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New Germany sex-crime figures reignite migration fight as exploitation probe expands
Report exposes scale of alleged UK grooming gang scandal
Fox News host Will Cain reports on a bombshell UK inquiry detailing shocking alleged child sex exploitation by organized grooming gangs in 149 local authority areas. The report reveals crimes committed for decades, with an estimated 250,000 victims nationwide.
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New German crime figures and an expanding investigation into an alleged sexual exploitation of teenage girls near the Nuremberg, Germany, central railway station are intensifying a broader European battle over migration, integration and whether officials have been too reluctant to confront patterns of organized sexual abuse.
Germany recorded 751 cases categorized as group rapes in 2025, according to the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the opposition Alternative für Deutschland party. All parties represented in the Bundestag German federal parliament may submit formal questions requiring government responses, a key tool through which opposition lawmakers scrutinize federal policy.
Police identified 1,087 suspects in the cases, including 509 German citizens and 578 non-German nationals. Syrians were the largest foreign-national group, with 110 suspects, followed by Afghans with 64, Iraqis with 46 and Turks with 44.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SOCCER COACH WHO USED ALCOHOL AND DRUGS TO SEXUALLY ABUSE KIDS LEARNS FATE
Two defendants are holding folders in front of their faces as a screen, while a defense attorney is talking to the right defendant and judicial officers are standing behind the defendants at a trial in Freiburg, Germany, Thursday, July 23, 2020. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)
The government cautioned that «group rape» is not a separate criminal offense or standardized police category. Officials generated the figures by filtering recorded rape cases in which suspects were listed as not acting alone. The numbers represent suspects identified during police investigations, not people convicted in court.
The figures emerged as investigators in Nuremberg, Germany, pursued allegations that vulnerable girls were deliberately drawn into a network involving affection, gifts, narcotics and sexual exploitation.
Bavarian police said in May that men operating around the city’s main railway station allegedly approached girls from unstable or vulnerable backgrounds, initially offering them attention, clothing or cosmetics. Investigators said some were later given hard drugs, including crystal meth, and that their resulting dependency was allegedly exploited to obtain sexual acts or other «services.»
STEPDAD ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT AS COPS WIDEN PROBE INTO GIRL’S LETHAL BENADRYL INGREDIENT DOSE
Protesters gather before a party convention of Alternative for Germany, or AfD in Erfurt, Germany, July 4, 2026. (Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated Press )
The investigation, known as EKO Kajal, has continued to expand. Police said Tuesday that ten suspects were being held in pretrial detention in cases involving alleged sexual offenses against girls and young women and the distribution of drugs or medication to minors.
In the latest arrests, police alleged that a 21-year-old Syrian man raped two girls, ages 15 and 18, in a Nuremberg, Germany, apartment after they were given narcotics by a 40-year-old Syrian man. Both men were detained, but the accusations remain allegations and have not been adjudicated.
Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that the Nuremberg, Germany, allegations bear similarities to grooming-gang cases uncovered in Britain, where girls were plied with drugs and alcohol before being repeatedly abused by groups of men.
«It’s a severe failure in both countries,» Schubart said, arguing that the problem begins with insufficient screening and continues with inadequate integration after migrants arrive.
«The first step that both authorities in the U.K. and in Germany really are not doing is screening migrants effectively,» she said. «But then, once the migrants are already here, the integration policy is completely lacking.»
Schubart said the isolation of some immigrant communities can contribute to «ghettoization» and create environments in which criminal networks operate with limited scrutiny or cooperation with authorities.
She also challenged the argument that disparities in some sexual-offense statistics can be explained primarily by poverty.
POLYGAMOUS SECT LEADER CONVICTED ON STATE CHARGES AFTER GIRLS FOUND IN UNVENTILATED TRAILER
A supporter wearing a plastic policeman’s helmet and holding fake money criticises the way the police dealt with the grooming gang scandal on Jan. 29, 2022, in Telford, England. (Martin Pope/Getty Images)
«Socioeconomic factors matter, but they absolutely do not fully explain the disparities,» Schubart said. «Native Germans from similar socioeconomic backgrounds absolutely do not show equivalent rates in group sexual offending.»
Schubart said she viewed the apparent intersection between drugs and sexual exploitation as an especially important parallel with Britain.
