Dozens detained as German police crack down on student protest

Baton-wielding police beat up students in Frankfurt to end a peaceful housing protest, press reports said on Friday. At least 73 people were briefly detained late Thursday night after police stormed a vacant villa occupied by mostly student protesters who were trying to highlight a severe student housing shortage in the south German city. The demonstators suffered hand and foot injuries after being handcuffed with wire straps. There is a long student tradition of occupying empty houses and apartment buildings in major German urban areas dating back to the 1960s. German students have been facing a major housing crisis amid a record-breaking onslaught of new students this year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were a record 2,217,604 students enrolled at German universities in the 2010/2011 winter semester. A new record is also expected this year as around 500,000 new students have been registering for the winter semester 2011/12.