Washington, Sep 13 : Republican presidential candidate John McCain has taken a slender lead over his rival Barack Obama less than two months before elections, a poll on the presidential race has said.

The Arizona senator has a 13-percentage-point lead over his Democratic rival both with men and senior citizens, and a 23-point advantage among rural residents, according to the Associated Press-GfK Poll of likely voters.

Tehran - The United States has not yet issued a visa for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York, Fars news agency reported Saturday.

Despite a timely application for the visas, no visas have yet been issued for the president and any of the Iranian delegation members, Fars said.

Washington, September 13: A company, based in Chicago, US, has produced 100 per cent tree free paper, which implies paper made without any usage of products from trees.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), the company in question is GPA, a Chicago paper company, which has produced ‘Ultra Green paper’ – a 100 per cent tree free paper.

Ultra Green is made from inorganic mineral powders derived from limestone and calcium carbonate, with a trace amount of non-toxic resin and high density polyethylene (HDPE) as a binding agent, and no usage of chlorine.

Wasila (Alaska), Sept. 13: Republican vice-presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin believes Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is probably regretting not picking Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

Praising Clinton for her dynamism, Palin told ABC News: "I think he's regretting not picking her now, I do. What, what determination and grit, and even grace through some tough shots that were fired her way -- she handled those well."

Washington, September 13: Scientists have come up with explanations for the massive spread out of hurricane Ike in the US, which has been a big meteorological mystery till now.

Hurricane Ike is a super-sized storm with winds howling over vast fetches of water, piling up massive storm surges.

Scientists have wondered why some storms get so big while others stay small, despite having the same hurricane-force winds, the prominent example being Ike.

New York, Sep 13 : American educated Pakistani neuroscientist and “the most significant” US capture in the fight against terrorism in five years, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, incarcerated in a New York prison, has been diagnosed with a chronic depressive-type psychosis, according to court documents.

Siddiqui, who is accused of attempted murder of American soldiers in Afghanistan, disappeared mysteriously in Pakistan in 2003.