Kohl sacks press spokesman

Chancellor Kohl of Germany has sacked his senior press spokesman with only four months to go before the country's next general election.

No reason has been offered for the dismissal, but correspondents suggest that the spokesman, Peter Hausmann, is being made the scapegoat for the government's poor showing in the latest opinion polls.

He's been criticised for his perceived failure to present government policies in a good enough light.

The man appointed to replace him is Otto Hauser, an MP in the Chancellor's party, the Christian Democratic Union.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service