Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in late February.Mr Scholz won the support of 207 MPs in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained.That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in late February.Mr Scholz won the support of 207 MPs in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained.That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win.