Twenty-five people have been arrested in raids across Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.

German reports say the group of far-right and ex-military figures planned to storm the parliament building, the Reichstag, and seize power.

A minor aristocrat described as Prince Heinrich XIII, 71, is alleged to have been central to their plans. According to federal prosecutors, he is one of two alleged ringleaders among those arrested across 11 German states.

The plotters are said to include members of the extremist Reichsbürger [Citizens of the Reich] movement, which has long been in the sights of German police over violent attacks and racist conspiracy theories. They also refuse to recognise the modern German state.

An estimated 50 men and women are alleged to have been part of the group, said to have plotted to overthrow the republic and replace it with a new state modelled on the Germany of 1871 - an empire called the Second Reich.

"We don't yet have a name for this group," said a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office.

Three thousand officers took part in 130 raids across much of the country, with two people arrested in Austria and Italy. Those detained were due to be questioned later in the day.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted that a major anti-terror operation was taking place and a suspected "armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned".

The federal prosecutor's office said the group had been plotting a violent coup since November 2021 and members of its central "Rat" (council) had since held regular meetings.

They had already established plans to rule Germany with departments covering health, justice and foreign affairs, the prosecutor said. Members understood they could only realise their goals by "military means and violence against state representatives" which included carrying out killings.

Investigators are thought to have got wind of the group when they uncovered a kidnap plot last April involving a gang who called themselves United Patriots.

They too were part of the Reichsbürger scene and had allegedly planned to abduct Health Minister Karl Lauterbach while also creating "civil war conditions" to bring about an end to Germany's democracy.

The latest plot is also said to have involved a former far-right AfD member of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, who was lined up to be installed as the group's justice minister, with Prince Heinrich as leader.

Heinrich XIII comes from an old noble family known as the House of Reuss, which ruled over parts of the modern eastern state of Thuringia until 1918. All the male members of the family were given the name Heinrich as well as a number.

As well as a shadow government, the plotters allegedly had plans for a military arm, with active and former members of the military a significant part of the coup plot, according to reports. They included ex-elite soldiers from special units. The aim of military arm was to eliminate democratic bodies at local level, prosecutors said.

One of those under investigation is a member of the Special Commando Forces, and police searched his home and his room at the Graf-Zeppelin military base in Calw, south-west of Stuttgart.

Germany allows transgender people to change their gender and name more easily.

A new law easing the path for individuals to officially change their gender had been approved by the German Cabinet. Family Minister Lisa Paus calls it "a big moment" for transgender and intersex people, DW reports.

The proposed "Self-Determination Act" allows for changes to be made in a simple procedure at government registry offices.

A lot of countries allow for self-determination as regards legal gender, not requiring medical or psychological intervention of any kind.

"Everyone has a right to the state respecting their gender identity," Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said. "The current law harasses transgender people. We want to end this undignified situation."

AP reports that the existing “transsexual law” requires individuals who want to change gender on official documents to first obtain assessments from two experts “sufficiently familiar with the particular problems of transsexualism” and then a court decision.

Map over countries and states that allow for gender self-identification. (Germany not included)

Photo: Vladimir Vladimirov

John Russell at LGBTQ Nation:

Transgender and nonbinary people in Germany will soon be able to update their legal documents to reflect their gender identity without having to provide “expert reports.”  

On Friday, the country’s parliament passed a law requiring trans people over the age of 18 to make a simple declaration of their identity at a registry office in order to update their name and gender markers on official documents like IDs. The law also allows minors between the ages of 14 and 18 to update their documents with parental permission. Minors who are 14 and older whose parents do not approve can petition a family court to overrule their parents. The “Self-Determination Act” replaces a decades-old German law that placed onerous hurdles between trans people and legal recognition of their identity. The existing “transsexual law” required trans people to obtain assessments from two separate experts “sufficiently familiar with the particular problems of transsexualism” before they could update their legal documents. As the Associated Press (AP) notes, Germany’s Constitutional Court had already invalidated down other parts of that law, including its surgical requirements. The new law was approved by the German Cabinet last August. At the time Marco Buschmann, justice minister for the Free Democratic Party, told ZDF television that trans people who had gone through the process of meeting the requirements under existing law described it as “very degrading.”

