Germany

Angela Merkel has been in power since 2005 but plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe's largest economy.

The suspect who is said to have shot the cashier in the head told police he felt 'cornered' by the restrictions which he saw as an 'ever-growing infringement on his rights'.

Germany has strict data privacy laws because of its history of Nazi and Communist state surveillance of citizens, meaning that companies have no right to find out about health issues relating to their staff.

Germany sends Afghanistan €430 million in aid a year, making it one of the biggest donors to the strife-hit nation.

This follows reports that an employee at a vaccination centre had filled at least six syringes with saline solution, which police say were 'not isolated cases'.

Critics accuse the government of using tests as a tool to pressure the population to get jabbed.

Authorities have also agreed to make the coronavirus vaccine more widely available to over-12s, going a step further than the country's vaccines regulator.

Germany is sailing into choppy seas as China is now Berlin’s most important trading partner.

First responders say at least 16 people were injured and five remain missing, but the toll is expected to rise.

Germany's vaccine efforts have slowed in recent weeks, leading to discussions about how best to encourage those who haven’t yet received a vaccine to do so.

Police helicopters and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help stranded residents, many waiting on their rooftops to be rescued.

More than 55.1% of German adults, or 45.8 million people, have had at least one Covid shot with over 37% fully vaccinated.