New York, Aug. 30 : The New York Times has said that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has made significant progress in terms of molding his party and his image ahead of the November 4 presidential poll

In an editorial, the paper claims that the Democratic Party of 2008 is different from the one that lost the last two presidential elections.

“It is bigger, younger and less visibly linked to traditional Democratic interest groups,” it adds.

Washington, Aug 30 : Ahmed, the 11-year-old boy said to have been apprehended along with ‘terror suspect’ Pakistani-American doctor Aafia Siddiqui was identified as her son, although he denies that he is in any way related to her.

Ahmed told those who questioned him that he was an Afghan and not Aafia Siddiqui’s son.

When asked to give details of his Afghan family, Ahmed was unable to do so, The Daily Times says.

New York, Aug. 30 : A consultant with the Republican Party has said that the forthcoming November 4 presidential poll has all the makings of a political cracker of a contest, a contest that’s Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s to lose, a contest in which his Republican rival, John McCain is going into with too much baggage to overcome.

Washington, Aug. 30: John McCain's choice for vice-president -- Alaska Governor Sarah Palin – seems have an interesting, if not daring background.

A mom of five, bespectacled Palin, who was elected governor in 2006, smoked pot or specifically marijuana in her youth, has been a beauty pageant contestant who didn't win the Miss Wasilla, Alaska, title in 1984, loves eating moose burgers and watching hockey.

She admits she tried pot, but didn't like it - when marijuana was still legal in Alaska.

Washington, Aug. 30 : Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain''s decision to choose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for the November 4 presidential poll, has been described by the New York Times as a bold choice, but one that carries enormous political risks.

On Friday, McCain picked Palin, a 40-something candidate with two years in statewide office and no significant foreign policy experience.

Washington/St Paul, Minnesota - St Paul, Minnesota, is the official site of the Republican Party's National Convention from Monday to Thursday, but the event is really a Twin Cities endeavour.

St Paul, the state capital, is separated by the Mississippi River from Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. But the Twin Cities form an inseparable urban region.

In the northern-central state of Minnesota, which borders Canada, the Twin Cities have mild summers and long winters.