German authorities are seeking to end the prosecution of a former SS medic who served at the Auschwitz death camp, saying lengthy delays mean that the elderly suspect is now no longer fit for trial.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition suffered a new blow as Germany’s main opposition parties celebrated gains in a state election.

FIVE children between the ages of three and nine were found dead in a house in the northern German village of Darry yesterday, police said.

Protesters clashed with riot police today as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the German city of Rostock to protest the upcoming Group of Eight summit.