BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s allies in Bavaria stepped up criticism of her open-door refugee policy on Sunday, with their leader demanding a cap of 200,000 migrants a year, about a fifth of last year’s level.Merkel faces splits in her conservative bloc and coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) over her insistence that Germany can cope with the refugee crisis as towns struggle to house migrants, many having fled war in the Middle East and Africa.Horst Seehofer, the combative Read more [...]

Days before Taoiseach Enda Kenny travels to Bavaria, its premier Horst Seehofer has demanded that Germany cap asylum applications at one-fifth of the 2015 total – and that other EU states accept more of the burden. Horst Seehofer has warned that Germany is still struggling with the one million people who arrived last year. In Bavaria, first point of arrival for those fleeing war, tensions are high after a New Year’s Eve alert forced the shut-down of Read more [...]

An Iraqi citizen went to the police in Germany's southern state Baden-Württemberg, claiming that his brother, who lives in Iraq, knew that militants were going to strike Munich, in neighboring Bavaria. The man passed on this information a week before the New Year, on December 23, German public broadcasters SWR and BR reported on Sunday. Baden-Württemberg's prosecutors subsequently ordered an investigation and police interviewed the man, who said attacks would be carried out on January 6 or Read more [...]

The governor of the German state of Bavaria has called on the government to limit the number of refugees to no more than 200,000 a year, arguing that his country can only integrate that figure. "In Germany, we have no problems with the influx of 100,000 to more than 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees from civil war per year. This number is manageable," he said before going to add that, "Anything that goes beyond that, I think is too much." Horst Seehofer said, according to AP. Speaking Read more [...]