Berlin - German unemployment edged up again in April, official data released Thursday is forecast to show, amid expectations that the nation faces a surge in the numbers out of work as global recession hits the jobs market in Europe's biggest economy.

Analysts expect the Federal Labour Agency will say seasonally adjusted unemployment, which reflects overall trends in the job market, climbed by another 60,000 this month after rising 69,000 in March.

Bremen, Germany - They have many thousands of sea miles behind them and borne the brunt of many a storm.

But eventually even the best of sails has to be discarded. That's when designer Jan-Marc Stuehrmann of Bremen, Germany steps in to give the old material new life as a purse. He buys huge amounts of old sail material from sail makers and hands it over to prisoners in jails across Bremen and the surrounding area where it is transformed into trendy, one-of-a-kind shoulder bags.

Hamburg - Many people yearn for a firm body, particularly in warm weather when everyone flocks to beaches and outdoor swimming pools and expose all their flabby parts.

A look at internet forums shows that emancipation from this yearning prevails, and men apparently worry about their figures only slightly less than women. It seems that the term "firm" is in fact subjective. For some, it means muscles so well defined they could have been carved by a knife; for others it means no flab at all.

Dusseldorf, Germany - Light, red wines from temperate areas are currently in vogue, according to organizers of a Dusseldorf wine trade show.

Vineyards in cool regions produce fine, aromatic red wines with a maximum of 13 per cent alcohol per volume. In cooler climates, sugar is slower to accumulate in the grape leading to a low alcohol content.

Berlin - Britain's Prince Charles watched a football match between different religious groups at the start of a two-day visit to the German capital on Wednesday.

The heir to the British throne was accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, when he attended the game in Berlin's multicultural district of Kreuzberg.

Hundreds of schoolchildren waving homemade British and Turkish flags welcomed the royal couple as they arrived at the stadium where an integration project "Strength without Violence" was also held.

Koblenz, Germany - A 63-year-old German businessman on trial for selling Iran 16 tons of graphite to make rocket nozzles, has admitted the offence, a court spokesman said Wednesday.

At the opening of his trial on April 8, the man told a state superior court in Koblenz, Germany that he rejected all 12 counts of the indictment.

But in a statement read out by his lawyer this week, the defendant admitted the charges, the spokesman said.

The man is accused of breaking laws preventing illicit arms exports by declaring the graphite exported from 2005 to