Merkel's party

The Serbian foreign minister and first deputy prime minister in this way reacted to a German MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel's party saying in Belgrade on Wednesday that he had a message, and that it was that Serbia "cannot be a part of the EU until it de jure recognizes Kosovo."

Parliamentary elections in Germany have resulted in the fourth consecutive victory of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has apparently lost considerable support and received the second worst result in elections since 1949. In spite of the loss, however, Merkel still maintains the leading role of her party in the German political system.

The Social Democrats (SPD) are narrowing the edge of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the general election in September, a survey shows.

The CDU would get 33% and the SPD would receive 32% of the vote, the figures projecting the center-left party's highest result since April 2006.

By Rainer Buergin, Birgit Jennen & Arne Delfs

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to head off a potential revolt from as much as a third of her bloc's lawmakers as she tries to up line support for a compromise deal with Greece, party officials said.

By Saleha Mohsin

Germany is wrong in its contention that a Greek exit from the euro won't spread to other members of the currency bloc, Hayman Capital Management LP's Kyle Bass said.