Taipei - A senior Chinese official cut short his Taiwan visit and returned to China Wednesday, after he was shoved to the ground by pro-independence activists during a visit to a temple the previous day.

"I feel bad that police have to deploy so much manpower to protect my safety and I don't think I should cause them so much trouble, but the public will tell right from wrong," said Zhang Mingqing, vice chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), at the airport.

Washington, Oct. 22: A new study from North Carolina State University shows that there are definite limits on the government's use of the "war on terror" as a rhetorical tool for advancing federal land-use projects and other policy objectives.

"The government can no longer rely solely on the ''war on terrorism'' and ''national security'' as arguments to maintain a crisis situation where local people willingly sacrifice protection of their ''homeland''," claims the study’s author, Dr. Kenneth S. Zagacki.

New Delhi, Oct.

New Delhi, Oct. 22 : United States Ambassador to India David C. Mulford today congratulated India on the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-1.

"The United States congratulates India on the successful launch. This is a proud moment in Indian history and demonstrates India''s technological prowess by joining the international community in the peaceful exploration of space. The United States was proud to participate in Chandrayaan-1 by providing two instruments for the mission. Ahead of today''s launch, scientists from the United States worked closely with their Indian partners to prepare the U. S. contribution to the Chandrayaan spacecraft, exemplifying the ideals of our bilateral partnership," said Mulford.

Washington, Oct. 22: Republican presidential candidate John McCain continues to trail behind Democratic rival Barack Obama in states that were won by incumbent President George W Bush in 2004.

McCain''s move to distance himself from Bush appears to be reaching voters, despite a barrage of ads from the Obama campaign accusing the Arizona senator of being in lock step with the president.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 52 percent of voters think McCain’s policies would be different from Bush''s, up eight percentage points in just two weeks.