Berlin, Sep 25 - Germany's Bayern Munich showed all its class when it defeated Leverkusen 3-0 to remain on the top of Bundesliga football Saturday.

The Bavarians dominated the match from the kick-off as young striker Thomas Mueller opened the scoring after a build-up play by midfielder Franck Ribery.

With 19 minutes into the match, Bayern defender Daniel van Buyten extended the lead to 2-0 when he marked a dead ball goal from 25 metre into bottom left.

Berlin, Jan 28 - Indian cinema fans in Europe are basking in the company of Khan after Khan and they can't believe their luck. First, it was Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan who spent three months in Berlin and now Aamir Khan arrives here early next month.

Aamir will be here as a member of the international jury of the 61st Berlinale that opens Feb 10.

Berlin, Oct 23 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan reveals he dreams of dating as many girls as possible while shooting here for "Don 2". Priyanka Chopra says she would love to walk around the streets of Berlin she finds so full of amazing energy. Film director and actor Farhan Akhtar said he is crazy about the architecture of the city.

Beijing, July 21 - Internet search engine giant Google will shut down its two China-based online services and stop providing technical support to a Chinese-language website.

The company announced this decision Tuesday, 10 days after the Chinese government renewed Google's licence to continue its operation in the country.

Google's plan encompasses closure of a self-developed website ranking page and a lifestyle site in China. The decision was taken because of "lower-than-expected demand", China Daily reported, citing a company statement.

Officials have said that Ankara is upset that Germany is lax in efforts to control Kurdish militancy after Berlin banned a Turkish charity tied to a deadly Israeli raid.

The German government banned the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, or IHH, because of its anti-Israeli stance.

It should be noted that the Turkish IHH was involved in the deadly raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza.

It has been reported that the mayor of New Berlin, Wis., apologized for sending an e-mail message calling those citizens opposing a workforce housing development bigoted and prejudiced.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Wednesday that after voicing his support for an allegedly controversial multifamily and senior housing development approved for the City Center that includes workforce housing, Mayor Jack Chiovatero says he was bombarded with criticism from people who said they believed the project would lead to an increase in crime and drugs.

The well-known film director Roman Polanski has proved his determination yet again after winning the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival for his new film, The Ghost Writer.

The Ghost Writer, which was screened at Berlin, is the tale of a writer hired to finish the autobiographies of a former British PM.

Polanski could not receive the prize himself as he is presently under house arrest in Switzerland and fighting his banishment to United States over a 1977 illegal sex case.

On his behalf, Alain Sarde, the film’s producer, took the prize.

"I am sure Roman will be very happy," Alain said.

Berlin, Feb 21 - Turkish movie "Bal" (Honey) about a young boy who goes in search of his father after the father fails to return home won the Berlin Film Festival's coveted Golden Bear Saturday.

The movie by director Semih Kaplanoglu's was one of 20 films competing for top honour at the Berlinale, which is one of the world's top three films festivals. (dpa)

Berlin, Feb 21 - Controversial Polish-French director Roman Polanski won the Berlin Film Festival's award for best director for his thriller "The Ghost Writer" Saturday.

However, Polanski was not hand to accept it as the 76-year-old the Oscar-winning director is at present under house arrest in his Swiss chalet facing US extradition moves for a 1977 underage sex case. (dpa)

Berlin, Feb 19 - "Arekti Premer Golpo" (Just another love story) - a daring, sensitive, layered, gay love story - got full house at the ongoing Berlin International Film Festival. Its director Kaushik Ganguly says he always dreamt of coming here.

"Berlin is the Mecca of film and I always dreamed of coming here. But it was still a surprise when my film was selected," Ganguly, who earlier explored sexuality in his provocative film "Shunyo e Bukey" (Empty Canvas), told IANS here.

Berlin, Feb 18 - Bollywood star Aamir Khan's production venture "Peepli Live", a strong satire on farmers' suicides in India, received a hearty reception at the press screening during the ongoing Berlin International Film Festival.

