Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted this week that stringent restrictions, which are set to run until Jan. 10, will remain in place longer.

Germany: Daily COVID cases exceed the 30K mark for first time

The members of Germany&#39;s second-biggest party have in their high-stakes referendum approved a plan to join Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s coalition, German media reported Sunday.

Quoting unnamed party sources, German public broadcaster ZDF and Bild daily said the Social Democratic Party&#39;s rank and file voted &quot;yes&quot; to a new partnership with Merkel&#39;s conservatives.

The party&#39;s leadership is due to announce the results shortly.

The make or break vote was the last hurdle in the way of Merkel&#39;s fourth term in office and essentially ends a political stalemate that has plagued the country since September&#39;s inconclusive elections.

Stung by their worst post-war results, the SPD had initially ruled out another four years under Merkel&#39;s shadow.&nbsp;

But after Merkel&#39;s attempt to cobble together a government with two smaller parties failed, the SPD relented while promising its more than 460,000 members the final say on any coalition deal.

The members of Germany's second-biggest party have in their high-stakes referendum approved a plan to join Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, German media reported Sunday

The members of Germany's second-biggest party have in their high-stakes referendum approved a plan to join Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, German media reported Sunday. Quoting unnamed party sources, German public broadcaster ZDF and Bild daily said the Social Democratic Party's rank and file voted "yes" to a new partnership with Merkel's conservatives. The party's leadership is due to announce the results shortly. The make or break vote was the last hurdle in the way of Merkel's fourth term in office and essentially ends a political stalemate that has plagued the country since September's inconclusive elections. Stung by their worst post-war results, the SPD had initially ruled out another four years under Merkel's shadow. But after Merkel's attempt to cobble together a government with two smaller parties failed, the SPD relented while promising its more than 460,000 members the final say on any coalition deal.

Germany's SPD approve new coalition with Merkel: Media

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she is &quot;horrified&quot;&nbsp;to learn about the incident of a knife attack on the mayor of Altena in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

&quot;I am horrified by the knife attack on the mayor Andreas Hollstein - and very relieved that he can already be back with his family. Thanks also to those who helped him,&quot;&nbsp;Merkel&#39;s spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter.

Andreas Hollstein mayor of a small in the west of Germany was stabbed in the neck on Monday evening while he was at a Kebab shop.

The mayor is seriously hurt and is left with 15 cm long cut on his neck.&nbsp;

While describing the event to media Hollstein said that the attacker asked him if he was the mayor, before saying, &quot;You let me die of thirst and let 200 refugees into Altena.&quot; Then the man plunged a 30 cm long kitchen knife into him.

According to reports the attack is suspected to be the result of xenophobia and is politically motivated.

Reuters reported that the suspect, identified as Werner S., had been arrested and although the police are taking it as a spontaneous attack because he had alcohol in his system.

&nbsp;

Andreas Hollstein mayor of a small in the west of Germany was stabbed in the neck on Monday evening while he was at a Kebab shop

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she is "horrified" to learn about the incident of a knife attack on the mayor of Altena in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. "I am horrified by the knife attack on the mayor Andreas Hollstein - and very relieved that he can already be back with his family. Thanks also to those who helped him," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter. Andreas Hollstein mayor of a small in the west of Germany was stabbed in the neck on Monday evening while he was at a Kebab shop. The mayor is seriously hurt and is left with 15 cm long cut on his neck. While describing the event to media Hollstein said that the attacker asked him if he was the mayor, before saying, "You let me die of thirst and let 200 refugees into Altena." Then the man plunged a 30 cm long kitchen knife into him. According to reports the attack is suspected to be the result of xenophobia and is politically motivated. Reuters reported that the suspect, identified as Werner S., had been arrested and although the police are taking it as a spontaneous attack because he had alcohol in his system.

Horrified by knife attack on Mayor Hollstein: Angela Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival Martin Schulz return to their home bases to make their last-ditch appeal for votes ahead of Sunday&#39;s elections, urging Germans to shun anti-migrant populists.

Merkel will end her punishing campaigning schedule in her Baltic coast constituency Saturday.

But far from heading to districts where her Christian Democratic Union enjoys its strongest support, she is visiting districts in the town of Greifswald and the island of Ruegen where the Islamophobic Alternative for Germany topped her party&#39;s score in state elections last year.

Social Democrat chief Schulz meanwhile will take his rally to Aachen, a western city next to his hometown of Wuerselen.

