo settlement in the Beregszás district, lost his life in battles against Russian forces, wrote Kárpát Hír, citing the Transcarpathian news portal Mukachevo.

    The soldier was mortally wounded while performing a combat mission. Official information about the soldier’s return home date, as well as details of the farewell and funeral, will be provided to relatives and the community at a later date.

    Hungary has long shed light on Ukraine’s highly controversial forced conscription practices, especially when it has involved ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine, known as Transcarpathia, a region once part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the Treaty of Trianon after WW I.

    Just last month, Remix News wrote about a 42-year-old father of five, including two minors, being ripped off the streets by Ukrainian recruiters, despite having a medical military exemption due to a heart and lung condition.

    Another ethnic Hungarian, sick and caring for multiple children, dragged to Ukraine’s frontline

    In February, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that the Hungarian government will assist ethnic Hungarians being forced to the frontlines in Ukraine if it involves recruiters stepping foot on Hungarian territory.

    This stance came after more stories of ethnic Hungarians possibly being targeted to serve as cannon fodder on Ukraine’s frontlines. Another story involved a Hungarian man described by relatives as mentally unwell, who was allegedly seized from outside his home in Transcarpathia. He is now listed as missing.

    One of the most highlighted cases was that of 45-year-old József Sebestyén, shown in a disturbing video crawling in a military camp, visibly injured, as others mocked him. He was later hospitalized and died after reportedly being transferred to a mental hospital used for wounded soldiers.

    Hungary summons Ukrainian ambassador after death of ethnic Hungarian during forced conscription

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó at the time posted a message to Facebook, slamming Kyiv for its state-run brutality. By refusing to investigate the death of József Sebestyén, Ukrainian authorities had “effectively acknowledged” that forced conscription, including beatings and even killings, was “a state-institutionalized, accepted, ordered and state-managed process.”

    “In a civilized, normal country, there is an immediate prosecution, the perpetrators are immediately caught and their bosses, who approved it, are immediately imprisoned, and this practice is stopped,” Szijjártó said.

    The foreign minister has also negotiated the return of two PoWs from Moscow.

    Putin releases 2 ethnic Hungarian PoWs to Szijjártó, asks for ‘nothing’ in return

    While no official data is available, reports indicate that at least 100 ethnic Hungarians, mostly from the Transcarpathia region, have died fighting for Ukraine against Russia.

  • After attempt to blow up TurkStream, Orbán says ‘Hungary’s gas supply is not in danger’ while warning of ‘extremely serious’ situation

    After attempt to blow up TurkStream, Orbán says ‘Hungary’s gas supply is not in danger’ while warning of ‘extremely serious’ situation

    On Easter Sunday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted that Serbian President Vučić had informed him of “a powerful explosive device, along with the equipment needed to detonate it” along the TurkStream pipeline used to transit gas between Serbia and Hungary. He immediately convened his cabinet for an emergency session and has since held a press conference at the site in question.

    “We’re going at six o’clock on Easter Monday morning. Not where we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be getting wet. But we’re not going there, we’re going down to the Serbian-Hungarian border. We’re going to check out the gas pipeline’s entry point there around Kiskundorozsma. They wanted to blow it up on the Serbian side, and we had to order military protection for the Hungarian section of the pipeline,” Orbán posted in a video message this morning on Facebook.

    Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accompanied the prime minister, posting on his own account: “Yesterday, the Serbian authorities prevented a terrorist attack in which they wanted to blow up the Serbian section of the Turkish Stream pipeline. This pipeline is essential for Hungary’s natural gas supply, as 56 percent, or more than half, of the natural gas in our system comes through the Turkish Stream pipeline.”

    “Our task is to protect Hungary’s sovereignty, protect the provision of Hungarian families, protect the country’s ability to function and fight for the reduction of utility bills. We simply do not want Hungarian people to pay at least three times as much for utility bills as they do now, and this would be the result of eliminating Russian gas and oil. That is why we have placed the Hungarian section of the Turkish Stream, which is a 250-kilometer natural gas pipeline, under military protection. Now we are heading to Kiskundorozsma, where the gas pipeline enters the territory of Hungary,” he wrote.

    On-site in Kiskundorozsma, Orbán told press that “the situation is extremely serious,” writes Magyar Nemzet.

    “For now, Hungary’s gas supply is not in danger, but continuous protection must be ensured,” he said, adding that Hungarian Armed Forces are capable of protecting the gas pipeline. He also addressed the fact that with the Druzhba still shut down by Kyiv, Hungary cannot afford to lose the TurkStream as well.

    “Earlier, we were talking about oil, we were under blockade. We will replace that from elsewhere, but the gas pipeline is even more like the artery,” explained the prime minster, reminding press that the gas pipeline to Hungary had already been blocked before, which is why the Turkish Stream was built. 

    “We are currently under a Ukrainian gas blockade, but we can make up for the loss from the south. If this umbilical cord is cut, the Hungarian economy will come to a standstill,” Orbán emphasized.

    Earlier, the prime minister’s political director, Balázs Orbán, posted on Facebook, calling attention to the fact that pro-Ukrainian “experts” also appeared in connection with the sabotage attempt against the TurkStream, similar to when the Nord Stream was blown up. “Do we still remember when the Ukrainians blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and some tried with all their might to prove that the Russians destroyed their own pipeline?” Balázs Orbán asked.

    Meanwhile, Orbán reiterated the coming energy crisis facing the entire continent and the need to drop sanctions against Moscow. “Europe is heading towards an extremely serious energy crisis, and the next few days will be decisive. According to him, a competition for energy sources may develop, like for vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic,” writes Magyar Nemzet.

    “The Hungarian position is that we should stop sanctioning Russian energy. The other side is of the opinion that this is not necessary and that sanctions on Russian energy should be maintained,” Orbán underlined, adding that he would not be surprised if news of further threats were to arrive in the coming days. 

    “The country’s energy security is not a campaign issue, but a government issue. That requires strategic calm,” he told press.

  • If US VP Vance wants to fight election interference in the US, maybe he should look at Hungary

    If US VP Vance wants to fight election interference in the US, maybe he should look at Hungary

    U.S. Vice President JD Vance held the first meeting of the Anti-Fraud Task Force to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Democrats and the Biden administration. The initiative is hitting home in Hungary, where past interference, often U.S-funded, has been a constant thorn in the side of the government led by Viktor Orbán.

    Vance’s task force will be working with the Justice Department, the FBI, and other government agencies, reports Magyar Nemzet, to investigate corruption cases, including election fraud in individual states and cases that may involve Ukraine.

    The Trump administration has also signaled that it will take a more aggressive approach to social security fraud, which Vance said the federal government has failed to address for decades. The initiative is motivated by several high-profile cases, including the fraudulent daycare networks in Minneapolis and election fraud in some states.

    The task force includes several key government figures – a significant number of Cabinet members, the head of the Justice Department’s new anti-fraud division, and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. A new judicial unit has also been established to take action more effectively. 

    USAID: A brief history of the Democrats’ now-defunct ‘miracle weapon’

    Declassified U.S. intelligence documents show that in 2022, Ukrainian officials discussed a plan to indirectly redirect hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid originally intended for clean energy back to the United States. 

    Hungary has also been the target of American funding of opposition media and politicians during past election cycles, with money being funneled in via left-wing NGOs, Soros-backed entities, and other groups. The last head of USAID, Samantha Power, visited Hungary in February 2023 at the invitation of the since-departed and vocal Orbán critic U.S. ambassador, David Pressman, to meet with NGOs working in the field of democracy export.

    With Trump in power, USAID has been shut down, although some of the same activities and groups looking to oust Orbán are alive and well via money from Brussels.

    Ahead of election in Hungary this spring, Brussels is making sure opposition media is alive and well

    Based on intercepted communications, a significant portion of funds at the center of Vance’s investigation may have been used to finance Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and the Democratic Party, writes Magyar Nemzet. This was allegedly done through American subcontractors and difficult-to-trace schemes. The relevant American agencies have raised the issue that no substantive investigation was conducted during the Biden administration.

    Magyar Nemzet also notes that Donald Jr. Trump also spoke in a podcast about how war-torn Ukraine received funds under the name of “clean energy projects,” of which he claimed 90 percent was diverted through USAID, led by Samantha Power, and other NGOs to support the Democratic election campaign, while the remaining 10 percent went to Zelensky and his circle.

    Attempts by American liberals to interfere with Hungarian elections are not a thing of the past. In a post last month, Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán, took direct aim at USAID, the German Marshal Fund, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for funding left-liberal journalist Szabolcs Panyi, a journalist caught allegedly helping foreign intelligence services to illegally wiretap Hungarian Foreign Mininster Szijjártó’s phone.

    “Szabolcs Panyi and the network he represents, which operates from USAID and Soros-funded sources, and in cooperation with the intelligence services of unnamed EU member states has been involved in the surveillance of Hungary’s Foreign Minister,” his post reads.

    “THIS IS HOW THEY TRY TO CHANGE A GOVERNMENT FROM ABROAD. Foreign interference in the campaign ahead of Hungary’s April elections has reached a new level,” Balázs Orbán wrote, emphasizing that both “Brussels and Kyiv are interfering in Hungary’s elections on the side of Péter Magyar.”

    While attempting to entrap Szijjártó in charges of treason to help bring opposition leader Magyar to power, the only clear result so far has been possible espionage and treason charges for Panyi himself.

    ‘They proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!’ – Hungarian FM slams opposition ‘bombshell’ of old news gained via illegal wiretap

    Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to refuse to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, which transits Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, in what has appeared to be a blatant attempt to create an energy crisis in Hungary ahead of the election next weekend. Maintaining low heating and gasoline prices has been a core policy for the Orbán-led Fidesz government, and Zelensky is determined to try to make this impossible, directly hurting Hungarian citizens in doing so, hoping they will then rebel against Orbán.

    Leaked document from Hungarian opposition calls for immediate elimination of gasoline price caps and utility price reductions to align with Brussels

    However, Brussels itself has made it clear that one of the first things they will do under a Magyar government is reverse all Fidesz price caps and eliminate Russian oil once and for all, which will create a price surge across all consumer utilities.

    And yet, with the Iran War now in play and the Strait of Hormuz closed, Brussels elites are getting nervous about energy prices as well, indicating that they may be looking to allow other EU member states that had previously relied on Druzhba to regain access to this source of oil.

    Meanwhile, some in Brussels are simply confused as to what Zelensky is trying to achieve.

    “The EU wants to adopt another sanctions package and put pressure on Russia, Ukraine needs the loan, Hungary and Slovakia are critically dependent on the flows of oil and are running on reserves,” one diplomatic source told Euractiv.

    Zelensky’s refusal to reopen Druzhba is “an enigma,” this source said, adding: “If Druzhba is deblocked, all sides win.”

  • Czech government imposes fuel price cap and cuts diesel tax to combat surging costs at the pump

    Czech government imposes fuel price cap and cuts diesel tax to combat surging costs at the pump

    The Czech government has moved to cap fuel prices and slash diesel taxes in an effort to curb rising costs due to the ongoing international energy crisis, announcing a system that will see the state set maximum daily prices for fuel across the country.

    Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the intervention follows concerns that fuel retailers were charging excessive margins, despite earlier pressure from the government to bring prices down voluntarily.

    Under the new system, the Ministry of Finance will determine a maximum fuel price each day, applying to all gas stations nationwide. Officials estimated that diesel, if the cap came into force on Thursday, would currently be capped at 46.43 Czech crowns per liter, or around €1.89.

    “We monitored the margins and at the beginning of the conflict they were within the norm, but gradually they became excessive,” Babiš said, adding that negotiations with distributors had only partially reduced prices. “We decided to intervene.”

    The government will also introduce a cap on retailer margins, setting the maximum allowable profit at 2.50 crowns (€0.10) per liter for both petrol and diesel.

    Alongside the price controls, ministers approved a targeted tax cut on diesel fuel. Excise duty will be reduced by 1.939 crowns per liter, equivalent to 2.35 crowns (€0.10) including VAT, in a move officials say is permitted under EU rules. The Ministry of Finance estimates the measure will cost the state budget around 1 billion crowns (€40.8 million).

    Finance Minister Alena Schillerová said the combined approach of price caps and tax cuts was designed to immediately lower costs while preventing excessive pricing behavior in the market.

    “It is calculated as the average of wholesale indices from Čepro, Orlen, and MOL, plus a margin of 2.50 crowns and VAT,” she said, outlining how the daily maximum price will be set. The ministry will publish the price each weekday at 2 p.m. for the following day.

    Schillerová added that the margin cap was based on historical data adjusted for inflation, with the aim of eliminating what she described as disproportionately high pricing by retailers.

    The measures will formally take effect on April 8.

  • Germany: Macedonian man on trial for suffocation-murder of 81-year-old German pensioner Michael P., who rented the murder suspect a room

    Germany: Macedonian man on trial for suffocation-murder of 81-year-old German pensioner Michael P., who rented the murder suspect a room

    A Macedonian male is standing trial for the murder of 81-year-old victim Michael P., who was spending a quiet evening at home when he was bound, gagged, and died in agony.

    The retired florist lived alone in a large house and rented out rooms to seasonal workers to make ends meet. However, 35-year-old Demirali Z. happened to be one of these tenants, who is now on trial for murder at Darmstadt Regional Court.

    According to the indictment, the Macedonian national had no permanent residence in Germany. He had entered the country with two compatriots in search of work, and the three men rented rooms in Michael P.’s house in Biblis, Hesse.

    Prosecutors say they knew the pensioner kept cash at home, according to Bild.

    On Feb. 9, 2025, Z. and an accomplice allegedly gained access to the victim’s apartment and “bound and gagged him using massive force” in order to rob the victim, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

    The pair tore apart the apartment and discovered €26,000 in cash, a debit card, and a gold chain before fleeing by car toward their home country.

    Young Iraqi migrant beats 92-year-old German woman to death: police

    Michael lay on the floor fighting for his life, as he was still gagged. When his daughter Angelika arrived at his house hours later, she discovered his lifeless body, still bound and gagged. The 81-year-old has died in “hours-long death throes,” according to prosecutors, as the gag had smothered his mouth and left him without enough oxygen.

    Defendant blames his accomplices

    In court, Demirali Z. denied all the charges, saying the perpetrators were Z. and S., who he said had brought him to Germany with a promise of work. However, no work was available. Nevertheless, the trio had already paid rent to the pensioner.

    Demirali Z. said that on the day of the murder, it was S. and Z. who demanded the rent back from the pensioner and forced him into the living room. They then instructed Demirali Z. to help restrain him.

    Germany: Syrian migrant who robbed pensioner and smashed 245 car windows with hammer in violent spree avoids jail

    “Unfortunately, I did that,” his lawyer read out on his behalf.

    However, he insisted: “I didn’t want the man to die and ran out of the room.”

    He also denied having received any share of the stolen money.

    The trial is ongoing.

    Michael P. was the victim of another robbery

    The February killing mirrors an earlier home invasion. In 2016, Michael P. and his wife were robbed in their home by two unmasked, unknown men who demanded €30,000. Unable to pay, Michael offered to withdraw the money from the bank the following day.

    The intruders agreed to the arrangement — but his wife called the police instead. That case has never been solved.

  • Migrant teen from Gaza arrested after Hamburg school stabbing as second suspect identified as Syrian

    Migrant teen from Gaza arrested after Hamburg school stabbing as second suspect identified as Syrian

    A 15-year-old boy described in German media as a Gaza-born, stateless migrant has been remanded in custody after a knife attack outside a Hamburg school left a 13-year-old student with life-threatening injuries.

    The attack occurred around 2 p.m. on Monday outside a district school in the Groß Flottbek area, where a fight broke out among several youths. During the altercation, the younger boy was stabbed multiple times, suffering serious wounds that initially left him in critical condition.

    He was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery. Police later confirmed he was stable.

    German authorities detained two 15-year-old suspects shortly after the attack, following a large-scale police operation involving patrol cars, a helicopter, and dog units. One of the teenagers, reported by BILD to be Syrian, was released the same day due to insufficient grounds for detention.

    The second suspect remains in custody after a judge approved a request from prosecutors to hold him on suspicion of attempted manslaughter combined with aggravated assault.

    Police have not formally confirmed the suspect’s nationality, but German reports indicate he is registered as stateless and was born in Gaza. Germany does not officially recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, hence the discrepancy over the nationality.

    On Wednesday, officers carried out extensive searches in the surrounding Bahrenfeld area, but investigators are yet to recover the weapon used in the attack.

    ‘He killed her with his bare hands’ — Syrian teenager arrested on suspicion of murdering 19-year-old woman in Mannheim

    Police have indicated that the victim and suspects were known to one another and that there had been previous disputes, though no formal motive has been established.

    One mother told Hamburger Abendblatt that her children were frightened by the attack but said the school had acted quickly, informing parents and providing support. Additional staff have been present on school grounds, and discussions about the incident are taking place in classrooms.

    The case comes amid a broader political debate in Germany over migration and deportation policy. Earlier this week, Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said Syrians living abroad should be viewed as a “strategic national asset,” rejecting calls for forced returns — a move many on the right have now called for since the regime change in the Middle Eastern country.

    Syria asks Germany not to deport its citizens back home, warning it would make country ‘unsafe’

    “Syrians in exile are strategic national assets, not burdens. We categorically reject any attempts at forced deportation,” al-Shaibani said on X in a statement on Syria’s Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Berlin and London.

    Commenting on the remarks, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel said, “The governmental chaos of the past few days makes it clear: Merz will comply with this demand. A real deportation offensive is only possible with the AfD!”

  • ‘I stand for what is best for the Hungarians’ – Orbán, Tusk clash ahead of Hungarian election

    ‘I stand for what is best for the Hungarians’ – Orbán, Tusk clash ahead of Hungarian election

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pushed back against videos on social media being distributed by the Civic Coalition, the Polish party led by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

    The party has made the videos in response to media reports about Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjárto allegedly divulging confidential information to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin.

    “Orbán, arm in arm with Putin, long ago wrote himself out of Europe. We will not allow politicians enamored with Budapest to prepare the same fate for Poland!” the KO video post is captioned.

    “Dear Donald Tusk, I wonder whether this video was made in Poland, or by your bosses in Berlin. I stand for what is best for the Hungarians. There was a time when you did the same for Poland,” Orbán replied on X.

    Tusk has also recently posted via his own channel that “Hungary is and will be in the European Union. Victor Orbán and his foreign minister left Europe long ago.”

    During a press conference cited by Do Rzeczy, Tusk also attacked Orbán ally and conservative president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, as well as the Law & Justice (PiS) party that supported him, for their alleged backing of Putin at the expense of Europe.

    “There’s no room for speculation here anymore. Some of you thought I was exaggerating when I said that for some reason, PiS, President Nawrocki, and Chairman Kaczyński were supporting Russia. You thought I was exaggerating, that it wasn’t that bad, but today it’s hard to doubt it. If anyone today wants the most pro-Russian government in Europe to win, it’s no longer the result of stupidity or blindness, but a conscious game, very dangerous from the point of view of Poland’s interests and the security of all of Europe. This truth must finally reach everyone,” he said.

    It is not just Orbán who has pointed out Tusk’s hypocrisy, with many accounts posting past photos of Tusk with Putin.

    Putin Tusk
    April 7, 2010 – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, shake hands after a memorial ceremony for 22,000 Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s secret police in 1940 in Katyn, Russia, Smolensk region, west from Moscow. Three days later President Lech Kaczyński along with 95 people died in the Smolensk air crash. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó has come under fire for speaking on the sidelines of EU Council meetings with his Russian counterpart. Szijjártó has fired back that he and other member state foreign ministers regularly speak with diplomats from other countries, as that is part of the job. In a more pointed post recently, he made fun of “new” revelations covering his dialogue with Moscow as nothing other than what people already know and which he has never hidden from the public.

    “Today they have made a new ‘major discovery’: they proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!” he said.

    In the meantime, the new media reports are based on recordings of phone calls made by Szijjártó, which were allegedly obtained via an illegal wiretap, an operation involving at least one other EU member state and assisted by a local foreign-funded opposition journalist in Hungary, who now is facing charges of espionage and treason.

    ‘They proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!’ – Hungarian FM slams opposition ‘bombshell’ of old news gained via illegal wiretap
  • Foreigners now commit nearly half of all rapes in Austria, Syrians largest foreign group of suspects

    Foreigners now commit nearly half of all rapes in Austria, Syrians largest foreign group of suspects

    The number of rape suspects in Austria has more than doubled since 2015, with foreign nationals — and Syrians in particular — driving a disproportionate share of the increase. In addition, foreigners nare now responsible for nearly half of all rapes, a major increase from 2015 as well.

    The figures, provided by Austria’s Interior Ministry in response to a request by Austrian newspaper exxpress, paint a striking picture of a decade-long trend.

    The composition of those suspects has shifted markedly. In 2015, 250 of the 688 suspects were foreign nationals — 36.3 percent of the total. By 2025, that number had risen to 538, representing 46.9 percent of all suspects, despite foreign nationals making up only 20.5 percent of Austria’s population.

    Austria: ‘Well-integrated’ 27-year-old Afghan imprisoned for brutal rape of 17-year-old in Vienna

    Reported rapes under section 201 of the Austrian criminal code rose from 826 cases in 2015 to 1,359 in 2024 — an increase of roughly 64.5 percent. The number of suspects rose in parallel, from 688 to 1,196.

    Preliminary figures for 2025 show a slight decline to 1,147 suspects, but that still represents an increase of around 66.7 percent compared to 2015.

    Austrian suspects also increased over the same period, from 438 to 609 — a rise of 39 percent. Foreign suspects, however, rose by 115 percent, more than doubling. The gap between the two trends has widened significantly over the decade.

    ‘Lost her will to live’ – Son watches Afghan caregiver rape his 82-year-old Austrian mother during livestream on his cellphone in Vienna

    Approximately 7 to 8 percent of Austrian citizens have a foreign background. It remains unclear what percentage of this population has committed crimes like rape since Austria does not release that statistical information. Austrian suspects are recorded simply as “Austrian” regardless of migration background — country of birth and parental origin are not captured.

    Syrians now the largest group

    Syrians are at the top of the list in terms of rape suspects. In 2015, just three Syrian suspects were registered for rape. By 2024, that number had reached 92, and in 2025 it climbed further to 101 — making Syrians by far the largest single group among foreign suspects. Roughly one in five foreign rape suspects is now Syrian.

    Other nationalities with consistently elevated figures include Afghanistan, which has registered around 50 cases annually for several years, as well as Turkey and Romania.

    Austria: 7 youths with migrant background accused of raping and blackmailing a teacher, burning her house down, beheading dead animal on video

    The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has voiced concern about the limitations of Austria’s data collection. The data also does not break down perpetrators with full asylum and those with subsidiary protection status. As mentioned, the status of those Austrians with a migration background is also not captured.

    FPÖ parliamentarian Christian Lausch, who has spent decades working as a prison guard at Vienna’s Josefstadt prison, notes that the absence of this vital data makes it harder to assess the true reality of rape in Austria

    “Then you cannot work on the problems,” he said.

    Austrian identitarian leader Martin Sellner calls for remigration after highlighting sex crimes committed by migrants
  • Poland: Pedophilia, bestiality scandal hits Tusk’s party

    Poland: Pedophilia, bestiality scandal hits Tusk’s party

    The Kłodzko scandal could bring down the Civic Coalition (KO). This is the view of PiS candidate for prime minister, Przemysław Czarnek, despite the localized nature of the crime.

    “This is a group of people who really have a lot on their minds,” the politician says.

    A pedophilia and zoophilia scandal in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship has shocked Poland. Przemysław L., 45, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual offenses committed against underage girls, bestiality, and recording these acts on film and in photographs. According to Do Rzeczy, his ex-wife, Kamila L., a former Civic Platform activist, was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for failing to provide assistance to her minor daughter from a previous relationship, who was a victim of rape, and for complicity in animal abuse.

    Przemysław Czarnek, the PiS candidate for prime minister, commented on the shocking case and its possible political consequences on Telewizja Republika on Wednesday.

    “This is a very serious scandal that will, in my opinion, sink the Civic Platform. I spoke about the Civic Platform and their absolutely scandalous behavior three years ago, when there was a debate on the vote of no confidence in me. And I shouted from the parliamentary podium that these people should be feared, because these people from the Civic Platform, the mayors of cities from the Civic Platform, finance associations and organizations with enormous public funds—over a billion złoty a year—that simply deal with dramatic issues,” said the former Minister of Education and Science. “I mentioned programs that were simply perverted by their very name,” he added.

    As Czarnek pointed out, “this is a community of people who really have a lot going for them, financing these kinds of communities that commit these kinds of shameless, dramatic, criminal, anti-human actions against children, and against animals as well, because we are dealing with zoophilia there as well.”

    Politicians from the Civic Coalition also commented on the situation.

    “It’s difficult to hold someone accountable; it’s a situation that can happen to anyone. Anyone can have a neighbor like that whom they know nothing about until the police and prosecutors get involved,” one Civic Coalition MP told Wirtualna Polska.

    The interviewees emphasize that the case involves a former Civic Coalition (KO) activist and a very low-level figure. The police and prosecutors acted, and the perpetrators were brought to justice, so it’s difficult to speak of the scandal’s political context. “It’s a local issue, perhaps also highlighted by local disputes between the mayor and the Civic Coalition,” notes the Civic Coalition politician.

    Word has surfaced that Prime Minister Tusk is offering clarification. “It’s more likely at the local level, not the central level, not from Deputy Marshal Monika Wielichowska; it’s hard to blame her,” says a senior Civic Coalition (KO) politician. Wielichowska supported Kamila L. when she was campaigning for the regional position.

    “This is certainly an inconvenient matter for Monika. She’s not handling it well,” the source adds.

  • Poland cracks down on immigration, set to eliminate visa-free travel for 3 countries amidst abuse

    Poland cracks down on immigration, set to eliminate visa-free travel for 3 countries amidst abuse

    The Polish government is planning significant changes to its migration policy. Due to the proposed measure, citizens of Colombia, Venezuela, and Georgia will lose the ability to work in Poland under the visa-free regime.

