Learn with your ears

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Berlin lies a mere 90 kilometres from the Polish border, and German railway operator Deutsche Bahn offers an affordable Berlin-Warsaw Express route. uss Sarah Roberts hopped on board to discover a vibrant city still recovering from a troubled history between the two countries.

The city of Frankfurt an der Oder marks the last German outpost before the train reaches the dense pine forests of Poland.

For those itching to get out of Berlin for a quick trip to Germanys nearest eastern neighbour, the Berlin-Warsaw express train departs daily from the German capital on a five-hour journey to the heart of the former Eastern-Bloc country. A closer look also reveals an isolated trucking road where prostitutes and crucifixes stand side by side flickering in and out of view from the forest. From here passengers can see a landscape dotted with wooden hunting posts and weatherworn stone cottages.

The fading imprint of a stormy German-Polish past, epitomized by the brutal Nazi occupation during World War II, continues to haunt Warsaw.

After arriving at the Warsaw central station, passengers can stock up on zloty, Polands national currency, amid an assortment of fast food joints, before stepping outside into a city of distinct architectural differences and healing wounds.

Stolen bricks

The remnants of Nazi occupation still leave a bad taste in the mouths of most Poles, who are quick to tell tourists of how the Germans bombed and destroyed their city. The Nazis invaded the city in September 1939, and it lay in ruins by the time Soviet tanks rolled in to liberate the city in January 1945. Images of Warsaw as a wasteland are juxtaposed on images of the reconstructed city, which took decades to repair. A photographic exhibition depicting the extent of the damage lines the main avenue leading to one of the citys main attractions, the Royal Castle. Short on building materials, the Soviets devised a plan to rebuild Warsaw using bricks from buildings in the former German territory of Prussia that became part of Poland after the Potsdam conference.

The Soviets began to rebuild the historic city centre of Warsaw after the wars end, but reconstruction was finally completed in 1962, and not without the help of stolen German bricks. The city lost more than a million bricks per day during the height of the pilfering as the communists dismantled historical buildings.

Wroclaw, called Breslau in German, had been home to many ethnic Germans who fled after the war.

Nowadays the picturesque Old Towns cobbled streets bustle with activity, street musicians, and lace vendors.

It took nearly two decades to totally rebuild the old town of Warsaw to its former beauty, and main attractions like the Royal Castle, nestled at the edge of the small Old Town, have the aura of authenticity, earning it a UNESCOs World Heritage listing in 1980.

The original Royal Castle was built in the 14th Century and was destroyed twice, first during a war with Sweden in the 1600s and later by Nazi Germany. Meanwhile visitors eating the local ice cream specialty Lodi browse jewellery stores filled with silver-set amber on the way to the main attraction, the Royal Castle. In the throne room, guests behold the countrys most precious jewels - a set of 50 diamond eagles, which are Polands national emblem. The refurbished royal rooms are filled with glistening chandeliers and treasures from Imperial Poland. The Nazis stole the real treasures during the occupation, and only one of the original eagles has ever been recovered, returned by an expatriate family living in the United States. But the birds, like the bricks that rebuilt the city, are fake. Polands tallest building, the Palace of Culture and Science, was built by Joseph Stalin in 1952 as a gift to the Polish people. Polands tallest building, the Palace of Culture and Science, was built by Joseph Stalin in 1952 as a gift to the Polish people. It towers 231 metres into the sky and looks like a building out of Batmans Gotham city. The notorious example of Socialist Realist architecture took its inspiration from the Empire State building in New York, and its name before destalinization after the communist leader.

But communist rule was overthrown in 1989, and now the bright neon signs of numerous giant multinational companies beam from high-rise office blocks as capitalism closes in on aging communist monuments.

Ten years ago guidebooks were packed with hot tips on where to spend a seedy night in the Polish capital. But change is palpable as the nation, accepted into the European Union in 2004, works to improve its reputation and turns over a squeaky clean leaf. .

Flower stands now have been established where brothels once stood and elderly Polish women sit with their bouquets of fresh or dried flowers for sale. The colourful stalls, set amidst the concrete high-rise apartment blocks, are as popular as the Lodi ice cream stores in the Old Town. Take a dried bunch of Polish wild flowers back to Berlin as a sweet-smelling reminder of a city blooming in the face of its troubled past.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel presides Monday over her partys annual congress ahead of a federal election next year, with the conservatives deeply divided over her response to the global recession.

