China To Make Yuan A Global Currency

Communist China on Thursday celebrated Christmas by announcing a high-end capitalistic dream: Making the Yuan an international currency. In the forex market and international finance, a global currency refers to a currency in which the vast majority of international transactions take place and which serves as the world’s primary reserve currency.

The government wants to implement some aspects of this dream in a limited fashion. It has allowed businesses in certain regions of China to make payment settlements in Yuan instead of using a reference currency like the US dollar, with South East Asian countries like Singapore. The Chinese currency will also be used as the medium for settlement between businesses in the pearl and Yangtze River delta regions and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the cabinet, said.

The move might even draft the otherwise important role played by the Hong Kong dollar in international monetary system. Experts had earlier suggested that the Hong Kong dollar will come under serious pressure owing to the weakening of its economy in the wake of the global crisis and a rising Yuan.

Useful Tips

Men before you have done it and so will men after. Romans raised it to an art form. I am speaking about mean and grooming here. You don't really need to be into history to know how the Roman baths worked. Grooming isn't about sissy girl products. It is to do with being clean and general stuff like cutting your nails and brushing your teeth well. Take these basic steps a few notches up.

There is no point looking oil on canvas. Keep those pores in check with a soap-free bar. Wash at least twice a day.

More skin show means more sunscreen on exposed areas. You also have lips; so don't leave the lip balm for the girls. Get one with a high SPF index. While on the face, check out facials. If facials help girls I don't see why they should not help improve the skin of men. After all we are all made up of the same ingredients.

Agreement

Seeking to expand relationship in the energy sector, India and the U.S. have agreed to collaborate in developing gas hydrate resources, the ice-like structure that has natural gas trapped between water molecules found in abundance off the East Coast.

Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding this regard in Washington on Tuesday. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and United States Geological Survey signed the memorandum of understanding for cooperation on exploiting gas hydrates found in Krishna Godhavari and Mahanadhi basins and Andaman deep sea. The agreement was signed according to the official statement issued.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, both the U.S. and Indian scientists will work in close cooperation on joint projects both in U.S. and in India. India also seeks cooperation from the U.S. General Secretary for the establishment of full-fledged gas hydrate research center in close association with the National Institute of Oceanography at Goa.

Astronomy

A team of German scientists has come up with compelling, new proof that a huge, giant black hole of unimaginable dimensions is at the very heart and center of our galaxy. For decades, astronomers have speculated about the possibility of a black hole at the Milky Way galaxy's center.

But because of the billions of stars, which lie between Earth and the hub of the galaxy, it has always been impossible to see what is actually at the center. Now the German researchers say they have established the existence of an enormous black hole at the center "beyond any doubt".

The scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, near Munich, conducted 16 years of studies on 28 stars circling the center of the Milky Way.

By studying the movements of these stars, the scientists say they were able to determine the characteristics of the object around which they are circling.

To overcome the age-old problem of penetrating the stellar dust and glare from billions of stars between Earth and the center of the galaxy, the German astronomers focused on infrared light wavelengths that can penetrate the dust clouds.

The European Southern Observatory Study, which began in 1992, was made using the 3.5 meter New Technology Telescope at the La Silla observatory and the Very Large Telescope- an array of four 8.2 meter telescopes at the Paranal observatory. Both operate from the Atacama Desert in Chile. The research is published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Bad Habits

We make our bad habits. And our bad habits make us who we are. A habit is any action that we repeat until it becomes almost an involuntary response. A habit may well be a conditioned response; when an action is followed by a desired result, you tend to repeat it. But if what you do repeatedly is enslaving you and getting in the way of a good life, do you really need to stick wit it?

If you are trying to get rid of bad habit, first be aware of what it is. Why do you think it is bad? Is it unhealthy like alcoholism, or is it stealing time away from your personal life (for instance spending too much time on the Internet)?

Often, what is not good for us seems to be the hardest to let go of. Probably because it fulfills a need that nothing good can. So next, look at your pay off. Why do you indulge in this particular habit? Perhaps smoking under stress helps you relieve some tension. And what is your trade off? Running your health, and of others around you. This should give you enough perspective on why you should make a change.

Sliding Market

Satyam Computer Services will not be looking at any new acquisition, especially in any unrelated sector, in the near future. Satyam's profit and loss statement is going to be affected due to the global market. The company, which was used to posting 30-40 per cent growth in its profits, would not touch those magic figures in the near term, according to one of their members.

To a query by the press persons one of their members admitted that Satyam Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju was upset over the turn of events. Asked if the worry was also due to allegations by the investors and the analysts that the plan was to siphon off funds into the family's exchequer he said no.

Satyam is not the only company, which is affected by the global economic problem. Let's hope that it recovers which makes investors happy.

Travel Makes You Stay Fit

It’s not often that life gives you an opportunity to press the pause button. Impossible deadlines and the fast pace of life make you want to run away from life, as you know it.