    The move comes amidst claims of abuse of existing regulations. Data from the authorities indicate that the visa-free regime is increasingly being used as a channel for labor migration, rather than short tourist stays, as originally intended. Due to these findings, visa-free travel has ceased to serve its original purpose, according to the state services involved.

    According to a draft regulation from the Polish Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, cited by Do Rzeczy, people arriving in Poland from these three countries must obtain a work visa before their arrival.

    ‘Women are afraid to go out after dark’ – 70 migrants show up in small Polish town, some residents believe Germany is responsible

    More and more Colombians have shown interest in working in Poland in recent years. Data presented by “Rzeczpospolita” shows that in 2023, 12,335 work legalization documents were issued, rising to 40,370 a year later. In 2025, this number remained at over 39,000.

    However, inspections show that this increase is accompanied by abuse. Last year, of the 6,681 Colombian citizens inspected, 1,570 were found to be residing illegally in Poland, ​​almost a quarter. In 2025, of the 3,828 people inspected, 1,784 were found to be working illegally, nearly half.

    Additionally, last year 1,664 deportation decisions were issued against Colombians, but only 627 were implemented.

    ‘Your job is to welcome migrants’ – EU’s former border chief said EU commissioner pressured him to embrace open borders

    In the case of Georgian citizens, the services also report a large scale of violations. In 2025, nearly 29 percent of those checked were found to be working illegally.

    The Border Guard says a pattern has emerged where arriving foreigners declare they are visiting for tourism purposes but are unable to provide accommodation or a destination. In one case, it was revealed that documents confirming their stay were purchased for approximately 500 Georgian lari (€160).

    At the same time, according to police data, Georgians committed 2,714 crimes in Poland in 2024. The findings also indicate that some Georgian citizens are involved in smuggling migrants through Poland to Germany. Data has shown them to be highly overrepresented in criminal statistics in recent years, particularly regarding robbery, extortion, and drug trafficking.

  • ‘This verdict is incomprehensible!’ — German police officer’s killer cleared of murder and spared prison as court hears he was in a ‘bad mood’ over lack of prospects

    ‘This verdict is incomprehensible!’ — German police officer’s killer cleared of murder and spared prison as court hears he was in a ‘bad mood’ over lack of prospects

    In Germany, a teenager who shot dead a police officer after firing at him multiple times has been acquitted of murder and will avoid prison — after telling a court he was often in a “bad mood” due to a lack of prospects.

    The Saarbrücken Regional Court ruled that the 19-year-old gunman, Ahmet Gürsel, bore diminished responsibility at the time of the killing of Police Chief Inspector Simon Bohr, 34, and instead convicted him only of aggravated robbery, ordering his placement in a secure psychiatric facility.

    The shooting took place in August 2025 in Völklingen, Saarland, after the defendant carried out an armed robbery at a gas station, stealing around €600 before attempting to flee. During the police response, he attacked officers with a knife, seized a service weapon from a trainee, and opened fire. Bohr was struck multiple times and died at the scene.

    Pathology reports showed the police officer and father was shot in the head, face, neck, shoulder, abdomen, and back, and eventually died from “internal and external hemorrhage.”

    Although the teenager admitted to the shooting during the trial, the court accepted psychiatric evidence that he was suffering from a schizophrenic disorder and severe anxiety, which was used to suggest he had significantly impaired his ability to control his actions.

    “Fear had taken over his thinking,” presiding judge Jennifer Klingelhöfer said in delivering the verdict, adding that the defendant believed his life was under immediate threat when he fired the shots.

    As reported by Berliner Zeitung on Wednesday, medical experts told the court the teenager experienced hallucinations and delusions. He had been under neurological care since 2023 and was taking a combination of prescribed medications at the time of the killing, which he said he had been provided to him by a doctor while he was in Turkey.

    During proceedings, the defendant described a background of bullying, self-doubt, and social withdrawal, telling the court, “I was often in a bad mood.” He also cited a fear of sirens and crowds and said he struggled with a lack of direction in life.

    During the trial, Bild reported on the testimony of Dr. Roland Gib, a psychiatric expert, who gave evidence from his assessment of Ahmet G. in which he said the defendant had “wanted to prove that he is a man” by robbing the gas station, but was soon “overcome with great fear of being shot by the police, like in the USA.” So, instead, he shot at the police officers seeking to arrest him.

    Prosecutors had insisted that the killing amounted to murder driven by extreme violence and sought a 13-year sentence under juvenile law, but the court rejected their argument in light of the psychiatric evidence.

    The victim’s widow, Selina Bohr, attended the trial as a co-plaintiff and sat opposite the man who killed her husband. She later left her seat before the psychiatric report was presented, but remained in the public gallery.

    Under the ruling, the teenager will not serve a prison sentence but will instead be detained in a high-security psychiatric institution.

    After today’s verdict, Rainer Wendt, federal chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG), released a statement criticising the decision to acquit on the murder charge.

    “I am speechless at such a verdict, and my thoughts are with the bereaved family of our colleague. They will feel abandoned by the justice system, and I can well understand that. To commit the robbery while fully conscious, and then to ruthlessly shoot his way out and kill someone, and then suddenly claim mental illness – that, in turn, is incomprehensible,” he said.

  • Will Europe have its own FBI? Polish MEP sounds alarm over EU’s planned expansion of powers for Europol

    Will Europe have its own FBI? Polish MEP sounds alarm over EU’s planned expansion of powers for Europol

    Polish Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Mariusz Kamiński raises alarm about the European Commission’s plans to change Europol’s operations, warning that “the European Commission is quietly building EU law enforcement agencies,” reports Do Rzeczy. There are now fears that Europe could have its own FBI, with vastly expanded and centralized powers.

    “The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has already been established, and now the European Commission wants to turn Europol into a ‘truly operational EU police agency.’ This means that citizens of member states will be able to become the target of investigations and operational activities of European law enforcement agencies, bypassing national authorities. This would be a real ‘milestone’ in the construction of a centralized European state. A very dangerous situation!” wrote the former interior and administration minister on X.

    Kamiński sent a letter to the European Commission questioning the activities described and defending Europol as it stands. The agency has been in operation since Jan. 3, 1994.

    He notes that “Europol’s success is based on cooperation, supporting member states, and coordinating the fight against cross-border crime. Europol’s activities are particularly important in combating drug crimes, human smuggling, and VAT fraud. This model is a good example of effective cooperation at the European level.”

    “Therefore, I oppose the announcements of transforming Europol into a fully operational police agency, which have been met with criticism from many experts and member states. During the LIBE meeting on March 19, 2026, Commissioner Brunner concluded his statement by saying that it will not be a European FBI, which can be interpreted as a departure from the Commission’s radical announcement,” he continued.

    The PiS MEP asks: “How does the Commission understand the concept of a ‘truly operational police agency’?” and about safeguards to ensure that Europol “remains an agency supporting member states and not an authority exercising direct police powers.”

  • Murder of Sara Centelleghe: Psychiatrists determine Indian-born suspect who stabbed Italian teen 67 times with scissors can stand trial

    Murder of Sara Centelleghe: Psychiatrists determine Indian-born suspect who stabbed Italian teen 67 times with scissors can stand trial

    Jashandeep Badhan, a 20-year-old of Indian origin, was mentally competent when he killed 18-year-old Sara Centelleghe with 67 scissor stabs on the night of October 25-26, 2024. That is the conclusion reached by psychiatric experts appointed by both the court and the prosecution — a finding that clears the way for a life sentence.

    The Assize Court, presided over by Judge Patrizia Ingrasci with colleague Roberto Palermo, had commissioned a psychiatric evaluation from expert Filippo Tancredi. Prosecutor Raffaella Latorraca’s own consultant, Sergio Monchieri, independently reached the same conclusion.

    Jashandeep Badhan was known to be obsessed with hashish.

    While the evaluation identified a range of psychological issues — including a personality disorder without further specification and moderate use of narcotics such as cocaine and cannabinoids — none were found to have impaired Badhan’s mental capacity at the time of the killing, according to Il Giorno news outlet.

    Tancredi pointed to “anger management difficulties” and a “borderline narcissistic aspect.”

    Young French woman murdered near abandoned Italian church, Italian of Moroccan origin now on trial

    The murder

    Sara lived with her mother in an apartment on Via Nazionale in Costa Volpino. On the night of the murder, her classmates threw a party for her. A friend of Sara’s had arranged a drug trade with Badhan — cocaine for hashish. The friend went downstairs to wait for him outside, but Badhan did not show up at the agreed meeting point. Instead, he waited for the right moment and slipped into the apartment, believing he would find more drugs inside that he could steal instead of trading.

    While searching the apartment, he made enough noise while searching through a bag to wake Sara, who began screaming.

    The brutality that came next was unbelievable. He first began punching her, but then he stabbed her dozens of times with a pair of scissors. Experts determined that Sara fought back and tried to defend herself before being strangled and dying on the floor of her own home.

    Badhan fled through the garage. Sara’s friend returned shortly afterward, found the body, and raised the alarm.

    From the earliest stages of the investigation, Badhan admitted his role in the killing. However, he claimed to have been heavily intoxicated at the time, saying he had consumed cocaine, opiates, and hashish that night specifically to “calm down.” The psychiatric evaluation has now rejected the drug consumption as a mitigating factor.

    The trial is coming to a conclusion, and a verdict is expected on April 22. Badhan faces life imprisonment.

    Italy: Manhunt underway for Moroccan migrant after ex-girlfriend stabbed to death in Foggia

    When asked about the psychiatric evaluation findings – which confirmed Badhan was mentally competent at the time of the killing – she offered a quietly heartbreaking response. “It changes little, because my daughter will never come back. She was my only child,”

    At one of the early court hearings, upon seeing the defendant in the courtroom, she broke down in tears and was unable to hold them back.

    The case has drawn criticism from Italian journalist Francesco Totolo, who wrote on X: “Does anyone remember 18-year-old Sara Centelleghe, killed in October 2024 with 67 scissor stabs in her home by a neighbor? No, right? The 20-year-old Jashandeep Badhan is not a ‘healthy son of the Italian patriarchy.’

    The murder of the young girl has left her family, friends and community in deep mourning.

    At a ceremony commemorating her life and the installation of a memorial, the 18-year-old’s classmates and friends displayed a white banner with the words: “Sara is always one of us”. 

    One of the speakers said: “Sara was our special friend, a young student who was approaching life full of dreams and hopes. She dreamed of being a surgeon.”

    For Sara, this would have been the year of growing up; what happened to her is not right.”

  • Germany: He wanted to burn down an AfD office, but instead he set fire to a plumber’s workshop, causing €300,000 in damage

    Germany: He wanted to burn down an AfD office, but instead he set fire to a plumber’s workshop, causing €300,000 in damage

    German suspect Julian J. wanted to burn down the Alternative for Germany (AfD), or at least one of their local offices. Instead, the 21-year-old retail clerk torched a plumber’s workshop, caused €300,000 in damage, and is now sitting in the dock at Munich District Court facing several years in prison.

    The case, which opened Tuesday, lays bare the gap between J.’s revolutionary ambitions and his actual abilities. He still lived with his mother. He paid for his getaway gasoline with a bank card. Investigators also found evidence of the arson attack in his childhood bedroom.

    J. told the court he had set out to strike a blow against “inhumane parties like the AfD” and “ever-increasing fascism.” His stated goal was to fight in “the working class” struggle against the “oppressive state” and ultimately “bring down the system.”

    His primary target was the AfD district office in the Munich neighborhood of Ramersdorf, according to Bild newspaper.

    The AfD office is located on the first floor of a residential building. On the ground floor sits a plumbing and construction supplies shop — a craftsman’s business with no connection to the AfD or any political party.

    J. needed two attempts to carry out the attack. During the first, a smoke flare burned out without causing significant damage. Four days later, he returned at night with a gasoline canister, smashed the workshop window, poured gasoline on the floor, and ignited it.

    ‘All you damn MAGA freaks, you will follow Kirk to hell!’ – German Antifa claims responsibility for arson attack against AfD politician’s family vehicle

    Emergency services brought the fire under control before it reached the upper floor, and there was virtually no damage to the AfD office. Instead, the plumbing shop suffered fire damage totaling €300,000.

    “It was not clear to me that there was a workshop there,” J. told the court.

    Two days after the Ramersdorf attack, J. also targeted CSU headquarters in Munich, pouring gasoline on the exterior. In that case, only the facade of the building was damaged.

    Germany: AfD politician’s car burned in latest arson attack

    J. reportedly left a trail that investigators had little trouble following. A gas station security camera recorded him purchasing fuel shortly before the attack, and he used his own bank card for the purchase. When criminal investigators searched his home, they found arson materials and singed clothing in his childhood bedroom.

    He has been in pre-trial detention since October.

    J. admitted in court to the acts described in the indictment. His defense lawyers — Gerald Assner and Mathes Breuer — faced an awkward start to the proceedings when Assner resigned as public defender at the very outset, citing irreconcilable differences with his own client.

    The court debated whether a suspended sentence might be possible despite J.’s multiple prior convictions, including for violent offenses. Judge Kathrin Lohmöller left the door open.

    Germany: Arson attack against AfD politician’s business results in massive inferno

    “It cannot be ruled out. It depends on personal impression,” she said.

    J. himself showed little remorse for his actions. He told the court he hoped to continue working toward a “resistance movement” to bring down the “system.”

    If convicted, J. faces not only juvenile detention but also a civil damages claim of €300,000, which under German law could leave him on the hook for payments over the course of 30 years.

    The AfD has long been targeted by left-wing arsonists, with suspects targeting businesses, automobiles, and even homes. AfD politicians and political supporters are also targeted with violence more than any other party in Germany, according to official interior ministry documents.

  • Should 80% of Syrians really leave Germany and return to Syria? Merz and al-Sharaa both appear to backpedal

    Should 80% of Syrians really leave Germany and return to Syria? Merz and al-Sharaa both appear to backpedal

    A major diplomatic and political debate has erupted following statements regarding the potential repatriation of Syrians currently residing in Germany. While Chancellor Friedrich Merz initially said 80 percent would return home, he is now backpedaling by saying that was not exactly his stated goal, but the figure that Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa presented him. However, al-Sharaa appears to be backing away from that figure as well.

    The initial quote that set off the debate followed a meeting between Merz and al-Sharaa in Berlin, with Merz stating: “In the longer perspective of the next three years – this was President Sharaa’s wish – around 80 percent of Syrians currently in Germany should return to their homeland.“

    Following pushback from labor experts and political opponents, Merz framed his statement differently on Tuesday. He emphasized that the widely discussed figure did not originate as a German government mandate but as a stated goal from Damascus.

    Germany: Merz says he expects 80% of Syrians to return home within 3 years

    “The Syrian president has mentioned the number of 80 percent of returnees within three years,” the CDU politician emphasized. “We have noted this number, but are aware of the dimension of the task.“

    On Tuesday evening, during a visit to the United Kingdom, al-Sharaa, a former jihadist who rose to power after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in late 202, addressed the figures during a talk at the think tank Chatham House. When asked how such a massive repatriation would be possible, involving 80 percent of Germany’s 1.3 million Syrians, he said the figure was “exaggerated.”

    “In truth, the statement is a bit exaggerated. I didn’t say that; it was attributed to me. It was the chancellor who said these words, and this happened during a conversation,” he said.

    He added that Syrians have “new lives” in Germany, and it would be hard “to start their life from zero.” However, with enough money from the West, he said that 80 percent of Syrians would return.

    Al-Sharaa noted that any return of Syrians was only possible with a reconstruction of Syria. He said that investment was needed, and if German companies were involved, they could “prioritize returning, German-speaking Syrians for hiring,” at which point the 80 percent figure could become real.

    “This charity should not end in an unpleasant way. The refugee has the right to return with freedom and his own will“, al-Sharaa stated.

    The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is already lambasting Merz’s backpedaling on the issue.

    “Less than 24 hours after his announcement to deport 80% of Syrians, Merz is already backpedaling – that was a figure that the Syrian strongman Al-Julani had mentioned. A real deportation offensive will only come with the AfD,” wrote Alice Weidel on X.

    After Merz first cited the 80 percent figure, a number of left-wing parties, including the Left Party, accused Merz of fueling “the AfD’s mass deportation fantasies.”

    The Chancellor’s Office minister, Thorsten Frei, emphasized that Syria’s leader did indeed mention the 80 percent figure.

    “As far as I can see, he did it again in London,” Frei remarked on Wednesday.

  • France: Fake plumbers Faisal K., Reda K. and Ghassan K. target Parisian elderly, allegedly steal items worth tens of thousands of euros

    France: Fake plumbers Faisal K., Reda K. and Ghassan K. target Parisian elderly, allegedly steal items worth tens of thousands of euros

    Two men, aged 18 and 21, have been arrested for posing as plumbers to target elderly people in Paris. A third, a minor, is also said to have been involved and is still being actively sought by police.

    The trio, which has been identified as French-Arab suspects Faisal K., Reda K. and Ghassan K., are accused of having carried out several burglaries in recent weeks in the Paris region, with police stating that they are still looking into other potential victims. As of now, they are accused of having stolen items worth tens of thousands of euros.

    According to Le Parisien, the first incident occurred early in the afternoon on March 21 in an apartment building on Rue Marie-Sorin-Dufresnes in Vitry-sur-Seine. A young man wearing a mask rang the doorbell of an elderly couple’s home, introduced himself as the son of the downstairs neighbors, and said he believed a water leak in their apartment may be coming from this apartment. He added that a plumber from the building’s management company would be coming up shortly.

    A few minutes later, the plumber, wearing a cap, a mask, and a leather satchel, appeared. He went into the bathroom while the young man distracted the two occupants. The latter then joined the plumber in the bathroom and emerged with a small cut on his forehead, saying he had sustained the injury while trying to help the plumber.

    ‘It’s a scandal!’ – Outrage after French mechanic and his son arrested for shooting burglars while defending their workshop

    The couple treated him, then the two men left, announcing that the leak had been repaired. Once alone, the elderly woman discovered that her jewelry boxes — one in her bedroom and the others in the bathroom — had been emptied. The estimated loss was over €30,000.

    Once the couple reported this incident, the Val-de-Marne territorial security service began searching for similar incidents. They discovered a virtually identical case committed in Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine) two days later, as well as a similar theft in Saint-Maurice.

    A CCTV camera had also allowed them to identify the first young man in the reported incident as a minor wanted for other offenses.

    In Montrouge, the victim was an 81-year-old woman who came across the two men rummaging through a cupboard in her apartment and began to scream. The minor then violently struck her twice. A neighbor, alerted by the screams, went into the hallway and came face to face with the two fleeing men. He tried to stop them, grabbing one of them around the waist, but the fake plumber pulled out a knife, forcing him to let the thief go.

    The victim in this incident estimates her loss due to goods stolen at €10,000.

    Yet again, another elderly woman was targeted in the same way inside her apartment on March 27 in Bonneuil-sur-Marne.

  • What’s Zelensky’s endgame? Tensions high as EU delegation sent to inspect Druzhba pipeline still waiting for approval from Kyiv

    What’s Zelensky’s endgame? Tensions high as EU delegation sent to inspect Druzhba pipeline still waiting for approval from Kyiv

    Gas prices are up some 70 percent and oil prices by 60 percent since the Iran War began, and some in Brussels are getting anxious about Kyiv dragging its feet on reopening the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, questioning the government’s motives. The pipeline serves as a key transit route for oil to both Hungary and Slovakia and EU authorities are growing concerned.

    “We don’t have a clear picture of what the Ukrainian play here is,” said an EU diplomat to Euractiv.

    Another source told the portal that there is simply no more reason for stalling. “If Druzhba is deblocked, all sides win,” he said, calling the hold-up “an enigma.”

    Emphasizing that this is a game Kyiv cannot afford to play, the same diplomat underlined what’s at stake for all parties: “The EU wants to adopt another sanctions package and put pressure on Russia, Ukraine needs the loan, Hungary and Slovakia are critically dependent on the flows of oil and are running on reserves.”

    Hungary suspends gas supplies to Ukraine as energy dispute grows

    Notably, Hungarians head to the polls on April 12, and the Hungarian government has asserted that the pipeline is not damaged, as satellite images reportedly prove, and that the pipeline has only been closed to hurt Orbán’s reelection chances.

    The first 30 days of the conflict have already increased the EU’s fossil energy import costs by €14 billion, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Tuesday following a video conference of the member states’ energy ministers. Jorgensen noted that the European Union is ready to help resolve issues surrounding the Friendship oil pipeline and is confident that it will be reopened, reports Hirado.

    Although most EU countries have dramatically cut all imports of Russian oil, or eliminated them completely, Hungary and Slovakia have been given exemptions. However, the Druzhba had been used by other countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, and in the face of the current crisis, Brussels may be keen to have this as a much-needed backup.  

    “The European Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen have already indicated that the Union is ready to contribute to managing the situation,” he said. He also assured press that despite the conflict in the Middle East and the energy crisis facing member states, Brussels’ solidarity with Ukraine is intact.

    EU to help Kyiv reopen Druzhba pipeline for Hungary and Slovakia, while Szijjártó attacks ‘political theater’ and calls for transit to resume ‘immediately’

    On this front, the EU commissioner highlighted that energy is a particularly important area in this context, as Russia continues to launch serious attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Brussels, he said, is trying to contribute as much as possible to the restoration of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and to ensuring that the necessary energy is provided from other sources, so that the residents of Ukraine are not left without electricity and heating.

    Jorgensen highlighted that energy prices are also a key issue in the EU, as member states cannot create economic security and jobs while facing a volatile energy market.

    Nevertheless, tensions are high in Brussels, as the EU delegation already on the ground in Ukraine has been waiting for weeks for approval to inspect damaged sections of the pipeline. Diplomatic circles say the situation is a cause for concern, as Ukraine’s exact intentions are unclear.

    Hungarian government files espionage complaint against liberal journalist and former intelligence officer amid opposition Tisza-linked scandal

  • ‘USA will remember!’ – US military aircraft denied French airspace, PM Meloni denies report Italy has also closed its airspace

    ‘USA will remember!’ – US military aircraft denied French airspace, PM Meloni denies report Italy has also closed its airspace

    French President Macron has reportedly decided to close French airspace to U.S. planes carrying aid to Israel, provoking the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump.

    “France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Newsweek.

    Macron has already said in the past that the U.S. and Israel attack on Iran violated international law.

    France has not released any statement on the matter, but U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham posted on X his anger at least toward Spain, calling on Trump to punish the country for not aiding the fight against “the largest state sponsor of terrorism that has wreaked havoc on the world since 1979.”

    US should start removing its troops from Germany, proposes AfD co-leader Chrupalla

    Graham called for sanctions against Spain and also asked Trump to “close U.S. air bases in Spain and relocate to a country that allows these assets to be used to protect America and the world. The sooner this is done, the better.”

    In addition, the Italian Air Force had reportedly informed the Defense General Staff that several U.S. aircraft were scheduled to land at the Sigonella military base before departing for the Middle East. However, no one requested authorization or consulted Italian military officials, and the aircraft were denied permission to land.

    According to Corriere della Sera, this happened a few nights ago, but was kept confidential. Reports now indicate that Chief of Staff Luciano Portolano called Defense Minister Guido Crosetto to inform him of what had just happened and to make a decision that will inevitably impact relations between the two countries.

    Macron declares attacks against Iran violate international law, Spanish MEP calls for Spain to leave NATO

    Since the report, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto denied that the U.S. was blocked from using the Sigonella Air Base and Navy Installation to strike Iran, but stated that the protocols in place according to longstanding agreements must be followed, including approval from the Italian Parliament if required.

    Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also commented, saying: “Our relations remain solid.”

    Portolano had reportedly been informed by the Air Force Chief of Staff only after the American aircraft were already in the air that the flight plan for some of the planes called for landing at Sigonella before continuing on to the Middle East. There was reportedly no request for authorization nor consultations with the Italian military.

    As the flight plans in question were not normal or logistical flights, therefore not covered by the treaties stipulated between Rome and Washington, Portolano, on Crosetto’s instructions, reportedly informed the U.S. Command that the aircraft could not land at Sigonella, as they lacked any authorization to do so and because there was no prior consultation with Italy.

    According to sources, the type of authorization required for such a permission would in fact have to go through the Italian Parliament, meaning permission, even if it had been requested through the proper channels, would not have been able to be granted in time.

    ‘I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump’ – AfD co-leader warns of WWIII

    Meanwhile, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano, while Spain continues to deny use of its airspace to U.S. military aircraft flying to Iran, the Italian base in Aviano allowed for at least five flights of the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy starting a week before the attack on Iran and up until March 3. 

    On March 11, Meloni told the Italian Senate that she had no intention of entering the war, calling it “one of the most serious international crises in recent decades and warned that the escalation reflected a broader breakdown in the international legal order,” according to Military.com.

  • Germany: Two 15-year-olds stab a 13-year-old boy in Hamburg, one Syrian arrested

    Germany: Two 15-year-olds stab a 13-year-old boy in Hamburg, one Syrian arrested

    A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being stabbed multiple times during an altercation at a Hamburg school in Germany, with at least one Syrian suspect now under arrest.

    German police say he was attacked by at least one other teenager. He was rushed to the hospital accompanied by an emergency doctor, and had to be resuscitated en route. According to NDR, at least one of the stab wounds struck him in the stomach.

    Two 15-year-olds were arrested following a large-scale manhunt involving around two dozen patrol cars, a police helicopter, a service dog, and a specialist unit for high-risk situations.

    One of the suspects holds Syrian nationality; the citizenship of the second remains unclear. The homicide squad has taken over the investigation.

    According to the ntv outlet, “a dispute had previously broken out between several participants, the background of which is still unclear,” during which the stabbing occurred. NDR reports that “one of those involved suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed the 13-year-old at least twice.”

    Germany: 13-year-old Arab stabs his classmate in Berlin, hours later an 11-year-old Iraqi stabs his classmate in NRW

    As Remix News has reported in the past, 40 percent of all violence in German schools is perpetrated by foreigners in 2024, with Syrians at the top of the charts.