The two-day Christian Democratic Union CDU meeting takes place in the southwestern city of Stuttgart amid differences over Merkels handling of the downturn in Europes biggest economy. But political analysts expect her to overcome the criticism and maintain her popularity with the public, which has remained steady since she became chancellor at the end of 2005.

Merkels popularity has largely been due to the fact that she doesnt act on the basis of an ideology, said Gerd Langguth, who has written a biography of Merkel.

Merkel leads her Social Democrat rival Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign minister in her coalition government, by more than 20 points in the opinion polls ahead of the September general election.

Gerd Mielke, a political scientist at Mainz University, said this characteristic was both her strength and her weakness. .

She has never followed a straight line for a long time and has always compromised, he said.

Economic liberals within the CDU, who remain close to big business, want Merkel to announce more ambitious measures to stimulate the economy such as tax cuts and reducing social welfare costs.

That flexible approach has drawn criticism in recent weeks from her own party and its Bavarian allies the Christian Social Union and the pro-business Free Democratic Party, a potential coalition partner, has also been sceptical.

Merkel has rejected calls to take more decisive action now, arguing that budgetary spending has already been agreed. The influential news weekly Der Spiegel is running a cover story in its issue to hit newsstands Monday entitled Angela Mutlos The Faint-Hearted The Chancellors Dangerous Dithering in the Economic Crisis.

Another faction of the party, notably Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen, opposes any moves which would reduce social welfare spending. She told Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that she will push for fiscal reform only after her possible re-election.

The quarrel over taxes remains within political and economic circles and does not weigh heavily on public opinion, said Professor Hans Herbert von Arnim from the German Research Institute for Public Administration in Speyer.

The quarrel over taxes remains within political and economic circles and does not weigh heavily on public opinion, said Professor Hans Herbert von Arnim from the German Research Institute for Public Administration in Speyer. It is not in the partys interest to undermine Merkel while it is so far ahead of the Social Democrats in the polls and there is no candidate to replace her, he added.

The CDU may present itself as being relatively unified at the congress but that does not mean they will be no dissatisfaction behind the scenes, Langguth said. Mielke said Merkel would strike a diplomatic tone during the congress and studiously avoid controversy.

Merkels popularity has served to reduce the influence of party heavyweights, or barons, none of whom are in a position to defy her.

Her tactic will be above all not to provoke any fights across party lines.

The chancellor will avoid leaving herself open to criticism by not openly coming out for or against the policies which divide her party, Mielke, a Mainz University professor, said. Since 2005, her style of leadership has been more presidential, staying well out of the fray. She will certainly try to buy herself more time, he added.

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A suicide attack on a German diplomatic vehicle in Afghanistans capital Sunday killed two Afghan civilians and wounded at least three, including the driver, Kabul police and the German government said.

Deputy Kabul police chief General Alishah Ahmadzai had said the target was the vehicle of the German military attache but he was unharmed.

It was a suicide attack against the vehicle of the German military attache, Ahmadzai said.

The sole occupant of the vehicle, an Afghan employee of the embassy, was injured, the German foreign ministry spokesperson said. The military attache is sound and safe. Two civilians are killed and three are wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the suicide blast, the second in the city in three days, but similar attacks have been claimed by Taliban-led extremists waging an insurgency in Afghanistan. The attacker was on foot.

I was standing here at the corner when I heard a big explosion, he said.

One of the dead was a municipal worker who was cleaning the road when the attacker struck, a worker named Waheedullah said. His belly was badly wounded and was open.

I went to the main road and saw one of our friends lying on the roadside, covered in blood, close to his wheel barrow.

The attackers remains were still at the scene after the attack, along with a damaged armoured diplomatic vehicle. I saw another civilian dead close toby and I saw two civilians wounded.

But the International Security Assistance Force said it had not been a target in the incident.

The interior ministry had initially said the attack, in front of a high school and close to parliament, targeted a convoy of international troops. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.

The latest suicide attack to hit Kabul came after a car bomb exploded outside the heavily barricaded US embassy Thursday, killing four Afghan civilians and wounding close toly 20.

But Chancellor Merkel on Sunday reiterated her government was against a withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan, saying that such a move would only boost forces keen on destabilizing the country.

