Washington, Oct 11 : A new study has suggested that the collision between India and Asia set off events that likely caused long-term cooling in Earth''s climate.

According to a report in Science News, the study determines that when the tectonic plate carrying India slammed into Asia about 50 million years ago, the ensuing geological changes triggered a long-term cooling trend.

That trend later enabled Antarctic ice sheets to grow.

Before the collision, volcanoes along the rim of southern Asia spewed immense quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Budapest - NATO was expected to approve a controversial plan to help Afghanistan fight its thriving drugs industry, whose profits are used by the Taliban to fund the insurgency, diplomats said Friday.

"We are confident that a deal can be reached," a source close to the negotiations told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

On Thursday, Afghan Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Wardak asked his NATO colleagues meeting in Budapest to target drugs laboratories and seize imports of the chemicals that are needed to turn opium into heroin.

"We have asked NATO to support our efforts to destroy the laboratories and to interdict the chemical precursors which are coming from outside the country," Wardak said.

Karachi, Oct 10: Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, has suggested the formation of a joint border force of Pakistani and NATO forces, under the command of Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani to increase co-ordination to curb terrorist activities along the Pak-Afghan border.

"General Kiyani should be given the supreme command of this border force. It will help end the misunderstanding and tension between the NATO and Pakistani forces, improve co-ordination between the two forces on action against terrorists and can save lives of many innocent people in the Tribal Areas of our country," he said.

Washington - Slower demand from developed nations and increasing turmoil in regional markets has decreased growth and productivity in emerging Asian economies, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

A major policy challenge for this extremely diverse region is how to respond to the global financial turbulence and weakening growth outlook, without losing sight of increasing inflation.

Dhule, Maharashtra Oct 7: Communal violence in Dhule district of Maharashtra that has claimed five lives erupted again on Monday night forcing the administration to re-issue shoot-at-sight orders.

Guwahati, Oct 07: The situation in violence-hit areas of Assam remained calm on Tuesday with no overnight incidents reported.

Assam Government spokesman and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the situation is fast returning to normal with security forces able to quell the clashes although curfew and shoot-at-sight orders are continuing.

An estimated 8,000 police, army and paramilitary troops were deployed in Udalguri, Darrang, Baska, and Chirang district of Assam after violence broke out on Friday between tribal Bodos and Muslim migrant settlers.