Frankfurt - German airline Lufthansa cancelled two flights to the Indian city of Mumbai on Thursday and said a decision on Friday flights depended on the likely safety for its crew and passengers.

The flights had been set to depart from Frankfurt and Munich.

The German Foreign Ministry advised travellers in India Thursday to keep informed about the situation after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and to avoid large crowds.

Berlin  - A 12-year-old German girl was in critical condition in a Berlin hospital Thursday after a bomb planted in her family's letter-box exploded, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The police murder squad declined comment on media reports that the attack Wednesday may have been part of a feud in the poor, multi-ethnic capital-city district of Neukoelln.

Newspapers said the schoolgirl's arm was almost shredded by the explosion as she was taking mail out of the box. Earlier in the day her father had found a bomb attached to his car, disarmed it and took it to police.

Berlin  - Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat was believed to have been stranded in Germany on Thursday after demonstrators invaded both of Bangkok's airports, forcing a cancellation of flights.

Flights from Europe to Bangkok by Thai Airways International and other airlines were cancelled as a result. Bangkok aviation authorities agreed on Thursday to open the U-Tapao Air Force Base as an alternative.

Sompong's presence in Germany could not be confirmed, since he was not visiting the country as an official guest.

Berlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel phoned Indian Prime Minister

Berlin - Germany set up a crisis office and sent a team of psychologists to India Thursday to counsel victims of the terrorist attacks which have killed at least 101 people in Mumbai.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier "most sharply" condemned the attackers.

At his ministry in Berlin, a crisis office was handling the German response, and extra staff were deployed to the German Consulate General in Mumbai.

Berlin - European economic sentiment slumped to an historic low in November, a key indicator released Thursday showed, amid signs that the slowdown in the global economy is gaining momentum.

The European Commission's closely watched economic sentiment indicator for the 15-member eurozone fell more-than-forecast by 5.1 points to 74.9 in November from
80.4 in October.

The indicator now stands at its lowest level since August 1993.

Its release follows the commission's announcement Wednesday of a 200-billion-euro (259-billion-dollar) stimulus package aimed at helping the European economy to limp through the current economic downturn which has been triggered by the world's financial crisis.