Berlin  - German investor confidence is expected to record its fourth consecutive rise this month, according to data from a key indicator set for release Tuesday.

The uptick in investors' outlook comes amid hopes that signs of an economic recovery could emerge as the year unfolds.

Drawn up by the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research, the ZEW index is forecast by analysts to edge up to minus 26 points after the index posted a bigger-than-forecast rise to minus 31 points in January from -45.2 in December.

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel has not yet picked the board

Berlin - The German Foreign Ministry on Monday nominated a special envoy to Afghanistan as part of renewed international efforts to achieve peace in the region.

Bernd Muetzelburg, Germany's ambassador to India, is to be the prime contact person for the international community, a role which involves close cooperation with the new US envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Monday the appointment of Muetzelburg, saying he "brings a lot of experience to the post."

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government still hopes to avoid a complete nationalization of troubled mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE), a Berlin spokesman said Monday.

The government believed that a complete state takeover of a bank would be the final resort in efforts to help stabilize a financial house under pressure, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.

Speaking on German television over the weekend, Merkel had declined to rule out nationalizing HRE, which has emerged as one of Germany's most high-profile casualties of the financial crisis triggered by the US mortgage market upheaval.

London, Feb 15 : Peruvian film `The Milk of Sorrow' has bagged the prestigious Golden Bear award for best picture at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

Directed by Claudia Llosa, the film chronicles the story of a young woman who was born to a woman who was raped in the 1980s.

As the first Peruvian entry in the festival''s main competition, the film beat hotly-tipped `The Messenger', starring Woody Harrelson, and `My One and Only', with Renee Zellweger.

Berlin  - Many parents get upset when their kids spend hours in front of the gaming console. This might soon be changing as learning-centred games or so-called serious games are becoming more popular, experts at the Lerntec trade fair in Karlsruhe reported.

These games aim to entertain and teach in a playful manner as well. Truly entertaining serious games are rare, though - and not every game dubbed "serious" really deserves the honour.