to open berlin still further to all europe, east and west, let us find ways of making commercial air service to berlin more convenient, more comfortable and more economic. we look to the day when west berlin can become one of the chief aviation hubs in all central europe. with our french and british partners, the united states is prepared to help bring international meetings to berlin. it would be only fitting for berlin to serve as the site of united nations meetings or world conferences on human rights and arms control, or other issues that call for international cooperati cooperation. there is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds. and we would be honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges, culture events, and other programs for young berliners from the east. our french and british friends, i'm certain, will do the same. and it is my hope that an authority can be found at east berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the western sectors. one final proposal, one close to my heart. sport represents a source of enjoyment and ennoblement. and

he said, "what are you doing over east berlin?"d, "i'm dropping to those nasty communist kids." "you can't do that." i said, "the law of gravity's the same on both sides of the border." he said, "that's not the problem." he said, "the soviets had complained "to the state department "that it's a dirty capitalist trick. "you're trying to influence "the minds of the people against them. "you've got to stop because we haven't jurisdiction over that air space you're using." so i had to stop. (gail halvorsen) they let people come out on the field and control and talk to the pilots while they were unloading. and boy, they'd bring us gifts. all kinds of little gifts. i've still got a bunch of the things they brought to me. they'd bring things out and express their gratitude. one woman and her little daughter came out there at my airplane one day, and she had a teddy bear. she's holding it tight and she came right up to me and handed it to me. and i said, "holy cow." i could tell that probably the only thing she had left. i tried to refuse

the openness of this city than to offer in some future year to hold the olympic games here in berlin, east and west. [ cheers and applause ] in these four decades, as i have said, you are berliners have built a great city. you've done so in spite of threats, the soviet attempts to impose the east mark, the blockade. today, the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the very presence of this wall. what keeps you here? certainly, there's a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. but i believe there's something deeper, something that involves berlin's whole look and feel and way of life. not mere sentiment. no one could live long in berlin without being completely disabused of illusions. something instead that has seen the difficulties of life in berlin but chose to accept them. that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release human energies or aspirations. something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom.

so east berlin is down here, west berlin is up here. you come through the buildings here, the car lanes are over here, and this is the final guard post and the final bridge. and the man in charge that night, the senior stasi officer on duty that night is this man, harold yeager. harold yeager is the man who opens the berlin wall. harold yeager is an unlikely candidate for that title. he is a complete loyalist. he's been working there for 25 years. he had an additional three years of service before that. he actually with helped to build the wall. i pulled his entire service record that still survives from the former stasi, and he had in all of those years of service one minor demerit and a rath of awards. -- a raft of awards. he said he believed the wall was tragic but necessary because if we had not, there would have been world war more, so it was -- world war iii. so this was a man who was very committed to his job. this was not a man who was secretly trying to bring down the regime. but in the course of that night, he finally, the cou

so east berlin is down here, west berlin is up here. you come through the buildings here, the car lanes are over here, and this is the final guard post and the final bridge. and the man in charge that night, the senior stasi officer on duty that night is this man, harold yeager. harold yeager is the man who opens the berlin wall. harold yeager is an unlikely candidate for that title. he is a complete loyalist. he's been working there for 25 years. he had an additional three years of service before that. he actually with helped to build the wall. i pulled his entire service record that still survives from the former stasi, and he had in all of those years of service one minor demerit and a rath of awards. -- a raft of awards. he said he believed the wall was tragic but necessary because if we had not, there would have been world war more, so it was -- world war iii. so this was a man who was very committed to his job. this was not a man who was secretly trying to bring down the regime. but in the course of that night, he finally, the cou

instead he gets the berlin crisis. >> in july, 1,000 east germans escaped into west berlin every day.n august, they're coming out at the rate of 2,500 a day. as a result of khrushchev's threats and demands. east germany is being bled of its best-trained people. >> i went to berlin to cover the bureau and the nbc news desk in new york called in the middle of the night and said what's this about closing off the border at the gate? >> at 2:00 a.m., the communist regime issued a u-case. no east german going to west berlin without special dispensation. >> the sound of jackhammers erupts in the night. suddenly east german police appear, tear up the sidewalk and street. >> a small crowd gathered and the east germans unrolled barbed wire and starting fences. they were sealing off the border. i thought, my, god, this is, you know, unbelievable. >> president kennedy was in hyannis port for the weekend. he got a call that told him that the communists finally began to seal the border against the east germans and east berlin. >> across streets, all along the 25-mile border between east and west be