[...] The “Self-Determination Act” passed in the Bundestag, the German Parliament’s lower house, last week by a vote of 374 to 251, with 11 abstaining. It is set to take effect in November, the AP reports. “For over 40 years, the ‘transexual law’ has caused a lot of suffering … and only because people want to be recognized as they are,” Sven Lehmann, the German government’s Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity, told lawmakers. “And today we are finally putting an end to this.”

Good news for trans, nonbinary, and gender conforming people in Germany: That nation has passed a new law to make it easier to update documents reflecting their gender identity.

Two alleged spies suspected of planning to sabotage German military aid for Ukraine have been arrested in the southern German state of Bavaria.

The two men, described as dual German-Russian nationals, were detained in Bayreuth on suspicion of spying for Russia, prosecutors say.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said authorities had prevented "possible explosive attacks".

The men are accused of scouting US military facilities and other sites.

The main suspect, Dieter S, has been remanded in pre-trial detention accused of a string of offences, including plotting an explosion, arson and maintaining contact with Russian intelligence.

He is also alleged to have fought for a Russian proxy armed force in occupied eastern Ukraine from 2014-16.

The second suspect, identified as Alexander J, is accused of helping him since last month to identify potential targets for attack. He was due to appear in court on Thursday.

The Russian ambassador has been summoned by the foreign ministry in Berlin. Ms Faeser condemned "a particularly serious case of alleged spy activity for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's criminal regime".

Germany is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the US, earmarking some €28bn (£24bn) since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

According to prosecutors, Dieter S is alleged to have discussed potential sabotage operations in Germany with his Russian contact since October last year, in an attempt to undermine its support for Ukraine.

They cite preparing explosive and arson attacks, especially on military and industrial infrastructure. Dieter S is said to have scouted potential targets including US military facilities, taking photos and videos and handing the information to the Russian contact.

According to the Spiegel website, a US Army facility at Grafenwöhr in Bavaria was spied on. Last year, the US sent dozens of Abrams battle tanks to Bavaria for Ukrainian soldiers to train on at Grafenwöhr and another base at Hohenfels before the tanks were sent to the front line in Ukraine.

The case is reminiscent of series of arrests in Poland a year ago, when authorities said they had dismantled a Russian spy network which was preparing sabotage attacks aimed at paralysing supplies of military aid to Ukraine.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told German news agency DPA that the two arrests were "another significant investigative success" in the fight against Russian sabotage and spy networks.

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, currently on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, said on Thursday that he was there "at a time when Ukraine needed all the support it can get in its fight for freedom".

The government in Berlin is spearheading a plan to help bolster Ukraine's air defences.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that EU countries should try to help Ukraine with additional air defence systems, especially Patriot systems. Germany has already sent Ukraine two Patriot air defences and has promised a third.

The two arrests in Bavaria follow several other high-profile espionage cases in Germany.

Last summer a German national working for the military procurement agency was arrested in the western city of Koblenz on suspicion of handing information to Russian diplomats in Bonn and Berlin.

In a separate scandal, the former boss of a collapsed German payment processing company, Wirecard, is believed to have fled to Moscow after the firm collapsed. Jan Marsalek is now suspected of being a Russian spy, who recruited officials in Austria to pass on sensitive information.

Denmark and Germany announce arrests of terror suspects, including suspected Hamas members

By Jan M. Olsen and Kirsten Grieshaber, December 15, 2023

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks with the media as she arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. European Union leaders, in a two-day summit will discuss the latest developments in Russia's war or aggression against Ukraine and continued EU support for Ukraine and its people. (AP Photo/ Virginia Mayo)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Denmark and Germany announced Thursday arrests of several terror suspects, including alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The announcements were issued separately and it was unclear how the arrests were connected and if they were the result of coordinated actions, or even possibly one operation spanning the continent.

Danish police said three people were arrested across Denmark while a fourth person was detained in the Netherlands on suspicion of plotting to carry out "an act of terror."