Although Merkel&#39;s party enjoys a double-digit lead over the second place SPD, alarm is growing among mainstream parties as the latest polls show support for the hard-right AfD rising in the final campaigning stretch to between 11 and 13 percent.

That means that around 60 lawmakers of the openly anti-immigration party could sit in the German parliament for the first time since World War II, a prospect prompting established parties to urge voters to shun the upstarts.

( Also Read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/germany-elections-main-parties-their-ideologies-and-who-is-likely-to-win-20540" target="_blank">Germany elections: Main parties, their ideologies and who is likely to win?</a> )

&nbsp;&#39;Shame for our nation&#39;&nbsp;

At Merkel&#39;s final major stump speech on Friday evening at the southern city of Munich, dissenters blew whistles and vuvuzelas and chanted &quot;get lost&quot;, seeking to drown her out.

But the 63-year-old refused to be derailed from her stability-and-prosperity stump speech, telling the crowd that &quot;the future of Germany will definitely not be built up through whistles and hollers.&quot;

Merkel, whose rallies across Germany had been plagued by organised AfD supporters, also called people to go out and &quot;vote for the parties that are 100 percent loyal to our constitution&quot;.

In an appeal for voters to close ranks and keep the AfD out, Schulz told a rally in central Berlin that &quot;this Alternative for Germany is no alternative. They are a shame for our nation.&quot;

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, also a Social Democrat, said the party is led by &quot;people who incite hate, who spread Nazi propaganda&quot;.

&quot;For the first time since the end of the Second World War, real Nazis will sit in the German parliament,&quot; said Gabriel.

Challenge taboos&nbsp;

Two months of campaigning have been largely low-key, with few hot-button issues dividing the main contenders.

While Merkel has been pushing her stability and prosperity agenda and Schulz seeking to sway voters with his pledges for greater social equality, the AfD has diverted attention.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung columnist Heribert Prantl praised the chancellor for not only pressing on with her rallies despite protests from AfD supporters but also giving a clear rebuttal to the populists.

But the columnist regretted that it only came late in the campaign when it became &quot;clear how the political climate in Germany will change with the AfD in the Bundestag.&quot;

&quot;Not only nationalist politicians, but racists and bigots too will enter parliament,&quot; he wrote, adding that &quot;the seriousness of the situation was only recognised too late.&quot;

Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, said the AfD &quot;will challenge key themes&quot; in parliament, warning that taboos since 1945 that could be breached include how Germany views its World War II past and the question of what makes a German.

One of two AfD leading candidates, Alexander Gauland, had called for Germans to stop atoning for the war past.

He had also sparked outrage when he said integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz should be &quot;disposed of in Anatolia&quot;, suggesting that she will never be German because of her Turkish origin.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival Martin Schulz return to their home bases to make their last-ditch appeal for votes ahead of Sunday's elections, urging Germans to shun anti-migrant populists

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival Martin Schulz return to their home bases to make their last-ditch appeal for votes ahead of Sunday's elections, urging Germans to shun anti-migrant populists. Merkel will end her punishing campaigning schedule in her Baltic coast constituency Saturday. But far from heading to districts where her Christian Democratic Union enjoys its strongest support, she is visiting districts in the town of Greifswald and the island of Ruegen where the Islamophobic Alternative for Germany topped her party's score in state elections last year. Social Democrat chief Schulz meanwhile will take his rally to Aachen, a western city next to his hometown of Wuerselen. Although Merkel's party enjoys a double-digit lead over the second place SPD, alarm is growing among mainstream parties as the latest polls show support for the hard-right AfD rising in the final campaigning stretch to between 11 and 13 percent. That means that around 60 lawmakers of the openly anti-immigration party could sit in the German parliament for the first time since World War II, a prospect prompting established parties to urge voters to shun the upstarts. ( Also Read: Germany elections: Main parties, their ideologies and who is likely to win? ) 'Shame for our nation' At Merkel's final major stump speech on Friday evening at the southern city of Munich, dissenters blew whistles and vuvuzelas and chanted "get lost", seeking to drown her out. But the 63-year-old refused to be derailed from her stability-and-prosperity stump speech, telling the crowd that "the future of Germany will definitely not be built up through whistles and hollers." Merkel, whose rallies across Germany had been plagued by organised AfD supporters, also called people to go out and "vote for the parties that are 100 percent loyal to our constitution". In an appeal for voters to close ranks and keep the AfD out, Schulz told a rally in central Berlin that "this Alternative for Germany is no alternative. They are a shame for our nation." Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, also a Social Democrat, said the party is led by "people who incite hate, who spread Nazi propaganda". "For the first time since the end of the Second World War, real Nazis will sit in the German parliament," said Gabriel. Challenge taboos Two months of campaigning have been largely low-key, with few hot-button issues dividing the main contenders. While Merkel has been pushing her stability and prosperity agenda and Schulz seeking to sway voters with his pledges for greater social equality, the AfD has diverted attention. Sueddeutsche Zeitung columnist Heribert Prantl praised the chancellor for not only pressing on with her rallies despite protests from AfD supporters but also giving a clear rebuttal to the populists. But the columnist regretted that it only came late in the campaign when it became "clear how the political climate in Germany will change with the AfD in the Bundestag." "Not only nationalist politicians, but racists and bigots too will enter parliament," he wrote, adding that "the seriousness of the situation was only recognised too late." Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, said the AfD "will challenge key themes" in parliament, warning that taboos since 1945 that could be breached include how Germany views its World War II past and the question of what makes a German. One of two AfD leading candidates, Alexander Gauland, had called for Germans to stop atoning for the war past. He had also sparked outrage when he said integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz should be "disposed of in Anatolia", suggesting that she will never be German because of her Turkish origin.

