BREAKING NEWS

Ally of Germany's Merkel steps down before new government formation

The secretary general of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), Peter Tauber, is giving up his job after a period of illness, party sources said on Sunday.
Tauber took no part in coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats (SPD) this year and wanted to clear the way for a new secretary general to be elected at a CDU party congress on Feb. 26, the sources said.