Three young children among five people injured in stabbing outside a school in Dublin

One of the children and a woman are being treated for serious injuries, police said.

Three young children are among five people injured following a “serious incident”outside a school in Dublin city centre.

Police said the three children, a man and a woman were taken to hospitals around Dublin after the incident occurred shortly after 1.30pm.

One of the children, a girl, and the woman are being treated for serious injuries.

The other two children and the man are being treated for less serious injuries, according to police.

The scene at Parnell Square East remains sealed off and police are being assisted by other emergency services.

Police said they are following a “definite line of inquiry” and are not looking for any other person at this time.

Read more: Three young children among five people injured in stabbing outside a school in Dublin

Israel-Hamas ceasefire to begin on Friday – Qatar

The four-day break in hostilities has also been confirmed by the Palestinian militant group on social media

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary ceasefire which will begin at 7am local time on Friday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has announced. A spokesperson for the ministry also said a first group of 13 hostages will be released by Hamas at 4pm on the same day.

As reported by the New York Times, the military wing of Hamas has also confirmed the four-day truce in a statement on Telegram.

Israel, meanwhile, has suggested that the truce could last longer than the initial four days, on condition that Palestinian militants continue to release at least ten hostages per day, according to Reuters.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Right-wing party secures major win in Dutch election

The Party For Freedom is set to claim 37 seats in the country’s parliament, preliminary results show

Geert Wilders’ Party For Freedom (PVV) is on course to win the most seats in the Dutch legislature, the preliminary vote count in the country’s snap parliamentary election indicates.

The right-wing populist party is projected to win 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house, becoming the largest force in the legislature. The party appears likely to win two more seats than predicted by exit polls on Wednesday night.

The PVV now is projected to more than double its 2021 general election result, when it won 17 seats.

The comfortable win has been celebrated by Wilders, who said the result had clearly shown his party could no longer be “ignored” by other political forces.

“I address other parties; the campaign is over, and the voters have spoken. Now we need to find similarities with each other. We need to work together,” Wilders said during a public address after the first results were announced. He added that people were “fed up” and “want the Dutch to be in first place again.”

Read more

Right-wing party set for Dutch election victory – exit poll

The politician appeared to soften his anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic rhetoric, which has repeatedly caused controversy and even legal trouble, insisting he would prioritize fixing the nation’s own problems.

“I am hopeful. I understand that parties do not want a government that acts contrary to the constitution. We won’t do that. We won’t talk about mosques, the Quran or Islamic schools. We will talk about giving priority back to the Dutch, the hope of the Dutch,” Wilders told public broadcaster NOS in a statement.

It remains unclear whether the PVV will be able to form a government in which Wilders becomes prime minister, given that most of the Dutch major mainstream parties have refused to work with the PVV.

Germany launches fresh raids against ‘Citizens of the Reich’

The far-right revisionist movement denies the modern state and has reportedly sent death threats to authorities

German authorities have launched raids across eight federal states against the so-called Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) group. The far-right revisionist movement, which rejects the German government, is under investigation after reportedly sending death threats to state officials.  

Citing the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Upper Bavaria North Police Headquarters, Bild reported on Thursday that as many as 280 officers had been mobilized to conduct the raids, during which they seized computers, laptops, smartphones, and storage devices. 

Some 20 people have now been accused of creating a criminal organization and attempting to block or hamper the communication channels of German authorities by issuing mass appeals by telephone and email, the outlet reported. 

“The overarching goal of the people involved was to destabilize the Federal Republic of Germany and its state institutions and to prevent lawful state action through the procedure described, or at least make it more difficult,” Bild quoted German officials as saying. 

According to a police statement seen by the outlet, the accused are believed to have been connected to a number of Reichsburger Telegram channels which authorities have monitored since 2021. Through these channels, the suspects are believed to have spread their ideas and “conspiracy theories typical of Reich citizens.”  

Read more

Alleged coup plotters planned to kill German chancellor – NYT

The channels also offered assistance to “victims of state actions” and appeals on their behalf to German authorities, accusing the state of human rights violations and war crimes. In some of their messages, Citizens of the Reich members reportedly even issued threats to government officials. 

Last year, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Bild there were an estimated 23,000 far-right extremists in Citizens of the Reich, as she called for a comprehensive crackdown on the movement. 

“We are not dealing with harmless nutcases, but with terrorism suspects, all of whom are now in custody and awaiting trial,” Faeser said at the time. 

Citizens of the Reich was initially founded in 1985 and believes that the post-World War II German government is illegitimate. The group only recognizes the Weimar Constitution of 1919 as well as Germany’s borders during the Second Reich period, also known as the German Empire. Followers of the movement often refuse to pay taxes and clash with the authorities.  

Last year, 23 individuals with ties to the group, including several ex-military officers and a former lawmaker, were arrested for allegedly plotting to storm the German parliament with the goal of assassinating top officials, overthrowing the government, and sparking a civil war.  

In January 2023, five more Reichsburger members were charged with treason for allegedly plotting a government coup and aiming to trigger “civil war-like conditions.”