Officials in Copenhagen did not provide any details beyond saying the arrests had "threats abroad" and were "related to criminal gangs," singling out the banned, predominantly immigrant gang Loyal to Familia that had long been behind feuds, violence, robberies, extortion and drug sales in the Danish capital.

However, Flemming Drejer, the operative head of Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service,

cryptically said police had "a special focus" on Jewish institutions. He said Denmark was not changing its terror threat level, which has been at "serious," the second-highest level, since 2010.

"Persons abroad have been charged. ... It is a serious situation," Drejer told a news conference, adding that the arrests were carried out in "collaboration with our foreign partners" and that those arrested were part of "a network."

The suspects would face a custody hearing within 24 hours, he said, likely behind "double closed doors" - meaning he could not give any details about the case.

"This is extremely serious," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday from Brussels where she was attending a European Union Summit.

"It is of course completely unacceptable in relation to Israel and Gaza, that there is someone who takes a conflict somewhere else in the world into Danish society," she added.

In the Netherlands, police said a 57-year-old Dutch man was arrested in the city of Rotterdam, based on a request from German authorities, according to spokesman Jesse Brobbel. On Tuesday, the Dutch counterterrorism agency raised the country's threat alert to its second-highest level, saying the possibility of an attack in the country is now "substantial."

In Germany, authorities said three suspected members of the Palestinian militant Hamas group who were allegedly planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe were arrested on Thursday.

Two men were arrested in Berlin and one in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, while a fourth suspect was temporarily detained in Berlin, Germany's federal prosecutor said. Authorities only identified the men by their first names and the first initial of their last name, in line with German privacy rules.

The four were Abdelhamid AI A., born in Lebanon; Egyptian national Mohamed B.; Dutch national Nazih R. and Ibrahim El-R., born in Lebanon.

The authorities alleged three of the men "have been longstanding members of Hamas and have participated in Hamas operations abroad." They said the suspect were "closely linked to the military branch's leadership" of Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann thanked the authorities for the arrests and said that "attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks" due to the Israel-Hamas war.

It was not immediately clear if and how the Danish and the German arrests were connected.

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's office lauded what it said were seven Hamas suspects arrested in Europe, but attributed the arrests to Danish police.

The prime minister's office said Denmark had arrested seven operatives acting on behalf of Hamas and "thwarted an attack aimed at killing innocent citizens on European sail." Netanyahu's office said Israel's intelligence agencies "will continue to operate ... in order to repel the intentions of Hamas and eliminate its capabilities."

The discrepancies between the Danish, German and Israeli statements could not immediately be resolved.

Earlier this month, the European Union's home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, warned that Europe faced a "huge risk of terrorist attacks" over the Christmas holiday period due to the fallout from the fighting in Gaza.

Denmark's foreign intelligence service, known as FE, said Thursday in its annual assessment for 2023 that "the war between Israel and Hamas was once again shown that unresolved conflicts in Europe's immediate area can escalate rapidly and create widespread regional instability."

Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

Four members of the militant Islamist group Hamas were arrested in Berlin and the Netherlands, German public prosecutors said on Thursday. Prosecutors said they were detained on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. The men were said to be known members of Hamas with close links to the organization's military branch, one with Dutch nationality, two born in Lebanon and another with Egyptian citizenship. "Following the terrible attacks by Hamas on the Israeli population, attacks on Jews in Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks," German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said after the arrests. "We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again," he said. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Germany, Israel, the US, the EU and other governments. Earlier on Thursday, Danish police said they prevented a terror attack and arrested four people. Three suspects were arrested in Denmark, and a fourth was arrested in the Netherlands.

The text refers to Germany, but the conditions were actually the same in almost all western countries.

About the Dictatorship of Scientists

»

On June 16, 2023, the doctor Christian Haffner caused a sensation: After a year-long legal dispute with the Federal Chancellery, he successfully fought for access to the minutes of the so-called Corona Expert Council of the German Federal Government on the basis of the Freedom of Information Act. The committee met from December 2021 to April 2023 with the utmost confidentiality. It was made up of the Who's Who of media-known protagonists of the Corona period, such as Christian Drosten [inventor of the non-functioning corona detection test], Alena Buyx, Viola Priesemann, Lothar Wieler or Hendrik Streeck [panic-spreading virologists]. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach [German version of Fauci] regularly attended the circle; Justice Minister Marco Buschmann was a guest.

