66% of respondents are against granting Ukrainian migrants unemployment benefits, an INSA poll has found
A majority of Germans oppose granting social welfare payments to unemployed Ukrainian migrants, according to an INSA survey commissioned by Bild newspaper.
The poll, published on Saturday, found broad dissatisfaction with government policy towards Ukrainian migrants. Only 17% of respondents say Ukrainians who fled to Germany after the escalation of the conflict with Russia should receive payments under the ‘Burgergeld’ scheme (citizens’ income), while 66% oppose the idea.
According to Bild, Germany spends around €6.3 billion ($6.8 billion) annually on Burgergeld for 700,000 Ukrainians. Only one in three Ukrainians living in Germany has a job, the paper said, adding that many of those who arrived since 2022 have not integrated into the labor market.
Burgergeld is Germany’s central welfare scheme which provides income support to adults unable to sustain themselves through work or insurance-based programs. Often described as a last-resort measure, it pays around €563 ($610) per month for a single adult, while rent and utilities are covered separately.
The INSA survey also suggested that 62% of Germans believe able-bodied Ukrainian men who entered Germany after the escalation of the conflict should return to their homeland, with 18% taking the opposing view. In an attempt to address manpower issues on the front, Ukrainian officials have urged these men to return and join the fight – but EU states, including Germany, have refused to deport them.
More than 4.3 million people who fled Ukraine hold temporary protection in the EU, according to Eurostat, with Germany hosting around 1.2 million, the largest number in the bloc.
Faced with high expenses associated with migrant support, the German government is planning to reduce costs for newly arriving Ukrainians by moving them from Burgergeld to the lower-paying Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, a measure expected to cut payments by €100 per person each month.
Gavriil Doroshin has served four contracts with the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukraine conflict
A French-born descendant of Tsar Nicholas I told President Vladimir Putin that he joined Russia’s military operation against the Kiev regime because, deep down, he feels Russian. Gavriil Doroshin shared his story at the Bolshoi Theater during a gala marking RT’s 20th anniversary on Friday.
Doroshin, whose great-great-grandmother was the eldest daughter of the late Russian emperor and emigrated to France in 1917, moved to Russia after the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Since then, he has served four contracts with the Russian Armed Forces. He met Putin during an event on Friday honoring participants featured in RT.Doc: Time of Our Heroes, a festival showcasing documentaries about those involved in Russia’s special military operation held in various cities over recent months.
When Putin asked him whether he regretted moving to Russia amid the conflict, Doroshin said he had “nothing to regret.”
“On the contrary, I found a struggle, found a new life, so to speak. I feel like I returned from an exile,” he said. “Moreover, I found myself: I had an existential moment when I tried to understand, who am I – French or Russian – but it turned out I am obviously Russian.”
Putin responded that whether French or Russian, “the most important thing is to be a decent person.”
“And that is exactly what you are, as are your comrades,” he told Doroshin.
In the documentary about Doroshin, titled Callsign Tsar, he said he believes that to truly call himself Russian, he must contribute to the nation’s shared efforts and struggles. The film was released in 2024, while he was still serving in the army. Doroshin, who has since been released from active duty, now works on developing civilian drones.
You can watch the full documentary about Doroshin, along with others featuring participants of the military operation, including army personnel, medics, volunteers, and war correspondents, on the RTD website.
Budapest stands for peace, while Brussels has “isolated itself” due to its warmongering policies, the Hungarian prime minister has said
Hungary was chosen to host a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump because it stands for peace, while the rest of the EU has “isolated itself” with its warmongering policies, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
Trump spoke with Putin by phone on Thursday amid renewed tensions over potential US Tomahawk deliveries to Ukraine and stalled peace talks. He later described the two-and-a-half-hour conversation as “so productive” that a peace deal could come soon, adding that the two leaders agreed to hold a summit in Budapest.
“Why Budapest?.. The answer is simple: We are the only ones in Europe standing for peace,” Orban wrote on Facebook on Saturday. He noted that Hungary, unlike most of its EU peers, did not sever ties with Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. “We have never lectured anyone… We have never closed channels of negotiation. It is very difficult to convince anyone of anything if we do not talk to them.”
Orban added that Hungary has “persistently” supported a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, making it the only EU country “where there is a serious chance that US-Russian negotiations will ultimately lead to peace.”
“Cooperation instead of confrontation, mutual respect instead of stigmatization. This is the path to peace… Brussels has isolated itself, but we will continue the negotiations,” he concluded.
