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Taliban deny meeting UN envoy for Afghan talks

The Taliban has denied as "baseless rumours" reports that its top leaders had met UN representatives to discuss bringing peace to Afghanistan and vowed to persist in its war "against the invaders."

The denial came in response to news reports that Kai Eide, the outgoing U.N. envoy, held a meeting in Dubai this month with members of the Taliban leadership.

The United Nations has not confirmed that such a meeting took place, although US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Paris on Friday that Eide wanted to draw "his own conclusion about the mind-set of some of the Taliban members."

In a statement, the Taliban leadership council described such a meeting as "mere futile and baseless rumours.

Indian-origin taxi driver killed in New Zealand

An Indian-origin cabbie was stabbed by an unknown assailant and was found dead in his taxi that crashed today in New Zealand's Auckland city.

Hiren Mohini, 39, was driving a taxi that veered off the road and hit a tree around 1.30 a m (local time date 31st jan10) following which people who rushed to the spot found him dead.

A post mortem report found a stab wound to his torso, the New Zealand Herald reported.

A homicide inquiry was launched following the death and the police is looking to interview a young male who was seen running towards Esplanade Road immediately after the crash, it said.

Investigators who spoke to a number of witnesses described the man they are looking for as a "slimly-built, dark-skinned male in his mid to late twenties with long, greasy hair to the back of his neck".