People who have been fully vaccinated might soon be able to regain personal freedoms and return to a more ordinary life, Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn has said.

How Christian is Germany? Judging by a sharp decline in church attendance, not very. But a look at tax revenue, board memberships and land holdings suggest that its two biggest churches still have a wealth of influence.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should only be routinely given to people over the age of 60, Germany's federal and state health ministers have decided.

Germany is set to pledge additional help to the victims of the Syrian Civil War at a donor conference being held in Brussels. The amount is expected to be comparable to a €1.6-billion sum given last year.

All passengers flying into Germany are now required to provide a negative COVID test before boarding. The change is regardless of the virus risk level in the country of origin.

"We are in a new pandemic" due to the spread of coronavirus variants, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. German federal and state leaders have agreed on a radical shutdown over the Easter holidays.

Lawmakers from Germany's governing conservative party alliance face a Friday deadline to prove they didn't pocket profits from face mask sales. The scandal comes ahead of state elections on Sunday.

As coronavirus infections rise, Germans are voting in two state elections on Sunday. The outcomes could have an impact on parties' national standing ahead of September's vote to replace Angela Merkel.

The former member of the Gambian armed forces is suspected of involvement in crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder under then President Yahya Jammeh.

The country has seen its biggest fall in emissions for decades but it isn't just effective climate policy that is driving the change.

Christian Drosten, who many credit with Germany's early successful management of the coronavirus pandemic, has a grim warning. The country's COVID rates are headed back to Christmas levels, he says.

Germany, France and several other European countries have decided to lift suspensions on the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following safety guidance from the European Medicines Agency.