BERLIN: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was on track on Sunday to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in Germany since World War Two, exit polls showed, but was almost certain to be excluded from power by rival parties.
The AfD was projected to win 33.5 percent of the vote in the state of Thuringia, comfortably ahead of the conservatives’ 24.5 percent, broadcaster ZDF’s exit poll showed. In the neighboring state of Saxony, the conservatives led on 32 percent, just half a percentage point ahead of the AfD.
The left populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which like the AfD demands sharper controls on immigration and wants to stop arming Ukraine, came third in both states, though significantly underperformed earlier polls.
With a year to go until Germany’s national election, the results look punishing for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, though his Social Democrats looked to have cleared the 5 percent threshold for staying in the parliaments of both states.
However his coalition partners, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats looked less secure in both parliaments, in a development that could herald yet more conflict in Scholz’s already fractious coalition government.
All parties including the BSW have pledged not to allow into coalition an AfD they regard as anti-democratic and extremist.
Far-right regional election win spells setback for Germany’s Scholz
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Far-right regional election win spells setback for Germany’s Scholz
- With a year to go until Germany’s national election, the results look punishing for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition
- However, his Social Democrats looked to have cleared the 5% threshold for staying in parliaments of both states
Scottish nationalist politician expelled by party over ‘utterly abhorrent’ Gaza remarks
- John Mason: Israel would have ‘killed 10 times as many’ people if it wanted to commit genocide
- SNP spokesperson: ‘To flippantly dismiss the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable’
LONDON: A Scottish National Party politician has been expelled for “utterly abhorrent” comments about the war in Gaza, The Guardian reported.
John Mason, the member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston, said on social media in August: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed 10 times as many.”
It came in response to a post by former SNP colleague Sandra White, who wrote: “We know what Israelis hope to achieve they are already committing genocide in Gaza.” She added that “innocent children are being massacred.”
A party spokesperson said of Mason’s remarks: “To flippantly dismiss the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable. There can be no room in the SNP for this kind of intolerance.”
Mason’s comments prompted a furious backlash from party supporters and colleagues, with former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford posting on X: “You are not fit for public office. You are an embarrassment and not fit to represent anyone.”
On Sunday, Mason said on X: “Very disappointed to be expelled from the SNP over my comments on Israel, Gaza, and whether or not there has been genocide.
“I continue to believe that we should be able to tolerate a variety of views within the party as long as we are all committed to Scottish independence.”
Mason posted on Facebook that he stood by his remarks, but that his “primary desire” for the conflict is “peace talks, negotiations, and eventually peace.”
He added: “Too many lives have already been lost in Israel, Gaza, and beyond and, as I said when I spoke in parliament, many people feel that Israel has moved from a position of self-defence to seeking revenge.
“However, I personally do not believe that Israel has tried to commit, has committed, or is committing genocide.
“They certainly have the ability to kill many more Palestinians than they have done. That is not to say that the loss of life already is not too many.”
Philippines seeks to enhance energy security with new Saudi cooperation
- Under national energy plan, Manila wants to increase renewable sources to 50 percent by 2040
- Saudi-Philippine cooperation can also explore tech, solutions related to climate change mitigation
MANILA: The Philippines wants to expand its international energy partnerships and improve energy security with a new cooperation with Saudi Arabia, its Department of Energy said on Monday ahead of an official trip to the Kingdom.
Manila has been exploring clean and sustainable options to generate power as the country regularly suffers outages and faces high tariffs. Coal remains the main source of electricity in the Southeast Asian nation, accounting for more than half of its power generation.
A Philippine energy mission was headed to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a two-day trip “aimed at enhancing energy security, driving economic growth, and fostering sustainable development,” the DoE said in a statement.
“A major highlight of the mission is the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Energy of the KSA.”
The latest mission follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s trip to Riyadh last October, during which a $4.26 billion investment agreement was signed with Saudi business leaders.
At the time, some Saudi state-owned enterprises had expressed interest in investing in the Philippine energy sector, the DoE said.
The preliminary agreement will provide “a framework for cooperation on key areas,” including renewable energy and natural gas, as well as relevant technologies and solutions related to climate change mitigation.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government aims to increase the share of renewable sources in the energy mix from 22 percent currently to 50 percent by 2040.
Philippine authorities expect the country’s power demand to increase almost fourfold from 2020 to 2040, especially as it remains dependent on imported fossil fuels and has insufficient renewables.
