Sydney - Australian authorities intercepted a boat carrying 54 illegal immigrants Saturday near Ashmore Reef off the north coast. It was the eighth refugee boat to arrive so far this year, one more than the tally for the whole of 2008.

The 54 asylum seekers and two crew members were stopped 900 kilometres from Darwin and taken aboard the patrol boat HMAS Albany, They are being transported to Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island for processing.

On Wednesday 32 Sri Lankan migrants arrived off the west coast.

London, Apr 25 : Katy Perry and ex-boyfriend Travis McCoy are back together.

The couple realised that they could not bear to be apart, and therefore, have rekindled their romance.

Katy and Gym Class Heroes rapper Travis split in December, blaming the break-up on their busy careers, reports The Sun.

However, Travis has now exclusively revealed that they're happier now that they've "grown up" and learned to take the relationship at a slower pace.

Reykjavik - Voting began Saturday in the general election in Iceland, one of the country's most ravaged by the global economic meltdown. The current interim government of socialist Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is favourite to retain power, in coalition with their Green party partners.

The previous government resigned in January, after Iceland's

economy imploded under the pressure of the collapse of three of its over-stretched banks, and mass street protests.

Mexico City/Geneva - The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva said Saturday that the number of deaths from swine influenza in Mexico had reached 62. WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib gave the figure, while saying that the organisation's Strategic Health Operations Centre was now involved in the efforts in the region.

The WHO was in constant contact with health authorities in the United States, Mexico, and countries in the Latin American region in monitoring the situation, she said.

Washington, Apr 25 : Contrary to previous rumors, President Barack Obama hasn''t gotten his super-secure BlackBerry.

According to The Washington Times, the American leader will have to long for his souped-up smartphone for a little while, and has instead been forced to use an ungainly hybrid.

As for the reason why it is so: the National Security Agency still needs a few months to test out its replacement: a souped-up BlackBerry 8830 equipped with software called SecurVoice made by Washington, D. C.-based The Genesis Key, Inc, reports FOX News.

Sydney - Multiple Davis Cup champion Australia faces unprecedented sanctions including a temporary ban from the competition after refusing Saturday to send a team into what it considers a danger zone. Australia declared Saturday it would boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against India in Chennai over security concerns after the London-based International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected its request for a neutral venue like Singapore.

The ITF insisted the May 8-10 matches go ahead, warning Tennis Australia (TA) of sanctions if its team stayed home.