Pristina - Policemen with the EU Kosovo mission EULEX in the city of Mitrovica deployed tear gas to prevent a potential violent confrontation between ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians on Saturday. According to local media, police were acting to prevent rioting in the majority Serb city against ethnic Albanians who had returned to repair their homes destroyed in the 1998-99 civil war.

The ethnic Serbs had demanded a ban on ethnic Albanians rebuilding their homes.

EULEX police were supported by units from the NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR.

Duisburg, Germany - German state prosecutors' hands remain tied over a Mafia killing spree at a German pizzeria 18 months ago, German Spiegel magazine reported Saturday. The legal team in the city of Duisburg said they had refused the extradition to Germany of the prime suspect, Giovanni Strangio, who was arrested in Amsterdam last month, as they lacked evidence to proceed in court against the him.

Next week, a Dutch court is to formally decide whether 30-year-old Strangio should be extradited to Italy or Germany.

Dhaka - Saudi Arabia promised to recruit more Bangladeshi workers, while reassuring Dhaka that complications over work permits faced by over 2 million Bangladeshi workers already in the kingdom would be resolved, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said Saturday. Moni made the comments while briefing reporters on the recent five-day visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed to the kingdom.

Bad Koenig, Germany - An unusual spectacle greeted the residents of a small town near Darmstadt on Saturday, as participants took to the streets to race each other on office chairs. At Germany's second annual office chair championships in Bad Koenig, 30 kilometres south-east of Darmstadt, around 80 participants competed on a downhill stretch of road using especially adapted desk furniture.

Vadodara, Apr 25: After Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Shourie, party general secretary Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that he would like to see Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to occupy the top post after Lal Krishna Advani.

"I will be very happy if Shourie''s wishes would come true," he said when asked to comment on Arun Shourie''s comment hinting Modi as next prime ministerial candidate.

Jaitley further said that Gujarat would have the opportunity to elect PM in next general elections also.

Timergara, Apr 25: Eleven children were reportedly killed and three others injured after a bomb explosion in Luqman Banda village in Lower Dir on Saturday. All the deceased were from the same family.

According to the Dawn, the children were playing with the explosive device thinking it was a toy. The device exploded and killed ten children on the spot and injuring four others.

The injured were rushed to DHQ hospital where one of them succumbed to his injuries.