Monday's top story: New AfD youth organisation founded amid huge protests
Amid huge protests, AfD founded its new official youth organisation, 'Generation Germany', on Saturday.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jean-Pascal Hohm was elected chairman on Saturday in Gießen with 90.4 percent of the vote.
"We will fight resolutely for a genuine shift in migration policy that ensures Germany remains the homeland of the Germans," Hohm said at the founding meeting of Generation Germany.
In 2017, Hohm lost his job as an aide for the AfD parliamentary group in the eastern state of Brandenburg, after he was spotted sitting beside a then-leader of the far-right extremist Identitarian Movement, Politico reported.
The AfD is "an extremist party," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the newspapers of the Bavarian Media Group. "Any belief I have that its youth organisation will be any different in a positive way is practically non-existent," he said.
Meanwhile, SPD parliamentary manager Dirk Wiese said he did not think it would be long before the newly founded youth wing came under the scrutiny of security authorities.
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"The new organisation is clearly old wine in new bottles," he told AFP on Sunday. "It is a breeding ground for right-wing extremists, members of the Identitarian Movement, and Putin supporters, and therefore a danger to our democracy."
The founding congress of Generation Germany at the exhibition centre in Gießen was delayed by more than two hours on Saturday afternoon due to numerous largely peaceful protests and blockades. Police estimated there were at least 25,000 protestors.
Green Party conference takes place in Hanover
Another party conference took place in Germany at the weekend, as the Greens gathered in Hanover to regroup after their electoral setback earlier this year.
Key debates at the party’s federal conference focused on military service reform, Middle East policy and measures to address Germany’s digital dependence and climate targets. Delegates agreed that mandatory health checks for young men, but not compulsory military service, should be introduced for now.
On Middle East policy, the Greens reinforced their commitment to Israel’s right to exist but emphasised the right of Palestinians to self-determination.
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The party called for the German government to consider suspending trade privileges with Israel if it fails to honour international obligations, while rejecting immediate recognition of a Palestinian state – but acknowledged this should be prioritised in peace talks.
Additional resolutions included support for higher taxes on luxury flights, withdrawal of insurance coverage for homeopathy, and a return to the nine-euro monthly Deutschlandticket.
The party also advocated ending government plans for new gas extraction near Borkum Island and closing real estate tax loopholes.
Nearly 434,000 babies born by IVF since 1997
Close to 434,000 babies – the equivalent of the combined population of two cities like Saarbrücken and Chemnitz – have been born in Germany with the help of fertility treatment, such as IVF, since 1997, the German IVF registry said on Saturday.
This means that there are one or two children in every school class who were conceived with the help of fertility treatment.
The multiple birth rate has also fallen below 10 percent for the first time, the IVF Registry added. Single embryos are more often transferred to the uterus today as this represents a lower risk for mothers and children.
Treatments such as in-vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with donor sperm are therefore on the rise. After 1,129 treatments in 2018, the number of cases nearly tripled to 3,177 in 2023.
First window on the world's largest Advent calendar house is opened
In the historic old town of Gengenbach in the Black Forest, the façade of the town hall has been transformed into an oversized Advent calendar.
According to the town, it is the world's largest Advent calendar house.
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For almost 30 years, the windows of the town hall have been opened every evening during Advent and illuminated to form a large Advent calendar.
Traditionally, children perform a short play before the symbolic switch is pressed and the window is revealed.
Germany to return Nazi-looted artefacts to Poland
Germany will return valuable artefacts looted during the Second World War to Poland, local media reported on Sunday.
A meeting on Monday to discuss Polish-German cooperation will include the "historic return of cultural goods looted during World War II", according to local news website Onet.pl.
The artefacts are said to include a sculpture of a saint's head stolen from Malbork castle, a royal residence in northern Poland.
The items reportedly also include documents from the Teutonic Order – a Catholic brotherhood of crusading knights active in the Middle Ages.
Warsaw had been asking for the return of the Teutonic Order archives since 1948.
During the Second World War, countless Polish artefacts, including historical archives and works of art, were looted by Nazi Germany.
The issue has long caused tensions between the two countries.
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Conservative-nationalist Polish politicians, including President Karol Nawrocki, have demanded reparations from Germany.
Monday's meeting in Berlin will involve Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the Polish ministers of foreign affairs and defence, according to the Office of the Federal Chancellor.
The leaders plan to discuss security issues including the war in Ukraine, and cooperation between their governments.
With additional reporting by AFP.
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