Merkel hit over refugee stance after attacks

BERLIN: A rash of attacks in Germany has emboldened political rivals of Chancellor Angela Merkel, blaming her liberal asylum policy for exposing the country to a shocking week of bloodshed.

Four brutal assaults in Germany’s south, three of which were carried out by asylum seekers, have rattled Germans and revived a backlash against Merkel’s decision last year to open the borders to those fleeing war and persecution.