Vue lecture

German Far Right Gains in Bellwether Election, but Fails to Sweep

Though a relief for the governing coalition, the far-right Alternative for Germany nearly tripled its vote share in North Rhine-Westphalia versus five years ago.

© Leon Kuegeler/Reuters

Voters in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on Sunday.
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The German Elections That Are Set to Test the Attraction of the Far Right

A municipal vote in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia will be a gauge of the national mood since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office.

© Ina Fassbender/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The industrial city of Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the places where the far-right party Alternative for Germany could do well.
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German Court Convicts Syrian National for Stabbing Attack That Killed 3

Issa al Hasan was found guilty of murder in the Islamic State-inspired rampage last year that spurred a national debate about refugees and migration.

© Uli Deck/DPA, via Associated Press

Issa al Hasan, the perpetrator of a deadly knife attack in Germany last year, was a member of Islamic State. The terror group claimed responsibility for the rampage.
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A Peace Deal for Ukraine Could Test German Reluctance to Deploy Troops

The question of whether to send soldiers to a postwar Ukraine is the latest chapter in an evolving relationship between Germans and their military.

© Mindaugas Kulbis/Associated Press

German soldiers participate in a military exercise with Lithuania north of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, last year.
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German Prosecutors Charge American With Attempted Spying for China

The authorities provided few details about the case, the latest in a series of apprehensions in Germany of potential Chinese spies.

© Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The Chinese Embassy in Berlin last year. The American had worked as a Defense Department contractor from 2017 to spring 2023, the prosecutors said in a statement.
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