Suspicious: The Corona Expert Council accompanied the government's internal opinion-forming process on its draft law for general compulsory vaccination, which was finally rejected in the Bundestag on April 7, 2022. The freed protocols show: The expert council had suggested to the federal government both the general obligation to vaccinate and the continuation of corona measures in autumn 2022 - even though the committee was actually aware that the vaccination does not protect against transmission, that the population does not want Corona measures any longer, and that Omicron was on the rise. The explosive documents give a shattering glimpse into the cohesive worldview of "experts" who are willing to put their scientific ideology ahead of the well-being of the citizens, utterly heedless of social and economic issues.

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If it had been up to a caste of virologists and scientific minions, there would have been corona measures and compulsory vaccinations until winter 2022/23, although there were every reason against it. The star virologists trapped in their own worldview couldn't react differently than hol on their own lies despite all contradictions. Furthermore, these scientific priests didn't want to lose the importance, power, that society gave them in the wake of the corona "pandemic". Ultimately, they have all benefited economically from the general panic by making profit with every test carried out and every vaccination administered. It was the modern scientific version of the sale of indulgences.

Climate protection is just a continuation of the corona hysteria

The current debates on climate protection are proceeding in exactly the same way! It is no longer questioned whether the assumptions that humans are responsible for "climate change" are correct. Anyone who doesn't believe their dogma is immediately considered a "denier of science", "right-wing populist", "conspiracy theorist" or something else defamed.

Other opinions aren't be tolerated, despite all justified doubts and contradictions. Rather, a caste of "climate researchers" vie for government funding, with whoever shouts the loudest getting the money. That's why panicking and showing yourself to be particularly important is part of the "scientific" core business. The fact that there are also thousands of reputable climate researchers worldwide who reject the CO2 theory and do not blame humans as the cause for climatic changes that have always taken place is completely concealed. These renegade scientists are excluded like heretics and receive no media attention; just like doctors who did not share the corona hysteria at the time and only spoke of flu were ignored or burned as witches by the mainstream media.

Schattenjahre 5 Die Ankündigung by MBSounds

Did you know that the hobby of the German minister of justice, Marco Buschmann, is making techno music? This is his Soundcloud.

2022 / 27

Aperçu of the Week:

“Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucker!“

(John McClane aka Bruce Willis)

Bad News of the Week:

Donald Trump isn't over. I don't even mean that he is reportedly flirting with an imminent announcement that he will run again for the U.S. presidency in 2024. In order, it is said, to distract attention from the negative headlines surrounding the Senate investigation into the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. After all, that's what he's primarily concerned with: his image. No, I'm referring to his continued dominance in the conservative narrative - defying its social media spell, except for the laughable boondoggle that is "Truth Social."

Finally, the decisions of his tenure still reverberate. Most notably, his appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. A frightening example from last week: the rights of the EPA (Einvironmental Protection Agency) to set state-level emission limits for coal-fired power plants, for example, are being cut to almost nothing. This fits with Donald Trump's basic attitude toward man-made climate change: I don't care. Sea levels rising? "Then we'll have more beachfront property." And, "I've heard that the oceans will rise one-eighth of an inch (just under 0.32 centimeters) in the next 300 years." Excuse me? Have you been to Pacific islands lately?

That's what makes Trump and his supporters so dangerous: no idea of the facts, but strong opinions. 80% of the Republican base still support him. And 60% still believe he was cheated out of winning the 2020 presidential election. Facts? Why, it's all a matter of personal points of view. "Alternative facts" (that should be on Kellyanne Conway's tombstone someday) means nothing more than relativizing everything that doesn't fit one's personal outlook. Never have I so much as hoped that someone would fatally choke on a Pretzel....

