Detroit, Michigan  - The Ford F-150 was named the 2009 North American Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday.

The decision was made by a jury of 50 motoring journalists from the United States and Canada, the show's organizers said in a statement.

"Winning 2009 North America Truck of the Year honours is a special distinction because it acknowledges the team's efforts to push harder and deliver even more for customers - including quality, safety leadership, unsurpassed fuel economy and smart features aimed at further improving their productivity," said Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas.

Washington  - US president-elect Barack Obama on Sunday promised upon entering the White House later in January to begin immediate engagement in finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Speaking on US broadcaster ABC, Obama said that "what I am doing right now is putting together the team so that on January 20, starting on day one, we have the best possible people who are going to be immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole."

Obama spoke of "engaging with all of the actors ... to create a strategic approach that ensures that both Israelis and Palestinians can meet their aspirations."

Kabul - US vice president-elect Joseph Biden travelled to a volatile southern province in his second day in war-shattered Afghanistan on Sunday and met with NATO troops amid increased attacks by Taliban-led insurgents in the region.

Accompanied by US Senator Lindsey Graham, Biden arrived on an unannounced trip to Kabul on Saturday and met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and General David McKiernan, commander of NATO-led international troops in Afghanistan.

On Sunday Biden made a trip under heavy guard to the volatile province of Kandahar and was briefed on activities of coalition forces in the south by Dutch Major General Mart C de Kruif, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's regional commander.

Washington, January 11 : Search algorithms used in digital communications can help make the cumbersome procedure of identifying effective multi-drug combinations easy, say researchers.

Washington, Jan 11: Managers who are considerate and understanding can help employees return from sick leave early, says a new study, which has come up with seven most important leadership qualities.

The study led by the International Research Institute of Stavanger (IRIS) has outlined 78 manager qualities that are most likely to help sick-listed employees get back to work.

The three most often mentioned were ability to make contact, consideration and understanding.

"The employees find it important that their managers are understanding, supportive, attentive, empathetic, warm and friendly," Science Daily quoted senior researcher Randi Wago Aas at IRIS, as saying.

Washington, January 11 : Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have revealed that a study is being carried out to see whether a peer-to-peer (P2P) system, similar to the one used by Internet users to share files, may be helpful in reducing road congestion and traffic accidents.

The researchers say that the zero-infrastructure system called `Autonet' is being checked for its ability to create a network of vehicles that can exchange timely information about traffic conditions, incidents, and accidents.

They have already carried out a validation of the Autonet system, reports Science Daily.