German GDP fell by 0.1 per cent between April and June and today the Bundesbank in Frankfurt said that 'industrial production is expected to shrink markedly in the current quarter as well'.

The Prime Minister was bullish tonight as he promised 'oomph' in negotiations and said he will tell EU leaders the Irish backstop 'is going to come out' of the withdrawal agreement.

Leading allies of Angela Merkel have warned Boris Johnson deleting the backstop from the Brexit deal is 'completely impossible' as the PM flies into Berlin for crunch talks.

PETER OBORNE: From his days as a Brussels-based journalist whose motif was his ridiculing of the Eurocracy and their policies, our new Prime Minister has long been a hate figure in Europe.

The value of the pound jumped this afternoon after Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel delivered Brexit boosts to Boris Johnson.

The French President echoed the German Chancellor's suggestion that the deadlock over the Irish backstop could potentially be broken to prevent No Deal.

GREG HANDS: When I heard German Chancellor Angela Merkel had invited Boris Johnson to put forward new proposals to solve the Northern Ireland backstop in the next 30 days, I was delighted.

Boris Johnson today warned scrapping the backstop and striking a new Brexit agreement with the EU will 'not be easy' as he cautioned against people being too optimistic about a deal being done.

Tory Remainer rebels are set to delay their attempts to stop No Deal until Angela Merkel's 30-day window to scrap the backstop has expired as Boris Johnson was given a Brexit reprieve.

It's the second day of the G7 Trump in Biarritz, France.World leaders gathered for a summit dinner Sunday evening and gave each other warm welcomes.

Photos have emerged of Scott Morrison looking awkward while engaging with other world leaders at the G7 Summit in France.

G7 leaders posed on the shore of the Atlantic this evening for a 'family portrait' at the summit in Biarritz but Boris Johnson found himself in a place at the far side of the front row of 19 leaders and spouses.

Donald Trump urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G7 in Biarritz, France to take back captured ISIS fighters who journeyed to the conflict zone from Europe.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence proclaimed Monday in Poland 'Moscow seeks to divide our alliance' but Vladimir Putin's efforts 'will fail,' because the NATO alliance remains strong.

Merkel, on a visit to Beijing, met with Chinese premier Li Keqiang and stressed that a peaceful solution is needed following as military trucks parked on the Hong Kong border.

PETER OBORNE:  If Johnson is to regain his poise, he needs a new set of advisers. He's lost four consecutive Commons votes and failed to secure a general election losing control of parliament.

Stefan Jagsch (pictured), of the far right-wing extremist National Democratic Party (NDP), was elected on Thursday for Waldsiedlung after the post remained vacant for weeks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was pledging her support to the nation's car industry at the annual Frankfurt IAA car show when Greenpeace protestors made their way inside the building.

Government sources said EU negotiators were being 'shown pieces of paper' giving the outline of Mr Johnson's plans, including the removal of the controversial Irish backstop.

Ms Symonds will get to the UN General Assembly in New York on her own steam, without Mr Johnson's RAF jet. It is unknown whether the couple will be staying together in a hotel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron of France both sat down separately with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the UN in New York.

Mr Cox is understood to have conveyed the threat during a 'heated' exchange with Mr Johnson over the Government's concession that the PM would ask for a delay if no deal is agreed by October 19.

Jacob Rees-Mogg - who was a thorn in the side of Theresa May before joining Mr Johnson's government - said there were 'positive' signs an agreement could be struck with the EU.

Boris Johnson told his senior team there was a 'good way forward' as he updated them on progress in a conference call.

CRAIG BROWN: As his girth attested, Helmut Kohl liked his food. In fact, he could be called something of a glutton. His favourite dish was Saumagen, which literally means 'sow's stomach'.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) has told her fellow EU leaders that the projected rise would make Germany the largest per-capita contributor, overtaking the Netherlands.

Authorities in New Delhi have declared a public health emergency Friday as air pollution in the city hit its worst level this year. It comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the region.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the United States to be a 'mutually respectful partner' and reject nationalism as Germany marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Merkel, who was forced to sit down during national anthems after a series of health scares over the summer, fell over as she took to the podium at a business event in Berlin on Wednesday evening.

President Donald Trump sat down with Turkish President Recep Erdogan at NATO meetings Wednesday shortly before cancelling his own scheduled press conference.

Footage showed her turning around after laying wreaths at a former execution wall at Auschwitz when she appeared to stumble and almost fall backwards.

So it meant all the more when burly Nessa, the seafront tattoo artist with forearms like glazed hams and the scowl of Angela Merkel in a bad mood, finally spoke her heart in Gavin And Stacey (BBC1).

Saskia Esken, a new left-leaning leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has proposed setting a national speed limit of 80mph in a move to appease climate-conscious voters.

Horst Seehofer rebuffed the chancellor's outstretched hand at a summit in Berlin this morning - refusing to make an exception to a self-imposed handshake ban.

MARK ALMOND: Turkey's president announced that his country would no longer enforce the deal struck with the EU in 2016 to prevent millions of refugees from leaving for Western shores.

It came as Erdogan jetted into Brussels for a high-level meeting aimed at shoring up the 2016 migrant deal, where the EU agreed to hand over €6bn in exchange for migrants being held back.

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig is carrying out blood tests in order to identify antibodies associated with Covid-19 (pictured, medics treat a patient in Hamburg).

Movie lovers in their hundreds turned up at a drive-in cinema in Essen, west Germany, to enjoy a film from their car - while all other movie theatres in the country are closed.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has ordered people not leave their homes unless they have an exceptional reason. A distance of at least five feet must be kept from others at all times.

Clubs in the German top flight have returned to training in the hope that the rest of the season can be finished off - providing Chancellor Angela Merkel gives the green light for action to resume.

A restart of the Bundesliga could be pushed back a week to May 16 as clubs nervously wait for Chancellor Angela Merkel's verdict. 

Social distancing was the first lesson on the timetable in Dortmund this morning where pupils lined up at 5ft intervals in the playground.

The regional government in North Rhine-Westphalia, said there had been a spike in coronavirus cases after 150 of 1,200 employees  tested positive at a slaughterhouse in Coesfeld.

The German head of state, accompanied by Chancellor Angela Merkel, stuck to social distancing guidelines at they laid down their wreaths yesterday at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin.

A Las Vegas newspaper has unearthed documents relating to a speaking engagement Hillary Clinton will undertake at a University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation fundraiser.

Hillary Clinton pushed back on the idea Republicans have been floating since Justice Scalia's death – that the winner of the election should decide his successor.

'Right now I'm not worried about the Russians. The biggest threat to America I see right now is Donald Trump's candidacy and what that will do to our country,' Corey Booker morning on Today.

The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked, a breach that Clinton's campaign claims was committed by Russia to benefit Donald Trump.

The campaign says it 'can't know for certain' that the leak is the work of Russian president Vladimir Putin - but it keep suggesting it.

'Together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution – our revolution – continues,' Sanders said.