Briefly

NATO

Accession deal signed for Finland, Sweden

NATO's 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden on Tuesday to allow them to join the alliance once allied parliaments ratify the decision. The signing at NATO headquarters follows a deal with Turkey at last week's NATO summit in Madrid. The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence, but will not be protected by the NATO defense clause that an attack on one ally is an attack against all until ratification, which is likely to take up to a year.

PAKISTAN

Suspect in deadly Karachi blast arrested

Pakistan on Tuesday said it had arrested a militant who provided technical support for a deadly suicide bomb attack on Chinese teachers at Karachi University in April, Reuters reported. A suspected female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers. The attack was the result of the combined efforts of two separatist groups, the Balochistan Liberation Front and the Balochistan Liberation Army, Sindh Province Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told a news conference.

SOUTH KOREA

Inflation at near quarter-century high

South Korea's headline inflation hit the highest in nearly 24 years in June due to surging energy prices and higher eating-out costs, statistical office data showed Tuesday. The consumer price index stood at 108.22 in June, up 6.0 percent from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea. It was the highest growth in almost 24 years since November 1998. Prices for industrial products jumped 9.3 percent in June from a year earlier.

Agencies - Xinhua