Islamabad - At least eight people were killed and six injured on Thursday in a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan's restive tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, security officials and residents said.

Two missiles targeted an Islamic seminary, Sirajul Uloom, in Dandai Darpakhel village, located some 3 kilometres from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, at around 
2:30 am (2030 GMT).

Wellington - The New Zealand stock market fell by more than 3 per cent Thursday, following the downward trend on markets worldwide, despite an unprecedented 1-percentage-point cut in the central bank's benchmark interest rate.

The NZX50 index ended the day down 92 points to 2,807, a fall of 3.18 per cent from Wednesday's close.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point to 6.5 per cent, the third cut in 13 weeks after five years with no reductions.

Islamabad, Oct 23 : Pakistan and Afghanistan have reportedly agreed on not holding talks with armed Taliban. Foreign ministers of the two countries announced this at a joint press conference last evening, saying that talks would be held “only with those who lay down arms”.

“Talks will be held with only those who are willing to lay down arms and those who live within the constitution,” the Daily Times quoted Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta as saying.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said other nations were coming around to Pakistan’s multi-pronged counterterrorism strategy that said “no talks with militants, but political dialogue with those who agree to live as peaceful citizens”.

Beijing - International activist groups urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday to raise the issue of Tibet during her visit to China.

"At this critical juncture in relations between Europe and China, Chancellor Merkel must press Chinese President Hu Jintao for tangible results from the dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and Chinese officials," said Kate Saunders of the London-based International Campaign for Tibet.

Lindsay Lohan has been sued by the three men, whose SUV she drove chasing her personal assistant through Santa Monica streets, leading to her second 2007 DUI arrest.
 
Seeking unspecified damages, the plaintiffs i.e. Ronnie Blake, Jakon Sutter and Dante Nigro filing their case in Santa Monica’s Superior Court, say Lindsay Lohan’s angry and aggressive commandeering of their car caused them ‘surprise, shock, fear and panic at Lohan’s surprising and sudden act’.
 

Mingora, Oct 23 : At least 15 soldiers belonging to the Frontier Constabulary (FC) and five Taliban were found dead in Kabal tehsil of Swat on Wednesday.

The FC troops had gone missing after a fight with Taliban that broke out last evening after a roadside bomb targeted a paramilitary convoy in the Sarsenai area. “After the exchange of fire that lasted for several hours, more than 20 troops went missing but today we found 15 dead bodies at the site,” Noor Rehman, a police officer in Kabal, said.