Kohl businessman faces charges

A key figure in the financial scandal surrounding the former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, is to be put on trial in Germany.

A court in the town of Augsburg ruled that the man, Karlheinz Schreiber -- who's alleged to have funnelled large sums in illegal business donations to Mr Kohl's Christian Democrats -- should face charges including bribery and tax evasion.

Mr Schreiber is currently in Canada facing an extradition request by Germany. A separate inquiry is also underway into the conduct of the Christian Democrats. Mr Kohl has strongly denied that party donations influenced his government's decisions, but he's said he promised not to name the donors.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service