The German interior minister has denounced as a national “disgrace” a surge in the number of violent attacks targeting asylum seekers, which are carried out by far-right extremist amid growing anti-refugee sentiment in the European country.

Thomas de Maiziere made the remarks in an address to an event called ‘To think home anew – more security on the ground,’ in the capital, Berlin, on Friday. “Last year we investigated and counted criminal offences carried out against asylum seekers and asylum seekers’ institutions, with shocking results, which you all know. Increase of arson, increase of attempted murder, increase of bodily harm, and so on, from the right-wing extremist sector. This too is a disgrace for our country,” he said.

The minister further stressed that the level of crimes committed by asylum seekers was not out of the ordinary. He also put forward changes to the residence permission law in Germany, noting that the reforms would see many more applicants “voluntarily” leave the western European state.

Over 700 cases of attacks against refugee accommodation centers have been registered so far this year, ranging from swastikas, spray-painted outside the door, to arson and other forms of property damage, according to the latest police figures.

In 2015, there were a total of 1,047 attacks on planned and completed refugee shelters across Germany. The eastern German town of Bautzen has become a flashpoint for anti-refugee sentiment. A refugee home in Bautzen was set on fire in February while onlookers applauded and chanted right-wing slogans.

Germany, one of the most popular destinations for refugees, opened its borders to the refugees last summer with a welcoming mood, but it gradually shifted away from the policy.  The country registered about 1.1 million of them refugees in 2015.

Germany has not experienced the deadly attacks that France and Belgium have, but it has witnessed a string of sexual assaults and robberies on New Year’s Eve in Cologne. Prosecutors say the assaults were committed largely by foreigners.

The country has recently seen the rise of far-right groups opposing the entry of refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria. Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in the violence-hit regions, forcing more people out of their homes.

Presstv

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said London plans to begin the formal process for leaving the European Union (EU) early next year following the Brexit vote in June. Speaking from New York on Thursday, Johnson told Sky News that Britain will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty under which London can leave the EU after a two-year negotiations period.

“By the early part of next year, you will see an Article 50 letter which we will invoke and, in that letter, I am sure we will be setting out some parameters for how we propose to take this forward. You invoke Article 50 in the early part of next year (and) you have two years to pull it off. I don’t actually think you need to spend the full two years, but let’s see how we go,” he said.

“We are going to benefit from fantastic opportunities for free trade with our friends in the EU,” he said. “It’s overwhelmingly in their interests…They’re not going to put that at risk.” But the British foreign secretary said he does not think the full two years would need to be completed.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz in London. Schulz has urged Britain to start Brexit process as soon as possible. Last week, European Council President Donald Tusk said that Prime Minister May had told him the UK could be ready to begin talks by February.

“She declared it is almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year. But she said it is quite likely they will be ready in maybe January or maybe February next year,” Tusk said on September 16 after an informal EU summit in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava.

Tusk said the rest of the EU was ready to start negotiations tomorrow. “We are well prepared for negotiations and could even start tomorrow” but “our British colleagues need more time to prepare themselves.” On June 23, some 52 percent (17.4 million) of British people voted to leave the EU after 43 years of membership.

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France has commemorated all victims of the recent terror attacks that shook the country to its core. A memorial service has been held in the capital Paris to honor the memory of all those people who unjustly lost their lives to vicious acts of terror and violence.

Hundreds of victims’ families and people who sustained injuries in the attacks attended Monday’s ceremony. President Francois Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy also took part in the event during which the names of all victims of attacks carried out by Takfiri terrorists in Paris last year and in Nice in July this year were read out. “Our country had never been attacked to this extent, with such destructive rage, with such barbarian cruelty. That’s why it was so important for names, all names to be evoked,” Hollande said.

The ceremony also commemorated those killed in terror attacks in Brussels, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali. Hollande also hailed the courage of the survivors present at the event, stressing the need for helping and supporting them and their families. “You’ve been through a tragedy, yet you want to live, you’re fighting for it, and you will stand up again. Your energy is an example,” Hollande said.

France terror attacks: A timeline

March 22, 2012: French police move in to kill Mohammed Merah, a self-styled al-Qaeda-inspired gunman, after he takes the lives of seven people in the city of Toulouse in a 12-day killing spree. Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, killed three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi before he was shot dead following a 30-hour standoff with security forces.

January 7, 2015: Two Takfiri militants attack Charlie Hebdo magazine, killing 12 people, including top editorial staff. The attack is largely believed to have been launched over the weekly’s insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). A day after the magazine attack, another militant kills a policewoman. On January 9, he also takes people hostage at the HyperCacher supermarket and kills four of them before being shot dead by police. On the same day, the escaped Charlie Hebdo gunmen are killed in a printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goele north of Paris.

November 13, 2015: Daesh launches a series of violent attacks, targeting cafes and a concert hall in Paris, and massacring a total of 130 people. On the same day, three bombers explode themselves and kill a bystander in a stadium in Saint-Denis.

