Berlin  - Germany banned an extremist right-wing youth group on Tuesday and conducted searches of property used by its leaders, the interior ministry said.

A statement said the group, True Homeland German Youth, propagated racism and Nazi ideology.

The ministry said the group organized holiday activities for children and young people where Nazi views were presented in the guise of non-political events.

Berlin, March 31 : An international team of scientists has suggested that the largest known mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged.

At the Permian/Triassic boundary, 250 million years, ago about 90 percent of the animal and plant species ashore became extinct.

Berlin  - German unemployment edged up again in March, data to be released Tuesday is forecast to show, amid signs that the sharp downturn in Europe's biggest economy is beginning to bite.

Analysts expect the German Labour Office to say that seasonally adjusted unemployment, which reflects overall trends in the job market, have risen by 53,000 this month.

This is forecast to push the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate up to 8.1 per cent in March from 7.9 per cent in February.

Berlin  - The son of pre-war Berlin artist George Grosz is asking museums in Europe, Asia and the United States to return several of his father's paintings they acquired decades ago.

So far, the museums have ignored the requests, arguing the works were obtained legally and not under dubious circumstances as claimed by Marty Grosz, 79.

Berlin - German naval forces detained seven pirates who attacked a German supply tanker off the coast of Somalia, a defence ministry spokesman said Monday.

The pirates opened fire on the civilian-crewed vessel Spessart Sunday afternoon, but were driven off by a "mobile protection element" on board, the spokesman said.

A German and Greek naval unit in the vicinity gave chase and apprehended the pirates, who were later taken on board the German frigate Rheinland-Pfalz, the spokesman added.

Berlin - Vaccinations can alleviate the symptoms of hay fever when conventional methods such as nasal sprays, eye drops and antihistamines fail, according to Germany's Berlin-based Professional Association of Dermatologists.

This form of treatment is called immunotherapy and should be initiated weeks in advance of pollination.

Those who are allergic to the pollen of the hazel and alder trees which blossom in early spring should begin a course of immunotherapy in autumn.

For grass allergies, on the other hand, there is still time to begin a course this year as pollination in the northern hemisphere begins in May.