Reuters South Asia News Highlights 1200 GMT Nov 5

KABUL - The United Nations said it would evacuate hundreds
of its international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks
due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts
to stabilise the country.

Spokesman Aleem Siddique said the United Nations would
relocate about 600 of its roughly 1,100 international staff,
with some being moved to safer sites within Afghanistan and the
rest withdrawn from the country temporarily. [ID:nISL354255]

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QUETTA, Pakistan - Pakistani security forces arrested three
Iranians suspected of planning a suicide attack in Iran's
southeastern region last month which killed 42 people,
officials said.

Mainly Shi'ite Iran says the Sunni rebel group Jundollah
(God's Soldiers), which has claimed responsibility for the Oct.
18 attack, operates from across the border in Pakistan.
[ID:nISL239468]

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MIRANSHAH, Pakistan - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired
two missiles into North Waziristan, a major al Qaeda and
Taliban sanctuary in northwest Pakistan, killing two people,
Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The United States has launched 44 such strikes on suspected
militants in Pakistan this year compared with 32 last year.
Pakistani forces launched an offensive against militants in the
neighbouring South Waziristan region on the Afghan border in
mid-October. [ID:nISL142362]

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NEW DELHI - The Indian cabinet approved a 10 billion rupees
road project to help increase trade with some South Asian
nations, a government statement said.

The project, which is to be build with the help of private
firms within 30 months in West Bengal, is part of the ambitious
national highway programme. [ID:nDEL252560]

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NEW DELHI - India's food prices rose 13.39 percent in the
12 months to Oct. 24, highlighting concerns that the index
could stay high despite government efforts to keep a lid on
prices.

The fuel group index fell 6.2 percent from a year earlier,
reflecting a comparison with last year's spike in prices.
[ID:nDEL14067]

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COLOMBO - Sri Lanka central bank will allow foreign
currency outflows up to $500,000 for foreign investments
without its approval with effect from December, a central bank
official said.

Investors, hitherto, were required to get central bank
approval before taking foreign currencies out of the country
for investments, a measure designed to control foreign exchange
outflows. [ID:nCOL542636]

(Compiled by Carl Bagh)