July 14, 2016: A truck driver deliberately plows through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 200 others. An 85th victim of the attack, claimed by Daesh, dies later in hospital.

July 26, 2016: Two knife-wielding men loyal to Daesh take a number of people hostage at a church in Normandy. The attackers kill a 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest. Police later shoots dead the two assailants.

France is still under a state of emergency.

Presstv

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged that the European Union (EU) is in a “critical situation,” as it is struggling to find a way forward without the United Kingdom. Upon her arrival for a summit in the Slovakian capital of Bratislavato on Friday, Merkel said the EU has been facing so many problems that cannot be resolved at one meeting.

“The point is not to simply expect a solution to Europe’s problems from one summit — we are in a critical situation — but rather it is about showing through actions that we can be better,” she told reporters. The leaders of the union, minus those of Britain, have gathered in Bratislavato to discuss the EU’s post-Brexit future.

“I hope that today we can show that we can work together in the EU and that we can solve problems,” Merkel said. “Protecting Europe’s outside borders will also be discussed, but this will all be decided in the coming months, we can then also take concrete steps,” she added.

Merkel further said that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “showed in his speech that the European Commission has similar plans.” Juncker earlier warned that the union faces an “existential crisis.”

On the eve of the summit, European Council President Donald Tusk also warned that the remaining 27-member states should not “let this crisis go to waste.” “After the vote in the UK the only thing that makes sense is to have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation,” Tusk said in Bratislava.

The leaders, however, are not expected to discuss Britain’s departure from the bloc in any detail in Bratislavato. Tusk formerly called on British Premier Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty– the step required to officially begin the withdrawal.May, however, said her government will not begin the negotiation this year. Starting the negotiations would begin a two-year countdown for the UK to separate itself from Brussels.

Presstv

France has vowed to raze the “Jungle,” a sprawling camp in the northern port city of Calais hosting refugees waiting to cross into the UK. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve made the pledge at a press conference in Calais on Friday following a meeting with local officials.

The refugee camp will be “completely dismantled,” Cazeneuve said, adding, “I want the closure of the camp as quickly as possible.” Also on Friday, the French interior minister told the regional newspaper Nord Littoral that he would press ahead with the closure of the camp “with the greatest determination” and destroy the site in stages.

He further announced plans to create accommodation for thousands of asylum seekers elsewhere in the country “to unblock Calais.”

Meanwhile, Calais’ mayor Natacha Bouchart said that she had received assurances from Cazeneuve that the camp would be dismantled “in one go,” noting, however, that no date had been set for the operation.  In February and March, French authorities dismantled the southern half of the refugee camp, which is situated around the Channel Tunnel, the undersea passage into Britain.

According to local authorities, some 7,000 asylum seekers are living in the remaining northern half of the camp, up from 4,500 recorded in June. This is while humanitarian groups put the number of those residing in the refugee camp at around 9,000.

Refugees’ attempts to make their way through the Channel Tunnel or to stow away aboard trucks have disrupted traffic in the area and forced French police to maintain a large deployment there.

Local lorry drivers, shopkeepers and farmers are expected to stage a blockade of Calais on Monday to demand the camp’s closure.

The Calais camp is grappling with problems such as overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and food shortages. Charities have warned that they no longer have enough donated food or money to feed the growing population of the Jungle.

“A few months ago, there would be a maximum of 70 people in the lines; now we have 500 people queuing. We started running out of food about three weeks ago,” said Marie Eisendick, who works for the Refugee Community Kitchen.

The situation in Calais is part of a wider refugee crisis across Europe, which has been struggling with its biggest influx of asylum seekers since World War II, as people flee conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East.

Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in the violence-hit regions, forcing more people out of their homes.

More than 278,320 asylum seekers have reached Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, while over 3,170 people died or went missing in their perilous journey to the continent, according to the latest figures by the International Organization of Migration.

Presstv

A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs after a pedestrian bridge collapsed on the M20 in Kent. It happened between junctions 3 and 4, on the London-bound carriageway northwest of Maidstone.  The M20 is the main route to the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel. The stretch of road where the accident happened was initially expected to be closed until around midday on Sunday but this was later changed to closure of an “extended duration”.

Video footage shows the top of a lorry’s trailer sheared off, and debris littering the carriageway. Aerial pictures filmed by Sky News show one half of the bridge has completely collapsed. The exact cause has not been confirmed, but Highways England said it had fallen after being struck by a vehicle. Some witnesses suggested the bridge had crumbled to the ground after being hit by a large vehicle being carried on the back of a lorry.

Kalpana Fitzpatrick, who had been driving on the motorway, told Sky News: “What we can see is two trucks squashed by this bridge and emergency services are at the scene. “There are quite a lot of people just walking around the motorway not knowing what is going on. “The side I’m on, the bridge is still hanging, and obviously the traffic has been stopped. It’s quite shocking.”

