Washington,

Washington, Feb. 10: Addressing his first press conference after assuming charge as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, said on Monday that it was depressing to know that steroids are making such a huge impact in a popular sport like baseball.

"I think it''s depressing news on top of what''s been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball. And if you''re a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era to some degree," CBS quoted Obama as saying at the event that was attended by 156 reporters.

Washington, Feb. 10: In his first news conference after assuming office as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama on Monday called for the rooting out of all safe havens for terrorists in Afghanistan and other states.

Laying stress on his concerns about a lack of progress on the political front in this respect, Obama said Afghanistan lags behind Iraq.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama said Monday that in the coming months he will be looking for ways to open direct talks with Iran geared toward developing a "relationship of mutual respect."

Obama cautioned that Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weaponry, support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas and "bellicose" language toward Israel play a negative role in the Middle East.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama headed to a small manufacturing town in Indiana to build support for an unprecedented 800-billion-dollar economic recovery package that faced a key vote in the US Senate Monday.

Obama was to hold a townhall meeting with about 1,700 residents of Elkhart, Indiana, where unemployment has surged to more than 15 per cent in the last year as the wider economy suffers a serious recession.

Munich (Germany), Feb. 9 : President Barack Obama''s national security team has given a dire assessment of the war in Afghanistan, with one official calling it a challenge "much tougher than Iraq" and others hinting that it could take years to turn around.

U. S. officials said more troops were urgently needed, both from America and its NATO allies, to counter the increasing strength of the Taliban and warlords opposed to the central government in Kabul.

They also said new approaches were needed to untangle an inefficient and conflicting array of civilian-aid programs that have wasted billions of dollars.