Berlin - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, has called for a drastic cut in atomic weapons, in an article published Wednesday.

Writing in German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the Nobel peace laureate appealed to the US and Russia to "verifiably reduce their arsenals to 1000 or even 500 warheads."

In parallel, he called for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to be put into effect, a move he said was "long overdue," and for negotiations to begin over a treaty to verifiably end the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.

Nuremberg, Germany - As Hong Kong girds for the recession, its toy makers are hoping sales to emerging markets will go some way to replacing losses in the United States, a trade official said Wednesday ahead of the Nuremberg Toy Fair opening.

"We are not counting on eastern Europe to replace lost sales to the United States, but at least there are some other areas where we can put in some more effort," said Winchell Cheung, who heads the Frankfurt office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Munich - BMW is fitting all its diesel models with a special mechanical slot to prevent the driver from filling up with the wrong type of fuel, the car maker has announced.

Germany's automobile association (ADAC) assists some 50,000 drivers of diesel cars every year who filled up their cars with petrol. Even if the driver notices the mistake before starting the engine, the costs of emptying and cleaning out the entire fuel system can prove exorbitant.

Hamburg - The rugged Mercedes-Benz G-Class is as boxy and utilitarian as the day it made its debut 30 years ago and that's exactly the way customers want it to stay.

The German maker's recent proposed dropping of this most Teutonic of all-terrain vehicles from the range sparked an outcry from dealers and fans with the result that the G-wagon is going as strong as ever.

Duelmen, Germany  - The German sports car manufact

Washington  - They already call each other by their first names.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, looking forward to a warmer era of diplomatic relations with the United States under President Barack Obama, called the new top US diplomat "Madame Secretary Hillary" or simply, "Hillary," a sign of friendship for Germans, who often call each other by their last names even after decades.