KARBALA - At least 48 people were killed and 16 injured in a car bombing on a crowded street near a mosque in the central Iraqi city of Karabala, police said.

RAIPUR - Security was Monday stepped up along highways, key roads and railway tracks in Chhattisgarh, one of the worst hit by Maoist militancy, as the rebels called for a shutdown to protest US President Barack Obama's India visit, officials said.

BHUBANESWAR - Maoist guerrillas Monday blew up a newly constructed school building in Orissa's Malkangiri district to protest US President Barack Obama's India visit, police said. No one was injured.