Germany is poised to pass a law that will legalise religious circumcision if it is performed by a person who is medically qualified.

The legislation follows a May ruling in Cologne that criminalised non-medical circumcision of minors in that district.

Germany’s Justice Ministry on Wednesday moved to protect the rights of Jews and Muslims to carry out circumcisions, issuing a draft bill which allows the operation.

The development follows months of uncertainty following a Cologne district court ruling in May which banned religious circumcision.

German Jews were joined by Christians and Muslims on Sunday evening for a demonstration calling for circumcision to remain legal.

Around 500 people attended the rally, which was held in Bebelplatz in Berlin, a public square notorious as the site of book-burning ceremonies by the Nazis and their supporters in May 1933.

A Jewish cemetery has been desecrated by vandals in Germany.

Six tombstones were targeted by the vandals, who sprayed graffiti including the Nazi slogan “Sieg Heil” and the phrase “S**t Jews” on them.

Police are now conducting an investigation into the attack on the graveyard in the northeastern city of Rostock and have said they have a good idea of who was behind it.

Of all the cities in which a Jewish Holocaust survivor might choose to open a restaurant, a mere 15 years after the end of the Second World War, Munich, birthplace of the Nazi movement, would be the least appealing option. At least, you would think so.

The Foreign Secretary has paid tribute to the 11 Israeli athletes and the policeman killed in the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, 40 years ago today.