Berlin  - The IAAF announced Saturday that it intends introducing stricter rules regarding false starts in sprint races but has so far decided against looking to impose sanctions on British sprinter Dwain Chambers over his autobiography.

Following its council meeting in Berlin, the IAAF's technical commission has recommended disqualifying sprinters by the first false start rather than only disqualifying the athlete responsible for the second one as is currently the case.

Berlin - The dreams and hopes of the youngsters murdered in one of Germany's worst school shootings were kept alive at a memorial service for the victims in the town of Winnenden on Saturday.

Students of the Albertville Secondary School where the massacre occurred wore black T-shirts with the words "I have dream," written in green - the colour of hope.

Berlin - Germany condemned on Friday the transfer of power in Madagascar and called for a return to democracy on the Indian Ocean island.

A foreign ministry spokesman said moves by the new leadership to dissolve parliament and the senate "are further steps that point in the wrong direction."

Spokesman Jens Ploettner said Germany wanted to see the constitution upheld and a return to democratic values in Madagascar.

Berlin - European industrial production plunged in January, figures released Friday showed, pointing to the recession gaining strength as the new year got underway.

While less than expected, the 3.5-per-cent month-on-month slump in output in the 16-member eurozone represented an annual fall of 17.3 per cent and raises the prospects of a major contraction in the currency bloc's first-quarter economic growth rate.

Berlin - Germany's lower house of parliament approved controversial legislation Friday that would enable the state to seize control of troubled mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate.

The measure, seen as a last resort to stabilize the German financial market, marks the first time in modern-day Germany that bank shareholders face possible expropriation.

The legislation, which passed by a vote of 379-107, has to be approved by the upper house before it can become law.