Munich  - The market fallout unleashed by the US mortgage crisis continued to take its toll on the European financial sector with the giant German insurer Munich Re forced Friday to slash its 2008 earnings forecast.

The world's second biggest reinsurer expects earnings this year to come in at "well above" 2.0 billion euros (3.14 billion dollars) compared to a previous estimate of between 3.0 and 3.4 billion euros.

The projection sent Munich Re shares down by more than 10 per cent to about 104 euros.

"The main reason for this is the turmoil on the capital markets, which has led to an appreciable reduction in the group's investment result in the first half of 2008," the Munich-based company said announcing the results.

Munich, July 25 : Astronomers have indicated that a recent supernova may not be normal as initially thought, with the star that exploded now understood to have collapsed into a black hole, producing a weak jet, typical of much more violent events, the so-called gamma-ray bursts.

The object, SN 2008D, is thus probably among the weakest explosions that produce very fast moving jets.

This discovery represents a crucial milestone in the understanding of the most violent phenomena observed in the Universe.

Munich, July 25 : Using the ESO’s (European Southern Observatory’s) Very Large Telescope Interferometer, astronomers were able for the first time to witness the appearance of a shell of dusty gas around a star that had just erupted, and follow its evolution for more than 100 days.

This provides the astronomers with a new way to estimate the distance of this object and obtain invaluable information on the operating mode of dense stars that suck material from a companion.

Munich - Germans love to invite friends over for a party in the back yard.

A survey published in the July edition of a German home magazine shows that 71 per cent of the people surveyed enjoy throwing a garden party. The same percentage like being invited to garden parties given by friends or acquaintances, the survey showed.

The survey also showed that all neighbours are invited to 41 per cent of the garden parties. About one-third of the people surveyed invite friends over weekly during the warm summer months.

Munich - Office workers know that in high summer it can be difficult to dress professionally and at the same time feel comfortable in warm temperatures.

Although women have it easier than men, it's often impossible to achieve both when dressing for work.

"As harsh as it sounds, men of the world wear long sleeves under a suit or sports coat even when it's 32 degrees Celsius," said Georg Stiels, a style consultant in Munich. "Anything else is in fact unfashionable."

Munich : Siemens, the German engineering group, confirmed Wednesday plans to dispose of a transportation-division plant that employs 950 people in the Czech Republic, but said it hopes to find a buyer rather than close the site.

The components plant in Prague was earmarked for disposal as part of a scheme to save German jobs during the current job-cutting drive at the Munich-based group, which seeks to shrink its workforce while keeping the same volume of business.

Siemens said the site makes components for the group's high-speed Velaro trains, known in Germany as inter-city expresses (ICE), and for slower passenger trains.