Deutsche Welle:

Update:
Cologne New Year’s Eve complaints rise sharply.

“Police say more than 500 complaints have now been filed in connection with the New Year’s Eve attacks, with about 40 percent involving sexual offenses. Germany’s justice minister said the violence appeared orchestrated.”

516 so far – yikes. I wonder how high this number will rise over the next few days.

German Justice Minister: Cologne attacks planned in advance.

“Minister of Justice Heiko Maas has said he believes the sexual assaults in Cologne were ‘coordinated and prepared’ ahead of time. He also accused xenophobic groups of using the crimes to stir up hatred.”

Cologne New Year assault reports more than double in number.

“Cologne police have said the number of women coming forward with complaints that they were assaulted on New Year’s Eve has risen to 379. A large minority of the reported crimes were said to be of a sexual nature.”

New York Times: Germany’s Post-Cologne Hysteria by Anna Sauerbrey.

See also here and here.

I posted some links about this two days ago, but have decided to find some reports in English since there seem to be reports on this in other countries. Garret asks on his weblog: “Is this true, German friends?”

Update

MetaFilter: Cologne Police Chief Forced to Resign. “After more than 100 women and girls came forward with reports of sexual assault and robbery by gangs of men in the German city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve, Cologne’s police chief has been removed from his post.”

The discussion is ongoing, and there are more links in the front page post and the discussion.

Spiegel online international

Cologne Assaults: Police Report Outlines ‘Chaotic and Shameful’ New Year’s Eve.

“Law enforcement officials lost control of the situation in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, according to an internal report by Germany’s national police, the Bundespolizei, obtained by DER SPIEGEL. The author of the report, dated Jan. 4, is a senior official. He writes: “Women, accompanied or not, literally ran a ‘gauntlet’ through masses of heavily intoxicated men that words cannot describe.” The horde in front of and inside the train station was unmoved by the presence of police.”

Chaos and Violence: How New Year’s Eve in Cologne Has Changed Germany.

Mobs and Counter-Mobs: Pitfalls, Prejudice and the Cologne Sexual Assaults. A Commentary by Sascha Lobo (official homepage).

Deutsche Welle

Protests: Police deploy in force at Cologne demos. “Police in the German city of Cologne have turned out in force at demonstrations by far-right groups and their opponents. The protests come in the wake of the attacks on women on New Year’s Eve.”

Refugees: Germany mulls deporting asylum seekers following Cologne attacks. “At a party meeting, Angela Merkel’s CDU party will address heightening security and lowering barriers to deporting migrants convicted of crimes. It comes on the back of the attacks on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.”

Germany: Reports: asylum seekers among Cologne attacks suspects. “Police identified some suspects who harassed women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve as asylum seekers, media reports say. City police reportedly did not want to publicize this because of its “politically awkward” nature.”

Germany: Merkel says Cologne NYE assaults will have far-reaching consequences. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the harassment of women at Cologne’s central train station on New Year’s Eve will have a far-reaching impact. She said such criminal acts were unacceptable in Germany.”

Other sources

Unfortunately Zeit online in English hasn’t published/translated any articles on this yet, but I’ll add more links from other reputable sources other than Spiegel online if and when I find them.

Some German news media seem to have exaggerated the events in their reports, for example Focus, who report:

“In der Silvesternacht versammelten sich auf dem Kölner Bahnhofsvorplatz laut Polizei etwa 1000 Männer, die Frauen umzingelt, bedrängt und ausgeraubt haben sollen. Polizeipräsident Wolfgang Albers sprach am Montag von Sexualdelikten “in sehr massiver Form” und einer Vergewaltigung.”

(My translation:) “During the night of New Year’s Eve around 1,000 men congregated at the square in front of the main train station in Cologne and surrounded, hassled and robbed women. Police superintendent Wolfgang Albers spoke of massive sex offences and one rape.”

They don’t distinguish between a gathering of 1,000 people and the men among them who committed the crimes, which were, according to other media, smaller groups of men.

See also here and here.

Whitehouse.gov: What the President is Doing to Keep Guns Out of the Wrong Hands. January 5th, 2016.

“Too many communities across the country are still suffering from the heartbreaking consequences of a gun in the wrong hands. In the past decade, more than 100,000 people have died as a result of gun violence. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place.
[…]
The President has a responsibility to do everything in his power to reduce gun violence. This week, he will.”

New York Times: How They Got Their Guns.

“The vast majority of guns used in 15 recent mass shootings, including at least two of the guns used in the San Bernardino attack, were bought legally and with a federal background check. At least eight gunmen had criminal histories or documented mental health problems that did not prevent them from obtaining their weapons.”

New York Times: I Went After Guns. Obama Can, Too..
By John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister (January 16,2013).

“In the 18 years before the 1996 reforms, Australia suffered 13 gun massacres — each with more than four victims — causing a total of 102 deaths. There has not been a single massacre in that category [in the 17 years] since 1996.”

Business Insider: Australia enacted one of the largest gun reforms ever nearly 2 decades ago — and gun deaths plummeted.

“In 1996, a man named Martin Bryant became the worst killer in Australia’s history. After walking into a cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, he killed 35 people and wounded 23 others with a semiautomatic rifle and another semiautomatic assault weapon.

As a result, Australia enacted one of the largest gun reforms in recent history — and gun deaths plummeted. The changes remain the gold standard for advocates of gun control today.”

Links via MetaFilter: There’s a lot of heartache.

Previously: December 7, 2015, December 3, 2015.