Berlin - The Grou

Goettingen, Germany-  A 69-year-old woman who arranged for the murder of four lovers in succession - after they had changed their wills in her favour - was jailed Thursday in Germany for life.

Berlin - The major developing countries are being drawn into
climate-control policies under a process initiated under the German

Berlin  - Germany Thursday welcomed the freeing of Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and others by government forces, congratulating the government in Bogota on the successful operation.

Frankfurt - Buoyed by strong demand from Asia, Germany's key chemical sector is expecting a 5.5-per-cent rise in sales this year, the industry's association (VCI) said Thursday.

The VCI forecast production to grow 2.5 per cent despite increasing raw material prices and the threat posed to German chemical makers' foreign orders by the strong euro.

This comes after production rose 3 per cent in the first half of 2008, with the chemical sector one of Germany's key exporters.

However, signs of the impact on the industry of slowing global growth should emerge in the coming months, with production already slowing from last year's levels.

Dusseldorf - Germany's IKB Industriebank AG, which has one of the nation's prominent casualties of the subprime crisis, reported Thursday a lower-than-expected loss as a tax benefit helped the gro