It was supposed to be a theft-proof car, the pride of Berlin police force, until a thief simply drove it off. The high-tech BMW worth $147,000 police car which is equipped with high-tech surveillance equipment and sophisticated electronic locks and immobilizers to make it theft proof, was stolen in the city's Wedding district after officers left it unlocked with the key in the ignition.

orld-popular cartoon characters The Smurfs are now 50 years old and Belgians have prepared a big birthday bash starting early this week. The celebration will cover key European cities including Paris and Berlin. The Smurfs, the diminutive blue-colored forest dwellers, were created by late Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, fondly called 'Peyo,' through a comic strip in the late 1950s-back then, they were still called Schtroumpf. In the early 1980s, Smurfs debuted on US television and became hugely popular worldwide since then.

British police officers have been ordered to take lessons in German language so they can easily give command to a batch of imported Alsatians from Germany. The police handlers from Derbyshire are being given basic German commands for effective handling of the team of Alsatians from Berlin.

A 24-year old woman died of burn injuries after her husband set her on fire on New Year's Eve in Sarangani province south of the Philippines. Berlin Alit died at the Ospital ng Sarangani before doctors could treat her burns, reported GMANews. TV quoting a radio report by DZRH on Tuesday.

The Berlin Zoo celebrated the first birthday of its famous polar bear Knut, who was born and then rejected by its mother. Since infancy, the polar bear has caught the attention and the endearment of people the world over. The birthday celebration, which was held Wednesday, involved more than 2,000 attendees by noon, and was highlighted by a giant birthday cake made from 300 eggs and 22 pounds of marzipan.