Good News of the Week:

Those who feel they are a different gender than their birth certificate says have it anything but easy. Many affected people hide their true identity for years - from the public, from colleagues and often even in the family. Because society is mostly not yet ready to accept this as a self-determined personality trait. Until now, people in Germany who wanted to officially change their gender had to obtain two psychiatric reports costing up to a thousand euros and answer questions about their sex life, among other things. What should be nobody's business, that is shameful. And after months of proceedings, a court finally ruled.

Now the federal ministries of justice and family have presented the "Self-Determination Act." It provides that everyone and anyone can determine their own gender and first name. In a simple procedure at the registry office, which is then also binding, for example, for the entry in the passport. An expert opinion on sexual identity or a medical certificate should not be required as a prerequisite for changing the entry - after all, the people concerned are not sick, as the liberal Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann comments. It does not matter whether the individual sees himself or herself or themselves as transgender, non-binary or intersex. And minors can appeal to a family court if their parents refuse consent. Good thing. Because true freedom cannot exist without self-determination.

Personal happy moment of the week:

The school year is coming to an end. And it relieves me of a pressure that had been hanging over it like a threatening storm cloud since Christmas. Because my son was officially "at risk of transferring" to next grade. And his lack of insight into the sheer necessities of his earthly existence ("School is your fucking job. So work, son!") was causing the whole family - and a tutor - stress. But slowly but surely, things got better. And with the last school assignments, we got the certainty: enough is enough, he'll make it through the school year. Phew! Now I'll leave him alone for three weeks. And then we start with repetitions during the summer vacations. Because next year has to be different, my nerves just won't take it anymore....

I couldn't care less...

...that Ukraine feels "deeply disappointed" by Canada. But only at first sight it is about a gas turbine for Russia. At second glance, it is the repair of a gas turbine. A German gas turbine from Siemens. A gas turbine that is located in Russia but supplies EU countries with gas. Yes, Europe's energy dependence on Russia must be overcome. And yes, theoretically, every ruble Russia takes in can help finance the war of aggression against Ukraine. And yes, "freezing for Ukraine" may be morally imperative.

But if an abrupt gas supply freeze drives Germany's third-largest industry, the chemical industry, against the wall, among others, we are talking about a recession the likes of which the Federal Republic of Germany has never seen before. Which must then also have a direct impact on German and thus also EU financial aid during the war and for reconstruction. In the case of the war itself, a black-and-white scheme can be applied. However, there is far more than fifty shades of gray in the sideshows of it.

As I write this...

...I am annoyed by a project at work that will not have a good ending. I know that, it's obvious. But it is not in my power to change it. Because someone who has more to say than I do is steering the whole thing with a completely out-of-touch mindset. It's like watching in slow motion a car heading for a wall. You know it can't brake in time. But you also know that the driver can't hear you screaming. Frustrating.

Post Scriptum:

In recent days, we've lost a number of high-profile politicians. In different ways. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally couldn't maneuver his way out of his scandals and lies. Former Japanese head of government Shinzo Abe was the victim of a hard-to-understand attack. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president of bankrupt Sri Lanka was driven out by his disappointed people. The feisty Ukrainian ambassador Andrij Melnyk is dismissed in a "diplomatic rout." There are no lifetime posts. Except in royal houses - and the US Supreme Court.

