Berlin - Germany welcomed Wednesday a proposal by Egypt's President Hosny Mubarak for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, to be followed by meetings to end the blockade of Gaza.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, "One must now seek an exit from the violence as soon as possible on this basis."

He also welcomed Israel's announcement that it would allow a humanitarian corridor for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

Steinmeier called for the corridor to opened quickly "to get urgently needed supplies of relief to the suffering people in Gaza."

Berlin  - German unemployment rose in December, analysts predict data to be released Wednesday will show, adding to signs of the tough year facing Europe's biggest economy.

The country's dole queues swelled by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 last month, analysts forecast, as a result cancelling out the fall in the numbers out of work in November. The unemployment rate, however, is expected to have remained at 7.5 per cent in December.

Berlin  - Asian carmakers lead a fall in German vehicle sales last year, data released Tuesday showed, with the giant Japanese auto group Toyota Motor Corporation reporting a 27-per-cent sales plunge in Europe's biggest auto market during 2008.

Along with Toyota, Japanese rivals Mitsubishi, Mazda and Honda also reported steep falls, Germany's vehicle registration office (KBA) said Tuesday, as the growing sense of economic uncertainty hit Germany's key car sector.

Korean carmaker's new German car registrations slumped by 15 per cent last year.

Berlin - German car sales dropped by 6.6 per cent in December compared to the sam

Berlin - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is to meet Chancellor Ange

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition met Monday to discuss a new economic stimulus package designed to protect Germany from recession amid a rift over tax cuts.

The talks between Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and her Social Democrat (SPD) partners are expected to lay to groundwork for a decision on new fiscal measures by mid-January.

With general elections looming in September, the two sides went into the talks with different plans on how to shield Europe's biggest economy from the global economic downturn.