On Thursday December 12 at 07:15 pm in Reims, a person was seen throwing a pyrotechnic object at the front of a bakery, Valeurs actuelles was told by a police source. He then entered the shop and threw other pyrotechnic objects in the direction of the people present. During his attack, he made terrorist remarks and threatened to return armed with an assault rifle to kill everyone, referring to the Israeli conflict. At 07:35 pm, the thirty-eight-year-old man, who holds Algerian citizenship and is registered in the TAJ file ( criminal record) but is unknown in the RT (‘ secret service’) registers, was arrested without incident. He was taken into police custody and only later advised of his rights.
Three men were arrested as part of a preliminary investigation carried out by the national police in Blois. They are suspected of having held positions in an illegal madrassa where violence against children had occurred. In Blois, where three men were arrested after a young girl reported being raped, there is a hail of questions and few answers. The judicial enquiry opened by the public prosecutor’s office on December 11 will have the difficult task of shedding light on a case in which sexual or other violence against minors is linked to the existence of an illegal madrassa in the northern districts of the city. At any rate, this is what emerges from the revelations of the newspaper La Nouvelle République, which France 3 was able to confirm. It all starts when a twelve-year-old girl confides everything to her mother. A complaint is filed and a preliminary investigation is launched. Investigators from the Blois police station discovered an unregistered Quranic school. According to the Nouvelle République, the children who attended it reported harassment such as ‘beatings with fists, cables or belts’, which was confirmed by a police source. Three men were arrested by the police in Blés following a high-pressure investigation.
The Blois public prosecutor’s office and the Direction départementale de la sécurité publique are currently refusing to comment on the discovery of this illegal school and possible abuse. However, the public prosecutor’s office confirmed that the three suspects were arrested and charged ‘in particular for illegally opening a private educational establishment, aiding and abetting the aforementioned offence, violence against minors under the age of 15 by a person in authority, rape of minors under the age of 15, bribery of minors under the age of 15 and failure to report a crime’. Two of the three suspects involved in the most serious offences have been remanded in custody, while the third remains under judicial supervision.
The purpose of the judicial investigation is to determine the extent of the offences reported and to identify any other victims. The Blois public prosecutor’s office also announced that the investigation has now been transferred to an investigating judge.
All police officers charged in Germany in connection with the death of knife-wielding Senegalese teenager, Mouhamed Dramé, in a police operation in August 2022 have been acquitted by the Dortmund regional court.
On Thursday, the court ruled that the 31-year-old officer who fatally shot the 16-year-old migrant was acting in self-defense and did not commit a crime.
Presiding Judge Thomas Kelm stated that the officer’s actions were justified under the circumstances. “The shooter believed he was in a self-defense situation,” the judge said.
The service group leader, initially accused of negligent homicide, was also acquitted. The court rejected the prosecution’s claim that the leader’s order to use pepper spray had provoked the tragic events. Instead, it concluded that the decision to intervene was justified to prevent the teen from harming himself or others.
The prosecutor, who had earlier sought convictions for grievous bodily harm for some officers, reversed course during the trial and called for acquittals for nearly all defendants, arguing the situation required split-second decisions that were made under duress. The public prosecutor’s office did, however, insist on a ten-month suspended sentence for the 56-year-old service group leader accused of negligent homicide — a demand thrown out by the court.
The incident unfolded on Aug. 8, 2022, when police responded to reports of a young man armed with a knife on church property. Mouhamed D., a refugee from Senegal, allegedly threatened to stab himself when officers arrived. Attempts to de-escalate the situation through dialogue failed, leading the service group leader to order the use of pepper spray. However, instead of disarming, the migrant teen reportedly ran toward officers with the knife. Tasers were deployed but failed to stop him, prompting one officer to fire six shots with a submachine gun. The teenager was pronounced dead shortly after.
The case ignited significant public and political debate. In the courtroom, chants of “Justice for Mohamed” and “That was murder!” erupted after the verdict was announced. Outside the court, the decision was met with condemnation from various left-wing groups and individuals.