nd said the policy for east berlin, not t in moscow. they were going to maintain easternpire in force to europe with respect to the gdr. me to those events led hink that it was possible that it was coming but we did not get a sense that it would happen it did. was one seriesre in the event. when we came to office, there yufrp.ferment in eastern we looked at that ferment and make it ant to other ones.an the it.want to encourage underneath that that would cause the soviets to they did before. we tried to encourage the kind f freedom attitude without stirring up the soviet union. the wall was s vacationers going over to germany were all parts of this overall thing they had in mind. >> you do something of cab rating the results that we saw but not lead to another soviet crack down. about your strategy towards gorbechev in particular, soviets in general, the diplomacy that led to the we got?that when the wall was falling, we what was happening. and a press advisor said you know, you need to go on television. we sort of hesitated for a while.

a barrier separating the soviet controlled east berlin from the west which was controlled by the americans the years hundreds of germans died trying to cross from one side to the other, many killed by armed guards. >> mr. gorbechov tear down that wall. >> reporter: but those words were considered so -- that the president was asked not to use them at all. >> he said i'm the president right. yes you're the president. he says i get to decide whether that line stays in. and we say yes mr. president. he said, well it stays in. >> reporter: his reform policies brought down communism. today gorbechov and former president bush were honored by the former parliament. >> people always ask me who was the hero bush. i always say, the real heros were the people. >> it was a real sight, as dahli had painted it. then the realizization of what we were seeing. the dam had been breeched and water was cascading over the wall. >>> and while many people may think communist east germany is a good thing to forget, as chris burns reported, others take pleasure at returns to familiar things from the past. >> report

east germany and its people. we want today's announcement to turn out to be the real thing. we want the berlin wall torn down. and all other barriers to the free flow of people removed. and we hope that east germany's communist cleat will read the handwriting on the wall and cooperate in the transition to a new form of government as some of their recent comments suggest. but we should not do anything at this point which might needlessly add fuel to the fire. the issues of the long-term future of east and west germany and central europe are critical issues issues which will be affected by what happens these next days and weeks. issues that we must think about now. but they are not issues for heated rhetoric right now. clearly, german history is at a critical crossroads, profound changes may lie ahead. but us for the moment address first thing's first. the first thing is seeing that east german people achieve their immediate aspirations. will newly opened borders remain open, even if the tide of departing germans turns into a flood? will there be a real commitment to free elections and a whole new kind of govern

on june 26th, a short distance from the wall and overlooking the east -- the people of west berlin welcomed a visitor, the president of the united states of america. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> kennedy! kennedy! kennedy! kennedy! kennedy! >> thank you. there are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the communist world. let them come to berlin! there are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. let them come to berlin! and there are even a few who say that it's true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. [ speaking german ] let them come to berlin. freedom has many difficulties, and democracy is not perfect. but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in. to prevent them from leaving us. to prevent them from leavin us. to prevent them from leaving us. while the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your mayor has said, an offen

are gonna talk to him very recently, but he might, might want to talk about it. >> the berlin wall had separated east and west since august 13, 1961. as the wall came down on november 9, 1989, senate minority leader bob dole, republican from kansas, and senate majority leader george mitchell, democrat from maine, took to the senate floor to voice their thoughts. >> according to news reports, the east german government just announced the opening of its borders to all of its citizens to include the right to free passage of the berlin wall. it appears that the berlin wall and all it represents are crumbling, even as the communist state which built it crumbles, too. with breadth of speed, the people of east germany sought to take their up destiny into their own hands. by the hundreds of thousands shall they have taken to the streets, asking only two things, freedom and opportunity. by the tens of thousands, they have fled their homeland, seeking on