And, travelling has always been one of the most time-tested ways of recharging your batteries. It allows you to re-look prior experiences and discover new angles to things you never gave a second thought to.The important aspect of travelling is that it makes us stay fit. Many often ignore travel and work even during vacations which affect one's health.

Travelling is a sure shot bounding exercise- be it a group of colleagues taking off for the weekend or a more intimate type experience with a small group of friends.

A little music and a little fun go for a long way in strengthening relationships that you never knew you shared with someone; and creating new ones with people you did not know till now. Living off a suitcase is not everyone’s cup of tea though.

Having to share a bathroom with several people, sleeping through the abominable snoring of a roommate misplaced toothbrushes. These can put off some people. But then, your friends helping you find your things is something you will always remember.

Being away from home and office always brings with it a feeling of recklessness and irresponsibility, which, for once, is a good thing. Blame it on the fresh air.

What makes travelling a true delight is the unpredictability. You might have made elaborate plans to the nearest minute, but trust me- the more it deviates, the more fun it is. An early morning trek might have been on the agenda, but helping push and heave your bus that just suffered a break down in the middle of nowhere can be fun too.

Travelling is also a time for many firsts. The first time you rode an elephant, the first time you feel into a river thanks to a hopeful push from a “friend”- all diary-worthy moments, indeed.

Oh, I have run out of space before even beginning to talk about the actual place I meant to write about. Not that it really matters, though. As they say, it’s not about the destination, but the journey.

The Man

Adolf Hitler was the son of Petty Customs Official. In the First World War he served as a soldier and served became as a politician. He was an excellent orator who can sway the people’s emotions through his fiery speeches. He organized National Socialists Party or Nazi Party. He tried to capture powering 1923, but was caught and imprisoned for five years. He wrote a book called Mein Kampf (My Struggle) in the prison which became the Bible for Nazis. Hitler kept Swastika as his party’s emblem and his followers were known as brown shirts. By 1933 he became the single largest party in the German Reichstag (Parliament). He became a Chancellor. He created a strong unified and highly despotic state. He outlawed strikes. He replaced Trade Unions and Labor Front. He took steps to see that children were trained in Nazi cult.

Approach To The Game

The series between England and India was dubbed as a face-off between Kevin Pietersen and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as both of them are charismatic and adopt their own methods to smash the ball around the park. The public felt that their flamboyant approach would be a front line feature in their captaincy as well.

Though Pietersen displayed enough leadership abilities in persuading his team to travel back to India, he for some reason did not exhibit the much-expected flair in his captaincy. Dhoni for example, leads his side in the same manner that he bats and is hardly defensive unless he is left with no option. Similarly an aggressive approach was expected from Pietersen as a captain to go with his basic style of batting.

Contrary to expectations, Pieterson chose to adopt contrasting methods as a batsman and a captain. He did not show any reluctance to attack the Indian attack at Mohali and once he got into his groove, he played some audacious shots as well.

There were enough help for the bowlers at Mohali and it was rather strange that the English skipper did not provide his spinners with adequate close-in catchers.

But he has proved that he has the leadership qualities in him but at the moment he is bit short in strategy management and once the latter aspect starts to catch up with the former, he can go on to become as successful a captain as a Mike Brearley or a Mark Taylor.

Mentality

We live and work in a very rough world. We feel that unless we show ourselves to be better than the rest, we will get left behind. Unless we look after ourselves first, and map out a plan for our progress, no one else will do anything for us.

Living this way quickly brings pot the harshness in our nature. Being harsh on others and ourselves makes us insensitive and rough. Is there merit in being gentle in today’s world where elbows are ready to shove others out of the way? Glaring eyes tell someone that they are in the wrong place and sharp tongues slice up ideas no good.

Sometimes strong feet kick someone who does not belong, out of the group and take away their sense of belonging. When there is no gentleness within us or in our groups, people become mere objects without feelings, to be used and discarded. When it happens, we feel deeply hurt. Hurt feelings and anger area a trademark of a community devoid of gentleness.

Gloomier By The Day

The World Bank, like the global institutions, has been lowering its forecasts in quick succession, as the economic crisis keeps worsening. In November this year, the Bank and the IMF had forecast a contraction in the output of developed countries during 2009. Developing countries including India and China were expected to post positive growth rates but well below what they have been used to. Since then, data from many countries seem to go beyond the global institutions’ assessment and point to an even gloomier future.

The latest report from the World Bank paints a particularly dismal picture of the global economy, which is already on the brink of rare recession and will grow by just 0.9 per cent next year, compared to an estimated 2.5 per cent this year. If the World Bank’s projections are proved right, it would be the slowest rate of growth since 1982 when it registered a mere 0.3 per cent.

