Hong Kong - India and Indonesia have Asia's highest levels of consumer confidence in the face of the global economic slump, according to a survey published Friday.

India ranked first in the global survey of consumer confidence conducted in September and October while Indonesia finished third behind Denmark, the South China Morning Post reported.

Australia ranked fifth in the survey of 52 countries and territories while New Zealand was joint eighth, Vietnam ninth and mainland China joint 10th.

Hangu, Nov 7: The Pakistan Government is learnt to have released at least three dreaded Taliban prisoners, including Baitullah Mehsud’s deputy Maulvi Rafiuddin, in exchange of 10 soldiers. The swap reportedly took place at Thal tehsil of Hangu district on Wednesday.

Sources said the exchange was made possible by the efforts of the Hangu Aman Jirga (peace council) in facilitating talks between the local administration and the Taliban.

Bangkok - A 23-year-old Thai man who woke up with a cockroach in his ear on a public bus has sparked a public health drive to improve sanitation on the kingdom's provincial bus routes, media reports said Friday.

Kittipong Khamdong, who had taken an overnight bus from Khon Kaen province to Chiang Mai Monday, awoke in the middle of the night with an unwanted passenger lodged in his left ear, the Bangkok Post reported.

Taipei - Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin left Taiwan Friday after a five-day visit and the signing of four pacts on expanding cross-strait ties.

"I will remember the Taiwan people's concern and support," he said at a send-off ceremony at a Taipei hotel. "I believe that in the future, there is a long way to go and we will meet many difficulties, but we are not afraid to face them."

Chen made a deep bow to thank Taiwan police for protecting him after protests greeted him on every stop of his visit.

Khar, Nov 7: Around 22 tribesmen were killed and 45 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Salarzai jirga in the Bajaur Agency last evening.

A man claiming to be a member of a not-s-well-known organization ‘Karwan-e-Nematullah’ accepted responsibility for the attack by calling up journalists on phone.

Los Angeles - California is to get the first bullet train network in the United States, with trains capable of 350 kilometers per hour to whisk passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under two and half hours.

California voter approval of a 9.95-billion-dollar bond in Tuesday's elections allows work to begin on the 44-billion-dollar high-speed rail project, which is expected to go into operation by 2020.