Onboard Air India One, Oct 21 : On the eve of dialogue between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso, New Delhi has blamed Tokyo for deferring the implementation of comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) that can prove to be a shot in the arm for the bilateral trade between the two countries.

The current trade between the two countries stands at 10 billion dollars and is expected to reach 15 billion dollars by 2015.

Moscow/Minsk - Moscow will give Belarus a two billion dollar credit to purchase Russian natural gas Minsk cannot otherwise afford, the Belapan news agency reported Tuesday.

Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin announced the loan at a Moscow press conference. At least half of the money would be transferred to the Belarusian government by the end of 2008, he said.

Manama, Bahrain - The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, arrived in Bahrain Tuesday to start a three-day tour of Gulf nations.

Larijani's arrival coincided with the start of a two-day meeting in Manama between the United States and Persian Gulf nations focused on maritime security. That is a continuous issue because of previous threats by Tehran to shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz if Iran should ever come under attack from the United States or Israel.

Tokyo, Oct 21 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived here on Tuesday for summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso during which they are expected to discuss a joint strategy to overcome the global financial crisis and possible cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.

Dr. Singh visit will bolster the India-Japan strategic and security ties. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone accorded the Prime Minister a warm welcome upon his arrival at the Tokyo International Airport.

Windhoek  , Namibia - Namibia's government is calling for the repatriation of dozens of skulls that have been stored in German universities since the colonial era.

The Namibian government in a statement on Tuesday said it designated the National Monuments Council to deal with the matter in which it wants Germany "to pay for the repatriation of the remains and all related costs."

Riyadh  - Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz confirmed Tuesday that the trial of 991 terrorist suspects is underway.

The number is significantly higher than the 70 defendants reported in Saudi media Monday. Legal proceedings are believed to have started on Monday.

The minister said the defendants were responsible for more than 30 attacks in the conservative Muslim kingdom since May 2003, the Saudi News agency reported.