Washington, Nov 4: While health officers are taking up various worldwide projects to educate people on HIV and AIDS, a new study has shown that two-thirds of families with an HIV-infected parent have fears of HIV transmission in the home.

The collaborative study by researchers from UCLA, the RAND Corp., Harvard University and Children''s Hospital Boston has claimed that such fears originate mainly from lack of adequate information about the spread of the disease.

Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday it has approved a 70-million-dollar loan for a new project to improve the lives and incomes of poor farmers in the conflict-wracked southern Philippines.

The Manila-based bank said the Agrarian Reform Communities Project II will allocate 135.2 million dollars for rural infrastructure projects and 25.2 million dollars for agriculture and enterprise development.

Washington, Nov 4: Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is learnt to have been cleared by a state personnel board about her role in the infamous the “Troopergate” case, whereby she was accused of abusing her office as Alaska Governor in dismissing one of her staffers.

Earlier, a probe conducted by the state legislature had found Sarah as guilty in terminating the services of Department of Public Safety Commissioner (Walt) Monegan because the latter didn’t comply with her orders to dismiss her brother-in-law who had divorced her sister.

Johannesburg - Zambia's opposition leader Michael Sata on Tuesday again rejected ruling party Rupiah Banda's victory in last week's presidential by-election, setting the stage for a protracted political stand-off in the southern African country.

"I have not lost this election," Sata, 71, told South Africa's SAfm radio. "Rupiah Banda has no vision, Rupiah Banda has no platform. The only platform Rupiah Banda is on is cheating."

Sydney - Australia's richest horserace once again held disappointment for the European contingent when locally trained Viewed won the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday in front of 130,000 spectators.

The 5-year-old was just a lip ahead of English horse Bauer in the tightest-ever finish in the 148-year history of what Australians call "the race that stops the nation."

It's estimated that 12 million of the 21 million Australians watch the 3 minutes it takes for some of the world's best horses to gallop round the 3.2-kilometre track.

"It's nice to win a race like this - a race that everyone in Australia likes to win, particularly my owners," veteran trainer Bart Cummings said.

Chicago - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama may have been raised largely by his white grandparents in distant Hawaii, but when he wanted to connect with his community as a black man he came to Chicago.

Now with the White House in reach, Obama is returning to Chicago on Tuesday to mark election day in the city where his rise to prominence began. City officials expect up to a million people could gather in Grant Park to watch election results and hear from Obama after votes are tabulated in his race against Republican John McCain.