German industry was initially eager to welcome the hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving into the country - but
sceptical voices are being raised about the potential costs of the huge influx to Europe's biggest economy.
As the thermometer dips towards zero in Germany, thousands of asylum seekers spending their nights in tents are pleading for authorities to find them alternative housing.
Food and shelter may be a priority for the record numbers of often desperate refugees arriving in Germany but they also need "intellectual nutrition", say experts at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The Bundestag (German parliament) passed a new set of laws tightening asylum controls on Thursday, despite sharp criticism from the opposition and NGOs - and demands from conservatives to go even further.
Germany, facing a record migrant influx, will extend temporary border controls until the end of October, with a special focus on the Austrian border, the interior ministry said Tuesday.
Twenty asylum seekers on Monday filed a suit against Berlin's main refugee registration centre for failing to register them promptly so they could get essential benefits including a roof over their heads, a court official said.
A Syrian refugee who went through a harrowing journey to Germany tells The Local of her disenchantment with German authorities since she arrived and the sense of despair in refugee camps.
Five people were injured in a punch-up between scores of Afghans and Albanians at an asylum seekers' centre in Hamburg on Tuesday, local police told AFP.
The federal government denied on Monday a report in Bild that it estimates 1.5 million refugees - almost double previous projections - would arrive in Germany in 2015.
A mass brawl involving around 200 refugees from Afghanistan and Syria broke out on Wednesday night at an asylum centre in Hamburg which has been beset by problems.
Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned that refugees are mistaking highly poisonous mushrooms for edible ones they are used to back home – with sometimes fatal consequences.
On the hunt for people-smugglers in the Mediterranean, a German navy ship is sailing off the coast of Libya when it gets a report of an unidentified boat adrift.
Germany on Sunday called for a transitional government in Syria in a bid to resolve the country's years-long civil war, as European governments increasingly soften their demands over President Bashar al-Assad's departure.
At a summit called in Berlin on Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to provide an extra €2 billion of federal funds for refugee aid to Germany's states over the coming year.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad should be involved in any Syrian peace talks, amid mounting pressure to end the four-year conflict.
German intelligence warned Tuesday that the number of Islamic extremists in the country had increased sharply in recent months and expressed serious concern that they were recruiting among refugees.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière promised on Sunday to give "considerably more money" to the Germany's federal states to cover the costs of taking in refugees.
Newspaper Bild scored an own goal with Germany's football fans over its "we're helping" refugee campaign, on a weekend when Dortmund maintained their perfect start to the season.
European Council President Donald Tusk has called an emergency summit of European leaders to try and tackle the refugee crisis, it was announced on Thursday.