    In total, there were 4,254 foreign suspects and 7,309 suspects with German citizenship, the German government announced in response to a parliamentary inquiry from Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Martin Hess.

    Of the 11,558 suspects in total, 1,236 had Syrian passports, representing one in ten violent incidents, according to the data, making Syrians a major factor in violence in German schools.

    Germany: Berhan S. stabs 2 young girls inside Berlin’s Protestant School as 30 children watch on in horror

    Last week, the debate over violence in German society and schools reached a boiling point in the Bundestag, pitting Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his supporters against critics who accuse him of racism.

    The controversy intensified following a session where Merz addressed the issue of digital and analog violence, particularly against women.

    “We have exploding violence in our society, both in the analog and digital space, and we must do something about it together,” said Merz. However, he said that one must then also talk about where this violence comes from, he said to applause from members of the CDU/CSU and the AfD.

    Germany: Foreign youth violence soars 383% since 2013, according to new shocking study

    “And then we must also address the fact that a considerable proportion of this violence comes to the Federal Republic of Germany from immigrant groups,” he added.

    According to a study released last year, youth violence has not only doubled overall, but violent crimes committed by seventh graders of foreign origin soared nearly 400 percent in just a little over a decade.

    The study, from the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia and the University of Cologne, shows that in North Rhine-Westphalia, violent incidents among those under 14 have doubled since 2013, according to Bild.

    Meanwhile, back in 2013, there were 408 violent crimes by 7th graders who were born in a foreign country, a figure that rose 383 percent to 1,972. Yet, the number of foreigners during that same period only rose 135 percent, from 40,000 to 94,000.

  • AfD politician ditches the party over remigration stance, leaving only 2 foreigners and 1 person with a migration background to serve on the local board

    AfD politician ditches the party over remigration stance, leaving only 2 foreigners and 1 person with a migration background to serve on the local board

    German city councilor Ulrich Holzner has resigned from his position from the Alterntive for Germany (AfD), where he served as Freising city councilor, leaving only foreigners and a citizen with a migration background on the local board.

    Holzner said he was unable to build or lead a local branch with two Vietnamese women without German citizenship and a German citizen of Turkish origin, which include Thi Lam Hong Nguyen, Murat Demir and Phuong Lan Tran Thi.

    Holzner appeared to lay the majority of his reason for leaving the party on the party’s stance on remigration, which calls for large-scale deportations of foreigners. Remarkably, he only joined the party in March 2024, when it was already clear that the AfD had been pursuing a strict stance on immigration for years, making it perhaps the party’s core issue.

    US should start removing its troops from Germany, proposes AfD co-leader Chrupalla

    “Always remigration, they don’t have any other topic anymore. I couldn’t hear that anymore,” says Holzner, who runs a riding stable in Altenhausen. Holzner said he employed a Syrian refugee as a self-employed car mechatronics engineer, someone he describes as perfectly integrated. He said that the Syrian being deported was unaccpetable.

    However, his frustrations go beyond the remigration debate. The AfD is “against everything and for nothing,” he says. It is, according to him, opposing wind power, open-space solar energy, and failing to deliver on its promises to farmers despite its rhetoric, writes German newspaper Merkur.

    German police raid AfD lawmaker’s home over years-old social media posts

    He also criticized the party’s new youth organization, “Generation Deutschland,” founded in November 2025 as the successor to the banned Young Alternative, which he accused of having young men dressed in traditional outfits, which he appears to hint alludes to a sinister viewpoint.

    “What is being brought up are the guys who embody what the AfD is accused of,” Holzner says bluntly.

    Holzner joined the AfD on March 23, 2024. He was tasked with founding a Freising local branch in April 2025, a job he says he felt he had no choice but to take on. But he quickly ran into a fundamental problem: the only other members available to build the branch with him were two Vietnamese women without German citizenship and a German citizen of Turkish origin.

    This situation highlights a growing paradox within the AfD. While the party has actively courted voters and members with migration backgrounds — launching initiatives like “With Migration Background for Germany” and deploying migrant-background influencers on TikTok — there are still strong elements in the party that simultaneously campaign on ethnic nationalist principles.

    There is a hard legal ceiling on how far any foreigner can go — for any German party. Under Germany’s Basic Law, only German citizens can stand for election to the Bundestag or any state parliament, meaning the two Vietnamese women in the Freising branch could never run for the offices the party is competing for.

    It was a final board meeting — the details of which Holzner declines to share — that proved to be the last straw. Since his departure, the reaction within the party has been muted. Only Richard Paukner has stopped speaking to him. One consolation came from Moosburg city councilor Gerhard-Michael Welter, who told him simply: “I can understand you well.”

    Holzner’s parting statement was characteristically direct: “I will continue to direct my political work independently and exclusively towards the well-being of the citizens of Freising.”

  • ‘They proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!’ – Hungarian FM slams opposition ‘bombshell’ of old news gained via illegal wiretap

    ‘They proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!’ – Hungarian FM slams opposition ‘bombshell’ of old news gained via illegal wiretap

    Last week, anti-Orban journalist Szabolcs Pannyi made headlines for claiming Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó had violated confidentiality agreements with the EU Council for speaking between meetings with his counterpart in Brussels. The problem? As foreign minister, Szijjártó speaks to counterparts in many multiple countries, as is the norm for someone in his position and presumably other council members, with colleagues being more in favor or less in favor of the aims of those discussions. The EU is a political entity that engages other political entities, even those with whom it may disagree, so the premise that one member may not do so is a tad far-fetched.

    The bigger problem was that Pannyi allegedly obtained recordings of these “illegal” discussions via a very illegal wiretap, reportedly with the assistance of another EU member, rumored to be Poland, whose Foreign Minister Sikorski has long been known to be keen on replacing Orbán and whose wife is American journalist Anne Applebaum, who has long made a career of animosity towards Orbán.

    Poland’s FM under heavy fire, as fringe politicians even seek criminal charges for his pro-war stance

    Now, a “new” report is out from foreign-funded, anti-Orbán portal VSquare, except there does not appear to be much new in it.

    Szijjáró himself made a good summary of it with a post on X. “It has long been known that foreign intelligence services, with the active involvement of Hungarian journalists, have been intercepting my phone calls,” he began his post.

    “Today they have made a new ‘major discovery’: they proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!”

    Referencing his very public work against Russian sanctions, the Hungarian foreign minister continued: “For four years we have been saying that sanctions are a failure, causing more harm to the EU than to Russia. Hungary will never agree to sanction individuals or companies essential for our energy security, for achieving peace, or those with no reason to be on a sanctions list.”

    He also noted his work/discussions with other non-EU members regarding sanctions: “However, the wiretap list is not complete. I have also regularly consulted with foreign ministers from several non-EU countries on sanctions-related matters.”

    Hungary expects ‘unprecedented’ election interference from Kyiv-Brussels-Berlin axis, says Hungarian FM Szijjártó

    The fact that left-liberal media and Brussels are trying to shine a light on Szijjártó’s dealings with Moscow or his counterpart there, Sergei Lavrov, is intriguing, given the vast coverage of his trips and clear aims over the past few years.

    Hungary has, in fact, been a constant thorn in the side of Brussels during the Ukraine war due to its desire for peace, a halt to sanctions, preservation of its much-needed Russian energy supplies (which it has been granted by Brussels for now, along with Slovakia), and its desire to absolutely not use (i.e., steal) frozen Russian assets to use as a joint loan for Ukraine. It has also continuously opposed EU accession talks for Ukraine. None of this is news.

    Just last March, in the wake of the incoming Trump administration, when hopes for a ceasefire and ultimate peace in Ukraine were high, Remix News wrote about Szijjártó’s trip to Moscow, which he openly spoke about on Facebook.

    “The U.S.-Russian peace talks reached another milestone yesterday, making the world a safer place again. We have been saying for three years that communication channels must be kept open,” he wrote at the time. 

    Hungarian foreign minister Szijjártó flies to Moscow to talk peace and ‘enhanced economic cooperation’

    Szijjártó explained that his Moscow trip would focus on peace, secure energy supplies, and “enhanced economic cooperation.”

    What is news is that a foreign-funded journalist has allegedly helped to wiretap a government official, by reportedly handing his phone number to at least one foreign intelligence service, and Orbán’s government is taking action.

    ‘It’s a serious matter’ – PM Viktor Orbán addresses bombshell claims Hungarian journalist helped wiretap foreign minister, analyst says journalist could face life in prison for treason

    “It’s a serious matter,” Orbán said last week. “The fact that the foreign minister of a sovereign country is being intercepted with the intervention of the authorities and secret services of another country, using Hungarian journalists, or at least one for sure, is very serious.”

    One lawyer states that Pannyi faces life imprisonment for espionage and treason.

    Regarding the specific revelations, the question is also raised whether the Hungarian public, never known to be a fan of Ukraine, will generally care about any so-called “revelations.”

    “The basic problem the Hungarian opposition face is that they’ve assumed Hungarian voters are as obsessed with RUSSIA as they are – a sort of political narcissism. In reality Hungarian voters – and European voters more generally – don’t care that much. So it’s a big dud,” wrote Philip Pilkington, the author of “The Collapse of Global Liberalism” and the host of the Multipolarity podcast,

  • France approves record number of asylum applications in 2025, overall immigration numbers break records year after year

    France approves record number of asylum applications in 2025, overall immigration numbers break records year after year

    The latest data released by the National Court of Asylum reveals a historic statistical milestone: asylum grants in France have reached an unprecedented peak.

    In 2025, a record 78,782 individuals were granted asylum, marking a 12 percent increase over the previous year. The recognition rate has also climbed to an all-time high of 52.1 percent – or 47.1 percent when excluding unaccompanied minors.

    The initial stage of the asylum process is managed by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). If a claim is denied, applicants may appeal to the National Court of Asylum. While various forms of protection exist, the ultimate goal for many is the status of “refugee,” as it opens rights similar to those of the French in most areas, including social welfare, education, and housing.

    People of European origin on course to become minority in France’s urban areas

    The asylum system remains highly accessible, despite President Emmanuel Macron saying year after year that France needs to reduce immigration, just as he did in 2023.

    “Are we flooded with immigration? No. You cannot say that. But the current situation is not sustainable, and we need to reduce immigration significantly, starting with illegal immigration. We have a duty to deliver,” the French president said at the time.

    Polling shows the vast majority of French want a reduction in immigration, and even a majority of women want zero immigration, both legal and illegal.

    48% of French people want zero immigration, including zero legal migrants

    France already has the largest Muslim population in Europe, leading to serious cultural, societal, and even security problems. Unlike policies debated or implemented in nations like Italy or Denmark, which seek to reduce the ability for individuals to apply for asylum, France has very generous laws, including allowing those already present on French soil to apply for asylum directly. This creates a significant challenge for the state, as even when applications are denied, authorities have an extremely difficult time removing people. Macron, for instance, stated his goal was a 100 percent deportation rate. France’s actual deportation rate has remained in the teens since then, averaging around 15 percent.

    In fact, France has gone from record to record in terms of overall immigration every single year. Last year, Remix News reported that a record 6 million foreigners live in France, after a record 400,000 migrants arrived in the country in 2024. Earlier this year, Remix News reported that a record number of first-time residency permits were issued in 2025.

    Nevertheless, despite soaring public pressure, more asylum applications are being approved than ever. Even during the peak of the 2015 migration crisis, France did not grant asylum at these levels. Wars continue to be a major factor. For the second consecutive year, Ukrainians represent the largest group of asylum seekers, followed closely by nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan.

    Beyond geopolitics, the increasingly broad jurisprudence of the National Court of Asylum plays a pivotal role. In 2025, the court recognized automatic refugee status for all people from the Gaza Strip, then from the West Bank. In other words, Palestinians have almost virtually unlimited access to French territory.

    The court also recognized an automatic right to women from Iran and Somalia, which are deemed unfriendly states for women.

    Similar protections were extended to homosexual individuals from Egypt, Guatemala, and, as of late 2024, Sri Lanka.

    Once again, this liberal attitude towards asylum is not backed by the French public, with polling showing that 61 percent of the French want the right of asylum restricted in the country.

    According to the BVoltaire publication, there is an “urgent call to reform. Proponents argue that France must consider renegotiating international conventions and amending the Constitution, asserting that both the efficiency of the State and the preservation of French identity are currently at risk.”

    France must drastically reduce immigration or become Third World country, says former head of intelligence agency

  • Germany: Merz says he expects 80% of Syrians to return home within 3 years

    Germany: Merz says he expects 80% of Syrians to return home within 3 years

    Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) met with controversial Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadi terrorist, in Berlin on Monday afternoon. Among the topics discussed, one of the most prominent was the fact that Merz wants 80 percent of the Syrians currently living in Germany to return home.

    “In the longer perspective of the next three years, it is the wish of President al-Sharaa that around 80 percent of the Syrians in Germany should go back into their homeland,” said Merz, before adding: “We need a reliable repatriation option, cooperation with Syria.”

    Merz said he supported that, saying many of them “are needed at home.”

    The chancellor also made clear that protection statuses would be reassessed. “Those who have no claim will leave Germany again,” he said — particularly those who “abuse our hospitality.” He balanced this with an acknowledgment that “we are pleased about the many Syrian skilled workers who have integrated.”

    German government data shows 135,000 crimes by Syrian suspects against Germans since 2015 — one every 39 minutes

    Merz reflected on how, roughly a year ago, the dictatorship in Syria “was shaken off,” and reaffirmed that Germany had always stood by the Syrian people, despite the new government being accused of a number of atrocities against minorities, including Christians and Druze.

    Merz described reconstruction as an “enormous effort,” stressing that stability and economic performance would be essential for it to succeed. A German delegation is set to travel to Syria “in a few days” to advance cooperation on that front.

    The Syrian head of state opened by expressing his “deep gratitude” to Germany, declaring that “Syria is an important country for Europe” and that the country could “come back stronger,” adding: “We want to rebuild our country.”

    He noted that 1.3 million Syrians currently live in Germany, including 6,000 doctors who could make a significant contribution to Syria’s recovering economy.

    As Remix News has reported in the past, Syria lost many of its doctors due to the war, with many of them ending up in Germany and other countries in the West. However, many of them have expressed little interest in returning home.

    Al-Sharaa outlined a vision for a “cycle” allowing Syrians to return home, while those who wish to remain in Germany would be able to work there. He described the new Syria as a constitutional state “for all Syrians — without exception,” emphasizing that the country is “very diverse” and committed to deepening the “rule of law,” pledging to work with Germany “in great transparency.”

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    Despite what al-Sharaa said and what Merz may desire, there is little evidence that most Syrians have any incentive or motivation to return home.

    For one, many of them have already become German citizens, and more are being naturalized each month. Even if the German government wanted to return them, they would have no legal mechanism for doing so unless the entire constitution were rewritten. There have been some extremely isolated instances where German authorities have attempted to strip citizenship, but only for extreme violations of German law, such as terrorism offenses.

    Syrians also have little financial basis to return to a war-torn country — one that remains unstable. In Germany, they have access to free healthcare, housing, social welfare, and a host of other benefits not available in Syria. However, German conservatives have been pushing for a return of hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have not yet obtained citizenship, arguing that, overall, the migrant group has been a net drain on welfare and society. Furthermore, since the fall of Assad, the basis for their asylum is generally no longer present.

    Syrian migrants have been responsible for an enormous amount of crime in Germany since their arrival, including 135,000 Syrian crimes against Germans since 2015.

    Merz announced that Germany would help “stabilise Syria” with €200 million directed toward expanding water supplies, hospitals and vocational schools, assuring al-Sharaa: “You can count on Germany’s support.”

    Merz closed with a direct appeal to his Syrian counterpart: “Create a space for everyone in the new Syria!” He tied future joint projects to the rule of law taking hold in Syria, expressing confidence that this goal was within reach.

  • Knife attacker who stabbed 4 Germans told court she ‘did not like Germans’

    Knife attacker who stabbed 4 Germans told court she ‘did not like Germans’

    A 39-year-old suspect was arrested after reportedly stabbing four German citizens in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria, with the woman apparently citing her dislike of Germans as a motive for the bloody attack.

    Before entering the courtroom, the suspect reportedly stated that she “did not like Germans.” She also asked the court to take into consideration that she is a “conscientious citizen“ and had committed the act “in the interest of society.“

    According to the BGNES Agency, the motive provided by the alleged perpetrator has stunned local authorities and the public.

    The attacks took place on the evening of Thursday, March 26. Emergency services were first alerted to the Vasil Levski Stadium metro station near Dragan Tsankov Boulevard around 7:30 p.m.

    At that location, two German men, aged 63 and 65, suffered stab wounds.

    The Pirogov University Hospital later confirmed their condition was stable and there was no danger to life. Only minutes later, a second attack occurred at a bus stop on Cherni Vrah Boulevard, where two 27-year-old German women were also stabbed. Both women were treated, but both were released from the hospital that same evening.

    As part of the ongoing investigation, a forensic psychiatric assessment has been ordered for the suspect. Experts stated there is evidence of paranoid schizophrenia, though no prior medical records for the woman are currently available.

    Consequently, she is expected to be moved to the prison psychiatric hospital in Lovech for further observation and investigation. Interior Minister Emil Dechev stated that the woman most likely suffered from a mental illness.

    The suspect was apprehended following a swift manhunt. After fleeing the scenes of the attacks, she was captured on surveillance cameras, and the Interior Ministry released a mug shot that night. Police took the woman into custody shortly thereafter.

  • Leaked document from Hungarian opposition calls for immediate elimination of gasoline price caps and utility price reductions to align with Brussels

    Leaked document from Hungarian opposition calls for immediate elimination of gasoline price caps and utility price reductions to align with Brussels

    Update: A final ruling from a Hungarian court has forced the Index news portal to publish a correction to their previous report claiming that they had a leaked tax package from the Tisza camp, which they also falsely claimed would constitute the party’s economic plan.

    The Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, seeks to please the European Commission instead of the interests of Hungarians, with a new draft proposal leaked by the party’s former head of a church policy working group showing just how much pain Hungarians will be facing under a Tisza government.

    Balázs Csercsa posted the leaked document on his Facebook page, with the caption: “‘”I can’t tell anyone, so I’ll tell everyone…’ Many people in Tisza are fed up with the fact that the newcomers are already acting as if they have unlimited power. The wind blew the latest material from Kapitány István’s team to me. Of course, they would keep the truth quiet now too. Tisza voters know nothing about what they are preparing for. It is precisely because of people like this that I have had enough of the Tisza Party.”

    István Kapitány was Shell’s vice president of Global Retail from 2014 to 2024, and then became Tisza’s economic development and energy expert.

    Excerpts from the document quoted by Maygar Nemzet indicate exactly how far Magyar is prepared to go to fall in line with Brussels. “Hungary must resolve its conflicts with the European Commission and Ukraine, and this cannot be done without substantial compromises and the elimination of Russian energy sources,” reads one line.

    “This turn of events also provides an opportunity for Tisza to break with the Fidesz government’s model of excessive state control – with regulatory price regulation and artificial preference for domestic players – and liberalize the Hungarian energy market in line with the European Commission’s guidelines,” it continues, before calling for the immediate elimination of Orbán’s recently announced price cap on gasoline.

    “To this end, the protected price of gasoline must be eliminated, a market price must be introduced instead of the reduced overhead (for lower gas utility prices), the conversion of the Mol refinery must be completed, and a new energy independence tax must be introduced to cover its costs,” states the document, which continues to explain how Hungary must also open up Hungary to other international energy carriers and cooperation with countries other than Russia, such as Croatia.

    According to the Tisza experts, “protected prices place too great a burden on actors in the value chain – especially fuel traders -, go against all market logic, and discriminatoryly favor domestic consumers, which does not fit with the logic of the EU based on the common market and competition law.”

    Therefore, after the formation of the Tisza government, these two challenges – the reduction of Russian energy purchases and the reduction of excessive state involvement – must be addressed immediately, with a ban on the import of Russian gasoline and diesel into Hungary to be submitted at the inaugural session of the National Assembly.

    Tisza is vocal about a wealth tax on “NER elites,” referring to government-friendly entities and individuals they claim have enriched themselves during the Orbán governments. However, there is also a plan to go after household savings, while telling voters — after the election — that this is the fault of Fidesz’s poor policies.

    The level of household savings in Hungary is very high compared to the European average, with the Tisza stating that “a 1 percent tax rate on savings would therefore generate 240 billion forints per year, and 1.5 percent would generate 360 ​​billion forints. The EDF should be introduced for two years, and its revenues would finance the costs of the energy transition in 2026 and 2027. The above steps should be implemented immediately, after the formation of the new parliament.”

    According to the Tisza economic working group, the implementation of everything will take approximately two and a half years, starting from the second month after the formation of the government.

    The sale of state-owned MOL shares and the privatization of at least 75 percent of MVM’s ownership is also discussed, with these moves scheduled for completion by the end of 2028. MVM is Hungary’s state-run power company, which oversees the distribution of and billing for gas and electricity for households and businesses across the country. Under consecutive Orbán governments, households have benefitted from lower gas and electricity rates, known as “reduced overhead” here in Hungary, something Brussels has long called to be ended.

    Regarding political risks and their management, it was explained that the transformation of the healthcare system will cause social tensions, and these emotions should be directed against Fidesz. According to the draft, “the Tisza government must therefore prepare in advance and consciously for political attacks,” by essentially laying blame on Fidesz and prominent Fidesz-aligned businesses and individuals.

    In one pointed attack on longtime Orbán ally Lőrinc Mészáros, the document also reads: “The energy companies owned by Lőrinc Mészáros must be held responsible for the price increases, and a debate must be launched on the nationalization of Lőrinc Mészáros’ energy companies!”

    Hungarians head to the polls on April 12.

  • The big immigration lie: Germany’s BASF opens the most modern chemical plant in the world – in China

    The big immigration lie: Germany’s BASF opens the most modern chemical plant in the world – in China

    This is the sixth part in the Remix News series, “The big immigration lie,” which explores Asia’s innovation leap over Western countries, despite Asian nations like China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan promoting closed-border economies that rejects mass immigration (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5).

    The most modern chemical factory in the world, according to Germany’s prestigious FAZ newspaper, is being built by Germany’s BASF for €9 billion. However, this factory is not being built in Germany. Instead, the modern BASF composite site is located in China’s Zhanjiang on the island of Donghai, and is so large that it is referred to as a “spaceship” which covers four square kilometers, or the equivalent of “five to six hundred football fields and many more rice fields.”

    While one major factor in Germany’s chemical production woes is high energy costs, chemical production is far from the only field in which Germany is falling behind. In areas such as renewable energy, automobile production, humanoid robotics, microchips, AI, machine tools, and ship building, Asian countries are leaping into the future, while countries like Germany are mired in growing debt, dysfunctional school systems, and growing insecurity.

    The big immigration lie: South Korea uses robotics and automation to fuel shipbuilding boom, all while leaving the pro-migration West in the dust

    This has not been lost on political leaders in Germany either, with Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel writing on X: “BASF is investing billions in China and opening the world’s most modern chemical plant, while jobs are being cut here at home. That’s a warning sign: The high energy costs from the disastrous energy transition are driving deindustrialization forward!”

    FAZ notes the incredible contrast the new BASF plant has with the surrounding countryside, where farmers still wear “large comical bamboo hats” and work in rice fields. Many of them are elderly farmers working in a manner that gives “a glimpse into ancient China.” The new BASF plant illustrates the massive leaps China continues to make as it not only drives towards modernization but now increasingly out-innovates Western nations.

    The big immigration lie: China smashes the myth that foreigners are needed to secure the West’s economic future

    The site, which is centered around a “steam cracker, which splits the hydrocarbons” into products ranging from toothpaste, shampoos, detergents, or even materials for cars, may have cost €9 billion to construct, but in Europe, it would cost 20 to 40 percent more than to build in China and probably cost €25 billion in the United States.

    The factory was quickly completed by 35,000 workers and was of an unmatched scale.

    Merkel was behind the BASF plant

    The project’s origin dates back to 2018, when “Angela Merkel and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang watched over” the signing of the agreement. However, “political support from the German side has crumbled” since then.

    At the recent opening, German politicians were absent, and Economics Minister Katherina Reiche provided only a “5-minute video message” while “struggling with the Zhanjiang debate.”

    In contrast, the Chinese side showed strong local support, with the governor of Guangdong calling for “further investments from BASF.” Addressing domestic concerns regarding “deindustrialization and an increase in dependencies,” BASF CEO Markus Kamieth was firm. He told journalists that “the word of dependencies is ‘misguided’” and argued that “opportunities are being seized in China.”

    The big immigration lie: China’s BYD head says his company is 3-5 years ahead of Western carmakers, introduces 9-minute charging Blade battery in major breakthrough

    He further asserted that “a BASF” that failed in the Chinese market “would be a weaker BASF,” noting that “China is not Iran or Russia” and the company does not “come into conflict with your own values.”

    The article also notes that Zhanjiang may be small by Chinese standards, with a population of 440,000, but it is fully backing BASF.

    Kamieth expressed gratitude for the “support of the Chinese government” and praised the “cooperation with local authorities,” noting that “entire classes from vocational schools have been hired.”

    The rapid development of the region has been a point of amazement for the BASF CEO. Recalling the early stages of the project, he remarked, “In 2020 it was all still vision.” He referred specifically to the “infrastructure that was promised to him at the time,” such as a new airport and port expansions. Looking at the completed site today, he concluded, “But it all happened exactly like that.”

    The big immigration lie: Why BlackRock’s Larry Fink’s belief that ‘xenophobic’ countries will have a higher standared of living amid AI revolution is such a big deal

    As Remix News has noted, China is known for its incredibly strict immigration policy to ensure cultural and societal harmony, while emphasizing utilizing its own human capital and people to power its economy. In fact, as noted frequently in this series, China has fewer foreigners in the entire nation of 1.4 billion than Germany has in just one city, Berlin. Yet, Europe is the one headed to China on bended knee to beg for economic help.

