New Delhi  - There is excitement in the air in Thimphu, capital of the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan, as it prepares for the coronation of its fifth king - the 28-year-old Oxford-educated Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk on Thursday.

"The mood is festive. Everybody is getting ready. The lights are up as are the flags," Khandu-om Dorji, special programme officer in the Bhutanese prime minister's office said over telephone

The new king's father, Bhutan's much-loved monarch Jigme Singye Wangchuk, 53, shocked his people in December 2006, when he announced he was abdicating in favour of his son and Bhutan would become a democracy under a new, young king.

Tel Aviv - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned Tuesday against increased international pressure on Israel, saying the country would not take "shortcuts" in the peace process with the Palestinians.

"The world must support the process that is being conducted and not expect Israel to carry out shortcuts which would hurt its ability to safeguard its needs," Livni said ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and of Sunday's meeting of international peace mediators in Egypt.

Madrid/Paris - French police Tuesday detained eight suspected Basque separatists, French and Spanish media reported.

The arrests were made in connection with an investigation into bars linked with Batasuna, a party regarded as the political wing of the militant group ETA.

The bars were also suspected of financing French Basque radicals who have carried out attacks against restaurants and other establishments, Spanish police sources said.

Arrests were made in different locations in the French Basque region, according to Askatasuna, a group defending jailed ETA activists.

The detainees were taken to a police station in Bayonne. Police searched several addresses.

Mumbai, Nov. 4 : Security was tightened along the seashore and beaches in Mumbai where families of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were to celebrate the traditional Chatth Puja.

Usually celebrated a week after the Deepavali and spread over two to three days, this year it is being performed between November 3 and 5.

Patna, Nov 4 : In line with RJD president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s call for resignation of elected representatives from Bihar against the anti-north Indian violence by MNS in Maharashtra, the party legislators and parliamentarians have started submitting their resignation letters to the party leadership.

Till today, 75 percent of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, and nearly 35 of its 55 MLAs and eight of 15 MLCs have submitted their letters of resignation, Shyam Rajak, RJD’s spokesman, said.

Marseille - The Spanish port city of Barcelona is to be the seat of the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said Tuesday in Marseille.

Agreement on what had been a bone of contention among the 43 members of the union was reached during the two-day meeting of foreign ministers and other representatives from European Union members and Mediterranean states.

The meeting was held in the French city of Marseille because France currently holds the 6-month rotating EU presidency.

Malta and the Tunisian capital Tunis had also been in the running to host the group's secretariat, which will bring status and jobs to the city.