The veteran leader, who is often at odds with the EU, has long criticized its “warmongering” position on Russia. While other EU members insist that Western aid to Ukraine must continue due to the perceived ‘Russian threat’, Orban recently launched a petition in Hungary against the EU’s “war agenda,” warning that continued support for Kiev risks direct confrontation with Russia.
Trump told reporters his meeting with Putin would likely take place within two weeks. Putin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed the plans, saying preparations would start “without delay.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Friday that preparations for the summit are “in full swing.”
Kiev lacks the manpower and necessary Western support, David Richards has said
Ukraine has no chance of defeating Russia even with massive Western support because it lacks the necessary manpower and does not have NATO troops on the ground, a former UK chief of the Defense Staff has said.
In an interview published on Saturday by The Independent, Field Marshal David Richards – who held his post from 2010 to 2013 and earlier commanded NATO forces in Afghanistan – accused Ukraine’s backers of failing the country.
Western countries, he argued, encouraged Kiev to fight, but they have “not given them the means to win.”
“My view is that they would not win,” even if Ukraine were given all the necessary resources, he said. “They haven’t got the manpower.”
According to Richards, the only scenario in which Ukraine could hope to win is a direct NATO intervention, “which we won’t do because Ukraine is not an existential issue for us.”
He added that while the West is “in some sort of hybrid war” with Russia, it is “not the same as a shooting war in which our soldiers are dying in large numbers.”
“Ukraine is not an existential issue for us. It clearly is for the Russians, by the way,” Richards said.
The Ukrainian army has been on the back foot for months, with Russian forces making advances in Donbass and into Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. Russian officials have said that Ukraine would collapse within weeks if it were cut off from Western military support.
However, Russia has stated that it remains open to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict, provided its national security interests are taken into account, adding that a sustainable peace would require Ukraine to stay out of NATO, agree to demilitarization and denazification, and recognize the territorial realities on the ground.
The Israeli strike on Qatar ‘undermined’ Gaza ceasefire efforts, US special envoy Steve Witkoff has said
US President Donald Trump’s senior negotiators in the Gaza peace talks have said they felt “betrayed” after Israel launched an airstrike on Qatar while Washington-led mediation efforts were ongoing.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, were key members of the president’s “dealmaking consortium” working to finalize a ceasefire and hostage exchange plan. They took part in talks in Egypt in early October, weeks after Israel struck Doha, killing several people and nearly derailing the process.
In an interview with CBS aired on Friday, Witkoff said he learned about the attack the next morning.
“I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed,” he told the host.
“It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks. We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.”
Qatar, a US ally and longtime mediator in the Gaza ceasefire, accused Israel of “state terrorism” after the strike.
Trump, who expressed solidarity with Doha, later clarified that the attack had been ordered solely by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the White House learning of it too late to intervene.
Asked about Trump’s reaction, Kushner said the president felt Israel was “getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing.”
“It was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests,” he added.
The strike on the Doha residential neighborhood, aimed at senior Hamas officials attending negotiations, killed six people, including a Qatari security officer, but failed to eliminate the group’s negotiating delegation or senior leadership. Netanyahu later apologized to Qatar, expressing “deep regret” over the unintended deaths.
The ceasefire agreement – signed in Sharm el-Sheikh by Trump and mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye – called for Israel to withdraw from parts of Gaza and release 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
President Gustavo Petro has denied that the man was smuggling drugs
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the US of killing an innocent fisherman during what President Donald Trump described as a strike on a drug-smuggling vessel.
The US military has destroyed several boats in the Caribbean since September as part of Trump’s campaign to eliminate “narcoterrorists” trafficking cocaine and fentanyl.
According to Petro, a Colombian “lifelong fisherman” was killed on September 16.
“US government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in our territorial waters. Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to drug traffickers and his daily activity was fishing,” Petro wrote on X on Saturday.
He added that the boat was drifting due to an engine failure and sent a distress signal. “We are waiting for an explanation from the US government,” he wrote.
Petro has a longstanding feud with Trump, who he accused of violating human rights during his crackdown on illegal immigrants. Last month, the US revoked Petro’s visa after he called on US soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders.
On Saturday, Trump said a Colombian national and an Ecuadorian national picked up from a “drug-carrying submarine” would be deported to their home countries “for detention and prosecution.” He said earlier that the US destroyed the vessel, killing two of the four “known narcoterrorists” on board.
Businessman Samvel Karapetyan was arrested over the summer on coup charges
Protesters marched in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Saturday, demanding the release of Russian-Armenian billionaire and government critic, Samvel Karapetyan.
The tycoon’s wife and three children took part in the rally, which was organized by the opposition Mer Dzevov (Our Way) movement.
