US President Biden delays Germany visit due to Hurricane Milton

US President Joe Biden is postponing his planned trip to Germany later this week due to the powerful Hurricane Milton, which is heading for the state of Florida, the White House announced on Tuesday.

Biden's administration has expressed grave concern about the hurricane, a powerful storm which appears to be headed for areas of the US which recently suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Milton has weakened slightly in recent hours and is currently a Category 4 storm, with sustained wind speeds of about 230 kilometres per hour. The US National Hurricane Center has warned that the storm "is forecast to remain an extremelydangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida."

The US president had been expected to arrive in Berlin on Thursday evening, where he was scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Biden had planned to then travel to the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where he was to host a Ukraine summit at the US airbase in Ramstein.