Free Republic

The German government handed out a record number of citizenships to immigrants last year, rising to nearly a quarter of a million passports, with Syrian and Turkish nationals representing the largest cohorts. According to data collected by 13 of 16 federal states in Germany and provided to the Welt Am Sonntag newspaper, 249,901 foreigners were granted citizenship in 2024, the highest number since records began in 2000. This number surpassed the previous record set in 2023, when 200,095 people were awarded citizenship. Last year’s record naturalisation number is likely much higher, given that the states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and...

The democratic will of the Hungarian people to clamp down on the proliferation of LGBTQ+ ideology should be punished by the European Commission, a group of 16 EU countries demanded on Wednesday. In response to recent legislation passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s conservative government to ban Pride parades in Hungary, over half of fellow European Union member states signed an open letter demanding that Budapest reverse course or face punishment from Brussels. The “declaration” was signed by the countries of Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden. […]...

Germany, the economic heart of Europe — the supposed gold standard of order, stability, and industrial might — is unravelling in full view. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s not nationalist hysteria. It’s a fact, carved into the skin of innocent commuters, children, and schoolteachers. What once stood as the engine of Europe is now a cautionary tale in slow-motion collapse. A nation once known for precision, discipline, and security now radiates something closer to fatigue and fear. The cracks aren’t subtle anymore, they’re gaping, and they run through every level of German society. Hamburg, one of the most vital arteries in...

Israel News Pulse @israelnewspulse Hamas Kill 5 Gazan Civilians Who Stormed Aid Warehouse in Gaza. Earlier today, hundreds of Gaza residents broke into a large warehouse in central Gaza, used by Hamas to stockpile vast amounts of food, including sacks of flour. The warehouse had been storing supplies that had not been distributed to civilians for months. In response, Hamas opened fire on the civilians, killing five of them on the spot. IDF Arabic Spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee released footage of the incident and harshly condemned Hamas: “For months, Hamas tried to spread the lie of famine, only to...

Parties opposed to the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) continue to block it from exercising its rights—all in the name of stopping “fascism.”Germany’s self-proclaimed democracy defenders are at it again: blocking a law-abiding party from exercising its rights—all in the name of protecting democracy. The Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), a pro-free market, anti-EU, anti-mass migration party, placed second in Germany’s recent parliamentary elections, earning nearly 21 percent of the vote to the top vote-getter’s, the Christian Democratic Union’s, 28 percent. The AfD placed well ahead of the once-dominant Social Democratic Party (16 percent) and the Greens (11 percent).By longstanding tradition, the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will leave Berlin with a new €5 billion ($5.7bn) arms package as he seeks to build his country’s arsenal, and its ability to produce weapons at home. The standout agreement in the package announced in the German capital on Wednesday centers around Germany financing the joint production of long-range missiles inside Ukraine that would enable Kyiv to strike targets deep into Russia. One significant aspect was missing. There had been big expectations prior to the news conference that Merz would announce the transfer or approval of Ukraine’s use of Germany’s highly sophisticated long-range Taurus missiles. Merz...

New statistics out of Germany reveal that foreign-born women, but specifically foreign-born Muslim women, are far more violent than native German men. The Remix News staff, which reported on the story, quipped that the revelation “blows up a common myth that has been perpetuated by the left for years”—that men are so violent, a bear is preferable company. (Again, never mind the fact that men, to their own detriment, have been protecting their women for essentially all of human history.) Here are the numbers for 2024: Out of 100,000 people, German men were suspects in violent offenses in 272 cases....

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) seems to be vulnerable in his home state of South Carolina’s Republican primary, a Lynch for Senate poll commissioned with Pulse Opinion Research found. The top lines of the survey spell bad news for Graham, as 57 percent of Republican primary voters in his state “would not vote for Lindsey Graham if the election were held today,” according to the press release. The poll found that likely voters in South Carolina are “dissatisfied with Lindsey Graham and are just as likely to vote for a more conservative, America First candidate.”

The developments come after a whirlwind weekend of diplomacy from Trump where he told reporters on Saturday that he was 'absolutely' considering imposing new sanctions on Russia. The next day, Trump launched into a blistering attack on Putin where he said the Russian leader has gone 'absolutely crazy.' Trump condemned the Russians for escalating their strikes on Ukraine while negotiations were ongoing, which he said was resulting in the 'needless killing of a lot of people.' In a chilling warning about the future of the former Soviet nation if the bloodshed continues, Trump said Putin's war 'will lead to the...

