Berlin - A majority of Germans believe Russia could stake further territorial claims along its borders, following its military incursion into Georgian territory last month, according to a poll published Tuesday.

The poll carried out by the Emnid institute found that 60 per cent of German citizens regarded the threat of further territorial claims as "realistic," whereas 34 per cent saw the incursion into Georgia as a one-off event.

Germans have some comprehension of Russian anxieties, with 63 per cent understanding that Russia feels threatened by plans to station elements of a US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Berlin- Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), ailing in the polls, divided on policy and facing a leadership crisis, are set to name charismatic Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as their candidate for the chancellorship in elections next year, according to a report Tuesday.

Munich - European broadcaster ProSiebenSat. 1, which owns a string of TV channels in Germany, Scandinavia and eastern Europe, is not putting them up for sale, a main owner said in a news interview published Tuesday.

Joerg Rockenhaeuser, who heads the German operations of private-equity investor Permira, dismissed suggestions that the TV company raise cash by selling channels.

"From the shareholder point of view, that wouldn't make any sense," he told the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Permira and another private-equity investor, KKR, control 88 per cent of Munich-based ProSiebenSat. 1, which in turn owns the Swedish-based group SBS. Earnings at ProSiebenSat. 1 have lagged amid high debt after the SBS takeover.

Beijing - China and Russia have shown interest in buying stakes in Germany's state-owned railway, Deutsche Bahn AG, in its initial public offering this year, the German finance minister said Tuesd

Berlin - German Preident Horst Koehler began a