United States

Karzai says U.S. credibility at stake in wake civilian Afghan deaths

New York, Sept. 25 :Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has warned the United States that its credibility is at stake in the wake of the killing of innocent Afghans by NATO troops.

“Terrorist forces have significantly increased their attacks and brutality and enjoyed freedom in their sanctuaries. Civilian casualties can seriously undermine the legitimacy of fighting terrorism and the credibility of the Afghan people''s partnership with the international community,” Karzai told the UN General Assembly''s annual gathering of world leaders.

Your personality governs your migratory preference

Washington, Sept 25 : Your address can reveal a lot about your personality, according to a new study, which suggests that specific areas attract particular personality types.

The study, by Markus Jokela and Liisa Keltikangas-Jarvinen from the University of Helsinki from the National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health and Mika Kivimaki of University College London, was aimed to know if certain personality traits would influence migration patterns more so than others.

US orders review in Afghan strategy after tensions with Pak over unilateral strikes

Washington, Sept 25 : In the wake of the recent surge in tensions with Pakistan over unilateral strikes by US-led forces from across the Afghan border, the US administration has reportedly called for a review of US strategy in Afghanistan.

A senior Pentagon official said that US President George Bush has ordered a review of US strategy in Afghanistan, amid rising insurgent violence and tensions with Pakistan.

The review is being led by Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, a deputy national security adviser, with the participation of senior representatives from the Pentagon and other departments, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Quieter cars trick people into driving faster

Washington, September 25 : Automakers’ rising interest in making noiseless cars may leave all road safety measure futile, as a new study suggests that vehicles designed to be quieter may trick drivers into thinking they are driving slower than they actually are.

"The main design principle of making cars these days to be as quiet as you possibly can, is actually a real problem for road safety," Discovery News quoted said University of Queensland researcher Mark Horswill as saying.

While automakers reduce the level of noise inside cars fearing that it distracts the driver or interferes with the car''s entertainment system, the new findings suggest this is a "questionable" aim.

Scientists shed light on ‘Maths dyslexia’

Washington, September 25 : Children who find it difficult to solve mathematical questions may be suffering from developmental dyscalculia, a syndrome that is similar to the reading disorder dyslexia, according to Canadian researchers.

Daniel Ansari, an assistant professor at The University of Western Ontario in London, says that kids with dyscalculia often have difficulty understanding numerical quantity.

Such children find it difficult to connect abstract symbols, such as a number, to the numerical magnitude it represents, he says.

According to him, kids with dyscalculia can''t see the connection between five fingers and the number ''5'', in the same way as children with dyslexia have difficulty connecting sounds with letters.

McCain suspends campaign to help with Wall Street bailout

Washington, Sept. 25 :McCain suspends campaign to help with Wall Street bailout Republican presidential candidate John McCain will suspend his presidential campaign Thursday and has asked to postpone his debate Friday with Barack Obama so that the two senators can return to Washington to help negotiate a Wall Street bailout, an approach that Obama promptly rejected.

“America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. If we do not act, every corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen,” McCain said in mid-afternoon remarks to reporters in New York.

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