The Afghan capital has suffered a rash of attacks this year, fuelling fears that a Taliban-led insurgency which has mostly affected the south and east of the country is encroaching on Kabul.

When weve achieved that then Afghanistan wont need our soldiers anymore.

We want Afghanistan to be able to defend itself, that it has a stable government and that its own security forces can protect the country, the chancellor told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published Sunday.

At the same time, Merkel reiterated her opposition to increasing the German troop contingent.

A debate over a possible withdrawal of German troops would play directly into the hands of those powers that aim to destabilise Afghanistan.

Opposition to German involvement in the war in Afghanistan runs high in Germany. . At least 30 German soldiers have been killed so far in seven years of fighting.

The chancellor said she looked forward to a change in the US presidency, since the future president Barack Obama would spur new discussions over the conflict in Afghanistan and on Pakistans role in the war.

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Dozens of not-so-secret Santas squared off against each other Saturday, in a competition for Germanys best Santa Claus that included singing, hauling presents on a sleigh and calming excited children.

Forty contestants, men and women from as far away as Russia, faced off in the race in the northern town of Celle.

Aside from his mastery of Christmas carols, Kienast, a native of Trier, proved his talent in Christmas tree decorating. .

Some 10,000 holiday-mad spectators, many of them children, crowded into the venue, organizers said. He also eyeballed lengths of ribbon which he had to cut to specified lengths - a crucial part of every holiday season as any stressed gift giver knows.

That competition was won by Briton Ross Antony, who collapsed laughing onto the ground after 27 seconds. The reindeer rodeo was particularly challenging, in which the Santas, almost all clad in the requisite beard and red suit, had to stay atop a bucking mechanical reindeer as long as possible.

. Antony was the only one wearing a blue suit for the competition - and he carried off the crown in the inofficial international contest

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is against a withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan, saying that such a move would only boost forces keen on destabilizing the country.

We want Afghanistan to be able to defend itself, that it has a stable government and that its own security forces can protect the country, the chancellor told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published Sunday.

A debate over a possible withdrawal of German troops would play directly into the hands of those powers that aim to destabilise Afghanistan. . Germany currently has 4,500 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, as part of a NATO force of around 60,000, of which about half are American.

At the same time, Merkel reiterated her opposition to increasing the German troop contingent. At least 30 German soldiers have been killed so far in seven years of fighting.

Opposition to German involvement in the war in Afghanistan runs high in Germany.

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The chancellor said she looked forward to a change in the US presidency, since the future president Barack Obama would spur new discussions over the conflict in Afghanistan and on Pakistans role in the war

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A German plan to begin lab tests of naked security scanners provoked howls of protest over privacy Saturday, as the government reversed its earlier rejection of the devices.

According to the government, it aims to research and test technologies that will increase the level of security for civilian air traffic. A spokesman for the German interior ministry confirmed a report by the Bild tabloid. .

But the government said the scanners still needed substantial testing and made clear this type of security check would not violate the privacy of individuals.

Petra Pau of the Left party dubbed the plans a state-sponsored peep show in comments made to Der Spiegel. Green party co-chairwoman Claudia Roth said about the scanners They are a blatant violation of basic individual rights and also violate the constitutional right to protect human dignity.

In October, the government had poured cold water on a European Commission plan to allow the scanners in a bid to increase security in airports.

The government made clear that the tests, which are to get underway in December, did not mean a decision had already been reached on whether the scanners would be set up at airports. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schuble said that such devices would not show up in German airports for the foreseeable future, while his ministry dismissed the idea as silly.

European parliamentarians have also protested against the plans on grounds of privacy.

The naked scanners - or backscatter scanners as they are called in the industry - create a ghostly naked image of a person. The devices are already being used in Amsterdam, London and in Zurich, notably not an EU member.

The EU Commission recently said it would allow the new technology to improve security at EU airports.

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A 50-year-old man died in southern Germany on Saturday after a shootout with police, who had been called to his home as a result of a domestic dispute. .

When police tried to contact him to speak with him face to face, he allegedly threatened them with a gun and threatened to kill himself or others. His wife, from whom he separated, had called for help as a result of family problems.

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A commando unit then stormed the house in the town of Weissenhorn, and in the ensuing exchange of gunfire, the man died

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German Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck has defended Berlins refusal to back a proposed multi-billion-euro economic stimulus plan, dismissing it as ineffective populist measures.

