Cologne, Germany  - The ladies who meet regularly in a museum cafe in Cologne skip the gossip and get straight down to haiku, an ultra-brief poetry style that has spread from Japan around the globe

Lima  -

Berlin   - The German government increased Friday its earthquake relief grant to China to 1.5 million euros (2.3 million dollars), saying the money would be sent via the Red Cross.

Earlier in the week Berlin had appropriated 500,000 euros for relief. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin said the tripled sum would buy relief materials for distribution by the Chinese Red Cross.

Berlin  - Germany on Friday welcomed the announcement of talks between Lebanon's rival leaders designed to end the country's political crisis and elect a president.

Berlin  - Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis, some water-purifying equipment for disaster victims remains snagged in Yangon, according to a German government aid agency on Friday.