We hope to keep Britain close after Brexit, Merkel says

Germany wants a Brexit deal to keep Britain as close to the European Union as possible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that the outlines of an agreement on Britain's departure from the EU needed to be in place by November.Speaking to an audience of students in Hanover, Germany, Merkel said there was scope for Britain to pay to continue to participate in individual EU programmes, such as the Erasmus student exchange scheme, but added that crucial questions like the Ireland-Northern