Germany does not have to go along with the idea of spending more to ease the economic crisis just because other countries are doing so, Steinbrueck told the weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel. But we are not all powerful, he said, adding he rejected the argument that a lot of help helps a lot.

We can ease the effects of the crisis in a targeted way.

The Germans do not have to accept a European proposal where we do not understand what could be the economic impact, said Steinbruck, a Social Democrat minister.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week was cool to the idea pushed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and current president of the EU to contribute to a proposed 200 billion 254 billion European stimulus plan drafted by Brussels.

Steinbruck called for not threatening the recovery process with ineffective populist measures.

Berlin has already shown a strong response to the global financial crisis, he added, having earlier this month committed around 31 billion over two years to support Europes biggest economy, which fell into recession in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, another member of Merkels government, Economy Minister Michael Glos, has said he is planning huge income tax cuts totalling 25 billion in response to the economic crisis.

He also sarcastically dismissed the idea of lowering the value-added tax on purchases, saying Great idea That would cost 20 billion, without any guarantee it would be effective. .

According to the weekly newsmagazine Focus to be published Monday, Glos wants a rapid decision from the government on the measures, which would assist those on the lower end of the pay scale and the middle classes.

Progressive tax rates force a growing number of people with average earnings to pay very high taxes, she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

Merkel repeated her opposition to the proposed cuts and said she would prefer broader fiscal reforms to establish justice for the taxpayer, if her party won federal elections in September next year.

Merkel herself has come under criticism for her perceived lack of action in confronting the financial crisis.

We have to do something something against this unjust development which punishes key drivers of the economy, she said.

. Der Spiegel in its latest issue pictures the chancellor on its cover, her arms crossed and wearing a grim expression, under the headline Angela Mutlos Angela without courage and the German chancellors dangerous hesitation

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MUMBAI : Indian commandos staged a dramatic helicopter raid and battled pockets of militants on Friday as security forces tried to end the bloody assault by terrorists on Mumbai, the financial and entertainment capital of India. The police said the death toll had reached 143 with the discovery of 24 bodies in the luxury Trident-Oberoi;Hotel. The blue-uniformed troopers landed on the roof and soon made their way inside Nariman House, home to the Orthodox Jewish group;Chabad-Lubavitch.
Commandos slid down ropes from a hovering army helicopter Friday morning as they stormed a Jewish center that had been seized.
Indian Army and paramilitary commandos also made their way through two charred luxury hotels, searching survivors and bodies while continuing to battle gunmen from the teams that had struck the city Wednesday night.
A gun battle was raging inside the building, with several explosions and heavy firing throughout the day, but there was no word on the fate of hostages assumed to be held;there.
Although there was still no definitive word on the identity or affiliation of the attackers, an Indian official said one of the assailants captured alive was a Pakistani citizen. In addition to the Jewish center and the hotels, the terrorists, armed with grenades and automatic weapons, hit at least four other sites on the southern tip of Mumbai - the main train station, a hospital, a cinema and a historic;café.R. The assertion by R.