The German chancellor’s drive to keep a campaign pledge of more robust backing for Ukraine is running into blocks within his own government as he prepares to welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Berlin.Friedrich Merz made a full-throated declaration on Monday, hours before Zelenskyy’s one-day visit was announced, that Germany was for the first time lifting previous range restrictions on weapons supplied to Kyiv, along with Ukraine’s other main western supporters.His statement – in an interview with a public broadcaster, which his team later posted to social media – was widely interpreted as a pivot toward bolstering Berlin’s aid to Kyiv at...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday said he has "no illusions" over a quick end to Russia's war in Ukraine."We may have to prepare for a longer duration," Merz said after talks with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in the south-western Finnish city of Turku.Throughout history, conflicts have usually ended when one or both sides have reached exhaustion, either militarily or economically, said Merz."We are obviously still a long way from that in this war," he argued.The German chancellor, who took office earlier this month, insisted that support for Ukraine would continue. The war is not just about Ukraine's territorial...

Germany's chancellor said Monday that his government will lift all range restrictions on weapons it sends to Ukraine, meaning that all of Kyiv's major western allies have now relaxed red lines on the use of their weapons inside Russia to fight Moscow's offensive. The decision from Chancellor Friedrich Merz comes as Europe seeks to bolster Kyiv’s war efforts amid uncertainty over U.S. security guarantees even as President Donald Trump appears to be losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin, for stalling peace talks and his bombardment of Ukraine's cities. “There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to...

There seems to have been a full-scale war mob attack there, including an attempt to get to the U.S. Embassy, but no one outside of social media is covering it. We’re all familiar with the old philosophical question asking, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” In other words, do things actually happen if we don’t notice them? For infants, they don’t, which is why peek-a-boo is such a fun game. If they don’t see you, you’re gone, making your visual return magical. But does the same...

Merz will tell Netanyahu "not to overdo it" in a call this week, though notes Germany will remain more guarded in its criticism than others for 'historical reasons'. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Israel's recent attacks on Gaza are taking a humanitarian toll on civilians that can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism. "Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has incresingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism," he told broadcaster WDR in a televised interview...

Nine EU states are targeting the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights in a wider bid to deport unwanted migrants. A letter spearheaded by Denmark, which is set to take over the rotating EU presidency from July, is demanding more leeway on deporting people who have committed crimes. Published on Thursday (22 May), the letter was signed by leaders of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, and Poland. It faults the court for placing rights restrictions on deportations of "criminal foreign nationals". They are also unhappy on how the court interprets the European Convention on Human Rights,...

Germany may reinstate compulsory military service if a revamped volunteer system fails to meet recruitment goals, the defense minister said in comments published Saturday. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Boris Pistorius laid out a timeline for Germany’s new military service model, which aims to bolster the understrength army. The initial program will rely on voluntary enlistment, but Pistorius warned that could change. "If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then a decision may be made to make recruitment mandatory. That is the roadmap," he said. He said the government of Chancellor...

BREAKING: 3 people have life-threatening injuries after a mass-stabbing at the central train station in Hamburg. 12 people were stabbed.

The European Union has stepped in to provide Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty an infusion of millions of dollars to keep functioning as the international broadcaster battles the Trump administration to release funds Congress has already designated for it. "We are grateful for the emergency funding to help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty afloat," the network's president, Steve Capus, said in a statement from Brussels, where he has been meeting with European officials. "Radio Liberty's survival remains at risk as long as these funds are withheld," Capus said, referring to $75 million held back by the Trump administration. Radio Free Europe...

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The U.K., France and Canada on Monday threatened “concrete actions” against Israel, including sanctions, for its activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, calling on Israel to stop “egregious” new military actions in Gaza and immediately allow in humanitarian aid.The sharply worded statement came shortly after Israel and the United Nations said the first few trucks of aid had entered Gaza after nearly three months of an Israeli blockade, as Israel acknowledged pressure from allies.The joint statement called Israel’s decision to allow a “minimal” amount of aid into Gaza “wholly inadequate.” There was no...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening issued a statement responding to the UK, Canada and France’s ultimatum to Israel to end the war in Gaza or face sanctions. “By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” he said. “The war began on October 7 when Palestinian terrorists stormed our borders, murdered 1,200 innocent people and abducted...