London, Jan. 28: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that his country would need foreign support for its forces for the next 15 years.

Washington, Jan. 28: US President Barack Obama has revived the bugaboo of outsourcing by vowing to slash tax breaks to American firms that move jobs abroad and to help those who create employment within the country. “Job creation would be the country’s number-one focus in 2010,” he said, pushing for a new jobs bill in his first State of the Union address to a joint session of the Congress even as he acknowledged the step would not compensate for the seven million jobs lost over the last two years. Even as he promised to curb outsourcing, unlike in the past he did not mention India.    —IANS

Arun Kumar

Washington, Jan. 28: US President Barack Obama has revived the bugaboo of outsourcing by vowing to slash tax breaks to American firms that move jobs abroad and to help those who create employment within the country. “Job creation would be the country’s number-one focus in 2010,” he said, pushing for a new jobs bill in his first State of the Union address to a joint session of the Congress even as he acknowledged the step would not compensate for the seven million jobs lost over the last two years. Even as he promised to curb outsourcing, unlike in the past he did not mention India.    —IANS

Arun Kumar

Colombo, Jan. 28: Defeated candidate Sarath Fonseka is seeking asylum in a Western country, probably the US for which he holds a green card, or Britain, but the Sri Lankan government is unlikely to allow him to leave, sources here said. The ex-general left his hotel room, where he was holed up for a day with his coalition leaders, and drove away with his personal security guards to an undisclosed place late on Wednesday night.

New Delhi, Jan. 28: Intending to curb rampant quackery by unqualified or semi-qualified medical practitioners in the country, the government on Thursday decided to bring all clinical facilities, including pathological laboratories, under the preview of a single piece of legislation.

Lucknow, Jan. 28: The Mayawati government tabled a bill in the state Assembly on Thursday on setting up a special security force to guard monuments, parks and statues built in Lucknow and Noida in memory of dalit icons. An estimated Rs 14 crores will be spent on it annually.

New Delhi, Jan. 28: Airports across the country were put on high alert on Thursday evening following intelligence inputs that attempts could be made by terrorists to hijack an aircraft within a short span of time.

Manish Anand
New Delhi

Jan. 28: Watch out if you are in a public place in Delhi: soon someone might be watching you closely. Much like London did after the 7/7 bombings of 2005, the city government will install a network of high-resolution CCTV cameras across neighbourhoods, mounted on top of mobile phone towers, to provide real-time footage to the law and order machinery as well as various civic agencies.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse reacts as he listens to the election results in Colombo on Wednesday. PHOTOS: AP,AFP

Team India after winning the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday. India won by 10 wickets to take the series 2-0.  PHOTO: AP