BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany will hold a snap national election on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. Here are the main parties contending, their poll standings,

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz faced off in a heated TV debate on Sunday, exactly two weeks before the country heads to the polls. Scholz attacked Merz - whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading in the polls on around 30% ahead of the election on February 23 - over his decision last week to pass a motion on migration reform in parliament with votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U_S_ could take ownership of the Gaza Strip, relocate its population and redevelop it as a “scandal.”