New York - The two most prestigious newspapers in the United States both announced job cuts Thursday in a dramatic sign of how the recession and the rise of the internet is eroding the newspaper industry.

The New York Times said it was eliminating 100 positions and lowering the salaries of all non-union employees by 5 per cent for the rest of the year, due to sharply declining revenues. All the job cuts are administrative, but the company warned that it would be forced to eliminate newsroom positions if the union did not agree to similar pay cuts.

San Francisco  - Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted twice Thursday in what the Alaska Volcano Observatory termed a "major explosive event," sending razor-sharp ash over the city of Anchorage.

The second eruption reached a height of around 20 kilometres, following an eruption earlier Thursday that send a plume of ash about 9 kilometres high.

The volcano, roughly 160 kilometers southwest of Anchorage, last erupted during a four-month period in 1989-90.

New York  - US stock indices continued their strong monthly showing on Thursday on some positive company earnings reports, the latest in a string of better-than-expected economic news in the midst of the US recession.

US electronics chain Best Buy Co, food producer ConAgra Foods Inc and drinks maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc led a 4-per-cent rally in consumer shares.

General Motors Corp surged 14 per cent after about 7,500 workers accepted the company's buyout offer, helping the US carmaking giant reduce labour costs.

Mexico City  - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Federal Police command centre in the second day of her visit to Mexico.

In the morning hours, Clinton went to the religious building, where she heard an explanation of the importance that this statue of the Virgin Mary has for the Mexican people.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama marked the 30th anniversary Thursday of the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement by saying it should inspire efforts to expand peace in the Middle East.

"As we commemorate this historic event, we recall that peace is always possible even in the face of seemingly intractable conflicts," Obama said in a statement.