Immigration

Migrant arrivals in Germany decreased sharply in 2017

The number of new asylum seekers in Germany fell sharply last year to 186,000, the government said on Tuesday, easing pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel as debate rages on whether to impose a cap on migration.

Immigration

Immigration and integration Germany's 'biggest challenge'

Eighty-three percent of Germans see immigration as Germany's "biggest challenge" - that's twice as many as a year ago, and more than in any of the other countries surveyed.

Islam

First Muslim woman elected speaker of state parliament

A Muslim woman will sit in the speaker's chair at sessions of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament from now on – a first for any German state.

Cologne

Suspect in Cologne sex assaults caught in Switzerland

A key suspect in the New Year's Eve mass sexual assaults in Cologne was spotted shoplifting in southern Germany and arrested across the border in Switzerland, authorities said on Thursday.

Immigration

Can Merkel keep party behind her on refugees?

Chancellor Angela Merkel will seek at a party congress on Monday to stamp out dissent in her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over a record refugee influx after months of corrosive infighting.

Education

Uni raises tuition fees for non-EU foreigners

A university in the eastern Germany state of Saxony has become the first to raise tuition fees drastically for non-EU foreign students. The fee hike from €220 to €3,600 each year could set a nationwide precedent.

imm

Sarrazin steps down

Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin resigned late on Thursday after causing weeks of uproar with inflammatory comments on immigrants and Jews.

imm

Severance pay for Sarrazin in question

Embattled Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin may not receive a severance package if he is removed from his post following incendiary claims about race and immigration, a media report said on Thursday.