Germany's economy is expected to have slipped into reverse in the last quarter of 2011 in spite of showing an overall growth for the year of 3 percent, the country's Federal Statistics Office revealed Wednesday.

The country's annual growth rate was achieved in spite of the financial crisis in Europe which has other economies such as Greece, Spain and Italy struggling with huge debts.

Debt-crippled Greece's budget deficit is expected to hit 9.6 percent of economic output in 2011, about half a percentage point above target, the development minister acknowledged Wednesday.

Michalis Chryssochoidis said that an increase in the use of European Union structural development funds had contributed to lowering government overspending from 10.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2010.

An Israeli hacker has posted information online about hundreds of Saudis, Egyptians, Syrians and others — a new salvo in the cyber war launched by an alleged Saudi hacker who leaked details about thousands of Israelis last week, an Israeli newspaper reported Wednesday.

The information was posted on the pastebin site late Tuesday by a hacker who identified himself as a soldier in an Israeli intelligence unit, the Yediot Ahronot daily said. He said he was not afraid of a "hacking war" between Israeli and Arab hackers.

Egyptian Islamists and other activists vowed Wednesday to prevent Israelis from making an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in the Nile Delta.

Pilgrimage opponents have decided to stage protests on roads leading to the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira in the village of Daymouta, 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of Cairo, said Gamal Heshmat of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which is the country's best organized political movement.

College-age drinkers average nine drinks when they get drunk, government health officials said Tuesday. That surprising statistic is part of a new report highlighting the dangers of binge drinking, which usually means four to five drinks at a time.

Overall, about 1 in 6 U.S. adults surveyed said they had binged on alcohol at least once in the previous month, though it was more than 1 in 4 for those ages 18 to 34.

North Korea said Wednesday that before Kim Jong Il's death the United States offered to provide food aid if it halted its uranium enrichment program, and although Pyongyang blasted Washington for "politicizing" food shipments, it appeared to leave the door open for a deal.

Comments about the proposed deal, attributed to an unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman in Pyongyang, carried an indignant tone, but the North's statement also said it would wait and "see if the United States has a willingness to establish confidence" with North Korea.

Fire swept through a South Korean fishing ship near Antarctica early Wednesday, killing three fishermen and leaving two others with severe burns.

Rescue coordinators said the outcome could have been worse had it not been for the assistance given by a nearby sister ship and another fishing vessel. Thirty-seven crew members were rescued, including two unconscious men who had been severely burned and were hoisted off the flaming ship by crane. Five crew members suffered moderate burns.

A British parliamentary committee will investigate racism in sports following a number of high-profile cases in soccer.

England captain John Terry will appear in court next month to face a criminal charge after allegedly directing racial abuse at a black opponent while playing for Chelsea.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany will miss his club's next four matches after the Premier League leaders failed Tuesday in its appeal against the defender's red card against Manchester United.

Kompany was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Nani in the 12th minute of Sunday's FA Cup match. United beat 10-man City 3-2.

Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi says he is thinking about retiring after the 2014 season and is keen to bring success to Ducati before then.

Rossi wants to sign a new two-year deal with Ducati before his current contract expires at the end of the upcoming campaign.