Germany/Immigrants Issue – More than 130,000 asylum seekers may have disappeared in Germany, according to newly released government figures, raising concerns over terrorism and organised crime it was reported on the 26 Feb 16. In a parliamentary answer, Angela Merkel’s government said it had lost track of around 13 per cent of the 1.1 million people registered as asylum seekers last year. The missing people never arrived at official government refugee accommodation which had been assigned to them. The interior ministry later tried to row back on the admission, claiming the figures had been exaggerated by errors in data entry. But there will be concerns those unaccounted for could include Islamic extremists or organised criminals who entered the country posing as refugees. The new figures emerged just two months after unconfirmed reports the German authorities were urgently searching for 12 asylum seekers who had vanished. They were believed to have crossed the border using forged passports from the same source as those used by some of the Paris attackers. The latest admission came in a written answer to a parliamentary question from the opposition Left Party. The government said it believed many of those who had disappeared had simply moved on to other countries, while others had “gone underground illegally”. Mrs Merkel has moved to tighten asylum rules in recent months, and economic migrants with no genuine claim may choose to go underground to avoid deportation. But the interior ministry on the 26 Feb 16 tried to downplay the figures. “This information is nothing new,” Tobias Plate, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said. “The ministry has long noted that in a significant number of cases an asylum seeker who has been registered in the system does not arrive at the reception centre he or she was assigned.” The figures had been inflated by double entries in Germany’s EASY database, which was designed to help find accommodation for asylum seekers rather than keep track of them, he said. It emerged last year that the German authorities kept little information on the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers crossing into the country. Migrants were not fingerprinted and their identities were not confirmed, making it easy for them to be entered into the system at more than one location. The government has since introduced new measures to record the identities of asylum seekers on entry, Mr Plate said. The controversy came as a senior official in Berlin was arrested on charges of taking €51,000 (£40,000) in bribes to award government contracts for security at refugee shelters. The 48-year-old official, who has not been named, ensured contracts for security at several shelters went to one security firm in return for the bribes, according to prosecutors. The official was fired from his post at LaGeSo, the Berlin health and social security office, which has been heavily criticised for backlogs that have seen asylum seekers forced to sleep in the open and queue for hours in sub-zero temperatures.
United Kingdom/Mediterranean – A terror attack on British tourists in Tunisia remains “highly likely" the Foreign Office on the 22 Feb 16 has warned amid ongoing fears for the Mediterranean holiday hotspot. A state of emergency has been extended at the popular destination until the 22 Mar 16, eight months after the massacre in Sousse and a month longer than originally planned. In June last year an Islamist terrorist killed 38, including 30 Britons as they lay on their deck chairs on the beach. Months later, in November, Tunisian authorities said they had foiled a “major plot” to attack hotels and vital institutions in Sousse. Fresh travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said terrorism remains a threat and warned travellers to be vigilant. The FCO office said: “Further terrorist attacks remain highly likely, including against foreigners and in tourist resorts, and by individuals unknown to the authorities whose actions may be inspired by terrorist groups via social media. “Security forces remain on a high state of alert in Tunis and other locations. “The Tunisian President and Prime Minister have said publicly that Libya is the source of security threats, and that further attacks are likely. “The Tunisian authorities have acknowledged the limitations in their ability to counter the current terrorist threat. “Members of the Tunisian security forces have repeatedly been targeted in terrorist-related incidents, mainly in border areas including in the Chaambi Mountains. “There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.” Parts of the country remain completely off-limits with the FCO advising against all travel to the far south and areas bordering Libya and Algeria. There are still no direct flights between the UK and Monastir or Enfidah airports, which are commonly used by British holidaymakers heading to sunspots on the Mediterranean coast. Daily Tunis Air flights are still serving Tunis Carthage airport from London.
United Kingdom/Mediterranean – A terror attack on British tourists in Tunisia remains “highly likely" the Foreign Office on the 22 Feb 16 has warned amid ongoing fears for the Mediterranean holiday hotspot. A state of emergency has been extended at the popular destination until the 22 Mar 16, eight months after the massacre in Sousse and a month longer than originally planned. In June last year an Islamist terrorist killed 38, including 30 Britons as they lay on their deck chairs on the beach. Months later, in November, Tunisian authorities said they had foiled a “major plot” to attack hotels and vital institutions in Sousse. Fresh travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said terrorism remains a threat and warned travellers to be vigilant. The FCO office said: “Further terrorist attacks remain highly likely, including against foreigners and in tourist resorts, and by individuals unknown to the authorities whose actions may be inspired by terrorist groups via social media. “Security forces remain on a high state of alert in Tunis and other locations. “The Tunisian President and Prime Minister have said publicly that Libya is the source of security threats, and that further attacks are likely. “The Tunisian authorities have acknowledged the limitations in their ability to counter the current terrorist threat. “Members of the Tunisian security forces have repeatedly been targeted in terrorist-related incidents, mainly in border areas including in the Chaambi Mountains. “There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.” Parts of the country remain completely off-limits with the FCO advising against all travel to the far south and areas bordering Libya and Algeria. There are still no direct flights between the UK and Monastir or Enfidah airports, which are commonly used by British holidaymakers heading to sunspots on the Mediterranean coast. Daily Tunis Air flights are still serving Tunis Carthage airport from London.
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