German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday suffered another episode of uncontrolled trembling, a week after a similar incident that sparked questions about her health. The latest lapse came hours before Merkel was due to board a plane for the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The German leader began to tremble as she stood next to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was giving a speech at a ceremony to formally appoint a new justice minister. The shaking went on for two minutes, according to a dpa photographer who was present at the event. Merkel folded her arms visibly in a bid to stop the trembling. She only finally brought it under control once she was able to take a few steps. She was offered a glass of water but turned it down. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told news agency dpa that "everything is going ahead as planned. The chancellor is fine." Merkel's office wouldn't comment on the cause or otherwise elaborate. It is not publicly known if Merkel has any health problems. German privacy laws are very strict on that type of information.

Her previous bout of shaking was on June 18 as she was seen to shake as she stood waiting to welcome the new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Germany. She said later that she had failed to drink enough during the hot weather at the time.