Technology Cold War espionage added $4.6 billion to East Germany's economy Stolen trade secrets boosted the country's output--to a point. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. A Wartburg 353 and Trabant cars parked beside the Berlin Wall while a queue of East German people wait to cross to the West after the Wall fell and travel restrictions were lifted, Berlin, December 1989. No matter what side you were on, espionage was a cornerstone of Cold War political life . But it was also big business.

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The AfD won its second first-place result in state elections this year, bringing the party closer to regional power than any far-right party since WWII.

Germany's federal prosecutor indicted seven people for allegedly securing weapons and ammunition for Hamas to launch terrorism attacks targeting Jewish communities.

The leaders of eight German states have backed the nation's chancellor amid growing speculation about his political future. The premiers - all of whom are part of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - wrote that restoring trust in their party lay in listening and taking political action, not in debates over personnel. Merz, who has only held the post for 16 months, is facing poor approval ratings while the anti-immigration, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is surging, prompting questions about whether he is an electoral liability. He has vowed to carry on but two more state elections on Sunday have been seen as a key test of his leadership. Rumours of a Kanzlertausch - or Chancellor swap - have been around for months, but they have increased since the conservative CDU tumbled to a distant second behind the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt at the start of September. The AfD shot up to 43.8% of the vote while the CDU plummeted to 17.2%, marking the first time since World War Two that a far-right party has come close to controlling a German state.

Google has revealed the new features coming to its Pixel devices this month, including an update to VIPs that will make them easier to reach. On Pixel 6 phones and newer, you can now see expanded widget options that you can use to quickly send a text or call your VIPs or favorite contacts straight from the home screen. You'll also get new notification badges where you can see if you've received an urgent message or if you have an unread one from a VIP in a glance. The company is expanding Scam Detection in-app and inside Messages, as well. In the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, India, Germany, Mexico, Japan and France, Scam Detection can now alert you if it spots potential fraudulent messages across chat apps in your notifications.

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Germany is pushing for a Baltic Sea rapid-response task force to counter Russian hybrid warfare, including a drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport and sabotage threats.