Cottbus, Germany  - The song blaring from the loudspeakers on the election campaign car is deceptively soft and melodious - matching the sleepy atmosphere in the main square in Cottbus, a small city in former east Germany.

The lyrics, however, strike a different note: "When a refugee or a foreigner counts for more than a German, I ask myself, what's going wrong here?".

The singer is an artist named Annett - featured on several far- right German websites listing "Ballads of National Resistance", where she appears alongside bands called "Blitzkrieg" and "Brown Brothers".

Cottbus  - German gold medal hope Irina Mikitenko on Saturday cancelled her appearance in the world championship marathon in the wake of her father's death.

"Her father died two weeks ago and she has not been able to train properly since then. We are very, very sad," said Juergen Mallow, the sports director of the German athletics federation.

Mikitenko won the last two London Marathons and had had hoped for a gold at the home worlds, with the marathon scheduled to take place on her 37th birthday August 22. (dpa)

Cottbus, Germany - Energie Cottbus coach Bojan Prasnikar is to leave the club after Sunday's Bundesliga play-off game against Nuremberg.

Cottbus president Ulrich Lepsch said Saturday it was agreed to release the 56-year-old Slovenian from his contract irrespective of the outcome of Sunday's game.

Cottbus appear to be on the verge of relegation after losing the first-leg match 3-0 at home on Thursday to Nuremberg, who finished third in the second division.

Cottbus, Germany  - Nuremberg won 3-0 at Energie Cottbus in the first leg of a Bundesliga playoff tie on Thursday to all but assure themselves of a return into the top flight.

Isaac Boakye scored in the 12th and 89th, Christian Eigler was also on target in the 55th, and Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer made several good saves to assure the victory.

The two sides meet again on Sunday, where then hosts Nuremberg aimn to complete their return into the Bundesliga after one season in the second division.

Cottbus, Germany - Fans of struggling Bundesliga club Energie Cottbus have rejected an offer from the players to refund their ticket costs following a 4-0 defeat at Schalke 04.

An open letter from the club's supporters club said the offer was an "utter mockery" and called instead for the team to repay their support by an improved performance on the pitch.

"We would rather see a reaction on the pitch. This is about how you wear our club's shirt," the letter said.

Cottbus, Germany - A German neo-Nazi who punched an Indian man in the face was sent to prison Friday for two years.

A court in Cottbus, eastern Germany convicted him of assault and wounding the Indian in May 2005 in the city and of taking part in an attack by a group of 30 on local young people at a youth club several days later.

The defendant, 25, had previous criminal convictions. The attacks had breached the terms of suspension of previous jail sentences, the court noted, saying that the attacks were motivated by his far-right attitudes.