Munich - A German witness at one of the last Second World War atrocities trials described Wednesday how he rounded up village men in Italy, but claimed that he had only learned days later they had been massacred.
The former soldier, 83, pleaded "gaps in my memory" during his testimony to the Munich war-crimes trial of his unit's former commander, 90. The lieutenant is accused of 14 murders in the Tuscan village of Falzano in 1944.
Munich - BMW will make its new luxury 7-Series available in a hybrid drive version with a concept vehicle to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the car maker has announced.
First versions of the 7-Series hybrid drive serial-production version will be presented in 2009, said a BMW spokesman.
The Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid combines a 300 kW/407 hp combustion engine with a 15 kW electric motor that reduces fuel consumption by 15 per cent compared to a standard model, according to the car maker.
Munich - A former German Army lieutenant confirmed he rounded up 15 to 17 Italian men in the hamlet of Falzano during the Second World War, but denied killing them, a German policeman said Monday at the ex-officer's trial in Munich.
In what may turn out to be the world's last war-crimes trial from the Second World War, the defendant faces 14 counts of murder.
The detective was describing an interview three years ago with the defendant, who is now 90, about the June 27, 1944 atrocity.
The interview was conducted at the request of an Italian military court which sentenced the defendant in absentia to life imprisonment.
Munich - Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) lost its decades-old absolute majority on Sunday as voters defected to smaller parties in a state election seen as a test of support ahead of national polls next year.
Television projections based on early returns showed a swing of nearly 18 per cent away from the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).
The CSU polled 42.8 per cent of the vote in its worst showing in half-a-century. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which governs in a grand coalition with Merkel in Berlin, polled 19 per cent, slightly less than in the last state election in 2003.
Munich - A key ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel lost its absolute majority in Bavaria as voters defected to smaller parties, according to exit polls from Sunday's state election.
Projections showed the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), polling around 43 per cent of the vote in its worst showing in half-a-century.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which governs in a grand coalition with the CDU in Berlin, polled around 19 per cent, roughly the same as in the last state election in 2003.
Munich - Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) lost its decades-old absolute majority on Sunday as voters defected to smaller parties in a state election seen as a test of support ahead of national polls next year.
Computer projections showed a swing of more than 17 per cent away from the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), forcing it to look for a coalition partner.
The CSU polled 43.5 per cent of the vote in its worst showing in half-a-century. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which governs in a grand coalition with Merkel's party in Berlin, polled 18.6 per cent, 1 per cent less than in the last state election in 2003.
Munich - A German witness at one of the last Second World War atrocities trials described Wednesday how he rounded up village men in Italy, but claimed that he had only learned days later they had been massacred.
Munich - BMW will make its new luxury 7-Series available in a hybrid drive version with a concept vehicle to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the car maker has announced.
