Norbert Roettgen

Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader- sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor.

Germany will spend an initial 10 million euros to help remove mines from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Handelsblatt newspaper said in Friday editions, reported Reuters.

The foreign ministry is set to announce the increased funding as part of a pact with the United States on Friday, the paper added.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday called for the creation of an EU army in the wake of rising tensions with Russia.
      
Juncker said the force could help counter new threats beyond the bloc's borders and defend European "values", in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.