Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama, by flipping Virginia, Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico from red states in the 2004 elections to blue in this year's contest, took a commanding lead in the 2008 US Presidential Election, causing CNN to project him the winner and the 44th President of the United States of America

After six fruitless years playing international football, the world's worst team are beginning to see the romance of the beautiful game. When the rag-tag national side of East Timor drew 2-2 with fellow strugglers Cambodia last week, they clinched the first point they had ever won to stem a seemingly endless run of defeats.

In another sign of deepening financial crisis, Stearns Bank will acquire the failed Georgia-based Alpha Bank and Trust, making it the 16th American bank to fall this year. On Friday, the US authorities seized the operations of Alpha Bank.

Muslim comedian Azhar Usman describes his act to Arthur J Pais.

US Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's speech delivered at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota, on Thursday at 10 pm was preceded by a video displaying footage of him being shot down in Vietnam and his survival and torture in what was called the 'Hanoi Hilton' and his refusal to get out early even though he was offered such a release.

Republicans, in choosing a woman, argue that they are the true party of feminists, even if their female candidate is anti-choice, pro-military, pro-guns, pro-religion in the public sector, anti-sexual education and is, in general, diametrically opposed to everything the feminist movement has achieved for American women.

But rather than Kodiak bears, elk or wolves, Governor Palin got her crosshairs set on one man: US Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Republicans convened their national convention in St Paul, Minnesota on a subdued note focussing much of their attention on how best they could rally forces to the beleaguered folks of Louisiana and Mississippi affected by Hurricane Gustav.

The Democratic Party's rising star spoke to Aziz Haniffa

United States President George W Bush has hailed the selection of Alaska's little-known female governor Sarah Palin as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, calling her a 'proven reformer who is a wise steward' of taxpayers' dollars."I applaud Senator McCain for selecting Governor Palin. This decision is yet another example of why the American people can trust him to make wise decisions and to confidently lead this country," he said.

"Granting a visa to Narendra Modi would be contradictory to international law and would only serve to validate the chief minister's abhorrent policies and actions," Congresswoman Betty McCollum wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Indian companies, led by the Tata group, Essar and HCL Technologies, among others, have created more than 30,000 jobs and made large investments in the United States, a joint report of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the US India Business Council said.

The Indian Muslim Council-USA, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting the rights of minorities and promoting pluralism, had its fourth annual convention May 31 with the theme 'The Idea of India: Challenges and Prospects.' Tarun Tejpal, CEO and editor in chief of India's Tehelka newsmagazine, was the keynote speaker.

Republican Party stalwart Narender Reddy, from Georgia, has been elected as alternate-delegate-at-large to the GOP National Convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, which will be held from September 1 to September 4. The mother-daughter team of Mona Merchant, 61, and Monisha Merchant, 31, of Lakewood, Colorado, have been elected as Hillary Clinton's delegates to the Democratic National Convention, between August 25 and 29 in Denver, Colorado.

The US department of energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Turbine Works, Suzlon Energy and Gamesa Corporation to improve industrial wind power manufacturing capabilities, said a DoE release. US is the fastest growing wind energy market in the world with 30 per cent annual growth in the last five years and with over 25 per cent of the global installed capacity.

India's steel industry is surging ahead, entering into global deals and taking the country's economy to new heights. The Indian government plans to invest over $350 billion in steel industries related to infrastructure and construction. The Indian government estimates that steel production would grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent to touch 124.06 MT by 2011-12. India's steel production capacity is estimated to be 200 MT by 2020.

Researchers have discovered that the human nervous system has its 'unit burst generator' to control rhythmic movements such as walking, a breakthrough which they claim could soon lead to treatments for spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease. The researchers targeted the segmented leech for their study as they have fewer and larger neurons, making them easier to analyse.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 20.8 million people in the United States have diabetes. Compared to other populations, people of Indian origin are at a heightened risk for Type 2 diabetes. In 2007, India had the largest number of people -- 40.9 million -- living with diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

The winners were selected from among the 97 students in 50 states, including 85 high school seniors and 12 high school juniors, who were chosen as state winners in the award programme sponsored by the Siemens Foundation and run by the College Board, which administers the AP programme. The national winners -- a girl and a boy -- are each awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.

"The most prominent suitors continue to be Russian producers, although India's Essar Group also has been mentioned prominently, according to market sources," the Metal Bulletin (MB) reported, adding that Essar has been the most recent company to express interest and has begun negotiations with Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal.

State legislators of Indian-origin in the United States appeared to be divided in their support either for Senator Hillary Clinton or Senator Barack Obama -- both of whom are engaged in a bitter fight for Democratic nomination for the 2009 presidential election.

A group of hygiene experts from the United States and Britain have published the first detailed report on hand hygiene in the home and community, rather than in hospital and healthcare settings.

Indian women may consider it sacred to adorn 'Sindoor' (vermilion) on their foreheads, but the United States government has warned against using a particular brand of this toxic 'red powder' due to high lead content.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is leading a 73-member trade delegation India with a view to bolstering commercial ties with the country.

Research has revealed that a pig's insulin-producing cells may help cure diabetes in humans.

Sources close to the development said senior executives of these three companies recently visited the facilities of Stelco, which was put on the block last month.

Dr. Arun Vakil chats with readers about travelling to America. Part 2 of 2.

The Association of Indian Physicians of Northern Ohio has formed an international partnership with the Anadabava Seva Sanstha, based in Jamnagar and the B D Mehta Mahavir Heart Institute in Surat, to help poor and needy patients in these two district

The US State of Minnesota has adopted a higher education finance Bill that includes a provision of $150,000 for funding establishment of an Indian Center at the University of Minnesota to foster understanding of India's history and culture.

Similar false bomb threats were reported form University of California's Hastings Law college in San Francisco and from University of Minnesota where eight buildings were evacuated.

Essar Global on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Minnesota Steel, a US-based privately held company with iron ore reserves of 1.4 billion tonne, for an undisclosed amount.

The US acquisition comes barely three days after Essar Global announced its acquisition Canadian firm Algoma Steel for $1.58 billion (Rs 6,900 crore).

The three attorneys who chose to step down were John Marti, first assistant US attorney, Erika Mozangue, who heads attorney's office's civil division, and James Lackner, chief of the office's criminal division.

'Part of the University's mission is to be of service to the state and having this centre devoted to building our state's cultural and economic relationship with India is consistent with that mission,' he said.

You can apply for a visa again if your personal circumstances have changed or you have new information to share with the Visa Officer.

What is worrying the Americans, the Britons, and others across the globe, is that the Muslim immigrants of today are showing absolutely no signs of even wanting to integrate.

Chikungunya-infected travelers have also been diagnosed in Belgium, French Guyana, Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Martinique, Norway, Switzerland and Sri Lanka.

South Asians in general are crossing the 5.5 million mark in the United States.