The bank has warned that the downturn could throw many developing countries into crisis and keep tens of millions of people in poverty. Developing countries are expected to grow by 4.5 per cent, a rate that is hardly comforting and will delay their efforts to address poverty and reach the millennium development goals.

Britney Spears Coming To India

While Britney Spears’s representative is busy denying reports that the pop star is dating Paris Hilton’s ex, Rocker Benji Madden, the latest on the troubled singer is that she is dating her new choreographer for the video of Womanizer–Sandip Soparrkar. Britney is all set to re-shoot the video of the song, after the first one got leaked on the Internet.

News reports have it that Britney was charmed by the dance that Sandip had performed with this partner Jessy Randhawa at Madonna’s 50^Th birthday party, and that’s when she decided to use his services for the new video.

What’s more, Britney will touch down in Rajasthan on a two-day trip for a special practice session in Jodhpur. Some news reports say that Sandip will also be taking her around Mumbai to show her the places that were recently attacked by terrorists.

Complete Film

Roja is a complete movie where no aspect of it comes up short. Manirathnam proved that he had an eye for genius by picking A.R.Rahman, who had so far been composing commercial jingles, as the music director. With a rocking sound track, Rahman gave notice of his talent and started on a hugely successful career that shows no signs of slowing down even 10 years after this. Chinna Chinna Aasai is catchy and has wonderful lyrics by Vairamuthu. Pudhu Vellai Mazhai and Kaadhal Rojaave are soothing and melodious. Santoshsivan's camera captures both the greenery of the village in TamilNadu and the snowcapped peaks of Kashmir with elan. A couple of well-placed close-up shots (like the droplet of water on Madhubala's shoulder) take our breath away. Dialogs by Sujatha are intelligent and add a sense of believability to many scenes. Adding a feather to the cap, A.R. Rahman got a national award for this film.

Eggs Are Safe

If you are really fond of eggs, then you need not worry about relishing one too many. An egg a day’s contribution to the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy adults is just 1%, according to a new study funded by an industry body. Poor diet, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity contribute a whopping 30-40% to heart disease risk, depending on gender.

The study, funded by the Egg Nutrition Centre and published online in Risk analysis, substantiates decades of research challenging the myth that the cholesterol in eggs is linked to increased heart disease risk. Moreover, the study authors noted that their analysis did not adjust for the health promoting benefits of eggs which may, in fact, decrease heart disease risk. For example, research has found that overweight men who eat eggs while on a carbohydrate-restricted diet have a significant increase in their HDL levels compared to men who do not eat eggs.

Crash-Proof Car To Hit Roads

Car giant Volvo is set to unveil its first ever “accident-proof car”, which will drive itself in traffic by using radar to control the distance. The Swedish manufacturer will unveil Volvo S60 with automatic brakes at the next month’s Detroit motor show. It will go on the market in 2010.

The car can stop itself upon sensing that a collision is about to happen either with a car or a pedestrian, even when traveling at low speeds. It will feature a sophisticated cruise control system designed to automatically maintain a safe distance from the car in front. It works with the help of a radar unit fitted in the car’s grille, which not only detects what is in front of the vehicle, but how fast it is moving.

When the car believes that there is an imminent threat of a collision, a light flashes on a windscreen display in front of the driver at the same time along with an audible warning, the brakes are applied automatically.

Dhoni’s Boys Can Put Their Feet Up

It will be harsh to conclude that the drawn Test between India and England at Mohali was a dull end to what has otherwise been an exceptional year for Indian cricket. Beginning with the tour of Australia, winning the CB Series, witnessing the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL), winning the One-day series in Sri Lanka, and finally, beating Australia and England at home, certainly made 2008 memorable. This draw, therefore, shouldn't hurt a lot.

Take the example of MS Dhoni. The only series he missed was the Test series in Sri Lanka, and that aside, an approximate calculation reveals that the wicket-keeper-batsman, also promoted to captaincy during the time has taken as many as 190 flights, not counting the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa last year and the IPL in April-May this year.

Having experience the kind of hectic activity involved, players are definitely looking forward to heading home. It will definitely cut-short a break that surely is well-deserved one and comes after a long time.

Glasses That Change With Eye Power

A British scientist has designed a unique pair of glasses that can be adjusted by a wearer without any optician’s help, and one million pairs of which will soon be distributed in India. Professor Joshua Silver is hopeful that his self-adjusting glasses could enable a billion people in the developing world to receive spectacle for the first time within just over a decade.

Silver, a retired Oxford University physics professor, is even preparing to launch an ambitious scheme in India to distribute one million pairs in a year. The adaptive glasses are designed in such a way that they can be tuned by the wearer to suit their eyes, and that too without the need for a prescription. In fact, the spectacles can help both short-sighted and long-sighted people. The invention would provide spectacles for the first time to millions of people in poorer parts of the world, where opticians are in short supply.