Bundestag member Martina Renner of the Left Party described the ruling as a “scandal judgment” on social media. The verdict also drew criticism from local politicians, with members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens questioning the proportionality of the police response.
“In view of the great numerical superiority, was there really no other and milder way to avert the danger?” asked SPD lawmakers from Dortmund in a joint statement. Green Party representatives expressed their shock and offered condolences, highlighting broader concerns about racism and trust between police and migrant communities.
Danish Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal (Venstre) Party, Troels Lund Poulsen, has announced plans to review “non-Western immigrant” access to early retirement pensions.
Poulsen, citing disparities in the number of recipients from immigrant backgrounds compared to native Danes, said he wanted to reform Denmark’s disability pension system, which grants access to early retirement.
His comments made during an interview with Danish newspaper Berlingske on December 11, followed the release of a study by the Danish Employers’ Association. That revealed an over-representation of disability pension recipients among immigrants from non-Western countries.
The study published on November 19 found that while only 6.6 per cent of Danes received a disability pension, the figure increased more than 29 per cent for Iraqi immigrants.
Among those aged 50-67, two-thirds of Iraqis in Denmark get a pension compared to just 11 per cent of Danes. High numbers were also recorded for immigrants from Lebanon, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
“These numbers are striking,” Poulsen said, emphasising the need for uniform standards.
“We cannot have one set of rules for immigrants and another for Danes.”
He added that the findings likely indicated what he called a “a tendency to approve disability pensions on softer grounds” for certain immigrant groups.
On December 12, Poulsen, said that “immigrants on disability pension must be checked for work capacity”.
“We will do something about this politically – because it is both a human catastrophe and a declaration of bankruptcy for the entire system. If you can work, then you should work.
“We cannot live with the fact that, for example, two out of three Iraqis over the age of 50 receive a disability pension. It is a failure over many years, where we have been too generous with [to whom] we give disability pension”.
The Early Retirement Pension scheme in Denmark was designed to support those with significant and permanent work incapacity due to physical, mental, or social challenges and aims to provide a safety net for those unable to sustain employment.
Poulsen argued that the system may be disproportionately lenient towards non-Western immigrants, undermining its fairness and integrity.
The Liberal Party has previously voiced concerns about welfare dependency among immigrant communities.
In a July 19 press release, it warned of major challenges caused by too many people on public welfare in vulnerable residential areas.
“These are parallel societies where children grow up without role models who go to work and whom they can look up to,” it said.
The party said it wanted to “reassess the cases in these areas in which early retirement has been granted”.
A Canadian man currently on trial for the brutal murders of his wife and two young sons has blamed the mother of his children for the slayings. Mohamad Al Ballouz, 38, has been charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Synthia Bussières, and the first-degree murders of their two sons, Eliam and Zac, aged just 5 and 2 years old. Al Ballouz, who recently adopted the feminine name Levana and has been referred to as a “woman” by Canadian press, argued in court that his now-deceased wife Synthia Bussières was responsible for the murders.
On September 24, 2022, firefighters attended Al Ballouz’s 12th floor condo in Brossard, Quebec, in response to an apparent house fire. Inside, they found Al Ballouz lying in bed between the two children, and a small bonfire of household items had been lit next to the mattress. Bussières was discovered riddled with stab wounds in the bathroom.
All four were rushed to the hospital, but Bussières and her children were declared dead shortly after. Al Ballouz, who was also injured, had reportedly consumed windshield wiper liquid in an apparent suicide attempt, but he was placed under arrest after being treated. Al Ballouz has no previous criminal history.
CANADA: A man currently standing trial on charges of murdering his wife and two young children has begun identifying as transgender and wearing a wig to court.
