Far-right extremist, 65, received life terms for shootings of immigrants and a Holocaust survivor in the 1990s
Germany has extradited to Sweden John Ausonius, the convicted killer known as the “the laser man” for using a precision-scope rifle to target immigrants.
“He was extradited on Thursday,” said Frankfurt state prosecutor Nadja Niesen.
Continue reading...Group of historians and writers publish manifesto warning against rise of populism
Liberal values in Europe face a challenge “not seen since the 1930s”, leading intellectuals from 21 countries have said, as the UK lurches towards Brexit and nationalists look set to make sweeping gains in EU parliamentary elections.
The group of 30 writers, historians and Nobel laureates declared in a manifesto published in several newspapers, including the Guardian, that Europe as an idea was “coming apart before our eyes”.
Continue reading...Macron and Merkel sign update to 1963 Élysée treaty in effort to mitigate populist party gains
France and Germany have renewed their vows of postwar friendship, aiming to show that the traditional engine powering the EU project is still strong but drawing fierce criticism from the nationalist and populist parties advancing across the continent.
President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel signed the 16-page update to the 1963 Elysée treaty on Tuesday in the German border city of Aachen, residence of Charlemagne, the “father of Europe” who managed to unite much of western the continent in the ninth century.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s Brexit speech
Here is Tom Brake, the Lib Dem Brexit spokesman, on Boris Johnson’s speech.
No one will take lessons from Boris Johnson on eroding trust in our democracy. The fact he is still peddling mistruths about money from Brexit going to our NHS is shameful. Brexit will make us poorer.
As exit day approaches, with Theresa May’s deal soundly defeated, extending Article 50 is the only responsible course of action left.
And here are some more examples of Boris Johnson raising Turkey as a leave campaign issue in 2016.
I am very pro-Turkish but what I certainly can’t imagine is a situation in which 77million of my fellow Turks and those of Turkish origin can come here without any checks at all. That is mad - that won’t work.
Here's Boris during a HuffPost/Tele referendum debate suggesting British public should be given referendum on any Turkish membership of the EU. And that he is 'all in favour' of Turkey joining the EU as long as the UK 'comes out'. (1hr 12mins)https://t.co/jBMWY530mw
Continue reading...Mohamed Joune’s killing may be related to his Syrian political activities, say friends
A Syrian activist has died after a brutal attack in Hamburg, raising questions over whether he was targeted for political reasons.
Mohamed Joune, 48, collapsed on the street on Tuesday night after stumbling out of a building. He was bleeding from a severe head wound but still conscious when paramedics rushed him to hospital. He later died from his injuries.
Continue reading...Far-right nationalists decide for first time to seek ‘Dexit’ if bloc does not meet demands
The German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has voted to campaign for the country’s exit from the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met.
The decision on Sunday marks the first time any party has called for “Dexit” – a German departure from the EU in the mould of Brexit.
Continue reading...Heavy snowfall has caused chaos in Germany and Austria, as both countries remain on high alert. Several people have died in weather-related incidents. Troops have been deployed to help residents and helicopters are clearing snow from trees to stop it from falling on cars.
Continue reading...Alpine regions remain on high alert after 12 people are killed in weather-related incidents
Parts of Germany and Austria remain on high alert after extreme snow in Alpine regions, where 12 people have died in weather-related incidents.
A nine-year-old German boy was the latest victim of the extreme weather, which has resulted in residents becoming snowed-in and motorists trapped for hours in freezing temperatures.
Continue reading...AfD politician quits to set up party that uses symbol of 1930s Austrian Nazis in logo
A German politician has left the far-right Alternative for Germany to set up a new party with a logo that uses a symbol adopted as a secret sign by Austrian Nazis in the 1930s.
André Poggenburg resigned from his post as the AfD’s regional leader in eastern Saxony-Anhalt state last year after labelling Turks as “camel drivers” and immigrants with dual nationality a “homeless mob we no longer want”. He announced his resignation from the party in an email sent to the leadership earlier this week.
Continue reading...All the day’s economic and financial news, as Germany’s factories suffer a 4.7% annual drop in output
Trade Optimism Trumped Weak European Economic Sentiment today, says Fiona Cincotta of City Index.
She explains
Global markets bounced higher on Tuesday as optimism grows over a US – Sino trade deal. A strong Asian session spilled into Europe, although markets pared gains as Wall Street opened owing to increasing tech concerns.
US and China extending trade talks for another day has been interpreted as a positive sign by the markets. Whilst no reason was given for the extension, Trump’s tweet that the talks “were going very well” was sufficient to lift sentiment boosting appetite for riskier assets such as stocks, whilst safe haven gold declined.
With US and China working to resolve their issues, the Fed promising to remain flexible and the US economy firing on all cylinders it is easy to see why sentiment is on the up. Obviously, this is not the end of US – China trade tensions by a long shot, ad there will almost certainly be further bumps and twists along the way but for now the markets are happy with the slow steady progress which it perceives has been achieved.
This comes hot on heels of downbeat German factory orders, which dropped by -4.3% in November. These are the latest signs that the eurozone economy is slowing, as trade tensions sap momentum for the powerhouse of Europe.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index of top shares has closed 50 points higher at 6861 points, a gain of 0.75% today.
Optimism that Beijing and Washington are making progress in their trade negotiations lured investors into buying shares, following the recent sell off.
FTSE 100: The percentage of traders net-long is now its lowest since Sep 19 when FTSE 100 traded near 7343.4. https://t.co/8uGQ7iiKO5 pic.twitter.com/mR1klOf9uC
Continue reading...Man, 20, driven by ‘annoyance’ at statements made by politicians and celebrities
A 20-year-old man has admitted to police that he was behind one of the country’s biggest data breaches, in which the private details of almost 1,000 public figures were leaked.
The man, who lives with his parents in the central German state of Hesse and is still in the education system, told police he had acted alone and was not politically motivated.
Continue reading...Huge cache of documents published daily in December but came to light only on Thursday
Sensitive data belonging to hundreds of German politicians, celebrities and public figures has been published online via a Twitter account in what is thought to be one of the largest leaks in the country’s history.
The huge cache of documents includes personal phone numbers and addresses, internal party documents, credit card details and private chats.
Continue reading...Many traditional parties are trying to co-opt the agenda of the radical right in order to defeat them. But various elections in 2018 reveal the limits of that approach
After the Dutch parliamentary elections of March 2017, the prime minister, Mark Rutte, triumphantly declared that “good populism” had defeated “bad populism”, a claim eagerly and uncritically repeated in media around the world. It confirmed received wisdom that the best way to defeat the populist radical right, is to co-opt a moderate version of their agenda, while excluding the party itself.
Few cared that Rutte’s claim rested on dubious empirical grounds: compared with the 2012 election, Rutte actually lost big (-5.2%), whereas Geert Wilder’s Party for Freedom (PVV) made gains (+3.0%) and was joined by a new far-right party, Forum for Democracy (FvD), with 1.8%, making their combined scored of 14.9%. That’s less than one percentage point lower than the PVV’s high score of 15.45% in 2010.
Continue reading...Man arrested in Bottrop over what police say appears to have been an intentional attack
A man has been arrested in Germany after driving his car into a crowd of people, injuring at least four, in what appears to have been an intentional attack directed at immigrants.
Police said the 50-year-old driver of a silver Mercedes first attempted to hit a group of pedestrians in the western city of Bottrop shortly after midnight on Tuesday, but they were able to jump out of the way.
Continue reading...Photos from London, New York, Paris, Moscow, Sydney and elsewhere as major cities ring in 2019
Continue reading...