Munich  - Amid a continuing economic downturn, Germany luxury carmakers Daimler AG and BMW on Friday reported a major slump in sales for October.

Daimler said sales plunged 18.1 per cent to 93,900 vehicles compared to October 2007.

Sales of its core model Mercedes-Benz were down more than 20 per cent to 80,250 vehicles, while those of the subcompact Smart were up 11.3 per cent to 11,300.

The company said the biggest declines were in Western Europe and the United States.

Munich - Boris Becker and his girlfriend have split up after being engaged for three months, the former tennis star told the online edition of the mass-circulation Bild newspaper Tuesday.

"We split up over the weekend," Bild. de quoted the 40-year-old as saying.

Becker became engaged to designer Alessandra Meyer-Woelden, 25, in a ceremony on August 10 at Porto Cervo on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Meyer-Woelden is the daughter of the late Axel Meyer-Woelden, Becker's former manager.

Munich - German luxury carmaker BMW said Tuesday that it was lowering its profits forecast for 2009, following disappointing third-quarter results.

Profits plunged 62.9 per cent to 298 million euros (375 million dollars) compared to the same quarter of 2007, the company said in a statement released in Munich.

Turnover was down 8.6 per cent to 12.59 billion euros as global sales dropped 4.2 per cent to 349,098 vehicles, the company said.

Munich - Tens of thousands of workers in Germany's engineering sector were expected to walk off their jobs Monday as their union expanded its warning strikes to press its demands for an 8-per-cent pay raise.

The strikes, which began Saturday, are to continue through Friday after the IG Metall union rejected an offer of 2.1-per-cent more income in 2009 and 0.8 per cent of annual salaries for the months of November and December

Munich - The term gaming may sound like fun, but there's more work involved than you would imagine. The most important thing is finding the right computer to meet your gaming requirements.

All computers do not have the same functions and some simply will not cut it for serious gamers. More advanced games require constant hardware upgrades. Shoppers should ask fundamental questions about their hardware. Does the game require a computer that can render virtual worlds and breathtaking graphics? Or will an ordinary PC fit the bill?

"Most people don't need the most up-to-date computer with cutting edge processors and graphics cards," says Michael Wolf of Berlin's Stiftung Warentest, a consumer reports organization.

Munich - Bayern Munich's Argentina defender Martin Demichelis is delighted about the choice of living legend Diego Maradona as new national team coach.