Gruelling overnight talks between the leaders of the conservative CDU and the centre-left SPD in Germany appear to have succeeded, with the two parties announcing on Wednesday morning that they will attempt to form a "grand coalition" government. The SPD has been allocated the foreign, finance and labour ministries, while the CDU will retain the defence and economy portfolios, according to media reports. The same reports claim the interior ministry will be taken by Angela Merkel's Bavarian ally, Horst Seehofer. Seehofer has been taking a tough line on immigration up till now. Major differences during the talks ... (full story)