Germany : Protests in Berlin demanding the government’s departure and an end to support for Kiev

Thousands of Germans gathered in Berlin today on the occasion of “Unity Day,” demanding the departure of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, and an end to arming and financing Ukraine at their expense.

 

The demonstration was called for by activists close to the right-wing Alternative for Germany party and the Koerdenker movement, a movement that unites several right-wing organizations such as Pegida.

The protest participants are calling for a popular vote to be held before important decisions are taken.  

One protester said: “We do not care about left, right or center. We support democracy, which is not happening now.”

He called for taking to the streets to protest against Germany's participation in military support for Ukraine.

He added: "We no longer care about who is right and who is wrong, the Russian, the Ukrainian, or the American. Germany is against war."

Another speaker called for a change in the government because it "made mistakes in energy policy and took inappropriate measures to combat the coronavirus."

There have been calls for Germany's withdrawal from NATO, the World Health Organization, and the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Moscow Institute of International Relations trains 800 volunteer translators for the World Youth Festival

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a volunteer training center for the World Youth Festival.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Director General for Regional Cooperation in the Directorate of the World Youth Festival, Larisa Solyma, Vice Rector for Youth Policy, Social Work and International Relations, and Director of the Center for Supporting the Voluntary Movement of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Stanislav Surovtsev.

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations, affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the only center for training volunteers in special functional areas such as “Attaché for Foreign Delegations” and “Linguistic Services.”

It will select and train 878 volunteers from among its students, and the tasks of these, who have good knowledge of foreign languages ​​and the finer details of international protocol, will include accompanying foreign delegations and coordinating communications with participants from abroad.

Volunteers will be able to communicate with foreign guests in more than 50 languages, including 26 Eastern languages.

The World Youth Festival will be held in 2024 according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the aim of developing international youth cooperation.

“Escalating threat.” A European Union official warns against far-right terrorism

European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, warned of the escalating threat of right-wing extremism in Europe, stressing that the blurring of the line between right-wing extremism and terrorism represents one of the most important challenges.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, issued a stark warning about the growing threat of right-wing extremism in Europe.

During the opening of the “Counter-Terrorism Financing Forum,” which was held in Brussels on Monday, Johansson called for international cooperation in the fight against terrorist financing.

It warned of the escalation of right-wing extremism in Europe, which constitutes a serious and growing terrorist threat.

Johansson stressed that "far-right terrorism represents a growing threat in Europe."

It touched on the bold activities of right-wing extremists who have begun to operate more openly, including organizing rock concerts and marketing commercial products to finance their extremist agendas.

She said that one of the main challenges in combating this growing threat is the blurring of the line between right-wing extremism and terrorism.

She added that the use of cryptocurrencies and the creation of fake charitable organizations have made efforts to distinguish between the two more difficult.

Last September, the British magazine "The Economist" highlighted that far-right parties in most parts of Europe were gaining momentum and were close to gaining power in some countries, pointing out that they did not need to join governments to influence decision-making.