Germany

Emotional Germany midfielder plays last international match

 Schweinsteiger, 32, was left in tears at a presentation before Germany's 2-0 friendly win over Finland.

The Manchester United midfielder made his Germany debut in June 2004 and ends his international career with 121 caps and 24 goals.

"It means so much that you're here today. It has been an honour to play for you," he told the crowd.

"I think you all saw how it affected me. I had just wanted to enjoy every moment, but I hadn't expected it to be so lovely."

Migrant crisis: Germany warns Turkey against 'blackmailing EU'

Visa-free access to the EU is seen as a reward for Turkey's role in halting an influx of migrants into Europe.

But the move has been delayed because of a row over anti-terror legislation following Turkey's failed coup.

"It's up to Turkey whether there can be visa-travel or not," Mr Gabriel said.

He said Turkey was drastically distancing itself from Europe by "moving towards reintroducing the death penalty" which was a "flagrant contravention of the EU's charter of fundamental rights".

France to meet Portugal in Euro 2016 final

Antoine Griezmann, the tournament's top scorer, made the decisive contributions in each half to set up a final against Portugal at the Stade de France on Sunday.

Griezmann scored from the penalty spot right on half-time when Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger was penalised for handball by Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli in an aerial challenge with Patrice Evra.

France and Germany advance to EURO quarters

RNZI reports France will play either England or Iceland at the Stade de France in Paris next Monday.

In this morning's second game Germany crushed Slovakia 3-0 to set up a quarter-final showdown with either holders Spain or Italy.

Goals from Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Julian Draxler confirmed Germany's status as tournament favourites during the sparkling performance.

Central defender Boateng connected perfectly with a clearance in the eighth minute to volley in from 25 metres for his first international goal as the world champions took control from the start.

Woman who claimed $73m winning lottery ticket went through the wash ruled out from prize

A German woman who claimed she had won a £33 million (NZ$73 million) British lottery jackpot, but by accident put the ticket through the wash, is understood to have been ruled out from the prize.

Susanne Hinte, a 48-year-old grandmother, has submitted her crumpled and torn lottery ticket to Camelot, which runs Britain's National Lottery, for verification.

Mass sex assault shocks Germany

Women have made at least 90 criminal complaints to police about the harassment by gangs at Cologne's main railway station on Thursday night.

The scale of the attacks has shocked Germany, with as many as 1000 drunk and aggressive young men involved.

Witnesses and police said the men were of Arab or North African appearance.

Paris attacks: 'Three teams' involved - prosecutor Molins

"We have to find out where they came from... and how they were financed," Francois Molins told reporters.

He said seven attackers had been killed, and that all had been heavily armed and wearing explosive belts.

Friday's attacks, claimed by Islamic State militants, hit a concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants and bars.

Mr Molins also said the arrests of three men in Belgium on Saturday were linked to the attacks.

Lukas Podolski out of Germany's final Euro 2016 qualifiers

The German football federation (DFB) says Podolski travelled with a swollen ankle from his club Galatasaray and was diagnosed upon arrival in Frankfurt with "a painful capsule irritation of the left upper ankle joint."

The DFB says Podolski left the German team's base Tuesday and was returning to his club for further treatment.

Coach Joachim Loew still has 22 players in his squad, though Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi was laboring with a shoulder problem.

Germany, Turkey back solution to Syrian war

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone Wednesday. The government said Merkel praised the "enormous Turkish efforts" to take care of nearly 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. It added that the two leaders agreed to increase cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis, with an emphasis on combatting traffickers.

Hungary bus fleet delivers 4,000 migrants to Austria welcome

Before dawn, they clambered off a fleet of Hungarian buses at the Austrian border to find a warm welcome from charity workers offering beds and hot tea. Within a few more hours of rapid-fire aid, many found themselves whisked by train to the Austrian capital, Vienna, and the southern German city of Munich.