Windhoek, Johannesburg - Ivory tusks will be sold for the first time in nearly 10 years in southern Africa on Tuesday as four one-off auctions of ivory stockpiles to Chinese and Japanese buyers kick off in Namibia.

South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, all of which have booming elephant populations, have been given permission by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to sell off stockpiles of ivory from their national parks.

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was flying to Pakistan Monday at the start of a four-day diplomatic tour that will also take in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The onslaught of terrorist attacks and the growing financial crisis in Pakistan are expected to dominate his talks with Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Berlin - The hazard lights are flashing over the European car industry, with leading automakers cutting production and scaling back profit forecasts as the world financial crisis hits vehicle sales.

Less than a week after cutting its earnings forecast again, the giant German auto maker Daimler AG flagged plans Monday to shut down work for about four weeks over Christmas at key plants, including one producing its flagship luxury Mercedes-Benz cars.

Jerusalem - Israeli President Shimon Peres gave the green light Monday for the co

Istanbul  - It is an open guess whether the truth will come to light beyond a shadow of doubt as to

Vienna - Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger will sue the ruling body FIS for compensation over a crash at a World Cup race in Norway in which he lost his lower leg.

The Austrian Press Agency APA reported on Monday that Lanzinger's lawyer, Manfred Ainedter, has sent an according letter to FIS president Gian-Franco Kasper.

The compensation claim comes in the wake of a report from a Munich doctor who said that Lanzinger's left leg had to be amputated below the knee due to a delay in medical treatment.