German Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted her coalition suffered a "bitter defeat" in regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The chancellor acknowledged her new government, in power since October, had "many avoidable disagreements" that had hurt its chances of re-election in NRW. She warned that tax cuts would not be possible "in the foreseeable future".
The NRW result means Mrs Merkel's coalition no longer has a majority in the upper house of parliament.
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