    To add to the dilemma, the education systems of most Western nations are in shambles, in large part due to mass immigration. This means that while Asia is investing in its future, even if that future includes a shrinking population, countries like Germany are piling billions into a failed ideology of mass immigration that is only exacerbating economic decline.

    In the end, the West can import millions from Africa and the Middle East, but these regions of the world feature incredibly low patent activity, low innovation, and very few examples of successful high-end manufacturing. BASF shows that Germany’s largest companies are investing in Asia despite the left’s claims that mass immigration would fuel an economic boom and pay for the country’s pensioners.

  • US should start removing its troops from Germany, proposes AfD co-leader Chrupalla

    US should start removing its troops from Germany, proposes AfD co-leader Chrupalla

    Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Tino Chrupalla spoke out in favor of withdrawing American troops from Germany. During a party congress in Saxony, he stressed that, if AfD comes to power, this should be the first step in implementing the party’s program, which calls for the removal of all allied forces from Germany and a withdrawal from NATO’s nuclear weapons sharing system.

    “Let’s start implementing this program by withdrawing U.S. troops,” he said, as reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, cited by Do Rzeczy.

    The proposal received loud applause by the audience.

    Chrupalla also argued that Germany should not be involved in international military operations, praising Spain for opposing U.S. use of its bases for its conflict with Iran.

    “And that is exactly right. Spain is not interfering in this war,” he said.

    ‘I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump’ – AfD co-leader warns of WWIII

    His criticism of American troops on German soil comes after his sharp criticism of Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran.

    “I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump when it comes to his campaign promises,” Chrupalla during an appearance on Markus Lanz earlier this month.

    “During the election campaign, he also accused Kamala Harris, that she would start World War III. And now we are on the cusp of having probably started the Third World War with Donald Trump. And that’s a breach of his word, which I really resent and which the American people also resent, who incidentally reject this war in Iran at a much higher rate than Germans. So, 70 percent of Americans do not want this war and do not support it.

    Chrupalla also stated it was clear the United States was dragged into the war by Israel.

    “And I think the Americans, as you can really see now if you look at all the events, were dragged into this war by Israel. There were serious negotiations where Oman, as a peacemaker, came to an agreement with Israel together with the USA, and they basically started bombing Iran on the same day. The Omani Foreign Minister has described this as a huge mistake. The entire Arab world has labeled it a mistake. The Norwegian Foreign Minister has described it as a mistake. It has also been labelled a mistake by Turkey. You can’t ignore all that. These are all countries in this region that are naturally extremely worried that this will escalate into a conflagration. And that’s what we’re seeing now. It’s a huge wildfire.”

    In his most recent speech, Chrupalla also addressed Russia’s war against Ukraine. He announced that the AfD would “bring about peace” and that after the conflict ends, Ukrainians in Germany should return to their home country, criticizing the current refugee benefits system.

    “This is exactly what must end. All Ukrainians must go back,” he said

    Chrupalla’s speech made it clear that the AfD aims to take power in Germany, at both the state and national levels. “We must develop, moving from an opposition party to a governing party,” he said during the party convention in Löbau, as quoted by Deutsche Welle.

    Germany’s industrial economy could lose tens of billions if Iran war sends oil price soaring

    Germany’s next federal elections will take place only in March 2029. At that time, Chrupalla plans for the AfD to have a prime minister in Saxony and an AfD chancellor as the leader of Germany. Chrupalla also admitted that this requires further capacity-building and preparing party structures for governance.

    Noting that AfD must no longer be perceived as a single-issue party, presumably referring to its focus on implementing mass deportations, and must demonstrate concrete results in government going forward.

    “At some point, we will have to present our voters with successes,” he emphasized.

    According to Bild reports, the party has already begun organizational preparations to take over the government by establishing a special working group for participation in the government.

  • Orbán: Israel’s blocking of Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday is ‘unacceptable,’ US ambassador says it is ‘unfortunate overreach’

    Orbán: Israel’s blocking of Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday is ‘unacceptable,’ US ambassador says it is ‘unfortunate overreach’

    The failure of Israeli police to allow the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday has sent shockwaves throughout Christian communities around the world.

    The Church is Christianity’s holiest site and a major pilgrimage site for millions of Christians every year. Located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, it is home to the site of Jesus’s crucifixion, where he was prepared for burial, and the shrine holding his tomb.

    Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus entered Jerusalem as king and savior. Riding on a donkey to signify peace, people welcomed him by waving palm branches. This ushered in the final week of Jesus’ life, ending in his betrayal and crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is the holiest week in Christianity, and this Church in Jerusalem is where it all happened.

    Francesco lelpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was also prevented from entering, along with two other priests.

    “(F)or the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem read.

    Israeli officials say that this was for their own safety due to the ongoing war against Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu posted to X, claiming that “missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

    However, there was little understanding from any corner. Even ardent Zionist Mike Huckabee, who serves as U.S. ambassador to Israel, called out Israel on X for blocking one of Christianity’s holiest spots on one of its holiest of days, calling the move “an unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.”

    He also took issue with the Israeli government’s justification. “Home Front Command Guidelines restrict any gatherings to 50 people or less. The 4 representatives of the Catholic Church were well below that restriction. Statements from the Gov’t of Israel indicate the action to prohibit Cardinal Pizzaballa entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were for safety reasons, but churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem have met with the restrictions of 50 or less,” he wrote.

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a long-time defender of the Christian faith, including persecuted communities outside of Hungary, had this to say: “This is a painful Palm Sunday. The authorities in Jerusalem have prevented the Latin Patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is unacceptable for us as Christians, even taking into account the wartime situation and general security measures. We must not allow war to exclude followers of any religion from our shared holy city, Jerusalem.”

    Israel quickly backtracked and assured the Church, and all Christians, that Holy Week would no longer be obstructed. “I instructed the authorities to enable the Patriarch to hold services as he wishes,” he wrote, a move applauded by Huckabee.

    Former Prime Minister of Israel Yair Lapid took the opportunity to lash out at Netanyahu, posting on X that “nothing damages our international standing as much as what this government is doing.”

  • Chancellor Merz: A ‘considerable proportion’ of violence in Germany comes ‘from immigrant groups’

    Chancellor Merz: A ‘considerable proportion’ of violence in Germany comes ‘from immigrant groups’

    The debate over violence in German society and schools has reached a boiling point in the Bundestag, pitting Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his supporters against critics who accuse him of racism, including a Left Party politician who published a photo of herself on Instagram giving him the middle finger.

    The controversy intensified following a session where Merz addressed the issue of digital and analog violence, particularly against women.

    “We have exploding violence in our society, both in the analog and digital space, and we must do something about it together,” said Merz. However, he said that one must then also talk about where this violence comes from, he said to applause from members of the CDU/CSU and the AfD.

    “And then we must also address the fact that a considerable proportion of this violence comes to the Federal Republic of Germany from immigrant groups,” he added.

    These remarks drew sharp condemnation from the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Left Party. SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch argued that violence against women should be viewed broadly rather than being reduced to a single population group. Miersch stated, “I don’t think that was an adequate response from the chancellor.”

    He added that “violence against women has no origin or religion, it is a problem of society and must be addressed clearly. It is about protecting victims, regardless of who the perpetrator is.”

    Data on violence against women and foreigners

    However, statistics tell another story from what Miersch asserted. Foreigners commit 65 percent of all sexual crimes on German trains and in train stations despite making up approximately 15 percent of the population. It must be noted that German citizens with a migration background are not included in this 65 percent figure.

    As data from North Rhine-Westphalia showed, foreigners commit half of all gang rapes. However, when the first names of gang rape suspects are analyzed, it shows that at least half of the German citizens clearly had names from a foreign background, such as Mohammad. In total, that means 75 percent of all gang rapes are committed by a foreigner or someone with a foreign background.

    ‘Increasingly becoming no-go areas’ – Violent crime explodes at German train stations due to mass immigration

    Data presented by the German government last year shows that 63,977 women were victims of sexual violence in 2024 alone, and the perpetrators were disproportionately foreigners, making up 35 percent of all perpetrators, according to government data released as a result of an inquiry from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Bundestag.

    German government data also shows there were 135,000 crimes by Syrian suspects against Germans since 2015 — one every 39 minutes.

    The data, obtained by Freilich magazine, also shows large numbers of victims of crimes committed by suspects from other countries of origin, including 82,960 linked to Afghanistan, 69,946 to Iraq, 39,918 to Morocco, and 32,383 to Algeria. Altogether, more than 460,000 crimes were recorded in a 10-year period involving suspects from the 10 main countries of origin: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Eritrea.

    The Left says migrants should not be blamed

    In the educational sector, Saskia Esken, chairwoman of the parliament’s Education and Family Committee, also raised concerns about school-related crimes. While acknowledging that the number of violent crimes recorded by the police in schools has increased significantly in all federal states, she firmly rejected the migration narrative, despite clear statistical evidence showing there is a serious problem with violence from Germany’s foreign population.

    “Migration is not the problem in our schools,” Esken asserted, arguing that violence arises where children neither at home nor at school learn other ways to regulate their feelings and resolve conflicts. She described school as a motley, quasi-forced community where social workers and psychologists are desperately needed to address underlying issues like poverty and lack of prospects.

    ‘A direct result of the irresponsible mass immigration’ – 40% of all violent crime suspects in German schools are foreigners, over 2 knife attacks a day

    Again, the data contradicts her, showing that 40 percent of all violent crime suspects in German schools are foreigners. This data shows that there were 4,254 foreign suspects and 7,309 suspects with German citizenship, the German government announced in response to a parliamentary inquiry from Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Martin Hess.

    Of the 11,558 suspects in total, 1,236 had Syrian passports, representing one in ten violent incidents, according to the data, which was provided to Welt newspaper.

    It must also be noted that a likely significant number of these suspects are German citizens with a migration background who are only counted as German in the statistics. Researchers, police, and society do not have a clear picture regarding the integration of previous generations of migrants and their role in crime due to this data reporting failure.

    Germany: Syrians and Afghans reach new violent crime highs, over 10x more likely to commit a violent crime than a German

    Middle finger for Merz

    The Left Party member of the Bundestag, Cansin Köktürk, took a more provocative approach by posting a photo of her middle finger directed at Merz on Instagram.

    She accused the chancellor of a “hysterical, constant whining” about migrants and suggested that he was serving a racist agenda.

    “Hey Merz, I almost think you’d like to be part of us yourself. You’re so obsessed with talking about us,” she wrote.

    Köktürk claimed that Merz instrumentalizes specific cases while ignoring the perspectives of those affected, describing his rhetoric as aggressive and hurtful.

    German government data shows 135,000 crimes by Syrian suspects against Germans since 2015 — one every 39 minutes

  • Questions mount over how PM Tusk’s Civic Platform official accused of abusing 14 girls remained in the party

    Questions mount over how PM Tusk’s Civic Platform official accused of abusing 14 girls remained in the party

    A former local official of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing Civic Platform (PO) is back at the center of a growing political scandal after an appeals court threw out his 11-year prison sentence in a child abuse case involving 14 girls, sending the matter back for a new trial and reviving questions over how he remained in party leadership for so long.

    Piotr P., the former head of PO’s district branch in Złotów in Greater Poland, had previously been convicted on 21 counts linked to sexual offenses against minors and the recording of nude images of children without parental knowledge or consent. Prosecutors said more than a dozen girls were harmed.

    According to investigators, the abuse took place between 2021 and 2023, with Piotr P. allegedly meeting girls and telling them to undress, touching them, and photographing them while claiming the images were part of medical documentation.

    The case was brought after the mother of one of the alleged victims contacted authorities. Piotr P. was arrested on Dec. 1, 2023, and was later convicted by the District Court in Złotów, which sentenced him in March 2025 to 11 years in prison. That ruling, however, was later overturned in January of this year, and the proceedings are now set to resume. Piotr P. continues to deny the charges.

    Critics say the most disturbing aspect of the affair is not only the scale of the allegations, but the fact that Piotr P. remained a prominent Civic Platform figure for years, despite what opponents claim were longstanding rumors and earlier accusations.

    The case has since become a political weapon in Poland’s wider media and party war, with right-leaning outlets portraying it as proof that Civic Platform tolerated a well-known local figure despite repeated warning signs. The same outlets have also seized on the reversal of the original conviction as evidence of an overtly political justice system. TVRepublika, for example, claimed that the conviction was overturned because the ruling judge had been newly appointed and was not recognized by the new Tusk government.

    Reporting cited by wPolityce alleges that complaints involving Piotr P. dated back as far as 2011, with further allegations emerging around 2015 and 2016 involving underage trainees. Although the matter was reportedly brought to police and prosecutors, the case was allegedly dropped at an early stage.

    That history has fueled accusations that Piotr P. benefited from political protection while continuing to hold influence locally. According to critics, he remained in charge of the party’s Złotów structures from 2014 onward, helped organize campaigns, shaped election lists, and regularly appeared alongside local officials and senior party figures.

    He was only suspended and later expelled from Civic Platform after his 2023 arrest, a fact now being used by opponents to argue that the party acted only when the scandal became impossible to ignore.

    Other reports from left-wing media, however, have said the sentence was overturned because of procedural problems rather than politics. That dispute has only intensified the public fight around the case, with rival camps offering sharply different explanations for why the conviction did not stand.

    What is not in dispute, however, is the scale of the alleged abuse described by prosecutors. The case involves 14 alleged victims and numerous counts of sexual offenses.

    For Civic Platform, the damage is not limited to one former local activist. The retrial is again focusing attention on whether party officials ignored or downplayed claims surrounding a man who remained politically active for years, ran repeatedly for mayor of Jastrowie, and built influence through both party and community roles.

    As wPolsce24 wrote, “This is a dark period for the Polish justice system and further proof that in the world of Civic Platform politicians, partisan interests and the struggle for influence in the courts matter more than the fate of abused children.”

    A report shining a light on new information surrounding the scandal is due to be broadcast by wPolsce24 on Monday.

  • Criminal charges loom for Berlin officials accused of obstructing justice in youth center gang-rape case because they didn’t want to ‘stigmatize’ Muslim suspects

    Criminal charges loom for Berlin officials accused of obstructing justice in youth center gang-rape case because they didn’t want to ‘stigmatize’ Muslim suspects

    Berlin authorities are now pursuing criminal proceedings against officials in the Neukölln district over allegations that a youth center rape case was effectively buried because staff did not want to contribute to the stigmatization of “Muslim boys.”

    The most serious political fallout so far has centered on Sarah Nagel of The Left Party, Neukölln’s councilor for youth affairs, against whom proceedings for alleged obstruction of justice are now underway, according to Welt.

    Criminal complaints over other possible offenses have also been filed against the head of the district youth welfare office, according to Berlin Education and Youth Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

    The case has triggered outrage across Berlin because the alleged cover-up was not just a bureaucratic failure, but a conscious decision not to involve the authorities even after repeated warnings from outside staff.

    Earlier this week, Remix News reported on a sworn affidavit submitted to Berlin authorities by employees of a neighboring facility, who said they urged staff at the Wutzkyallee youth center to file a criminal complaint over serious sexual assault allegations. According to the statement, those calls were ignored.

    Berlin youth center Muslim rape scandal deepens as affidavit claims suspects were not reported over fears of ‘stigmatizing’ Muslims

    The affidavit, reproduced by Bild and BZ, stated, “In this context, we informed the social services coordinator that a report must be filed. The social services coordinator refrained from doing so, as she feared the marginalization of the group of perpetrators. In essence, she stated that the Muslim boys are already sufficiently in the sights of the police and that she wants to prevent a general suspicion.”

    At the heart of the case, a 16-year-old girl is said to have been raped at the Neukölln youth center in November last year by a teenage suspect. Months later, she was allegedly sexually assaulted again inside the same facility, this time by a group of up to eight Muslim teens in a secluded room at the center.

    According to earlier reporting, the center had allegedly seen repeated sexual misconduct, including girls being forcibly hugged, groped on the breasts and buttocks without consent, and pulled onto boys’ laps.

    The perpetrators allegedly filmed the assaults and used the footage to blackmail the victim. It is also said that they attempted to contact her younger sister and pressure her into meeting them.

    One of the most damaging aspects of the affair is the timeline now emerging around who knew what and when. Police only became aware of the case on Feb. 23 this year, after the victim’s father filed a report. According to the district, the youth welfare office had already been informed on Jan. 28, but no complaint was filed by either the institution itself or the responsible district office.

    Nagel reportedly did not learn of the incidents until March 2. By then, Berlin’s Senate administration had already begun looking into the matter after receiving an anonymous tip at the end of February.

    According to Welt, Günther-Wünsch told lawmakers in the Berlin House of Representatives that her administration launched an investigation after learning of the case, but conflicting accounts from the district led to a formal review, which found that no standard child protection procedure had been initiated.

    “I am still shocked and deeply affected by the suffering,” the senator said during question time in parliament.

    She also sharply criticized the Neukölln district leadership. “It’s not enough to express concern,” she said, adding that what was now required were “clear and tangible consequences.”

    Günther-Wünsch accused district mayor Martin Hikel of failing to take responsibility. “Not a single word on this case, no acceptance of responsibility,” she said, criticizing the fact that a district councilor who is herself under investigation was still expected to take part in clarifying the affair.

    The Wutzkyallee youth club has been closed since March 13, according to the district. Berlin’s State Criminal Police Office and the public prosecutor’s office are now investigating the alleged assaults.

    A motion to remove Nagel from office was initially blocked from the agenda and is not expected to return until next month at the earliest.

    Nagel said on Wednesday that one staff member from the youth welfare office had been transferred to another position, with additional action still under review as the investigation continues.

  • Czechia to launch homegrown space satellite to track fires, floods, and traffic

    Czechia to launch homegrown space satellite to track fires, floods, and traffic

    The Czech Republic is moving ahead with plans to launch a new domestically developed satellite capable of delivering hundreds of images of the Earth each day for state use, in a project officials say could eventually help with everything from disaster response to transport monitoring.

    As reported by Echo24, representatives of VZLU Aerospace, the Czech national aviation and space center, and the European Space Agency have now signed the contract covering development of the AMBIC satellite, along with a universal satellite platform intended for future missions. The satellite is expected to be ready for launch in 2030.

    Once in orbit, the satellite is expected to capture up to 400 black-and-white and color images per day at a resolution sharp enough to identify objects the size of a car. It will operate in low Earth orbit at an altitude of up to 550 kilometers.

    Officials say the data could prove valuable to helping emergency services respond to fires and floods, and the imagery could also be used to monitor roads, railways, protected natural parks, and illegal dumping sites.

    Christine Klein, head of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Industrial Policy and Audit Department, welcomed the Czech government’s decision to entrust the agency with implementing the broader Czech Ambitious Missions project, of which AMBIC forms a part.

    The contract signed with ESA not only covers the AMBIC mission itself. It also commits VZLU Aerospace to create a universal satellite platform for spacecraft weighing between 80 and 200 kilograms. That platform is intended to be adaptable for different payloads, including telescopes, and will be designed for low orbit missions at up to 550 kilometers with an expected service life of three to five years.

    VZLU Aerospace previously developed the VZLUSAT-2 satellite, which became the first Czech satellite to capture high-resolution color and black-and-white images of the Earth. That spacecraft also carried scientific instruments, including a space X-ray detector. It was launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in January 2022 and completed its mission before burning up in the atmosphere at the end of last year.

    The company has also sent the SATurnin-1 satellite into orbit for military intelligence purposes and is currently working on the VZLUGEM constellation, a project involving several satellites designed to cooperate with one another.

    Those missions followed the earlier VZLUSAT-1, which the company says became the longest-operating Czech satellite in the history of both the Czech Republic and former Czechoslovakia.

  • A mass exodus? 60% of young Germans can see themselves emigrating due to debt, burnout, and housing fears

    A mass exodus? 60% of young Germans can see themselves emigrating due to debt, burnout, and housing fears

    A growing number of young Germans are seriously considering leaving the country, with a new study suggesting that economic stress, worsening mental health, and political frustration are pushing many to look abroad for better opportunities.

    The study, titled Youth in Germany 2026 – Future Under Pressure, found that 21 percent of people aged 14 to 29 are planning to emigrate, while a further 41 percent said they could imagine doing so. The findings are based on a representative survey conducted between January and February 2026.

    As reported by Bild, researchers said the desire to leave is closely tied to financial insecurity. Nearly one in four respondents, or 23 percent, reported being in debt, the highest level recorded in the study. Rising rents, housing shortages, and fears of falling into poverty were all cited as major pressures felt by young people.

    Kilian Hampel of the University of Konstanz said those under the greatest financial strain were especially likely to report plans to move abroad. He said these young people are more often in debt, feel more threatened by poverty, suffer higher levels of psychological stress, and receive less support from their parents.

    Mass exodus of natives from Germany but sky-high immigration keeps population rising

    The emigration crisis in Germany has been brewing over the last few years. According to DeStatis, in the first four months of last year, over 93,000 Germans left the country, significantly more than the 80,105 departures recorded for the same period in 2024.

    Despite Germans seeking opportunities elsewhere, the population continued to rise due to mass immigration. Between May 2022 and April 2025, a total of 2,089,025 more non-Germans moved to Germany than have left the country, while 262,476 more German nationals have left the country than have returned.

    The recent survey also highlighted a concerning mental health crisis among young people. Some 29 percent of respondents said they needed psychological support, another record high. The figure rose to 34 percent among young women, 32 percent among students, and 42 percent among unemployed respondents.

    According to the study, 60 percent of young people showed signs of addictive smartphone use, while many are also turning to AI-based counseling tools to deal with personal problems.

    Many no longer believe effort alone is enough to secure stability or upward mobility in Germany. Economic uncertainty and the growing role of AI were both seen as threats to career prospects, helping to make vocational training more attractive than traditional academic routes.

    The study also pointed to rising political alienation and sharper polarization. Researchers found support growing at both ends of the political spectrum, with the Left Party polling especially strongly among young women, while the AfD was gaining more backing among young men.

    Those on the left were more likely to point to Germany’s shift to the right and the growing influence of the AfD as factors behind their thinking. At the same time, the study said even young people who voted for the AfD were more likely than others to report plans to emigrate, showing a deep disillusionment with the current political and demographic climate.

    Nina Kolleck of the University of Potsdam warned that the discontent should not be underestimated. “The youth’s protest is not loud, but something is brewing beneath the surface that could endanger the economy, regions, and social security systems in the long term,” she said.

    Klaus Hurrelmann of the Hertie School in Berlin said too many young people feel ignored on the issues that matter most for their future. As cited by Deutsches Schulportal, he argued that trust could only be rebuilt if politicians gave the younger generation more responsibility and created new forms of participation, including intergenerational dialogue.

  • German wife stole €1.5 million from her husband’s firm to give to love scam gang operating from Africa’s Ivory Coast: report

    German wife stole €1.5 million from her husband’s firm to give to love scam gang operating from Africa’s Ivory Coast: report

    In a truly incredible story, a German mother of four from Bavaria thought she had found the love of her life on the dating platform Lovescout24. She fell so deeply in love that she sent her love interest €1.5 million from her husband’s firm, only for it to turn out the money was going to an African gang focused on love scams.

    She placed her trust in a man presenting himself as soldier “Ruiz Calvo,” who claimed to be in financial difficulty, and over the course of more than a year transferred the money into Swiss accounts on his behalf. Eventually, however, the married woman grew suspicious and alerted the police.

    Despite only speaking to her fictitious lover on the phone twice, she sent him a fortune of her husband’s money.

    Germany: Nigerian love scammer gang sentenced for targeting lonely German women, judge notes ‘Gangster Doll’ laughed at her victims

    However, it took her 39 money transfers before she realized she was dealing with a fraudster. In September 2024, the woman, who is from the Donau-Ries district north of Augsburg, finally confessed to her husband and they jointly filed a police complaint.

    How did the woman have access to so much of her husband’s money? She worked as the accountant for his firm, where she siphoned off the money. Now, she is under investigation for fraud.

    One of the fraudsters on trial

    One of the alleged fraudsters has been arrested. After filing the police complaint, the woman received a message from “[email protected]” where she was told she could reclaim all her money in exchange for a payment of €13,700 as a “procedure opening fee,” with the individual posing as an Interpol agent.

    Police advised the woman to play along, but to insist on a German bank account number, on the grounds that she no longer trusted foreign banks. The ruse worked, and the man behind the email account sent an IBAN belonging to a man from Verden in Lower Saxony, who had made his account available at his brother-in-law’s request. That brother-in-law was arrested in Paris in July 2025 and subsequently extradited to Germany.

    Austrians getting robbed blind: Nearly all welfare fraud cases are committed by foreigners

    Now, 29-year-old Daouda T. is being tried in Augsburg’s regional court, wearing an ankle bracelet. According to the indictment, the asylum seeker operated as a logistics coordinator for a romance fraud gang originating from the Ivory Coast, using 86 bank accounts and seducing German men under the alias “Jennifer.”

    Whether he also posed as the fictitious soldier Calvo remains unclear.

    In total, 17 victims were targeted across Germany by the same network. The gang extracted huge amounts of money from the victims, yet those behind the operation have largely been unidentified.

    The investigating officer in the case told the court: “The soldier claimed to be on a foreign mission and had no access to his account containing €1.3 million. She was supposed to help him buy the account back from the French state.”

    Germany: Nationwide fraud scheme in naturalization language tests uncovered, Iraqi ringleader arrested

    The money was split between the gang, with Daouda T. receiving a share. However, the court has learned that he gambled away his share of the money on sports betting.

    “He committed the crime out of financial hardship,” his defense attorney, Florian Engert, claimed in court.

    Judge Stefan Lindig convicted him of attempted commercial and gang fraud and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. The victim was not present at the hearing.

    German women are especially prone to love scams

    Recent studies have highlighted Germany as particularly affected, with reported financial losses in 2025 reaching approximately €380 million, which accounted for roughly 86 percent of all recorded losses from these scams within the EU.

    Germany’s ‘fake fathers’: Nigerian migrant calling himself Mr. Cash Money claims to have 24 foreign children

    According to German public news outlet SWR, “more and more people, mainly older women or middle-aged women, are falling for so-called love scamming. This refers to fraud by feigning a partnership or even intent to marry when people meet on the Internet.”

