Clinton meets President Zardari

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday and thanked him for Pakistan's handling of several days of violent anti-US protests. Clinton greeted Zardari as "my friend" and introduced him to the new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, whom she said she had just been sworn in so he could attend their talks. "We very much appreciate the strong response of your government," she said, at the start of their meeting in a New York hotel, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which opens on Tuesday. Zardari said it had been "a difficult time for all of us" before reporters were ushered out of the room.