Germany: Deadly E.Coli string claims more lives - the source of the outbreak is still unknown.

Germany warned Sunday that the source of an outbreak of bacteria poisoning blamed for 10 deaths and hundreds of people falling ill, some in other countries, has yet to be pinpointed.

"Until experts in Germany and Spain are able to positively identify the source of the pathogen, general warnings about vegetables remain valid," Consumer Minister Ilse Aiger told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"The relevant authorities are doing all they can to clear this up, nationally and internationally."

Germany's national disease institute, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), has confirmed two deaths so far from haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a disease caused by a strain of bacteria known as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC).

But there are eight other suspected HUS deaths, and the RKI has said that close to 300 people have contracted the disease in recent weeks.

The epicentre of the outbreak has been in northern Germany, with more than 1,000 people suspected of being infected, reports said. Several are said to be fighting for their lives.

Hospitals in the city of Hamburg, where more than 400 people are believed to have been infected with EHEC, were said to be overwhelmed and sending patients to clinics elsewhere in the country.

Sweden has reported 25 E. coli cases, of whom 10 developed HUS, according to the European Commission. Denmark reported seven E. coli cases (including three HUS) while Britain counted three cases (two HUS).

More cases have been reported in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, where authorities ordered organic cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines delivered from Germany but grown in Spain withdrawn from sale in 33 shops.

For the moment, suspicions have so far turned towards Spain, although Spanish authorities deny it.

Germany closes 7 nuclear reactors

Germany will close all seven nuclear reactors that had gone into operation before 1980, and it is currently unclear whether they will be restarted, writes Reuters.

The announcement was made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the several explosions in the last few days in Fukushima at one of the largest nuclear plants in Japan, following a 9-degree earthquake that devastated the country. "Nuclear power stations that have started before 1980 will be stopped during the moratorium" said the German Chancellor on Tuesday.

The announcement was made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the several explosions in the last few days in Fukushima at one of the largest nuclear plants in Japan, following a 9-degree earthquake that devastated the country. "Nuclear power stations that have started before 1980 will be stopped during the moratorium" said the German Chancellor on Tuesday.

The Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said that it is not yet clear whether the plants closed during the moratorium will ever be restarted.

Merkel announced on Monday a three-month provisional mortarium life extension of nuclear plants, while the nuclear accident in Japan has exacerbated the traditional hostility of the German population against atomic energy.

As promised in the campaign of 2009, the Chancellor decided to extend the 12 years average lifetime of the reactors, while environmentalists allied with the Social Democrats have scheduled a decade ago a gradual stop in 2020.

According to the European Nuclear Society, there were 17 active nuclear plants in Germany (as of the end of last year) with an electricity production of 21,500 MW and an annual quantity of electricity delivered of about 150 billion kW.