Mohamad Al Ballouz is now being referred to as a "woman" by Canadian media outlets.https://t.co/e47z44Nh87
Representing himself after firing all of his lawyers, Al Ballouz delivered his closing arguments at the Longueuil courthouse in Québec on Wednesday. In his statement to the court, he alleged that Bussières tried to kill him after murdering the children, despite the multiple stab wounds Bussières had suffered. The accused claimed that the boys’ mother had rearranged items in their home to make it look like Al Ballouz had attacked her.
Referring to the panel as “charming members of the jury,” Al Ballouz argued that because expert witnesses were unable to identify with certainty which victim was killed first, it was therefore the case that Bussières had murdered the toddlers before self-inflicting the 23 “superficial” stab wounds which led to her death.
However, according to the prosecution, Al Ballouz stabbed Bussières repeatedly before suffocating the two boys with a pillow. Expert witness Maria Fiorello, a crime scene expert with 20 years of experience, testified that traces of Al Ballouz’s blood were found in many parts of the family’s condominium.
Crime scene photos shown to the jury depicted Al Ballouz’s blood around the apartment, and bags filled with Bussières’ personal items, some of which had been set on fire.
The accused killer’s blood was identified on the walls of the children’s bedroom, inside the shower, on the handle of the front door, on the handle of a mop, and on a box of garbage bags.
“The mop was still wet, so it appears it was used to clean up blood,” Fiorello said. She further explained that in her expert opinion, the location of Al Ballouz’s blood stains indicated he had been attempting to clean up the crime scene. Not only was the mop bloody, but the accused’s blood was on the washing machine, and he had changed his clothes.
The timeline presented during deliberations suggests that Al Ballouz stabbed Bussières before killing the two boys.
At approximately 8:26 p.m. that evening, Al Ballouz had left the family condominium in his car. Ten minutes later, he returned to the building carrying a case of beer. In security footage, Al Ballouz can be seen to have looked directly into the camera while winking – the first time that Al Ballouz had made such a gesture.
A neighbor told the court that screams could be heard a few minutes later, at about 8:30 p.m. “I suggest to you that Synthia Bussières was defenseless, near the bath, while the accused stabbed her in the face, neck and hands. Not a single stab wound. Not two. Twenty-three wounds, including 11 defensive wounds,” stated the presiding Judge Lamoureux.
According to the Crown prosecution, Al Ballouz suffocated his two sons shortly after. Once his children were dead, Al Ballouz detached the apartment’s smoke detectors, then started a fire at the foot of the bed. He drank windshield wiper fluid and lay down between his sons in bed.
Al Ballouz’s trial began on November 11, but during the proceedings it was learned that he now identifies as a “woman” named Levana Ballouz. During his hearings, he appeared in court wearing a blonde, curly wig and nail polish. He is reportedly representing himself after firing his two criminal defense lawyers, both of whom were considered to be among the best in Quebec.
Court illustration of accused killer Mohamad Al Ballouz, who is now claiming to be a transgender woman.
According to CBC, the prosecution had to “warn” the jury that several witnesses would refer to Al Ballouz as a man to preempt any concerns about “disrespect.” Prior to the start of the trial, no previous news coverage had documented that Al Ballouz was expressing a change in his self-perceived “gender identity,” suggesting his claim of being transgender was extremely recent.
Canadian media outlets are respecting Al Ballouz’ new identity, with multiple articles covering the trial referring to Al Ballouz as a “woman” or by using feminine pronouns.
While the trial is expected to last at least 10 more weeks, if Al Ballouz is found guilty and criminally responsible, he would be entitled to request housing in a women’s prison.
Italy’s Jews expressed indignation on Friday after the USB trade union said the nation’s alleged support for the “genocidal Israeli government” was among its reasons for calling a 24-hour local public transport strike. “Dismay and astonishment – there are no other words to describe what we feel when we read the reasons for the strike,” said Victor Fadlun, the president of the Jewish Community of Rome. “Unfortunately, we are faced with a rise of hatred towards Israel that disregards any reasonable context, and which can have no other explanation than the urge to express… an anti-Semitism that has always smouldered and has never been weakened. “Our task is not to remain silent, but to denounce this – always and in any situation”. Noemi Di Segni, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, echoed those sentiments. “While as citizens we understand the reasons for a strike, with all the inconvenience, as citizens of this country we reiterate that a strike is not a platform from which to proclaim slogans of hatred and distortion,” said Di Segni.
