GERMANY

Porsche accused Volkswagen and its key shareholder Lower Saxony of extortion following a magazine report that VW and the regional state had demanded Porsche accept a tie-up of the two carmakers with VW in charge.

If you look at the banking sector response to this crisis, it appears that the further east you go, the more demanding your typical lender becomes, said Mike Sales, the London-based head of property at Henderson Global Investors.

A Polish couple living in Germany fell out after tying the knot and decided to end their marriage on the same day.

Microsoft Windows 7 pre order starts June 26 until July 11th in the United States and Canada. Japan is also included on the list for June 26th pre order release but will end earlier on July 5TH or while supplies last.

As President Obama announced Friday that climate change legislation as enormous progress in the U.S. Congress history, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the 1,200-page environment and energy bill will pass following a successful test vote earlier on Friday.

Actress Farrah Fawcett, the Charlie's Angels television star whose big smile and feathered blond mane made her one of the reigning sex symbols of the 1970s, died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer. She was 62.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday his hopes for a direct dialogue with Iran had been affected by what he described as the brutality of Tehran's outrageous crackdown on protesters in the aftermath of its disputed election.

Possible plans by Volkswagen to cooperate with Suzuki Motor raised an enthusiastic response among investors on Friday, but traders said the main focus at VW remained firmly on Qatar.

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor, wants speedy reforms at the world's biggest carmaker but many want him out of the fast lane.

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will debate how to fix the global economy and fight climate change on Friday in a White House meeting that is likely to highlight a range of differences between the two leaders.

German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said in a newspaper interview on Friday that discussions about troubled car maker Opel remained open but that a solution needed to be found fast.

Microsoft Windows 7 pre order will start tomorrow until July 11th in the United States and Canada. Japan is also included on the list for tomorrow’s pre order release but will end earlier on July 5TH or while supplies last.

The German government wants additional assurances before giving its support to a special state-backed loan for Arcandor's mail order unit Quelle, Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said.

Porsche is free to submit a fresh application for state aid, a German economy ministry official said on Thursday, while Porsche said it was already working with state bank KfW to shape a new bid.

The world's rich lost a fifth of their wealth in 2008 and the number of people with fortunes of more than $1 million fell 15 percent as the financial crisis wiped out two years of growth, a study showed on Wednesday.

The global population of high net worth individuals fell 14.5 last year along with the economy, according to a new report.

A 400-billion euro ($554 billion) project linking solar power produced in the Sahara to energy users in Europe and North Africa is a win-win for both continents and could also promote integration around the Mediterranean, a German minister said.

A stumble in sentiment punctured hopes of a rapid rebound from recession in the euro zone's services-led economy and the European Union and United States faced off against China in a looming trade dispute over raw materials.

A stumble in sentiment dented hopes of a rapid rebound from recession in the euro zone's services-led economy and the European Union and United States faced off against China in a looming dispute over raw materials.

Corporate sentiment surveys from Germany and Japan showed glimmers of hope on Monday, contrasting with grim global outlooks from the World Bank and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Carmakers left on the sidelines of rapid change in Europe's auto landscape will eventually be forced into mergers and acquisitions even if they use alliances and partnerships to tackle immediate challenges.