German Lutherans

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 30 congratulated the new leader of Germany's ruling party.

In a phone call, Erdoğan said he believed Armin Laschet, head of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), will continue Germany's positive relations with Turkey, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

According to the daily "Bild", at the video conference with the heads of the CDU / CSU factions in both the Bundestag and the provincial assemblies, she spoke openly about the failure of the government.
"We lost control of the matter," the paper quoted the chancellor as saying.

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.

On Saturday, 1,001 delegates of the Christian Democratic Union will elect their new leader.

Germany's total coronavirus cases topped two million on Jan. 15, as Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for a "significant" tightening of restrictions to slow the infection rate.

"I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that never in the past 15 years have we all experienced such a difficult year," she said in the annual address that is broadcast to millions of people.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva was ranked in 18th place in this year's Forbes' ranking of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

The list includes world leaders in various roles.

The full list of Forbes' ranking is available here.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding first position, because she has been in power for 16 years, with the assessment that she will probably remain the most powerful leader on the continent until she withdraws from politics next year.

Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta, which have borne the brunt of the European Union's migration crisis, have sent a joint memorandum outlining their positions regarding the bloc's new Pact on Migration and Asylum to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The prime ministers of the four European Union countries on the frontline of the migration crisis, namely Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta, on Wednesday sent a joint memorandum outlining their positions on the bloc's new Pact on Migration and Asylum to the German chair of the European Council, Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von de