Two Russian nationals have been arrested in southern Germany suspected of plotting sabotage attacks on US military facilities, German prosecutors announced on Thursday. The men, named as Dieter S and Alexander J, are suspected of operating as Russian spies on behalf of the Kremlin, according to German media sources. Prosecutors said only that the men were accused of working for a foreign secret service. The prosecutor’s office said the suspects were arrested on Wednesday in the small city of Bayreuth, home to the annual Richard Wagner opera festival. It added that their homes and workplaces were being searched. According to the statement by prosecutors, the accused are under “strong suspicion” of “having worked for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious incident”. In addition, Dieter S, reportedly a 39-year-old dual Russian-German citizen, is charged with “conspiring to cause an explosive attack and arson, acting as an agent for sabotage purposes and security-endangering collection of intelligence on military installations”. Dieter S had been in contact with a member of the Russian secret services and had been developing sabotage plans in Germany since October 2023. Germany’s foreign ministry confirmed media reports that Annalena Baerbock had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Berlin, Sergei Nechayev, for an explanation, a move that happened with unusual haste, suggesting authorities had unequivocal proof of the link between the plot and the Kremlin. The Kremlin said it knew nothing about the circumstances surrounding the men’s arrests. According to prosecutors, Dieter S declared his readiness to carry out explosive and arson attacks on military infrastructure and industrial sites, with the explicit intention “to undermine the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression”. He focused his attention on German and US military sites, according to the evidence gathered by investigators, which includes videos and photographs. According to Der Spiegel, the US military site Grafenwöhr in Bavaria, southern Germany, was his main focal point. This is one of the main sites where the US military has been training Ukrainian troops, in particular in the battlefield operation of Abrams tanks. The prosecutors said based on “underlying facts”, there was also a strong suspicion that Dieter S had worked in eastern Ukraine between December 2014 and September 2016 as a fighter for an armed unit of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and had acquired a firearm for this purpose. The prosecutors described the unit as a pro-Russian association that, “from spring 2014, claimed control over the Ukrainian administrative district of Donetsk with the aim of secession from Ukraine and engaged in intensive clashes with the Ukrainian armed forces. The association repeatedly used violence against the civilian population.” Alexander J, aged 37 and also a German-Russian citizen, is suspected of supporting Dieter S from March 2024 at the latest. He is also accused of espionage on behalf of a foreign service. Dieter S was reportedly brought before judges at Germany’s federal court of justice in Karlsruhe on Wednesday and remanded in to custody. Alexander J was brought before judges today, prosecutors confirmed. Reacting to news of the foiled attacks, Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said: “Our security authorities have prevented potential explosive attacks intended to strike at and undermine our military help for Ukraine.” Faeser said Germany would not be cowed by the attacks. “We will continue to hugely support Ukraine and will not let ourselves be intimidated,” she said. The justice minister Marco Buschmann called the arrests an “investigative success in the fight against Putin’s sabotage and espionage network”. He added: “We know that the Russian power apparatus also has our country in its sights. We must reaction to this threat defensively and determinedly,” he said without naming specific measures. Vladimir Putin’...

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Germany endorses rule-of-law restoration in Poland

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann stressed the importance of restoring the rule of law during a visit to Warsaw on Tuesday as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk faced backlash in his efforts to reform the country’s legal system, Euractiv reported.

After taking power in December, Tusk began reversing controversial judicial reforms implemented by the previous government, led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), which the EU believes undermined the rule of law.

Democracy and freedom are only possible if there are fundamental rights and an independent judiciary to keep power in check.

Buschmann also warned that upholding the rule of law requires “a willingness to de-escalate on the part of all [actors].” He noted that defending the right to challenge the current government would also benefit the opposition.

Read more HERE

Germany is one step closer to easing restrictions on legal gender changes

The German Cabinet has approved a law that would make it easier for trans and intersex folks to legally change their name and gender. If also approved by Parliament, the law would allow Germans to make the changes by merely saying they wanted to, rather than requiring jumping through any hoops like judges’ or doctors’ notes. According to the Associated Press, folks interested in a change would simply have to let the registry office know three months in advance. The law would also allow minors 14 and older to update their name and gender without parental consent. --- Related Stories A majority of queer youth feel hopeful despite widespread bullying & stress 90.3% of LGBTQ+ youth said they were proud to be part of queer community, and 83% had come out to their families. --- Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told ZDF television that the government “simply want[s] to make life a bit easier for a small group for which it has great significance.” Get the Daily Brief The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you. The current decades-old law states that Germans interested in an official name and gender change must get both a court decision and approval from two experts “sufficiently familiar with the particular problems of transsexualism.” In the past, trans Germans have been subject to even stricter laws, such as those requiring them to be sterilized, divorced, or get gender-affirming surgery before a legal gender change. The law is part of a series of progressive moves by Germany’s landmark coalition of three liberal parties, headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to The Guardian, it’s “the first three-way alliance on a national level in modern German history.” The potential new gender law comes only six months after Spain passed its own landmark gender recognition law, which allows those over the age of 16 to legally change their gender without medical supervision or a judge’s approval.  The law also banned so-called conversion therapy and made Spain the first country in Europe to introduce paid menstrual leave (up to five days). It also struck down a law requiring 16 and 17-year-olds to get parental permission for abortions and removed the current policy requiring a three-day reflection period before an abortion. Scotland also passed a similar gender recognition bill last year, but this past January, the U.K. government blocked it. http://dlvr.it/SvD4v8

