IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Germany

Websites hacked ahead of visit

A German official said Chancellor Angela Merkel's website and several other German government sites have been blocked. A pro-Russian organization calling itself CyberBerkut claimed on Wednesday to have blocked the official sites of Merkel and the German Parliament ahead of a visit to Berlin by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Merkel has been a leading figure in attempts to calm the Ukraine crisis.