Merkel, Schulz at home base on final campaign push

Germany urged its population to stockpile food and water to prepare for possible terrorist or cyber attacks yesterday. 
 
The citizens were encouraged to store food for 10 days and water to last five. 
 
This is the country&#39;s first civil defence strategy since the end of the Cold War. The plan marks the first broad update since 1995, when a dismantling of federal civil defence structures was advocated as security policies were eased in the wake of German reunification. 
 
The 69-page document said that Germany should be ready in case of an &quot;existence-threatening development&quot; and warned that the environment on which the security policy was previously based has changed. 
 
Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s &quot;grand&quot; right-left coalition of scaremongering was accused ahead of key state elections in September. 
 
Twitterati mocked the strategy with the hashtag #hamsterkaeufe (squirrelling away) and photos of the furry rodent widely circulating.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Make Hamsterbacken great again. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamsterkaeufe?src=hash">#Hamsterkaeufe</a> <a href="https://t.co/CqZkG4pAxr">pic.twitter.com/CqZkG4pAxr</a>
&mdash; Schaf (@nordschaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/nordschaf/status/767458081034891264">August 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamsterkaeufe?src=hash">#Hamsterkaeufe</a> - beste Idee ever! <a href="https://t.co/mjSuLxJmhF">pic.twitter.com/mjSuLxJmhF</a>
&mdash; alex_dd (@alex_dd89) <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_dd89/status/767395394577915904">August 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
 
 
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere rejected the criticism, saying that there must be preparation for any kind of disaster. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s only responsible, sensible and appropriate to make cool-headed preparations for a catastrophe scenario,&quot; he said, stressing that &quot;every country in the world does that&quot;. He also challenged charges of electioneering, arguing that the strategy is the result of a long reflection process that had been in 2012. 
 
While acknowledging that &quot;an attack on German territory requiring conventional defence is unlikely,&quot; Europe&#39;s biggest economy should be &quot;sufficiently prepared in case of an existence-threatening development in the future that cannot be ruled out,&quot; the strategy document said. 
 
&quot;The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, conflict driven by terrorist means and cyberspace attacks can be a direct threat to Germany and its allies,&quot; it said. 
 
de Maiziere said the strategy advocates emergency plans for any breakdown in key energy and water infrastructures as the people and the&nbsp;government was heavily dependent on both the power and IT networks&nbsp; 
 
A string of attacks at home in July - including two claimed by the Islamic State group - has sparked a fierce debate about internal security. 
 
The defence ministry is looking at training the military to respond to major terror assaults, while de Maiziere announced tough new anti-terror measures including a controversial proposal to strip jihadist fighters of their German nationality. 
 
