Former German president Johannes Rau dies

Johannes Rau, who as Germany’s president urged the nation to open up to foreigners, sought to promote deeper ties with Israel and warned of the possible pitfalls of genetic research, has died, his office announced today. He was 75.

Rau died at his Berlin apartment this morning.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death, but Rau had suffered from persistent health problems in recent years.