Washington, March 18 : Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine say that a potential cure for Alzheimer''s disease may require a combination therapy, which will target the malformations of the proteins that characterise this condition.

Alzheimer''s disease is characterized by two distinctive protein malformations: amyloid plaques, which are sticky deposits made up of a short protein called amyloid beta, and tau tangles, which are made of short filaments of the tau protein.

Washington  - Protectionism has been on the rise across the globe since a devastating financial crisis plunged the world into recession, despite government promises to avoid moves that restrict global trade, the World Bank warned Tuesday.

The World Bank said it had identified 47 national measures that restrict trade since the financial crisis exploded in September. The development lender earlier this month predicted that world trade was headed for its steepest decline in 80 years.

Indian Wells, California  - Holder Novak Djokovic swept through the first set and struggled in the second before consolidating his Indian Wells Masters title defence campaign with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) defeat of Tommy Haas on Tuesday.

The Serbian third seed finally prevailed over the one-time number 2 from Germany - now ranked 64th - in an hour and three-quarters.

Djokovic is bidding for his second title of the season after winning a fortnight ago in Dubai but losing both of his Davis Cup rubbers against Spain.

New York  - US stocks rose Tuesday as the construction of new homes in the United States unexpectedly surged in February and investors speculated about Federal Reserve efforts to bolster the economy.

Privately owned housing starts in February were 583,000 at an annual rate, up 22 per cent from January but still down 47.3 per cent from the same month in 2008, the Commerce Department said. Economists had expected a further monthly decline to 450,000 last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

Washington  - The United States will hold Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir responsible for any deaths that occur in Darfur because of his decision to expel foreign aid groups, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

"This a horrendous situation that is going to cause untold misery and suffering for the people of Darfur, particularly those in the refugee camps," Clinton said.

San Francisco  - Apple unveiled its proposed new software for its genre-defining iPhone Tuesday and gave acolytes of the world's most popular smartphone the feature they most wanted: the ability to cut and paste text and pictures on the device.

Lack of the cut and paste facility had been one of the main drawbacks of the device, compared to competitors like the Blackberry.