Washington - The United States is considering its options to assure the safety of 21 crew members being held after pirates hijacked a US-operated vessel off the coast of Somalia, the White House said Wednesday.

The White House is closely monitoring the apparent hijacking of the US-flagged ship in the Indian Ocean and assessing a course of action to resolve this situation," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

"Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board," Gibbs said.

Washington, Apr. 8 : The United States has claimed that Osama Bin Laden along with other top Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders are hiding in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal areas along the Afghan border.

"In the FATA, the western part of Pakistan in the mountains on the Afghan border, that is a war on terror. That''s where al-Qaida lives. That''s where bin Laden is. That''s where the most radicalized part of the Taliban is," The News quoted US Vice President Joe Biden, as saying.

Washington, Apr 8 : Hollywood actress Mandy Moore is keen to shed her "girl next door" image, and is eager to land more decent and powerful roles.

Moore, whose last flick was `License To Wed', has not taken up any acting assignment because she wants to do meaningful roles, and has decided to consider only the roles she thinks are well-tailored.

Moore insists that she can deliver powerful performance if offered a worthy role, and that she is ready to toil to get her capability recognized.

Washington, Apr 8 : DJ Samantha Ronson has rebuffed claims that she and her family are seeking a restraining order against Lindsay Lohan.

The reports about the restraining order began circulating after Ronson got the locks of her house changed, in a bid to keep away from Lohan.

It was also claimed that Lohan was restrained by five bodyguards when she tried to barge in Ronson's party.

However, Ronson has denied seeking any restraining order against her.

Washington, Apr 8 : American singer Jessica Simpson and her country music label Sony Nashville have reportedly parted ways, after her album `Do You Know' sold less than 20,000 copies.

Even information on Jessica, including her artist bio and page, is no longer available on Columbia Nashville or Sony Nashville Web sites.

It has also been reported that Joe Galante, the head of Sony BMG Nashville, was tired of Simpson forgetting her lyrics and crying on stage during her tour with Rascal Flatts.

Washington, Apr 8 : In a bid to produce cheap and efficient white light for use in homes and offices, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have taken a major step towards developing a new type of light emitting diode (LED) made from inexpensive, plastic like organic materials.

Designed with a simplified "tandem" structure, the new LEDs can produce twice as much light as a normal LED, including the white light desired for home and office lighting.