Budapest - Hungarian police have arrested two men in connection with the fatal shooting of a headmaster and his deputy at a school in Budapest, Hungarian police announced on Thursday.

Hungary was shocked on Wednesday evening by reports that a masked gunman had opened fire at a special-needs school in Budapest, killing the headmaster and his deputy.

The school treasurer and a security guard were subsequently arrested and charged with murder, police said. The two men had been sacked the same day over an embezzlement affair.

Brussels - Four more European Union countries Thursday opened up their labour markets to workers from Bulgaria and Romania, but rich nations such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy continue to maintain restrictions.

Greece, Spain, Hungary and Portugal all agreed to welcome Bulgarian and Romanian workers, European Commission officials said, while Denmark said it planned to lift restrictions on all EU workers as of May 1.

But workers from Bulgaria and Romania are still expected to face obstacles in 10 other EU countries for some time to come.

Islamabad - Suspected Taliban militants on Thursday assassinated a senior government official and his guard in Pakistan's volatile tribal region, officials and residents said.

Aman Ullah, a local administration officer, was on his way to his office in Razmak, a town in troubled North Waziristan that borders Afghanistan, when assailants sprayed his vehicles with bullets.

Ullah and his guard died on the spot while another junior officer was rushed with multiple injuries to a hospital in Miranshah, the main town in the district, said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ranchi, Jan 8 : Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Thursday lost his Tamar Assembly seat to Jharkhand Party candidate Gopal Krishna Patar by a margin of 9000 votes.

Elections for the seat, which fell vacant after the gunning down of JD (U) legislature party leader Ramesh Singh Munda on July 9, 2008, were held on January 3 this year and counting was taken up today.

Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded resignation of Shibu Soren from the Chief Ministership of Jharkhand and president''s rule in the state.

Stockholm - It is "extremely urgent" to get a ceasefire and end the violence in Gaza including the Israeli ground and air offensive as well as rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Thursday.

Bildt - just back from a visit to the Middle East as part of a European Union delegation - told reporters he was "at present not interested in laying blame" but wanted to "see an end to the violence."

Colombo, Jan. 8 : Unidentified gunmen, riding on a motorcycle, on Thursday killed Lasantha Wickramatunga, the editor of the Sri Lankan daily, Sunday Leader, while he was en route to his office here.

Reports quoted the police as saying that Wickramatunga had died of head wounds received in the shootout. Doctors said they spent three hours trying to save his life.

Local media reports said that Wickramatunga was known for his criticism of the government.