Islamabad, Mar. 6: Amidst the on-going political uncertainty and blame game, the Pakistan Army has downed speculations about a probable military coup in the country, saying that it would remain neutral on political developments.

According to The Nation, top officials of the Pakistan Army met the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the current political developments.

The officials underlined the need for greater stability and harmony in the country.

Washington  - Dr Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for the US cable news channel CNN, withdrew his name from consideration for becoming surgeon general in the administration of US President Barack Obama, the latest in a series of personnel setbacks for Obama.

Gupta, 39, in an interview Thursday with CNN host Larry King, gave personal and professional reasons for his decision, chiefly the fact that the birth of his third daughter was imminent and he did not want to spend more time away from his family.

"Well, first of all, it was a really tough decision and a long decision and a long process for sure," Gupta said.

Washington  - Just six weeks into one of the toughest jobs in the world, could US President Barack Obama be getting some grey strands?

The prospect of the 47-year-old Obama showing some grey hair took the US media by storm on Thursday. The New York Times carried a front page story that prompted networks like Fox News to compare then-and- now pictures of the youthful president.

New York - The Sudanese government is inflicting "irrevocable damage" in Darfur by expelling relief groups that provided humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday.

Khartoum has withdrawn work permits and expelled at least 13 non- governmental organizations involved in aid operations in Darfur since the International Criminal Court
(ICC) on Wednesday issued an international arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Baghdad - Iraqi security forces on Thursday said they had killed a top military commander in the Iraqi branch of the al-Qaeda network.

General Tariq al-Assil, police chief for Iraq's western al-Anbar province, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that his forces had killed Hamza Ubid Idris, also known as Abu al-Ansar, on Wednesday night.

Al-Assil said that Idris was responsible for directing attacks in western Iraq by the al-Qaeda in Iraq organisation.

Gibraltar/Madrid  - Britain's Princess Anne on Thursday inaugurated a military hospital in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar in an act that irritated Spain, Spanish media reported.

The hospital was located in a border area the sovereignty over which was unclear, Jose Carracao of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party was quoted as saying.

Already in January, Spain protested to the British embassy in Madrid about the royal visit, describing it as "inopportune."