GERMANY

Whitney Houston set to tour Europe in April 2010

Comeback pop singer, Whitney Houston, will tour Europe next year making it her first tour in eleven years.

Germany gives green light for 2010 telco auction

Germany's biggest digital frequency auction -- set to generate up to 5 billion euros ($7.4 billion) -- can go ahead next year as planned despite complaints from the European Union and small operators.

UK halts business with Iran firms on nuclear fears

Britain froze business ties with an Iranian bank and state-run shipping firm Monday, citing fears that they were involved in helping the Islamic Republic to develop nuclear weapons.

Rising U.S. population makes 2050 climate cut harder

A rising population will make it harder for the United States to make 2050 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions than for Russia and some other rich nations with shrinking populations, a Reuters survey showed.

Britain says some progress on GM, issues remain

Britain said Monday progress was being made in negotiations over the future of GM Opel car plants in Britain but there were still issues to be settled.

Opel sale contract may come this week: labor leader

General Motors GM.UL is on track to sign a contract this week to sell a majority stake in European carmaking arm Opel to a Canadian-Russian consortium, Opel labor leader Klaus Franz told Reuters.

FDP sees risk Germany shoulders full Opel burden

Germany could end up shouldering the entire burden of aid for Opel because Britain and Spain remain reluctant to support the planned sale of the carmaker to Canada's Magna, a Free Democrat (FDP) politician said.

JC Flowers funds sue over Hypo Real squeeze-out

Funds advised by U.S. private equity group J.C. Flowers & Co LLC have taken legal action seeking to prevent the full nationalisation of German bank Hypo Real Estate (HRXG.DE), the investment group said.

Tokio Hotel aims to translate Euro success to U.S

Sometimes, much weirder things happen at the MTV Video Music Awards than Kanye West interrupting an acceptance speech.

Airbus confident A400M to fly by year-end

Airbus is confident its delayed A400M military transport plane will fly by the end of the year but dismissed a magazine report that its maiden flight could come as soon as November 30 as fantasy.

Book trade seeks a deal with Google

The world's book trade meets in Frankfurt next week on the brink of a long-feared transformation of the industry for which few are well prepared.

Germany seeks to patch up divisions over Opel deal

Germany's Economy Minister sought to shore up support for his government's rescue plans for Opel amid signs of growing opposition at home and abroad to the Berlin-brokered deal with Canadian automotive firm Magna (MGa.TO).

Book trade seeks new models and a deal with Google

The world's book trade meets in Frankfurt next week on the brink of a long-feared transformation of the industry for which few are well prepared.

Germany works to plug holes in Opel rescue deal

Germany sought to shore up its rescue plans for carmaker Opel as Spain and Britain fought to safeguard their own Opel plants and domestic critics laid into the Berlin-brokered deal with Canadian automotive firm Magna.

Clinton to talk Iran, Afghanistan on Russia trip

Iran and Afghanistan will dominate talks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week on a trip to Britain and Russia that could also spur progress on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Moscow.

Germany honors rallies which helped to topple Wall

German President Horst Koehler paid tribute Friday to 70,000 East German citizens who braved a feared crackdown by communist security police and took to the streets of Leipzig in a historic demonstration 20 years ago.

Iran to blow up heart of Israel if attacked: official

Iran would blow up the heart of Israel if it was attacked by the Jewish state or the United States, a Revolutionary Guards official was quoted Friday as saying.

UK joins European drive to make energy from waste

More lucrative British incentives to produce energy from rotting and gasified waste are driving a push to biogas, following a wider European trend.

Aid groups push toilet finance as a crisis buster

Aid groups and development banks have come up with the perfect, albeit ironic, solution for investors that have seen billions of dollars go down the pan during the financial crisis. Invest in toilets.

Asia shares hit 14-month high, dollar rebounds

Asian shares hit a new 14-month high on Friday on investor optimism over the global economy, while the dollar rose on short-covering following its slide earlier in the week.

Berlin confident EU partners will aid Opel

A German-brokered deal to rescue Opel will not collapse due to a lack of support from other European countries hosting the carmaker's plants, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Big Norway fund criticizes VW over Porsche dealings

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Europe's biggest equity investor, on Wednesday criticized German auto maker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) for plans to take over some Porsche assets, which it called costly and unacceptable.