Merkel buys time on refugee crisis after defusing coalition spat
Berlin
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel won time to reach a Europe-wide solution to the region's refugee crisis after securing a deal to defuse a spat with her coalition partners that threatened her chancellorship.
The pact between Mrs Merkel's Christian Democratic-led bloc and the Social Democrats will ease deportations and restrict family reunions for asylum seekers who make their way to Germany. Still, her pledge to reduce the number of newcomers in 2016 will hinge on persuading Turkey and European Union member states to act. She's likely to discuss the crisis on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi when they meet in Berlin.
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