Pak-US strategic partnership meeting today

WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States will hold the third meeting of their strategic partnership dialogue in Washington today (Monday).

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and US Deputy Secretary of States John Nigroponte will co-chair the session.

It takes place days after Presidents of the two countries met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in which they agreed to further consolidate their wide-ranging ties.

Zardari leaves for home

NEW YORK: President Asif Ali Zardari left here for home early Monday at the end of his six-day visit to the United States, where he held a series of meetings with the world leaders, launched the Friends of Pakistan Forum and made his debut at the United Nations General Assembly.

Zardari, in a departure from the past practice travelled on a commercial airliner, left here the same way, and had a quiet departure, from the John F Kennedy airport.

Two explosives-laden vehicles destroyed in Orakzai

KALAYA: Security Forces Monday foiled terrorism conspiracy on the eve of Eid-Ul- Fitir by destroying two vehicles laden with explosives during operation in Orakzai Agency.

According to Bali, gunship helicopters targeted two explosives-laden vehicles parked near a government school and hospital in Chappri area of Orakzai tribal region, neighboring Afghan border.No casualty was reported in the incident.

Swat: Clashes continue in Matta area

SWAT: Clashes between security forces and the militants have been continued in Veeni area of tehsil Matta of Swat. In Matta the militants after plundering a bank set on fire its building.The militants’ have ended ceasefire announced before Eid after advancement of the forces.

The curfew has already been lifted in district Swat before Eid-ul-Fitr. The power supply is yet to be restored completely in the district and being supplied for three hours in a day.

The power outage has caused shortage of water in the district. Gas supply is likely to be restored today.

Five killed in Lebanon bus blast

TRIPOLI: A powerful blast rocked a bus at the entrance of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli early Monday leaving at least five soldiers and civilians dead and 17 others injured.

A car packed with 200 kilograms of explosives blew up in a southern neighborhood near the junction to the city's international airport, shattering car and apartment windows, Syrian TV reported.

The charred booby-trapped car was seen sitting in the street near a primary school as firefighters stood near a wide crater believed to be caused by the blast.

"We know that several people have been killed and injured by the blast," the official said.

Post-storm floods claim 41 lives in Vietnam

HANOI: Floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit have now claimed at least 41 lives in northern Vietnam, as rescuers continued to search for five people reported missing, disaster officials said Monday.

Hagupit made landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday, triggering severe flooding and landslides in eight mountainous provinces, said the national flood and storm control committee.

More than 60 people have been injured, several thousand homes have been inundated with floodwaters and thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed.

Olympics 2012: London to spend whatever it takes

SYDNEY: Organisers of the London 2012 Games will spend "whatever it takes" on security for the global event, British Olympic Association chairman Lord Colin Moynihan said Monday.

Meeting here with Australian Olympic officials, Moynihan said the security budget would be far greater that initial estimates, but "that is a price you absolutely have to pay" to ensure a safe and successful Games."

The safety of the athletes and everybody is paramount. Whatever it takes must be spent in order to secure their safety," Moynihan told reporters.

"That is critical," he said.

Aussie cricket team heads to Hyderabad

JAIPUR, India: The Australian cricket team heads to Hyderabad where they will officially begin their tour of India - a week after touching down on the subcontinent.

After seven days as guests of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, the tourists will now fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

They will train lightly in Hyderabad ahead of a four-day fixture against a strong board president's XI including Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Wasim Jaffer and Piyush Chawla.

Roddick wins China Open beating Sela

BEIJING: Andy Roddick claimed his third ATP title of the season, beating unseeded Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-7 (6) 6-3 on Sunday in the final of the China Open.

No. 2 Roddick struggled all the way against Sela, who reached the final by beating top-seeded seed David Ferrer, fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo and Rainer Schuettler of Germany.

It was the first ATP final of Sela's career.Sela is only No. 92 in the ATP rankings and is the first Israeli to reach an ATP final since Harel Levy in 2000. He failed to become the first Israeli winner since Amos Mansdorf in 1993.

BCCI names Manohar new president

MUMBAI: Shashank Manohar was named as new president of the Indian cricket board while former Test opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth was elected as the chief selector.

The new list of office bearers was unveiled at the annual general meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here.

Manohar took over from Sharad Pawar who completed his three-year term as BCCI chief and is also the president-elect of the International Cricket Council.