Washington - US President Barack Obama on Thursday asked Congress to authorize 83.4 billion dollars in additional funding for themilitary missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a letter to Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, he said that nearly 95 per cent of the military request for the current fiscal year, which ends September 30, would go toward military operations in either Iraq or the conflict in Afghanistan, which has increasingly spilled into neighbouring Pakistan.

Los Angeles - Hoping to cash in on the worldwide interest in US President Barack Obama, Sony Pictures has snapped up the international distribution rights to a documentary on the ground- breaking politician. The film follows Obama as he went from a little-known politician to victory in the presidential elections and his inauguration as the country's first African-American president.

The movie, By The People: The Election of Barack Obama, was made by actor Edward Norton's Class 5 Films and enjoyed exclusive access to the politician on the campaign trail.

New York, April 10: Sony Pictures and the HBO have planned a documentary on Barack Obama’s historic election as the first African-American President.

Sony is said to have acquired the rights to distribute the documentary ‘By the People: The Election of Barack Obama’.

Two media giants have revealed that the documentary will not be just a collage of biographical and campaign video.

They say that it will include interviews with staffers and campaign aides to give us a behind-the-scenes look at life in Obamaland.

New York - The c

New York  - The house sales in the previously lucrative housing market in New York City declined about 60 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2008, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The average price for condominiums decreased by 24 per cent, the report stated, adding that luxury real estate was especially affected by the slump.

According to experts, at the current rate it would take six years for the 350 apartments and town houses currently for sale for more than 10 million dollars to change hands.

San Francisco  - Wells Fargo, one of the United States' leading banks, on Thursday reported a record first quarter profit of 3 billion dollars, surpassing analysts' expectations.

In the final quarter of 2008, the bank reported a loss of 2.3 billion dollars, and was among the US banks to receive aid from the government in the fallout from the world financial crisis.