Geneva - Norway is the country closest to closing the gaps between men and women, a new report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum said.

Finland, Sweden and Iceland were the next ranking countries, according to the Gender Gap Index, with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen listing at the bottom of the 130 countries surveyed.

New Zealand was the top ranking non-European country, making it to fifth place, followed by the Philippines.

Pahalgam (J-K)/Bangalore, Nov 12 : In the backdrop of the arrest of an army officer in connection to the Malegaon blasts, Army Chief Deepak Kapoor said on Wednesday that army would put in place more checks on postings and connectivities.

Kapoor was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a function in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir today.

Sydney - Australia defender Craig Moore has undergone surgery for testicular cancer and is ruled out of football for several weeks, it was announced on Wednesday.

The former Glasgow Rangers captain Moore, 32, withdrew from next week's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain after being diagnosed with the illness last week and undergoing an operation Tuesday.

He named his outlook "good" in a statement issued by his manager on Wednesday and said that he has been told to rest for two weeks with further tests to take place in six weeks.

New Delhi, Nov 12 : Leader of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday ahead of their second summit beginning on Thursday.

Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry received Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Mayanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein and Bangladesh''s Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed on their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi today.

Dusseldorf - The former boss of the Coast cycling team was on Wednesday ordered by a German court to pay Jan Ullrich 340,000 euros (432,000 dollars) plus interest for failing to honour outstanding wages due to the now retired cyclist.

Guenther Dahms refused to pay Ullrich the money due to him because he was of the opinion the 1997 Tour de France winner was doped during his time with the Coast team.

"It is good that truth won out. It was easy for me today, telling the truth is always easy," said Ullrich after the verdict from a court in Dusseldorf.

Dhabi, Nov 12th, 2008 : The second conference of the Arab Women
Organization is a spontaneous translation of HH Sheikha Fatima's
genuine concern for the human security in general and the human rights
of women in particular, a senior official of the Arab League said.

Speaking
to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the fringes of the second edition
of the Arab Women Organisation, currently in progress in the capital of
UAE, the Assistant Secretary General of Arab League Dr. Seema Bahouth
said that the media strategy for women launched at the conference will
play an effective role in changing the conventional picture of Arab