Washington, Oct 1: Governor Sarah Palin maintained a private e-mail account that she used to communicate with a small circle of staff members outside the state government’s secure official e-mail system, according to the Wasilla company that established the site.

The account was separate from the Yahoo e-mail address that was abruptly abandoned by the McCain campaign on September 17, the day hackers penetrated the account and posted pages from it on the Internet. Palin had routinely used her Yahoo address for state business, the Washington Post reported.

London, Oct 1: To back efforts to stop polar bears being protected as an endangered species, Governor Sarah Palin and her officials in the Alaskan state government drew on the work of at least six scientists known to be sceptical about the dangers and causes of global warming.

The Guardian reported that some of the scientists were funded by the oil industry.

New York, Oct 1: A review of a handful of Sarah Palin’s debate performances in the race for Alaska Governor in 2006 shows a somewhat different persona from the one that has emerged since John McCain named her as the vice-presidential nominee a month ago.

Palin, a former mayor who had become a whistle-blower about ethical misconduct in state government, held her own in those debates, but often spoke in generalities and showed scant aptitude for developing arguments beyond a talking point or two.

Washington, Oct 1: Nokia has been ranked as the most eco-friendly electronic brand, according to Greenpeace's annual Guide to Greener Electronics.

In the ninth edition of its guide, Greenpeace has declared that Nokia is a step ahead of other well-known manufacturers like Samsung and Nintendo.

Nokia managed to get a high score of seven out of ten possible points, because of its improved take-back practices in India, toxic chemical issues, utilizing models free of PVC and aiming to have all new models free of brominated flame retardants and antimony trioxide by the end of 2009, reports Environmental News Network.

Washington, Oct 1: The Alaska Governor and John McCain’a running mate, Sarah Palin, has no command authority over the guardians of US airspace despite her recent suggestion in an interview to CBS News' Katie Couric.

“She doesn’t have any role in that process,” Air Force Maj. Allen Herritage, spokesman for the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command, said.

“The authority to launch and respond to a Russian incursion lies with the Alaska NORAD Region commander” - Air Force Lt. General Dana Atkins, the Daily News quoted him, as saying.

Washington, Sept 1: At the end of one-day strategic dialogue in Washington on Tuesday, the US State Department said that America supported Pakistan’s ‘territorial integrity’.

“The US affirmed its support for Pakistan’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity,” the joint statement issued by the US State Department said after the one-day strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the US.

At the meeting, both the sides affirmed their strong commitment to a wide-ranging, substantive, and long-term strategic partnership, based on shared values and a common effort to promote enduring peace, security, stability, freedom, and prosperity of Pakistan and of the region.