A fire broke out yesterday at a workshop for disabled people in southwestern Germany, killing 14 and injuring at least six others, authorities said.

Germany’s top political leaders were to meet today at a summit aimed at resolving their two-and-a-half-week stand-off over who will lead the country, with Angela Merkel’s conservatives hopeful Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will let go of the top job.

A leading German conservative today said he was confident the country’s two biggest parties would succeed in forming a governing coalition, but he pressed Angela Merkel’s claim to replace Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.