Angela merkel
Merkel backs 'short' lockdown in Germany to tame virus
Germany has been in some form of shutdown since November, but has struggled to bring case numbers under control in recent weeks with a surge in the British...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany's 16 states had agreed at marathon talks on Monday that almost all shops were to be closed on 1-5 April, with only grocers allowed to open on Saturday, 3 April.
The restrictions would be prolonged until a yet-to-be-determined date in April due to the high rate of infections at present, which are being "accelerated by COVID-19 variants", the document said.
Support for Merkel's CDU/CSU alliance has fallen to a one-year low at around 30%, surveys show, as Germans sour on its pandemic crisis management.
After more than nine hours of talks, Merkel and Germany's 16 regional leaders unveiled a step-by-step plan to relax restrictions after months of shutdowns, despite concern over the spread of new and more aggressive virus variants.
"She expressed her concern that Iran continues to fail to meet its obligations under the nuclear agreement," spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
BioNTech and Pfizer, the first firms worldwide to announce a successful vaccine, promised to send up to 75 million extra doses to the bloc in the spring thanks to progress at key manufacturing sites.
Police seized Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent, at a border control post at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party on Saturday picked her ally Armin Laschet as its next leader.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said she was 'furious and saddened' by the storming of the US Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters.
The two leaders also discussed the settlement of the conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, that has largely remained at a standstill since peace accords were signed in 2015.
The tough restrictions to come into force from Monday, 2 November to the end of the month would limit contact outdoors to people from two households. Bars, cafes and restaurants must shut, although takeaways and delivery services can continue.
Navalny was evacuated to Berlin for treatment after he collapsed in August while on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow after a campaign trip to support opposition candidates in local elections.
Any region where infection rates reach 35 per 100,000 people would be required to impose a cap of 50 people maximum at gatherings in public spaces or rented venues.
Germany began to ease stringent measures from late April after weeks of lockdown brought new infections down from a peak of around 6,000 daily.
The hosting of the young refugees from Moria would be shared out among EU member states, the source said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said her government has concluded Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, the same substance that Britain said was used against a Russian double agent and his daughter in an attack in England in 2018.
Female leaders are seen to have handled the crisis remarkably well. But does this anecdotal perception stand up to more systematic scrutiny?
Several hundred people tried to get into the Reichstag building during a rally against coronavirus rules in Berlin on Saturday.