ISLAMABAD: A medical student and a nurse were married at a police station after being caught making love in the woods near a Pakistani town, a newspaper reported today. Police in the hill resort of Abbotabad took them to a police station where the police chief advised them to shun a ``sinful'' life and get married, the Muslim said. They readily agreed saying they could not live without each other, the report said, adding that the marriage registrar was called to solemnise the marriage. The move saved the boy and the girl from being booked under the country's tough laws against obscenity and sexual misconduct.

Rare photos

LONDON: A rare set of 19th century photographs of the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina were sold on Thursday at auction in London for 1.3 million pounds sterling, more than ten times the highest estimate. The price was the result of a fierce bidding between the Saudi Arabian embassy and an anonymous telephone bidder who wonthe battle. The photographs, 18 prints showing 13 views of the cities and their subjects, are one of only three such sets known to exist. They were taken in 1880 by Egyptian photographic pioneer Mohammed Sadiq Bey., and are said to be the earliest photos taken of the cities.

136-yr-old dead

BEIRUT: Ali Hussein, known as Ali Al Zelem, who claimed to be the world's oldest man, died overnight in his home town of Qinieh in northern Lebanon at the age of 136, reports said on Thursday. Zelem, a heavy smoker, died quietly at his home. He is survived by his second wife Amseh, 85, who told reporters, he was a funny man full of life until the last minute. The Guinness Book of Records has refused to proclaim Zelem the oldest living man since he had no documents proving his age.

Oldest driver

MADRID: Age is no reason to stop driving, says Josep Cucurella, who was honoured by the Spanish press as the oldest driver in the world after having his licence renewed at the age of 100. Cucurella, who livesin Sentmenat near Barcelona, got his driving licence in 1931.