Karapetyan was arrested in June on charges of inciting a coup and money laundering. The businessman had publicly condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s crackdown on the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which the government accuses of corruption and political meddling.
Addressing the crowd outside Yerevan’s main detention center on Saturday, Karapetyan’s lawyer, Aram Vardevanyan, said his client is ready to lead a new political party in the next election.
Tensions between Pashinyan and Armenia’s national church began in 2020 when the church’s top cleric, Catholicos Garegin II, called on the prime minister to resign amid mass protests. Pashinyan has since argued that Garegin is unfit for his position and should step down.
This week, police detained Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the head of the Diocese of Aragatsotn, and five other clergymen on charges of abuse of power and fraud. Earlier this month, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was sentenced to two years in prison for inciting a coup, a case he described as politically motivated.
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister says he plans to win the 2026 parliamentary election
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he will seek another term in the November 2026 parliamentary election.
Netanyahu’s recent tenure has been defined by his controversial judicial reform, the Hamas hostage crisis, and the war in Gaza – issues for which he has received both criticism and praise.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Saturday, the prime minister confirmed that he intends to seek another term in office, adding that he expects to win.
The polarizing leader of the right-wing Likud party served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and 2009 to 2021. He returned to office in December 2022 following the collapse of the ruling coalition.
Netanyahu has claimed that he is “the only person capable of keeping Israel safe” and boasted about his close ties with US President Donald Trump. He has taken a hardline stance on Hamas and initiated a 12-day air war with Iran in June.
The prime minister is currently on trial in three corruption cases, in which he denies any wrongdoing. He has also sought to limit the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court, triggering mass protests.
A Channel 12 poll published this week indicates that Likud would win 72 seats if the election were held today, remaining the largest faction in the Knesset. The uptick in popularity follows an internationally brokered ceasefire with Hamas and the release of the remaining hostages.
Demonstrators accuse the president of abusing his power and undermining democracy
Crowds across the US took part in the ‘No Kings’ protests on Saturday over President Donald Trump’s policies.
Rallies were held outside the Capitol in Washington, DC and in Times Square in New York, and cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Austin. More than 2,700 events were planned across all 50 states, according to Axios.
Protesters carried posters reading “No kings, no oligarchs” and “I pledge allegiance to no king,” accusing Trump of abusing his power and condemning his crackdown on illegal immigrants and his orders to deploy the National Guard to several cities on the pretext of fighting crime.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty,” the organizers said on the ‘No Kings’ website.
⚡️🇺🇸JUST IN:
Crowds are gathering across the U.S. for over 2,600 planned ‘No Kings’ protests against Donald Trump ✊🗽
Left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the rally in DC, saying the protesters are motivated by the will to “defend our democracy and our freedoms.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries backed the demonstrations, telling MSNBC that “peaceful expression of dissent is entirely consistent with the American way.”
BREAKING: 200,000+ Americans showed up today in DC for the No Kings rally.
Republicans have portrayed the movement as driven by radical groups. “We call it the ‘hate America’ rally that will happen Saturday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday. “I bet you’ll see Hamas supporters, I bet you’ll see Antifa types, I bet you’ll see the Marxists on full display.”
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Thursday that “the Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”
Two surviving “narcoterrorist” crew members of the vessel were captured, according to the US president
US President Donald Trump has shared a video of the US Navy striking what he called a submarine in the Caribbean that was allegedly smuggling a large amount of illicit drugs.
Trump released the unclassified footage of the strike on his Truth Social feed on Saturday, shortly after the destruction of the vessel was announced.
The US president described the vessel as a “very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE,” which was “loaded up with mostly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.”
Footage released by Trump shows the vessel, which was travelling deck awash – meaning the deck is level with or just covered by the surface of the water – sustaining at least two hits. After the strike, the submarine apparently lost power and began to sink.
“There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump wrote.
The US military has struck at least five surface vessels since September, claiming the boats were being used for drug smuggling by cartels allegedly based in Venezuela. The destruction of the submarine, however, was the first incident in which survivors were captured.
Washington has repeatedly accused Venezuela of aiding “narcoterrorists” and has put sweeping sanctions on the country. It also recently raised the bounty for information leading to the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million.
Trump confirmed earlier that he had authorized covert CIA operations on Venezuelan soil but declined to say whether the ultimate goal was to topple or outright eliminate the country’s left-wing leader.
Maduro has repeatedly denied having any ties to cartels, accusing Washington of seeking to topple him. The Venezuelan government has vowed to repel any invasion, putting its troops on high alert in the wake of the ongoing US military activities in the eastern Caribbean.
