GERMANY

The strike by baggage handlers and ground staff affiliated with the Ver.di union has also led national carrier Lufthansa to cancel hundreds of flights at Germany's largest airports.

Most of the world is interconnected thanks to email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

The euro zone's public debt crisis is not over despite calmer financial markets this year, the OECD said on Tuesday, with a warning that the bloc's banks remain weak, debt levels are still rising and fiscal targets are far from assured.

Google's latest doodle on Tuesday pays homage to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the masters of modern architecture whose 126th birthday falls on March 27.

Japan's Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> said on Tuesday that it aimed to cut annual operating costs by 5 percent in four years, enabling the company to invest more in its growing infrastructure and telecommunications businesses.

Asian stocks rebounded Tuesday and the dollar eased after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was still needed to reduce unemployment even though the U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement.

Germany's Pirate Party won four seats in the Saarland state parliament on Monday. The new party took an impressive 7.4 percent despite only having three months to prepare for the snap elections.

Stocks surged Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank would continue its present monetary policies and keep interest rates low, offsetting soft readings on the domestic economy.

BMW has recalled 1.3 million cars worldwide due to a battery cable cover problem, which could potentially cause a fire, according to the premium car manufacturer.

BMW AG , the world's largest premium carmaker, is recalling about 1.3 million cars for repair worldwide due to a possible problem with a battery cable cover in the trunk, the carmaker said on Monday.

Stock indexes gained 1 percent on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled a supportive monetary policy will stay even as the unemployment rate improves.

Greece's exit from the euro would be a catastrophic political and economic mistake that would severely weaken Europe's single currency bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a BBC interview broadcast on Monday.

She added important lessons had been learned from the Greek experience, allaying fears further bailouts would be needed for other struggling Eurozone countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously reluctant to expand the size of euro zone bailout funds, agreed to support a €200 billion ($265 billion) increase of the firewall on Monday.

The Ifo Business Climate Index in Germany, a key business confidence report from one of the largest think tanks in the country, showed little change in March from February, indicating the slowdown in recovery.

Himmler, responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people, was also a highly complex and fascinating man. He was obsessed with India and Hinduism.

Wall Street's gains came after positive remarks on the U.S. labor market by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and upbeat economic data from Germany that offset a soft reading on the U.S. housing market.

Hopes that the European Central Bank’s operations would help to facilitate a meaningful pick-up in the euro-zone economy were dealt a blow by the release of March’s flash Purchase managers Index surveys according to Capital Economics.

Rumors of factory closings swirl around General Motors Co.'s German subsidy Opel, even as the company leads the way in sales of its electric Ampera, the European version of the Chevy Volt.

This week - March 26 to 30 - will highlight Wednesday's durable goods report and a busy policy calendar, including the core of the Federal Open Market Committee: Chairman Ben Bernanke and New York Fed President William Dudley. Wall Street will be closely monitoring the Fed officials' speeches, hoping to find clues of their latest views on the economic, inflation and policy outlooks.

After departing Seoul, Erdogan will reportedly fly directly to Tehran to discuss with Iranian officials details of the Korean summit.