Washington - The United States welcomed as a positive sign Pakistan's election of a civilian president and government, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.

"The civilian government of Pakistan is something that we have welcomed after the free and fair elections. And now, with the new president, I think we have got a good way forward," Rice told reporters on the way to from Tunisia to Algeria.

Washington, Sept 6 : Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has said that Angoor Adda like actions by US forces in Pakistani territory would not be of any help to the war against terror, instead it would spark wrath and fury among the people.

“It doesn’t behoove America taking such unilateral actions especially, when no terrorist was caught,” The News quoted Haqqani as saying.

Ankara  - Turkish President Abdullah Gul left Ankara Saturday for an historic visit to Armenia in a trip that commentators have marked as a thaw in relations between the inimical neighbours.

Gul's day trip to Yerevan where he will meet his Armenian counterpart Serge Sarkisian and then attend a Armenia-Turkey World Cup qualifying match is the first visit by a Turkish head of state to Armenia since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Washington, September 6 : NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected a faint, partial ring orbiting with one small moon of Saturn and confirmed the presence of another partial ring orbiting with a second moon, which provides further evidence that most of the planet’s small, inner moons orbit within partial or complete rings.

Recent Cassini images show material, called ring arcs, extending ahead of and behind the small moons Anthe and Methone in their orbits.

Vienna  - Nuclear-exporting countries were optimistic in Vienna Saturday that they could agree on a trade waiver for India, a key step before the United States can implement its 2005 nuclear agreement with New Delhi.

As they gathered for a third day of talks, members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which sets international export control rules, said they expected to make an exemption from their rules, giving India's growing atomic energy sector access to global suppliers.

India's declaration on Friday about its commitments to nuclear non- proliferation was key to making a decision possible, diplomats said.

Sterling Heights, Mich. Sep 6: Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin gave him something he rarely sees on the campaign trail: Obama-sized crowds, but voters around the nation are still unsure what to make of McCain’s running mate, according to a new ABC News poll.

Half of Americans have a favorable first impression of the moose-hunting Governor of Alaska, compared with 37 percent who view her unfavorably.

Yet when asked if she had the right experience to serve as President, 42 percent said yes while 50 percent said no.