Washington, Sep 8 : American voters doubt the ability of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his party to keep the US safe from terrorism and handle other national security crises, according to a new Democratic study.

As the general election gets fully under way and most polls show the presidential race remains close, an analysis by a Democratic pollster and party advocacy group released late last week found the party''s “national security credibility gap is returning.”

Washington, Sept. 8 : Alaskan Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin may be drawing huge crowds during her various campaign stops, but party presidential nominee John McCain is taking all precautions to shield her from the press.

According to Fox News, McCain is being accompanied by Palin on the campaign trail in swing states, but is being heavily insulated.

All her stump speeches have been from a teleprompter whereas McCain, Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden are speaking extemporaneously.

Washington, September 8 : A research has indicated that olive oil had a large number of usages in ancient Greece.

The research, conducted by Adelphi University’s Anagnostis Agelarakis, has outlined the use of olives and olive oil in antiquity, ancient and traditional cultivation methods, and olives and human nutrition and health.

Olive oil was not only considered as a health product in ancient Greece, but something that had in essence a divine power embedded in it - defined in a pragmatic way, not in a occult or abstract way.

It was a gift of the goddess Athena to the Athenians, therefore, it had the emblematic presence of the goddess.

Vienna  - Central European shares rose Monday, paced by financial companies, after the US government seized control of two troubled lenders that underpin the country's home loan market.

The Warsaw stock exchange's WIG20 blue-chip index was up 2.65 per cent to 2,569.62 points at mid-day. Benchmark indices in the Czech Republic and the Baltic nations also gained.

"The chief reason is the US government's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said Roman Kodera, chief broker at Patria Online in Prague. "Investors in the banking sector see it as positive information."

Washington, September 8 : Scientists have said that a new co-ordinated international set of rules to govern commercial and research activities in both of Earth’s polar regions is urgently needed to reflect new environmental realities and to temper pressure building on these highly fragile ecosystems.

The experts stressed the need for a new set of rules in Iceland at a UN-affiliated conference marking the International Polar Year.

Due to climate change, the ancient ice lid on the Arctic Ocean is fast disappearing, creating new opportunities for fishers and resource companies, and opening a potential new, far shorter ocean route between Europe and Asia, a prospect already drawing billions of dollars in investment in ice-class ships.

Stockholm - Nordic stock markets rebounded Monday in the wake of the US government bail-out of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Banking groups including Swedbank and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) surged some 10 per cent in Stockholm where the OMX Stockholm 30 Index that groups the 30 most actively traded stocks gained some 4.1 per cent in mid-morning trading.

Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux that has has a large market in the US also increased as did engineering group Atlas Copco.

In Denmark, the OMX Copenhagen index gained 3.7 per cent while in Finland the Helsinki OMX index of 25 main stocks was up 3.3 per cent.