Merkel's CDU/CSU alliance, which has dominated Germany's post-war politics, now faces a "historic debacle" on September 26

In the 19 states that use the euro single currency, the average debt is expected to reach 102 percent of GDP at the end of the year.

The Taliban face a daunting challenge to transform from an insurgent group into a governing power, in a war-ravaged nation dependent on foreign aid.

Polls put both the centre-right CDU-CSU and the Social Democrats on around 23 percent, with the Greens at about 17 percent.

Critics say the US reputation as a global power has been badly tarnished by the Taliban's victory,

Germany joins a number of European nations that have seen cases climb in recent weeks fuelled by the Delta variant, first detected in India.

Waters have subsided since Friday but workers and volunteers face a mammoth task to clear away the detritus and help local residents rebuild their shattered lives.

In some areas, police deployed speedboats and divers to retrieve bodies.

Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.

The Queen has ramped up her public schedule in recent days and is always seen with a smile on her face.

With more than 605,000 deaths, the United States has lost more people to the virus than any other country.

Another point of friction in the summit was a surprise push by Germany and France to revive dialogue with Russia by considering holding a summit with President Vladimir Putin.

The number of Covid cases in hospital has more than doubled in a month to 450 patients, including about 100 in intensive care.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Monday said he was against the semi-finals and final being held at Wembley as scheduled due to rising case numbers in England.

French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that NATO should not spread itself too thin and "skew" the relationship with China.

Netanyahu, a mastermind at navigating Israel's fractious politics, had tried in vain to peel off defectors.

More than 40 percent of adults have now had their first jab, and 15 percent are fully vaccinated.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide out of at least 147 million infected.

The United Kingdom on Wednesday said it will adopt new medical advice to offer most people under 30 an alternative to AstraZeneca if possible.

As evidence mounts of clusters in separate countries, "the weight of evidence is now looking towards Oxford-AstraZeneca actually being the cause of these adverse events"

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the bloc risked "long-term damage" to its reputation if it imposed "a blockade, or interruption of supply chains".

Stocks prices of oil companies and airlines, which could lose the crucial summer travel season in Europe if cases continue to rise, suffered.

Merkel and the premiers of Germany's 16 federal states will discuss the next steps in the pandemic fight on March 22.

Despite the vaccine rollouts -- more than 136.5 million people have received jabs around the world so far.

Europe is still the worst-affected region, with more than 760,000 deaths.

Meanwhile, the number of vaccinations administered worldwide passed 100 million, but none of the world's 29 poorest countries has formally started mass inoculations.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was "hard to compute" the loss felt by British families after his country became the first European country to surpass 100,000 Covid-19 deaths.

In a New Year's Eve televised address, Merkel had already warned Germans of a hard winter with the virus.

After a grinding year that has seen at least 1.7 million people die from Covid-19, fresh waves of infection have sparked renewed lockdowns.

Even as vaccinations ramp up in Europe and North America, global infections have surged to more than 82 million.