“Partnerships with Saudi Arabia extend beyond addressing the current energy needs,” the energy department said, adding that the two countries can explore possibilities for joint research and development projects, policy exchange, and capacity building in areas such as carbon capture, use and storage, and hydrogen.
“As global efforts to transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources intensify, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia can cooperate in the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies.”
Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police HQ
- Three assailants were killed by police
PESHAWAR: At least three policemen were killed in northwest Pakistan when Islamist militants stormed a district police headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, a police source told Reuters.
The attack on the complex, which houses both the district police headquarters and a residential complex, was ongoing, the high-ranking police source said, adding that the assailants, who included suicide bombers, had been “pinned down” in the area.
Three assailants were killed by police, he added.
The source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said three policemen were killed while resisting the assault on the Police Lines of District Bannu, which borders the restive North Waziristan tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesperson for the group said.
The roads around the complex have been closed to traffic as security forces moved to neutralize the remaining attackers, the police source added.
Bannu is about 350 kilometers from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, which is under strict security lockdown due to the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday ahead of a regional leaders’ meeting this week.
French government wants new immigration law in 2025
- The government wants to extend the detention period for undocumented migrants deemed to be dangerous in order to better enforce expulsion orders
PARIS: The French authorities want to adopt a new immigration law next year, a spokeswoman said, as the new right-wing government seeks to crack down on immigration.
“There will be a need for a new law,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told broadcaster BFMTV on Sunday.
The government’s plan to tighten immigration policies and border controls is emblematic of the rightward shift in French politics following this summer’s legislative elections that resulted in a hung parliament.
Michel Barnier’s government hopes the bill will be submitted to parliament at the beginning of 2025.
In September, a Paris student was raped and murdered in a case that has further inflamed a French debate on migration after a Moroccan was named as the suspected attacker.
The government wants to extend the detention period for undocumented migrants deemed to be dangerous in order to better enforce expulsion orders.
One of the options under consideration is to increase the maximum period of detention from 90 to 210 days, which is now only possible for terrorist offenses.
“We don’t rule out the possibility of considering other provisions,” said Bregeon, adding that there should be “no taboos when it comes to protecting the French.”
Last December, France already passed an immigration law.
The bill was hardened to gain the support of the far-right and right-wing MPs.
But the country’s highest constitutional authority censured most of the new amendments which were dropped before President Emmanuel Macron signed it into law.
The measures struck down by the Constitutional Council “will serve as a basis for the new immigration bill,” a government source told AFP. “Some of them could be modified and there will be additions.”
The most hard-line member of the government, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, has vowed to crack down on immigration. He has stirred controversy just days into the job, saying that “the rule of law is neither intangible nor sacred.”
Retailleau, who previously headed the Republicans party in the Senate, was seen as the driving force behind the tough legislation last year.
He wants to reinstate the offense of illegal residence, among other measures.
Gabriel Attal, Barnier’s predecessor and now leader in parliament of Macron’s Renaissance party, said on Monday that a new law on immigration did not seem a “total priority.”
“Adopting a law for the sake of a law makes no sense,” he told broadcaster France inter.
He said “the priority is to act so that the state can truly control who enters and leaves” France.
Ukraine says destroyed army transport plane in Russia
- Kyiv’s military intelligence agency said it had destroyed the Tu-134 transport aircraft overnight between Saturday and Sunday at a military airfield in the Orenburg region
KYIV: Kyiv said Monday its forces had destroyed a Russian military transport plane stationed at an airfield deep inside Russian territory over the weekend, the latest Ukrainian claim of an attack behind Moscow’s lines.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks inside Russian territory in recent months, targeting military sites and energy facilities, aiming to upend Russian military logistics.
Kyiv’s military intelligence agency said it had destroyed the Tu-134 transport aircraft overnight between Saturday and Sunday at a military airfield in the Orenburg region, which lies around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
“These Soviet-built airplanes are used mainly to transport leadership of the Russian defense ministry,” the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said on social media.
The agency posted footage of what Ukraine said was an arson attack, showing a blaze burning inside an aircraft, but it did not provide details of how the alleged attack was carried out.
There was no immediate comment on the specific claims from Moscow.
Since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has detained hundreds of people for alleged sabotage and arson attacks on military, railway and other infrastructure sites.