German Interior Minister Supports Deportation of Hamas Supporters

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gives a statement to the press prior to the EU Justice and Home Affairs council in Luxembourg, 19 October 2023. (EPA)
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gives a statement to the press prior to the EU Justice and Home Affairs council in Luxembourg, 19 October 2023. (EPA)
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German Interior Minister Supports Deportation of Hamas Supporters

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gives a statement to the press prior to the EU Justice and Home Affairs council in Luxembourg, 19 October 2023. (EPA)
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gives a statement to the press prior to the EU Justice and Home Affairs council in Luxembourg, 19 October 2023. (EPA)

Germany's interior minister said on Friday Hamas supporters should be deported from the country where possible, and authorities would keep a close eye on potential threats following the Palestinian militant group's attack on Israel.

"If we are able to deport Hamas supporters, we must do this," Nancy Faeser said following talks with officials at the Federal Criminal Police Office.

"Our security authorities have currently placed an even stronger focus on the Islamist scene," she added, pointing to a recent attack in Brussels as an indication of the threat.

Concerns over antisemitism are growing in Germany, particularly following an attempted attack on a Berlin synagogue with petrol bombs, and clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police in Berlin and other cities.

At the same time members of Germany's large Palestinian community have said their voices are being silenced by demonstration bans.

Faeser appealed to citizens to alert authorities of any "propaganda" supporting Hamas.

On Friday, prosecutors in Munich searched the house of a 38-year-old German national over an Instagram post defending Hamas's attack, according to a statement from the prosecutor.

"We will not allow this vile hatred and horrific violence to spread," Faeser told reporters.



New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.