gorbachev had gone to berlin in early october and said the policy for east germany was set in berlin, not moscow. they were willing to cut him loose, they were not going to use their army to maintain their empire in force to eastern europe with respect to the gdr. i think those events led me to think that it was possible that it was coming but we did not get a sense that it would happen when it did. >> i would say there was one event in a series. when we came to office, there was a ferment in eastern yufrp. -- eastern europe. we looked at that ferment and said, we want to make it different than the other ones. we want to encourage it. but at a level underneath that that would cause the soviets to crack down as they did before. we didn't know what that level was. what we tried to do was encourage the kind of freedom attitude without stirring up the soviet union. so the wall was -- the wall was vacationers going over to hungary, to germany were all parts of this overall thing they had in mind. >> general, you touch on a very important point of calibrating our actions in a way that would

there were only two places you could enter east berlin, et cetera. and i went to romania by chance.but i went there when the revolution was dying down. and i'd never seen anything like it. and i thought if i stayed a few more days, i'd understand what's going on here. and i ended up spending most of the next six years in romania. >> well, they can't take that away from you. and that is remarkable that you have that experience. and that's what life's all about is stringing together extraordinary experiences if you can. but one question i will ask you about now is, a lot of the essay that i read is about compensation and the challenges in the journalism profession. are you concerned that other writers or aspiring journalists may fall into a similar situation? trying to get that story, trying to get the incredible angle? >> yes. you see, i'd love "the washington post" because i thought i could make a living writing books, which was a mistake. but i think -- judging from the mail i've gotten and the reaction to that essay, i think a lot of journalists are afraid that they'll end up in t

of course gorbachev had gone to berlin in early october and said the policy for -- policy for east germany is set in berlin and not in moscow. which was a pretty clear signal that they were willing to cut him loose, that they were not going to use their army to maintain the empire in force in central and eastern europe, particularly respect to the gdr. so i think those events at least led me to think that it was very possible that it was coming but we didn't -- as far as i was concerned -- have any concrete sense that it would happen when it did. >> i would say it really was one event in a series. when we came to office, there was a ferment in eastern europe. we looked at that ferment and said we want to make this different than the earlier ones, berlin in '53, hungary in '56, czechoslovakia. we want to encourage it but at a level underneath that that will cause the soviets to crack down as they had before. we didn't know what that level was. what we tried to do was encourage this -- the kind of freedom attitude without stirring up the soviet union. is the wall that vacationers going over

the steady, heavy rain has moved off coast and can you see right now bridgeton and east of glassboro crossing into berlinnew jersey, scattered showers and farther northwest of trenton and longhorn and new hope dealing with showers. so just a few more hours of showers before we clear things out tonight. we did get a little rain today and it was mild and tomorrow temperatures should be if the 50s, as far as the rainfall amounts. lancaster reporting the most a third of an inch, reading less than a quarter inch and philadelphia less than .07 inch and millville a .10 and today made it to 53 degrees, 9 degrees above normal and future tracker showing again tomorrow by lunch time, temperatures rising up into the 50s and another day of mild air, 49 degrees in philadelphia, trenton 46 and allentown 44, reading 44, and we don't have to worry about icing tonight and there is a problem in the northwest suburbs with fog, visibility down to one mile and lancaster and reading and 3 miles in pottstown and a quarter mile until the poconos and once we get the cold front we'll kick up the winds and get rid of the fog. if yo

when east germany inherited 3,000 general staff files we never knew existed. the red army had locked them up in berlin, then the east germans had locked them up. and from that, historians of the german military history center in potsdam have written a book i'll make an ad for it i get no royalties, i'm no part of it. university of kentucky press published last month. 700 pages, including every single operation's plan 1895 to 1913. okay? what they showed from these documents is clux's chief of staff, von kohl, two-star general in 1914, of first army, as a major in 1905 in schliefen's last war game had played two war games in the attack on paris and in both cases he had turned in east of paris realizing they didn't have the logistics to go on that grand sweep that you see in the west point map. so i can't document it, but major kohl as general kohl in 1914 zam well realized that after marching 523 kilometers, the troops dead, the horses dying in their traces it was time, war game 1905, turned in. and virtually every german commander says if we had tried to sweep around paris, we would have basically had

