Reykjavik - Iceland's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate by 1 percentage point to 17 per cent, the first cut since mid-October when the country was hit by the global credit crunch.

The move was announced a week after the head of a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded a visit to Iceland, saying there were signs Iceland's battered economy was showing some signs of improvement with inflation appearing to have peaked.

Baghdad - A leading politician from the Iraqi Islamic Party, part of in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling coalition, has been assassinated west of Baghdad, the party announced Thursday.

Faisal Abdallah al-Samrai was among the top leaders of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a descendant of the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and part of al-Maliki's United Iraqi Alliance.

New Delhi, Mar 19 : The owner of the IPL franchise Bangalore Royals, Vijay Mallya, on Thursday backed the tournament to pass off smoothly.

Addressing reporters here, Mallya said India had all the resources required to provide security during the tournament.

Yaounde - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday held up the peaceful coexistence of Christians and Muslims in Cameroon as an example to the rest of Africa as he met leaders of Cameroon's Muslim minority.

Benedict, on the third day of his first trip to Africa as pontiff, said that genuine religion "rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism" and praised Cameroon for avoiding the religious strife that has blighted neighbouring Nigeria.

Kolkata, March 19 : On visiting a special village on the eastern fringes of Kolkata one can find several deaf and mute children learning to talk, mentally challenged children doing mathematics and the handicapped receiving vocational training.

‘Pratibandi’, the special village for the disabled, is today emerging as an example of self-sufficiency being gained by the differently-abled.

Munich
- Bayern Munich captain Mark van Bommel has extended his contract with
the German champions by a further season, the club confirmed Thursday.

"We have reached an agreement with Mark to extend his contract by a year," Bayern general managher Uli Hoeness said.

Van Bommel's current contract was due to run out at the end of the
season but the 31-year-old midfielder will now stay with Juergen
Klinsmann's side until the end of the 2010 season.