Angela Merkel's New Year speech

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for photographs after the television recording of her annual New Year's speech at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 30, 2020. /Reuters.

Germany's "historic" coronavirus crisis will extend into 2021 even if the vaccines bring some hope, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday in her New Year's greetings. "I can only imagine the bitterness felt by those who are mourning a loved one because of the coronavirus, or those who are still suffering its after-effects when the existence of the virus is disputed or denied by some," she said. "The conspiracy theories are not only false and dangerous; they are also cynical and cruel towards these people," she said.