«In the U.K. and in Germany, it’s a very similar pattern where it’s basically drug trafficking that also involves sex trafficking,» she said. «These drug-trafficking networks and cells operate across the country, not just in those cities where we see the crimes playing out.»
Britain has spent years reckoning with grooming scandals in places including Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford and Oxford, England, where official reviews found that police, social workers and local authorities repeatedly missed or ignored evidence that vulnerable children were being systematically abused.
Baroness Louise Casey’s national audit, published by the British government in June 2025, concluded that inconsistent definitions, incomplete records and failures to collect ethnicity data made it impossible to establish the full national scale of group-based child sexual exploitation. It nevertheless found evidence of the disproportionate representation of Pakistani-heritage suspects in some local datasets and cases, while warning against extrapolating those findings to the entire country.
The British government later backed an independent inquiry intended to examine failures or obstruction by police, councils and other public bodies in relevant local areas.
Schubart argued that officials in both countries have sometimes avoided discussing offenders’ backgrounds out of concern that doing so could damage relations with minority communities.
«In the U.K., it’s usually the phrase ‘community relations,’» she said. «There’s a huge effort to not threaten community relations.»
Germany’s ifo Institute reported in February 2025 that its analysis of district-level police data from 2018 through 2023 found no correlation between a rising foreign population and local crime rates, including in areas receiving more refugees.
«We find no correlation between an increasing share of foreigners in a district and the local crime rate,» ifo researcher Jean-Victor Alipour said when the findings were released. «The same applies in particular to refugees.» Researchers said differences in suspect rates can be influenced by age, sex, urban concentration and other demographic factors.
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A woman poses with a sign as members of the public queue to enter a council meeting during a protest calling for justice for victims of sexual abuse and grooming gangs, outside the council offices at City Centre on Jan. 20, 2025, in Oldham, England. (Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Germany’s Syrian population also plays a significant role in sectors facing severe labor shortages.
The German Medical Association reported that 7,959 Syrian citizens were working as physicians in Germany at the end of 2025, making Syrians the country’s largest group of foreign doctors.
The competing evidence presents European governments with a difficult test: investigating organized exploitation and demographic patterns without political hesitation, while avoiding the suggestion that hundreds of suspects define millions of immigrants.
immigration, germany, crime world, europe
INTERNACIONAL
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator who rose from small-town roots to GOP power broker, dies at 71
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died Saturday at 71 following what his office described as a «brief and sudden illness,» spent more than three decades as one of the Republican Party’s most influential voices.
The South Carolina Republican forged a congressional career spanning more than 30 years, emerging as one of Capitol Hill’s most recognizable Republicans and a trusted advisor to President Donald Trump on national security, judicial nominations and foreign policy.
Born on July 9, 1955, in Central, South Carolina, Graham grew up helping his parents run the family business before becoming the first in his household to attend college.
His life changed dramatically while he was a student at the University of South Carolina, when both of his parents died within 15 months of each other, leaving him to raise his younger sister.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM DEAD AT 71 AFTER ‘BRIEF AND SUDDEN’ ILLNESS, OFFICE SAYS
Graham launched his congressional career in the U.S. House in 1995, laying the foundation for more than 30 years on Capitol Hill. (Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)
After earning a law degree, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, serving as a military lawyer before entering politics. He remained in the Air Force Reserve throughout much of his congressional career, retiring as a colonel after more than three decades of service.
His political career began in 1992, when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Two years later, he won a seat in the U.S. House as part of the Republican wave that gave the GOP control of Congress.
He emerged as a national figure during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, serving as one of the House managers who presented the case against Clinton during the 1999 Senate trial.
The high-profile role elevated his standing within the Republican Party and helped establish him as a rising conservative voice on Capitol Hill.
‘AMERICA AND THE WORLD HAVE LOST A DETERMINED LEADER’: TRIBUTES POUR IN AFTER SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH
As a House Republican, Lindsey Graham served as one of the impeachment managers who prosecuted President Bill Clinton during his 1999 Senate trial. (Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images)
In 2002, he was elected to the Senate, succeeding longtime Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Over the next two decades, Graham became one of the Senate’s most influential Republicans on national security, serving on the Armed Services and Judiciary committees while emerging as a leading voice on military affairs, judicial confirmations and U.S. foreign policy.
