JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s president says Jackson Mthembu has died from the coronavirus, becoming the first cabinet minister to succumb to the disease. The 62-year-old Mthembu in recent months had been a central figure in communicating to the public the South African government’s response...
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that she isn't abandoning a German-Russian gas pipeline project that faces U.S. sanctions, but wants to talk to the new administration about the issue. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea,...
BERLIN (AP) — Germany is seeing a promising decline in new coronavirus infections, but must take "very seriously” the risk posed by a more contagious variant and will have to be cautious whenever it starts easing its lockdown, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday. Merkel and Germany’s 16...
BERLIN (AP) — The German government plans to ban the practice of killing male chicks after they hatch, which results in the death of around 45 million birds per year in the country. The Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that will prohibit the practice from Jan. 1 next year. Government spokeswoman...
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Germany is extending its pandemic restrictions, including the closure of schools and stores, until mid-February amid concerns that new mutations of the coronavirus could trigger a fresh surge in cases. Germany's infection rate has stabilized in...
BERLIN (AP) — Germany borrowed 130.5 billion euros ($157.5 billion) last year as it loosened budget rules to help finance pandemic-related rescue and stimulus packages — a considerably smaller sum than was originally planned. After six years in the black, Germany resorted to running up new debt in...
BEIJING — China is now dealing with coronavirus outbreaks across its frigid northeast, prompting additional lockdowns and travel bans. The country reported a total of 118 newly confirmed cases Tuesday — most of them in Jilin province, the Hebei region just outside Beijing and Heilongjiang province...
GENEVA (AP) — World Economic Forum organizers are expecting leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a virtual gathering next week — after the COVID-19 pandemic doused plans...
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian judge on Monday ordered opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days, after the leading Kremlin critic returned to Russia from Germany where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning that he blames on President Vladimir Putin's government. The ruling followed a hastily...
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding a virtual meeting Tuesday with the governors of Germany's 16 states to discuss the country's pandemic measures amid concerns that new mutations of the coronavirus could trigger a fresh surge in cases. Germany's infection rate has stabilized in recent days,...