Berlin  - Opportunities for German business beckon in Algeria, a trade official said in Berlin before Chancellor Merkel's arrival later Wednesday in the North African nation at the head of a business delegation.

Andreas Hergenroether, chief executive of the German-Algerian Chamber of Commerce, said Algerians had high respect and awareness of the quality of German goods and would buy more if offered more.

In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, he said, "A lot more trade could be done in the natural-gas business, where Algeria is the world's fourth largest producer."

Berlin  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has emphatically denied reports he expressed concern over moves to issue an international arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Beshir for genocide in Darfur.

Reports on Sudanese radio that he had expressed great concern over the application by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo were "completely false," Ban told the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) in an interview published Wednesday.

Berlin  - German motor industry supplier Continental Wednesday rejected a takeover offer from the Schaeffler Group, saying the bid by the family-owned bearing maker did not reflect its full value.

Ingolstadt, Germany - Audi has announced that its new compact SUV, the Q5, will be available in European showrooms by autumn 2008 with the basic model selling for 38,300 euros (60,000 dollars). 

Munich - BMW is planning to launch its fifth generation flagship 7-Series at the Paris Motor Show in October with a sleek design to make the car look narrower than its predecessor. 

Stuttgart - The Porsche 356, which celebrates its 60th birthday this month, played a key role in making a remarkable success story out of a once small German engineering firm.