ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his country would not allow its soil to be used against Pakistan, Geo News reported Thursday.

Addressing a joint press conference here with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani after signing the MoU, he said India has gone out of the way to help Afghanistan; but Pakistan is twin brother of Afghanistan, adding without cooperation from Pakistan, there could be no stability.

‘We are fighting against terrorism; I brought message from people of Afghanistan to the people of Pakistan,’ he said.

NEW YORK: U.S. billionaire Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man. That title now belongs to Mexico's telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu, according to Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people unveiled on Wednesday.

Forbes says the improving global economy has pushed up the number of billionaires from 793 last year to 1,011 in 2010.

WASHINGTON: Unable to muster bipartisan agreement on key banking provisions, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Thursday he will offer his own version of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations without Republican support.

A month of talks between Dodd and Republican Sen. Bob Corker found some common ground but failed to yield agreement on consumer protections and other sticking points.

The Julia Roberts starrer ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, which took the Hollywood star to India, Italy, and Indonesia for what she describes as the "acting Olympics", will release in India on August 27.

Directed by Ryan Murphy, the movie is based on Pushcart prize-winning author Elizabeth Gilbert's spirituality travel memoirs and features Roberts as Gilbert who travels to Italy, India and Indonesia in search of peace.

LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Qasim Zia has sacked entire team management and selection committee after Pakistan finished last in the FIH World Cup being played in New Delhi.

The four-time world champion Pakistan slumped to its worst ever performance in world cup history, finishing last in the 12-nation tournament.

Speaking to Geo, PHF President Zia confirmed that he has sacked the team performance due to team’s dismal performance in the world cup.

BARA: Two persons including a child were killed and 23 others injured in a bomb blast occurred at the junction of Khyber Agency’s tehsil Bara Qadeem and Peshawar district while two terrorists were also killed.

According to police sources, the blast took place near a check post from where a convoy of Frontier Constabulary was to pass.

The blast occurred when 3 terrorists were planting a land mine. Two of them were killed instantly at the scene while the third one managed to escape. Two passersby including a child were also killed in the incident while 23 others were injured.

CAIRO: There should be no Israeli-Palestinian talks, direct or indirect, unless Israel halts plans to build 1,600 settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, the Arab League said Wednesday.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa told reporters that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had told him he would not take part in talks in the current circumstances.

"The Israeli measures must be stopped before any discussion on a resumption of talks, direct or indirect," between Israel and the Palestinians, the Arab League said a statement.

ATHENS: Greek police battled demonstrators in Athens on Thursday as the country ground to a halt in the latest strike against government austerity measures aiming to end a crippling debt crisis.

Police fired tear gas to break up groups of youths outside parliament where unions had called a demonstration.

There were clashes in other parts of Athens where dozens of hooded youths threw firebombs and stones at police and burned a car, before security forces fired back more tear gas.

LOS ANGELES – Groups pushing for robust Hispanic participation in the 2010 census are enlisting a new corps of foot-soldiers in their battle to reach that hard-to-count demographic: tech-savvy, smart-phone-toting young people.

The "Be Counted, Represent" campaign offers music downloads and a chance at concert tickets to cell phone users who share their e-mail addresses and phone numbers with organizers and forward information about the census to their friends.

KARACHI: The remittances sent by overseas Pakistani declined by 8.19 percent or $52.44 million in February 2010, as the central bank has received an amount of $588.78 million, compared with $641.32 million in February 2009.

ISLAMABAD: The United States embassy on Wednesday announced a new programme allowing Pakistani businesses to register and receive certification from the US commercial service.

The US-Pak business matching service will allow Pakistani companies to link up with American companies who are looking for partners but are uncertain of the best ways to find them, a US embassy statement said issued. The US commercial service has been active in Pakistan since 1980.

NEW YORK – Stocks traded in a tight range for a fourth day Thursday after China reported a sharp jump in inflation. Mixed U.S. economic news also held the market back.

China said its inflation rate jumped to 2.7 percent in February from 1.5 percent in January. Rapid inflation could force China to raise interest rates. That, in turn, could slow one of the world's fastest-growing economies and put a damper on a global recovery.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks focussing on jointly fighting terrorism, strengthening bilateral ties and ways to address regional issues related to peace and security.

President Karzai, who flew in here late afternoon on a two-day visit, arrived at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and met President Zardari soon after his arrival.

The two leaders who have frequently met in the past have expressed the resolve to remove misunderstandings of the past and to jointly move forward in the fight against militancy.