One of Graham’s closest political relationships was with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Along with Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, the three became known as the bipartisan «Three Amigos,» frequently traveling to war zones and emerging as some of Congress’ strongest advocates for American military power and support for U.S. allies.
CHAD PERGRAM BREAKS DOWN WHAT’S NEXT FOR GOP AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH
Alongside the late Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman, Graham was part of the bipartisan «Three Amigos,» a group known for championing national security and U.S. engagement overseas. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
Graham championed higher defense spending and was among Congress’ most vocal supporters of Israel and, more recently, Ukraine.
He also played a central role in reshaping the federal courts. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham helped steer the confirmation of dozens of federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. He also emerged as one of Brett Kavanaugh’s fiercest defenders during the justice’s contentious 2018 confirmation battle, calling the process «the most unethical sham» he had seen in politics.
His relationship with Trump underwent one of Washington’s most notable political transformations.
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After sharply criticizing Trump during the 2016 Republican primary, Graham became one of the president’s closest congressional allies, advising him on judicial nominations, national security and foreign policy while serving as a key defender of his agenda. Graham was once again critical of Trump in the wake of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, but Trump appeared to shrug that off when he returned to the White House.
Graham remained a leading voice in the Republican conference until his death. At the time of his death, he was serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and campaigning for a fifth Senate term.
He never married and had no children.
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President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham speak to the media aboard Air Force One enroute to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called Graham «irreplaceable» and the «fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.» Per South Carolina law, McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Graham «was always working,» and called the Palmetto State senator «a true American Patriot.»
Funeral and memorial arrangements were not immediately announced. Trump said on Truth Social that «details and arrangements» would follow.
lindsey graham, republicans elections, donald trump, politics, senate elections
El fortalecimiento de la Zona Libre de Colón es una tarea de múltiples instituciones, una responsabilidad compartida entre el Estado y el sector privado.
Esto lo afirma la Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá, luego de que un informe de la Alianza Transnacional para Combatir el Comercio Ilícito (TRACIT), señalara supuestas vulnerabilidades del país frente al comercio ilícito.
Jeffrey Hardy, director general de TRACIT, manifestó esta semana que Panamá ha mostrado avances respecto al índice anterior y que actualmente figura como el segundo país de mejor desempeño en Centroamérica en materia de resiliencia frente al comercio ilícito.
No obstante, advirtió que aún persisten importantes vulnerabilidades relacionadas con las zonas francas, el contrabando de cigarrillos, la falsificación de mercancías, el comercio electrónico y el movimiento de pequeños paquetes procedentes del extranjero.
La regulación de las zonas francas, añadió Hardy, continúa siendo una de las principales debilidades detectadas por la organización en Centroamérica y sostuvo que la Zona Libre de Colón, por su relevancia en el comercio internacional, debe continuar fortaleciendo sus controles, la gestión de riesgos y la cooperación entre el sector público y privado.
Ante este planteamiento, las autoridades nacionales rechazaron “categóricamente” cualquier intento de presentar a la Zona Libre de Colón como un espacio de tolerancia al crimen organizado.
Un comunicado del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores afirmó que esa narrativa “desconoce la realidad, los avances alcanzados y el profundo proceso de modernización que impulsa el Gobierno Nacional».
El planteamiento gubernamental fue más allá al señalar que las incidencias de actividades ilícitas representan apenas el 0,00042% del volumen comercial de una plataforma que mueve más de $25.000 millones anuales, por lo que, a su juicio, se trata de casos aislados y no de una práctica sistemática.
Por su parte, la Cámara de Comercio recuerda que la Zona Libre de Colón es uno de los principales activos estratégicos de Panamá. Su capacidad histórica de casi ocho décadas para conectar mercados, generar empleo y atraer inversión la convierte en una pieza esencial de nuestra plataforma logística y comercial.
En su publicación semanal, avalada por su presidente Aurelio Barría Pino, el organismo empresarial sostiene que para lograr su competitividad la institución avanza en acciones concretas, entre las que cita la creación de la primera Oficina de Cumplimiento, la certificación de auditores BASC, el mantenimiento de la certificación ISO 9001, la integración tecnológica entre el sistema DMCE y la Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, que aduce unen la gobernanza, la transparencia, la trazabilidad y la mejora continua.
