Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday sounded out the chances for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach the embattled Gaza Strip.

Steinmeier conferred by phone with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and the foreign ministers of Egypt and Syria, Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Walid Muallim, the foreign ministry said in Berlin.

The minister said such a ceasefire would allow time for diplomatic efforts to permanently halt the violence, which has seen more than 360 Palestinians die since Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday.

Berlin (dpa) - Television, whether it broadcasts a football match from 1954 or the first lunar landing, used to be more of a group experience which a club in Berlin club hopes to recreate.

Berlin - A German couple who were taken hostage by tribesmen in western Yemen for five days arrived safely home in Germany Tuesday.

Heinrich Thielebein and his wife Rosemarie flew back from Sana'a to their home in the northern port city of Kiel.

"We're relieved and happy it all turned out well and delighted to be home again," they said.

The couple's daughter Julia, an architect, was kidnapped with them and also released.

Berlin - In a Christmas message Wednesday, German President Horst Koehler has backed calls for a better world financial system where capitalism "serves everybody and nobody has to feel oppressed by it."

Berlin has been pushing for reforms which would require regulators in every nation to crack down on risky investment schemes.

Berlin - The European Union followed Germany's lead Monday in voicing concern at the enforced closure of the Tehran office of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

The French EU presidency called on Iranian authorities to reopen the office of the human rights lawyer immediately.

In a declaration, the EU condemned the closure of Ebadi's office in the strongest terms, saying Iran had to comply with international obligations in regard to human rights as well as accord the office the legal status it has sought after for decades.