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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Russian air strikes injured 13 and damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday, officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped the war against Iran was nearing its end and that Tehran wanted to reach a deal, but Iran dismissed his comments as “mixed signals” as the conflict approaches its seventh month.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
Cuba's electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Friday, plunging the nation into darkness and leaving millions without power amid a U.S. pressure campaign that has largely blocked oil from reaching the Caribbean's largest island.
A China Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a refueling mission in the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said, in the latest confrontation between the two countries in disputed waters.
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