going in that direction and, of had gone to achev early october and said -- policy for east germany is set in berlin, and not in moscow. a pretty poor signal that they were willing to cut them loose. that they were not going to use to maintain the empire in force in central and eastern europe, pparticularly with respect to the gdr. so i think those events, at me to think that it was very possible that it was coming, but we did and, as far have any concerned, concrete sense that it would happen with the dead. >> i would say that it really event in a series. when we came into office, there ferment in eastern europe. ferment and that said -- we want to make this than the earlier one in 1953 in hungary -- we that on a courage level with a have cracked down on before. we didn't know what that level to do was e we tried encouraged this kind of freedom attitude, without straying off. was -- the wall -- going over to s hungary from germany -- were all parts of this overall thing we had in mind. touch on a very portant point of calibrating our actions in a way that would the results we sought, -- you know to

stray showers affecting most with the east by parts of rear on to see a few sprinkles along the mid peninsula by rain and the the city of san rafael. by reporter in berlin game in the east bay it just trickles from the pleasanton area this could affect the ride down to the solo great. time to try not in the mid to upper 52 a mild to start the third morning this is a must in the atmosphere of all law would look at trying conditions we have more rain and thunderstorms as we headed to tomorrow for walk into the timing of that as 615. >> reporter: approaching the bay bridge toll plaza your take it is hard to back up to the drive times is not that bad. let's all despite the beyond west ran to the foot of the maze with that as it was you get on the bridge is the masses will all the way through downtown san francisco the still get out there before it gets too bad real drive times is less the 60 minutes from a maze to downtown san francisco no major hot spots out there the rosa went to be careful if you have to drive this morning will let you know of any major problems out of. >>mark: clean of continuing this morning in san francisco a sinkhole opened up 06 ave

berlin was a divided city east and west in the cold war with east and west germany outspending the othern concert halls and orchestras. >> when germany was union need, the city was unified as well, and all of a sudden there was basically two sometimes even three if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promote the careers of young artist who is come to berlin. she said it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have the study, you have the hiver educations, and the acts of orchestra, and you still have ability to find comparatively cheap space to live. if you compare to london, paris and new york. [♪ singing ] >> rachel fenlon, the german capitol is like what was said of new york. if you can make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazeera berlin. >> adults can buy recreational marijuana legally in colorado today, and reformers hope it's the beginning of a wave that will sweep across america. but in places like louisiana in the southern united states, legalization is off the agenda. the state has the countr

berlin was a divided city, east and west in the cold war.out spending the other on concert halls and orchestras. ♪ ♪ >> when germany was unified in 19 nineties the city was unified as well and all of a sudden there was basically two or sometimes even three, if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> reporter: this women's company promotes the careers of young artists who come to berlin, she says it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have to study, -- you have the study higher education, academies of orchestras and the possibility to still find comparatively cheap space to live if you compare to london, for example paris or new york. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: rachel is hoping for a breakthrough at auditions here. for opera singers and classical musicians, the german capital is like what was said of new york if you make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazerra berlin. >>> and a quick reminder, too that you can always keep up-to-date with all the latest news and analysis, features on our website tha

that tree is like a glittering berlin wall preventing any movement from east to west. mr. claus, tear down that tree. (applause) but it's one thing for protestor, it's one thing for protestors to do violence to our city streets and traffic. it is quite another for them to use excessive force against christmas. >> it is creating havoc. we've got two weeks before christmas. do you think this is going to have some impact-- i mean who wants to go shopping at macy's when this is going on. >> protestors preventing people from shopping at macy's. i hope these shoppers shall overcome. now that's-- yes, i can't buy-- yes, yes, black friday matters. it does. the protest have even spilled over into professional sports. >> athletes donning t-shirts expressing a desire for justice. last time i checked, t-shirts don't block traffic. they don't prevent from you shopping at macy's. they should be a perfectly acceptable way to express one's feelings about political issues. >> i wondered to myself, what if lebron james instead had a shirt be a better father to your dad. i mean be a better f

