The fabled German town of Hamelin may need a new rat-catcher after it emerged that rodents had gnawed through a cable powering one of its fountains.
Hamelin is popular with tourists because of the legend of the Pied Piper who ended its plague of rats in 1284.
The Brothers Grimm told of how a man in colourful garb charmed the rodents into the River Weser, where they drowned.
But now the rats have staged a comeback, officials say, lured by food left by the tourists for the birds.
This is not the first time that Hamelin in Lower Saxony - called Hameln in Germany - has struggled with rats in recent years. In 2008, discarded food and rubbish made an allotment site outside the town a haven for the rodents.
But the fountain, which was erected close to the railway station in the 1980s, is much nearer the centre and has dried up.
Sächsisch ist laut einer Studie der unbeliebteste Dialekt in Deutschland. Nur 8 Prozent aller Deutschen bezeichnen die ostdeutsche Mundart als ihren Lieblings-Dialekt. Dies ist das Ergebnis einer YouGov-Umfrage zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit, für die 1048 repräsentativ ausgesuchte Bundesbürger in der Zeit vom 21. bis 24. September befragt wurden. Vorletzter und vorvorletzter auf der Hitliste der «sympathischsten Dialekte» wurden Berlinerisch (11 Prozent) und Kölsch (13 Prozent).
Mit den Dialekten im hohen Norden und im tiefen Süden können sich die Deutschen dagegen am meisten anfreunden: Bayerisch mögen 27 Prozent der Befragten am liebsten, gefolgt von Spitzenreiter Norddeutsch. Die Mundart, wie sie zum Beispiel Hamburger sprechen, ist der Liebling von 29 Prozent der Deutschen.
Ein etwas anderes Bild bietet sich, unterscheidet man zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschen. Wie erwartet stehen im Osten Deutschlands Sächsisch und Berlinerisch hoch im Kurs, im Westen sind es dagegen Bayerisch und Kölsch. Den Geschmack aller Deutschen vereint jedoch ein Dialekt: Norddeutsch. 29 Prozent sowohl der West- als auch der Ostdeutschen lauschen am liebsten der Mundart aus dem Norden.
A German job centre has apologised after offering work as a hostess in a brothel to a teenage girl, according to a local newspaper in Augsburg, Bavaria.
The 19-year-old's mother screamed when she saw the letter offering her daughter the work placement, the Augsburger Allgemeine reports.
The head of the job centre was quoted as saying it should have asked the young woman before sending the letter.
Roland Fuerst stressed that the work being offered was not prostitution.
Prostitution is legal in Germany and Mr Fuerst's centre was aware that the large establishment in question was a brothel.
The young woman told the newspaper: "I was looking for a decent housekeeping job - not working at a brothel bar.
"I was totally shocked when I read the letter. My mother even started screaming out loud when she read the letter."
Deutschland - Land der Ideen
Deutschland ist das Land der Ideen. Gemeinsam mit unterschiedlichen Partnern entwickelt die Initiative „Deutschland – Land der Ideen“ Projekte und lobt Wettbewerbe aus, um den Blick auf das Land, seine Menschen und ihre Ideen zu lenken.
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The prostitution meter is said to be the first of its kind
... )The German city of Bonn has installed a meter to tax prostitutes for soliciting on its streets at a rate of six euros (£5.30; $8.70) per night.
Those who fail to pay face fines or even a ban, and 264 euros were found in the meter when it was first emptied, according to AFP news agency.
Tax has been levied on prostitutes elsewhere but Bonn is the first city to use a meter, a spokeswoman said.
But a prostitutes' rights activist said the scheme amounted to double taxation.
Prostitutes are expected to pay the flat rate, regardless of earnings.
( eine " flat " Einkommen-Steuer kommt dann wohl als naechstes )
The machine, which looks like an ordinary parking meter, has been installed in an industrial area near the city centre which favoured by prostitutes and their clients.
