Angela Merkel does not want to complete her full term as German chancellor and is planning to resign before elections due in 2017, according to reports. The German leader is aiming to become the first chancellor to leave of her own accord since 1949, and is interested in a new role as United Nations Secretary-General, or President of the European Council, Spiegel magazine reported. Such a move would come as a major shock in Germany, where Mrs Merkel remains exceptionally popular with voters after almost nine years in power, and be felt across Europe, where her position as the continent's most powerful leader is ... (full story)