Angela Merkel to continue refugee policy

Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to press on with her refugee policy despite seeing her Christian Democrats (CDU) party punished by voters who flocked to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Sunday’s three regional polls.

The electoral setbacks came just as Merkel is trying to convince her EU partners to seal a deal with Turkey to stem the tide of refugees, which has already dwindled as countries along the main route have unilaterally shut borders and erected fences.

Merkel, who has staked her reputation on a thus-far elusive European solution to the crisis, came under renewed pressure from her Bavarian allies to make Germany’s border less porous, but refused to buckle.