"Benazir faces tax evasion charges": Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto might face new corruption and tax-evasion charges in the wake of uncovering of 36 secret bank accounts held abroad by Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari, a senior Pakistan minister said. In interviews to the British media, Pakistan information minister Mushahid Hussain alleged the accounts unearthed by Pakistani investigators in Britain, Switzerland, US and France were used to launder an estimated 900million pounds sterling in kickbacks and bribes before Bhutto was dismissed in 1996.

"Human rights violations in India, Pakistan": The Amnesty International has condemned terrorists' violence in India including killings of Hindus in Jammu & Kashmir. At the same time, it also talked about "arbitary" political detentions and said "torture, including rape and ill-treatment are endemic throughout the country." Releasing the annual report, its executive director William F Schulz said the nuclear explosions in India and Pakistan could have been avoided if the US had paid more attention to alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

China prepares for Clinton's visit: China and the US geared up for president Bill Clinton's next week visit with Washington pressing for missile control issues, human rights and opening trade barriers and Beijing insisting on signing no-first-use nuclear pact between the two nations. China and the US should sign an agreement pledging not to use nuclear weapons firstbefore they divert nuclear missiles aimed at each other, a Chinese ministry spokesman said. "We believe it is more important for china and the US to sign the no-first-use pact," the spokesman said when asked whether Beijing would sign an agreement on missile detargeting during Clinton's nine-day visit to China.

Violent strike grips Bangladesh: Riot police fired tear-gas shells to disperse violent opposition activists when bombs were thrown at the police in old Dhaka, as a seven-party opposition-sponsored nation-wide general strike disrupted normal life across Bangladesh on Thursday, witnesses said. Initial reports said one policeman was injured when at least 15 to 20 bombs were thrown at the police at English road in old Dhaka. Witnesses said pro-government activists also took to the streets here, urging residents to defy the strike. They said that several people were injured in clashes in areas stretching from North South road to Sadar ghat in old Dhaka.

McDonald's to cut jobs: US fast foodgiant Mcdonald's Corporation said it planned to cut 525 home office jobs over the next 18 months to boost productivity and competitiveness. The company, based in this Chicago suburb, said that a realignment and outsourcing of activities would result in the reduction of about 23 per cent of its roughly 2,300 home office positions. Most of the staff reduction would be achieved through voluntary severance and retirement packages being made available as a part of this initiative, it added.

Madeleine to explore ties with Iran: US secretary of state Madeleine Albright has offered to explore new confidence-building measures with Iran with the ultimate aim of creating normal relations with the Islamic republic. But Albright, in a speech prepared for delivery in New York, said Tehran continued to pursue policies to which the US objected, and that current US economic sanctions against Iran would remain in force.