Dhaka, Safar 24, 1434, Jan 6, 2013, SPA - Explosions of homemade bombs, burning vehicles and clashes between police and activists marked a nationwide general strike Sunday called by Bangladesh's opposition parties to protest fuel price hikes. The Nationalist Party-led alliance of former prime minister Khaleda Zia called the 12-hour shutdown after the Awami League-led coalition government on Thursday raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by 11.5 per cent or taka 7 (0.08 US dollars) per liter. At least 8,000 police deployed in the capital to cope with the strike that was scheduled to end at 6 pm (1200 GMT). Schools and private business establishments were closed and traffic in the usually busy Dhaka city was thin during the strike, according to a report of DPA. --SPA 12:02 LOCAL TIME 09:02 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1065875