New Delhi, Nasik, Nov 6 : Deputy Army Chief on Thursday, termed the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel in connection with bomb blasts in two western towns as an aberration on the army.

Lieutenant-Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit was arrested by the police on Wednesday in connection to the Malegaon blasts that killed five people and were blamed on a Hindu militant group.

Addressing the reporters in New Delhi, Lieutenant General S. P. S. Dhillon said the accused, if found guilty, will be dealt with accordingly.

Prague - The Czech central bank Thursday slashed its key interest rate by 75 points in seeking to fight a slowdown in one of eastern Europe's leading economies.

The cut to 2.75 per cent from 3.5 per cent was deeper than analysts had expected and left Czech Republic with the lowest rates in the 27-nation European Union.

The Czech National Bank's decision came hours before the European Central Bank cut the lead rate by 50 points to 3.25 per cent for nations using the euro.

Frankfurt - Tens of thousands of workers belonging to Germany's powerful engineering workers trade union IG Metall staged a sixth day of strikes Thursday for more pay.

Carmaker Ford, electrical and engineering giant Siemens and auto suppliers Bosch were among the dozens of firms targeted by token stoppages across the country.

The union has been stepping up its strikes each day to raise the pressure, but a strike in all plants at the same time has not begun yet.

"Employers can avert an all-out strike if they make us an offer" we can can discuss, IG Metall chairman Berthold Huber told a rally of 7,000 Ford workers in Cologne.

New Delhi  - Representatives of the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, who returned to India on Thursday after a week's visit to China, said they had presented a memorandum to the Chinese leadership on "genuine autonomy."

The main purpose of the trip was to follow up discussions held in July, Kasur Lodi Gyari, who led the delegation, said in a statement.

He said the delegation had briefed Samdhong Rimpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Madrid  - Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben will be out of action for around six weeks, the Spanish champions said Thursday.

The Dutch wideman tore fibres in his right calf while warming up for Wednesday's Champions League clash on Wednesday.

Real coach Bernd Schuster had to play Royston Drenthe down the left instead of Robben - and suffered an embarrassing 2-0 defeat.

Juventus are now four points ahead of Real in Group H, and Zenit St Petersburg are only two points behind the Spaniards.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's central bank on Thursday said it would keep its key interest rate at 18 per cent, after raising the rates at the end of October.

Inflation at the end of October hit almost 16 per cent, and could climb to 20 per cent early next year, the central bank said in its monetary bulletin that also projected that GDP would drop by over 8 per cent in 2009.

Stabilizing the Icelandic currency would bring down inflation and rates the bank said, adding that extending current wage agreements without further wage hikes was a factor.

The central bank, or Sedlabanki, raised interest rates from 12 to 18 per cent on October 28. In mid-October it had cut the rates from 15.5 per cent to 12 per cent.