Beijing, Apr. 18 : Lewis Hamilton has expressed surprise over the exit of Ron Davis from Formula One, but was not disappointed.

"I wasn't disappointed," said Hamilton. "I was surprised as I hadn't heard about it. I was just as surprised as the rest of my team. Of course, Ron has been a huge force in supporting my life and he still plays a key role in that," the Daily Express quoted hamilton as saying after he had set the fastest time during first practice in China.

Berlin - Leaders of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) met in Berlin on Saturday to approve an election manifesto designed to win over voters with promises of more cash.

Key points of the platform are tax cuts and state handouts for low income groups and families with children to be financed in part by a tax on the rich and a levy on stock transactions.

Srinagar, Kashmir - Two militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group and their female associate were killed in a shootout with security forces in India-administered Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The combat took place near a village in the Doda district about 180 kilometres north-east of the state's winter capital Jammu, after a joint army-police team started search operations.

"The two militants were active in the area and were behind many killings and abductions. They were eliminated in the gunbattle which lasted for an hour," senior police official Parbhat Singh said.

A woman who was with the militants and was believed to be linked with the LeT was also killed.

Dhaka - At least three people were reportedly killed as Cyclone Bijli swept over south-eastern part of the country Saturday, officials said.

The cyclone hit Bangladesh's coastal areas late Friday night and turned into a land depression the following morning.

Reports from southern tourism district of Cox's Bazar said three people were killed when their thatched homes collapsed and trees fell on them.

Gangtok (Sikkim), Apr 18 : Authorities in Gangtok, Sikkim, have said that it will take two to three days to recover the bodies of twelve workers who drowned after the Rangpo Dam collapsed earlier this week.

Rangpo Dam is located near Rongli in East Sikkim District.

According to the officials, the tunnel is flooded with the gushing waters of the River Rongli, and efforts are still being made to retrieve the 12 bodies.

The length of the tunnel is about 1100 meters.

London, Apr. 18 : Steven Gerrard will miss Liverpool's crunch clash with Arsenal on Tuesday as he is down with a groin injury.

Gerrard suffered a recurrence in the Reds' final training session before the game, preventing him from even taking a place on the bench.

He may be even in doubt for the trip to Hull four days later.