This year saw arrival of thousands of refugees in different states in Germany and other European countries. (File Photo)
Authorities in Germany's most populous state have banned people from setting off fireworks at refugee accommodation and in the grounds of asylum centers over the new year.
Germans typically celebrate with a deafening, hours-long salvo of fireworks on New Year's Eve, which is invariably a busy night for fire services.
The local government in the Arnsberg region, around Dortmund, said today that it's issued a ban on setting off fireworks within the grounds of refugee accommodation - in part because of worries over potential injuries and fires, but also out of concern about the psychological effects on refugees from war zones.
The ruling applies to homes in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia state, which includes cities such as Cologne, Bonn and Essen.