The Local

The number of town pigeons in Germany's towns and cities has fallen dramatically over the past decade, with the Berlin population down by two thirds from its 2001 level.   Figures from the nature protection society Nabu say there are only around 10,000 town pigeons left in the capital, down from up to 30,000 thought to have been there in 2001. And although there are no recent figures in Frankfurt, officials say that complaints about them have declined over recent years.   One of the causes is building renovation, which is undertaken without any consideration for providing space for birds to nest, Lars Lachmann from Nabu told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper at the weekend.   Click to read the full article.

Internet search engine Google plans to launch its controversial Street View feature in Germany soon, but users with objections can register complaints before images of their street are made public, news magazine Focus reported on Monday.   The Google Maps addition provides panorama images visible from street level in cities around the world and will be available in Germany "promptly," the company told the magazine from Hamburg. The service is meant to allow people to see and explore a city in detail without actually physically visiting.   Data protection activists have been critical of the feature, saying that the cameras used to collect the images would also record details of residents' lives. Google's special Street View data collection cars, with mounted roof-top cameras, caused an uproar last summer as they trolled the streets of Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, taking pictures for the service.   129 words remaining. Click to read the full article.