    The advent of AI-generated video, which can make someone take on an entirely new identity, has greatly enhanced the power of these love scam networks. Scammers target people who are often single and lonely, exploiting their emotions and gaining trust over time

    Women are certainly not the only victims, but so far, they statistically fall victim to these crimes more often than men.

    In January of this year, a major Nigerian love scam gang was tried in Germany. The high-profile trial at the Dresden Regional Court concluded with the sentencing of a Nigerian fraud network that specialized in laundering money stolen from lonely women.

    Germany: Millions of euros robbed through false Covid-19 test scams by men with a foreign background

    Throughout the proceedings, the defendants — Hamsik E. (24), Sylvester E. (27), Ayomide N. (25), and Precious O. (25) — maintained a defiant display of wealth. Even while arriving from prison, they wore luxury labels such as Louis Vuitton. On paper, three were employed in vague professions, such as “designer,” while one was officially unemployed and collecting social benefits. Precious, the woman, was allegedly a “part-time waitress.”

    The Presiding Judge Karl-Dietmar Elser did not seem to be impressed with their luxury clothing or accessories and handed down sentences of nearly four years each for aiding and abetting commercial and gang-related fraud. The judge noted that Precious O., specifically, earned the nickname “Gangster-Doll“ for her “behavior,” which included laughing at her victims in chats and conversations.

    Is your money safe? Within a year, masses of people will lose their savings due to AI threat, warns cybercrime expert

    Remarkably, during the trial, Bild newspaper highlighted that the scam had many layers of sophistication, and in fact, one of the women appeared to still have trouble believing it was a scam. During the trial, Bild stated that she was still in contact with the fake doctor and continued to value his “attention and kind words.” During the scam, various problems were presented with the alleged doctor’s efforts to reach Germany, which left the woman paying to help him, which led to her financial losses.

    Several members of the scam group, operating from Nigeria, have never been brought to justice.

    Germany: Former asylum seeker Taghi B., an Iranian with a fake Russian diploma, is accused of sexually abusing multiple minors, including a 9-year-old girl
  • ‘Resign!’ – Weber slammed for helping push through EU deportation law, suggests his support is only there until Orbán ousted in Budapest

    ‘Resign!’ – Weber slammed for helping push through EU deportation law, suggests his support is only there until Orbán ousted in Budapest

    After helping the European Parliament pass the Returns Regulation, clearing the way for talks with the European Council on a new law to remove illegal migrants, Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party (EPP), is taking immense heat from left-liberal circles.

    As Green MEP Damian Boeselager posted, “Weber, you are directly responsible for enabling AfD & co and their extremist ideas. You need to step down now!” He also called the applause from EU parliament conservatives after the vote “absolutely sickening.”

    A staunch backer of Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, Weber has admitted that this vote was to help prop up Tisza leader Péter Magyar ahead of Hungary’s election in April, so that it would not look like Magyar’s grouping in the EU parliament, which is Weber’s own EPP, was working against Hungarian national interests.

    Reducing migration is important to most Hungarians, and this new regulation would speed up the return of illegal immigrants, including through the establishment of deportation centers in third countries and stricter entry bans. However, many politicians on the left, beyond Boeselager, have called Weber’s siding with right-wing parties to push the measure through an absolute betrayal.

    Zoltán Szalai, the editor-in-chief of Mandiner, posted on his social media page that Weber has no choice in order to help please Magyar’s voters and get him into office.

    “They do all this to try to hide their true, ideological aspirations during the election campaign, because if the truth were to come out, it would, from their point of view, negatively affect the outcome of the elections,” Szalai wrote.

    Weber further told media during one interview: “I will do everything I can to keep order in Hungary and to maintain good relations with the locals. Just imagine, if we were to adopt the leftist position now, it would be greatly exploited in the Hungarian campaign.”

    ‘It’s a serious matter’ – PM Viktor Orbán addresses bombshell claims Hungarian journalist helped wiretap foreign minister, analyst says journalist could face life in prison for treason

    Meanwhile, in response to Boeselager’s post, many on Facebook, cited by Mandiner, sought to correct the Green MEP’s perception of reality and praised decision-makers in Brussels for finally looking out for their own citizens.

    “If you had been abused while living in Europe, as I was, you would see the situation very differently. Our continent deserves more protection,” one wrote.

    “There is no such thing as the far right, there is only right action,” wrote another.

    “Since when is it considered far-right to want higher wages, lower crime, and affordable housing?” asked one poster under Boeselager’s video.

    Even more comments hit home: “The majority of Europeans do not want this and do not ask for uncontrolled, mass immigration.”

    And in a direct message to Brussels elites, another reminded: “Leaders are elected to protect their own people. The safety and well-being of citizens is paramount.”

  • Poland: PM Tusk finally intervenes in gas market, Brussels says it violates EU law

    Poland: PM Tusk finally intervenes in gas market, Brussels says it violates EU law

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tussk confirmed on Thursday that the government has taken steps to lower fuel prices in Poland, but the European Commission says reducing VAT on motor fuels is inconsistent with EU law — although it offered no comment specific to Tusk’s government’s proposal.

    “We have no comments on these specific measures,” the European Commission wrote, as quoted by Do Rzeczy.

    “I want to make it very clear that we have decided to take these actions fully consciously. The situation on the fuel market globally and in Poland will depend crucially on what happens in the war in the Middle East. Today at 6:00 p.m., the Polish government will make a comprehensive set of decisions at an extraordinary meeting to ensure that, in a situation beyond our control in Iran and the Middle East, we have maximum influence on everything possible, everything within our reach here in Poland, to ensure that fuel prices are as low as possible amidst the dramatic rise in global fuel prices,” Tusk had announced.

    According to a statement by Louise Bogey, the European Commission’s spokesperson for tax affairs, sent to an RMF FM journalist, while a reduction in excise duty on fuels is permissible within certain limits, a reduction in the VAT rate on gas and diesel fuel is contrary to European Union law.

    At the same time, Brussels assures that it recognizes the scale of the problem.

    “We fully understand and sympathize with the need to support citizens in these difficult times,” the Commission said in its position paper.

    The EU commission noted that it avoids directly “reviewing” the political promises of Polish decision-makers until the relevant regulations come into force.

    However, the commission’s tax spokeswoman pointed out that the key problem is the so-called VAT Directive.

    “Although the recent reform of these regulations gave member states flexibility, gas and diesel were excluded from these privileges,” according to RMF.

    Bogey also noted that EU countries can currently apply reduced rates for the supply of electricity, natural gas and district heating, which is intended to help combat so-called energy poverty.

    “The recent reform of rates introduced in the VAT Directive has provided member states with greater flexibility in applying reduced rates to certain goods listed in Annex III to the Directive, including the possibility of applying reduced VAT rates to the supply of electricity and natural gas starting from 5%. However, fossil fuels are not on this list,” said the European Commission’s spokesperson for tax affairs.

  • ‘Socio-economic death sentence’ – German journalist threatened with homelessness after German court upholds EU sanctions to suspend bank accounts in landmark free speech case

    ‘Socio-economic death sentence’ – German journalist threatened with homelessness after German court upholds EU sanctions to suspend bank accounts in landmark free speech case

    The Frankfurt am Main District Court in Germany has recently upheld a German bank’s decision to maintain the suspension of accounts belonging to Berlin-based journalist Hüseyin Doğru, who is known for his pro-Palestinian news coverage. The ruling rejected an urgent application by the journalist, who is currently facing the threat of homelessness due to EU sanctions. The court’s decision means Dogru remains without the necessary funds for rent or basic daily needs.

    The legal battle surrounding Hüseyin Doğru has sparked intense political debate in Germany, with critics describing the case as a “socio-economic death sentence” and a dangerous precedent for press freedom. Certainly, these EU sanctions, which can freeze bank accounts, can be used to effectively target dissident journalists across the EU in the coming years.

    The EU has a powerful new weapon to attack press freedom, and it’s already wielding it to devastating effect

    According to the German court order, there was no right that would entitle Doğru, who has a Turkish background but also has German citizenship, to continue using his bank account while under sanctions. Berliner Zeitung reported that the judge determined that the situation lacked the “prerequisite for intervention in the urgent procedure” because “Doğru has no enforceable right to have the bank release the transfers it has requested.”

    The impact of this ruling on Doğru’s personal life is severe. Expressing his concern for his family’s future, Doğru stated, “The risk of ending up on the streets with three children is a concrete threat.”

    The paper notes that his “authorized €506 per month makes it impossible to support a family of five. Moreover, he cannot freely dispose of even that amount. The situation could become existential.”

    The EU’s censorship machine: Dutch conservative influencer Eva Vlaardingerbroek gets X shadow ban lifted but worries about DSA grow

    While German law technically allows for a monthly subsistence allowance — cited in late 2025 as €506 — Doğru’s lawyers have had to repeatedly sue banks just to gain access to this minimum amount. His attorney, Alexander Gorski, described these tactics as a “war of attrition” designed to make social and economic participation “factually impossible.”

    He also noted the extreme difficulty of maintaining a normal life under these conditions, remarking that “paying bills is practically impossible for me.”

    Doğru has been on an EU sanctions list since May 2025, with Brussels arguing that his pro-Palestinian journalistic work incites “ethnic, political, and religious discord” and therefore, he allegedly supports “destabilizing activities by Russia.” Notably, he filmed a number of the occupations of Berlin universities by pro-Palestinian activists.

    Doğru has denied these allegations, pointing out that he ended his previous employment with a Russian-funded outlet following the invasion of Ukraine and has publicly criticized the conflict.

    Remix News already covered developments in this story at the end of January of this year.

    At the time, Doğru, a left-wing journalist, said: “Not only I, but also my wife and my three children are effectively being sanctioned.”

    “The sanctions themselves stipulate that I am entitled to access to essential funds. The fact that my bank is nevertheless blocking these funds violates applicable law in my view,” he continued.

    The basis for the sanctions was his alleged connections to Russia, but the Berliner Zeitung indicated that so far, no proof has been presented to confirm this accusation, and more importantly, there was no trial or evidence provided to support this accusation.

    “Brussels justifies the measures by saying that he is using his pro-Palestinian journalistic work to stir up ‘ethnic, political and religious discord’ and thus allegedly ‘destabilizing activities that support Russia.’ The EU has not yet publicly provided any concrete evidence of a connection to Moscow,” wrote the paper at the time.

    There are now fears that the extraordinary case may be a sign of where the future is headed, where an authoritarian EU can censor and financially ruin dissidents and journalists with no oversight or judicial review. Notably, similar sanctions could also be deployed against others, such as Roger Köppel, the Swiss editor-in-chief of the weekly Die Weltwoche.

    In a formal inquiry from the newspaper Junge Welt, the German Ministry of Economic Affairs clarified the severity of the “provision ban.” They stated that a sanctioned individual may receive “no economic benefit whatsoever,” including wages. This interpretation effectively bars any German company from hiring Doğru, as paying him would constitute a criminal offense.

    Free speech meltdown: German Green MP proposes banning X in Europe

    An MP of the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD) Macit Karaahmetoğlu, defended the government’s position in the case and the sanctions, noting it was established to target those undermining “the security, stability, independence and integrity” of the EU. He emphasized that the German government “actively worked to establish and strengthen” this specific regime to counter hybrid threats.

    Legal experts and journalists, however, have compared Doğru’s situation to “internal exile.” Since he is a German citizen, he cannot be deported, but the sanctions have stripped him of his identity card and barred him from all forms of employment.

    Even friends and family who would like to donate money to Doğru could be targeted with criminal charges.

    As Remix News previously reported, the sanctions had a devastating effect on Doğru and illustrate how they could be used to silence nearly any journalist, whether on the left or the right.

    “I’m not allowed to pay my lawyer. I’m not allowed to buy water. I’m not allowed to provide my child with food. I’m not allowed to work. I’m not allowed to buy medicine. Every single monetary transaction with me is forbidden. Technically, you’re not even allowed to give me a basket of food because I could turn that technically into money. And this is forbidden.

    And if I violate or you do, I don’t know about you, but if I were to violate one of these things, I could face like five years of prison time by avoiding sanctions technically, but they went further. I’m sanctioned, I’m on that list, but they also technically sanctioned my wife and our unborn twins because they froze older accounts.  She is not allowed to receive her salary right now.

    So in this moment, we technically have no money that we can access to go and buy something. There is also the problem because a lot of activists, journalists, colleagues, politicians and family members even said, ‘Should we send you money?’ We said, ‘Don’t do that. Don’t do that because you would be maybe categorized as avoiding sanctions.’ And this is the problem here. Sanction, as the European Union describes on their website, is a tool that is aligned with humanitarian law, which is not deemed to punish, but rather to change your behavior.”

    For more information about the case, including the history of the sanctions, how they are being deployed, and the threat they represent, read more here.

  • ‘The era of deportations has begun!’ — European Parliament backs remigration efforts in major victory for the European right

    ‘The era of deportations has begun!’ — European Parliament backs remigration efforts in major victory for the European right

    The European Parliament has taken a major step toward a far tougher migration regime, approving a new negotiating mandate for legislation designed to speed up the deportation of illegal migrants and tighten enforcement across the bloc.

    In a vote on Thursday, MEPs backed the so-called Returns Regulation by 389 votes to 206, with 32 abstentions, clearing the way for talks with the European Council on a new legal framework governing the removal of illegal migrants who have no right to remain in the European Union.

    The result was driven by support from a broad right-wing and center-right coalition, including the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), and Patriots for Europe (PfE), illustrating how the balance of power on migration has shifted in Brussels.

    The proposal is intended to overhaul the EU’s weak returns system, long criticized for allowing rejected asylum seekers and other illegal migrants to remain in Europe for years. When the regulation was initiated by the European Commission last year, Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner summed up the scale of the failure when he said, “One out of five people who are told to leave the EU, actually leave the EU, and that is not acceptable.”

    The new framework would introduce stricter return procedures, longer detention in some cases, wider entry bans, and penalties for those who refuse to cooperate with their own deportation. It would also open the door to so-called return hubs outside the EU, an idea that was fiercely attacked by Brussels only a few years ago when Britain pursued a Rwanda plan, and Italy signed its Albania agreement.

    Conservatives hailed the vote as a breakthrough. Charlie Weimers, vice chair of the ECR, called it a landmark moment for his party and for tougher border enforcement in Europe. “New, stricter return rules are the Sweden Democrats’ biggest negotiating success ever in the EU. It will soon be possible to send home those who are not supposed to be in Europe, and return hubs outside the EU will be made possible. The era of deportations has begun!”

    EPP chairman Manfred Weber also stated, “Today we are clearly demonstrating that European solutions to take on illegal migration are possible. European citizens expect decisive action, and we are delivering. Anyone who does not have a right to remain in the EU must leave.”

    French nationalist MEP Marion Maréchal presented the vote as a turning point for the right. “It was a historic step for the coalition of the right in committee, and it is now a victory in the plenary session of the European Parliament: the ‘return regulation’ for greater firmness toward undocumented migrants has been voted through by the MEPs. After adoption in trilogue, it will be up to the French government to take action!”

    In a press release, Patriots for Europe declared that “European voters have long demanded a fundamental shift in migration policy” and that “a first decisive step has been taken.” The group argued that the old Brussels approach had failed completely and said the new agreement would help restore control to national governments. “Crucially, this new agreement shifts the paradigm towards minimum harmonization,” it said. “Instead of imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all dictate from Brussels, this framework returns control to the national capitals.”

    Patriots for Europe also highlighted several measures it says will make the system far more effective, including “severe consequences for non-cooperation,” stricter detention rules, and an end to what it described as abuse of the appeals process to delay removals indefinitely. The group said the maximum detention period had been extended to 24 months and that migrants deemed security risks could now be placed in enhanced-security facilities or prisons.

    Left-wing organizations reacted with alarm, accusing the EPP of joining forces with nationalist parties and abandoning the old parliamentary cordon sanitaire. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) said the decision would “normalize measures that stigmatize migrants” and weaken rights protections, while Amnesty International condemned what it called an “increasingly harmful and draconian direction” in EU migration policy.

    This backlash, however, confirms how dramatically the debate has changed. Policies, such as remigration, once denounced as extreme, are now moving into the mainstream of EU law, and the focus in Brussels is no longer on managing migration flows, but on removing those who are not entitled to stay.

  • The big immigration lie: South Korea uses robotics and automation to fuel shipbuilding boom, all while leaving the pro-migration West in the dust

    The big immigration lie: South Korea uses robotics and automation to fuel shipbuilding boom, all while leaving the pro-migration West in the dust

    South Korea’s shipyards are racing past American shipyards — all without mass immigration. This is the fifth installment in the series known as the “big immigration lie,” which explores the soaring innovation and economic success of Asian countries that have closed the door on mass immigration (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).

    In a new 60 Minutes news clip, the hosts marvel at the achievements seen in South Korea’s ship building industry. The program shows how South Korea is utilizing automation and robotics to fuel its manufacturing sector with virtually zero immigration.

    “He showed us how far ahead they are technologically. Rows and rows of robots,” exclaims the host, with the video panning to masses of robots welding and assembling ships.

    Despite a rapidly dwindling population, South Korea has chosen to employ its own ethnic workforce and supplement it with high-tech robotics and automation. This automation and success has actually led to an employment boom in shipbuilding.

    South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is experiencing significant siuccess as of early 2026, characterized by high-tech advancements and soaring profits. Major shipbuilders like HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean have secured large orders, including LNG carriers, and reported substantial 2025 sales growth, holding roughly 20-22 percent of the global market share.

    The big immigration lie: China smashes the myth that foreigners are needed to secure the West’s economic future

    More broadly speaking, South Korea frequently leads the world in innovation, often ranking higher than the U.S. and Germany in R&D intensity, patent activity, and manufacturing value-added.

    Although economists in the West have harped on the economic benefits of diversity and mass immigration, South Korea maintains a highly restrictive immigration system, balancing labor shortages with a policy preference for temporary, non-permanent migration. It focuses on utilizing the Employment Permit System (EPS) for less-skilled roles, restricting employee movement, while offering limited paths to long-term residency or citizenship.

    The big immigration lie: China’s BYD head says his company is 3-5 years ahead of Western carmakers, introduces 9-minute charging Blade battery in major breakthrough

    This is virtually the same story seen across Asia. China, also known for its incredibly strict immigration policy to ensure cultural and societal harmony, accounts for two-thirds of all civilian ship production in the world. Asia, in other words, now dominates the global shipbuilding industry from top to bottom — and has done so without opening its borders.

    In fact, as noted frequently in this series, China has fewer foreigners in the entire nation of 1.4 billion than Germany has in just one city, Berlin. Yet, Europe is the one headed to China on bended knee to beg for economic help.

    It is not only the United States that is struggling to even build a submarine, which is vital to its military defense. Other nations like Germany and Britain are also seeing pain in their shipbuilding industries, just as they have seen pain across virtually all manufacturing sectors over the last decades.

    In Germany, the partially nationalized Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg — once a crown jewel of European shipbuilding — has become a cautionary tale of industrial mismanagement and government dependency. Secret audit documents revealed losses of €260 million in 2023, €575 million in 2024, and a projected further loss of €271 million in 2025 — totaling approximately €1.1 billion in losses over just three years.

    The previous German government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz injected €400 million in emergency equity in 2024, provided by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony, only for those funds to be rapidly exhausted. A staggering €2.6 billion in state guarantees remains on the line.

    Auditors raised the alarm as early as September 2025, warning of “significant doubts” about the shipyard’s viability and explicitly flagging a “risk endangering the existence” of the company. Taxpayers are left holding the bill while the yard fights for survival.

    The big immigration lie: Why BlackRock’s Larry Fink’s belief that ‘xenophobic’ countries will have a higher standared of living amid AI revolution is such a big deal

    Meanwhile, Britain’s story is one of longer, slower decline.

    Once the undisputed shipbuilding capital of the world, Britain has largely ceded commercial shipbuilding to Asia over the past half century. Today, the UK industry survives almost entirely on government defense contracts — frigates and naval vessels built by BAE Systems and Babcock International — with virtually no meaningful presence in the commercial cargo or passenger vessel market, where Asian yards have taken complete dominance.

    The famous Harland & Wolff yard in Belfast, where the Titanic was built, recently had to be rescued by Spain’s state-owned Navantia after teetering on the edge of collapse. Britain’s own National Shipbuilding Strategy, launched with great fanfare in 2017 and refreshed in 2022, promised that key contracts would go to domestic firms — but an independent review found that those contracts ultimately went abroad anyway.

    The left’s ideology meets reality

    Without any regard to reason to introspection, the left would have the West believe that open borders immigration is necessary for economic success, despite Asia proving their theory wrong every step of the way.

    South Korea and China have built the most formidable shipbuilding industries in human history with homogeneous workforces, ruthless investment in automation, and zero appetite for mass migration.

    Meanwhile, Western nations that have pursued the opposite model find themselves dependent on government bailouts, watching historic yards collapse, and importing ships they once built themselves.

    ‘Berlin is everywhere’ — Multiculturalism is burning down the German school system

    To add to the dilemma, the education systems of most Western nations are in shambles, in large part due to mass immigration. This means that while Asia is investing in its future, even if that future includes a shrinking population, countries like Germany are piling billions into a failed ideology of mass immigration that is only exacerbating economic decline.

    In the end, the West can import millions from Africa and the Middle East, but these regions of the world feature incredibly low patent activity, low innovation, and very few examples of successful high-end manufacturing. The shipbuilding industry offers a clear and uncomfortable lesson: Demographic transformation is not an economic strategy.

    Muslims only contribute 0.1% of scientific achievement despite being 25% of the world’s population, says French author and journalist

  • New estimates claim Spain could legalize nearly 1.6 million migrants, despite evidence of highly disproportionate violent crimes

    New estimates claim Spain could legalize nearly 1.6 million migrants, despite evidence of highly disproportionate violent crimes

    Last month, Remix News reported that under the Sánchez government’s migrant naturalization scheme, as many as 1.3 million migrants could end up as Spanish citizens.

    Now, a new report from Spain’s General Commissariat, an office within the National Police, is saying that close to 1,600,000 migrants could apply for regularization, according to a document obtained by Code 10 and cited by Cuatro.

    Spanish nationalists rage as socialist Sánchez agrees to mass amnesty for 500,000 illegal immigrants by royal decree, bypassing parliament

    This internal report, which bears the seal of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police, indicates that approximately 1,250,000 foreign citizens could directly benefit. It also includes the number of migrants arriving from other Schengen Area countries (about 250,000); maritime immigration movements (a maximum of 12,000), and the increase in direct air immigration (about 45,000), Cuatro details.

    In total, according to these calculations, 1,557,000 migrants could apply for regularization, far higher than the 500,000 estimate originally announced, and still higher than the 1.3 million estimated by the National Centre for Immigration and Borders (CNIF).

    As Spain prepares to legalize up to 1.3 million migrants, two brutal crimes highlight the cost of open borders

    As highlighted by Remix News last month, the Sánchez amnesty program comes as more migrant crimes in Spain come to light, such as the Algerian man under a restraining order slashing the throats of a woman and her 12-year-old child and the Moroccan man who assaulted his partner and her mother, leaving the former brain-dead and the latter in critical condition.

    In December, a CEU-CEFAS Demographic Observatory report, titled “Demography of Crime in Spain,” found that foreigners, who make up 31 percent of Spain’s prison population, commit per capita 500 percent more rapes and 414 percent more murders than Spanish citizens. 

  • ‘Poles definitely have something to fear’ – Poland can expect big price hikes on gas and diesel, says expert

    ‘Poles definitely have something to fear’ – Poland can expect big price hikes on gas and diesel, says expert

    The price of diesel is already painful enough for Poles, but they can expect further pain ahead, says XTB raw materials analyst Michał.

    Stajniak who told Polsat News on Wednesday that “Poles definitely have something to fear.”

    According to industry portals, the current average price per liter of diesel in Poland is 8.69 PLN (€2.03), a historically high price, beating the previous record of 8.08 PLN/liter, set in mid-October 2022 — although the VAT rate on fuels was reduced from 23 percent to 8 percent. Without this, the average diesel price at gas stations would have exceeded 9 PLN/liter in October 2022.

    “We’ve seen increases in gasoline and diesel prices of 17, 20, or 25 percent, depending on the base case. Crude oil prices, however, have risen significantly more. It’s clear that this doesn’t translate one-to-one, but considering the tense situation in the Middle East, in my opinion, this price is definitely too low,” admitted the expert.

    More layoffs in Poland as inflation, drop in orders hits one leading regional employer

    According to Stajniak, the fact that double-digit fuel prices haven’t yet reached their peak is due to Donald Trump’s “game.”

    “This war isn’t going his way at all, but he’s trying to salvage the situation by sending various messages,” the analyst said. He noted, for example, “the 15-point plan that was supposed to end the war, but which has already been rejected by Iran.”

    “Over the last three weeks, little has changed to improve the situation… We don’t have a situation where the United States will take any action to secure oil supplies,” the XTB representative noted. He noted that the decline at the beginning of the week was due to the US president’s “big announcements.”

    Fuel crisis in Poland: State-controlled energy giant Orlen’s big profits are being used to plug massive deficit, says economist

    Michał Stajniak emphasized that the current price of a barrel of oil is around $100, although due to the situation in the Middle East, it should be around $120, writes Do Rzeczy.

    The analyst noted that if the price reaches this level, Polish drivers will feel the pinch. “This price could rise to around 8 złoty per liter for gasoline, and approach 10 złoty for diesel,” the expert said. “These are unacceptable prices for Polish consumers,” he added.

    State-owned Orlen announced some price reductions on Tuesday, while the Tusk-led government has as of yet to intervene. In the midst of negative employment data and layoffs, consumers are in a tough spot.

  • European conservative lawmakers warn of ‘no-go zones’ tied to mass immigration and Islamization

    European conservative lawmakers warn of ‘no-go zones’ tied to mass immigration and Islamization

    A new report backed by European conservative lawmakers is sounding the alarm over what it describes as the spread of “no-go zones” across the European Union, linking the phenomenon directly to mass immigration, Islamization, and the breakdown of state authority in major urban areas.