. >>> plus 25 years after the fall of the berlin wall we'll tell you how the communists are making a comeback in east. >>> and tiger woods returns to golf but it doesn't go quite as plans, we'll have the di details during the news hour. >>> but first to the u.s. where has been a seconds night of protests demanding justice for a black man killed by eye white officer. one of the biggest protest was in new york where eric garner died in july after being held in a choke hold. kristen is reports. >> reporter: what was once considered a minority issue now has the makings of a national movement. demonstrators hit the streets of new york and also chicago. shutting down traffic, and facing arrest in washington, d.c. their goal, reforming a police force which they say does not place enough value on black lives. >> i think every american is affected by these issues. and i think us, know, white people are affected by racism because white privilege blinds us to how broken our system is. it's a huge injustice and people need to wake up and realize that if it can happen to them it, can happen to you. >> reporter: t

berlin was a divided city east and west in the cold war with east and west germany outspending each other on concert halls and orchestras. >> when germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified as well. all of a sudden there was basically two sometimes even three, if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the careers of young artist who is come to berlin. she said it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have to study. you have to have higher education. you have the academies of orchestras and you have the ability to find comparatively cheap space to live compared to london, paris or new york. [♪ singing ] >> rachel fenlon is hoping for a breakthrough in auditions here. the german capitol is like what was said of new york, if you can make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazeera, berlin. >> lovely. stay with us on al jazeera. more news straight ahead. >> syria agrees to negotiations about restarting peace talks in moscow. the fighting rages on. hello, watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up,

berlin. and partly sunny skies and across the east quite cold for this time of year. minus 3 in moscow and snow on the menu for kiev as well as moscow on the first day of the business week. now, across japan we have a couple of systems move over the country. those systems have gone. however the pressure gradients are still very tight so gusts of nearly 130 kilometers are reichly as we go into tomorrow. waves are going to be up to eight meters. and because of strong, cold winds moving over the sea of japan, sea-effect snow likely over the northwestern side of the country from hokkaido. the mountainous areas may get up to 40 or 50 centimeters of snowfall over the next 24 hours. even low-lying areas may get up to 20 centimeters of snowfall. but across the opposite side of the country, because we have high mountain rain, snow is not expected. now, because of a very cold air mass blanketing most of the country, temperatures are going to be below average for most part of the country, tokyo 14 degrees on tuesday, going down to 12 degrees on your friday. but for snowy weather

berlin was a divided city - east and west in the cold war, with east and west germany outspending thewhen germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified. there was basically two or sometimes three, if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the career of the young artists, saying it's an ideal place to grow. it's the study, the higher education, the academies of orchestras and the possibility to find comparatively cheap space to live if you compare to london paris or new york. [ singing ] rachel finland is hoping for a break through at the musician. the german capital is hike the set of new york. if you can make it here you can probably make it anywhere >>> stay with us here there's another full bulletin of news straight ahead. it's per cent oigsz >>> families fear the worst after an air asia plane is missing over the java sea, with 162 people on board >>> from al jazeera's headquarters in doha also ahead n.a.t.o.'s mission in afghanistan comes to an end. we look at what has changed on the ground. the government pledges more than $100 million to

berlin wall. and turning point. how the end of east germany rocked people's worlds.

in the middle east and many other regions in the world, humanity's cultural heritage is being destroyed. >> the berlin conference aims to increase awareness of the problem, but it also hopes to pave the way for tougher laws. germany has become a center in the international trade of looted antiquities. >> i regret that the relatively soft rules on what can be brought to germany has created a general suspicion of the german art market. it should not be that way, but i think it's very important that we protect our country from the import of stolen cultural artifacts. >> one proposal would focus on auction houses. sellers would have to document where each item comes from and how it left its country of origin. experts hope that will reduce the incentive for illicit excavations. >> in hong kong, police have swept away the protest site where demonstrators have been camped out for more than two months, demanding the right to directly pick their next leader. >> more than 200 people work arrested in that operation, which came after a high court ordered the clearance of many activists, but some of the pro-democr

stray showers affecting most with the east by parts of rear on to see a few sprinkles along the mid peninsula by rain and the the city of san rafael. by reporter in berlint just trickles from the pleasanton area this could affect the ride down to the solo great. time to try not in the mid to upper 52 a mild to

berlin wall. and turning point. how the end of east germany rocked people's worlds.

