Germany has suspended admissions of refugees via a UN resettlement programme, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, as a new coalition government that is expected to tighten immigration rules prepares to take office.
Migration has been a contentious issue in coalition negotiations between Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats, which are expected to conclude within weeks.
The conservatives are advocating a stricter approach to asylum seekers in response to rising support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and several violent incidents involving refugees.
The two sides have struck a preliminary agreement to end voluntary federal admission programmes for refugees such as the U.N. programme - the only one currently active - and not to launch any new ones, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Germany has participated since 2016 in a European Union resettlement scheme that accepts refugees selected by the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR. Most come from Turkey, Egypt, Jordan or Kenya, or from Libya via Rwanda.
The ministry said 4,711 people had arrived in Germany through the programme since 2024, out of the 13,000 refugees that Germany has promised the European Commission it will take in for 2024 and 2025 combined.
Despite the suspension, admissions that are already well advanced, with concrete commitments, will go ahead, a ministry spokesperson said.
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Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest overhaul of defence export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other weapons.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 21st of April, covering the latest developments you need to know
The U.S. aviation regulator has ordered billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin to ground its New Glenn rocket pending an investigation into a malfunction that prevented the proper deployment of a communications satellite during a launch from Florida on Sunday (19 April).
Israeli strikes killed at least five people across the Gaza Strip on Monday (20 April), Palestinian health officials said, as clashes were reported between Hamas fighters and an Israeli-backed militia.
Iran accuses the United States of breaching a ceasefire after a commercial ship was seized in the Gulf of Oman, vowing retaliation, as Israel warns south Lebanon residents to avoid restricted areas.
Progessive Bulgaria, led by pro-Russian Eurosceptic Rumen Radev is on track to form Bulgaria’s next government, after official results showed a runaway victory for the coalition in the Balkan nation's parliamentary elections on Monday (20 April).
Secretly filmed footage from two UK laboratories has reignited debate over animal testing in drug development, after a former worker alleged that monkeys, dogs and other animals endured prolonged distress during safety trials for new medicines.
A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan’s north-eastern coast, triggering urgent tsunami warnings with waves of up to 3 metres expected, prompting residents to seek immediate safety.
Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket launched from Florida on Sunday (19 April), in the latest chapter of its intensifying rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 21st of April, covering the latest developments you need to know
Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest overhaul of defence export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other weapons.
Hungarian election winner Péter Magyar on Monday nominated András Kármán as finance minister, Anita Orbán as foreign minister and István Kapitány as economy and energy minister in his incoming government, as previously indicated.
Residents displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have begun returning to their damaged homes, hoping to recover belongings that survived the blaze.
Progessive Bulgaria, led by pro-Russian Eurosceptic Rumen Radev is on track to form Bulgaria’s next government, after official results showed a runaway victory for the coalition in the Balkan nation's parliamentary elections on Monday (20 April).
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