Germany implements temporary border checks to limit migrants
BERLIN — Germany introduced temporary border controls Sunday to stem the tide of thousands of refugees streaming across its frontier, sending a clear message to its European partners that it needs more help with an influx that is straining its ability to cope.
Germany is a preferred destination for many people fleeing Syria’s civil war and other troubled nations in the migration crisis that has bitterly divided Europe. They have braved dangerous sea crossings in flimsy boats — another 34 drowned Sunday off Greece — and made long treks across unwelcoming countries in hopes of a better life.
More than a week ago, Germany and Austria agreed to let in migrants who had massed in Hungary, saying it was a one-time measure to ease an emergency. The flow has continued undiminished, and while Germans have remained welcoming, officials said the numbers were straining the country’s ability to provide accommodations.
“The aim of this measure is to limit the current influx to Germany and to return to orderly entry procedures,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters.
He did not specify how long the border controls would remain in place or how exactly incoming migrants would be handled.
GOP hopefuls taking sharper aim at Trump
WASHINGTON — Gladiator season may have arrived in the fight for the Republican nomination.
Three days before the next Republican presidential debate, signs abound that some rivals of billionaire developer Donald Trump are taking direct aim at his decisive lead with attacks on his divisive rhetoric and vague policy.
“There will probably be more elbows thrown at that debate,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The field would narrow, he added: “There’s not enough hard cash to go around to pay campaigns in these states in order to keep 17 candidates alive.”
“Someone has to bring him down,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told The Associated Press last week. “I’m not going to sit quietly by and let the disaster that is Donald Trump become the nominee.”
Palestinian youths, Israeli police clash
JERUSALEM — Palestinian youths, some of them masked, clashed with Israeli police officers who entered Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early Sunday in what has become an increasingly familiar occurrence on the eve of Jewish holidays.
This time, police said, they had intelligence that youths had holed up in the mosque overnight and were planning to confront Israeli security forces in an attempt to prevent visits on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the two-day holiday that began at sundown on Sunday.
By wire sources
