NEW DELHI - INDIA'S president signed an anti-terror bill into law on Wednesday to boost police powers in the wake of a bloody attack on the country's financial capital, officials said.

President Pratibha Patil approved the bill along with another one that will create an FBI-style national investigation agency, said Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the country's top law enforcement official.

SEOUL - SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung-bak indicated no softening of his hard-line stance on North Korea and vowed on Wednesday to work closely with Washington to end the communist nation's nuclear ambitions.

Ties between the two Koreas have plunged to their lowest level in a decade since Lee took office in February, ending 10 years of liberal leadership and a 'sunshine' policy that used aid as a way to foster good relations with the North.

SEOUL - TENSIONS were high on Wednesday in South Korea's parliament after talks on ending an opposition sit-in broke down.

About 150 security guards blockaded the parliament on the orders of Speaker Kim Hyong-O. Scores of riot police were also on standby outside.