    The report was presented at a press conference on Wednesday by Sweden Democrats MEP Charlie Weimers, French nationalist MEP Marion Maréchal, and Brothers of Italy MEP Nicola Procaccini. Published by New Direction, the foundation tied to the ECR parliamentary group, the study argues that large parts of Europe are witnessing the rise of “parallel societies where the laws of the State are increasingly replaced by the codes of radicalisation and the rule of violence.”

    Maréchal said the findings showed the trend was no myth. “France has 751 sensitive areas and 1,362 priority neighborhoods. Our study demonstrates that no-go zones develop according to two factors: immigration and Islamization — 63 percent of Islamist terrorists are linked to these areas,” she said at the launch event.

    Procaccini described the document as “a wake-up call on the failures of uncontrolled immigration,” a line that closely echoed the report’s own foreword, which says Europe must confront “the failures of uncontrolled immigration, the lack of effective integration policies, and the abdication of responsibility by local governments.” It adds that the publication is intended to be the first in an annual series.

    The study sets out a scoring system built around crime and violence, the existence of parallel societies, and evidence of state withdrawal. Using that framework, it examined 17 neighborhoods across seven EU countries, ranking France’s Franc Moisin district at the top with a score of 10, followed by La Castellane in Marseille, Molenbeek in Brussels, and Rosengard in Malmö, each with scores of 9.4. Other districts highlighted include Neukölln in Berlin, Marxloh in Duisburg, Raval in Barcelona, and Schilderswijk in The Hague.

    According to the report, these areas are marked by patterns such as elevated violent crime, youth gang activity, riots, unemployment, early school leaving, attacks on police or firefighters, and emergency-service delays or refusals. The authors argue that these factors together point to places where state control has weakened, and parallel authority structures have arisen.

    The report also claims a strong correlation between no-go zones and the share of foreign-born and Muslim populations, arguing that the overrepresentation of both in the studied districts reflects broader demographic and cultural changes reshaping European cities.

    It says the average Muslim share in the identified areas is 29 percent, compared with an EU-wide average of 4.9 percent, and argues that no-go zones are “highly correlated to mass immigration” and “highly correlated to Islam.”

    In its foreword, New Direction says the reluctance to use terms like “no-go zone” has created a divide between public debate and reality, and warns that Europe risks losing not only control of its streets but also “the very values of freedom and equality that define our civilization” if such areas continue to thrive.

    ‘Increasingly becoming no-go areas’ – Violent crime explodes at German train stations due to mass immigration

    The term has been used before to describe specific areas in European cities with high levels of immigration and crime. In November last year, Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Martin Hess warned that German train stations, “once places of mobility and peaceful encounters, are increasingly becoming no-go areas. In many areas of crime, foreigners are disproportionately represented among the suspects.”

    Leaked police call reveals migrant gangs have led to no-go zones for authorities in Catalonia

    In September, a leaked recording from the Spanish town of Torelló revealed local police officers acknowledging they are unable to control violent migrant groups gathering in certain areas, and have been laughed at and forced to retreat from dispatch calls.

    “They are laughing at us,” the officer said in the call. “They are throwing us out. If we don’t want to get hurt, we too [must leave],” he added, describing how officers had to withdraw after being met with hostility.

    ‘We’re worried someone will get killed’ – Swedish ambulance workers threaten to stop serving no-go zones

    As far back as 2022, Swedish ambulance workers were threatening to refuse to go to certain neighborhoods in Stockholm due to the hostility from largely migrant populations.

    “We’re worried that someone will get killed if nothing happens,” specialist nurse Linda Orrvik said at the time.

    “We go to places where gun violence occurs, places where there are weapons and narcotics, and places where there are other rules than the rule of law we’re used to,” added paramedic Henrik Johansson.

  • Hungarian government files espionage complaint against liberal journalist and former intelligence officer amid opposition Tisza-linked scandal

    Hungarian government files espionage complaint against liberal journalist and former intelligence officer amid opposition Tisza-linked scandal

    Hungary’s government has escalated its response to what it says is a Ukrainian-led espionage operation linked to figures in the orbit of the opposition Tisza Party, with ministers accusing left-wing journalist Szabolcs Panyi and a former intelligence officer of espionage, and warning that foreign interference in the country’s April 12 election will not be tolerated.

    At Thursday’s government briefing, Gergely Gulyás, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, said the Ministry of Justice had prepared an expert report and that a complaint had been filed over the case. He said Hungarian authorities were facing a growing espionage threat.

    According to Gulyás, the government addressed what he described as the discovery of more Ukrainian spies operating in the country. The minister spoke of two IT specialists linked to the Tisza Party, whom the government says were not ordinary technical workers at all, but individuals operating under professional cover.

    “Following yesterday’s meeting of the National Security Committee, it turned out that the two foreign spies were trained abroad; they themselves stated this. They go in and out of the Ukrainian embassy, and they acquired prohibited equipment capable of eavesdropping on others, which the authorities seized, and they also attempted to acquire illegal spy software,” he said, as cited by Magyar Nemzet.

    Gulyás also dismissed the effort by opposition-aligned media to turn the case into an abuse-of-power story centered on a police officer who spoke publicly about a counterintelligence matter. He said the officer had admitted wrongdoing during questioning and stressed that exposing a counter-espionage operation is itself a criminal act.

    ‘It’s a serious matter’ – PM Viktor Orbán addresses bombshell claims Hungarian journalist helped wiretap foreign minister, analyst says journalist could face life in prison for treason

    “He committed abuse of office, a crime, he admitted this during his interrogation. Espionage activity is an attempt by a foreign state to intervene; it is no coincidence that it intensified during the election weeks,” Gulyás said.

    He also took direct aim at Tisza leader Péter Magyar, saying the opposition should answer far more serious questions than those being raised in sympathetic media coverage. “Instead of telling absurd lies, Péter Magyar should explain why he employs spies,” Gulyás said. “These people admit it themselves; they were trained abroad.”

    On a separate complaint against Panyi, Gulyás drew a firm line between journalism and collaboration with foreign intelligence. Following a report by Mandiner, it was revealed that Panyi, associated with anti-Orbán news outlets Direkt36 and VSquare, had reportedly worked with a foreign EU intelligence service to conduct wiretaps on Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. It is alleged that the wiretap helped to leak Szijjártó’s calls with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

    Gulyás said it could not be described as investigative reporting “to knowingly give a foreign state the phone number of a Hungarian minister in order to receive this audio recording afterwards.” He added, “This is espionage. And treason can only be disputed because it is a legal dispute as to whether the country’s independence was violated in this case. He committed a crime against his own country.”

    Fidesz figures moved quickly to reinforce the government’s message. Parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis said the attempt by left-wing media to portray the young police officer as a whistleblower was fundamentally dishonest because the services were doing exactly what they are supposed to do in a democracy when confronted with suspected foreign intervention.

    Kocsis said pro-opposition outlets have systematically left out the most important element of the case: that the IT specialists connected to Tisza were allegedly trained by Ukrainians and maintained links to the Ukrainian embassy. He described them as recruited assets and said the security services had been monitoring them long before the party itself was formed.

    Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also entered the row directly, publishing a video message on Thursday calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to recall what he described as Ukraine’s “spies” from Hungary. “Respect the will of the Hungarian people. Foreign interference in our elections is unacceptable. Hungary will defend its sovereignty and ensure Hungarians decide their own future,” he said.

    The briefing also touched on domestic political polling after a Median survey claimed Tisza held a 23-point lead. Gulyás ridiculed the poll, suggesting it belonged more in comedy than serious political analysis and implying that the result reflected who was paying for it rather than any credible measurement of public opinion. “If someone considers a 91 percent turnout to be serious, that belongs more to radio cabaret than to public debates,” he said.

  • Poland: 13-year-old Ukrainian girl breaks elderly woman’s nose who was on her way home from church

    Poland: 13-year-old Ukrainian girl breaks elderly woman’s nose who was on her way home from church

    A 13-year-old Ukraiinian girl has been detained for brutally attacking an elderly woman on the street. The victim survived with luckily no life-threatening injuries. No motivation has yet been communicated.

    On March 15, around 1 p.m., in the town of Legnica. While returning home from church, a senior citizen was attacked by a Ukrainian minor who punched her in the face, causing injuries including a broken nose. The perpetrator then fled the scene, TVP Info reports.

    Describing the attack, the elderly woman stated, “They didn’t utter a word, and I didn’t have time to react either, as they came at me from the right. I had to stop, she looked into my eyes and immediately punched me with all her might.”

    When asked why the girl hit her, she said, “I don’t know how to define it, because for me it certainly wasn’t robbery, because I didn’t even have money with me.”

    The case was handled from the outset by officers from the Juvenile and Pathology Department. During their investigation, officers secured images of individuals potentially involved in the incident, identified and interviewed witnesses, and collected evidence that allowed for a complete reconstruction of the course of events.

    The 13-year-old involved was then arrested on Monday, in accordance with applicable regulations for minors, and taken to the police children’s shelter. Authorities are ensuring the court has a complete picture of the situation and can make an informed decision.

    A family court will now conduct further proceedings and decide on the application of educational or corrective measures to the minor, as provided for by law.

    While such violent acts are reported on quite often in Western countries such as Germany and France, with a disproportionate number involving migrants, such events remain uncommon in Poland.

  • France: Saint-Denis councilwoman resigns after seeing new far-left mayor speak with ‘the man who ordered my attack’

    France: Saint-Denis councilwoman resigns after seeing new far-left mayor speak with ‘the man who ordered my attack’

    Two years ago, Oriane Filhol, former deputy mayor to Mathieu Hanotin of the Socialist Party (PS) in Saint-Denis, was attacked by several masked and hooded North African men just outside her home, which Remix News covered at the time.

    She was “hit violently in the face and body with punches,” wrote Le Parisien at the time, before she managed to escape to a friend’s home.

    Responsible for the solidarity, women’s rights, and fighting against discrimination in her constituency, the current councilwoman Filhol had called the government’s proposed immigration bill “shameful” and “disgusting” because it included restrictions on immigration.

    Now, after seeing the new mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, speaking with the man convicted of sending her attackers, she has resigned her post on the city council. The day after Bagayoko’s first-round win, Filhol says she saw the two having “a discussion that lasted several minutes and ended with a very warm handshake,” as quoted by Libération, which further notes that images seen by AFP show the two men talking alone on the steps of the town hall.

    Left-wing deputy mayor hospitalized after attack by ‘North African’ men just meters from her home

    The former deputy mayor says that she cannot feel “safe on the city council, knowing precisely the relationship between the new mayor and the man who ordered my attack.”

    The new mayor of Saint-Denis has caused waves with his rhetoric and announcements.

    On March 15, after his first-round win, Bagayoko can be heard in a clip correcting a reporter who references Saint-Denis as the “la ville des rois,” due to the French kings and queens buried at the Basilica there. Interrupting the reporter, he says, “The Blacks, the Blacks, (Des Noirs! Des Noirs.)”

    After his final, second-round win, he announced that police officers will be disarmed, a move many are saying is a call to let thugs rule the streets and for violence to prevail. For those officers who do not align with his policy, he invited them to simply leave. Some 90 out of 140 municipal police officers have already requested a transfer.

    France: New far-left mayor wants to disarm police, tells those ‘not aligned with our political project’ to leave

    Many are also concerned about what his talk of creating “a political laboratory for LFI” in Saint-Denis will end up being a nightmarish far-left Islamic-Marxist trap, or in the words of Le Figaro: “Islamists are using the far left to infiltrate our institutions”: Saint-Denis, a dangerous laboratory for Mélenchon’s “new France.” In its article, Le Figaro takes a look back at its reporting a decade ago following the 2015 Paris attacks, calling out Saint-Denis’ disturbing trends of radical Islamism and similarities to Brussels’ Molenbeek, where several of the attackers had originated from.

    LFI head Jean-Luc Mélanchon is known for pushing anti-White and Marxist ideologies, recently stating: “We are destined to be a Creole nation and so much the better.”

    While LFI has hailed its victories in the local elections, commentators note that the major takeaway has been the failed alliances of the Socialists, who remain in power in the key cities of Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille, with far-left LFI. They point to a visible shift by many voters toward the center, away from Mélanchon’s leftist extremism and against Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally, effectively demonstrating a “Republican front,” as noted by The Guardian.

    Killing of Quentin Deranque: Political firewall against the left forming in France after numerous far-left extremists are indicted for murder
  • Germany pays welfare benefits to more than 70,000 migrants ordered to leave the country with Turks, Iraqis, and Afghans the top recipients

    Germany pays welfare benefits to more than 70,000 migrants ordered to leave the country with Turks, Iraqis, and Afghans the top recipients

    More than 70,000 people who were legally required to leave Germany were still receiving state benefits at the end of 2024, according to federal figures, exposing the scale of a benefits system that is no longer fit for purpose.

    The data, cited by the Merkur news outlet after inquiries to federal authorities, show that 12,005 recipients of benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act were subject to enforceable departure orders. A further 58,705 recipients had “tolerated status” while also being legally obligated to leave the country.

    Together, that meant over 70,000 people who should, at least in principle, no longer remain in Germany were still being supported by the state at German taxpayers’ expense.

    As of Feb. 28, 2026, Germany’s Central Register of Foreigners recorded 235,485 people as required to leave the country. Of those, 194,131 had “tolerated status,” meaning deportation had been temporarily suspended, while 41,354 had no such protection. Tolerated status can apply for several reasons, including war in the country of origin, fear of political persecution, serious illness, or family ties inside Germany.

    The largest national groups among those required to leave were from Turkey, with 25,652 cases, followed by Iraq with 20,770, Afghanistan with 12,888, Russia with 11,938, and Syria with 10,718.

    Under German law, many of those individuals remain eligible for support through the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, which provides a lower level of assistance than the citizen’s benefit and is intended to cover basic needs such as accommodation, food, and medical care. Those with tolerated status are legally entitled to reduced support even if deportation remains the formal objective.

    Syrian crime family voluntarily leaves Germany with state payout after racking up over 160 offenses

    One of the most notorious examples was a Syrian family of 20 living in and around Stuttgart, which reportedly committed 160 criminal offenses ranging from theft and extortion to attempted manslaughter. Six family members had already served prison sentences, yet the family was still receiving around €10,000 per month from the state. They only left Germany in October 2025, when each family member received an additional average of €1,350 by the state.

    Germany: Bosnian criminal migrant receives €7,250 every month in welfare despite a deportation order dating back 23 years

    Another case Remix News reported on last month involved a Bosnian national identified as Huso B., who remained in Germany for 23 years despite being under a mandatory order to leave. Bild described him as one of the clearest examples of a foreign national exploiting Germany’s welfare system. Although criminal proceedings against him were reportedly suspended after authorities said they could not find him, the newspaper later located him without difficulty. The state was said to be paying €7,250.77 a month to support him, his wife, and their eight children.

    In August last year, figures released by Germany’s federal government revealed that Mohammed and its many spelling variants topped the list of welfare recipients. The revelation came from a government response to an Alternative for Germany (AfD) inquiry. Mohammed — counted across 19 different spellings and variants such as Mohamed, Muhammad, and Mahamadou — ranked first with 39,280 entries.

    Nearly 1 in 20 of all Syrians now lives in Germany, over half receive welfare

    By the end of 2023, their number in Germany had reached at least 972,000, according to Statista, meaning nearly 1 in 20 Syrians worldwide was living in Germany. More than half were reportedly receiving welfare.

    Steffen Bilger, First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said of those still receiving benefits despite being ordered to leave the country, “Welfare fraud undermines trust in the welfare state and must be combated rigorously.”

    The federal government says the rules already allow benefits to be cut sharply. In general, once a person is legally obliged to leave Germany, their entitlement to the citizen’s benefit usually ends. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said anyone who received benefits unlawfully must repay them. How often those sanctions are actually imposed remains unclear.

    Germany’s new basic income support system is set to replace the citizen’s benefit on July 1, 2026. Under the planned changes, those who refuse reasonable work or training opportunities, or who fail to cooperate in establishing their identity, are expected to face quicker and harsher cuts.

    “But this can only be a start; further measures must follow,” Bilger said.

    Germany’s federal employment agency is promoting welfare benefits to young migrants

    Last August, Germany’s Federal Employment Agency was criticized for promoting the citizen’s benefit directly to young migrants through an English-language section of its website aimed at “people from abroad.”

    The page featured a smiling young couple beneath the headline: “If you are unable to finance your own living expenses, under certain circumstances, the Jobcenter will support you with the citizen’s benefit.”

    It then laid out the criteria in unusually simple terms, telling applicants: “You are capable of working,” “You are at least 15 years old,” and “You live in Germany, and the center of your life is here.”

  • Germany: 18-year-old woman seriously injured in knife attack on regional train, suspect arrested

    Germany: 18-year-old woman seriously injured in knife attack on regional train, suspect arrested

    An 18-year-old woman was seriously wounded in a knife attack aboard a regional train near the Saarland town of Sulzbach on Monday afternoon. She was transported to the hospital and, while her injuries are serious, a police spokesman confirmed she is not in a critical condition.

    The alleged attacker, a 21-year-old man, was arrested at the scene. Both suspect and victim are listed as German nationals, according to Welt newspaper.

    According to police, the two knew each other prior to the incident. The attack occurred at approximately 3:45 p.m. Federal Police had initially only reported “a physical altercation on a regional express train” before the full details emerged.

    AfD’s Weidel calls it a ‘scandal’ after Iraqi migrant who shoved 16-year-old Liana to her death in front of freight train avoids prison

    The spokesman said. “The investigation into a possible motive and the exact course of events is still ongoing,” he added.

    The incident is the latest in a series of violent attacks on trains in the region. Just last February, a train conductor was fatally assaulted on the route between Landstuhl and Homburg, also in Saarland, by a Greek national. The attacker struck his victim repeatedly in the head with such force that the conductor died several days later — a case that triggered nationwide shock and prompted calls for greater security on regional rail services.

    Other harrowing incidents have beset the German public transport system, including the case of Michael Kyrath, who lost his daughter during a knife attack perpetrated by a Palestinian migrant.

    Overall, migrant crime is fueling the crisis. In states like Saxony, 50 percent of perpetrators are foreigners.

    Not even men are safe in the new Europe: 2 Syrians rape a Czech tourist at Dresden’s main train station, according to police

    The number of violent crimes at Berlin Central Station in 2024 has tripled compared to 2019, which was the last year before the coronavirus crisis. In Cologne, violent crime has grown 70 percent in the same timeframe, according to Welt newspaper.

    Those are just two cities, but the same trend is seen everywhere.

    “Look at a main train station, in Duisburg, in Hamburg, in Frankfurt. Neglect, drug dealers, young men, mostly with a migrant background, mostly from Eastern Europe or Arab-Muslim cultural areas. This also has to do with irregular migration, as it looks in our inner cities, in the marketplaces,” said Jens Spahn, the CDU parliamentary group leader, in a BILD interview. Remarkably, his own party is massively responsible for Germany’s incredible demographic transformation and crime crisis.

    National data also showed that foreigners commit 59 percent of all sexual crimes on German trains and at train stations, with serious sexual crimes doubling since 2019.

    ‘Increasingly becoming no-go areas’ – Violent crime explodes at German train stations due to mass immigration

  • Russia intercepts explosive-laden shoe insoles that were donated to Russian soldiers at the front

    Russia intercepts explosive-laden shoe insoles that were donated to Russian soldiers at the front

    The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), in coordination with the Interior Ministry and the Federal National Guard Service, has reported that it successfully disrupted a number of terror plots, one of which involved intercepting a shipment of 504 improvised explosive devices disguised as heated shoe insoles.

    These items, which reportedly arrived from Poland via Belarus, were intended for the special military operation zone under the guise of humanitarian aid, claims Russian services.

    A foreign national born in 1994 was detained in connection with the smuggling operation. The FSB stated that “a Ukrainian handler ordered the man to receive a shipment of 504 improvised explosive devices disguised as heated shoe insoles through a logistics company in Moscow.”

    The insoles reportedly had 1.5 grams of TNT embedded inside.

    Bomb experts determined that each insole contained approximately 1.5 grams of TNT.

    The FSB stated that “when connected to a power source, the shoe insoles would have detonated, maiming soldiers.”

    The FSB issued a public warning regarding the tactics used by foreign intelligence, noting that “the Ukrainian special services camouflage explosives as household items.” Previous interceptions have found explosives hidden in objects ranging from electric stoves and beauty products to religious icons and car parts. In light of these threats, the authorities urged citizens to remain vigilant and “contact authorities if they find out their personal data has been leaked, or if email accounts, social media accounts, messaging apps, and other internet services are hacked.”

    The Ukraine war has been marked by its widespread use of tiny camouflaged mines, also known as petal mines. Both sides are spreading them across the battlefield, which are virtually undetectable to the naked eye, and look like small balls of grass or foliage. The bombs are designed to maim infantry soldiers by blowing off their feet.

    Polish fighter jets scramble again as Russia launches long-range attacks on Ukraine

    Russian authorities are also claiming other terror plots were broken up that were targeting Moscow and the surrounding region.

    Russian agencies were put on high alert following intelligence that “Ukrainian special services are preparing to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts in Moscow and the Moscow Region against critical facilities, government officials, Russian Defense Ministry servicemen, and law enforcement personnel.”

    The FSB reportedly also blocked an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence to acquire specialized fiber-optic drones from a Moscow-based company. These UAVs, which can carry up to 20 kilograms, are typically used by Russian forces to destroy enemy equipment. The FSB emphasized that “had the Ukrainian special services succeeded, they would have equipped the drones with explosives, turning them into a powerful terrorist weapon to be used against designated Moscow facilities.”

    Yesterday, Russia reportedly launched its largest drone strike of the entire war, which included over 1,000 projectiles. Ukraine claims most of the drones and missiles were intercepted, but cities as far away as Lviv were struck.

  • Berlin youth center Muslim rape scandal deepens as affidavit claims suspects were not reported over fears of ‘stigmatizing’ Muslims

    Berlin youth center Muslim rape scandal deepens as affidavit claims suspects were not reported over fears of ‘stigmatizing’ Muslims

    A sworn affidavit submitted to Berlin authorities has intensified a political firestorm over a youth center rape case, alleging that suspects were not reported to police because staff feared contributing to the stigmatization of “Muslim boys.”

    The document, now handed to Senate and district officials, comes from employees of a neighboring facility who say they urged staff at the Wutzkyallee youth center in the borough of Neukölln to file a criminal complaint over serious sexual assault allegations.

    According to reporting by BZ, the affidavit claims authorities failed to act despite repeated warnings, with one justification allegedly being that the suspects were already under sufficient police scrutiny.

    As we have previously reported, the case centers on a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly raped in November last year by a teenage suspect at the youth center. Months later, she is said to have been sexually assaulted again, this time by a group of up to eight Muslim teens in a secluded room inside the facility.

    Previous reports noted how a culture of abuse had formed in the facility, where for months, there had been unwanted embraces, girls having their breasts and buttocks touched without consent, and being pulled onto boys’ laps.

    The affidavit alleges that the perpetrators filmed the attacks and used the footage to blackmail the victim, while also attempting to contact her younger sister and pressure her into meeting them.

    Germany: After girl gang raped, Berlin youth center accused of cover-up because they did not want suspects to be labeled as ‘typical Muslims’

    The claims are set out in full in the sworn statement, as reproduced by Bild and BZ:

    “Rape by a male visitor to the Wutzkyallee youth center. We also reported that the victim stated that videos of the crimes were made by the group of perpetrators, with which the victim is regularly blackmailed. The group of perpetrators also attempts to persuade the victim’s younger sister to meet them.

    In this context, we informed the social services coordinator that a report must be filed. The social services coordinator refrained from doing so, as she feared the marginalization of the group of perpetrators. In essence, she stated that the Muslim boys are already sufficiently in the sights of the police and that she wants to prevent a general suspicion.”

    The allegations suggest that both the youth center and the local youth welfare office were aware of the incidents for weeks without informing police. Authorities only became involved after media reports brought the case to light.

    Prosecutors have since launched an investigation into multiple suspects aged between 15 and 19, while also examining whether staff may have breached their legal obligations by failing to report the alleged crimes.

    The scandal has triggered sharp political backlash in Berlin, with calls for Left Party youth councilor Sarah Nagel to resign over her handling of the case. A possible no-confidence vote is in the offing for next month.

    Nagel has rejected accusations of a cover-up. “As of today, I would like to make it clear: There was absolutely no attempt to cover up the allegations,” she said, adding that “the perpetrators’ background played no role whatsoever in how the incidents were handled.”

    According to BZ, however, Nagel had known about both the alleged crime and the inaction of her youth welfare office director for more than three weeks, yet no immediate consequences followed.

    A request from the Berlin Senate to suspend the youth welfare office director during the investigation was also reportedly ignored, with officials citing high legal thresholds for disciplinary action.

    The case remains under active investigation.

  • ‘Torture and barbarism’ – Convicted rapist French Islamologist Tariq Ramadan faces 18 years in prison for allegedly raping another 3 women

    ‘Torture and barbarism’ – Convicted rapist French Islamologist Tariq Ramadan faces 18 years in prison for allegedly raping another 3 women

    French prosecutors have requested a sentence of 18 years in prison against Swiss Islamologist Tariq Ramadan, who was already convicted in Switzerland for a brutal rape, during his rape trial in France. The preacher, who has failed to appear for the proceedings, faces accusations of raping three women. Consequently, the criminal court has issued an arrest warrant against him.

    This Tuesday, a judicial source indicated that the 18-year sentence was sought by the Paris departmental criminal court, which is trying the case in absentia and behind closed doors.

    In addition to the prison term, the public prosecutor’s office requested an arrest warrant for the accused, who has not presented himself to the French justice system since the trial began, along with a definitive ban from French territory following the completion of his sentence.

    ‘Monster of Cherbourg’ on trial for raping Frenchwoman Mégane into a month-long coma with broomstick

    Commenting to Le Figaro, Me David-Olivier Kaminski, lawyer for Henda Ayari, stated: “The attorney general, for more than three hours, demonstrated the immense guilt of Tariq Ramadan. Whether he was present at the hearing or not, I think the requisitions would have been the same: relentless.”

