Berlin, April 21: Scientists have developed a novel reaction scheme by which CO2 can be efficiently converted into methanol under very mild conditions.

The technique was developed by researchers working with Yugen Zhang and Jackie Y. Ying at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore.

As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the scheme is based on an N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst and a silane as the reducing agent.

Berlin, April 21 : Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, Cornell University, USA, and the University of Cologne, Germany, have detected two of the most complex molecules yet discovered in interstellar space: ethyl formate and n-propyl cyanide.

Their computational models of interstellar chemistry also indicate that yet larger organic molecules may be present - including the so-far elusive amino acids, which are essential for life.

Waldkirchen, Germany - Four teenage girls died in a car accident in southern Germany late Monday night, police reported Tuesday.

The car in which the four girls were travelling was being driven by a 19-year-old, who is thought to have lost control of the vehicle after being overtaken by another driver, police said.

The car veered onto the opposite side of the road and hit an oncoming vehicle, driven by a 49-year-old woman.

The impact set both cars on fire. The two girls in the front seats were flung out of the car, while the other two were trapped inside the burning vehicle.

Berlin  - German investor confidence reported its sixth consecutive monthly rise in April, a key indicator to be released Tuesday is forecast to show, amid hopes for Europe's biggest economy and more positive news out of the crisis-hit world financial sector.

Analysts predict the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) will say its index measuring the mood among analysts and institutional investors edged up to 2 points this month compared to minus 3.5 points in March.

Berlin  - The suburban German S-Bahn train rumbles towards Berlin's Bundesplatz station, offering passengers a glimpse of a nearby art foundry, its yard littered with abandoned metal sculptures and moulds.

In the adjacent workshop sparks fly from furnaces where workers wear protective clothing and pour molten metal into casts. Sculptors from around the world occasionally arrive at the premises, eager to try out their ideas and realise them together with the bronze moulders.

Hanover, Germany  - A plug and socket which companies hope will become standard throughout Europe to recharge battery-powered cars was unveiled Monday at the Hanover Fair in Germany.

The plug shown to reporters by German electricity company RWE is blue, about as big as a fist and has seven pins. The 400-volt connector is intended to replace the current wide variety of household plugs used to recharge electric cars.

The Hanover Fair does not normally include any automotive products.