Free Republic

German public broadcaster ZDF accused Elon Musk and British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson of inciting anti-immigrant violence in Belfast following a brutal stabbing attack that triggered days of riots across Northern Ireland. A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, was charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife and making threats to kill. He entered Northern Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was granted refugee status the same year, with leave to remain until 2028, a Home Office spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek. The victim — a man in his 40s — was hospitalized with serious injuries to his eyes, face...

European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked. The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”, the authors said. It also showed that, while many Europeans felt relations with Washington would improve once Donald Trump leaves...

The leaders of Ukraine and its close European allies - the UK, France and Germany - have set out out five conditions for reaching a "just and lasting" deal to end the war with Russia. In a joint statement after talks in London, Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they would "stand firmly with Ukraine". The five conditions include a stop to the fighting, starting negotiations from the current position in the field as well as "robust" security guarantees for Ukraine. The leaders reiterated the need for the...

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived on Sunday afternoon in London for talks with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France as Europe considers taking a more active role in peace talks with Russia after more than a year of unsuccessful U.S. mediation. Ukraine and its European allies see a new opening to revive talks that have stalled as Moscow made uncompromising territorial demands and Washington shifted its focus to the war with Iran. They note that Russia’s recent battlefield setbacks and mounting economic strains could make a peace settlement more appealing to the Kremlin, a scenario that is also...

The United Nations is going broke as the U.S. and China withhold payments to the institution in a jostle for control. Washington has failed to pay billions of dollars owed to the international body and exited dozens of its programs and agencies, including the World Health Organization, to combat what President Trump describes as wasteful spending and bad policymaking. The U.S. is more than $4 billion in arrears to the U.N. China has compounded the U.N.’s liquidity crisis by slow-walking its own payments, even as Beijing declares itself the organization’s leading defender and, in a jab at the U.S., the...

As he sat in his restaurant in the Lithuanian capital, Liutauras Ceprackas, a chef, said he was one of the many Lithuanians who worry about a Russian invasion. He is not sure, he said, that his country’s 15,000-soldier army is big enough to stop one. Increasingly, he is not certain an American-led NATO would, either. That is why, three generations after Nazi Germany brutally occupied his country in World War II, Mr. Ceprackas, 51, is glad that Berlin has permanently stationed thousands of German soldiers in Lithuania. “This brigade is so strong and so well equipped that it’s like we...

It was the kind of sweeping, last-minute demand that would have torpedoed most diplomatic talks: President Donald Trump insisting this week that in exchange for him ending the war with Iran, several Arab and Muslim countries should sign on to his Abraham Accords to normalize their diplomatic relations with Israel. But there’s been almost no response from any of the countries that Trump mentioned by name — more than half of whom already have diplomatic relations with Israel — and no statement of support from an Israeli government that would reap enormous benefits from such a deal. Analysts said Trump’s...

[Translated from German] Since Thursday morning, a major police operation has been underway at Winterthur train station. Several areas and stairways around the new pedestrian and bicycle underpass are cordoned off. An eyewitness, who works across from the cordoned-off area, tells this editorial office that a man of middle age shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) around 8:30 a.m. and stabbed four men with a knife. At that very moment, a school class also passed the scene. The teacher then positioned herself protectively in front of the children. Another witness, a taxi driver, confirms that a man had been running...

Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Ukraine be granted full membership of the European Union. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, had called for the country to be given a special half-in, half-out relationship, which would mean it could participate in European summits and ministerial meetings – but not cast a vote. Mr Zelensky criticised the “associate membership” concept, branding it an “unfair” move that would leave Ukraine “voiceless”. The Ukrainian president urged the EU to commit to his country’s full entry in a letter addressed to Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of...

Austria has moved to restrict refugee family reunification through a new quota-based system as part of a broader tightening of its asylum policy. The government says the measure will align migration flows with national capacity, while rights organizations warn it risks prolonging family separations. Austria’s parliament has approved legislation introducing caps on the number of family members able to join refugees each year, marking a significant shift in the country’s migration policy. The quota system is expected to take effect from July, though officials have not yet set a fixed number, saying it will depend on Austria’s reception and integration...

