Beirut - A German judicial delegation is expected to arrive in Beirut in July to question one of the would-be bombers of a German train who was tried and sentenced in Lebanon, Lebanese judicial sources said Tuesday.

"A German judicial delegation was given permission by the general prosecutor Saaed Mirza to come to Beirut to question Jihad Hamad as a witness on July 3," the sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Hamad's lawyer, Fawaz Zakariyeh, told dpa that he will also be present at the questioning.

A Lebanese court in December 2007 sentenced Hamad to 12 years hard labour for the failed 2006 attempt to bomb two trains in Germany and acquitted three other defendants who were held with him in Lebanon.

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed optimism Tuesday that a peace deal could be struck between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, although he warned against overoptimis

Berlin - German investor confidence recorded a bigger-than -forecast fall in June, a key indicator released Tuesday showed, as a surging euro, spiralling inflation and worries about higher interest

Warsaw  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are expected to discuss several sensitive issues Monday during their meeting in the Polish port city of Gdansk, with Ireland's recent rejection of the Lisbon Treaty most likely at the top of the agenda.

Tusk has said the Irish referendum would not disqualify the treaty and the European Union would look for ways to bring it into effect.

"The treaty is good for integration in the EU," he said, "and therefore good for Poland."

Munich  - A former executive at Eurocopter, the helicopter manufacturing company in the EADS group, receiv

Berlin  - Germany hopes the rerun of parliamentary