Abuja - German President Horst Koehler said Monday that Africa should have a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council

Continuing his six-day visit to Nigeria, Koehler said that in efforts to reform the body, there must be a "fair representation of Africa," although he did not specify which country should be considered to hold the seat.

The German president also said that a fair representation for all the world's regions should be assured as well in other international organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Koehler himself had previously headed the IMF.

Koehler said this issue should be taken up in the debate concerning the causes of the international financial crisis.

Rostock, Germany - Second-division Hansa Rostock Monday sacked coach Frank Pagelsdorf, a day after fellow-relegated club MSV Duisburg dismissed coach Rudi Bommer.

All three clubs relegated from Germany's top-flight Bundesliga last season have now parted company with their coaches, after Nuremberg dismissed Thomas von Heesen at the end of August.

Pagelsdorf, who had won promotion with Rostock in 1995 and 2007, confirmed at a news conference that he had been dismissed. A successor is yet to be named.

It follows four games without a win which have left Rostock in 12th place, three points away from the relegation zone.

Hamburg - Venus Williams' title at the WTA Championships on Sunday marked the end of a turbulent year in women's tennis which saw six changes at the number one position after Justine Henin's retirement.

The Belgian Henin was tipped to dominate 2008 after an amazing unbeaten second half of 2007, but her win streak came to an end at the Australian Open in January and she then retired from tennis on May 14 at the age of 26.

"I based my life on the relationships, the love and all that I could give to tennis. But I couldn't manage to express it anymore these past months," she said, naming retirement "a great day in my life."

Jakarta - Nearly four years since the devastating Asian Tsunami of December 2004, which claimed 230,000 lives, an early warning system developed and funded with German assistance will begin operations.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will attend Tuesday's ceremony in Jakarta along with representatives of the German government, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

The German government financed the 45-million-euro (58-million- dollar) project the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, or GITEWS.

Gorleben, Germany - Accompanied by a huge police escort, a convoy of trucks was to carry 100 tons of glass-encased nuclear waste Monday 20 kilometres across German countryside to a secure storage warehouse.

On Saturday and Sunday there had been mayhem in the district as violent protesters invaded tracks in a bid to stop a train bringing the waste from La Hague, France. Near the border, three protesters had chained themselves to concrete blocks under a track.

The train reached the railhead in the town of Dannenberg early Monday, 14 hours late, and cranes began carefully shifting the 11 containers onto the trucks.

Hamburg - Jelena Jankovic topped the year-ending women's tennis rankings issued on Monday by the WTA, with Venus Williams climbing into sixth place courtesy of her title at the 2008 finale in Doha.

Jankovic, who was stopped in the Doha semis by Williams, tops the final list with 4,710 points. She was assured of the 2008 top spot ahead of the final week of action.

US Open champion Serena Williams is second with 3,866 points, swapping positions with Dinara Safina, who has 3,817 points.

Venus Williams climbed from eighth to sixth place after her three-set win Sunday over Vera Zvonareva. The Russian finalist also rose two places, from nine to seven.