Tribesmen kidnapped a German aid worker and her parents in southern Yemen earlier today and are holding them hostage, demanding the government release imprisoned clan members, Yemeni officials said.

Germany’s foreign minister will host his Russian and US counterparts and the UN secretary general next week, convening the so-called Mideast “Quartet” to discuss developments in the Middle East.

Two Germans have been missing in Iraq for almost a week, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed today.

THE German Government yesterday condemned a planned Iranian conference on the Holocaust, calling attempts to question the Nazis’ murder of Jews “shocking and unacceptable”.

The German government today condemned a planned Iranian conference on the Holocaust and summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry, calling attempts to question the Nazis’ murder of Jews “shocking and unacceptable”.