berlin on Tuesday agreed measures aimed at curbing an unprecedented surge in migrants, including cuts to cash payments, as a backlash grew over the German government's handling of the refugee crisis.<br />Berlin wants the laws to take effect as soon as November.<br />Chancellor Angela Merkel has come under mounting pressure, since she pledged to set "no upper limit" on the right to asylum and promised to accept all refugees from Syria.<br />Officials expects 800,000 refugees this year, four times more than 2014.<br />In a surprise development, Joachim Gauck, German president, who is widely viewed as a liberal, on Sunday launched a thinly veiled attack on Ms Merkel's handling of the crisis, saying: "Our reception capacity is limited even when it has not yet been worked out where these limits lie."<br />Cash handouts of 143 euros a month for a single person are seen as making Germany more desirable for migrants than other European states.<br />Refugees will instead receive non-cash benefits, such as food vouchers.
