Heidenau

Thousands of people took to the streets of the German city of Dresden on Aug. 29 to send a message of welcome to refugees, after a string of violent anti-migrant protests in the region.

Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has slipped by two percentage points due to divisions within her parliamentary bloc over a third bailout for Greece and even her own popularity has taken a hit, a poll showed on Aug. 26.

German police sprayed tear gas on several hundred demonstrators throwing bottles and stones at busloads of asylum seekers arriving at an eastern German town in the early hours of Aug. 22 in scuffles which left several people hurt, media reported.