berlin was a divided city east and west in the cold war with east and west germany out spending the otherts cert halls and orchestras. when germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified as well and all the sudden, there was basically 2 or sometimes tlooeven if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the careers of young artists who come to berlin. she says it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have the study. you arehave the higher education, the academies of orchestras and the possibility to find comparatively cheap space to live if you compare to london, for example, paris or new york. ♪ >> rachel finlon is hoping for a break through at auditions here for opera singers and classical musicians, the german capitol is like what was said of new york. if you can make it here you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer al jazeera, berlin. >> i am richelle carry. fault lines is next. before we go we want to show awe picture of what the empire state building looks like right now. you can see it is blue and white there. if you look

when east germany inherited 3,000 general staff files we never knew existed. the red army had locked them up in berlin, then the east germans had locked them up. and from that, historians of the german military history center in potsdam have written a book, i'll make an ad for it, i get no royalties, i'm no part of it. university of kentucky press published last month. 700 pages, including every single operation's plan, 1895 to 1913. okay? what they showed from these documents is, clux's chief of staff, von kohl, two-star general in 1914, of first army, as a major in 1905, in schliefen's last war game had played two war games in the attack on paris, and in both cases he had turned in east of paris realizing they didn't have the logistics to go on that grand sweep that you see in the west point map. so i can't document it, but major kohl as general kohl in 1914 zam well realized that after marching 523 kilometers, the troops dead, the horses dying in their traces, it was time, war game 1905, turned in. and virtually every german commander says if we had tried to sweep around paris, we would have basica

it's the first time since the fall of the berlin wall that a party that traces its roots to the former easterman communists will head up a regional government. >> i want to thank the majority who today have shown they have conference in me. to those who did not vote for me today, i would like to say that despite our differences on policy, i attach a lot of importance to working well with the opposition. for angela merkel's christian democrats, the turn of events is a blow. . >> they reigned supreme in the state since 1990. now they have to make way for a party and state premier that some call divisive. bodo ramelow hails from west germany and used to be a trade unionist. he is also said to be influenced by his protestant upbringing. his first speech was conciliatory in many ways. he called for debate, but a democratic and fair one. >> let's go to our political correspondent, kerry martin. how serious is this development? is it just cold war paranoia, as one analyst calls it? >> the left party is an established fixture in germany's political landscape, but it does remain controversial and it

berlin was a decided city east and west. general academy outspending the others. >> when germany was unified and all of a sudden there was two or three if you look at the opera houses. it's the ideal place to grow as musicians. you have the study. higher education, and the possibility of finding it comparatively cheap space to live if you compare to london. paris or new york. >> rachel is hoping for a break through at auditions. for opera and classingal musicians. if you make it here. you can make it anywhere. >> three german cities are on the united nations list of creative spots. tomorrow on al jazeera america the disappearance of the missing airasia - we'll have reports from the region and talk to aviation experts. tomorrow on al jazeera, beginning at 7am. this is a live look at the airport in singapore, where families of the passengers have left for the night. remember to stay with us. in two minutes the team in doha have the latest on that search. thank you for spending sunday morning with us at al jazeera. i'm morgan r

nation state confrontations that it will be between the east and west or it will be between russia and the united states. as i said, i was in berlin with kissinger and baker. kissinger said when communism ended we could have aechted what would happen in the satellite states and even at privl of somebody like putin. we didn't see what was going to happen in the middle east. what we have in the middle east is not just asymmetrical warfare to deal with. we had highly trained extraordinarily motivated radical islamic forces that are moving easily too easily in my judgment across that part of the world. they all came out of artificial states, the states that were designed after world war i. the tribal culture is what defines them. it's faith-based in most instances and it goes very deep and it's been there for a long time. when you're there with them and not just with the militia but with the people in the streets of the various cities, that's the first thing that they refer to. and the one place that they close up on, you can be talking to a shiite and talking to a sunni and they'll have have extraordinarily stark differences about yo

. >> translator: we were told after the berlin wall that there would be expansion to the east but it started immediately. two waves of expansion. isn't that the wall. it's a virtual wall, it has been created and the entire missile defense system next to our border borders, isn't that a wall? that's the main problem of today's international situations. our partners did not stop. they decided that there were victors in the cold war, keep pressing. >> so president putin there talking about nato. he's been going now for about three hours and 20 minutes. as i said, last year's address was four hours, so we're keeping across that. let's talk about what we heard today. sergei medvedev joins me now from moscow. have we heard anything new yet from president putin? >> not much, i think. it's a largely ceremonial press conference at the end of the year. i personally vice presidehaven'. the only message is there is no message. >> he seems to want to be reassuring the public, to comfort them saying everything's going to be okay, despite the problems with the economy. >> exactly. that's very much

