Europe’s top human rights watchdog on Thursday voiced concern at mounting racism in Germany, citing a wave of far-right, anti-Islam demonstrations at odds with the more recent image of a country ready to open its doors to hundreds of thousands
Volkswagen’s supervisory board is considering steps to prop up the carmaker’s credit rating amid a scandal over its rigging of emissions tests that affects 11 million of its vehicles, two sources close to the board said. The board is considering
Over-hasty policy makes for poor diplomatic outcomes. Germany is being forced to re-learn that fundamental maxim as it struggles to cope with a migrant invasion sparked by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s surprise announcement last month that the country would welcome any and all refugees from
BERLIN, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Germany has translated the first 20 articles of the country’s constitution [the Grundgesetz pictured above], which outline basic rights like freedom of speech, into Arabic for refugees to help them integrate. Germany is struggling to
Germany has declared Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro safe countries today, making it less likely asylum applications from Balkan will be accepted, and easier for the country to expel individuals with rejected claims. The change heralds a shift in attitude towards the
The interior ministers of a number of German states have been forced to cancel next year’s ‘Blitzer Marathon’, in which police forces across the country ramp up their efforts to speed check motorists, thanks to the pressure put on police
BERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Germany’s defence minister signalled on Tuesday that she was open to delaying the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan beyond next year after the Taliban’s surprise seizure of the northern city of Kunduz on Monday. The
Women, children and religious minorities must be better protected in Germany’s migrant camps, the head of the policing union has said. Fighting between ethnic and religious groups within the camps has intensified in recent weeks as the migrant population has
A Muslim man in Germany has confessed to strangling his 19-year-old daughter to death as her mother watched, because she was caught shoplifting condoms. The man was planning a forced marriage for his daughter and did not approve of the
BERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Senior German conservatives are urging a flexible application of Germany’s new minimum wage in relation to refugees, arguing that those with minimal qualifications could struggle to find jobs at the 8.50 euro ($9.60) hourly rate. Deputy
Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives has slipped to a one-year low of 38.5 percent, hit by voters’ concerns about Europe’s refugee crisis, a poll showed on Tuesday. Merkel has drawn criticism, especially among conservatives, for fuelling the influx
Julia Klöckner, a senior colleague of Angela Merkel’s, has demanded that immigrants to liberal Germany adapt to their new country’s culture and not the other way round. With over 230,000 migrants arriving this year, the Huffington Post reports there is a huge
Germans have expressed their concern that a drawing tweeted out by the Federal Police in Bavaria is not what it claims to be – a child’s drawing juxtaposing the Syrian war with the safety and security of Germany, according to Der
Clashes at a migrants’ camp near the central German city of Kassel on Sunday left 14 people injured, the DPA news agency reported. The clashes erupted in the suburbs of the city, at a camp made up of tents which
BERLIN, Germany – Volkswagen’s own staff and one of its suppliers warned years ago about software designed to thwart emissions tests, two German newspapers reported on Sunday, as the automaker tries to uncover how long its executives knew about the
Elements of an analysis of Islamists who left Germany to travel to Syria and Iraq have been leaked ahead of official publication later this year. The results, intended for use by security agencies as a basis for preventing Islamic radicalisation, are said to
Speaking at the European Union migrant crisis summit in Brussels this morning German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to be invited to negotiations. Recognising that one of the key achievements required to slow the flow
The major rail route between Budapest and Munich via Austria has been closed until next month as rail bosses have been forced to take the most popular migration route out of service. Deutsche Bahn (DB) placed a permanent suspension on its intercity services
The popularity of Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of the German Confederation has slipped three points in the past week over her inconsistent approach to the migrant crisis. In a new poll by the Forsa Institute for the German Star, Merkel’s Christian Democrat /
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday, taking responsibility for the German carmaker’s rigging of U.S. emissions tests in the biggest scandal in its 78-year history. “Volkswagen needs a fresh start – also in terms of personnel. I am clearing
Viktor Orban is meeting Angela Merkel’s close political allies at a conference in a magnificent medieval Bavarian castle today, as Germany eats its own words on Oraban’s hard-line stance on Europe’s borders. The Hungarian Prime Minister was met with protests when
A migrant family from Syria are demanding to be settled in “Germany or nothing”, refusing to live in any other European country. They have threatened to go back to Syria if they are not settled in Chancellor Merkel’s country, with
The president of Croatia had strong words for Angela Merkel on the eve of the European Union’s latest talking exercise on migration, likening the effect of German policy to a traffic accident. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the first female president of Croatia,
Buckling under the weight of their own poor decisions, Germany is now considering how to limit the number of migrants coming to their borders every year, and the interior minister has now admitted “we can’t take every refugee”. Christian Democrat
Diplomats from Germany, Italy, and France have been making overtures to Turkey in the hope of stemming the flow of migrants travelling to Europe. The revelation of the potential Turkey plan, which would likely involve the transfer of money from