Two senior Polish defense ministry officials are on their way to Washington to get more information on why the U.S. suddenly canceled the deployment of 4,000 soldiers on a planned rotation to the country. Paweł Zalewski and Cezary Tomczyk — both deputy defense ministers — will try to get details on what Zalewski called "the incident." "No one in Poland knew that the rotation of the American brigade would be suspended," Zalewski told TOK FM radio on Monday morning. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth blindsided Warsaw by halting the long-planned deployment of soldiers with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st...

Britain would be forced to accept the European Union's refugee quota if Labour rejoins the bloc. Before Brexit, the UK was allowed to opt out of the EU's asylum policy. But now, sources have indicated rejoining the union would require the acceptance of all EU "acquis communautaire" - the complete body of common rights, obligations and legal framework by which which member states abide. Post-Brexit rules enforce quotas of relocated refugees, and governments which refuse to accept them are penalised by as much as £17,500 per person. Fresh fears were raised over rejoining the EU when Labour leadership hopeful Wes...

Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, already embroiled in a row with Donald Trump over the Iran war, has said he would not advise his children to study or work in the US in the current climate. Speaking to a conference of young Catholics in Würzburg, the conservative leader, viewed by many as a transatlanticist, said he no longer saw the US as the land of opportunity. “I am a great admirer of America. At the moment my admiration is not growing,” he said during a podium discussion, citing the quickly changing “social climate” in the deeply polarised country. “I would...

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen suffered an election setback as her left-leaning bloc appeared to have fallen short of winning enough votes to form a government. It sets the stage for tough coalition talks over the coming weeks. Frederiksen had called the snap vote months earlier than expected, seeking to capitalize on popular support after standing up to Trump’s push to annex Greenland.

The United States of America is in active talks with Greenland and Denmark to expand its military presence in Greenland. US officials are seeking to open three new bases in the south of the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, as they work to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump when he threatened to seize Greenland by force. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, mentioned on Tuesday that increasing the U.S. military presence in the Arctic territory was ‌part of ongoing negotiations with Washington, as the United States’ desire to own or control the territory remains alive The...

After weeks of negotiations, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has failed to form a government... King Frederik X has now asked Liberal Party leader Troels Lund Poulsen to lead talks...Under the King's mandate, Poulsen is now expected to explore the formation of a government that excludes both the Social Democrats and the Moderates, signalling a major shift to the right in Denmark's political landscape.The move came after weeks of difficult coalition talks following Denmark's fragmented March snap election, which saw 12 parties enter parliament, with only three winning more than 10% of the vote.Although Frederiksen's Social Democrats recorded their weakest...

The European Union is moving to tighten migration controls after years of struggling to deport most migrants ordered to leave, with a top official saying the bloc is now working to "get control back" ahead of sweeping new asylum rules set to take effect in June. European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said deportations have increased and new border screening systems are identifying potential security threats, part of a broader effort to address gaps in enforcement that have drawn criticism from the United States and fueled political pressure across Europe. "Ten years ago, we didn't have a...

I spent last weekend crossing half the globe with Prime Minister Mark Carney, to spend a few hours with European leaders in Yerevan, the stunning Armenian capital, before crossing all the way back to Ottawa. Mr. Carney was the first non-European leader to be invited to a meeting of the European Political Community, a grouping that brings together the 27 European Union member states with allies and neighbors, including Britain and Turkey, as well as aspiring members such as Ukraine and Albania. This meeting happens twice a year, and it’s mostly a chance for the leaders to talk about pressing...

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) is on track to become the strongest party in an eastern ​state election in September, a poll showed on ‌Thursday, raising the prospect of the far-right party leading a regional government for the first time. The infratest dimap survey showed ​support for the AfD climbing to 41% in ​the state of Saxony Anhalt, up 2 points ⁠from the last poll, and well ahead of ​Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU at 26%. The Social ​Democrats, Merz's junior partners in the federal coalition, trailed at 7%. Although support for the AfD has long been strongest in former...

In case of any doubt about Norway’s commitment to maintain – and expand – its production of gas and oil offshore, the energy minister, Terje Aasland, has a pithy response: “We will develop, not dismantle, activity on our continental shelf.” This week, to the alarm of environmental campaigners, he announced that three gasfields off the country’s southern coast would reopen by the end of 2028 – nearly three decades after they closed – to meet a shortfall caused by the impact of the war in Ukraine and disruption to supplies from the Middle East. The decision will help keep gas...