Berlin - Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones has won a place in midfield for Germany against England in Berlin on Wednesday.

Jones, who missed out on the Germany squad for Euro 2008, gets his chance in defensive midfield after the omission of Torsten Frings.

It will be a first start for the 27-year-old son of a US serviceman who grew up in Frankfurt.

He was the only definite German starter named by team manager Oliver Bierhoff Tuesday for the friendly international.

Berlin - There's a saying in Germany that when Daimler coughs, the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg catches pneumonia.

Things are not yet quite as bad as that in the home of Mercedes- Benz, or in Germany in general. But strong medicine is needed to get Germany's ailing car industry back on its feet amid a slump in profits and sales.

The first dose was requested by Opel, once the nation's biggest carmaker, which has been brought to its knees by the massive losses suffered by its US parent General Motors (GM).

Berlin - Germany are expected to hand out some new caps in the friendly international against England in Berlin on Wednesday.

Coach Joachim Loew, who has called up three newcomers for the match in the Olympic Stadium, said Monday he wanted to test some or all of his trio of novices.

"The intention is to learn something new against strong opponents but I can't say yet exactly how it's going to look," Loew said.

"However I do want to give the one or other player a chance."

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to pay a three-day visit to India starting Wednesday, his spokesman said Monday.

The crisis on the world's financial markets and the future international role played by India and other emerging economies will be the main focus of his talks, the spokesman said.

Berlin - Another chapter in one of the oldest rivalries in international football will be written this week as England and Germany lock horns in an international friendly in Berlin on Wednesday.

The two nations, whose histories are inextricably linked by the 1966 World Cup final, won by England on home soil, have met 26 times in all, including the period when Germany played as West Germany.

Of those, England have won 11, the Germans have won 10 and there have been five draws.

Berlin - The pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) is to receive Amnesty International's 2008 human rights prize at a ceremony in Berlin on Sunday evening.

The award, worth 10,000 euros (12,600 dollars), will be presented to a delegation led by the group's two spokeswomen, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu.

Co-founder Williams and her organization are being honoured for "their tireless struggle for human rights," the German chapter of Amnesty said ahead of the presentation.