The reputation of Germany’s armed forces is at a low point. With materiel aging fast, and with procurement chains marred by seemingly endless corruption scandals, the Bundeswehr’s leadership recently painted a dysmal picture: many – in some cases most – of the country’s fighter jets, cargo planes, tanks, u-boats, and helicopters are not operational; and…
The Canisius-Kolleg, an elite Catholic secondary school in Berlin has made national headlines in Germany by appointing a Muslim teacher wearing a hijab. The school is run by the Jesuit order and is located in the calm and upmarket diplomatic district of the German capital. Long-standing court battles Teachers with Islamic headscarves have for years…
April 18, 2016 The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Sunday Islam is not compatible with the German constitution and vowed to press for bans on minarets and burqas at its party congress in two weeks’ time. The AfD punished Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats in three regional elections last month, profiting from…
French lawmakers gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would allow terrorists to be stripped of French citizenship, or at least of rights associated with it. The National Assembly, the French Parliament’s lower house, approved the measure by a 317-199 vote. The Senate must still approve the bill if it is to become a…
July 10, 2014 Several aspects of the recent “anti-jihad” law, presented July 9 to the Council of Ministers, were judged unconstitutional by the Alain Jakubowicz, president of LICRA (International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism.) He declared: “Without objective evidence of the intention of a criminal act or without proof of deliberately planning to commit one”…