Another witness, Andy Sunnucks, 24, said: “It looked like a lorry had jackknifed, and I could see half the bridge was missing. “The back end of the lorry was in pieces. “The motorcyclist was laying down underneath his bike.”  The injured motorcyclist, who is in their 50s, was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells, South East Coast Ambulance Service said.

Kent Police said in a statement: “It is believed a lorry collided with a pedestrian bridge which has collapsed onto the carriageway below.  “No people are believed to be trapped in the debris, however one person is believed to have suffered injuries, not reported to be life-threatening at this time.

“Police are treating this as a major incident and the M20 has been closed in both directions to allow this incident to be dealt with. Traffic will be heavier than usual.” Local media reported queues of about 4.5 miles on the London-bound M20, with the A20 also badly-affected as drivers tried to find other routes.

At the scene, Sky News reporter Richard Suchet said: “The traffic chaos, the knock-on effect for traffic, is huge. “It is choc-a-block on all the artery roads around here. “But, considering how busy the roads are this weekend, it’s a miracle that no more than one person was injured.”

SkyNews

Italians held a mass funeral Saturday for the victims of the recent earthquake in the central part of the country whose death toll has reached 290. The country observed a national day of mourning Saturday. Italy’s civil protection agency said in a statement that the tally rose to 230 confirmed deaths in Amatrice, the worst hit town, in Rieti province as more bodies were recovered. Elsewhere, in Accumoli, located in the same province, 11 people were announced dead, and in Arquato del Tronto, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, 49 others lost their lives.

In the early hours of August 24, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit Italy, and almost flattened scores of towns and villages in the central parts. The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks, the strongest of which measured 4.2, rattling the already hit areas. Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi joined hundreds of mourners at a state funeral for some 40 victims of the quake at a community gymnasium in the town of Ascoli Piceno, the capital of March region.

“Don’t be afraid to cry out your suffering but do not lose courage. Together we will rebuild our houses and church. Together, above all we will restore life to our communities, starting from our traditions and from the rubble of death. Together,” said Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole in the community gym, urging the mourners to find courage to rebuild their homes and communities.

The 2,000-population town of Amatrice is now in ruins with only a few buildings left standing. In 2009, Aquila in central Italy was jolted by a 6.3-magnitude quake. Over 300 people died in the natural disaster. Two other tremors also jolted the northern region of Emilia Romagna in May 2012, leaving nearly two dozen people dead and some 14,000 others homeless.

Presstv

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that devastated parts of central Italy has reached 247 as rescue and search operations are underway to find possible survivors. On Thursday, Italy’s civil protection agency said a tally by local officials showed that 190 people were killed Rieti Province and 57 in the province of Ascoli Piceno.

According to local media, Italian emergency crews are vigorously searching search through the debris of collapsed houses in the affected areas to find more than 100 people missing a day after the quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale flattened scores of towns and villages in the central parts.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said many people were still trapped under the rubble, and vowed that “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.” Officials in Italy’s civil protection agency also said there have been more than 300 aftershocks following the tremor, which was also felt in Rome, adding that searching for survivors is the top priority. The 2,000-population town of Amatrice, one of the areas hardest hit by the Wednesday quake, is now in ruins with only a few buildings left standing.

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The Swiss police say there is no indication that an attack on a train east of Switzerland had been carried out with terrorist motives, as the attacker and a victim die of injuries. Police from Switzerland’s eastern Saint Gallen region said in a statement on Sunday that there was so far no indication that the knife attack near Salez station close to border with Liechtenstein and Austria was an act of terror.

“To date there is no indication this was a terrorist or politically motivated act,” said the statement, adding that the question of motive remains. Police spokesman Bruno Metzger said terrorism is not the main theory and that “other motives” were higher on the list for the security forces, but he would not elaborate. Police said the attacker, a 27-year-old Swiss national, died of the injuries he received during the attack. He reportedly used flammable liquid to start a fire on the train running between Buchs and Sennwald before starting to stab the passengers.

Six people aboard the train were critically injured, including a woman who was doused with flammable liquid. Police said the woman also succumbed to her injuries earlier on Sunday. She had been drenched with a large amount the flammable liquid, leading to speculations that the 34-year-old might have been the main target of the attack.

Metzger said the attacker was not of immigrant origin and had no criminal record. Local media said the man had a “typical Swiss name” and was on fire when he was apprehended. Five other people were injured in the attack, including one who had been on the platform and rushed in to pull out the attacker out of the train. Police said they were in relatively stable condition.

Switzerland has been immune to a spate of terror and hate attacks hitting Western European countries over the past months. The Takfiri group Daesh, which is based in Iraq and Syria, has carried out deadly assaults on civilians and security forces in France and Germany, two of Switzerland’s neighbors in west and north.

Presstv

At least three people have been killed after two knife-wielding men took a number of people hostage at a church in northern France, police say.

According to police sources, between four and six people were held by the assailants at the church in the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray town of France’s northern Normandy region on Tuesday before security forces intervened and put an end to the hostage situation.