ESTONIA: Skyrocketed President

Not exactly Nazis, the blatant bravos of Estonia call themselves Front Soldiers, wear rakish "front caps." Last week in mellow Dorpat, "the Estonian Athens" (it has a university), scurrilous Front Soldiers had fun with pompous President Jann Tonisson of Estonia.

Directly in his path they launched a skyrocket. Zizzling true to aim it hurtled into President Tonisson, dented him painfully, did no real damage. When the President retreated to his car, Front Soldiers seized the off side mudguards, jounced Herr Tonisson severely, nearly turned his car over before police interfered. Next day, pale with fury, the President summoned his Cabinet at Reval on the Baltic. Declaring Estonian democracy "menaced," the Cabinet put Dorpat under martial law, dismissed half the town's police force as tainted with Front Soldier ideology.

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ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor, tracing the steps of the walk across the Bornholmer Strasse bridge into West Berlin on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall

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