Meeting in Berlin on Friday German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron showed unity in their fight against the pandemic and in dealing with Turkey and Russia ahead of an EU summit next week, news wires reported. The bloc faces "major challenges" with regard to its two eastern neighbours, Merkel said during Macron’s visit.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to travel to Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to participate in a conference on Libya hosted by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas before going on to France and Italy, dpa reported. Blinken will hold talks with Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Germany has now given at least one coronavirus vaccine shot to more than half its population but officials urged people on Friday to remain cautious and slow the spread of the more contagious delta variant, news wires reported. After a slow start, vaccinations have accelerated in Germany and everyone 12 and over has been eligible to get a shot since last week. The country is administering more than 800,000 shots per day, AP noted.

US President Joe Biden is due to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on 15 July, a statement by the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Merkel’s visit will "affirm the deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany," according to the statement, cited by dpa.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains opposed to lifting patent protections on vaccinations against Covid-19, government sources said on Thursday, ahead of the G7 summit, dpa reported. The G7 summit is to be held in Cornwall, England, from Friday to Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives scored a better-than-forecast win in a key state election on Sunday, helping to set the stage for the national ballot in about three months, dpa reported. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) under Premier Reiner Haseloff in the small eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt secured 36% of the vote, representing a hefty 6.2% plus since the last election in 2016, according to public television poll projections.

Germany expects the outcome of regional elections in the Eastern province Saxony-Anhalt held on Sunday. The results will have great influence of the expected national elections in September, Reuters reported. Depending on the outcome, the vote may pave a victorious way for Armin Laschet in his bid to succeed Angela Merkel as leader of the ruling German right wing Christian Democrats (CDU).

The US spied on top politicians in Europe, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, from 2012 to 2014 with the help of Danish intelligence, AFP reported, quoting Danish and European media on Sunday. Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) said the US National Security Agency (NSA) had eavesdropped on Danish internet cables to spy on top politicians and high-ranking officials in Germany, Sweden, Norway and France.

After almost 16 years in charge of Europe's biggest economy, and often dubbed the most powerful woman in the world, no one can accuse German Chancellor Angela Merkel of kicking back, AP reports.

The German government passed a new law on Wednesday making hate-motivated insults a criminal offence that can be punished with a monetary fine or prison of up to two years, news wires reported. Germany’s justice minister Christine Lambrecht said the new law is meant to protect Jews, Muslims, gays, people with disabilities and others.