Vienna

London- Newcastle United and England midfielder Joey Barton will be out for up to two months because of a knee injury.

The 26-year-old damaged knee ligaments in his side's 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic on Saturday, after a clash with Lee Cattermole.

"I am not blaming Lee in any way," Barton said. "It was a 50-50 ball and we both went for it, these things happen.

"It's disappointing and frustrating. My sole intention is to knuckle down and bounce back and get fit again."

Baghdad - Iraq's parliament convened Monday for a first reading of the final draft of the country's security pact with the United States, a day after the Iraqi cabinet approved the deal.

The 275-member house would review the pact over the coming days and vote on the deal by November 24, deputy speaker Khalid al-Attiyah said in a press conference.

The agreement outlines the timeframe for the withdrawal of US troops and the legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraqi after a United Nations Security Council mandate expires at the end of this year.

Munich - Bayern Munich's French defender Willy Sagnol is considering en

New Delhi - After dipping by over 3 per cent in early trade, India's stock indices staged a smart recovery on assurances by the country's federal bank that it was committed to ensuring adequate liquidity in financial markets.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex saw a day of volatile trading. Beginning on a positive note, it hit the day's lowest of 8,956 points after Japan announced it had slid into recession. It then recovered to close at 9291.01 points, about 1.01 per cent below its previous close.

Vilnius - The first sitting of a new Lithuanian parliament took place Monday afternoon with the incoming centre-right coalition administration announcing its list of policy priorities and likening the situation it inherits to a "time bomb".