BERLIN:
Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday said Germany must "stand fast, argue,
and fight for our own convictions" and assume greater responsibilities at
a time when multilateralism is coming under intense pressure. In her New Year's
address to Germans, Merkel said long-held certainties about international
cooperation were being put to the test. Global challenges including climate
change, immigration and the fight against terrorism could not be solved by countries
going it alone, she warned.

"For our own
interests, we want to solve all these questions, and we can do that best when
we also take into consideration the interests of others," she said in a
speech to be broadcast in full later yesterday. "That is the lesson from
two world wars of the last century," she said, warning however that
"certainties about international cooperation is falling under
pressure."

"In our own
interest, we must take on more responsibilities," she said. With an eye to
Germany taking on a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in 2019 and
2020, the leader of Europe's biggest economy said her country would push for
"global solutions". She also pledged to raise spending for
humanitarian and development aid, as well as defense. Although Merkel did not
name US President Donald Trump in her speech, she has on previous occasions
rejected his criticisms of multilateralism.

In his second
appearance before the UN's annual gathering in September, Trump told the
General Assembly that he and his administration "reject the ideology of
globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism". A week later,
Merkel had warned Trump against "destroying" the UN. "I believe
that destroying something without having developed something new is extremely
dangerous," Merkel said at a regional election campaign event then.

Channel crossing
plan

In other news,
Britain and France have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation over a spike in
migrants trying to cross the Channel, the UK's Home Office said Sunday. In the
coming weeks, the two countries will increase surveillance patrols and focus on
measures to dismantle trafficking gangs and improve awareness about the dangers
of sea crossings in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

"The UK and
France will build on our joint efforts to deter illegal migration -- protecting
our borders and human life," said Britain's Home Office minister Sajid
Javid, after speaking on the phone with French counterpart Christophe Castaner.
Attempts to cross the English Channel have been increasing since October, with
authorities on both sides struggling to stop them.

Javid, who has
previously said the rise is being treated as a "major incident", has
faced criticism from the opposition and from within his own party for
responding too slowly.  "More than
200 migrants have arrived on the Kent coast in small craft in the past two
months. The scale of the problem is unprecedented," Charlie Elphicke, the
MP for Dover on the southeast coast of England, told the Daily Mail.

A particular
increase in arrivals has been recorded over the Christmas period, with British
authorities finding 43 people in English waters on Christmas Day and December
26. On Thursday, British border officials found 23 Iranians in three locations
in Kent on England's southeast coast, hours after French maritime authorities
intercepted 11 migrants in a small boat near Sangatte. And on Sunday,
authorities intercepted six Iranians near Kingsdown beach in Dover. - AFP