Chandigarh, Nov. 14 : Punjabi music which has today captivated a huge number of fans beyond Punjab, especially abroad, is creating a great influence in Bollywood films.

Almost every other film from Bollywood is found carrying a Punjabi number or lyrics in dialogues.

Valencia, Spain - Jose Lello, president of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) parliamentary assembly, on Friday urged the West to adopt a new strategy in Afghanistan.

Lello met the press at the start of the 54th annual meeting of the assembly, which was bringing together more than 300 delegates from 50 countries in Valencia, eastern Spain.

Barack Obama's election as US president was likely to lead to an increase of troops in Afghanistan, Lello said.

Nice, France - French President Nicolas Sarkozy launched an impassioned defence Friday of his efforts to end August's Russian-Georgian war, accusing his critics of not having ideas and attacking the role of Georgia's allies, including the United States.

"A number of national leaders said that I shouldn't go to Russia for peace talks or hold a summit with Russia ... What was the best, to have a dialogue or to do nothing? I don't regret taking either decision," a combative Sarkozy said after talks in the French resort of Nice with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev.

Nice, France - Russia supports the idea of holding a second summit of the world's greatest powers to debate the reform of the global financial system after a meeting in Washington scheduled for the weekend, the country's president said Friday.

Vienna - Slovakia outpaced other Central European economies in the third quarter, posting solid growth while the 15-nation eurozone slid into recession, official data showed Friday.

Neighbouring Czech Republic even posted a slight increase in gross domestic product (GDP), bucking a trend toward slowing growth that has not spared the once rollicking ex-communist economies.