Peshawar, Jan 19 : At least 15 Taliban militants, a local commander among them, and a soldier were killed in a clash with Pakistani security forces in the Kandaro tehsil in Mohmand tribal region.

Helicopter gunships shelled suspected Taliban hideouts in Sandukhel and Mullahkhel areas of Kandaro tehsil on Saturday night, killing a number of militants, including their local commander Yaqub. Some militants were killed when a helicopter attacked their vehicle.

Sydney, Jan. 19: A little less than a week ago, there was a debate raging in cricketing circles in Australia as to whether 50-over one-day internationals would have to make way for the more popular Twenty20 format.

New Delhi, Jan 19 : Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will chair the Partnership Summit 2009 and deliver a special address on "Building Partnerships in a Post-Crisis World" here today.

The inaugural plenary will also be addressed by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit; Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific gateway, Canada; and Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprises and Regulatory Reform, UK.

Dhaka - Troops fanned out across Bangladesh Monday to assist regular security forces to maintain order during the country's local elections Wednesday, officials said.

"As many as 38,000 troops will be deployed across the country to aid the regular police force in maintaining order," a Home Ministry official said.

They will be stationed up to the remote areas as a striking force beside nearly 500,000 other security personnel to guard over 30,000 polling stations across the country to prevent violence on voting day.

Melbourne  - One-time Grand Slam winner Andy Roddick renewed his fight to regain relevance in tennis on Monday, beginning his Australian Open campaign with a defeat of Swedish qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist 6-0, 6-2, 6-2.

The number eight US player lifted his lone major honour at the 2003 US Open, then gradually slid into neutral and fell from the discussion when big titles were mentioned.

With the intention to revivify and expand the agro-based industries in Bihar, state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bihar State Sugar Corporation Ltd and Bihar government.

The MoU was signed to take over sugar mills situated at Sugauli and Lauriya in East and West Champaran for 60 years lease (that could be extended for another 30 years).