Arrest of Al-Qaeda's third in command may lead to Osama

THE capture by Pakistani forces of Al-Qaeda's alleged third in command has raised hopes that information gleaned from him may lead to the elusive Osama bin Laden, security officials said Thursday. Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the suspected mastermind of two attempts to kill President Pervez Musharraf, has a key role in the terror network, according to a copy of a classified US Central Intelligence Agency list seen by AFP.

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Malaysia hikes fuel prices to cut subsidy costs

MALAYSIA raised the price of petrol by seven percent and diesel by 23 percent from Thursday in a bid to cut the soaring cost of government subsidies and the smuggling of diesel. Petrol will cost 10 sen (2.6 US cents) a liter more at the pumps, taking the price for premium to 1.52 ringgit (40 US cents), while diesel goes up by 20 sen a liter to 1.081 ringgit, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

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