Berlin - Computer gaming remains predominantly the realm of men. But a closer look at the culture reveals some surprising trends among female gamers.

Berlin  - Firefighters extinguished a fire at the German Opera in Berlin overnight Wednesday.

Berlin  - Rolling strikes hit the German automotive industry Wednesday as the powerful IG Metall trade union called members off the job in support of demands for early retirement packages.

Berlin  - Support for Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) fell to a record low, in an opinion poll published Wednesday, as the number of voters saying they would vote for the nation's hardline

Frankfurt  - Anselm Kiefer, 63, the contemporary German artist, was named Wednesday as 2008 winner of a top award that honours writing for peace, the German Book Trade Peace Prize.

Berlin  - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev arrives in Berlin Thursday on his first foreign visit in Europe since taking office last month with a key German official saying he should be taken at hi