Thousands of people rallied in Hamburg on Sunday to protest at next week’s G20 summit, where US President Donald Trump is make his maiden appearance at the forum of major economies. A police spokesman put the turnout at the demonstration — the first of dozens scheduled in the runup to the summit on Friday and … Read more
Greece and Germany have agreed to slow the reunification of refugee families divided between the two nations during their scramble to safety, according to a leaked letter published Monday. “Family reunification transfer to Germany will slow down as agreed,” Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas wrote to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere in a May … Read more
Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti on Monday handed over to the Libyan coastguard four patrol boats repaired in Italy as part of cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration. The crews were trained in Italy “to monitor Libyan territorial waters… and contribute, together with Italy and Europe, to security in the Mediterranean”, Minniti said in … Read more
Members of the lower house of parliament in Germany have approved a law that partially bans the full-face Islamic veil known as the burka. The bill will now go to the upper house for approval. Civil servants, judges and soldiers will be prevented from wearing burkas at work. Right-wing parties had been pushing for a … Read more
The European Union should consider restricting visas for senior officials from African states The European Union should consider restricting visas for senior officials from African and other states which refuse to take back illegal immigrants from Europe, Germany’s interior minister said on Monday. Attending an EU meeting in Brussels, Thomas de Maiziere told reporters that … Read more
The Netherlands has warned its citizens over travel to Turkey as a row between the countries shows no sign of abating. Germany, Austria and the Netherlands blocked Turkish attempts to hold rallies in those countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed retaliation, accusing them of “Nazism”. On Monday, the Dutch foreign ministry issued a new … Read more
Several EU leaders have criticised Turkey, amid a growing row over the Turkish government’s attempts to hold rallies in European countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Germany and the Netherlands of “Nazism” after officials blocked rallies there. Dutch PM Mark Rutte called his comments “unacceptable”, while Germany’s foreign minister said he hoped Turkey would “return … Read more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a setback Friday when the upper house of parliament rejected a proposal to declare three North African states “safe countries of origin” in refugee law. The proposed designation for Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco aimed to make it easier for Germany to deny asylum requests from their citizens on the grounds … Read more
Germany will speed up expulsions of rejected asylum seekers under measures agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet Wednesday, as controversy raged over sending people back to strife-torn Afghanistan. Under the new measures, immigration agency officials will in future also be allowed to access applicants’ smartphones in certain cases to help determine their identity and country … Read more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Algeria from Monday to press efforts to get North African countries to reduce the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean into Europe. Merkel, who last week hosted Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, is hoping for partnerships with Maghreb countries and Egypt to prevent a new wave of migrants making the … Read more
Tunisia’s prime minister on Tuesday rejected German claims that his country has been blocking the return of rejected asylum seekers including the key suspect in the Berlin attack, hours ahead of talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The German leader plans to press Youssef Chahed to speed up the repatriations of Tunisians, with the issue taking … Read more
Germany has launched a Europe-wide manhunt for a “violent and armed” Tunisian man, saying he is a suspect in Monday’s Christmas market attack in Berlin. But authorities are under fire after it emerged that the 24-year-old Anis Amri, a rejected asylum seeker, was potentially dangerous and already under investigation. The interior minister of Germany’s most-populous … Read more
German police are searching for a Tunisian man over Monday’s Berlin Christmas market attack, reports say. According to a temporary-stay permit found in the cab of the lorry that ploughed into crowds, “Anis A” was born in 1992 in the city of Tataouine. Searches are said to be under way in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. … Read more
The attack is similar to one in Nice, France, in July. German authorities released a man and intensified their manhunt for the person who plowed a tractor-trailer truck into a crowd at a Berlin Christmas market, even as ISIS claimed Tuesday that it inspired the attack. Police said they didn’t have enough evidence to hold … Read more
ISIS and a branch of al Qaeda have encouraged their followers to use vehicles to stage attacks. German authorities released a man and intensified their manhunt for the person who plowed a tractor-trailer truck into a crowd at a Berlin Christmas market, even as ISIS claimed Tuesday that it inspired the attack. Police said they … Read more
ISIL claimed responsibility for Monday’s lorry attack on a Christmas market in Berlin as German investigators said they were pursuing multiple leads. The claim came at the end of a challenging day for German officials, who are still hunting for the person, or people, behind the incident. ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and … Read more
German police are investigating a “probable terrorist attack” after a man ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. The driver, reportedly a Pakistani asylum seeker who entered Germany last year, is being questioned. German media say police are searching a refugee shelter at a … Read more
German police are investigating a “probable terrorist attack” after a man ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. The driver is an Afghan or Pakistani asylum seeker, according to security sources cited by DPA news agency. He reportedly arrived in Germany in February as … Read more
German police are questioning a man they believe ploughed a lorry into a busy Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. The driver is an Afghan or Pakistani asylum seeker, according to security sources cited by DPA news agency. He reportedly arrived in Germany in February as a refugee. … Read more
At least 34 Afghan asylum seekers arrived in their home country after being deported from Germany a day earlier, a Kabul airport official said. The group was the first to arrive back in Afghanistan after a new agreement was made between the German government and Kabul in October. The Kabul airport chief of police, Mohammad … Read more