Directed by Anusha Rizvi, the film, screened in the Berlinale Special section - part of the official selection of the Berlin festival - will also be screened at the Cinema Paris here.

One of the nation's leading movie directors has been refused permission by Iranian authorities to leave the nation to be an honorary guest at this year's Berlin Film Festival, the Berlinale announced Tuesday.

The announcement that Jafar Panahi had been denied permission to leave Iran came as the latest movie from another leading Iranian director, Rafi Pitts, premiered at the Berlinale, which is one of the world's top film festivals.

Berlin, Feb 11 - The 60th Berlin Film Festival opens with the spotlight likely to be on the latest movie by controversial French-Polish director Roman Polanski, who is at present holed up in his Swiss chalet fighting extradition to the US.

Launched amid the turmoil and destruction in Germany following the end of the Second World War, the Berlinale kicks off later Thursday with the premiere of Chinese director Wang Quan'an's "Tuan Yuan" (Apart Together), a love story set against the conflict between Taiwan and mainland China.

Berlin, Feb 4 - The Berlin Film Festival's renowned Golden Bear Award has a gay friend called the Teddy Award which is quickly becoming well-respected in its own right.

Now in its 24th year, the Teddy Award honours excellence in gay filmmaking. The only gay film award associated with a major "A-list" film festival, Teddy's previous winners have included Pedro Almodovar, Gus van Sant, Derek Jarman, Helmut Berger, Joe Dallesandro, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton.

Berlin/Moscow, Jan 9 :Across Europe heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures led to deaths and travel chaos Saturday, as people braced themselves for a sudden worsening of already extreme winter weather.

In Russia, five mountaineers died in an avalanche as they were attempting to climb a mountain in the North Caucasus region. Four people in the group were able to dig themselves free. Rescuers later found the corpses of the remaining five, including the expedition leader.

In Britain, two men died after falling into a frozen-over lake, and a 90-year-old woman was found dead in her garden, where she had presumably slipped and fallen. In Britain, 25 people have died as a result of the cold spell that started before Christmas.

Berlin, Jan 5 - Inflation in the 16-member eurozone rose last month, preliminary data released Tuesday is forecast to show, as signs that the currency bloc's economy remained on a recovery course.

The European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, said annual inflation in the eurozone rose from 0.5 percent in November to 1 percent in December.

But despite the rise, consumer prices in the eurozone are still well below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2-percent ceiling for annual inflation.

Berlin, January 1 : An international team of scientists has directly measured for the first time the speed with which new mutations occur in plants, thus capturing evolution in the act.

The team comprised of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tubingen, Germany, and Indiana University in Bloomington, US.

Their findings shed new light on a fundamental evolutionary process. They explain, for example, why resistance to herbicides can appear within just a few years.

Berlin, Jan 1- Getting over a broken heart begins with a pair of wool socks at Elisabeth Stoffel-Laeufer's practice.

Stoffel-Laeufer counsels people who have suffered a break-up in an old building in Freiburg, south-western Germany which has long windows that let in plenty of daylight. The first thing her broken-hearted patients must do is take off their shoes and put on fluffy warm socks. By their last session, most have talked their frustrations out and have new hope for the future.

That is how Stoffel-Laeufer presents her psychological counselling services, saying nearly everyone has to go through the experience of a broken heart at some point in their life.

Berlin, Dec 30 - The Group of 20 (G20) is likely to face a test next year of its new-found role as the world's top economic forum.

Apart from its planned makeover of the world financial system, the G20 major industrial powers and the leading emerging economies will also begin rolling back the big fiscal stimulus packages launched by governments to counter the recession.

Berlin, Dec 22 - German consumers are entering the new year in a sober mood, with a key survey released Tuesday expected to show a fall in confidence among households in Europe's biggest economy.

Despite a buoyant end to the Christmas shopping season, analysts predict the Nuremberg-based GfK marketing group will say its forward-looking consumer confidence index slipped to 3.5 points for January after falling to 3.7 points in December.