Lawyers

• German allies fall apart as Bavarians threaten legal steps if Merkel fails to solve refugee problem quick

  The alliance between Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU) and partner Christian Democrats (CDU) is falling apart as Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies threatened to take her government to court if she fails to solve the refugee problem soon.

• German Cap On Refugee Numbers Deemed Problematic by Bundestag Experts

  Experts at Germany's Lower House says cap on refugee number will encounter legal problems The Christian Social Union (CSU), the long-standing Bavarian partner of Germany's dominant party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has proposed a cap on the number of refugees that Germany will accept.

• Exit now, pay later: Germany's rushed farewell to nuclear power

  When Chancellor Angela Merkel called up the boss of Germany's biggest power producer RWE two days after the first explosion at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, there was no mention of a u-turn in her energy policy.

• Germany needs to limit refugee influx, close borders: Merkel allies

  Germany needs to limit the number of refugees it takes in or even close its borders, conservative allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the weekend, as the country deals with record inflows of people fleeing from war and poverty.

• Merkel's party suffers another state loss as Euroskeptics scrape in

  The Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was set to win seats in a fifth straight regional parliament on Sunday after an election in the city-state of Bremen where Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives were badly beaten.

• Germany says peace plan for Ukraine 'damaged' not dead

  Germany condemned the seizure of a strategic east Ukrainian town by pro-Russian rebels on Wednesday as a "massive violation" of a ceasefire, but said it was too early to call the broader Minsk peace plan dead or ratchet up sanctions against Moscow.

• German anti-euro party eyes first seats in western state

  Germany's euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party may win seats in its first western state on Sunday, buoyed by worries Greece's new anti-austerity government could unleash a fresh wave of turmoil in the euro zone.

• Merkel ally warns SPD against own diplomacy towards Russia

  A senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned the foreign minister and his fellow Social Democrats (SPD) against pursuing a more friendly approach towards Russia in the Ukraine crisis, according to Spiegel magazine.