Schools in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt have barred pupils from undertaking work placements with the regional parliamentary group of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), triggering a row over political neutrality in education.
The restrictions apply to the annual “Girls’ and Boys’ Day” (also known as Zukunftstag), a nationwide initiative that allows students to gain short-term work experience in businesses, public institutions, and political offices.
The Turkish Association in Germany has accused the government of promoting a “racist” interpretation of crime statistics.
The criticism follows the release of the latest police crime figures, which show a mixed trend. While overall recorded crime fell by 5.6% in 2025 to around 5.5 million cases—largely due to changes in drug laws—serious offences increased. Murder and manslaughter rose by 6.5%, while rape and other serious sexual offences climbed by 8.5%. Knife-related incidents also remained high, with around 29,000 cases recorded, averaging roughly 80 per day.
The official crime statistics for Germany have now been released for 2025, and they show a continued “upward trend” in the proportion of non-German suspects, particularly in serious and violent crime categories like murder, rape, and robbery.
The Reservist Association of the German Armed Forces has called for the government to raise the age limit for army reservists from 65 to 70 years.
As Bastian Ernst, the association’s new president, told news agency RND today, this was necessary to counter the army’s manpower shortage problem:
“We should raise the age limit for reservists from 65 to 70. In our view, this makes sense in many respects. After all, the retirement age is rising in other areas too.
Germany’s declining establishment parties are again undermining the very institutions they pretend to defend in order to limit the capabilities of the rising Alternative for Germany (AfD).
In Rhineland-Palatinate, in the southwest of the country, where the populist party recently secured a record election result, the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens are teaming up to alter the constitution. They want to change the rules for parliamentary inquiry committees so as to block the AfD from convening investigative committees of their own.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Berlin will limit the number of Ukrainian men seeking asylum and facilitate their return home.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, April 14, Merz said Berlin would work closely with Kyiv on the issue.
“We will work closely [with Ukraine] on issues related to Ukrainian citizens who have sought asylum in our country and facilitate their return home,” he said.
Someone has to answer WTF is going on in Ukraine.
Remember when you, a conservative-leaning, patriotic European, were ridiculed and laughed at for fearing that the game was being rigged, that the Left was coming after you, and that the days in which political institutions at least tried to simulate ideological neutrality were gone? Remember being portrayed by the press as a tin foil hat-wearing simpleton for fearing that Chat Control wasn’t actually—or, at least, not primarily—about destroying the horror of child sexual abuse, but, rather, about social, ideological, and therefore political control? Do you recall being painted as a silly conspiracy theorist for doubting that Marine Le Pen’s judicial prohibition from running for the presidency was really just the impartial courts doing their work? Well, the crumbling German government is tired of keeping up appearances: if it has its way, as in all likelihood it will, right-wing critics of the establishment will soon find it difficult to buy a house or any other form of real estate, for that matter. This will be done, they say, in the name of liberty and democracy.
German YouTubers Niko and Tino are currently under investigation by German authorities after they posted a video criticizing Islam.
If convicted, they will face up to THREE YEARS in prison.
WTF is going on in Germany??? pic.twitter.com/fqw3HbE1LV
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 13, 2026
Germany’s latest police crime statistics (PKS) have reignited the migration debate, with new data showing a stark overrepresentation of foreign nationals in violent offences.
According to the figures, non-German suspects—particularly from Syria and Afghanistan—feature disproportionately in serious crimes. While foreign nationals account for around 15% of the population, their share of violent crime suspects is significantly higher.
German right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) wants to see the Nord Stream gas pipeline back online and also proposes reactivating nuclear power.
That is the content of a position paper presented by the party’s parliamentary group, according to Welt. The proposal, seen by AFP, states:
We will further diversify the supply of gas and oil in Germany’s interest, avoid new import dependencies, and enable the commissioning of existing supply routes such as the Nord Stream pipeline.
Violence against teachers in Germany has hit a record high, with more than three attacks reported every day last year, according to police crime statistics.
In 2024, authorities recorded 1,283 cases of intentional simple bodily harm against teachers—the highest level in at least a decade. The figures, drawn from the Police Crime Statistics (PKS), point to a sustained rise in school-related violence.
A little-noticed clause in sweeping changes to Germany’s military service policy has caused uproar after it emerged that the law requires men aged up to 45 to get permission from the armed forces before any significant stay abroad, even in peacetime.
The legislation, which went into effect on 1 January, aims to bolster the military and demands all 18-year-old men fill out a questionnaire to gauge their suitability to serve in the armed forces, but stops short of conscription.
Another week, another reminder that the German government’s rhetoric on migration rarely matches reality.
Friedrich Merz was clearly hoping to claw back some support from the anti-migration AfD when he said on Monday that he expected 80% of Syrians in Germany to return home within three years. The only problem is that the figure is disputed—and rapidly unravelling.
Is it right for American troops to still be stationed in Germany more than 80 years after the end of the Second World War? Their presence has long inflamed passions on sections of the German Left, but some on the Right are now also questioning their continued presence.
Tino Chrupalla, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) populist party, reignited this debate at the organisation’s regional conference last weekend. He was keen to remind supporters that there was more to the AfD than its anti-immigration stance. Its official programme demands the withdrawal of all remaining Allied troops from German soil. Keen to move the AfD on from being a “one-issue party”, as he put it, Chrupalla told delegates: “Let’s start implementing this with the removal of US troops from Germany.”
The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has launched an interactive online tool tracking knife attacks across Berlin, as the party seeks to make rising violent crime a central issue in the city’s election campaign.
The so-called “knife app” provides a detailed overview of incidents reported by police over the past 30 days, including an interactive map showing where attacks occurred, the number of injuries, and comparisons with official police crime statistics (PKS).
The German chancellor said up to 80% of Syrians could return within three years, citing Damascus—an account now disputed.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s claim that Syria supports large-scale returns of its nationals has been contradicted by the country’s interim president.
The German chancellor stated in Berlin, alongside Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, that around 80% of the Syrians currently living in Germany should return to Syria within three years. It was the central figure in the CDU’s new narrative: migration toughness, Syrian reconstruction ,and the recovery of political control after a decade of crisis.
