Guwahati, Oct 30 : Several pers

Manila - One government soldier and two communist rebels were killed in separate clashes in the eastern Philippines, an army spokesman said Thursday.

One soldier and one communist rebel were killed on Wednesday during a clash in Basey town in Samar province, 570 kilometres south-east of Manila, said Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner.

Brawner said another soldier was wounded in the fighting that erupted when patrolling troops encountered heavily-armed communist rebels in the village of Bulao in Basey.

In a separate clash on Wednesday, one communist rebel was also killed in the town of Candelaria, also in the eastern province of Quezon.

Islamabad - The official death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit south-western Pakistan a day ago climbed to more than 230 as the rescue workers searched for entombed survivors, officials said on Thursday.

Many of the around 20,000 people left homeless spent the freezing night in the open as a series of mild aftershocks struck the northern parts of Balochistan province that was rattled by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake just before dawn on Wednesday.

London, Oct 30 : English pop singer Victoria Beckham is all set to be the new model for Emporio Armani women''s underwear.

Posh, who once said, “I look really awful naked”, has been chosen by Giorgio Armani to model his new range of women’s underwear collection.

She will be making her debut on posters, billboards, and in glossy magazines early next year.

“Who better than Victoria Beckham to launch our new global Emporio Armani underwear campaign,” the Telegraph quoted Armani as saying.

“Victoria is a style icon, a dynamic lady whose influence and recognition will add great excitement to the continued international growth of our underwear business,” he added.

London, Oct 30 : An advertisement that has pop paedophile Gary Glitter’s song in it has been banned after reports that he could earn 100,000 pounds in royalties caused fury.

The ad, for computer firm Hewlett Packard UK, uses a cover version of Glitter’s 1973 song ‘Do You Wanna Touch Me’ to promote TouchSmart TV.

“This is a sensitive issue and HP takes the matter very seriously,” the Daily Star quoted a HP spokeswoman as saying.

“To reassure you, all relevant advertising has been withdrawn in the UK and the issue is being urgently reviewed in other countries,” she added.

The advert features in a marketing campaign, being screened across America.

Seoul - South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's second largest maker of computer chips, Thursday posted net losses of 1.67 trillion won (1.3 billion dollars) for the third quarter owing to price slumps and write-offs.

After profits of 168 billion won in the third quarter of 2007, the company reported losses for the fourth consecutive quarter, more than doubling the losses posted for the previous quarter of 711 billion won.