Sea change in Europe: Sweden 'cannot cope', sets up fence with Denmark; "Monstrous" mass attack on women & girls in Germany

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Sweden '[we] cannot cope' - closes borders to those without passports or ID cards: Sweden, with a population of 9.8 million, took 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, a higher number of refugees per capita than any other country in the European Union. In September, prime minister Stefan Lofven said: 'My Europe takes in people fleeing from war', but by last month he admitted ' [we] cannot cope' - closing the borders to those without passports or ID cards.

Thousands of commuters traveling across the five-mile road and rail bridge and accompanying tunnel between the Danish capital Copenhagen and Malmo in Sweden were yesterday told to expect their journeys to take half an hour longer than the usual 40 minutes.

The decision to close the borders to those without passports or ID cards marks a massive turnaround for the Swedish government, which had been the most welcoming to migrants but changed course after more than 160,000 applied for asylum last year – the highest number per capita in Europe.

In September, prime minister Stefan Lofven said: ‘My Europe takes in people fleeing from war, my Europe does not build walls’, but by last month he admitted ‘[we] cannot cope’.

Yesterday the government said it ‘now considers that the current situation, with a large number of people entering the country in a relatively short time, poses a serious threat to public order and national security’.

Michael Randropp, a spokesman for a commuters’ association, said: ‘It’s as if we are building a Berlin Wall here. We are going several steps back in time.’

Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced the immediate introduction of controls at the German border at midday yesterday – 12 hours after the Swedish checks began.

‘When other Nordic countries seal their borders it can have major consequences for Denmark,’ he said. ‘It can lead to more asylum seekers.’

Around 1.1m migrants are estimated to have arrived in Germany in 2015, mainly through the state of Bavaria which borders Austria and the Czech Republic. Horst Seehofer, her ally, yesterday said the German Chancellor should drastically limit the ‘excessive’ number of newcomers.

The world is shocked. Such mass attacks on women and girls.
BBC - the Cologne assaults - near the city's iconic cathedral - around 1,000 young men arrived in large groups, seemingly with the specific intention of carrying out attacks on women and girls. The mayor of Cologne has summoned police for crisis talks after about 80 women and girls reported sexual assaults and muggings by men on New Year's Eve. Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker said the attacks were "monstrous". "We cannot allow this to become a lawless area." City police chief Wolfgang Albers called it "a completely new dimension of crime". The men were of Arab or North African appearance, he said.

But the Cologne assaults - near the city's iconic cathedral [Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany] - were the most serious, German media reports. At least one woman was raped, and many were groped. Most of the crimes reported to police were robberies. A volunteer policewoman was among those sexually molested.

What is particularly disturbing is that the attacks appear to have been organized. Around 1,000 young men arrived in large groups, seemingly with the specific intention of carrying out attacks on women and girls.

Police in Hamburg are now reporting similar incidents on New Year's Eve in the party area of St Pauli. One politician says this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Germans Shaken By Mass Attacks On Women and Girls In Cologne At New Year - about 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened, or sexually molested

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