Haunted by its Nazi past, Europe&#39;s most populous country has for decades been particularly cautious about military and defence issues. But this year it set out a new roadmap outlining Germany&#39;s ambition to assume a bigger security role abroad, within the frameworks of NATO and the European Union. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)

People were encouraged to stockpile for 10 days and water for five. This is the country's first civil defence strategy since Cold War

Germany urged its population to stockpile food and water to prepare for possible terrorist or cyber attacks yesterday. The citizens were encouraged to store food for 10 days and water to last five. This is the country's first civil defence strategy since the end of the Cold War. The plan marks the first broad update since 1995, when a dismantling of federal civil defence structures was advocated as security policies were eased in the wake of German reunification. The 69-page document said that Germany should be ready in case of an "existence-threatening development" and warned that the environment on which the security policy was previously based has changed. Chancellor Angela Merkel's "grand" right-left coalition of scaremongering was accused ahead of key state elections in September. Twitterati mocked the strategy with the hashtag #hamsterkaeufe (squirrelling away) and photos of the furry rodent widely circulating. Make Hamsterbacken great again. #Hamsterkaeufe pic.twitter.com/CqZkG4pAxr — Schaf (@nordschaf) August 21, 2016 #Hamsterkaeufe - beste Idee ever! pic.twitter.com/mjSuLxJmhF — alex_dd (@alex_dd89) August 21, 2016 Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere rejected the criticism, saying that there must be preparation for any kind of disaster. "It's only responsible, sensible and appropriate to make cool-headed preparations for a catastrophe scenario," he said, stressing that "every country in the world does that". He also challenged charges of electioneering, arguing that the strategy is the result of a long reflection process that had been in 2012. While acknowledging that "an attack on German territory requiring conventional defence is unlikely," Europe's biggest economy should be "sufficiently prepared in case of an existence-threatening development in the future that cannot be ruled out," the strategy document said. "The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, conflict driven by terrorist means and cyberspace attacks can be a direct threat to Germany and its allies," it said. de Maiziere said the strategy advocates emergency plans for any breakdown in key energy and water infrastructures as the people and the government was heavily dependent on both the power and IT networks A string of attacks at home in July - including two claimed by the Islamic State group - has sparked a fierce debate about internal security. The defence ministry is looking at training the military to respond to major terror assaults, while de Maiziere announced tough new anti-terror measures including a controversial proposal to strip jihadist fighters of their German nationality. Haunted by its Nazi past, Europe's most populous country has for decades been particularly cautious about military and defence issues. But this year it set out a new roadmap outlining Germany's ambition to assume a bigger security role abroad, within the frameworks of NATO and the European Union. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Stockpile food in case of attack, Germany tells citizens

Hundreds of far-right protesters marched through Berlin on Saturday to demand that Chancellor Angela Merkel step down for her open-door refugee policy. 
 
Under the slogan &quot;Merkel has to go&quot;, protesters marched before the city&#39;s most emblematic buildings. 
 
They chanted against asylum laws and refugee policies and the German leader&#39;s &quot;We can do this&quot; refugee mantra. 
 
The demonstration comes only days after Merkel had to face down accusations at home and abroad that her open-door refugee policy allowed Islamist terrorism to take hold in Germany. 
 
Five attacks have been carried out since July 18 in Germany and have left 15 people dead -- including four attackers -- and dozens injured. 
 
Two assailants, a Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up and a refugee from either Pakistan or Afghanistan who attacked people on a train in Bavaria, had links to Islamist militancy, officials say. 
 
Politicians from left and right say Merkel&#39;s refugee policy is at fault, after more than a million migrants entered Germany in the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. 
 
(Reuters)

Merkel has been accused at home and abroad that her open-door refugee policy allowed Islamist terrorism to take hold in Germany

Hundreds of far-right protesters marched through Berlin on Saturday to demand that Chancellor Angela Merkel step down for her open-door refugee policy. Under the slogan "Merkel has to go", protesters marched before the city's most emblematic buildings. They chanted against asylum laws and refugee policies and the German leader's "We can do this" refugee mantra. The demonstration comes only days after Merkel had to face down accusations at home and abroad that her open-door refugee policy allowed Islamist terrorism to take hold in Germany. Five attacks have been carried out since July 18 in Germany and have left 15 people dead -- including four attackers -- and dozens injured. Two assailants, a Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up and a refugee from either Pakistan or Afghanistan who attacked people on a train in Bavaria, had links to Islamist militancy, officials say. Politicians from left and right say Merkel's refugee policy is at fault, after more than a million migrants entered Germany in the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. (Reuters)

Far-right Germans take to the streets, urge Chancellor 'Merkel to go' over refugee policy