Berlin - German carrier Lufthansa faced a possible all-out strike at the height of the holiday season after wage talks with the large Verdi services sector union broke down Thursday.

Seoul  - Prosecutors on Thursday asked that former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun Hee be sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust.

Lee, 66, who was once the most powerful tycoon in South Korea, should also be made to pay a fine of 350 billion won (nearly 350 million dollars), prosecutors told the Seoul Central District Court, which was expected to deliver its verdict in the next several weeks.

The investigation into Lee and Samsung began after a former lawyer for the company accused Samsung of establishing slush funds from which to bribe public officials, but investigators were unable to prove those accusations in their three-month inquiry.

According to sources, MTN is planning to hold a board meeting to discuss the present status of the controversial deal with R-COM.

Total, the French oil major, in partnership with Vinergy International, will set up four plants in India with a bitumen manufacturing capacity of 3 lakh tones.

Seoul - Six months after receiving a pardon, the former head of South Korea's failed conglomerate Daewoo, Kim Woo Choong, appeared before court again Wednesday to face fresh charges.