A rebound in German exports caused the country's trade surplus to grow in September, nearly making up for a sharp drop the previous month, official data showed on Friday.

Exports expanded by 5.5 percent in September, lifting the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Germany kicks off celebrations Friday marking the 25th anniversary of the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall, set to culminate with rock stars and veteran freedom activists joining a millions-strong crowd.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, will lead three days of commemorations for those killed trying to flee the repressive state, leading up to a giant festival Sunday marking the joyous breach of Europe's Cold War division on November 9, 1989.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned British Prime Minister David Cameron he is approaching a "point of no return" with the European Union over his immigration proposals, a report Sunday said.

News weekly Der Spiegel writes in its latest edition that Merkel told Cameron on the sidelines of an EU summit last month that his moves to limit an influx of EU migrant workers undermined core principles of the bloc.

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine hold controversial leadership elections on Sunday that Kiev and the West have refused to recognize and which threaten to deepen the international crisis over the conflict. 

Fighting raged across the region on the eve of the vote, with seven Ukrainian fighters killed and intensive shelling at the ruins of Donetsk airport, a key battleground between the rebels and government forces.

German police arrested one of the most wanted fugitive members of the Basque separatist group ETA, Tomas Elorriaga Kunze, who is wanted for forgery and bomb-making, the Spanish government said.

Elorriaga Kunze, 51 -- known by the alias Teo -- had been on the run for 15 years after a string of convictions in France for belonging to an armed group, the interior ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

A German national who was kidnapped by gunmen last week in southwest Nigeria has been released, his employer, the construction firm Julius Berger, said on Thursday.

"Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is pleased to officially announce the release of the company's member of staff, who was abducted in Ogun State on 24 October 2014," a statement from the firm said.

An international conference on the Syrian refugee crisis vowed Tuesday to extend longterm financial aid to countries struggling with what the U.N. calls the world's "most dramatic humanitarian crisis," but did not commit to an overall figure.

Around 40 countries and international bodies adopted a declaration saying donors would "mobilize for years to come" increased development support to help nations like Lebanon and Jordan shoulder the impact of millions of Syrian refugees.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam hoped on Tuesday that the international community is aware of Lebanon's huge financial needs to confront the burden of refugees.

“The refugees are affecting our economy and security ... We call for more funding to confront the repercussions of the refugee crisis,” Salam said at the opening of the Berlin conference on Syrian refugees, which was attended by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas.

French President Francois Hollande held talks with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday in a fresh push to end the festering conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.

The summit in Paris enabled "the resumption of a direct dialogue" between the presidents of the two countries, though no accord was reached, the French presidency said in a statement after the talks ended.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated on Monday that the unrest in the northern city of Tripoli “is nearing its end,” stressing the need for a national stance towards eliminating the terrorists.

He said: “The order to take decisive action against the terrorists has been given.”