Berlin  - Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi was awarded one of Germany's top prizes Tuesday for her human rights advocacy work, and vowed that she would continue her efforts despite threats posed by Tehran authorities.

Together with Paris-based organization Reporters without Borders, Ebadi was awarded the Roland Berger Human Dignity Award by German President Horst Koehler. The prize was established in Germany last year to promote peaceful cooperation in the world.

Berlin - Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi confirmed Tuesday that she will defend an Iranian-American journalist sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of espionage.

Roxana Saberi, 31, was found guilty of spying for the United States by an Iranian revolutionary court last week, after she was arrested for failing to have authorized press credentials.

"There is no logical background for this sentence," Ebadi told the German Press Agency dpa.

Berlin - Germany stepped up its efforts Tuesday to create a so-called bad bank to help rid the nation's banks of troubled assets and rebuild confidence in the financial sector.

"We have taken a big step forward" said German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, following a meeting with finance industry leaders chaired by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Cottbus, Germany - Fans of struggling Bundesliga club Energie Cottbus have rejected an offer from the players to refund their ticket costs following a 4-0 defeat at Schalke 04.

An open letter from the club's supporters club said the offer was an "utter mockery" and called instead for the team to repay their support by an improved performance on the pitch.

"We would rather see a reaction on the pitch. This is about how you wear our club's shirt," the letter said.

Frankfurt - Shares in Europe's biggest telecoms group Deutsche Telekom AG dropped more than 10 per cent Tuesday after it warned about a fall in profits this year as the global recession and intense market competition hit the company's earnings.

German-based Telekom said it expects adjusted 2009 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to fall between 2 and 4 per cent. Its shares stood at 8.67 euros in early afternoon trading.