In a nationwide raid, 25 suspected members and supporters of a terrorist organization were arrested early Wednesday.

Officials said the network, part of a wider right-wing movement, was already well established with a concrete plan to overthrow the German state by force and install a new government.

What we know so far

The raids were announced by Germany's federal prosecution agency and German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. Buschmann said the investigations were directed against a suspected terrorist network with known ties to the Reichsbürger movement. He said that the raids had taken place on individuals suspected of planning an armed attack on state institutions.

"Since this morning a large anti-terror operation is taking place. The Federal Public Prosecutor General is investigating a suspected terror network from the Reichsbürger scene," Buschmann wrote. "The suspicion exists that an armed attack on constitutional organs was planned." 

The search operation is reported to have covered 130 properties belonging to 52 suspects in 11 German states. 

According to prosecution officials, the arrested suspects "belong to a terrorist organization founded by the end of November 2021 at the latest, which has set itself the goal of overcoming the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with its own form of state, which has already been worked out in outline."

Of the 25 men and women arrested, 24 were from Germany and one suspected supporter is from Russia. One arrest took place in Austria and one in Italy. There are 27 other suspects, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Two ringleaders identified

Prosecutors identified the suspected ringleaders only as Heinrich XIII P. R. and Ruediger v. P., in line with German privacy rules. The news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the former was a well-known 71-year-old member of a minor German noble family, while the latter was a 69-year-old former paratrooper.

According to prosecutors, P. R., who the group planned to install as the new leader of Germany, had made contact with Russian officials seeking to establish a new order in Germany once the Berlin government was overthrown. A Russian woman, Vitalia B, had allegedly given him help with this. The Russian embassy in Berlin denied having links to far-right terror groups.

A currently-serving soldier in the Bundeswehr's Special Forces Command (KSK) as well as several Bundeswehr reservists are also among suspects in the case, a spokesperson for Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) told the DPA news agency. A search was reported to have been carried out at the soldier's home and his barracks office in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The trigger for the raids was an investigation into another Reichsbürger group that had planned to kidnap German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the case revealed the threat posed by the Reichsbürger movement.

"The investigations provide a glimpse into the abyss of a terrorist threat from the Reichsbürger scene," Faeser said in a statement. "We know how to defend ourselves with all our might against the enemies of democracy," she added.

The president of the German parliament's lower house, Bärbel Bas, said the operation shows "that our democratic constitutional state is attentive and capable of action."

Belief in violence to overthrow 'deep state'

The group had targeted members of the Bundeswehr and police in a bid to achieve their goals. It had formed a "military arm" and a council presided over by Heinrich XIII P. R.

Speaking at a press conference,  German Attorney General Peter Frank said that the organization had formed around P. R. at the end of November 2021. 

Frank said the group had established a council that was intended to act as the government of the new state with some individuals already designated for ministerial roles. Among them, said the attorney general, was a former member of the Bundestag who was to take over the justice portfolio. 

To implement their plans the group's members were prepared to use military means and violence against state representatives and were willing to kill to achieve their goals. According to the investigators, the members of the group "followed a conglomerate of conspiracy myths consisting of narratives of the so-called 'Reichsbürger' as well as QAnon ideology."

The prosecutors added that the group's adherents believe Germany is ruled by a so-called "deep state," similar to baseless claims about the United States that were made by former President Donald Trump.

The Reichsbürger movement is made up of a number of small organizations and individuals, mainly in the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria. They do not accept the legality of the Federal Republic of Germany or any of its government authorities.

