Friedrich Merz says he will close Germany's borders to irregular migrants, including those with a right to protection.

A deadly knife attack on a play school group in Germany, where an Afghan man was arrested at the scene, reignited a bitter immigration debate on Thursday, a month before elections. Germany has been shaken by a series of deadly attacks,

The conservative opposition leader tipped to lead Germany following next month's elections has promised far-reaching changes to border and asylum rules after a group of children were targeted in a deadly knife attack in Bavaria.

Germany's opposition leader vowed Thursday to bar people from entering the country without proper papers and to step up deportations if he is elected chancellor next month, as a knife attack by a rejected asylum-seeker spilled over into an election campaign in which he is the front-runner.