berlin. relatively speaking, we'll see dry conditions with scatter itted precipitation around the couldn't nent. wrapping things up with a look at easta, most of china is dry but a front towards the south is bringing showers for the southern coast. we also have some snow taking place into hokkaido. that will continue as we go into friday. seoul, 3. tokyo, 9. hope you have a merry christmas and happy holidays wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. >>> that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us and happy holidays.cc oh uses his annual christmas day message to the mountain violence around the world, particularly among children -- a pope francis. pakistani leaders agreed to establish a military court for terrorism-related cases as part of a national plan of action following the deadly taliban school attack. and the u.s. rejects a claim from the islamic state group that it shot down a warplane flying with american-led coalition forces. it does not say because caused the crash but confirms the i.s. is now holding the jordanian pilot hostage. those are

first time since the fall of the berlin wall, the german party born out of the old communists has a state leader. he won the election as premier of one of the former eaststates. tim friend reports. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: he was jubilant. victory in the second round of voting. but according to the german chancellor, carl marx, the father of communism is back in office. he is deeply aware of his parties communist anti-[ inaudible ] and memories of the hated east german secret police. >> translator: me and my cabinet will personally approach people who have been done injustice. who's lives were destroyed. we need to make up, not divide. >> reporter: his party rules here in coalition with the greens and the center left. enough votes to win the premiership. angela merkel's christian democrats have held sway, but their popularity plummeted after allegations of corruption. their leader is alarmed by his success. >> translator: as you have seen, thousands of people have protested because they fear the oppression of the past will be carrying the responsibility for the future, and this on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall. >> reporter: t

it is will be between the east and the west, between russia and the united states. and as i said, i was in ber lib with -- berlin with kissinger and baker and he said when the wall came down an communism ended, we could have ant pace pated what would -- anticipated what would happen, we didn't see what would happen in the middle east. and what we have in the middle east now is not just asymmetrical war, with highly trained extraordinarily motiv e motivated radical islamic forces that are moving too easily in my judgment across that part of the world. they all came out of artificial states. the states that were designed after world war i. the tribal culture is what defines them. and it is faith-based and in most instances and it goes deep and has been there for a long timement and wh time. and when you are there with them, not just the militia, but on the streets of the cities, that is the first thing they refer to. and the one place they close up, you can see talking to a shiite on a sunni, and they'll have stark differences. but then you talk about the west coming in and they close up. and they say, this is our

get farther to the north berlin and medford lakes seeing downpours, but the end is pushing through woodbury now. crossing over 295. that should continue to race off to the east. this is in the process of pulling away. and we'll see more clouds and a couple of showers later this afternoon, this heavy batch right here, that will pull away quickly during the late morning hours. nothing behind it. you have to go out farther into places like the appalachians west virginia, western portions of virginia to pick up the next round that will move in later this afternoon. right now we're sitting at 44 degrees very mild. dewpoint 40. of the winds out of the south at 6 miles per hour. pressure reading under 30 inches. 44 is the popular number up and down the i-95 corridor. poconos 42, dover 51. here's round number one that's pushing through now. round number two pushing into the laisms that -- appalachians, we'll have low level clouds and patchy drizzle from time to time. yesterday a gorgeous afternoon some areas close to 60 degrees, atlantic city, 59. philadelphia, 567. a mild day continues this afternoon. the winds are off to the west. the winds are out of the south/so

berlin getting the same message. even throe there was cia interrogation activity in europe, the fear of backlash in the middle east.talked to officials in the u.s. embassy in cairo, egypt. he says they're taking is day boys day and as for the u.s. military around the world, they're on high alert. they're involved in force protection as well as getting ready for any fast deployment elsewhere. some 6,000 marines are based in europe and the middle east in what are called contingency response forces. the sorries of the unit that went or were supposed to go to benghazi when that consulate was under attack. finally, shep, we were able to reach one of our contacts in yemen, and he made a point similar to the point that senator mccain made today when he said that it was okay to release the report because the muslims would use other reasons to protest. he said we're not angry about the report. we're angry about some more recent u.s. drone attacks. so, officials here will be watching very closely to the coming days and see what happens. >> greg palkot in london, thank you. >> the release of the senate intelligence report com