New Delhi, Mar 22 : Kim Jong Il, the top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has said it is the invariable will of DPRK to further consolidate and develop the friendship with China.

Kim said cultural exchange plays an important role in boosting the precious DPRK-China friendship established by late President Kim Il Sung and leaders of the elder generation of China for a long period.

Mumbai, Mar 22 : An Indian ship, which was hijacked off the coast of Somalia, has been released today, by the pirates.

The ship had 16 Indians onboard. No harm was caused by the pirates to Indians on board the vessel.

The ship was hijacked on March 21, while it was travelling between Dubai and Mogadishu carrying rice, refined oil, wheat and general cargo.

According to sources, the coalition forces and the Indian Navy vessel operating in Gulf of Aden were informed about the incident and were asked to provide assistance.

Earlier, the MT Stolt Valor, with 22 crewmembers including 18 Indians, was hijacked by a group of Somali pirates off the Yemen coast on September 15, 2008 while it was bound for Mumbai from the Suez Canal.

New Delhi  - Mumbai police are seeking the death penalty for the lone gunman captured alive in terrorist attacks on the city in November last year, news reports said Saturday.

Jayant Patil, home minister of Maharashtra state, said police demanded the death penalty for Ajmal Amir Kasab, the PTI news agency reported.

Kasab, allegedly of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, will face trial for murder and "waging war against India."

New Delhi, Mar 21 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday said his party and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) would contest in three Lok Sabha constituencies now held by the Congress in the state.

His statement came after Congress announced to contest 37 seats in Bihar.

"If Congress is so strong, why were they demanding more seats from us? Instead, we should have demanded the seats from them," Lalu said.

Bhagalpur, Mar 21 : Indian authorities have imposed night curfew along the borders with Bangladesh in Tripura and stepped up security in view of the upcoming general elections.

The vigil along the border has been stepped up to check movement of the militants and infiltration.

Night curfew has been promulgated within the radius of one-kilometer, besides banning fishing during night, movement of non-government vehicles, rickshaws and handcarts.

Ranchi, Mar 21 : Cricket fans of Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni gathered here in large numbers on Saturday to celebrate India's historic win over New Zealand.

Fans burst crackers, distributed sweets and danced to express their happiness.

"We are celebrating because under the leadership of Dhoni India has won a test match in New Zealand after 33 years. All the people here are very happy. We are going to pay a visit to a religious shrine to pray that India win the series as well," said Gautam, a young cricketer.