Berlin - The heads of German carmaker Opel are meeting Monday with German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, to discuss a survival strategy for the ailing General Motors (GM) offshoot.

The meeting in Berlin includes GM's European head Carl-Peter Forster, Opel's Chief Executive Hans Demant and the head of the workers' council Klaus Peter Franz.

Opel had previously said the manufacturer needs 3.3 billion euros in state aid. Over the weekend however, Guttenberg said many questions remained unanswered.

Berlin  - On a drab, gray February day it takes quite a while to locate the grave of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in the Bethlehem Cemetery in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg.

A sombre black iron fence surrounds the site where the great composer-conductor lies buried alongside the grave of his gifted pianist sister Fanny, and other distinguished relatives.

Berlin - A second day of strikes in schools, courtrooms, university clinics and regional government offices across Germany on Friday charged the atmosphere ahead of public sector pay negotiations due Saturday.

Tens of thousands of public service employees, from 14 of Germany's 16 federal states, took part in demonstrations organised by Verdi trade union.

Berlin - Angola and Germany are to sign a cultural agreement Friday to promote the German language and bilateral ties originating from a legacy of allegiance with the former East German state (GDR).

Speaking during a visit to the German capital by Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "we have a good relationship, as a result of Angolans who came to the GDR for their education and in part also to work."

Berlin - Portuguese President Cavaco Silva is due to visit Germany on Tuesday March 3, a Berlin government spokesman announced Friday.

Berlin  - Illiterate foreigners are not eligible for German citizenship, according to a German court ruling disclosed Thursday.

The verdict came in the case of a Turkish citizen who has been resident in Germany for 20 years. The man, born in 1970, was granted asylum by the German state in 1993. He can't read or write.

The higher administrative court in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg ruled that it was not enough to speak the language, and said knowledge of written German was a prerequisite for citizenship.