Washington, Nov 4: Taking a note of the pathetic condition of the quake-hit in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, the US is learnt to have announced an additional relief of 1.5 billion dollars.

The quake victims have been demanding relief and aid, especially when the winters have already set in. More than 200 people were killed and thousands left homeless when an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale hit Balochistan last Wednesday.

Announcing the additional aid, the United States’ Organization for International Aid said in a statement that the US will provide this emergency 1.5-billion-dollar aid to Pakistan government immediately. With this the total US aid would aggregate to 2.5 billion dollars.

Islamabad, Nov 4: The US has reportedly not guaranteed an end to the ongoing drone strikes in Pakistan aimed at Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, even as the leadership in Islamabad apprised US Central Command chief General David Petraeus that it could no longer tell its people to support the US-led war on terror in the wake of frequent violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty through air strikes.

General David Petraeus, who is on an official visit to Pakistan, met a host of Pakistani leaders on Monday. It is his first visit after taking over his new assignment last week.

London, Nov 3: British troops serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be provided with a new hi-tech combat outfit and hundreds of better-armoured vehicles by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), UK.

According to a report in the Times, a total redesign of military fatigues will give soldiers a head-to-toe integrated uniform, with all parts of the body being given new or additional protection against threats from high-velocity bullets and blast noise to mosquitoes.

Development work on the new battle uniform has been carried out amid growing criticism of the MoD over the protection given to troops.

Tehran, Nov 3: India and Iran inked bilateral treaties on the extradition of criminals and mutual assistance on legal matters on Sunday.

External affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Iranian Minster of Justice Ghulam Hussein Elham signed the treaty during the concluding session of the 15th Indo-Iran Joint Commission that was held almost after three years of the last one held in New Delhi in
2005.

"We have signed an extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance treaty in criminal matters. We have also finalized an initial text of the bilateral investment programme and protection agreement which we hope to sign very shortly," said Mukherjee during his second visit to Tehran this year.

London, Nov 3 : British security services MI5 and MI6 are learnt to have intercepted up to 100 potential terrorists posing as postgraduate students, who they (security services) believe tried to gain access to top laboratories and collect the materials and expertise needed to create chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

It has also been found that most of these students belong to countries such as Pakistan and Iran.

“Dozens of suspected terrorists have attempted to infiltrate Britain’s top laboratories in order to develop weapons of mass destruction during the past year,” reported The Observer.

Tehran, Nov 1: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will attend the India-Iran Joint Commission meeting today with Shamsuddin Hoseyni, Iran's Minister of Economy and Finance to discuss various initiatives to enhance their ties, including the India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline project.

The two sides are expected to discuss a way forward in the proposed 7.4 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline which has not yet taken off due to differences over pricing and concerns over security.