POLAND

General Motors' chief negotiator in the sale of Opel will on Tuesday meet a task force created by the German government to discuss the U.S. carmaker's plans for the European unit, a German politician said.

General Motors may make clear within the next 24 hours whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

General Motors may make clear, within the next 24 hours, whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

General Motors Co said on Friday its board had not picked a winning bidder for Opel after convening to discuss the automaker's options, leaving the fate of its German unit still uncertain after months of high-stakes negotiations.

General Motors is leaning toward picking Canada's Magna International and its Russian partners -- Germany's favored suitors -- as preferred buyers for the Opel business in Europe, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

General Motors is leaning toward picking Canada's Magna International and its Russian partners -- Germany's favored suitors -- as preferred buyers for the Opel business in Europe, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

Germany could provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.35 billion) in state aid for carmaker Opel if General Motors chooses Canada's Magna, Berlin's favored suitor, as the buyer, a minister said.

Germany could provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.35 billion) in upfront state aid for carmaker Opel if General Motors picks Canada's Magna, Berlin's favored suitor, as the buyer, a top official said.

Swedbank will raise 15 billion Swedish crowns ($2.1 billion) in a rights issue to boost a balance sheet hit by bad debts in the Baltics, the bank said on Monday, after saying in June it didn't need more capital.

Pop diva Madonna may have upset some Catholic Poles by timing her debut Polish concert to coincide with a big religious holiday on Saturday, but she is sure of a warm welcome if she visits the tiny village of Rumin.

Several polish nationalists have accused Madonna of being

A group of Polish nationalists condemned on Thursday a planned weekend concert by pop diva Madonna in Warsaw, branding her a

Microsoft Corp has started accepting submission of mobile phone software applications from registered developers.

Political and economic logic are set to collide in the byzantine decision-making over the future of German carmaker Opel, the main European arm of fallen U.S. auto giant General Motors.

Belgium-based investor RHJ International is offering 275 million euros ($388 million) for a majority stake in General Motors' Opel business in a last-ditch bid to beat early frontrunner Magna.

The European Parliament elected ex-Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as its president on Tuesday, making him the first leader from a former Soviet bloc country to hold one of the top European Union posts.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned the United States Friday that if it did not reach agreement with Russia on plans for missile defense systems, Moscow would deploy rockets in an enclave near Poland.

President Barack Obama appealed to the Russian people on Tuesday to join the United States in overcoming past differences and building a prosperous democratic future free of corruption and the threat of nuclear war.

Virus researches on Monday said Trojans accounted for 70 percent of all new malware between April and June 2009 and are responsible for over a third of all infections.

President Barack Obama, opening a visit to Russia intended to mend strained relations, said on Monday he was confident of extraordinary progress if both sides worked hard together during his trip.

Russia hopes next week's visit by U.S. President Barack Obama will help restore confidence between the two biggest nuclear powers, a Kremlin aide said on Friday, after strains over Georgia and a U.S. missile shield plan.