Refugee hostel attacked

Bonn (Reuter, AFP) - A hostel for asylum seekers was burnt down on Sunday night in Obisfelde, eastern Germany. Nobody was injured. In Mullheim, western Germany, a Turkish man was overcome by fumes after arsonists poured petrol in the entrance to the family home in the early hours of yesterday morning. He was treated for smoke inhalation.

Germany's eastern neighbours, Poland and the Czech Republic, called on Bonn to reach agreements with them before tightening up its political asylum law. The Czech ambassador to Bonn, Jiri Grusa, said Germany could not stem the tide of asylum seekers, who come mainly by land from Eastern Europe, by pushing the refugees back to its smaller and poorer eastern neighbours.