Washington, April 17 - A US military policeman based in Alaska has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and given a dishonourable discharge for selling US military secrets to someone he thought was a Russian spy.

The contact that Spec. William Colton Millay thought was a spy, was really an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, and the 24-year-old soldier was sentenced to prison by a panel of eight military officials at Fort-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska.

Boston, April 16 : "You heard boom-boom, then people screaming," said an eye-witness who recalled the horror of the twin Boston Marathon bombings that left three people dead and over 140 injured.

Oscar Otero was barely a few feet away from the blasts that took place Monday near the finishing line of the Boston Marathon.

"You heard boom-boom, then people screaming," Boston Globe quoted Otero as saying.

"There was blood all over the place. I saw a leg, people with bones sticking out of their skin," he said.

"It's hard to describe."

Washington, April 16 : Investigators probing the twin Boston bombings that left three people dead have a number of active leads and have made "some good early progress in the forensics analysis", a law enforcement official said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is taking the lead in investigating the double bombing that left at least 144 injured at the Boston Marathon finish line.

A range of different agencies are involved in the hunt to find out who carried out the terrorist attack Monday afternoon in one of the oldest cities in the US and an international centre of higher education and medicine.

Washington, April 16 : The American media reacted with horror to the twin blasts at the Boston Marathon that once again brought the nation face to face with the threat of terrorism and showed "how vulnerable the US homeland still is".

"In Boston, explosions transform a scene of celebration into one of tragedy," said the Washington Post in an editorial noting, "In the weeks and months after the 2001 terrorist attacks, every iconic sports event became an occasion for anxiety."

"Over time, the trepidation faded - until Monday," it said. But "In the early moments after the blasts, there were indications of the nation's maturity, for better and worse, in dealing with such shocks."

Washington, April 15 - A key architect of a bipartisan proposal for US immigration reforms has outlined three policy steps that would have to be taken before America's 11 million undocumented workers can apply for legal status.

The "triggers" embedded in a legislative proposal to be unveiled Tuesday by the Senate "Gang of Eight" are necessary to ensure workable reforms that discourage immigrants from coming to the US illegally, Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Sunday.

Washington, April 13 - Five Democratic lawmakers have introduced a Congressional resolution on the occasion of Vaisakhi, commemorating the creation of the Khalsa, a fellowship of devout Sikhs, by the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

According to the Sikh Coalition, a community organisation, Georgia State Senate too has introduced a resolution honouring Vaisakhi, while the cities of Elk Grove, California, and Houston, and San Antonio, Texas have issued proclamations.

Wishing the Sikh American community a joyous Vaisakhi, the Congressional resolution takes note of the Sikhs' "rich contributions to the social, cultural, and economic vibrancy of our great nation, as well as the US Armed Forces."

Washington, April 13 - Eighty-four percent of women in the US believe they are paid less than men for doing the same job, and 35 percent say they suffer discrimination in the workplace, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Only two-thirds of men agree with that opinion.

The Journal cited figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that women who work full-time earn weekly about 79 percent of what men are paid for doing similar jobs.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research found that the average pay for women is less than for men in almost every type of occupation.

Washington, April 12 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned central banks to be alert to the potential financial risks of super-loose monetary policy adopted to cope with the financial crisis.

"So far, so good, but if the time that central banks have provided through their unconventional policies is not used productively by financial institutions and their regulators, at some point we can expect another round of financial distress," said Laura Kodres, assistant director of the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

Washington, April 12 - Most Americans support creating a pathway to citizenship for America's over 11 million immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians, with a shorter timeline than that contemplated by Congress, according to a new poll.

With the Senate close to considering an overhaul of immigration laws, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll also found that nearly two-thirds favour giving citizenship to those who came to the US illegally and now hold jobs.

Support jumped to 76 percent for a plan that required immigrants to pay fines, back taxes and pass a security check, among other measures, to gain citizenship.

Washington, April 11 : The US military has been hard hit by sweeping budget cuts, but has not lost its capacity to stand up to an attack by North Korea, defense officials said.

"We have every capability to deal with any action North Korea would take, to protect this country, and the interests of this country, and our allies," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday at a briefing on the Pentagon's
2014 proposed budget.

Hagel said the "sequester" - sweeping government budget cuts that took effect last month - has cut some $41 billion from the defense department budget for fiscal year 2013.

Washington, April 11 - A 17-year-old from New York has learned 23 different languages, including Hindi, Pashto, South Africa's little-known isiXhosa, Gambia's Wolof, and the native American language of Ojibwe.

In addition to the expected European languages -- French, Spanish, Italian, German -- teenager Timothy Doner has gone linguistically into much more remote territories, mastering a number of African dialects, the Daily Mail reported.

He speaks isiXhosa, an official language of South Africa, Wolof and Swahili.

Doner first started posting videos of himself speaking in the different dialects on YouTube.

Washington, April 11 - Thousands of immigrants and activists held a rally at the US Capitol to urge Congress to overhaul the immigration system for over 11 million illegal immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians, living in the shadows.

The show of support for comprehensive immigration reforms came Wednesday even as the so-called Gang of Eight senators - four Democrats and four Republicans - announced they were close to a deal after weeks of negotiations.

Washington, April 10 - At least 14 people were stabbed Tuesday on the Cy-Fair campus of Lone Star College in Cypress, Texas, and authorities say they have one person in custody in connection with the attacks.

Four of the victims with serious injuries were transported in helicopters and ambulances to nearby medical centers and the campus remains closed and is being evacuated, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.

One person was arrested in connection with the incident, according to the sheriff's office.

College authorities said that there is another suspect who is still at large, but the sheriff's office denied that version.

New York, April 10 - Members of the UN Security Council have condemned in the strongest terms the killing of five Indian peacekeepers on South Sudan and asked that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

The members condemned the April 9 attack by unidentified armed persons on a UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) convoy in Jonglei, South Sudan, in which five Indian peacekeepers and at least seven civilians were killed, said a press statement.

The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the families of the peacekeepers and the UNMISS staff killed in the attack, as well as to the government of India.

Washington, April 10 - Condemning in the "strongest terms" the killing of five Indian UN peacekeepers in a rebel attack on a UN convoy in South Sudan, the US has asked it to ensure the perpetrators are brought swiftly to justice.

"India has long been a leading supporter of UN peacekeeping operations, a fact we recognize and applaud," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters Tuesday conveying Washington's sympathies to the families and friends of those killed and injured and the Government of India.