Kuala Lumpur - Somali pirates have released a second Malaysian oil tanker after the government paid a ransom of 2 million dollars, officials and news reports said Tuesday.

The MT Bunga Melati 2, which was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen on August 19, was released early Monday and was now heading towards Djibouti in East Africa, a spokesman from the Defence Ministry confirmed.

Armed pirates had attacked the ship, killing a Filipino national crew member. The 38 other crew members were reported to be in good health, said Fadzlette Othman Merican, the ministry's director of public relations.

Kathmandu, Sept 29: The CPN-Maoist is planning to split its youth wing, Young Communist League (YCL), under two separate units which include production force and construction force to support the economic activities of the government.

Nepalnews quoted Maoist lawmaker and former YCL in-charge for the Kathmandu Valley, Chandra Bahadur Thapa, saying it was important to keep the youths employed, for the unemployed youth bulge is more than likely to drive the country to conflict again.

"We will bring reform among those youths already organised under YCL and also bring together those who are not organised yet," Thapa said.

Islamabad, Sept 29: With the objective of ensuring security and safety of the foreign diplomats, the Pakistan Government has reportedly set up a temporary daily mart in Diplomatic Enclave, which houses most of the embassies, to enable the foreign envoys to purchase all commodities of daily use within their residential compound and not move out in busy market areas for shopping.

Kabul, Sept. 29: A nervous fear seems to have gripped most Afghan civilians, especially educated women, in the wake of the Taliban making a determined bid to regain the power that it lost seven years ago.

According to The Times, the jihadists are now just 20 minutes from Kabul.

Nobody seriously thinks the Taliban could take Kabul. The capital is surrounded by mountains, has only a few routes in and remained almost untouched during the Russian occupation.

Afghanistan has more than 71,000 foreign troops under the leadership of NATO and the US, neither of which can contemplate defeat.

However, the fear among Kabulis is palpable. “There is a sense of dread of return to the dark days of the past,” said a western diplomat.

Dhaka - Tens of thousands of people heading to their hometowns for the holidays at the end of Ramadan were stranded at ferry stations as tropical squalls battered the fragile Bangladeshi coastline at the weekend, officials said Monday.

Gale winds forced the suspension of ferry services along the southern coast while half a dozen fishing boats that ignored storm warnings capsized in the high waves.

About 50,000 holiday makers were trapped at ferry stations across the country as the river boat service was suspended.

Rawalpindi, Sept 29: Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani has reportedly expressed satisfaction over the role of the local tribesmen in the Bajaur Agency in supporting his country’s Army in its fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

In several incidents over the past weeks, the tribesmen in the Bajaur Agency have dragged the militants belonging to the Pakistan unit of the Taliban – the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) out of their areas. At times, the tribesmen also used weapons in chasing the terrorists away.