Estonia’s new two-party coalition government has been sworn in on Tuesday with the first female prime minister in the Baltic country since it regained independence in 1991, news wires reported.

Germany is actively considering proposals to halt nearly all international flights in an effort to contain the threat posed by new variants of the COVID-19 virus that are highly transmissible and could be resistant to existing vaccines. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said no decision had yet been made but that officials were working on proposals to significantly tighten border restrictions.

Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte handed his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday, the president's office announced. Conte, who left the presidential palace about 30 minutes after entering, is expected to seek a mandate from the head of state to form a new executive with a broader coalition, ANSA reported.

Germany’s health minister supported European Union proposals to introduce restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday as tensions grew with AstraZeneca and Pfizer over sudden supply cuts just a month after the bloc started vaccinating citizens.

In her special address ‘State of the World’ at the virtual Davos Agenda Week, EC President Ursula von der Leyen outlined several areas where international cooperation is crucial to fight global challenges.

Dutch police detained more than 180 people in a third night of unrest in cities across the Netherlands, where roaming groups of rioters set fires, threw rocks and looted stores in violence triggered by a night curfew aimed at curbing the coronavirus.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited new US President Joe Biden to Germany during their first official phone call after Biden's inauguration, dpa reported. Speaking on Monday, Merkel assured Biden of Germany's cooperation in tackling international challenges, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis reckoned on Monday that the country could return to “some normalcy” at the end of spring or the beginning of summer if the vaccination programme remains on track, Ekathimerini reported. Speaking during the online session of the World Economic Forum, Mitsotakis said the supply of vaccines from the EU will be pivotal, noting that it must be expedited

Groups of youths confronted police in Dutch towns and cities on Monday night, defying the country’s Covid-19 curfew and throwing fireworks, news wires reported. Police in the port city of Rotterdam used a water cannon and tear gas in an attempt to disperse a crowd of rioters who also looted shops.

Italian PM Giuseppe Conte will hand in his resignation to the head of state on Tuesday after a morning cabinet meeting to inform his ministers, Conte’s office said. The prime minister, who has been in office since June 2018, hopes President Sergio Mattarella will give him a mandate to form a new government with broader backing in parliament, senior government sources said on Monday.