El gremio de los comerciantes también menciona la coordinación permanente con la Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, la Unidad de Análisis Financiero, el Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, la Dirección General de Ingresos y otras entidades, lo que fortalece la seguridad y la confianza.
A ello, agrega, se suman el Centro de Monitoreo y Videovigilancia, los sistemas inteligentes de control y la cooperación con el gobierno de Estados Unidos para impulsar la capacidad de inspección mediante tecnología de última generación.
“La actualización que hoy experimenta la Zona Libre de Colón la moderniza, la diversifica y la conecta con las nuevas demandas del comercio global. Al mismo tiempo, amplía las oportunidades para aprovechar la integración económica regional y fortalecer las relaciones comerciales con mercados estratégicos, incluyendo los países del Mercosur», anota.
La Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá puntualiza que continuará siendo una aliada permanente de esta transformación, alegando que la ruta es clara: inversión, tecnología, institucionalidad y trabajo conjunto.
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Graham’s death ignites GOP scramble for Senate seat as Trump hints he already has a favorite
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Sen. Lindsey Graham’s, R-S.C., sudden death from an undisclosed illness has triggered a two-pronged approach to replace him, and President Donald Trump will likely be a focal point in the process.
Graham’s passing overnight comes at a time when Republicans in the upper chamber need every vote they can get. The Senate GOP now holds a 52-seat majority, and with the timetable for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., absence still unclear, that majority is now effectively 51 votes.
That will up the pressure, and drama, to find a replacement for the longtime South Carolina lawmaker.
LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71
Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on the way back to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump, during an appearance on NBC’s «Meet the Press» on Sunday, said, «I have somebody that I think would be great.»
«But I don’t want to say it now because it’s just, it’s too soon with Lindsey,» Trump said. «I don’t wanna even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good.»
It’s a process guided by the Constitution and state law. The first step will require South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, to appoint a replacement for Graham on a temporary basis.
McMaster, a close ally of Trump, can appoint a temporary replacement as soon as he wants. That pick will serve until the next special or general election.
MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES
Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from McMaster’s office on when he would make the announcement, or who he was considering for the seat.
Graham was already in-cycle running for a fifth term in the upper chamber, and he easily cruised to a primary victory early last month. That means that whoever McMaster taps would serve until the end of the year to finish off the remainder of Graham’s fourth term.
The second prong is finding his long-term successor.
The candidate filing period for that special election to win the GOP nomination opens July 21. The election is slated for Aug. 11, according to South Carolina law.
That race could see several familiar faces in South Carolina GOP politics jumping in, including McMaster himself, who is termed out as governor.
TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT POWER FACES ANOTHER GOP TEST IN SOUTH CAROLINA AFTER ALAN WILSON ADVANCES
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., departs the U.S. Capitol after a series of House votes on funding for Homeland Security and a War Powers resolution on Iran on March 5, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump heaped praise on McMaster, noting that he endorsed his first bid for the White House in 2016.
«Henry’s been a great governor, you know now he’s termed out, but he’s going to do the right thing,» Trump said. «I think Henry will be fantastic.»
There are six members of South Carolina’s GOP congressional delegation who could toss their hats into the mix. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who recently lost a bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, is eyeing jumping into the special election.
A person familiar with Mace’s plans told Fox News Digital, «Congresswoman Mace is considering a bid to run.»
Then there’s Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., the longest-serving Republican member of the Palmetto State’s delegation. He quickly snuffed speculation about whether he’d leap into the fray.
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«I was grateful to speak with President Trump today reminiscing about our mutual friend, Senator Lindsey Graham,» Wilson said on X. «I assured him my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people!!!»
Then there’s the remaining four: South Carolina Republican Reps. Ralph Norman, who also lost out on scoring the GOP nomination for governor, Russell Fry, William Timmons and Sheri Biggs, none of whom, so far, have signaled that they would jump into the battle for Graham’s seat.
Meanwhile, Pamela Evette, who Trump endorsed in the governor’s race but ultimately lost to GOP nominee and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, could also be in the mix.
Fox News Digital did not immediately receive responses to requests for comment from each possible contender.
politics, lindsey graham, senate, donald trump, south carolina
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator who rose from small-town roots to GOP power broker, dies at 71
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