    Three victims and previous conviction

    There are three different accusers in the trial. A former Salafist turned feminist activist, Ayari was the first to go public with her story in 2017. She testified that the assault occurred in 2012 at a Paris hotel during an Islamic conference. According to her account, the meeting was intended to be a religious discussion, but she says Ramadan became suddenly violent when she resisted his advances. She stated, “He choked me so hard that I thought I was going to die,” and described a night of repetitive insults and physical force.

    Another alleged victim, Christelle, is a pseudonym for a woman who was left disabled after a car accident. She alleged that Ramadan raped her in a Lyon hotel room in 2009. Her testimony describes an exceptionally brutal encounter involving blows to the face and body, forced sexual acts, and being dragged by her hair. Her lawyers have noted that she was particularly vulnerable due to her physical disability at the time.

    Moroccan asylum seeker arrested for brutal assault and attempted rape of 19-year-old Dutch woman in Rotterdam, mayor describes ‘terrible crime’

    The third accuser joined the case later. She alleged that she was raped by Ramadan in 2016. Her testimony follows a similar pattern to the others, involving an initial meeting under the guise of an intellectual or religious exchange that allegedly turned into a violent sexual assault in a hotel room.

    The current trial in Paris follows a 2024 ruling by a Swiss appeals court, which found Ramadan guilty of raping a woman identified as “Brigitte” in a Geneva hotel in 2008. In that case, the court sentenced him to three years in prison, of which one year was to be served. The Swiss judges cited “torture and barbarism” in their description of the assault, mirroring the language used by the accusers in the French case.

    Ramadan initially denied having any sexual contact with these women, labeling them “compulsive liars.” However, his defense shifted significantly in 2018 after investigators recovered hundreds of text messages from a mobile phone belonging to “Christelle,” which supported her version of events

    Fit to stand trial

    The trial of Tariq Ramadan commenced on March 2 without his presence, according to Le Figaro. His legal team explained his absence by stating he had been hospitalized in Geneva, Switzerland, two days prior due to what they described as a “flare-up” of multiple sclerosis.

    France: Ivorian polygamist who imposed hard-line Islamic regime on his wives and 29 children jailed for serial rape and abuse

    In response, the president of the criminal court, Corinne Goetzmann, ordered a medical assessment from two neurologists to determine if the trial should be postponed.

    In the report read by the magistrate on March 6, experts concluded there was a “stability of multiple sclerosis” with “no sign of a recent outbreak,” determining that he was fit to appear before the criminal court. The court also indicated that an arrest warrant, “for immediate execution and dissemination,” was issued against him. Following these developments, his four lawyers chose to leave the courtroom, asserting they could not defend their client in what they termed a “parody of justice.”

  • France: New far-left mayor wants to disarm police, tells those ‘not aligned with our political project’ to leave

    France: New far-left mayor wants to disarm police, tells those ‘not aligned with our political project’ to leave

    Newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) has confirmed that he will align with the LFI campaign promise of disarming municipal police. This refers to calls to remove the less-lethal riot guns used, which typically fire projectiles such as rubber bullets, sponge bullets, beanbag rounds, pepper spray or tear gas.

    “We are going to enter a disarmament process, but it’s not urgent,” Bagayoko told France 2, where he also discussed making Saint-Denis “a political laboratory for LFI.”

    Calling the French LBD (less-lethal defense launcher) “a very difficult-to-control weapon,” the mayor of Saint-Denis advocated for a realistic approach to disarmament. “You don’t run a city of 150,000 inhabitants the same way you run one of 2,000. Besides, before 2020, the municipal police were unarmed. If disarmament is to be considered, it must be part of a thoughtful and gradual process,” he said.

    Cnews reminds that last July, the demands from Mathilde Panot, LFI president in the National Assembly, for the disarmament of the municipal police sparked an outcry from across the political spectrum, from the Greens to the right wing, with parties uniting to defend the police’s right to carry a weapon. Even some LFI politicians have sought to distance themselves from this stance.

    Meanwhile, Saint-Denis Mayor Bagayoko does not seem inclined to be pushing for any compromises or alliances, telling Cnews that “Those who are not aligned with our political project will leave of their own accord.” 

    Upon winning the election, he entered the local Town Hall and greeted the cameras by showing his middle finger.

    As to what his political project for LFI in his city may entail, one can look to LFI’s leader, the controversial Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He is known for his increasingly violent rhetoric, including threatening state officials with prison if his party takes power and blasting an anti-migration feminist group as the guilty party after an LFI member was arrested in the death of Quentin Deranque.

    In one recent tirade against Whites, Mélenchon said: “We are destined to be a Creole nation and so much the better.”

    Turning back to the issue of disarming police, Bagayoko also had an interesting take on those police officers who do not get on board with his agenda. “We also know that some public servants will, at some point, find it difficult to support a policy they have opposed. (…) But it will not be possible, for example, to remain in a public service responsible for public safety while seeking to promote a political agenda that has been defeated at the ballot box.”

    Posting to X, National Rally (RN) spokesman, bluntly stated the result of Bagayoko’s implementation of the LFI program so far, i.e., the disarmament of police. “Out of 140 officers, 90 have already requested their transfer! This announcement is a real license to kill for the traffickers and the thugs.”

  • Hungary suspends gas supplies to Ukraine as energy dispute grows

    Hungary suspends gas supplies to Ukraine as energy dispute grows

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has declared a suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine, stating the flow will only resume once Kyiv restores the transport of Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

    This transition will occur gradually, with Hungary opting to store its remaining gas supplies within its own borders. Orbán explained this decision on Facebook on Wednesday, March 25, writing, “We need to create reserves, so we will be filling Hungarian gas storage facilities, not Ukrainian ones.”

    The prime minister further clarified that gas deliveries are strictly contingent on the resumption of oil transit, asserting that if Ukraine continues to stop the oil, it will not receive Hungarian gas, according to Hirado news outlet.

    Orbán added, “We will protect Hungary’s energy security by maintaining stable fuel prices and a reduced gas price.

    “We have been successfully defending against Ukrainian blackmail so far, thanks to the protected prices, Hungarians are paying the lowest prices at gas stations in all of Europe.”

    At the heart of the conflict between Hungary and Ukraine is Russian oil, which has become a major bone of contention. While Ukrainian officials maintain that the Druzhba pipeline was damaged during a Russian attack and is currently undergoing repairs, the Hungarian government contends that Ukraine has not only refused outside inspectors, including EU inspectors, but there is no satellite evidence the pipeline is destroyed.

    Budapest suspects that Kyiv is intentionally delaying the restoration of the pipeline in order to derail Orbán’s election bid. Since the blocking of the pipeline, Orbán has blocked a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, which was intended to be funded by joint debt.

    This financial commitment has been rejected by the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.

    The true condition of the Druzhba pipeline remains a point of debate, prompting an investigation by EU experts who arrived in Ukraine on March 19. Brussels has shown a strong interest in the pipeline’s restoration, offering both technical and financial help, an offer that Kyiv has accepted.

    The resolution of this dispute is especially critical for Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU nations still receiving Russian crude via Ukraine. For the Orbán administration, the stakes are heightened by the upcoming parliamentary elections on April 12. With current polling suggesting that Fidesz is at risk of losing power, the government is under immense pressure to secure its energy interests.

  • Germany: 10 Syrians convicted for revenge attack that led to Iraqi teen’s fatal fall from balcony, just 2 will go to prison

    Germany: 10 Syrians convicted for revenge attack that led to Iraqi teen’s fatal fall from balcony, just 2 will go to prison

    Ten Syrian nationals have been convicted in Germany after a revenge-driven apartment raid in Hamburg ended in the death of a 15-year-old Iraqi boy who fell from an eighth-floor balcony while fleeing the attackers.

    The Hamburg Regional Court ruled that seven of the defendants were guilty of aggravated robbery and manslaughter, while three others were convicted of aiding and abetting. An eleventh member of the gang fled to Syria. The verdict is not yet legally binding.

    The fatal fall unfolded during a coordinated nighttime attack in the Wilstorf district on April 14, 2025. According to the court, eight men forced their way into an eighth-floor apartment, while three accomplices remained outside acting as lookouts.

    Inside the flat, four young men aged between 15 and 21 were caught off guard despite having feared an attack following earlier threats. The group broke in by kicking down the door and smashing a glass partition with a machete.

    In an attempt to escape, the occupants fled onto the balcony. One managed to reach a lower level, but the 15-year-old Iraqi, identified as Saif I., lost his footing after climbing over the railing and fell to his death.

    Germany: 4 Syrians and 1 Iraqi are arrested for gang raping a 17-year-old girl in the tiny village of Heinsberg-Unterbruch

    Presiding judge Ulrike Schönfelder described the attack as “a scene straight out of a horror film,” as reported by Bild.

    Even after the fall, the attackers continued their assault, striking the apartment owner and threatening another victim with a knife. The violence only ceased when someone shouted that a person had fallen and died, prompting the group to flee.

    ‘I f**k Jesus, the pig’ – Syrian asylum seeker terrorizes German town with death threats, hatred for Germans, and violent fantasies

    A crucial piece of evidence came from an emergency call placed moments before the attack. One of the victims had called the police and left the phone connected while escaping, allowing officers to listen to several minutes of the incident in real time. At one point, a perpetrator picked up the phone, gave a false name, and claimed he had dialed by accident before ending the call.

    Prosecutors said the attack was the culmination of escalating disputes between individuals who knew each other. In one text message presented in court, an attacker had warned, “I swear to God, I will thrust the spear into his heart.”

    Hamburg court sentences Syrian to 11 years for stabbing former friend a dozen times in frenzied mall attack

    The court also heard that the Iraqi victim himself had been involved in serious criminal activity shortly before his death. Two days earlier, he had allegedly taken part in the kidnapping and torture of another man in connection with a dispute over a money laundering scheme. As cited by Zeit, Judge Schönfelder said the teenager “was no innocent lamb.”

    Despite the severity of the attack and the unintended consequences, only two of the defendants will serve an immediate prison sentence. The ringleader, who was 17 at the time of the crime and is now 18, received a juvenile sentence of four and a half years, while a 25-year-old Syrian national was sentenced to six years in an adult prison.

    Another defendant who gave a full confession received a suspended two-year sentence. Two others were handed suspended sentences of one and a half years, while another must complete an anti-violence training program.

  • A climate change disaster: Von der Leyen says Mercosur free trade deal will activate on May 1 despite concerns over pesticides, rain forest destruction, and EU food security

    A climate change disaster: Von der Leyen says Mercosur free trade deal will activate on May 1 despite concerns over pesticides, rain forest destruction, and EU food security

    According to the European Commission, the trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur will be provisionally applied from May 1, and member states have been informed. The announcement comes, even though the full approval process has not yet been completed.

    EU countries adopted the agreement in early January, with opposition from countries including Poland and France. On Jan. 17, the agreement was signed in Asuncion, Paraguay, despite ongoing mass protests in Europe. EU commission head Ursula von der Leyen has been heavily criticized for betraying farmer and consumer interests across the bloc, especially when she headed to Australia for a climate-destroying trade deal to import beef in February, right after vowing to push through Mercosur.

    The issue of imported beef took center stage earlier this year when it was discovered that Brussels was pushing for the Mercosur deal, including importing beef, despite a report from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority that it had detected Brazilian beef contaminated with estradiol, a growth hormone used to stimulate estrus in cattle that is banned in the European Union.

    Last June, the French Federation of Agricultural Unions (FNSEA) has once again called on President Macron to take action to create a minority in the EU to block the ratification of the Mercosur Agreement by the Council of the European Union. Macron has called Brussels’ pushing of the deal, especially when it originally announced it would be provisionally enforced in February, a “bad surprise.” 

    German Greens outraged climate-destroying, pesticide-laced Mercosur free trade was blocked in the EU parliament

    Farmers took to the streets last summer to protest the deal, to no avail. “Spanish farmers will lose €1 billion this year,” Javier Fatas, leader of the farmers’ union COAG from the Aragon region in northeastern Spain, had said at the time. Polish farmer rep Krzysztof Olejnik called the provisions of the EU-Mercosur Agreement a “spit in the face” of farmers. And the French Federation of Agricultural Unions (FNSEA) told press that Mercosur would be “devastating for the beef, poultry and sugar industries and compromise the EU’s ambitions in terms of food sovereignty.” 

    Back in 2022, Dutch farmers protested strict new regulations being imposed on them to meet EU environmental standards — standards that farmers say the EU commission is now turning a blind eye to for Mercosur imports.

    Contaminated meat from Brazil hits the EU, as Mercosur opponents are proven right

    The timing of the EC’s announcement of the May 1 enforcement is odd, as the agreement still needs to be voted on by the European Parliament. The European Parliament, however, has referred the case to the Court of Justice of the EU, which is assessing issues surrounding unfair competition, environmental concerns, and EU food safety standards.

    Rainforest destruction

    Studies and government analyses cited by critics estimate that the agreement could increase deforestation in the Mercosur region by at least 5 percent per year over a period of six years. One study suggested up to 700,000 hectares of forests could be destroyed in the first year alone due to increased beef exports, according to a Veblen Institute study.

    According to Earth.org. “Globally, 80 percent of the land cleared for cattle grazing and animal feed monocultures is used for meat production. In Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, cattle farming is the single largest driver of Amazonian deforestation and conversion of native vegetation to areas of pasture. Here, the rate of deforestation increased by 60 percent between 2016 and 2020, with approximately 580,000 hectares (5,800 square kilometers) of forest cut down in one year to create pastures.”

    Pesticides

    There is big business at stake for Europe, after all. Germany accounts for 16 percent of the sales of pesticides to Mercosur, while France accounts for 37 percent, according to Greenpeace. Brazil is the largest consumer of pesticides in the entire world, and much of that pesticide use is being deployed on former rainforest, which has been burned and clear-cut to make room for massive monoculture crops and cattle farming. Greenpeace further writes:

    “Brazil‘s agriculture model is based mainly on large-scale monoculture systems producing agriculture commodities. This agriculture business model is dominated by large corporations and is closely linked to the destruction of natural ecosystems such as forests. It requires large amounts of natural resources, emits greenhouse gases and is especially dependent on the use of pesticides that pose great risks to humans and the nature.According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 20, around 380,000 tonnes of toxic substances ended up on Brazil‘s farmland in 2017 (around 634,000 square kilometers at that time 21). To meet the high demand for pesticides, Brazil imports large quantities of pesticide active ingredients, which are subsequently further processed in the country.”

    Pesticides have been linked to a threat to human health, environmental destruction, and the ongoing eradication of insect populations.

    ‘Ursula von der Leyen and her commission have to go!’ — Farmers descend on Strasbourg to oppose EU-Mercosur trade deal ahead of European Parliament vote

    The deal would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, yet it offers little to address the “boomerang pesticides” that are banned in the EU but used in Mercosur states. The lack of enforceable safeguards means that while the Greens talk about “EU standards,” they are implicitly backing a system where environmental protections are compromised for market access.

    After all, the deal is labeled the “cows-for-cars” trade deal for a reason. German companies, including automobile manufacturers and chemical companies, want access to South America. The Mercosur agreement will tighten the screws on organic farmers, who will find it even harder to compete against cheap and substandard South American food.

    Another nail in the coffin of European farmers: EU preps climate-destroying trade deal with Australia right after Mercosur

  • Hungary: Ukrainian IT specialists already known to authorities for suspected crimes and links to foreign intelligence found working for opposition Tisza party

    Hungary: Ukrainian IT specialists already known to authorities for suspected crimes and links to foreign intelligence found working for opposition Tisza party

    On Tuesday afternoon, the National Security Committee partially released its report concerning IT specialists linked to the Tisza Party. The report released on Tuesday afternoon reveals that the IT specialists of the Tisza Party worked for the Ukrainians and maintained regular contact with the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest. This comes on the heels of Tisza being implicated in the wiretapping scandal of Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

    According to the document specifically referencing the two specialists, “HD’s activities – due to its contacts with opposing intelligence services – have been in the sights of the AH’s counterintelligence department for years.” 

    The Mandiner news portal summarized the report for its readers:

    1. The police conducted a search of the homes of two IT specialists working for the Tisza Party mentioned by Direkt36, following a report received by the NMHH in 2025. During the search, data carriers and illegal military equipment were seized. The police are therefore currently investigating them on suspicion of manufacturing military equipment. 

    2. During the investigation, it was revealed that the two IT specialists working for the Tisza Party had Ukrainian connections, worked for the Ukrainians, and were in regular contact with the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest, which poses a serious national security risk. 

    3. Both of the individuals, who were once commissioned by the Tisza Party, have long been in the sights of the authorities. One of the individuals, MT, has previously been subject to several criminal proceedings for abuse of IT systems, computer fraud and extortion. The other individual, HD, was controlled by a foreign intelligence officer. In 2023, he came into contact with representatives of the IT Army of Ukraine in Kyiv, and later communicated with them via encrypted channels. He also cooperated with hacker groups and carried out operations in the interests of Ukraine. 

    4. HD and MT worked together to procure spy software and special equipment, while they also had several foreign intelligence contacts.

    This report comes in the wake of news that an opposition journalist working to get PM Orbán out of office and help install the Brussels-aligned Tisza, led by Péter Magyar, had been collaborating with the intelligence services of at least one other country.

    ‘It’s a serious matter’ – PM Viktor Orbán addresses bombshell claims Hungarian journalist helped wiretap foreign minister, analyst says journalist could face life in prison for treason

    Szabolcs Panyi, associated with anti-Orbán news outlets Direkt36 and VSquare, had reportedly worked with a foreign EU intelligence service to conduct wiretaps on Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. While Panyi has tried to make waves by using an alleged transcript from one of the foreign minister’s calls, accusing Szijjártó of discussing classified EU Council topics with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, he is now potentially facing charges of espionage and treason.

    Szijjártó has maintained that he has discussions with multiple counterparts from other countries, as is the practice of people in his position in any country, but he has not disclosed anything classified. Meanwhile, the fact that Panyi’s accusations stemmed from an illegal wiretap is raising concerns that he is more an intelligence asset than a journalist.

    András Schiffer, former head of the LMP faction in the Hungarian parliament, perhaps said it best in his Facebook post: “Excuse me, how can you legally access the phone conversations of two foreign ministers?”

    Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party is also taking a hit. “But the most serious thing is that it seems clear that all this was done with the knowledge of the Tisza Party, and I see that it was done for its benefit,” said PM Viktor Orbán.

    “The fact that the foreign minister of a sovereign country is being intercepted with the intervention of the authorities and secret services of another country, using Hungarian journalists, or at least one for sure, is very serious,” he added.

    Máté Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz faction in the national Assembly, also posted on Facebook about the new development regarding the IT specialists, calling it “an unprecedented Ukrainian secret service action” linked to Tisza.

    “Today, the foreign-funded news portal Direkt36 has come to the defense of the Tisza Party’s IT specialists trained in Ukraine, falsely framing their criminal case as an attack against the Tisza Party,” he wrote.

    “These two individuals had already come to the attention of Hungarian counterintelligence long before the Tisza Party was founded; therefore, the website Direkt36 falsely implies that they got into trouble because of their involvement with the Tisza Party. The problem is actually the opposite: IT specialists recruited by foreign agents trained in Ukraine were identified within the Tisza Party. Based on a report received in July 2025, one of the individuals in question was planning to acquire equipment suitable for the online sexual exploitation of children. The authorities subsequently conducted a search of their homes, during which they seized data storage devices and military-grade equipment possessed or manufactured. without a license. The police currently suspect the individuals of manufacturing military-grade equipment that requires a license.”

    “We will exact retribution for the traitors’ betrayal: on election day and beyond!” he concluded his post.

  • Denmark: PM Frederiksen wins election without majority as Danish People’s Party surges on remigration platform

    Denmark: PM Frederiksen wins election without majority as Danish People’s Party surges on remigration platform

    Denmark’s election has produced a hung parliament, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats emerging as the largest party but failing to secure a governing majority, while the Danish People’s Party surged to become a major force after more than tripling its seats on a radical remigration platform.

    The Social Democrats won 21.9 percent of the vote and 38 seats, remaining the biggest party but down sharply from 50 seats in the previous parliament. Across the political spectrum, all three governing parties lost ground, including the Liberals, who dropped from 23 to 18 seats, and the Moderates, who fell from 16 to 14.

    Neither traditional bloc secured the 90 seats required for a majority in the 179-seat parliament. The left-leaning “red bloc” reached 84 seats, while the center-right “blue bloc” secured 77.

    The result sets the stage for difficult coalition negotiations, with no clear path to government without cross-bloc cooperation. Voter turnout was high at 83.7 percent.

    The most notable result of the election came from the Danish People’s Party, which won 9.1 percent of the vote and 16 seats, up from just five in the last parliament. The party campaigned on one of the most hardline immigration platforms in Europe, centered on mass repatriation and a sweeping reversal of decades of immigration policy.

    Its party leader, Morten Messerschmidt, told supporters on Tuesday, “We are making massive progress. The Danish People’s Party is back!”

    Danish People’s Party manifesto calls for mass repatriations, hijab ban, and halal tax

    In its manifesto, the party argued that Denmark must “remain Danish” and warned that immigration from the Middle East and North Africa had led to crime, parallel societies, and cultural change. It claimed such migration had brought “ghettoization, ethnic conflicts, radicalization, clan culture, honor-related crimes, social control, persecution of Jews and sexual minorities, infiltration of public authorities, Islamic censorship and gender segregation.”

    The party proposed a wide-ranging “remigration” program to send back those “who should never have been here in the first place,” including a review of citizenships granted over the past two decades. The party also called for Denmark to withdraw from or amend international conventions that restrict deportations.

    Despite her socialist background, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has herself adopted an unusually strict policy on immigration for a left-wing politician.

    ‘We don’t want your culture of dominance’ — Denmark to ramp up deportations of criminal foreigners, PM Frederiksen says in New Year’s address

    In her New Year’s address, Frederiksen signaled further tightening of migration, announcing plans for a deportation reform aimed at expelling more foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes.

    She emphasized a distinction between integration and criminality, stating: “You can be Danish even if your favorite dish isn’t meatballs or mackerel sandwiches… But we should love each other.”

    Her tone sharpened when addressing crime and cultural tensions. “To the people who have come here and are committing crimes: You shouldn’t be here. We don’t want your madness and culture of dominance. You are destroying the most beautiful country in the world, and you should not be allowed to do that.”

    Asylum approvals in Denmark fell below 1,000 last year

    Despite the political focus on immigration, Denmark has already seen asylum numbers fall to historic lows. Fewer than 1,000 people were granted asylum in 2025, continuing a downward trend from the peak of more than 10,000 approvals during the 2015 migrant crisis.

  • Fuel crisis in Poland: State-controlled energy giant Orlen’s big profits are being used to plug massive deficit, says economist

    Fuel crisis in Poland: State-controlled energy giant Orlen’s big profits are being used to plug massive deficit, says economist

    Orlen is making an incredible amount of money off the conflict in the Middle East, with fuel prices soaring and the Tusk-led government taking no action to intervene.

    Economist Janusz Szewczal, who was a former member of the Orlen management board, says that Orlen “is making incredible money, and it seems that the management of both the Ministry of Finance and the company are playing with fire.”

    He explained to Do Rzeczy that this has been possible due to prices at the pump being as high as almost PLN 9 (€2,11) per liter of diesel at some stations.

    “It doesn’t seem to be causing any major social protests,” he noted. “We remember this absolutely hateful black PR campaign, when fuel was 6 PLN and reached 8 PLN in the case of diesel during the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and during the COVID pandemic,” he recalled.

    According to Janusz Szewczak, “the government has adopted a completely wrong concept of ignoring the systematic increase in fuel prices.”

    ‘Don’t expect a bail out’ – German paper warns Poland of looming economic crisis

    “Although it was obvious that the conflict in the Middle East would deepen and last for weeks, counting on this being a temporary event that will soon end is very risky. Because not only is the price of a barrel of oil rising, but supply chains are also being disrupted,” he said.

    On the topic of Tusk’s “dark hour,” the economist said that countries that take action early “have a better chance of calming the mood.” Spain has introduced VAT cuts to help consumers, while Hungary introduced price caps on gasoline.

    However, in Poland, Szewczak states that you have “the cunning of the Ministry of Finance and the Orlen management – ​​let’s squeeze as much as we can while prices are rising and people are not making a big drama yet, they just pay and cry.”

    “This is due to the absolutely dire situation in public finances and the state budget. It appears that the budget deficit after the first quarter of this year will be around PLN 100 billion,” he said.

    Szewczak noted that “there is a significant lack of money for the health service, to such an extent that this SAFE is probably an emergency loan to fill – at least through an advance payment – ​​the hole in the National Health Fund budget.”

    New Polish budget shows massive increase in budget deficit

    “Otherwise, it may turn out that in May or June there simply isn’t enough money and there won’t be any for healthcare. This is a dramatic situation, because we already have some limitations in our activities related to the limits, but also some overpayments are still unpaid,” he explained.

    Discussing the negative impact of higher diesel prices, Szewczak said that sectors across the economy will suffer, including farmers who primarily use diesel for their equipment.

    He emphasized that “this will also immediately impact transportation and wholesale delivery prices to stores, meaning prices could rise significantly, taking into account the significantly higher fuel costs for logistics companies.”

    “Besides, the Polish transport and logistics industry is already on the brink of bankruptcy,” he added, before noting the “drastic impact” on fertilizer prices as well as the chemical sector.

    The economist again criticized the government’s approach: “Waiting with folded arms to squeeze as much as possible from these price increases on the part of Orlen and the government, which is clearly playing roulette at the moment, may end very negatively.”

    ‘This is a serious warning sign’ – Mass layoffs hit Poland’s furniture sector

    “All proposals and warnings sent to the government, led by the PiS candidate for prime minister, Przemysław Czarnek, were ignored. Przemysław Czarnek presented a completed draft proposal that lowers VAT, excise duty, and fuel surcharges. This could be achieved in one fell swoop, but the government failed to do so,” he emphasized.

