Duisburg, Germany - German state prosecutors' hands remain tied over a Mafia killing spree at a German pizzeria 18 months ago, German Spiegel magazine reported Saturday. The legal team in the city of Duisburg said they had refused the extradition to Germany of the prime suspect, Giovanni Strangio, who was arrested in Amsterdam last month, as they lacked evidence to proceed in court against the him.

Next week, a Dutch court is to formally decide whether 30-year-old Strangio should be extradited to Italy or Germany.

Bad Koenig, Germany - An unusual spectacle greeted the residents of a small town near Darmstadt on Saturday, as participants took to the streets to race each other on office chairs. At Germany's second annual office chair championships in Bad Koenig, 30 kilometres south-east of Darmstadt, around 80 participants competed on a downhill stretch of road using especially adapted desk furniture.

Berlin - The German government has demanded that potential Opel investors preserve jobs and factories in Germany, the German daily Bild reported. "Every investor must strengthen Germany," Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said in an interview to be published Sunday. "Anyone who wants to close plants and cut jobs is not a suitable Opel partner," Tiefensee added.

Essen - Ruediger Grube, a top executive at car company Daimler, was nominated Saturday as the new head of German state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn. The 57-year-old Grube replaces Hartmut Mehdorn, who quit last month after Deutsche Bahn had admitted to illicit surveillance of its employees.

"I look forward to the new task," Grube said after a special meeting convened by Deutsche Bahn's management on Saturday. He is to take over the role on May 1.

Berlin - German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is to discuss a possible Opel bailout with auto components manufacturer Magna early next week, his ministry confirmed Saturday. The Austrian-Canadian car parts supplier Magna has expressed interest in a majority stake of the stricken General Motors subsidiary, alongside Italian car manufacturer Fiat.

"Magna is potentially an interesting partner," Guttenberg told German Spiegel news magazine. "Of course we will seriously check any involvement."

Guttenberg further criticised the objections to talks with Fiat being voiced by trade unions and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Hamburg - German cyclists Andreas Kloeden and Matthias Kessler have been implicated in illegal doping practices following an independent investigation, news magazine Der Spiegel reports. The former T-Mobile cyclists are suspected of having received banned blood transfusions by doctors at Freiburg University Clinic, the magazine reports in its edition to appear Monday, quoting the results of an investigation by an expert commission.