Male, Oct 29 : Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia''s longest serving leader and a campaigner against rising sea levels on Wednesday lost power to a former political prisoner Mohammed Nasheed in the first-ever democratic presidential polls in the island nation.

President Gayoom, 71, won the first round this month, but failed to secure the 50 per cent needed for outright victory

Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had won 54.25 per cent of the votes cast in on Tuesday''s presidential run-off as against 45.75 per cent by Gayoom, election officials said.

Warsaw - Poland marked the end of its mission in Iraq with a ceremony on Wednesday to welcome the last returning contingent of soldiers in the northwestern city of Szczecin.

Some 100 Polish soldiers landed Tuesday morning at a nearby airport, marking the end of the country's five-year mission.

"There is no good war," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the ceremony. "War always brings evil, blood, suffering and casualties, but the sacrifices of a soldier for his country has the deepest meaning."

Tusk said the mission served Poland's defence, and that the soldiers left Iraq safer than it was five years ago. Tusk had promised a quick withdrawal during his election campaign.

Lucknow, Oct 29 : In the wake of killing of a youth hailing from Uttar Pradesh in Mumbai, State Chief Minister Mayawati has asked the Centre and Maharashtra Government to take immediate action to stop attacks on north Indians.

"The Centre and Maharashtra government should initiate immediate measures to check attack on north Indians in Maharashtra," Mayawati said in a letter shot off to the union government and Maharashtra chief minister.

Mayawati said that both the Centre and the Maharashtra government have failed to check such "unconstitutional acts".

Hamburg - Felipe Massa has finally stepped out of the shadows at Ferrari and goes into Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix in his native city with the chance of claiming the Formula One drivers' championship.

Born in Sao Paulo on April 25, 1981, Massa has managed 10 wins, 26 podium placings and 14 pole positions in an F1 career spanning six years and 105 races. He married Anna Rafaela Bassi on November 30, 2007.

Massa's driving career began with karting at the age of eight before moving up the ranks and signing for the Sauber F1 team in 2002, partnering Nick Heidfeld.

New Delhi, Oct 29 : Union Minister of Power Sushilkumar Shinde met Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov at the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana today and discussed the bilateral and other issues of regional and international significance.

During the meeting, Shinde thanked Kazakhstan for its support on very important issues including in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and India''s membership in the United Nations Security Council.

He suggested that India could cooperate with Kazakhstan in setting up fertilizer plants there for exporting the fertilizers to India.

Prague - The Czech parliament's lower house Wednesday began debating Czech-US treaties on placing a planned US missile defence radar base on Czech soil.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek lacks a clear majority for the US plans in the closely divided lower house.

He cancelled a White House meeting with US President George W Bush planned for Wednesday in order to back the treaties in the chamber.

Several lawmakers for the Greens, the junior coalition partner, either reject the project or would like to wait for a new US administration before making the decision.

Topolanek asked lawmakers to pass the treaties in the first vote and postpone the second and final vote until after a new US president takes office.