Berlin - The king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, began a visit to Berlin Monday with a focus on both business links and Middle East peace.

After a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a German statement said both sides stressed trade and industry opportunities ahead, including railway building.

Germany has been promoting its technology for a fast rail link along the southern shore of the Gulf.

They also conferred about Mideast issues and Iran's standoff with the United nations over its nuclear research.

Sao Paulo - The Brazil government will not bailout large conglomerates that have lost money in foreign exchange operations, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Monday.

These firms may have lost up to 20 billion dollars in the ongoing global financial crisis, he said, but added that this loss "is perfectly absorbable" by the companies, without help from the government.

Moscow - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Moscow on Monday to seek a long-delayed deal on energy ties with Russia and discuss the global financial crisis.

Wen will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev in his two-day visit to the capital before heading to oil-rich Kazakhstan for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping of Central Asian states.

Warsaw - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government would approve a strategy for entry into the eurozone after meeting with an opposition party leader on Monday.

Tusk said the government had prepared a plan to enter the eurozone that would be accepted on Tuesday and later be presented to President Lech Kaczynski.

Tusk met with Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and said there was a "clear difference of opinion" on when to switch currencies, with Kaczynski advocating an unspecified later date.

Amman - A regional conference on security cooperation between Mediterranean and European countries opened in Amman Monday with the participation of 56 states.

The two-day meeting entitled "Regional Security: the Mediterranean as a Model" is sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Jordanian foreign ministry.

The meeting is designed to boost cooperation between OSCE and states in the region particularly in the sphere of combatting terrorism.

Kassel, Germany - Germany's BASF chemicals and oil group announced Monday a takeover bid for Norwegian oil and gas group Revus Energy ASA that values it at 581 million euros (726 million dollars).

The BASF oil division, Wintershall, offered 110 Norwegian kroner per share, a premium of 145 per cent above the closing price in Oslo last Friday and 44 per cent above the average of the past six months.

An announcement at Wintershall's office in Kassel said the board of Stavanger-based Revus had recommended shareholders accept the bid for all Revus shares.