Berlin - The Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos described relations with Germany as a "win-win situation" following a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.

Merkel echoed the sentiment saying, "Angola has an interest in diversifying its economic relations, so as not to depend purely on its natural resources," while "Germany naturally has an interest in building its relations with a resource-rich country."

Beijing  - A Tibetan Buddhist monk set fire to himself on Friday after Chinese authorities prevented him from observing a traditional prayer festival, the London-based Free Tibet Campaign reported.

The monk poured petrol over himself and set light to it after walking from the Kirti monastery into the nearby centre of Aba town in the south-western province of Sichuan, said Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign.

Washington - The US economy shrank by 6.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, far worse than initially estimated and the worst fourth-quarter showing by the country since the recession of 1982, the US Commerce Department said Friday.

The annualized figure was revised from an earlier estimate of an only 3.8-per-cent drop and underscored the severity of the recession in the US economy. Most economists are expecting a similar contraction in the first three months of 2009.

Ruesselsheim, Germany  - German carmaker Opel has called for the company to break away from its ailing General Motors (GM) parent and forge a new motor vehicle group comprising the giant US auto group's European operations as part of a rescue plan unveiled Friday.

The move could bring to an end Opel's 80-year history as a part of GM's business empire, with Opel seeking 3.3 billion euros (4.3 billion dollars) in aid to underpin the formation of the European car group and help it through the current global car market crisis.

Liberec, Czech Republic  - Petter Northug used his deadly kick again, against German Axel Teichmann, to give Norway its fifth straight men's relay cross-country skiing world title on Friday.

The pursuit champion Northug made his trademark staccato steps in the final turn before the home stretch to win the 4x10-kilometres race with Eldar Roenning, Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset and Tore Ruud Hofstad in 1 hour 41 minutes 50.6 seconds.

Hamburg  - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to strengthen its partnership with the United Nations by gaining observer status at the UN General Assembly.

The UN confirmed an application had been received from the IOC, and told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that a decision could be expected by the beginning of September.