Washington  -
Democratic party presidential candidate Barack Obama
is increasing his lead over Republican rival John McCain as the US presidential election campaign enters its final phase, according to a poll published Saturday by the Washington Post.

It said 53 per cent of the electorate would vote for Obama, compared to 44 per cent for McCain. Obama also led in several key states seen as decisive in next Tuesday's election.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis predicted a "comeback" in the final days, as both sides ramped up their advertising and volunteer operations.

London - Deployment of British and other European troops might be necessary if diplomacy fails to stem the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a senior British government official told the BBC Saturday.

"We have certainly got to have it as an option which is developed and on the table if we need it," Mark Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, told the BBC.

He said that if diplomacy fails, the first step should be the redeployment of United Nations troops already operating elsewhere in the Congo.

New Delhi, Nov 1 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday effected yet another 100 basis points cut in cash reserve ratio (CRR) and a 0.5 per cent reduction in key short-term lending repo rate, signaling softening of interest rates to prop up growth.

The CRR cut will be in two trenches and the first one of 0.5 per cent will be effective retrospectively from October 25 and the second from November 8.

The RBI also cut the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, by 0.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent with effect from November 3.

Lusaka  - Zambia's elections were declared transparent and free by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as main opposition leader Michael Sata maintained his lead over acting president Rupiah Banda.

John Kanene, leader of the SADC electoral observer mission to Zambia, said the presidential by-elections were well managed and conducted in a credible, peaceful way. He cited the use of transparent ballot boxes and the professional conduct of Zambia's police in polling stations nationwide in a preliminary report.

New Delhi  - At least 15 passengers were killed and 38 injured Saturday when a bus plunged into a gorge in India's western Maharashtra state, a news report said.

The accident occurred when a government-run bus was negotiating a steep curve in the Raigad district district, some 150 kilometres south-west of state capital Mumbai, police told the IANS news agency.

Many of the passengers succumbed to their injuries on the scene while 20 wounded were moved to a hospital in Mumbai.

The death toll could rise as some of the injured were in a serious condition, the report said.

New Delhi, Nov 1 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met the chiefs of the three wings of the defence service - the Army, the Navy and the Air Force – in New Delhi on Saturday.

Dr. Singh and Defence Minister A. K. Antony met Navy Chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Fali H. Major, Chief of India''s Air Force and Deepak Kapoor, Chief of the Army Staff.

The chiefs met to review and to address matters of national security on the day of the combined Commanders'' Conference.