Ramallah  - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Ramallah early Friday afternoon for talks with President Mahmoud Abbas, a day after the US conceded that Israel and the Palestinians will not reach a peace deal by their end of year deadline.

Rice had landed in the region Thursday ahead of a crucial briefing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Sunday on the peace process.

Munich  - Amid a continuing economic downturn, Germany luxury carmakers Daimler AG and BMW on Friday reported a major slump in sales for October.

Daimler said sales plunged 18.1 per cent to 93,900 vehicles compared to October 2007.

Sales of its core model Mercedes-Benz were down more than 20 per cent to 80,250 vehicles, while those of the subcompact Smart were up 11.3 per cent to 11,300.

The company said the biggest declines were in Western Europe and the United States.

New Delhi - Japan's Daiichi Sankyo had completed its acquisition of Indian pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy Laboratories, the companies said in a joint statement Friday.

It was announced in June that the Japanese firm would be acquiring a controlling stake of 63.92 per cent in Ranbaxy, India's largest pharma firm, in an estimated 4-billion-dollar deal.

In a regulatory statement, the firms announced Friday that they had closed the deal with the final transfer of remaining equity shares of the promoters of Ranbaxy, the Singh family.

London, Nov 7 : Owing to the uproar over his swearing on TV, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has decided to mind his language.

The 41-year-old foul-mouthed chef has said he wants to be known for cooking rather than cursing.

His telly show ‘F Word’ is named after his frequent ‘F-word-laden’ outbursts

And his abusive antics have affected his image, so much so, that at recent book signings he was inundated with fans wanting him to scrawl the message: “F*** off, Gordon Ramsay.”

Washington, Nov 7 : Sophie Monk was spotted getting cosy with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine at his Effen Vodka bash, fuelling rumours that she and the rocker are a romantic twosome.

Rumours are abuzz that Monk is dating Levine, reports Fox News.

And at the star-studded bash thrown by the rocker at his private home in the Hollywood Hills sparks were certainly flying between him and the Aussie actress.

Sources have revealed that while the duo did manage to keep any public displays of affection to a minimum, they still stayed close for most of the night.

However, Kirsten Dunst apparently turned out to be one interfering soul between the new two-some.

London, Nov 7 : The senior-most judge in England and Wales has said that youngsters who are hooked on to the Internet are not used to listening for long periods and thus would not make good jurors.

Lord Judge of Draycote, the Lord Chief Justice, said in a speech that young jurors should be given information on screens because in his opinion, that’s how they are used to catch information.

"Most are technologically proficient. Many get much information from the Internet. They consult and refer to it. They are not listening. They are reading,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

He added: "One potential problem is whether, learning as they do in this way, they will be accustomed, as we were, to listening for prolonged periods.