Germany, essentially rudderless since inconclusive elections Sept. 18, finally has a new chancellor and government. Whether they can actually govern the world's third-largest economy looks to be an unusually tricky task.

For modern Germans, the bygone authoritarian entity known as East Germany must inspire the same rueful fascination that the antebellum South does for Americans; that is, as a still-raw reminder of injustice, exploitation and cultural schism.

BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for making change possible in East Germany as she visited what was once a fortified border crossing on Monday - retracing her steps on the night 20 years ago the Berlin Wall fell.

BERLIN - Conservative Angela Merkel struck a power-sharing deal Monday that will make her the first woman and politician from the ex-communist east to serve as Germany's chancellor, forging a coalition with ousted leader Gerhard Schroeder's party to reform the faltering economy.

BEIJING — Already the biggest auto market and steel maker, China edged past Germany in 2009 to become the top exporter, yet another sign of its rapid rise and the spread of economic power from West to East.

Judi Gyory Missel believes she lost as many as 20 relatives in the Nazi concentration camps and ovens during the Holocaust. That includes all four of her grandparents.

MUNICH, Germany - Fans from Germany and Costa Rica poured through the streets of this Bavarian city, singing and chanting in feverish anticipation as their national teams prepared to kick off the World Cup Friday.

If the Jamaicans can field a bobsled team, then surely the desert can be home to a future Olympic luger. Well the folks at the Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search think so.

Every wrestling team has an extra opponent this season — methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The so-called “Super Bug” is a concern in every high school sport.

Donald Goodson II was destined to play baseball at an early age. “When he was 7 months, he would be up at 6 in the morning waiting to throw me plastic baseballs,” his father Donald Goodson said.

When it comes to influence, few East Valley businessmen have ever matched Craig Barrett, the chief executive officer of Intel Corp., the world’s largest semiconductor company.

Europe doesn't know what it's missing.

MEXICO CITY - Back in February, Sarah Palin tweeted about the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak through a popular uprising. First there were the trapped Chilean miners, she said, and now the Egyptian disturbances. "What other drama will affect the Middle East?"

Roman Catholics have an open invitation to spend an evening at any of the Valley’s 14 mosques when Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan begins Saturday, and it could serve to mend fences in the aftermath of comments by Pope Benedict XVI.

Roman Catholics have an open invitation to spend an evening at any of the Valley’s 14 mosques when Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan begins Saturday, and it could serve to mend fences in the aftermath of comments by Pope Benedict XVI.

Mesa resident Inge Myrick, 83, paused while tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke of freedom. “It can’t be imagined what it was like. Nobody can imagine what freedom really means,” Myrick said as she recounted her journey from the Russian-occupied portion of Germany into the U.S.-controlled area of the country during World War II.

East Valley companies scooped up three of the five Manufacturer of the Year awards presented Tuesday night by the Arizona Association of Industries.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday that authoritarian rule in the Middle East has begun to ease, and he insisted anew that Syria must end its nearly three-decade occupation of Lebanon.

A rare part of history soon will be rolling into the Commemorative Air Force Arizona Wing Aviation Museum at Mesa's Falcon Field for one day and one day only.

Lewis Elliot made his first trip to Kona, Hawaii, this week. He plans to do some swimming, bike riding and even run along the beach. But it’s no vacation.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong surged past New York this year and became the world’s second most popular place — after London — for companies to float new stock listings. The city’s amazing success was due to several factors, analysts say.

An interest in studying overseas continues to wane among East Valley high school students, leaving many exchange programs desperately seeking homes for the kids who continue to come to the U.S. in droves.