Transport strike in Karachi

KARACHI: The commuters facing difficulties to reach offices and work places on Tuesday morning as the city’s transporters observing strike for indefinite period to protest against hike in oil prices. The buses and mini buses disappeared from Karachi roads on Tuesday while rickshaw and taxi drivers were demanding large amounts from the citizens. The goods transporters have also decided to close offices and godowns and suspend transportation of goods to upcountry and Azad Kashmir, while Karachi traders have announced shutter down on Friday. The government had announced two rupees hike in public transport fares which was rejected by the transporters.

Sri Lankan troops kill 42 rebels: military

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan troops have killed dozens of Tamil Tiger rebels during ground battles across the war-torn island's northern district, the defence ministry said Monday.The military said 42 rebels died in fighting on Sunday, while 10 of its soldiers were injured.The ground battles raised to 5,102 the number of rebels the ministry has said it has killed since January, while listing 447 troop losses in the same period.The military figures cannot be independently verified because the ministry prevents journalists from travelling to the frontlines.The Tamil Tigers did not comment on the casualties, but said eight civilians were injured when the navy and airforce shelled a coastal fishing community in the island's north on Sunday.Army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka Saturday said forces had wiped out two-thirds of the Tigers' military capability.

Israeli, Palestinian presidents to meet

HELD AL QUDS: Israeli President Shimon Peres is to host Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday to discuss Middle East peace efforts and regional issues, Peres's office said on Monday.
The talks at Peres's official residence in Jerusalem will focus on "the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the regional geopolitical situation and the development of joint economic projects to bolster the peace process," it said.

Eight die in Kabul suicide attack

KABUL: Eight civilians were killed Tuesday in suicide bombing in the vicinity o Kabul, police said. “A suicide bomber detonates explosives with him in Guzargah neighborhood in the vicinity of Kabul,” police sources said. The attacker was pedestrian who targeted civilians killing three and wounding one person in the attack.

Bush, Gilani meeting on July 28

WASHINGTON: The White House has said President George Bush and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gailani will hold wide-ranging talks on bilateral cooperation during the Pakistani leader's visit next week.Press Secretary Dana Perino Monday said the two leaders will discuss cooperation in different areas including counterterrorism at their meeting on July 28.

Top war crimes suspect arrested in Serbia

PARIS: Bosnia's Serb wartime president, Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted war criminals for his part in the massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, has been arrested, Serbian President Boris Tadic's office said on Monday.Serge Brammertz, the prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, said in a statement late Monday that Karadzic would be transferred to The Hague, but "the date will be determined in due course."

UN chief hails signing of Zimbabwe deal

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed the joint pledge by Zimbabwean parties to start formal talks to end their election dispute.“The secretary-general welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the parties in Zimbabwe, which provides a framework for formal talks to end the political crisis in the country,” said a statement issued by Ban's press office.

Trust Vote in Lok Sabha today

NEW DELHI: The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will face the first trust vote of his 50-month rule on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha amidst expectations that he could scrape through.By what margin remains unclear though. At the beginning of the trust vote debate on Monday, both the ruling and opposition appeared almost evenly poised in the 541-member strong House to which the executive is answerable under the Indian constitution.