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

Security questions over Christmas market attack in Magdeburg The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg has raised questions about public safety and intelligence gaps in Germany. Police have described the suspect as 'atypical,' while experts have also blamed social media.

(Deutsche Welle) German security forces faced a series of difficult questions at Saturday’s press conference in Magdeburg. Friday night’s attack, in which Talib A.*, a 50-year-old Saudi man, rammed a car into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in the Saxony-Anhalt […]

Holidays

Pretrial detention for Magdeburg Christmas market suspect A court in Magdeburg has approved a pretrial detention warrant for the suspect in Friday's Christmas market attack. The 50-year-old faces five homicide charges, among other counts.

(Deutsche Welle) Magdeburg police said in the early hours of Sunday that the suspect in the Christmas market car attack in the city on Friday night had been issued a warrant for pretrial detention. Magdeburg’s district court approved an appeal from the […]

Demonstrations

AfD party calls for major rally after Germany’s Christmas market attack Leading right-wing figures in Europe have also weighed in, criticising the German authorities for failing to take stronger preventative action.

(Euronews) German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is calling for a major rally following the attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg which left several people dead and hundreds injured. At a memorial site for the victims, AfD co-leader Tino […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

‘Insane’ Magdeburg Christmas market attack turns up heat on Germany’s politicians Reports that suspect was a refugee from Saudi Arabia who hated Muslims raise complicated questions during German election campaign.

(Politico) The German government is reeling from an attack on a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that saw at least five people killed when a car apparently driven by an “Islamophobic” Saudi Arabian refugee plowed into Friday evening crowds. With […]

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 […]

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 […]

Holidays

German police foil planned Islamist terror attack on Augsburg Christmas market The suspect, an asylum seeker, was arrested after surveillance revealed suspicious online activity

(European Conservative) A 37-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker has been arrested in Augsburg, Germany, for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on the city’s popular Christmas market, local police confirmed. Authorities acted after discovering evidence that the suspect, named as Ali Al-G, had scouted […]

Children & Teens

Germany: Muslim seminar to prepare 13-year-old girls for marriage sparks backlash The right-wing AfD says 'Girls’ Evenings in the Mosque' is clear proof that migration and integration policies have failed.

(European Conservative) An invitation by a mosque in Germany for girls as young as thirteen to take part in a “preparatory marriage course” has sparked a huge backlash, with centre-right and right-wing parties demanding an explanation. The invitation was sent out by […]

Government & Politics

Germany’s Faeser calls for ‘vigilance’ at Christmas markets German security authorities said that while there were no indications of a 'concrete' threat, the country's popular Christmas markets could be a target for Islamist terrorist groups.

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday called for “great vigilance” at Germany’s popular Christmas markets. However, she stressed that there was no “concrete” evidence of a threat. What did Faeser say about the threat to Christmas markets? Faeser said […]

Crime

Berlin police chief warns Jews and LGBTQ+ to exercise caution in certain areas 'There are areas where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly homosexual or lesbians to be more attentive,' says Barbara Slowik.

(Jerusalem Post) Berlin Police Chief Barbara Slowik has issued a warning to Jews and LGBTQ+ individuals to exercise caution in certain areas of the German capital amid rising antisemitism and hate crimes. Speaking to the press, Slowik emphasized the need for vigilance […]

Demonstrations

German trial opens over alleged Islamist Sweden attack plot Two men with Afghan citizenship are accused of plotting an attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. They hatched the plot amid uproar in parts of the Muslim world over two protests involving Quran burning.

(Deutsche Welle) A trial opens in Jena in the eastern German state of Thuringia on Friday against two men with Afghan citizenship accused of plotting a terrorist attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. What are the pair accused of?  One of the […]

Government & Politics

German MPs to name Muslim Jew-hatred as antisemitism vector Coalition and opposition lawmakers agree to pass a text that acknowledges a politically inconvenient reality.

(JNS) Germany’s coalition parties and the main opposition faction agreed on Saturday to pass a Bundestag resolution on antisemitism that for the first time will see the legislature name Muslim immigration as a driver of the problem. The draft resolution, which will […]