Kuwait City  - Kuwait's Emir has dissolved parliament following the resignation of the cabinet and interim prime minister, the Dubai-based satellite network al-Arabiya reported Wednesday.

Al-Arabiya said that Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah had dissolved the parliament Wednesday after the cabinet and prime minister resigned on Monday.

But National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi on Wednesday said he had not been notified of the decision, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported.

Maputo - The Mozambique government has agreed to carry out an investigation into the deaths of 12 inmates in a prison cell at a jail in the north of the country earlier this week.

In a statement issued late Tuesday night, the country's Police General Command confirmed the deaths at the prison in Mongincual, in the province of Nampula overnight Monday.

The statement said that police had originally arrested 29 people on March 14 in connection with local demonstrations. Of these 12 later died in prison.

Harare  - Revenue from tax on alcohol and tobacco has been the key contribution to Zimbabwe's overall income, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said in presenting a revised 2009 budget to Parliament.

"Indirect taxes made up of customs and excise duty have contributed 88 per cent of government revenue which means that the government has been literally sustained by beer and cigarettes. This is unacceptable," Biti said.

Islamabad, Mar. 18: In a bid to bring estranged party leaders back into the PPP mainstream and bridge the cracks within his party, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has started reconciliation efforts by inviting estranged leaders for talks.

On Wednesday, Zardari has invited leader of the house in Senate Raza Rabbani and former PPP Sindh secretary-general Nafees Siddiqui for a meeting in the Presidency as a reconciliatory measure.

Kolkata, Mar 18: CPM veteran Jyoti Basu has said that it would be tough for the ''Third Front'' to win the general polls and form a government.

"It will be tough for the ''Third Front'' to form the Central Government, as far as my knowledge is concerned," said Basu.

However, Basu said that the Communists could be part of government if the front came to power.