Warsaw - Thousands of workers from Poland's defence industry protested in Warsaw Friday over military budget cuts and the growing financial crisis.

Members of the Solidarity trade union burned tyres and threw small explosive charges in front of the Ministry of Economy, demanding job security for the country's defence industry workers.

"The only miracle (Prime Minister Donald) Tusk has accomplished is uniting the trade unions," said Janusz Sniadek, head of NSZZ Solidarity, speaking to protesters in front of parliament.

Hamburg - The woman at the focus of a stand-off between Germany and Poland will not be nominated to the board of a new, taxpayer-funded museum, it was announced Wednesday.

Poland had protested at the nomination of Erika Steinbach, 65, national leader of a refugee group, to join a
13-member board to set up a Berlin museum depicting the ordeal of Germans expelled from eastern Europe after World War II.

The Federation of Expellees said it would not nominate Steinbach because it did not want to be accused of jeopardizing the museum project, which she initiated.

Hamburg - Germany and Poland showed no signs Friday of settling the dispute over a controversial museum appointment, as the neighbours' heads of state met for an historic dinner in the German city of Hamburg.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were meeting for the first time since an ongoing dispute over a museum remembering expulsions after World War II had flared up again in recent weeks.

Washington  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Wednesday as the United States reviews plans to field a missile-defence system in Eastern Europe.

The two diplomats did not raise the issue during their brief appearance before reporters before meeting behind closed doors.

The Bush administration forged an agreement with Poland for hosting 10 interceptors missiles, while the Czech Republic would be the site for its radar.

Warsaw- Polish President Lech Kaczynski hosted a summit Wednesday on the economic crisis with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and a slew of labour and economy officials.

It was a rare meeting on the issue between Kaczynski and Tusk, who are at odds on how Poland should deal with the crisis and whether adopting the euro would help.

Tusk has said Poland would work to adopt the euro by 2012 and the financial crisis gave the country more reasons to join the
15-member area.

London, Feb. 24 : In a major blow to Poland's reputation as a champion of traditional Roman Catholic values, a majority of the country''s Catholic priests favor an end to celibacy, a survey has revealed.

A survey of over 800 Polish priests carried out by Professor Josef Baniak, a sociologist specializing in religious affairs, found that 53 per cent would like to have a wife, while 12 per cent admitted that they were already involved in a relationship, the Telegraph reports.

A further 30 per cent revealed that they had sexual relationships with women at some point in their lives.

An earlier research had concluded that a number of priests were leaving priesthood due to their desire to have a relationship and a family.