Website of music copyright watchdog GEMA hacked
The website of GEMA, Germany’s music copyright watchdog, has been hacked amid an ongoing dispute over royalties with the video portal YouTube.
Day: August 22, 2011
Former Wikileaks insider destroyed files
Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the former spokesman of WikiLeaks, says he has destroyed thousands of documents that he took for safekeeping before leaving the controversial whistle-blower website.
Police ditching the German Shepherd for Belgian breed
Police in Germany are phasing out the use of German Shepherds as police dogs in favour of a sturdier Belgian breed.
Berlin mulls troops for post-Qaddafi Libya
As the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi teetered on the brink Monday, German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière said Bundeswehr troops could soon help secure the peace in the North African nation.
Germany cuts deficit faster than expected
Germany, Europe's powerhouse economy, will balance its public finances sooner than expected, slashing this year's projected budget deficit to 1.5 percent from 2.5 percent, the Finance Ministry announced Monday.
High court considers fees to scare off frivolous appeals
Germany's highest court is so overloaded with cases it is considering introducing special fees of up to €5,000 to keep people from submitting appeals deemed frivolous and unlikely to succeed.
Merkel emphasizes ‘no’ to eurobonds, for now
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated late on Sunday that she opposes eurobonds, which would pool the 17 eurozone nations' debt, but left the door open to a change in policy at a later date.
More pensioners working low-paid jobs to get by
An increasing number of German pensioners are being forced to work low-paid mini-jobs or apply for special supplemental aid from the government in order to make ends meet, statistics show.
Citizen patrols mooted to stop car arsons
As night-time car arsons in Berlin continue unabated, some citizens are calling for neighbourhood groups to prowl the streets looking for culprits, an idea that appears to be gaining ground.
Restaurant turns down Swedish royalty
A red-faced restaurant owner in southern Germany admitted she had turned away Sweden's king and queen when they asked for a table after failing to recognise them.