Beijing, Mar. 20 : China's standoff with the United States in the South China Sea appears to have ended through diplomatic efforts, defense sources said on condition of anonymity.

Top commanders do not have plans to increase the military presence in the South China Sea following a confrontation earlier this month between a US spy ship and five Chinese vessels, naval sources told China Daily, also on condition of anonymity.

The US defense chief said on Wednesday that diplomatic exchanges since the confrontation would prevent a similar incident to that of March 8.

Washington, Mar. 20 : The political crisis in Pakistan may have died down for the time being with President Asif Ali Zardari reinstating the deposed judiciary and Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as the Chief Justice, but the political brick batting between leaders in the country would hardly see any change in the near future, says the Washington Post.

According to the newspaper, the Pakistani leadership is more concerned about pulling each other’s leg rather than fighting insurgency in the country.

Washington, Mar 20 : A new study, conducted by researchers at University of Edinburgh, has shed new light on the genetics of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The researchers found that a gene called DISC1 - known to play a role in the development of mental illness - may control the way some patients respond to psychiatric medication.

They also identified seven proteins that are important to the development of mental illness and hope the research could help to create new medicines that target these proteins.

Washington, Mar. 20 : President Barack Obama congratulated the Iranians on their New Year early on Friday, hinting that the United States might be willing to ease trade sanctions against Tehran if it behaves more responsibly in international affairs.

Obama's comments, which were videotaped for broadcast to the Iranian people, contrasted with exhortations from the Bush administration for the Iranian people to rise up and overturn their Islamic government, reports the Washington Times.

Washington, Mar 20 : Dita Von Teese is in no mood to reconcile with ex-hubby Marilyn Manson, and is paying no heed to his constant apologies.

Von Teese and Manson exchanged vows in November 2005, but just after a year, the burlesque dancer filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.

Since then, the goth rocker has been repeatedly calling the sexy star to apologise for their failed marriage.

But the 36-year-old beauty is too happy juggling the men in her life, and doesn’t want to reunite with her ex.

Washington, Mar 20 : Melanie Chisholm was shocked to give birth to a baby girl, as she was expecting that the tot would be a boy.

The former Spice Girl gave birth to her first child Scarlett with partner Thomas Starr last month.

Although the couple wanted to find out the sex of their child, they decided to keep it a surprise until the birth.

However, Scary Spice had the intuition that she was expecting a boy, as she was having recurring dreams about a revealing scan of her baby.