German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that Berlin wanted the United Nations to take a firmer line on Syria's attacks on civilians after nearly eight months of deadly violence.

Merkel told reporters after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that they agreed in "condemning the human rights violations occurring in Syria".

Move over Lady Gaga and your meat dress. A Berlin museum is coupling haute couture with haute cuisine, spotlighting models draped in octopus tunics, seaweed miniskirts and chocolate dresses.

The creations by Michelin-starred Austrian chef Roland Trettl, captured in around 50 sumptuous stills by his compatriot photographer Helge Kirchberger, blur the lines of sensual pleasure in a feast for the eyes and the palate.

German police called to a traffic incident early Sunday were astonished to find themselves face-to-face with Jedi master Yoda from Star Wars, much the worse for wear after Halloween celebrations.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a 42-year-old male driver, resplendent in his Yoda costume, had a minor collision with a pedestrian and sped off in his car, only to be collared by a police vehicle two minutes later.

German authorities Wednesday freed two men initially suspected last month of acquiring chemicals for a possible bombing ahead of the September 11, 2001 attacks' anniversary and a papal visit.

Prosecutors pressed no charges against the men, a 24-year-old German of Lebanese origin and a 28-year-old Palestinian from the Gaza Strip.

Serbia's interior minister said Wednesday that two Pablo Picasso paintings owned by a German museum and stolen from a Swiss exhibition have been found in Belgrade.

Ivica Dacic provided no information on the exact location of the paintings or possible suspects in the theft.

Germany's top lender Deutsche Bank announced on Tuesday a 37-percent drop in third quarter profits due to the financial downturn but said it was confident it could face the economic crisis without public capital.

The two Russian spies reportedly arrested in Germany were probably retired veterans from the Soviet era who were only used on rare occasions, a Moscow foreign intelligence official said on Monday.

Der Spiegel first reported that the couple had begun spying in Germany for the former Soviet KGB before being arrested last week in the first incident of its kind since the Cold War.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday cited "progress" in ongoing talks to contain the Eurozone debt crisis after a telephone conversation earlier with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I spoke to the chancellor this afternoon, there is progress, we are going to work tonight," he told reporters on arriving in Brussels ahead of a European Union summit Sunday.

Two suspected Russian spies operating in Germany for more than 20 years have been arrested in the first case of its kind since German reunification, a report said Saturday.

Der Spiegel said the man and woman, who lived as a couple, were arrested Tuesday when police raided their home at Ballingen, between Stuttgart and Cologne in western Germany.

European ministers embarked Saturday on overhauling a rescue package for Greece, ahead of crunch French-German talks to resolve a row over a crisis that threatens to cause global recession.

Amid dire warnings that the debt crisis is endangering all of Europe, ministers said that banks had to take a greater share of the pain in a rescue package agreed in July but already seen as insufficient to solve Greek woes.