Munich - Most PC users are happy enough with a standard keyboard and mouse. Gamers, however, can be very demanding when it comes to their hardware, and manufacturers have responded with keyboards and mice specially tuned to their needs.

While these devices include a variety of extra functions, the question of whether the extras justify the significantly higher prices is a matter of debate.

Munich - Anti-poverty campaigners gathered Thursday to protest at the evening opening of a luxury-goods fair in the German city of Munich aimed at millionaires.

The Millionaire Fair is the first in Germany, but the 14th in a series to be organized by Dutch publisher Yves Gijrath round the world in cities like Shanghai. One of the events, in Moscow, was said to have closed with 500 million euros in sales.

The 16,000-square-metre show till Sunday features 100 manufacturers of such luxury items as cigars with gold leaf in the wrapping and tablecloths with 550 diamonds sewn on.

Munich, Oct 16 : An astronomer of Indian origin and his team have used the VLT (Very Large Telescope) and Rossi XTE satellite to probe violently variable black holes, providing insights into the colossal energy that flows at their hearts.

By mapping out how well the variations in visible light match those in X-rays on very short timescales, astronomers have shown that magnetic fields must play a crucial role in the way black holes swallow matter.

Like the flame from a candle, light coming from the surroundings of a black hole is not constant — it flares, sputters and sparkles.

Munich - Qimonda, the troubled German manufacturer of mass-market semiconductors, said Monday it would cut 3,000 jobs by next summer from its payroll.

The maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips currently employs 14,000 people round the world. Qimonda is majority-owned by Infineon, the German chipmaker, which has failed to find a new owner for the troubled unit.

Munich - Kurt Viermetz, chairman of Hypo Real Estate (HRE), resigned Friday, 12 days after the German government backed a huge and troubled bail-out for the struggling mortgage lender.

He was the second senior man to leave the bank, under pressure from the German government and commercial banks, which claimed HRE had under-stated its exposure. The chief executive of HRE, Georg Funke resigned earlier this week.

Munich - As the bail-out of mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE) kicked into gear Wednesday, details emerged of its tussle with the German government.

Berlin was angry that HRE's complex corporate structure made it practically impossible for regulators to check up on HRE's true cash position during the crisis, officials said.

Meanwhile, a newspaper reported that HRE was preparing to sue German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck over remarks last week suggesting that HRE would be broken up.