Washington  , Oct 25 : The US military experts are only training the Pakistani trainers in counter-insurgency techniques in tribal areas, and not directly the troops, Pentagon said here last evening.

“There has been a very, very small ‘train the trainer’ operation going on in Pakistan for some time,” the Dawn quoted Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell as saying.

London, Oct 25 : British nursery Langham Pre-School, near Colchester, Essex, has banned kids from bringing in broomsticks and pitchforks or other such objects during Hallowe''en.

Due to health and safety fears, the pre-school’s committee decided upon the ban, especially after a child was hurt last year.

However, it did not sit well with the parents, who have criticised it as health and safety gone too far.

Sally Cowley, a 39-year-old mother-of-two who runs the nearby Boxted mother and toddler group, finds the decision sad.

“I think it''s sad it has come to this. It''s the same as banning conkers,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

Washington, Oct 25 : Popstar Benji Madden has revealed that his relationship with Paris Hilton is better than ever.

The ‘Good Charlotte’ guitarist was totally devastated to hear about claims that he cheated on his girlfriend of nine months, and branded the report to be ‘definitely untrue’.

"It''s very frustrating when you finally find yourself in a good relationship and people attack it. I wear my feelings on my sleeve. I''m very open about how in love I am – Paris and I are very happy,” People magazine quoted Madden, as saying.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 25 : Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has jumped to superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s defence, insisting that he deserves a Datukship.

He also said that even local artistes should be rewarded for achievements that deserve awards.

In a post on his blog chedet. com on October 23, the ex-premier claimed that it was embarrassing for him to see that a controversy had erupted over Malacca’s decision to confer Shah Rukh with a Datukship.

London, Oct 25 : Baghdad is unlikely to sign an agreement with Washington on the future of US forces in Iraq by a critical year-end deadline, Prime Minister of country’s largely autonomous Kurdish north has said.

New Delhi, Oct 25 : Chinese nuclear physicists have developed a new treatment for cancer that uses heavy ion beams to kill malignant tumours more than 2.1 cm below the skin''s surface.

Zhan Wenlong, the leading nuclear physicist in the country, has claimed that heavy ion beams score over light ion beams, such as gamma rays and X-rays used in traditional radiotherapies.

High ion beams can accurately moderate the amount of radiation and minimize the damage done to healthy cells, reports China Daily.