After shock of bridge’s inexplicable fall at evening rush hour into the country’s largest river, bridge experts offer reassurance – The same federally assigned inspections that show one-quarter of U.S. bridges to be “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete,” they are in very little danger of collapsing.

This is what the same experts would have said about the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis before it collapsed down Wednesday.

Washington: The Bush administration said structural deficiencies were found two years ago in highway bridge that crashed in Minneapolis and it was the state’s responsibility to fix them. Congress started working on a $250 million package of federal assistance.

Washington: The Bush administration has tried to alleviate worries brought up by various US lawmakers over the civilian nuclear transaction with India.

The administration also added that the conditions of contract were in the country’s ‘national interest’ and exact for treating international non-proliferation ends.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told, “We believe that this is the right deal for the US national interest, for our relationship with India, as well as for addressing our concerns about non-proliferation globally.”

The spokesman alleged legislature on both sides was being totally briefed on the conditions of 123 agreement.

Seattle: Amazon.com Inc.’s recorded three-fold increase in its profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007.

The company stated that its income boosted on the back of healthy sales of books, music and electronics internationally. The company’s stock surged 12.5 percent in after-hours trading.

The web retailer’s earnings for the three months mounted to $78 million, or 19 cents a share, as compared to $22 million, or 5 cents a share in the same period last year.

The quarterly results exceeded Wall Street’s outlooks. Analysts estimate a profit of 16 cents per share.

New Delhi: Now Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams has set her eyes on the Red Planet ‘Mars.’

Sunita, who came back to earth on June 22 after spending 195 days at the International Space Station told that she would love to fly to Mars, if not the moon.

“I would love to go to Mars ... just because it is a different planet,” she told through a videoconference from Houston.

New York: A steam pipe exploded in central Manhattan, according to reports. The cause of explosion was the cold water inside the pipeline. One person is killed in the blast, while four others sustained serious injuries. US government officials say it was not a terrorist attack.    

The underground steam pipe was 83 year old, and it exploded during the evening rush hour in the busiest sections of the New York City. Subway service was suspended.
 

British cabinet minister said a nation’s strength depends on the alliances, not military might, but Prime Minister Gordon Brown has denied his government was moving its foreign policy away from the US.

British media suggested the speech by International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander was a subtle critique of US President George W. Bush’s policies, and a signal that Brown wants to avoid being labeled Bush’s “poodle”, as former prime minister Tony Blair was.

The Bush administration said its views on significance of Pakistan in war on terror have remained unchanged after the operation of Lal Masjid, and restated that President Pervez Musharraf was a valued partner and ally.

State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said, “I don’t think our views on Pakistan are any different today than they were yesterday or last week.”

Washington: Against the background of the endeavor on the life of , the US said it stood by him and Washington thought that he should carry on the reformation practice in the country.