On today’s #NCFDeprogrammed, hosts Harrison Pitt & Connor Tomlinson are joined by stand up comedian and GB News presenter Nick Dixon to discuss the future of the right in the current political landscape.
Marine Le Pen’s populists pulled the plug on French President Emmanuel Macron’s precarious attempt at governing last week and appear to have enjoyed a bump in their polling since.
Polling for French broadsheet newspaper Le Figaro and Sud Radio finds Marine Le Pen has lengthened her lead over all other competitors for the French Presidential elections. Recent drama over the collapse of the French government and even Le Pen’s corruption court case has failed to put a dent in her rising popularity, it found.
While the next vote is not required by law until Spring 2027, France is lurching from one crisis to the next and appears to be entering into a defacto state of constitutional crisis, and whether incumbent President Macron will go his full term is a matter of intense discussion domestically.
The new government Macron formed to perform the day-to-day running of the state beneath him earlier this year collapsed last week after just three months in power, a record for modern French history. The centrist-led government had been propped up by Marine Le Pen’s pro-border control faction but apparently got too cocky, reckoning she wouldn’t risk a gamble on her own poll ratings by being seen to be the one to bring it down, but in the end a tax-hiking budget was too much and she pulled the pin.
Yet the idea the French public would blame Le Pen for Emmanuel Macron’s inability to win votes or form a stable government appears to have been in error. Earlier polling has already shown the public overwhelmingly blames President Macron, and even the outgoing Prime Minister he’d picked to try and carry the matter seems to have got off scott-free and blameless in the eyes of the public.
Le Figarofinds compared to the last time the poll was run in September, Le Pen has risen by two or three points in the wake of the drama in Paris, putting her 11 points clear of the next-closest competitor to be the next President of France. The paper noted this was “Despite the vote of the motion of censure” — revealing again this underlying assumption in France that collapsing Emmanuel Macron’s government last week would damage Le Pen and her National Rally (Rassemblement National, RN) party rather than endear them further to voters.
The publication noted Le Pen “is almost at the level of François Mitterrand in 1974”, an election he won by a close margin.
Because it is not clear who the various parties would put forward as their candidate for a theoretical snap election for the office of President, French opinion polls can tend to test several different scenarios, each with a dozen or more candidates. With the anti-mass migration RN, for instance, it is conceivable that either Le Pen — who has contested and lost the past three French Presidential elections — or her rising-star deputy Jordan Bardella could do the job.
Nevertheless, the Le Figaro polling shows there is no combination of leaders from any party that could step RN from coming first place in this election. In her best-case scenario Le Pen takes 38 points against Gabriel Attal’s 20, who would stand in Emmanuel Macron’s place because of the two-term limit. Le Pen would also win against centrist-right former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe with an 11-point-lead.
Yet none of this would guarantee a Le Pen in the Elysée Palace. France has a two-stage election process, with many candidates entering the first round and most lowest-scoring eliminated before a second round of the strongest performers. It’s a system designed to keep out outsiders — as the second round allows tactical coalitions of all legacy French parties against one undesirable newcomer — and which can create extremely disproportionate results.
The perfect illustration of this system working as intended was this year’s snap national election, called by Macron to buttress his own power but which spectacularly backfired, which saw Le Pen’s RN come first place in the number of votes cast, yet third place in actual number of seats won. This could apply to the Presidential election too, but was last actually achieved in the 1990s.
Yet for now, the questions over whether Marine Le Pen being taken to court over European Union embezzlement allegations and the weakness of French government could seriously impact her polling ratings may have been settled.
The Freie Universität Berlin (FU) has decided a travelling exhibition on anti-Jewish pogroms cannot be exhibited in the university building, fearing an “emotional reaction” from students.