    Szewczak conceded that some proposals are on the table to potentially cut fuel taxes “in the near future,” largely due to outcries from the opposition and everyday Poles.

    “The only question is whether the government’s poor organizational efficiency will make it work and be effective, because it does not look like an end to hostilities, but rather a significant escalation in the Persian Gulf region,” he noted.

    The former Orlen board member then underlined the importance of the Polish consumer to the economy.

    “The vast majority of GDP growth in Poland is based on individual consumption, or simply on Poles’ purchases. If Poles have to pay 9 złoty for fuel, they have to forgo other purchases. This will impact the economy, but also tax revenues. Because what good is it if Orlen’s tax revenue from fuel sales increases significantly this quarter if its VAT, CIT, and PIT revenues decline significantly? Companies that incur huge costs will limit production and conduct mass layoffs,” he explained.

    The economist said that “this marks a very serious crisis in public finances this year.”

    “In my opinion, the fuel problem will not only translate into lower economic growth but also most likely the need to amend this already huge budget deficit for this year,” he told Do Rzeczy.

  • ‘When shots are fired in Berlin almost every night, the state has a massive enforcement problem’ – Police frustrated as Berlin migrant gang wars grip capital

    ‘When shots are fired in Berlin almost every night, the state has a massive enforcement problem’ – Police frustrated as Berlin migrant gang wars grip capital

    Gunfire has become a near-nightly fixture on Berlin’s streets, fueled by crime from migrants and those with a foreign background. For weeks, gang-related shootings have rattled the capital, and those police tasked with responding to them are increasingly frustrated — not just with the criminals, but with the politicians who are supposed to back them up.

    The latest incident came Monday night in Schöneberg, where a 38-year-old man was gunned down. The suspects fled and remain at large. It was not an isolated case. Officers have been responding to shooting after shooting, and within the German Police Union — known by its German abbreviation GdP — patience is gone.

    Spokesman Benjamin Jendro took to X to voice what many in the force are thinking: “It would be nice if politicians finally did something.”

    Last year, Berlin saw a record number of shootings. The figures are striking. According to Berlin’s 2025 police crime statistics, firearms-related offenses — cases where a gun was either threatened or actually fired — surged to 1,119 cases, a jump of 68 percent compared to the previous year. Of those, guns were actually fired in 515 cases, up from 363 in 2024. Berlin is also the state that sees the most gun violence in all of Germany.

    Interior Senator Iris Spranger of the SPD insists the city is taking action, according to German publication BZ.

    ‘It’s like Groundhog Day’ — Berlin police warn of relentless gun violence after another shooting in Schöneberg

    “I do not tolerate armed conflicts in our city,” she said, invoking “zero tolerance for illegal possession of weapons.”

    Jendro’s response to such assurances? “Too little is happening,” he said.

    FDP state chairman Christoph Meyer, 50, offered perhaps the bluntest summary: “When shots are fired in Berlin almost every night, the state has a massive enforcement problem — that is not a feeling, that is reality.”

    The GdP is pushing for expanded CCTV coverage and AI-assisted surveillance tools as the most effective way to get ahead of gang activity. But according to Jendro, the money simply isn’t there.

    New migrant mafia hits Berlin as asylum seeker recruits used for shootings, grenade attacks, and six-figure extortion demands

    “Corresponding expenditures are not even included in the state budget,” he points out. Investigations are piling up faster than officers can process them. “We can’t keep up,” he said.

    A recently overhauled law offered some hope, but without the money to implement it, Jendro dismisses it as “an empty shell.” His overall verdict on the political response is withering: “There is no uniform political strategy — often, it remains phrases.”

    Berlin’s growing clan violence

    To understand what is happening on Berlin’s streets, it helps to look back. Berlin’s crime gangs of Arab origin have long earned infamy with violence and brazen robberies. Often referred to as clans, their founders mostly arrived as refugees from war-torn Lebanon in the 1980s and other Middle Eastern states. They control the illegal drug trade, gambling, street prostitution, and protection rackets.

    Video: Man shot in kebab shop as shootings hit record high in Berlin

    Now, that established criminal ecosystem has acquired a dangerous new dimension. Police say a new criminal network known as the “Daltons” — a group with roots in Turkey — has begun establishing itself in Berlin, with prosecutors currently pursuing around 200 investigations linked to the group and similar criminal enterprises. Authorities say the gang primarily targets Kurdish asylum seekers for recruitment, allegedly drawing them in through promises of money and status, with some recruits first approached in asylum centers.

    The timing is significant. Authorities believe the Berlin underworld has become even more volatile following the death in January of Mehmet K., a prominent organized crime figure nicknamed “Kurdish Mehmet,” whose funeral required around 500 police officers to maintain order. “All hell is breaking loose in Berlin now,” one associate told German broadcaster RBB. “Everyone wants to make a name for themselves. I think things will get worse from now on, because Mehmet Abi is gone, and he was the one who made sure everything here went smoothly.

    Other politicians weigh in

    The CDU’s Burkard Dregger disputes that characterisation. He argues the criticism directed at the Senate is “completely unjustified” and cites the special unit Ferrum — up and running since November — as tangible proof of progress. The unit has opened 260 investigations, secured 13 arrest warrants, and taken 18 firearms off the streets. The coalition, he adds, has also “provided funds to acquire the necessary technology.”

    Other parties have been more candid about the scale of the problem. SPD politician Martin Matz wants illegal weapons possession upgraded from a misdemeanor to a full criminal offense, though he acknowledges the decision lies beyond Berlin’s reach:

    Shootings up 31%, stabbings up 24% as violent crime soars in Hamburg

    “This is only possible at the federal level in criminal law.” Green politician Vasili Franco, 33, did not shy away from the obvious: “It is a sad fact that the successes in combating organized crime are manageable.”

    Transnational gang structures fuel crisis

    What makes the situation particularly difficult is the nature of the criminal structures involved. Berlin’s clan crime report recorded 246 cases of bodily harm, three murders, 48 cases of serious bodily harm, 81 cases against personal freedom, 21 weapons and explosives violations, and 21 robbery cases in a single year — with the scene operating through legitimate businesses, including shisha bars, jewelry shops, and car rental companies used to launder money.

    Berlin police warn that the Daltons’ international connections mean the problem cannot be solved locally, with the gang’s alleged leader believed to be operating outside Germany entirely. It is a reminder that what plays out on Berlin’s streets is not merely a local policing challenge — it is part of a transnational criminal infrastructure that has been building in the city for decades, and which successive administrations have struggled, and largely failed, to dismantle.

  • Brussels takes ban on Russian oil off the agenda, spokesperson says Commission remains ‘committed’ to it

    Brussels takes ban on Russian oil off the agenda, spokesperson says Commission remains ‘committed’ to it

    The European Union scrapped the April 15 date from its timetable for proposing a ban on Russian oil imports, as reported by Reuters and confirmed by European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen.

    Earlier announcements had set the deadline for what is meant to be part of the REPowerEU roadmap, to be directly after Hungary’s April 12 national elections, but leaders decided not to include the issue on the agenda.

    “I do not have a new date to give,” Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the Commission’s spokesperson for energy, said on Tuesday morning.

    U.S. President Trump has eased some sanctions on Russian oil in the wake of skyrocketing oil prices after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran late last month. Some have wondered if the EU will also follow suit, but Itkonen claims otherwise.

    Hungary calls for Brussels to ‘immediately lift’ Russian energy sanctions as Middle East conflict sees oil prices soar

    “What I can reassure you of is that we remain committed to making this proposal,” she told press, as quoted by Euronews.

    Brussels has banned purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by autumn 2027, both under the REPowerEU. Hungary and Slovakia have taken legal action against these measures and have said they will do the same if the ban on oil goes through.

    In the meantime, both countries enjoy exemptions from other EU sanctions on Russian oil, despite its transit having been shut down since January after an attack on the Druzhba pipeline. While Kyiv has maintained that the pipeline will take time to repair, Hungary and Slovakia have accused Zelensky of purposely keeping it unoperational, in the hopes of creating an energy crisis in Hungary ahead of elections there next month.

    Orbán announces price caps for gasoline and diesel as no end in sight for war in Iran and resulting oil price surge

    Hungarian PM Orbán has called for Brussels to lift sanctions on Russian energy, given the crisis facing the continent across all sectors due to the surge in energy prices. The government has also introduced price caps in Hungary at gasoline stations for individuals and entrepreneurs.

  • Brussels warns Slovakia over ‘discriminatory’ dual fuel pricing targeting foreign drivers

    Brussels warns Slovakia over ‘discriminatory’ dual fuel pricing targeting foreign drivers

    The European Commission has warned Slovakia that its newly introduced dual diesel pricing system — charging foreign drivers more than locals — violates EU law, setting up a fresh clash with Prime Minister Robert Fico over energy policy.

    The dispute centers on emergency measures adopted by the Slovak government on March 18, which impose a 30-day restriction on diesel refueling and introduce higher prices for vehicles with foreign license plates. The policy is aimed at curbing “fuel tourism,” as drivers from neighboring countries flock to Slovakia to take advantage of significantly lower diesel prices.

    A spokesperson for the European Commission said the measures were “highly discriminatory and contrary to EU law,” stressing that member states cannot introduce pricing policies that differentiate based on nationality.

    “While we understand the need to support citizens, especially in these times, measures must not discriminate on the basis of nationality or undermine the integrity of our single market,” the Commission said on Tuesday.

    Brussels also cautioned against unilateral action, emphasizing that energy and market disruptions should be handled through coordinated EU-wide measures rather than national interventions.

    Slovakia restricts diesel fuel in face of soaring prices, fuel tourism

    The Slovak government has defended the policy, arguing it is necessary to protect domestic supply. As reported by Denník N, Fico said the decision was justified given the circumstances and expressed frustration at the Commission’s stance, suggesting Brussels had shown little understanding of Slovakia’s position.

    The move comes amid mounting concerns over fuel shortages due to both the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine’s refusal to restart the transit of Russian crude to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline. The pipeline has been offline since January, leaving Slovakia facing potential supply constraints.

    In response, Bratislava has sought to prioritize domestic consumers by limiting exports and discouraging foreign drivers from refueling within its borders. Under the new system, drivers with foreign plates are charged prices aligned with those in neighboring countries such as Austria and Poland, while Slovak residents continue to benefit from lower rates.

    The price gap stems from Slovakia’s refinery sector, which has been selling diesel below broader European market levels, creating a strong incentive for cross-border fuel purchases.

    Polish mayor warns Germans over fuel raids as price surge sparks border panic

    The dispute also reflects broader tensions between Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Brussels over energy transit. Both Bratislava and Budapest have pushed Kyiv to restore flows through the Druzhba pipeline, while simultaneously blocking a proposed €90 billion EU financial package for Ukraine in ongoing negotiations.

    The European Commission has offered to send technical experts and suggested EU funding could help cover repair costs, but no agreement has yet been reached.

    Both governments in Hungary and Slovakia, however, have accused Brussels of hollow words, claiming the European Commission has sided with Ukraine over the EU member states. Hungary, in particular, believes the delay in restarting the transit is intended to influence next month’s critical parliamentary elections.

  • French court orders probe into ex-Frontex chief turned MEP Fabrice Leggeri over migrant deaths amid NGO pressure

    French court orders probe into ex-Frontex chief turned MEP Fabrice Leggeri over migrant deaths amid NGO pressure

    French justice authorities are set to examine the role of former Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri in migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, following a decision by the Paris Court of Appeal to open a judicial investigation.

    The move marks the first time French investigating judges will assess whether Leggeri could bear criminal responsibility in connection with policies alleged to have contributed to thousands of migrant deaths at sea. The investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), an NGO that accuses the former Frontex chief of overseeing a deadly enforcement strategy at Europe’s borders.

    As reported by AFP, LDH lawyer Emmanuel Daoud said the case would examine “the conditions of the possible criminal responsibility of Fabrice Leggeri in the carnage that resulted in thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean, including children and women.”

    In response to a request for comment, Leggeri’s team told Remix News, “Mr. Leggeri and his lawyers were not aware of this decision. At this stage, there is no comment to be made.”

    Leggeri led Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, from January 2015 until April 2022. During his tenure, the agency faced repeated criticism from left-wing NGOs, which accused it of tolerating or facilitating “pushbacks,” where migrants are intercepted and returned without access to asylum procedures.

    ‘Your job is to welcome migrants’ – EU’s former border chief said EU commissioner pressured him to embrace open borders

    According to the LDH complaint, Leggeri is alleged to have encouraged practices that enabled Libyan and Greek authorities to intercept migrant boats, rather than allowing them to reach NGO vessels to be brought ashore. The group claims this amounted to a deliberate policy aimed at preventing migrant arrivals “whatever the cost.”

    After a two-year legal process, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled on March 18 that there were sufficient grounds to proceed, stating there was reason to investigate the facts presented in the complaint. The opening of a judicial investigation means an examining magistrate will now assess the substance and admissibility of the allegations.

    At this stage, no charges have been filed against Leggeri, and the presumption of innocence applies.

    Since leaving Frontex, Leggeri has entered politics, joining the National Rally and securing election as an MEP in 2024. At the time of joining the party, he said his goal was “to regain control of the borders of the European Union and France.”

    ‘I’m proud to have defended Italy!” — Deputy PM Matteo Salvini faces sentencing in Palermo

    The case draws comparisons to legal proceedings against Matteo Salvini, who faced trial over his decision to block a migrant rescue vessel from docking in Italy in 2019. Salvini was acquitted in 2024 after prosecutors had sought a prison sentence, with the Italian politician describing the case as politically motivated.

    Leggeri has previously commented on his time as Frontex director, accusing European Commission Ylva Johansson of telling him his job was to welcome migrants.

    “When I looked through her CV before our first meeting, I thought, ‘She’s probably impossible to work with.’ But she was a commissioner and had real influence. At our first meeting, I explained to her what we were doing — developing a European border and coast guard, with uniforms and weapons, and why we were experiencing some delays. She interrupted me and said, ‘You don’t need weapons and uniforms.’ Because, as she said, the role of the border guard is to welcome migrants,” Leggeri said last year.

  • Poland’s unemployment climbs to highest level since pandemic

    Poland’s unemployment climbs to highest level since pandemic

    Poland’s unemployment rate has climbed to its highest level since 2021, with new figures confirming a consistent increase in the first two months of the year.

    Data from the Central Statistical Office published on Tuesday shows the unemployment rate reached 6.1 percent in February, up from 6 percent in January. This marks a clear reversal from the lows seen in 2024, when unemployment hovered around 5 percent for much of the year.

    The increase is part of a sustained upward trend that began in late 2024 and accelerated through 2025. In November 2025, unemployment stood at 5.6 percent, rising to 5.7 percent in December before continuing upward into the new year. Over just two months, the rate has increased by 0.4 percentage points.

    The number of registered unemployed rose to 954,900 in February, compared to 934,100 in January. This monthly increase of around 20,800 brings the total rise since December to roughly 67,000 people.

    While the number of newly registered unemployed fell to 101,000 in February from 118,500 in January, the overall stock of unemployed continues to grow, indicating that exits from unemployment are not keeping pace with inflows.

    Regional data highlights significant disparities in the labor market. Eastern regions continue to experience the highest unemployment rates, with Warmian-Masurian voivodeship recording 10.1 percent, the highest in the country. Podkarpackie follows at 9.6 percent, while Świętokrzyskie stands at 9.0 percent and Lubelskie at 8.6 percent.

    By contrast, major economic centers and western regions report substantially lower unemployment. Wielkopolskie has the lowest rate at just 3.9 percent, while Mazowieckie, home to Warsaw, stands at 4.5 percent. Śląskie is also relatively low at 4.8 percent.

    At the European level, Poland’s unemployment rate remains broadly in line with the continental average but sits just below several major economies. Germany recorded 6.3 percent, while France stood at 7.9 percent and Spain at 9.9 percent. Southern and southeastern European countries continue to report higher levels, including Finland at 10.9 percent and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 11.2 percent.

    At the lower end of the scale, Denmark has the lowest unemployment level in the European Union at 2.6 percent.

    Despite the recent increase, Poland’s labor market remains stronger than during the peak pandemic years, when unemployment exceeded 6.5 percent. The Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy had previously forecast the February rate at 6.1 percent.

  • Austria: Sole Christian first-grader in Vienna school called ‘pig’ in a school with 99% immigration background

    Austria: Sole Christian first-grader in Vienna school called ‘pig’ in a school with 99% immigration background

    Remix News has previously reported on the rapidly growing number of Muslim students in Vienna’s schools, with now more than 50 percent of first graders listed as Muslims for the first time ever. Now, an article from Profil talks of some of the consequences of these developments, including one secondary school where a young Christian boy is the only Christian in his first-grade class, exposing him to continuous ridicule and insults.

    Out of the 390 students at the school, 230 are Muslim, nearly 60 percent. In total, the school features a 99 percent immigration background. Only five out of the total of 390 students has no migrant background.

    Austria’s demographic transformation: For the first time, more than half of first-graders in Vienna do not speak German

    Among the insults he has to endure is being called a “pig,” by the other students. During Ramadan, students also partake in fasting challenges, “supported by mobile apps where they award themselves crescent moons like points.” This goes so far that some even refuse swimming lessons because the water might touch their lips, which would violate their religious obligation.

    In total, the school features a bewildering 32 languages, with the biggest pool of non-German speakers coming from Turkey, with 81 speaking that language at home. Another 67 speak Arabic at home, followed by Chechen (27).

    One teacher told a Profil journalist that there are so many problems in the class, that each class could use its own social worker. The report additionally describes cases of neglect, drug use, and even arrests among young people.

    Half of the students come from families living on welfare, with two out of three repeating at least one grade in elementary school. Due to the extreme diversity and differing religions, Profil reports that religious tensions dominate in the school every day.

    The school illustrates not only the problems of multiculturalism in the school system, but also the threat to minority students, who are now ethnic Austrians and Christians, once the demographic picture flips.

    Just this past December, Remix News ran a story that more than half of Vienna’s first-grade population do not understand German, a new milestone in the Austrian capital’s demographic transformation. Earlier last year, Muslim students had already become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools.

    Austria: Gay teacher asked to leave school by Islamic father in Vienna

    In yet another story in December, a headmaster recounted how a Muslim father demanded that a gay teacher be dismissed. The boy was ultimately allowed to switch classes, but as the headmaster explained, this was just a band-aid to a growing crisis: “The topic of religion permeates the entire school day: Islam is omnipresent, everything is ‘haram’ or ‘halal’… Islamic rules are discussed by the children,” he said. 

    Last August, Remix also profiled a report about refugees deliberately failing their German-language tests to avoid low-paying work, seeing it as beneath them and presumably preferring to simply live off of benefits. 

    Refugees in Austria accused of failing German courses to avoid low-paying jobs

    In July 2025, the unemployment rate for Syrians in Austria stood at 45.4 percent. Vienna is the epicenter of the problem, with more than half of all unemployed migrants living in the capital. Meanwhile, in other federal states, tens of thousands of low-skilled jobs remain unfilled.

    Migrants on welfare is an issue elsewhere in Europe as well, particularly in Germany, where the budget has come under increasing strain. In one wild story of abuse, a Bosnian migrant living illegally in Germany for over two decades receives more than €7,000 every month from the government to support him, his wife, and their eight children.

  • ‘This is not German criminality, this is immigrant criminality’ — CDU tricks voters with AfD-style rhetoric and then joins the left time and again

    ‘This is not German criminality, this is immigrant criminality’ — CDU tricks voters with AfD-style rhetoric and then joins the left time and again

    Gordon Schnieder, the CDU’s lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, made headlines earlier this month with a blunt statement on knife crime during a televised debate with incumbent SPD Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer. During the debate, he stated that knife crime is not German crime but immigration crime. Just days later, he went on to win the state election on March 22, ending 35 years of Social Democrat (SPD) rule in the state.

    “This is not German criminality, this is immigrant criminality,” Schnieder had declared during the SWR debate, placing migration squarely at the center of the security debate in the campaign’s final stretch.

    Although not the only reason Schnieder came out on top, the debate showed that he was more than willing to make a statement that would have led an Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate to be accused of racism.

    In the end, the CDU took 31 percent of the vote to the SPD’s 25.9 percent, and Schnieder is now set to become Minister-President — the first CDU leader to hold the position since 1991.

    Knife crime debate

    Schneider’s remark was made specifically in the context of knife violence, which has surged across Germany in recent years. In Rhineland-Palatinate alone, authorities registered 561 knife offenses in 2025 — roughly 1.5 cases per day. Nationally, the figure is far more alarming: Approximately 80 knife attacks or knife-related crimes occur every single day, totaling nearly 30,000 incidents per year.

    ‘We have imported knife violence’ – Wave of knife attacks shakes Germany once again

    Schnieder subsequently stood by his statement, offering a telling piece of context: Knife crime was only added as a separate category in German police crime statistics in 2020. His explanation was pointed, saying it was “because it simply wasn’t typical German crime in the years before either.”

    The implication is that the phenomenon is directly linked to the migration wave that began in 2015, and that the statistical infrastructure was only created once the problem became impossible to ignore.

    The deputy federal chairman of the German Police Union, Manuel Ostermann, has been similarly direct in 2024 about the issue.

    “The migration crisis is also a crime crisis,” he said, adding that men from the main countries of origin for asylum seekers are disproportionately represented in relevant crime statistics.

    Ostermann called for consistent deportations with re-entry bans for serious offenders.

    Misleading voters?

    The win in Rhineland-Palatinate marks a significant moment for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, coming just two weeks after the party narrowly lost to the Greens in Baden-Württemberg. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann was quick to celebrate: “A really strong campaign, a strong result, and after 35 years, the CDU is now entering government.”

    However, Schnieder’s willingness to adopt what critics have called “AfD-style rhetoric” on immigration and crime reflects a well-established pattern within the CDU. With the AfD continuing to grow in the polls — now running neck-and-neck with the CDU nationally at around 25 percent — the mainstream conservative party faces constant pressure to address voter concerns on migration and security in explicit terms.

    Yet Schnieder, like CDU leaders before him, drew a firm line before the election: He would not form a coalition with the AfD under any circumstances.

    After EU parliament passed groundbreaking migration control legislation, German Chancellor Merz threatens ‘consequences’ over how it was passed

    “It would spell the downfall of this country if we were to bring the AfD on board here,” he said. The CDU and SPD are now expected to form a grand coalition at the state level, mirroring the arrangement in Berlin at the federal level.

    This dynamic — speaking bluntly about migration-linked crime during campaigns, then governing in coalition with the SPD rather than acting on the hardest-line positions — has become a recurring source of frustration for voters who want more than rhetoric. Critics argue the CDU’s firewall against the AfD structurally prevents the party from implementing the toughest measures its own electorate demands, and that Schnieder’s “immigrant criminality” framing, however striking, may follow the same trajectory once coalition negotiations begin.

    As a result, Schnieder’s campaign language will likely not translate into concrete policy during his coming tenure as minister-president. Regardless, elderly German voters will likely continue supporting the CDU at any cost, as they have convinced themselves that the AfD simply cannot be voted for. The divide between elderly and young voters is growing sharper and sharper, with the youth choosing AfD and the Left Party, while the elderly voters are overwhelmingly sticking with the establishment parties of the CDU and SPD.

  • Belgium to reclaim military bases from migrants as 4,000 asylum places set to disappear

    Belgium to reclaim military bases from migrants as 4,000 asylum places set to disappear

    Belgium will phase out thousands of asylum reception places currently housed on military sites to make way for defense needs, but ministers do not appear to be in a hurry, as they confirm that all such centers will be shut down by 2040 at the latest.

    Around 4,000 asylum places are set to eventually disappear under the government’s “defense district” plan, which provides for the renovation of existing military bases and the creation of new ones across the country, according to reporting by Le Soir.

    The announcement was made by Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt and Defense Minister Theo Francken.

    In recent years, Belgium repurposed a number of military facilities to cope with pressure on its asylum system, opening nine reception centers on defense sites nationwide. Those facilities collectively provide nearly 4,000 places but are now scheduled for gradual closure.

    The first sites, located in Ypres and Koksijde, are due to shut by the end of this year. Timelines for the remaining centers in Arlon, Tournai, Florennes, Glons, Houthalen-Helchteren, Namur, and Neder-over-Heembeek have yet to be confirmed.

    Van Bossuyt insisted the closures would not lead to a shortage of accommodation. “The current decrease in the number of registrations shows that the planned reduction in reception capacity at the Defense sites can be fully absorbed within the existing network,” she said, adding that authorities would continue to monitor global developments.

    Francken framed the decision as a return to core military priorities, arguing that the use of defense infrastructure for asylum housing was always intended as a temporary measure. “Using defense infrastructure to accommodate asylum seekers was necessary during a crisis, but it cannot be a structural model,” he said.

    Belgian government seeks to fast-track deportation of illegal foreign inmates to ease overcrowding crisis

    He added that reforms to the asylum system, combined with a reduction in arrivals, were easing pressure on capacity and allowing the armed forces to refocus on their primary role. “By reforming the asylum system and gradually reducing the number of asylum seekers received, we are easing this pressure and allowing our barracks and military sites to once again fully dedicate themselves to their primary mission: training, operational readiness, and protecting our security.”

    Belgium has sought to implement restrictions on asylum claims over the past year, despite rulings from the country’s top court to suspend newly introduced legislation.

    Last July, the government passed a new law that allowed authorities to classify an asylum claim as a “subsequent application” if the applicant already has refugee protection in another EU member state. As stated by Etias, many asylum seekers who eventually arrive in Belgium have just that, having usually landed in Spain, Greece, or Italy, where asylum applications are first made, before migrating to their country of choice.

    However, last month, Belgium’s Constitutional Court suspended the measure and referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, indicating the move may contravene EU law.

    Van Bossuyt insists the measure had been working, citing data that showed asylum seekers making claims in Belgium who had refugee protection elsewhere had dropped by 83 percent in the first four months after the law came into force.

    She claimed the measure was necessary to prevent “asylum shopping.”