Woringen, Germany  - Investigators who rushed to a German cheese factory last week after an Italian newspaper reported on a mouldy-cheese scandal said Wednesday they had not detected anything suspi

Nuremberg, Germany  - A European takeover fight turned fierce Wednesday, with the German market-information company GfK announcing it would make a cash bid for its British rival Turner Nelson Sofre

Berlin - Berlin police said Wednesday they were holding a man for spray-painting anti-Semitic slogans on the Holocaust Memorial in the city centre.

Berlin- The German government called Wednesday on Tehran to halt "all form of sabre rattling" following Iran's testing of nine missiles over the Gulf.

German government spokesman Thomas Steg said the tests had been noted "with concern" and drew attention to the possibility that the missiles were suitable for carrying nuclear warheads.

"The German government calls on Iran to halt all form of sabre rattling," Steg said.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana had visited Tehran in mid June with a renewed offer from the international community intended as demonstrating good will and aimed at bridge-building, Steg said.

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel is riding high in German public opinion, enjoying support well beyond her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU), according to a new poll released Wednesday. 

Berlin - German imports rose strongly in May, reflecting in part higher prices paid for fossil fuels, while exports from the world's top exporter remained high, according to figures released Wednesday by the state statistics office in Wiesbaden.

Imports rose 8.2 per cent on the year to 66.5 billion euros (104 billion dollars), while exports were up 2.5 per cent at 80.8 billion euros.

By comparison with the previous month, and on a seasonally adjusted basis, imports rose 0.7 per cent, while exports declined 3.2 per cent.

Most of the two-way trade was with the rest of the European Union. EU members took 52.5 billion euros worth of German exports and exported goods worth 43.3 billion euros to Germany.