Germany’s leader of the last fifteen years Angela Merkel has vowed not to seek re-election as the country’s chancellor following federal elections scheduled to take place in September 2021.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Armin Laschet’s victory in the ruling German party's leadership race came as no surprise, as he has never stood out by his personal political views and is deemed to be the most "convenient" and please-all successor for Angela Merkel, Albert Breininger, an Alternative for Germany (AfD) party member, told Sputnik.

The bill, which has passed in the French lower house of parliament, has prompted outrage, leading to mass demonstrations that have been ongoing since November.

Austria has been under its third lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic since late December, with all non-essential businesses closed and people's movement restricted.

Earlier in the day, the CDU's online congress failed to choose a leader in the first round, when Laschet received 380 votes, followed by Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen with 385 and 224 votes, respectively.

Former Spanish king Juan Carlos left the country in August after a scandal caused by his alleged involvement in corruption cases that are being investigated by the legal authorities of Spain and Switzerland. He previously abdicated the throne to facilitate the ascension of his son Felipe VI in 2014.

PARIS (Sputnik) – France regrets a Russian decision to leave the Open Skies Treaty and hopes that Moscow will revise its stance on the issue, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry said.

BERLIN (Sputnik) - The ruling Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) has been following the policy of protecting the interests of all German citizens, as practiced by the first post-WWII German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer as well as Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who oversaw the German reunification, current Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday.

HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Finland reported 32 cases of side effects, including anaphylactic reactions, in people who received a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, the Finnish medicines agency Fimea said on Friday.

All fatal cases involving the vaccination against coronavirus in Norway reportedly involved people over 80 who whose health was "weak."

Germany saw virus-related daily deaths hit a record high of 1,244 on Thursday, 14 January, taking the toll to 43,881. The country is on the way to pass the 2 million cases mark this week, after another 25,164 cases in the past day.

A major part of waste typically generated by tourism over the summer months in countries such as Italy, France and Turkey is plastic, according to report from the WWF in 2018 which warned that record levels of pollution from microplastics threatened marine species and human health.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A resident of Belgium has died five days after receiving Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine against COVID-19, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) said in a statement, adding that an investigation has been launched.

Hundreds of parents found themselves in difficult financial straits after the tax office withdrew thousands of euros in benefits which it said had been wrongly paid in 2012.

GENOA (Sputnik) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) is aware that 23 people in Norway died after being vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab against coronavirus and it will follow the investigation closely, the organisation's representative told Sputnik on Friday.

As countries around the world roll out COVID-19 vaccines and enforce lockdown measures to stop the spread of the virus, health authorities have been forced to contend with the further challenge of a more contagious form of the coronavirus first found in the UK.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - About 100 people in the Netherlands reported developing side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, the NOS broadcaster reported on Friday, citing pharmacovigilance centre Lareb.

Nicolas Sarkozy served as president of France from 2007 to 2012. After retiring from public life, he was charged with corruption in at least two cases.

According to the regulator - the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency - the request to change the permit is the result of unforeseeable delays outside of the German EEZ.

The miniseries, released by the Swedish Armed Forces, invokes an atmosphere of uncertainty amid environmental crises and “grey zone” undertakings by Sweden's enemies, who use psyops and disinformation campaigns.