Los Angeles - Media conglomerate News Corp reported a drop in quarterly net income of 30 per cent, blaming softness in TV advertising and a weak performance by its usually thriving film studio.

The company controlled by magnate Rupert Murdoch said profit slumped to 515 million dollars down from 732 million dollars a year ago. However revenue climbed 6 per cent to 7.5 billion dollars.

The company's cable and satellite TV units performed strongly. But they were hampered by a revenue drop of 31 per cent at its film studio where flops like Meet Dave, Mirrors and Space Chimps failed to match the smash hit success of The Simpsons in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Gaza - An Israeli air strike late Wednesday night killed one Palestinian militant in the northern Gaza strip, medical officials and witnesses said.

An Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv confirmed the attack, saying it was aimed at a group which had earlier in the evening launched one missile at southern Israel, and was about to launch another.

Three other militants were wounded in the strike, which took place east of the Jebaliya refugee camp. The fatality was identified as Ghassan al-Taramssi, 23, a member of the Islamic Jihad organization.

Sydney - Four Australian filmmakers faced a court appearance Thursday after they forgot to tell police that they were shooting a gunfight scene in a Melbourne street.

Fearful residents called in with reports of men with guns and the police despatched a heavily armed squad, which cordoned off the area.

A police spokesman said the four had been charged with causing a public nuisance over Wednesday's incident.

Hamburg - A brace from Alessandro Del Piero helped Juventus beat Real Madrid for the second game in succession in the Champions League Wednesday while Manchester United needed a late score from Ryan Giggs to salvage a draw away to Celtic.

Celtic took an early lead against the defending champions through Scott McDonald but despite relentless pressure from United, the equalizer only came six minute from time when Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc could only parry a Cristiano Ronaldo shot into the path of Giggs.

Washington - There is a higher risk of a terrorist attack in the United States during the transition between the Bush and Obama administrations, the nation's top homeland security chief said Wednesday.

"Any time there's a transition there's a danger or a risk that vulnerability (to terror attacks) will increase because people become distracted," Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff said, according to CNN. "People are leaving; people are coming in and that's a disruptive process for any organization."

The Hague - Rotterdam is preparing to host former world leaders and opinion makers for the first Global Forum on Leadership for Shared Societies on November 12-14.

The conference, titled "Building a world safe for difference," is an initiative of the city of Rotterdam and the so-called Club of Madrid, an independent organization dedicated to strengthening global democracy.