Melbourne, Apr 26 : A Queensland state school spent 1200 dollars teaching its teachers how to laugh.

While other schools are following suit and have paid for laughter `consultants', eighty-two staff members from Maleny State High School took part in a two-hour "laughter therapy" session last Monday.

Opposition education spokesman Bruce Flegg has on April 24 accused the State Government of wasting "scarce" funds and teachers' time.

London, Apr 26 : Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran will not surrender and fight till the death, despite being cornered by the Sri Lankan Army in a 10 sq. km patch, according to his former right hand man.

The Sri Lankan Government has urged Prabhakaran to surrender and end the fighting in which thousands of civilians have died. But most generals and officials privately say that only the death of the Tamil Tigers' leader will end the long war.

New Delhi, Apr 26 : Chinese ideograms found in the Cuban city of Cienfuegos have been discovered to date back about 20 years earlier than the existing earliest evidence of Chinese presence in the country, it has been reported.

The ideograms, which have been dated to 1862, were found during the reconstruction of the Cathedral in the city said experts from the Office of Conservator from Cienfuegos, 256 km east of Havana, reports China Daily.

Washington, Apr. 26 : With the Taliban inching precariously closer to Islamabad, and fears of a takeover of the country by the insurgents getting stronger, the United States has expressed serious concern about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal getting into the hands of the Taliban.

Washington feels that Pakistan's nuclear armaments are in safe custody for the time being, but it is worried about the weapons of mass destruction getting into the hands of the extremists after they topple the democratic set up in the country.

London, Apr 26 : iPods and mobile phones may soon become theftproof, thanks to the unique sounds made by our ears.

Southampton University researchers have discovered that they can identify individuals from the faint sounds made deep inside the human ear. And, therefore, by using this technology they''re developing security devices.

Personal music players could be fitted with antitheft devices that detect "acoustic fingerprints" so they only work when they are being used by the registered owner.

London, Apr 26 : A team of researchers has claimed to have solved the mystery that intrigued the science world for decades: Whether or not fish feel pain?

And, the answer is yes. Just like humans, goldfish feel pain too.

Whilst the marine creatures can be seen to react to a jab or blow, experts have disagreed over whether the reaction indicates a sensation of pain, or is little more than a basic reflex.

Therefore, researchers, from Norway and the US, embarked on a study to set the record straight.