Merkel under fire as Cologne cases rise

Cologne police on Sunday said they had now recorded more than 500 cases of New Year's Eve violence blamed on migrants, piling fresh pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance toward refugees.

Marking a sharp jump from the caseload of 379 given on Saturday, police said some 516 complaints had now been lodged, including 40 percent that are related to sexual assault.

Witnesses described terrifying scenes of hundreds of women running a gauntlet of groping hands, lewd insults and robberies.