Germany's opposition conservatives won parliamentary approval on Wednesday for a proposal to drastically restrict migration with the help of votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo on cooperation with the far-right.

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

The right to asylum must be preserved, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, as lawmakers prepared to vote on controversial motions seeking to reform the country's migration policy. In a major speech to the German parliament,