A bus is brought into position during celebrations at the German-Polish border checkpoint of Ahlbeck-Swinemuende, northeast of Berlin, December 21, 2007. Fireworks, cheers and music greeted the expansion of the EU's passport-free zone to nine mostly Eastern European states on Friday. From a minute after midnight it was extended to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. 
A Polish border guard (R) stands with a German federal police officer at a vehicle checkpoint at the border bridge between Poland and Germany in Frankfurt on Oder, December 20, 2007. 
A man walks his dog alongside the river Neisse next to the Polish, Czech and German borders, near the Czech town of Hradek Nad Nisou, December 20, 2007.
REUTERS/Petr Josek
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (R) and his Polish counterpart Grzegorz Schetyna cut a symbolic border ribbon at the German-Polish border near the German city of Frankfurt on Oder, December 20, 2007. 
Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany (front) greets a driver next to Austria's Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (R) at the Austrian-Hungarian border at Nickelsdorf, December 20, 2007. 
Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany (front) greets a driver next to Austria's Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (R) at the Austrian-Hungarian border at Nickelsdorf, December 20, 2007. 
Spectators watch fireworks during celebrations at the German-Polish border checkpoint of Ahlbeck-Swinemuende, northeast of Berlin, December 21, 2007.
One of the last passport checks is carried out by a Slovakian border guard minutes before the checkpoint's closure at midnight on the border between Slovakia and Austria, December 20, 2007. 
A man takes pictures of fireworks during a midnight ceremony on the border between Slovakia and Austria, December 21, 2007. 
A man takes pictures of fireworks during a midnight ceremony on the border between Slovakia and Austria, December 21, 2007. 
Spectators watch fireworks during celebrations at the German-Polish border checkpoint of Ahlbeck-Swinemuende, northeast of Berlin, December 21, 2007. 
A man smiles from behind a window of a bus as he arrives for celebrations at the German-Polish border checkpoint of Ahlbeck-Swinemuende, northeast of Berlin, December 21, 2007. 
Latvian border guard Ilmars Ivanovs checks a truck at the Latvian-Lithuanian border checkpoint in the final minutes before the Schengen treaty comes into force in Grenstale, December 20, 2007. 
People attend celebrations at the German-Polish border checkpoint Ahlbeck-Swinemuende, northeast of Berlin, December 21, 2007. 
The first cars from Latvia and Lithuania cross the border when the Schengen treaty comes into force in Grenstale, December 21, 2007. 
A girl dressed as an angel stands on the border bridge between Poland and Germany in Frankfurt on Oder, December 21. 
Fireworks illuminate the border bridge between Poland and Germany in Frankfurt on Oder, December 21, 2007. 
A man holds a German and Polish flags at the border bridge between Poland and Germany in Frankfurt on Oder, December 21, 2007.
Iron Curtain finally lifted
Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin
Person of the Year: Vladimir PutinThe Russian President is no ordinary politician. He is charmless yet adored by his nation. He took a country in chaos and remade it in his own image: tough, aggrieved, defiant .
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| Vladimir Putin |
Pictures of the Week
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007StylistA sculptor works on the statue "French Girl," part of the Taiyangdao Snow Exposition "Exotic France in Harbin" in Harbin, China.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007The ShiversSwimmers prepare to jump into Lake Geneva. More than 700 reckless men and women swam in the 40-degree water during the annual Christmas swim.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007Eco BearAn environmental activist and a Pacific Islander pose for a photo on Kuta Beach after the end of the U.N. Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007Clean UpSoldiers prepare to carry buckets containing crude oil spilled from the tanker Hebei, in Taean, South Korea.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007Along the WatchtowerHamas security officers stand guard as thousands of Hamas supporters gather during a rally marking the group's 20th Anniversary in Gaza City.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007Holiday Battle RoyalTwo soldiers arm wrestle before receiving Christmas gifts in Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007Healthy ChicksA farmer walks amongst week-old chickens at a poultry farm near another farm which was infected with bird flu, in Abbotabad, Pakistan.
December 14 - December 20, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007Cycle of LifePyres burn at a cremation ground on the banks of river Ganges in Varanasi, India. Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi and having their remains scattered in the Ganges allows their soul to escape a cycle of death and rebirth, attaining "moksha" or salvation.
December 7 - December 13, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007MerrimentA participant in Santacon 2007 waits on a subway platform in New York City. Organized over the Internet and led by text messages, Santacon invites anyone dressed like Santa to drink their way through the streets and bars of Manhattan.
December 7 - December 13, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007BlessingsPope Benedict XVI waves from inside the popemobile after praying near the Spanish Steps in Rome.
