Berlin - Following years of controversy, German dignitaries on Tuesday will dedicate a memorial to the tens of thousands of gays and lesbians who were persecuted and killed in Nazi Germany.

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) picked a new leader, Stanislaw Tillich, 49, to head the party in Saxony state Saturday, making his succession to the state premiership in the coming week a certainty.

Tillich is to replace Georg Milbradt, 63, who announced last month his retirement as the state's budget troubles mounted. Eleven of Germany's 16 state premiers belong to the CDU or its CSU Bavarian sister party.

Bamberg, Germany  - Germany's main far-right group,

Kamen, Germany  - A highway collision, in which a line of vehicles exploded into flame and five people were killed, closed one carriageway of a major east-west German autobahn for about 18 hours, p