The movement argues that the German constitution prior to World War II was never properly nullified and that the formation of the former West Germany in 1949, and now reunified Germany, was therefore never valid.

Germany arrests military officer suspected of spying for Russia

German authorities arrested an officer of the military procurement agency on suspicion that he was passing sensitive information to Russia, the Bild newspaper reported on Aug. 9, citing the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office.

According to the report, Thomas H. had been in contact with the Russian Consulate in Bonn and the Russian Embassy in Berlin since 2023 on his own initiative.

The suspect was employed by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support, responsible for developing and procuring defense technology.

“The Federal Public Prosecutor today arrested a German officer who is strongly suspected of having worked for a foreign secret service,” German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann wrote on Twitter.

"Thank you to everyone who was involved. Vigilance remains the order of the day."

According to Bild, the authorities issued an arrest warrant against Thomas H. on July 27, after which he was brought before the investigating judge on Aug. 9. The suspected spy currently remains in custody and if convicted, faces up to 10 years in prison.

On Dec. 22, the German authorities arrested an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) for spying for Russia.

Poland detains Belarusian suspected of spying for Russia

Polish security services detained already the sixteenth person suspected of taking part in a Russian espionage network, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminiski said on Aug. 4.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Voice of America 0320 12 Apr 2023

6080Khz 0254 12 APR 2023 - VOICE OF AMERICA (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) in ENGLISH from MOPENG HILL. SINPO = 55344. English, s/on with dead-carrier. @0259z Yankee Doodle int fb news anchored by Tommy McNeil @0300. It's been less than a week since news of highly classified military documents on the war in Ukraine surfaced, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak. It's possible the leak may have started on a site called Discord. Discord is a social media platform popular with people playing online games. The Discord site hosts real-time voice, video and text chats for groups and describes itself as a place "where you can belong to a school club, a gaming group, or a worldwide art community." The leaks have highlighted how closely the U.S. monitors how its allies and friends interact with Russia and China. Officials in several countries have denied or rejected allegations from the leaked records. President Joe Biden spoke to the family of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who the United States says is being unjustly imprisoned by Russia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. The president "felt it was really important to connect with Evan's family," Jean-Pierre said. "We're making it real clear that it's totally illegal what's happening," Biden told reporters on the tarmac as he boarded the plane to depart for a state visit to Ireland. Germany’s justice minister on Tuesday launched plans to relax the country’s strict restrictions on family names — for example, allowing couples to take double-barreled surnames and pass them on to their children. The current system “is about as up-to-date as a coal stove and as flexible as concrete,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement as he published the draft legislation. The Mexican city of Huatabampo, in the state of Sonora, has removed stinger spines from stingrays to prevent the animals from stinging tourists during Easter week. In a video shared by animal activists, workers from the local government’s ecology department are seen capturing a stingray, pulling out the spines located in its stinger, and releasing it back into the water. In another video, a Huatabampo City Council worker says that he is removing the spines so that tourists can “swim, have fun, and at the same time, not worry about any accident happening.” The United States, Panama and Colombia announced Tuesday that they will launch a 60-day campaign aimed at halting illegal migration through the treacherous Darien Gap, where the flow of migrants has multiplied this year. Details on how the governments will try to curb the flow of migrants that reached nearly 90,000 in just the first three months of this year through the dense, lawless jungle were not provided in the joint statement. U.S. health officials released data Tuesday showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. @0304z “Daybreak Africa” anchored by male announcer (w/African accent). MLA 30 amplified loop (powered w/8 AA rechargeable batteries ~10.8vdc), Etón e1XM. 100kW, BeamAz 350°, bearing 85°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 14087KM from transmitter at Mopeng Hill. Local time: 2154.

Germany Threatens Twitter With €50 Million Fine For Failing To Tackle Illegal Content

Marco Buschmann (FDP), Federal Minister of Justice (Photo by Carsten Koall/picture alliance via … [+] Getty Images) dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images Germany’s Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) has launched proceedings against Twitter, claiming the company has failed to deal adequately with illegal content. Under the country’s Network Enforcement Act, or NetzDG, social media companies with more…

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