Berlin - Germany's footballers can earn up to 200,000 euros (252,000 dollars) per man if they make it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the biggest bonus to date in the nation's qualifying matches.

The German football federation DFB said in a statement on Tuesday that nominated players will get 20,000 euros per match for a maximum 200,000 euros if Germany qualify directly for the World Cup as group winner.

Washington, November 18 : Coldplay’s vocalist Chris Martin has revealed the reason why their band is the biggest hit in the world right now – U2 and Green Day are on vacation.

The leading man of the Brit rock band revealed the band’s crowning place would soon be taken once U2 and Green Day were set to return with their new albums in 2009.

"The reason we''re the biggest band in the world at the moment is because the others are on holiday. That''s how you get your breaks,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

“While U2 and Green Day are away, we''ve gotten to make the most of it,” he added.

Bangkok - Thai shares lost 3.28 per cent Tuesday on jitters from news of Japan's recession.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index ended at 419.97, down 14.24 points, on 7.9 billion baht (229.7 million dollars) in transactions.

"The Thai market was following the Hong Kong and Tokyo bourses down," said Phuwadol Larpudomsuk, an analyst at Asia Plus Securities. "Investors are worried about the impact of recession in Japan on the region."

New Delhi, November 18 : Justin Timberlake is reportedly ready to nestle himself with girlfriend Jessica Biel after shelling out 5.5 million dollars for a posh New York apartment.

The six times Grammy Award-winner has allegedly purchased his love pad in the Big Apple’s exclusive TriBeCa district, reports the China Daily.

The 27-year-old is said to be eager on moving into the plush flat that boasts of having complete high ceilings, wall-to-ceiling windows and an open plan bedroom.

Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand), Nov 18 : Wildlife officials at Jim Corbett National Park on Monday discovered an elephant gored to death by another tusker.

The carcass of the badly mauled elephant, about 35 years old, was found by officials near a river flowing through the park.

Washington, Nov 18 : UK’s next-generation particle accelerator, ALICE, has achieved a major milestone by producing a high-energy particle beam with a total energy of nearly four and a half million electron volts.

Set to underpin the UK’s next accelerator-based light source, ALICE is a unique world-class R and D prototype whose cutting edge technology will enable advances in areas including security and medical imaging.

ALICE is based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Daresbury

Laboratory and after more than four years of planning and construction, it achieved its first high-energy beam.