WASHINGTON, May 10: US President Barack Obama has met with the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan, ahead of the NATO Summit scheduled later this month.

Obama met the NATO top official to discuss the final preparations for the summit the US President will host in Chicago and the decisions related to Afghanistan that would be taken at the Summit.

“The President and Secretary General Rasmussen agreed that the Summit would focus on three important topics: Afghanistan, defense capabilities, and partnerships,” the White House said in a statement.

On Afghanistan, Obama and Rasmussen agreed that the NATO Summit should reaffirm allied commitment to the transition framework agreed to at Lisbon, while planning for the final stages of that transition—including a shift next year from combat to a support role, as well as enduring support for sufficient and sustainable Afghan forces.

Obama and Rasmussen also agreed that the Summit should highlight the commitment of allies to field the defense capabilities that NATO needs for the 2st century.

“They discussed their expectation that allies would be in a position to announce progress on a number of key capabilities initiatives, including on missile defense,” the White House said adding that the two discussed the importance of NATO’s partnerships with non-NATO countries.

“NATO is now a hub for a global network of security partners which have served alongside NATO forces in Afghanistan, Libya, and Kosovo.

Recognizing the important contributions provided by partner nations, the President and Secretary General welcomed the recent decision by allies to invite a group of thirteen partner nations to Chicago for an unprecedented meeting to discuss ways to further broaden and deepen NATO’s cooperation with partner nations,” the statement said. (PTI)

NEW YORK, May 10: Kids and teens who watch a lot of television are less likely to get their fruits and veggies and more likely to snack on candy or drink soda every day, according to a new survey of close to 13,000 US students. The link to poor eating habits remained even after researchers took into account how much exercise kids typically got as well as how often they snacked while in front of the tube.(agencies)

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, May 10: Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> won support from a US advisory panel on Wednesday for its arthritis drug, which the world’s top drugmaker hopes will give it a major boost after a wave of patent expiries. A panel of outside experts to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 8-2 to recommend approval of tofacitinib, a treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have not had success with at least one other drug for the disease. (agencies)

WASHINGTON, May 10: A coalition of health advocacy groups on Wednesday urged the US government to put more resources into school-based efforts to improve health and fight obesity among youth. The recommendations by the Healthy Schools Campaign and Trust for America’s Health were backed by more than 70 groups including the American Cancer Society and the National Education Association. (agencies)

CHICAGO, May 10: Two proposed psychiatric diagnoses failed to make the last round of cuts in the laborious process of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—an exhaustive catalog of symptoms used by doctors to diagnose psychiatric illness. Gone from the latest revision are “attenuated psychosis syndrome,” intended to help identify individuals at risk of full-blown psychosis, and “mixed anxiety depressive disorder,” a blend of anxiety and depression symptoms. Both performed badly on field tests and in public comments gathered by the group in its march toward the May 2013 publication deadline. (agencies)

NEW YORK, May 10: A new study suggests that women who have liposuction to trim their tummies may gain some fat deeper within the abdomen—a type of fat that’s particularly unhealthy. Brazilian researchers found that within months of abdominal liposuction, there may be an increase in the so-called “visceral” fat that surrounds the abdominal organs. (agencies)