Demonstrations

Germany’s far-right stages anti-migration rally in Magdeburg A far-right protest was held late on Saturday in Magdeburg the night after the attack on the Christmas market.

(Euronews) Far-right protesters have held a rally in Magdeburg, following Friday evening’s attack on a Christmas market which left five people dead and hundreds injured. Police estimate around 1,000 protesters gathered in the city’s central square, calling for stronger controls on migration […]

Government & Politics

Deadly Magdeburg Christmas market attack shakes Germany as election looms With voters going to the polls in February, the tragedy ramps up concerns about security.

(Politico) A driver plowed a car at high speed into crowds of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, adding further tension to an election campaign already riven by a bitter debate over migration. Right-wing parties seized […]

Government & Politics

Italian court acquits Matteo Salvini in migrant ‘kidnapping’ case The far-right former interior minister prevented more than 140 migrants, including kids, from coming ashore in Italy.

(Politico) Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was acquitted Friday on kidnapping charges over his decision in 2019 to block a migrant rescue ship carrying more than 140 people from coming ashore in Italy. Salvini, who was serving as Italy’s interior minister […]

Internet

Germany turned blind eye against PFLP website run on German servers, report reveals The German company that provides [servers] to the PFLP admitted to BR24 that it had done so, and that it had taken appropriate action.

(Jerusalem Post) The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was operating its website with the help of German and Canadian servers until mid-October 2024, German public broadcaster BR24 revealed following an investigation. An IT expert confirmed the findings. According to […]

Government & Politics

Europe’s Syrians shaken by debate over repatriation to their war-ravaged homeland For many Syrian refugees in Europe, joy at the fall of Assad has been tempered by immediate calls for them to go home.

(Politico) When Osama Sabsabi learned that opposition forces had captured the city of Homs, where he grew up, he did something that would have been unthinkable just days earlier: He booked a ticket home. “We, the Syrian people, are experiencing an indescribable […]

Crime

Two men who ran people-smuggling operation from car wash in Caerphilly plead guilty Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 40, had previously denied all five counts but pleaded guilty to all charges on the tenth day of their trial.

(Sky News) Two men who ran a people-smuggling operation from a car wash have pleaded guilty. Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 40, had previously denied the charges of assisting a breach or attempted breach of immigration laws. But on Friday, on […]

Law Enforcement

Serving police officer arrested in Gloucester on suspicion of supporting Hamas A constable in his 30s was arrested. Specialist officers are carrying out searches as part of the investigation.

(Sky News) A serving Gloucestershire police officer has been arrested on suspicion of a terrorism offence. A constable in his 30s was arrested by counter-terror police on Tuesday in Gloucester under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of providing support for a proscribed […]

Government & Politics

Judges block Albania model again and order return of 7 migrants to Italy Italian judges overturned detention orders for seven migrants sent to Albania, blocking Italy's outsourcing plan for the second time. The ruling sparks further tensions between the judiciary and government.

(Euronews) A court in Rome has suspended the approval of detention orders for seven migrants who were relocated last week to a repatriation centre in Albania established by Italy. Monday’s ruling has blocked the Italian government’s efforts for the second time to […]

Government & Politics

UK’s new national security adviser called for ISIS talks at height of terrorism Jonathan Powell helped bring peace to Northern Ireland with Tony Blair and is welcomed by leadership as 'an excellent choice'

(National-UAE) Britain’s new national security adviser argued that the West should negotiate with ISIS extremists to bring peace to the Middle East. Jonathan Powell, who was former prime minister Tony Blair’s chief of staff, was a leading player in bringing a peace […]

Citizenship

Antisemites should be deported from Sweden, refused citizenship, says MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe argued for a similar policy to Germany's Saxony-Anhalt, where citizens must recognize Israel to obtain citizenship.

(Jerusalem Post) People who incite violence against Jews must be prosecuted or deported from Sweden without pardon, Swedish politician and MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe argued. Writing in a blog post on her Substack this weekend, Teodorescu said that any Swedish citizen who […]

Government & Politics

Macron, hard-line interior minister agree to disagree on immigration crackdown after first meeting The meeting was described as an opportunity to share perspectives — without the goal of reaching an agreement.

(Politico) When Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau headed over to the Elysée palace to meet President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, he wasn’t looking for commonality. He went to stand his ground. Macron and Retailleau spoke face to face for the first [time] since […]

Academics & Education

Who is Samidoun’s Charlotte Kates, the face of Canada’s newest terrorist entity? Kates made headlines in the spring after Vancouver police arrested her for praising the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel as 'heroic and brave'

(National Post) It was September 2000, and Charlotte Kates was in college when violence erupted in the West Bank and Gaza. It was the beginning of what would become known as the second intifada — a violent uprising whose Arabic name means […]

Government & Politics

France’s interior minister says he ‘does not rule out’ banning the Muslim Brotherhood Right-winger Bruno Retailleau, appointed in September, also advocates for a new criminal offence to fight 'insidious' political Islam in the country

(Middle East Eye) The new French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has declared that he is not ruling out classifying the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist” group and banning it, while advocating for the establishment of a new criminal offence to fight political […]

Government & Politics

The EU wants to deport migrants. It needs the help of Syria’s Assad Syria is the elephant in the room as EU leaders talk migration.

(Politico) Some European Union countries, led by Italy, are pushing to normalize ties with Syria in order to facilitate deportations of migrants as mainstream leaders look to replicate anti-immigrant far-right parties’ surging popularity across the continent. “It is necessary to review the […]