Jammu, Nov.

Bengaluru, Nov. 8 : An official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday confirmed that the spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 had entered the lunar orbit successfully.

S. Satish, spokesperson of ISRO said that the Chandrayaan-1 orbit would last around 800 seconds in 7,500km x 500km elliptical orbit around the moon.

"The lunar orbit insertion (LOI) will start around 5 p. m. and last around 800 seconds," Satish said.

London - A leading British bookmaker on Saturday said it had turned away punters wanting to place bets on US president-elect Barack Obama being assassinated, media reports said.

William Hill said it had received more than 100 requests from customers wanting to place bets but that the firm was not interested, according to Britain's Press Association.

"I cannot imagine why any reputable bookmaker would even consider taking such a bet or any punter contemplate placing one," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe was quoted as saying.

New Delhi - India's moon mission Chandrayaan-1 was successfully placed in lunar orbit on Saturday, officials at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said.

"The lunar orbit insertion placed the Chandrayaan in an elliptical orbit with its nearest point 400 to 500 kilometres away from the moon and the farthest, 7,500 kilometres," ISRO director S Satish said from the southern city of Bangalore.

The complex positioning which depended on precision timing was carried out from the space control room in Bangalore.

Gaza - Israeli forces on Saturday rolled into the southern Gaza Strip and Palestinian fighters engaged them, witnesses said.

A number of tanks and bulldozers entered the Khoza'a area in eastern Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip. The bulldozers started to level the land, destroying fields and farms in the area, residents said.

The troops withdrew around the noon after Gaza militants said they exchanged fire with the forces. There were no reports on casualties.

Copenhagen - A Danish freighter and its crew of 13 have been abducted by pirates off the coast of Somalia, reported a maritime official Saturday.

The Friday afternoon attack on the CEC Future, a ship registered in the Bahamas and owned by the Clipper Elite Carrier shipping company, occurred in the Gulf of Aden when there were no other nearby ships which could come to the CEC Future's aid.

There were not believed to be any Danes among the crew. The Danish maritime official said that the shipping company would be responsible for any negotiations with the pirates or ransom payments.