WASHINGTON - SECRETARY of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Pakistan's decision to reinstate a fired Supreme Court chief justice will allow the country to continue the 'essential' work of fighting extremism.

Mrs Clinton told reporters on Monday that the resolution between US-allied President Asif Ali Zardari, who had refused to restore the independent-minded justice, and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is the 'first step' in a political compromise necessary to stabilize the country.

ISLAMABAD - PAKISTANI officials say a suicide bombing at a bus terminal near the capital has killed at least five people and wounded 16 others.

Rehman Malik, the head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, says it is unclear if the bomber deliberately targeted the area in the blast late Monday or if the explosives went off prematurely.

BEIJING - A GOVERNMENT office in an ethnic Tibetan part of China's southwestern province of Sichuan was hit by a bomb early on Monday but no casualties were reported, the official Xinhua news agency said.