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.

• Germany's capacity to take in refugees is limited, Schaeuble says

  Germany needs to send a message to the world that it's reaching the limit of its capacity to help Europe's flood of migrants, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday, as he advocated restricting family reunions for Syrian refugees.

• 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.

• Facebook must obey German law even if free speech curtailed: minister

  Facebook will have to abide by German laws banning racist sentiment even if it might be allowed in the United States under freedom of speech, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview with Reuters.

• Merkel, heckled on visit to refugees, says no to xenophobia

  Dozens of protesters shouted at Chancellor Angela Merkel and waved placards with the slogan "traitor" on Wednesday when she visited an eastern German town where anti-refugee protests erupted into violence at the weekend.

• Top German spy says no evidence of industrial espionage by the U.S.

  Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) has no evidence that the United States carried out industrial espionage in Europe, its chief said on Wednesday.

• 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.

• Merkel's approval ratings drop steeply in wake of spying scandal

  Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has dropped abruptly in the wake of an unfolding spying scandal and she has slipped from the top spot among Germany's leading politicians, ARD television network said on Friday.

• Thousands in Germany protest against Europe-U.S. trade deal

  Thousands of people marched in Berlin, Munich and other German cities on Saturday in protest against a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that they fear will erode food, labor and environmental standards.

• 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 hits diplomatic dead-end with Putin

  After nine months of non-stop German diplomacy to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, Chancellor Angela Merkel decided in mid-November that a change of tack was needed.

• 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.