The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now Germany’s largest opposition group and even topped several opinion polls – briefly putting it ahead of now-Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right party – in the weeks after February’s federal election. At the same time, the AfD is facing growing calls for an outright ban, most recently from another major political party. In May, the country’s domestic intelligence agency formally classified the AfD as an extremist entity that threatens democracy. In a 1,100-page report, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, also laid out its findings that the party was racist, anti-Muslim, and devaluing of “entire segments” of Germany’s population. That move, which enables the BfV to better monitor the group , has reignited attempts to impose a ban, despite the party claiming a significant 20.8% of the vote in February’s national election – the best performance by a far-right…

Massive wildfires have torn through Syria’s coastal mountain region of Jabal Turkman since Thursday, destroying thousands of hectares of forest and overwhelming emergency services. Abdel Kafi Kayyal, director of civil defense in Lattakia province, said efforts to control the fires have been hampered by strong winds, rugged terrain and the danger of landmines left behind from years of war. The fires come as Syria’s new government tries to drive the country’s recovery after more than a decade of war and crippling sanctions, with basic services non-existent in many parts of the country. The fires have burned along a line of 20-kilometers (12 miles), cutting off roads and forcing thousands to flee their homes. They have also left some areas without power. Drone video showed fires advancing along a broad front in rugged territory, occasionally flaring up as they encounter tinder-dry woodland. The fires have now spread into parts of Tartous…

As Denmark takes over the presidency of the European Union, Danes are more strongly pro-European than at any time in the past two decades – a shift in sentiment that can at least partly be attributed to US President Donald Trump. An eye-opening survey published in March by Berlingske, a Danish daily newspaper, said 41% of Danes now see the United States as a threat. It also said 92% of respondents either “agree” or “mostly agree” that the Nordic nation needs to rely more on the European Union than the US for its security. Given the recent tensions between Washington and Copenhagen, those statistics may not be surprising. Since his return to the White House, Trump has spoken frequently and aggressively about Greenland, an autonomous crown dependency of Denmark, saying he would like the US to own it. Vice President JD Vance and members of the Trump family have made…

A man set the door of a synagogue alight and a group of protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne on Friday night, the latest in a wave of antisemitic attacks in Australian cities. About 20 people were inside the synagogue in the downtown area of East Melbourne when a man poured flammable liquid on the front door of the synagogue on Albert Street before setting it on fire, Victoria state police said. The group was having Shabbat dinner, marking the beginning of the Jewish day of rest, when the attack took place at 8 p.m. local time, Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), wrote on X. No one was injured and firefighters extinguished the small blaze, police said, adding that the perpetrator, who remains unidentified, fled the scene. Just over 1 kilometer to the west on Hardware Lane – one of the city’s…