Los Angeles  - Allen Iverson made his Detroit Pistons debut, but Devin Harris had all the answers.

Harris poured in 31 of his career-high 38 points in the second half despite a sore ankle, and the New Jersey Nets handed the visiting Pistons their first loss of the season after four wins with a 103-96 victory on Friday night.

"Devin was off the charts and doing that all on a bad, bad ankle," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "He showed unbelievable grit, fighting through, making plays, attacking the paint, having to guard Iverson. He was tremendous."

"I got some good shots," said Harris, who hit nine-of-15 field goals and 20-of-24 free throws to shatter his previous high of 27 points set in March 2007.

Baghdad, Nov 8: The US military unit in Iraq has claimed that a senior Al Qaeda leader in the country was killed in a weapons cache-clearing operation carried out in north of Baghdad.

A statement issued by the US military on Friday said that Abu Ghazwan was killed late on Thursday in the Tarmiyah area.

Ghazwan led many terrorist cells in the Tarmiyah and Taji areas, and he advised and financed other terrorist cells in northern Iraq, The News quoted the statement as saying.

It said that the operation was carried out by coalition-supported Iraqi security forces and “Sons of Iraq”, also known as “Awakening Councils”. The paramilitary groups composed mainly of former insurgents who now work with US forces to fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

Wellington  - New Zealand's conservative National Party took an early lead over the ruling Labour coalition as votes were counted in Saturday's general election.

With 39 per cent of the party vote counted, television channels predicted the Nationals and their allies could have 67 seats in the new parliament against 49 for Labour and their Green coalition partners.

New Zealanders have two votes - one for their local constituency member of parliament and the other for a party. The party vote is the most important in deciding the government.

London, Nov 8: Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, has picked up on Barack Obama’s offer to talk to America’s enemies, and said he is ready to talk to the US President elect.

Speaking in his refuge in the Syrian capital Damascus, Meshaal gave his reaction to Sky News on Obama’s election as the 44th president of the United States.

“There is no doubt that the recent American election is a big change when you get an American president with African roots. It’s a big change - political and psychological - and it is noteworthy and I congratulate President Obama,” he said.

London, Nov 8 : English rocker Sir Paul McCartney has signed on to do a voiceover in Shrek 4.

The former Beatles member will be joining a number of well-known stars for the ogre franchise, including Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.

“The Shrek films have a proud tradition of getting great names and Macca is the best yet,” the Sun quoted a source as saying.

Meanwhile, McCartney was conferred the title of ‘Ultimate Legend’ on November 6 at the MTV Awards.

Washington, Nov 8: After successfully conducting studies on mice, scientists have claimed that SRT1720, touted as an "anti-aging pill,” can be tested in human trials.

The new drug study from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass., claimed that SRT1720 activates the same receptor as the much-discussed resveratrol, the chemical in red wine that may slow some effects of aging.

Scientists are testing both resveratrol and SRT1720 for first treating type-two diabetes, and possibly later for other age-related diseases.