Berlin  - Germany was in a state of shock Wednesday after a teenager killed 15 people in a school shooting spree that echoed a similar tragedy seven years ago.

"It is a sad day for the whole of Germany," Chancellor Angela Merkel" said after the rampage in the south-west region of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

"It is incredible that within the space of a few seconds, students and teachers have lost their lives as a result of a terrible crime," she said, offering her condolences to the victims' families.

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed criticism of her style of leadership on Wednesday and called for unity among her conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance.

At times of crisis, the people wanted her and the CDU-CSU to get on with the job, Merkel said in an interview with the mass- circulation Bild newspaper six months before general elections.

Berlin - Pressure is growing on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to show stronger leadership amid eroding popular support for her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Three opinion polls released this week showed the CDU losing ground to its centre-left coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), as the economic downturn takes its toll.

With national elections due in the autumn, the unlikely alliance has been hamstrung by what voters perceive as a lack of political will to push through major policy changes.

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that conditions were not ripe for state to aid troubled carmaker Opel, but stressed her government was looking for a solution.

"We will provide assistance if the benefits for the people outweigh the losses. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached this point," the chancellor said in her weekly podcast.

At talks with German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Friday, Opel's US parent General Motors (GM) promised to revamp a rescue plan dismissed by the government as inadequate.

Berlin- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been invited to Britain by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a German government spokesman announced Friday.

Merkel is to spend March 13 and 14 in Britain, and is due to visit Brown at Chequers, the official country residence of the British premier.

The talks are expected to focus on the current economic crisis, as well as bilateral, European and international issues, the spokesman said.

The meeting comes ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) summit of the world's leading economies, hosted April 2 in London.

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) have slumped to their lowest popularity rating in more than two-and-a-half years, according to an opinion poll published Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by the Forsa research institute for Stern magazine and RTL television, showed the CDU on
33 per cent, a drop of 1 per cent from a week ago.

The Social Democrats (SPD), which rule in a grand coalition with Merkel's conservatives, gained 1 per cent to stand at 24 per cent.