A far-right murder spree went undetected for years because German security services made scores of errors, partially because of institutional bias against immigrants, a parliamentary investigation has found.

German authorities are using scent tracking to keep tabs on possibly violent protesters against next month’s Group of Eight summit – a tactic that is drawing comparisons with the methods of former East Germany’s secret police.

Berlin Zoo’s abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cute, cuddly and has become a front-page media darling, but an animal rights activist insisted today he would have been better off dead than raised by humans.