According to an FU spokesperson, the university building’s foyer may not offer the right platform, according to the opinion of its executive board, news outlet Tagesspiegel reported.
The Friedrich Meinecke Institute for History had agreed to host the exhibition but was overruled by the FU’s vice president, Professor Verena Blechinger-Talcott.
The university had concerns about “intense debates” from the exhibition, the spokesperson said, adding that unsupervised exhibitions “of all kinds and on various topics that can evoke emotional reactions” often posed challenges to public order.
In October, masked individuals broke into an FU building, threatening employees with axes, saws, crowbars, and clubs.
In February 2024, a Jewish student was beaten into the hospital with broken bones in his face. The university later claimed it was legally impossible to expel the culprit.
The exhibition, called “The Vicious Circle”, is run by the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, based in the British town of Newark. It deals with the history of violent attacks on five Jewish communities, from the Nazi era to the present.
Recent lectures on anti-Semitism have also been cancelled at the University of Freiburg, with a lecture by an Israeli professor also cancelled at Leipzig University.
The presidium said it is “in no way bothered by the content or forms of presentation of the exhibition”, but argued a museum could offer a more “suitable context”, with input from experts.
The exhibition–in the form of a circle–features images of the pogroms, accompanied by anti-Semitic quotes from Adolf Hitler, Palestinian leader Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, and Hamas ideologues.
The exhibition was to explore the “psychology of pogromists.” It also discussed the “alliance between left-wing extremists and Islamists” that is allegedly spreading anti-Jewish narratives.
Also included in the display was the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. The museum wanted to show the travelling exhibition at the FU for a week in January or February 2025.
Maiken Umbach, the museum’s chief academic advisor, told the Tagesspiegel she had planned a program of “academic and public events” together with the Meinecke Institute.
Amid the Gaza war, the FU made headlines due to protests and occupations of university edifices by pro-Palestinian students.
German police raided the home of a 14-year-old boy in Bavaria after he allegedly posted the hashtag #AllesFürDeutschland, which translates in English to “Everything for Germany.” The raid happened in the early morning of St. Nicholas Day, on Dec. 6.
The police stated that the term is a symbol used by an unconstitutional organization, which violates Section 86a of the German criminal code. The story, which was first reported by Junge Freiheit, details how the teen posts from the TikTok channel “deutscher.patriot1161.” The alleged crime was committed in November, when the teen posted the hashtag #AllesFürDeutschland twice, which was used by the SA during the Nazi era.
In Germany, St. Nicholas Day typically features a Santa Claus-like figure placing chocolate and fruit inside the shoes of boys and girls, who leave the shoes out the night before. Santa Claus is actually based on the historical figure of St. Nicholas, an early Christian bishop who was known for his secret gift giving.
🇩🇪🚨German police raided the house of this pensioner, pictured with his daughter Alexandra, for calling Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck an "idiot."
Habeck personally filed the criminal complaint against Stefan Niehoff.
The search warrant describes the police raid as “proportionate and “appropriate for the seriousness of the crime” It also indicates the youth was mature enough “at the time of the crime” to understand the wrongfulness of his posts and acted “in accordance with this understanding.”
The teen in question, however, has said that he did not know the term “Everything for Germany” was banned under the German criminal code.
During the search, police searched two teenagers’ rooms, including the older brother, and they photographed various items, including personal documents, email addresses, telephone numbers, and books. A phone was also seized as a “tool used in the crime.” The brother was also questioned by police during the house search.
The two brothers have no criminal record with the police.
Junge Freiheit reported that the family is considering legal action.
The phrase most notably came to public attention during the trial of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) chairman of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, who was sentenced with a fine for using the same phrase during an AfD event. Notably, Höcke is decades older than the teen in this case.
Police are increasingly raiding homes in Germany over insults directed at politicians and speech violations
Currently, Germany’s left is looking to increase penalties and empower prosecutors to go after those who insult politicians.