Pakistan said Friday that it was prepared to send its intelligence chief, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, to India to share information in the investigation into the;attacks. Patil, the home affairs minister of Maharashtra State, where Mumbai is located, could further increase tension between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed states who have fought wars in the;past. The reports also quoted the Mumbai police chief, Hassan Ghafoor, as saying that 24 bodies had been found and that the security forces had completed their operation;there.
News agencies cited police reports that 93 foreigners - some of them wearing Air France and Lufthansa uniforms - had been rescued Friday from one of the hotels, the Oberoi. .
At the other hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, several trucks carrying members of India's elite Rapid Action Force arrived at 1:15 p. The troopers appeared to be starting an assault on the hotel, where an army official said at least one militant was still holding hostages. Friday. Lights were seen going on in rooms on the hotel's fifth floor. At least eight grenade explosions were heard, followed by small-arms fire.
The leader of a commando unit that was involved in a gun battle Friday morning inside the Taj said he had seen a dozen dead bodies in one of the;rooms. Outside the hotel, a sniper took up position in a;cherrypicker. The pack also had a national identity card from the island of Mauritius, off the southeastern coast of;Africa.
His team also discovered a gunman's backpack, which contained dried fruit, 400 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four grenades, Indian and American money, and seven credit cards from some of the world's leading banks. He said the militants, who appeared to be younger than 30 years old, were “determined” and “remorseless. He said the militants, who appeared to be younger than 30 years old, were “determined” and “remorseless.”
Fears were growing in Mumbai that the death toll would rise. Dozens of people, and perhaps many more, remained trapped in the hotels, though it was uncertain if any were being held hostage. More than 300 people were known to have been;wounded.
The police said 14 officers had been killed in the city, along with nine gunmen. Nine suspects had been taken into custody, they;said.
Earlier in the day, an army general, N. Thamburaj, was quoted as saying that he expected all anti-terrorist operations in Mumbai to be wrapped up by;midafternoon.
There was still much mystery around the group behind the attack, which terrorism specialists said was unusual in its scale, planning and;boldness.
In a televised speech Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed forces “based outside this country” in a thinly veiled accusation that Pakistan was involved. A day later, the Indian foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying that, according to preliminary reports, “some elements in Pakistan are;responsible.”
On Friday, Pakistan seemed anxious to defuse the mounting crisis in relations with its neighbor. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said India and Pakistan should work together to defeat a common enemy and urged New Delhi not to play politics over the attacks in Mumbai, Reuters;reported.

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BANGKOK : Antigovernment protesters occupying Bangkok's two commercial airports clashed at least twice with security forces on Saturday, raising tensions in the four-day;standoff.
The Thai police said they would continue their efforts to negotiate with protesters and called the first clash a;misunderstanding.
“We are ready to talk,” Lieutenant General Chalong Somjai of the Thai police said in a news conference at a police station near Suvarnabhumi Airport, a giant complex that has served as a transportation and commercial hub for Southeast Asia.”
The Thai airport authority said Suvarnabhumi would be closed until at least Monday evening, dashing hopes for a quick resolution of the national;crisis. “We are trying to bring this to a peaceful;conclusion. A similar confrontation occurred after dark on;Saturday.
Early in the day, protesters attacked a police checkpoint outside Suvarnabhumi Airport, disabling 10 police vehicles and forcing security forces to retreat.

Self-appointed security guards in the besieged airport have blocked access roads with stacks of luggage trolleys, razor wire and a fire;truck.
The prolonged shutdown of the airport, Thailand's main international gateway for passengers and air cargo, highlights the government's paralysis and the deep polarization within Thai;society.
Police officials and military leaders appear reluctant to remove the protesters forcibly, both as a result of the physical challenge of confronting thousands of determined demonstrators and because the protesters appear to have powerful support among the Thai;elite.
The protesters, who on Saturday repeated their refusal to negotiate with the police unless Somchai steps down, have also shut down Bangkok's domestic airport, and have occupied the prime minister's office in Bangkok for the past three months.
The Thai prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, has remained in the northern city of Chiang Mai since Wednesday, possibly because he fears a military;coup.
The protesters have ignored the prime minister's imposition of a state of emergency at the airports. An explosion on the grounds of the prime minister's office just after midnight on Sunday wounded 33 people, Thai television;reported. Many demonstrators continued Saturday to stream into Suvarnabhumi Airport to join the sit-in, which is well organized and well provisioned with water, food, medical supplies and;blankets. Many demonstrators continued Saturday to stream into Suvarnabhumi Airport to join the sit-in, which is well organized and well provisioned with water, food, medical supplies and;blankets.
Some protesters carried metal rods or golf clubs as they guarded the entrances to Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday. Clashes between supporters of the government and detractors have left at least two people dead and dozens injured since August, when protesters seized the prime minister's;office. . Sondhi Limthongkul, a protest leader who addressed his followers early in the day, also appeared to confirm that the group had firearms when he threatened to shoot at the police if fired;upon.”
Television reports last week showed protesters firing handguns at government supporters in another part of;Bangkok. “If they shoot us, we will shoot;back. Dozens of aircraft are also stranded on the tarmacs at both Bangkok airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don;Muang.
Tens of thousands of foreign visitors remain stranded in Thailand despite the government's efforts to ferry them to other countries from a military airport outside Bangkok. He said the protesters should allow security guards into the airport so the guards could protect the;aircraft.
“I am most concerned about the aircraft, especially the foreign ones,” said Sereerat Prasutanon, director of airport authority.