Berlin - A German warship warded off a suspected piracy attack on a German cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden, a defence ministry spokesman confirmed Friday.

The naval frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern chased off two suspicious speed boats on November 28 with three bursts of fire from a machine-gun, the spokesman said, confirming reports from Thursday.

A spokesman for Transocean Tours in Bremen, operators of the cruise ship, said the 492 passengers and crew on board the MS Astor had not noticed the incident. The ship also had not asked for help.

The suspicious boats disappeared quickly into Yemen's territorial waters, the tour operator said.

For the first time ever since his divorce with pop singer Britney Spears in 2006, Kevin Federline has broken his silence in a new exclusive interview with People magazine, saying that he still cares about his ex-wife and wants her to do best in life.

Federline, 30, who has largely been blamed for their failed marriage and the pop star's infamous public breakdown, has shed his party-boy, rapper, gold-digger, boy-toy names in favor of "daddy." The former back-up dancer is happy that Britney is getting her life back on track, and they are once again sharing the parenting duties again.

Vienna - Lufthansa AG on Friday signed a deal in Vienna to buy 41.65 per cent of Austrian Airlines from Austria's state holding OeIAG, creating Europe's biggest airline.

The debt-ridden flag carrier will be sold for the token price of 366,000 euros (465,000 dollars), OeIAG confirmed in a statement.

On Wednesday, the German carrier announced that it planned to take over 100 per cent of its smaller Austrian rival, first through the privatization, and then through buying free-floating shares.

New Delhi, Dec 5 : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is cutting short his visit to India and returning home as Russian Patriarch, Alexei-II, head of the Orthodox Church died in Moscow.

Medvedev, who arrived in New Delhi last night on a three-day visit will leave for Moscow on Friday evening.

According to Russian officials, he has also cancelled his tour to Italy.

Russian Patriarch Alexy-II was instrumental in the post-Soviet spiritual revival of the country.

Medvedev was scheduled to leave on Saturday morning.

New Delhi, Dec 5 (ANI): Union Minister of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal has emphasized the need for low cost technological solutions to overcome the challenges of terrorism, poverty and climate change.

Delivering the inaugural address at the 14th Technology Summit and Technology Platform in New Delhi today he called upon the scientists and technologists to do science globally and implement technology locally.

Peshawar, Dec. 5 : At least 20 have been killed and more than 80 injured in a high intensity blast near Imam Bargah in Koocha Risaldar area of Peshawar today.

Inspector General of Police, North West Front Province, Malik Naveed Khan said while talking to a news channel that about 20 to 25 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast which was planted in a vehicle.