The Latest: Germany stimulus to help fight future challenges

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says more than a third of the stimulus package agreed by her government this week is devoted to tackling future challenges such as climate change.

Germany’s three governing parties announced a 130 billion-euro ($146 billion) package Wednesday to revive the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In her weekly video address Saturday, Merkel said that 50 billion euros alone would go toward boosting the use of hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, encouraging the purchase of electric vehicles, equipping schools with IT devices and researching future technologies such as quantum computing.

Merkel acknowledged that Germany will have to borrow money to pay for the additional spending, but insisted that “now, during the worst economic crisis that (post-war) Germany has experienced, it’s right to act with bravery and resolve.”

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— U.S. unemployment makes a surprise 13.3% drop amid the pandemic.

— The U.K. became the second country after the United States with more than 40,000 virus deaths.

— Russian Orthodox priest tends to Moscow’s COVID-19 patients

— The loneliest of D-Day remembrances is hit by pandemic

— Europe could have its free travel zone up and running again by the end of this month, but travelers from further afield will not be allowed in before July, a European Union commissioner said Friday after talks among the bloc’s interior ministers. The news should come as a relief to millions of Europeans still trying to work out their summer vacation plans — which begin for many in July once the school year is over.

— Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the...