PAKISTAN

Two bombs ripped through an army bus and a commercial district today in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, killing at least 24 people and injuring 66 others, the army and police said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but officials suggested that the bombings were the work of Islamic militants.

Many victims were soldiers, but no details were given on how many deaths each bomb caused.

Pakistan is a key ally in the U.S.-declared war on terrorism, and it has witnessed many bomb attacks since Sept. 11.

BRITAIN Walkout cripples London subways

Large swaths of London's sprawling transport network shut down after about 2,300 maintenance workers walked out in a dispute over job cuts, transfers and pensions.

Metronet's workers have demanded assurances that their jobs would be protected under the arrangements being made to try to rescue the company, which has been unable to pay its debts.

London Underground said that two-thirds of the subway system would be inoperative unless the strike was called off.

COLOMBIA Rebel wanted by U.S. dies in battle

A senior Colombian rebel commander wanted by the U.S. on cocaine-trafficking charges has been killed in combat, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos announced.

Tomas Medina Caracas was killed during a raid on his jungle camp Saturday near the border with Venezuela, Santos said. Medina was one of 50 commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

AND FINALLY. . . China's graft is a gift to kept women

Corruption and having a mistress seem to go hand in hand in China, a state-run newspaper reported. Of 16 top officials found guilty in the last five years of "serious corruption," 14 had mistresses, the Beijing News said, citing a report by the top prosecutor's office. Their crimes were generally related to gambling, money laundering and illegal real estate deals.

Some corrupt officials shower their mistresses with ill-gotten gifts such as apartments, cars and money, while others use them as go-betweens for accepting bribes.

From Times Wire Reports