Reuters, Kuala Lumpur- Illegal bookies in Malaysia reckon de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim can't lose an important by-election next Tuesday and that the real money will be on how many votes he wins by.

Reuters, Islamabad- Pakistan's governing coalition was due to hold make-or-break talks on Friday to save the alliance between the country's two main parties, as concern grew that squabbling was keeping them from tackling critical problems.

AP, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's main ruling party on Friday proposed the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto as Pakistan's next president, making Asif Ali Zardari the

Desk report

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed on Friday said the movie industry could contribute to Bangladesh's export growth and sought private sector's supports for cultural development.

Staff Correspondent

The Awami League has demanded parliamentary elections by the third week of October and consultations with political parties on the new electoral laws.

Staff Correspondent

The BNP has said the new electoral laws, including mandatory registration of political parties and a ban on their powerful student and labour front organisations, are designed to keep political parties on a tight rein.

Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh and Indian border guards have ironed out ways to curb border shootings between their forces, a senior BDR officer said on Friday.

The teachers, students and staff of Dhaka University will sport black badges on Saturday as a mark of protest in line with a decision of the Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA) to observe August 23 as 'Black Day'', reports bdnews24.com

Udichi meet told

The societal impediments resisting cultural development in Bangladesh have assumed militant dimensions, educationist professor Serajul Islam Chowdhury has said, reports bdnews24.com.

Staff Correspondent

Playwright, actor and filmmaker Abdullah Al Mamun was buried at 3:30pm on Friday at Banani graveyard.

Pabna 'crossfire'

Our Correspondent

RAB early Friday killed an alleged militant leader in a 'shootout' at Ataikula in Pabna, an official said.

A strengthening dollar helped push down oil below $120 a barrel Friday after a nearly $6 spike the day before, reports AP.

AP, LONDON  -- The U.S. dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. Gold fell.

Power plant blast

Our Correspondent

An explosion on Friday night at Ashuganj thermal power plant knocked off power supplies to Brahmanbaria, an official said.

The government has appointed Mejbah Ul Alam, joint secretary at the civil aviation and tourism ministry, Barisal divisional commissioner and transferred two deputy commissioners, reports bdnews24.com

REUTERS, HERAT, Afghanistan, - US-led coalition forces killed 30 militants, including a Taliban commander, in an air strike in west Afghanistan, the US military said on Friday, but Afghan officials said there were also civilian casualties.

Flexible attitude of EC towards parties could help

AFP, KAESONG, North Korea — The Kaesong Industrial Park is worlds away from the North Korean city on whose outskirts it sits. While the South Korean-run industrial park has modern factories and motorists in sport utility vehicles, the city of Kaesong is straight out of the cold war.

Long stretches of joyless gray apartment blocks loom above empty boulevards, and loud red signs proclaim the victory of the workers' party.

AP, NEW YORK -- Stocks fell in early trading Thursday as oil prices rose again and investors grew more anxious about the financial sector, particularly mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Oil prices advanced as investors grew nervous that rising tensions with Russia could disrupt energy shipments from the world's second-largest oil producer.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week for a second week in a row, the government said on Thursday, though they continued at levels that showed a weakening labor market.