Washington, Sept. 25 : An Internet rumor is surging through inboxes and discussion boards that Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden will drop out as Barack Obama’s running mate after his October 2 debate with Republican rival Sarah Palin.

The rumour further goes on to say that Hillary Clinton will replace Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket.

Washington, Sept. 25 : William Benoit, one of the nation''s leading experts on political campaigns at the University of Missouri, says presidential debates have become an important part of presidential campaigns since 1960.

Benoit, a communication professor in the MU College of Arts and Science, has analyzed 23 presidential debates since 1960 and found that most statements by candidates in debates are 57 percent positive over time.

This level is about the same as in general election TV-spots from candidates, which average 59 percent positive.

Washington, Sept. 25 : US President Bush is under pressure to use a meeting with India''s Prime Minister today to press for urgent action to halt the anti-Christian riots that continue to sweep the subcontinent.

At least 45 Christians have been murdered by mobs of Hindu fanatics over the past month, according to church officials.

An estimated 50,000 people have been driven from their villages and 4,000 homes destroyed amid an upsurge in Hindu nationalism.

Amid evidence that the violence is spreading, a US federal commission has called on Bush, a Christian who has worn his faith on his sleeve while in office, to press the issue when he meets the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

London, Sept. 25 : The United States will lose its status as a superpower of the world financial system and must work with its partners to agree stronger international rules to regulate markets, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has said.

Speaking in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament on Thursday, Steinbrueck said the financial crisis would leave "deep marks" and proposed eight measures to address it, including a ban on speculative short-selling and an increase in bank capital requirements to offset credit risks.

Washington, Sept 25 : Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has described the current Wall Street meltdown as an “economic Pearl Harbour”, requiring immediate action of lawmakers.

Amid growing rancour over the terms of a 700 billion dollar bailout for the American financial system, Buffett said the panic of last week would "look like Nirvana" if the legislation is not passed.

According to the Independent, his comments came a day after he paid five billion dollars (2.7 billion pounds) for a stake in Goldman Sachs, the banking giant, in what he described as a bet that politicians would indeed act to repair.

London - The two most senior figures in the Church of England have condemned the behaviour of financial traders in the recent market turmoil, branding them as "bank robbers and asset strippers."

In an article for the Spectator magazine, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams questioned the value to society of men and women who "buy and sell debt solely for their own profit."

In the article, due to be published in the magazine on Friday, Williams attacks "unbridled capitalism" and defends the socialist theorist Karl Marx's critiques of the system.