Berlin  - Police used water cannon and made 70 arrests Saturday as they struggled to keep 700 neo-Nazis and even more leftists apart on the streets of Berlin.

The rightists had earlier announced a march through the capital's Lichtenberg district.

Mainly leftist opponents, determined not to let them pass, sat down on the road. Volleys of stones were thrown towards the neo- Nazis, who replied by hurling beer bottles in the other direction, witnesses said.

Hamburg  - Bayer Leverkusen regrouped on Saturday to win 3-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach to remain in touch with Bundesliga leaders TSG Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich.

Stefan Kiessling struck twice and fed Patrick Helmes for the other for Leverkusen, who are unbeaten against Moenchengladbach in 23 matches since a last defeat in 1994.

Leverkusen now have 31 points, moving into third place ahead of Hertha Berlin, who remain on 30 after losing 1-0 at beleaguered Schalke 04 thanks to a goal from from Gerald Asamoah. Hoffenheim and Munich lead the way with 34 points each after Munich won their table- topper 2-1 on Friday.

Washington  - US President George W Bush on Saturday said a US-Iraqi security pact approved by the Iraqi parliament this week shows how far US efforts in that country have come since the controversial 2003 invasion.

In his weekly radio address, Bush praised the so-called Status of Forces Agreement that authorizes US troops' presence after the UN mandate under which they are operating expires and also sets a timeline for US withdrawal from Iraq. Under the deal, US forces will leave Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009 and exit the country entirely by 2011.

Islamabad - At least one soldier and 13 Taliban militants were killed on Saturday in clashes between security forces and Islamic militants in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley, a military spokesman claimed.

Pakistani troops have been fighting the followers of a radical cleric Maulana Fazlullha, who wants to enforce Taliban rule in Swat, a scenic valley that was formerly a popular tourist destination, since late last year.

"The security forces engaged the suspected hideouts of miscreants in Nalkot area of Matta sub-district," a local military spokesman Colonel Nadeem Ahmad said.

London - Fulham and Manchester City fought out a 1-1 draw in Saturday's early game in the English Premier League.

Benjani headed City in front after just five minutes but Jimmy Bullard equalized on 27 minutes to clinch a share of the points.

Bullard almost won it for Fulham but goalkeeper Joe Hart made a fantastic save from his free kick.

Fulham remain in 10th place, while City climb two places to 13th.

Later on Saturday, leaders Liverpool were out to maintain their one-point advantage when they travel to Blackburn.

Seoul - North Korea made plain Saturday it will not recognise Japan as a participant in the next round of international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

"We will neither treat Japan as a party to the talks nor deal with it even if it impudently appears in the conference room," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.

The spokesman accused Japan of failing to fulfill its obligations within the six-party talks which also include The United States, South Korea, Russia and China.