Nerve Disease Recreated In American Lab

US scientists have created the first human model for studying a devastating nerve disease, which allows them to watch how the disease develops and could help researchers find a way to treat it. Using skin cells from a child with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that attacks motor neurons in the spinal cord, researchers grew batches of nerve cells with the same genetic defects.

The findings allowed scientists to watch the nerve cells die off. The finding marks the latest advance in research that reprograms ordinary cell to look and act like embryonic stem cells. Infants with the most severe form the disease develop normally for the first six months of life, and then gradually develop muscle weakness and loss of motor control.

The team made motor neurons that contained the genetic defect that causes SMA with a powerful new type of cell called IPS cells, which behave like embryonic stem cells.

Video Games May Help Aging Brains Multi-Task

In a study of 40 adults in their 60s and 70s, researchers found that those who learned to play a strategy-heavy video game improved their scores on a number of tests of cognitive function. Men and women who trained in the game for about a month showed gains in tests of memory, reasoning and the ability to “multi-task”.

The findings suggest that video games that keep players “on their toes” might help older adults keep their brains sharp, the researchers report in the journal Psychology and Aging. This is the first published study to suggest as much, so it’s important not to overstate the findings.

The study included 40 older adults who were randomly assigned to either the video game group or a comparison group that received no training in the game. Study participants who trained in the game ended up improving their scores in several areas of a battery of cognitive tests.

Music To Reduce Cholesterol

Doctors have found that prescribing music can improve heart health and lower cholesterol levels. Their research found that if a patient listens to 30 minutes a day of their favorite music, it can go far beyond simply relaxing them mentally. It benefits them physically by expanding and clearing blood vessels.

Doctors have tried the method on some patients in America and it has been welcomed by British experts. It is believed to work by triggering the release into the bloodstream of nitric oxide, which helps prevent the build-up of blood clots and harmful cholesterol. When it comes to the effect on the bloodstream, however, the key is not the type of music but what the listener prefers. The same is true of volume and tempo.

Music may pump the brain and the body. Researchers found that listening to 18th century symphonies improved listeners’ focus between movements, when they mentally updated shopping lists.

New Forset Discovery

Using Google Earth, a team of scientists has discovered a new forest in Mozambique in Africa, which has a host of undiscovered species. According to a report in the Telegraph, this mountainous area of northern Mozambique in southern Africa had been overlooked by science due to inhospitable terrain and decades of civil war in the country.

However, while scrolling around on Google Earth, an Internet map that allows the viewer to look at satellite images of anywhere on the globe, scientists discovered an unexpected patch of green. A British-led expedition was sent to see what was on the ground and found 7,000 hectares of forest, rich in biodiversity, known as Mount Mabu. The group was able to stay at an abandoned tea estate but had to hack through difficult terrain and use 70 porters in order t carry out their investigations.

In just three weeks, the scientists found hundreds of different plant species, birds, butterflies, monkeys and a new species of giant snake. There may be other small pockets of biodiversity around the world that are yet to be discovered that could be stumbled upon by searching Google Earth, especially in areas like Mozambique or Papua New guinea which have not been fully explored yet.

Race Started

India and South Africa are in the race to dethrone “the ageing and wounded” Australia as the world’s No. 1 cricket team after the South Africans had walloped the Aussies by successfully chasing 414 runs to win the first Test here on Sunday. The Australian media put Ricky Ponting and his team on the mat by calling some of the key players “over-rated, lacking form or too arrogant for their own good.”

In the race to unseat the Australians there are differences that favor India over South Africa. India has a well-balanced attack that has experienced a good deal of success against Australia, while South Africa’s pace attack has still only displayed the potential to rattle Ponting and Company.

The cricketing empire imagined by Allan Border, forged by Mark Taylor and defended by Steve Waugh is facing its greatest threat in recent days.

Money To Take Home

Angelina Jolie is the highest paid actress in Hollywood according to an annual report by the Hollywood Reporter. Ms. Jolie has taken over the honor from Australian actress Nicole Kidman who topped the list last year but does not even find a mention this year. Last year, $26 million that Ms. Kidman earned for the film, “The Invasion”, shot her to the top but with the lukewarm response to her latest flick “Australia”, the actress fell off.

Ms. Jolie is the new queen, thanks to her prized earning of $23 million for the action film “Wanted”. She is also set to earn another $27.7 million for a sequel of the film. Julia Roberts followed second with $23 million for her film “Duplicity”, while third was Reese Witherspoon, who pocketed $14 million for her new romantic comedy “Four Christmases”.

Other prominent names on the list are Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. Hollywood actors still earn higher wages than actresses, with Pitt, Will Smith and Johnny Depp all earning more that $30 million per movie.

Ponting Still The Main Man

Skipper Ricky Ponting, who has been termed Captain Pout for not supporting his young pace attack has been termed as Australian sport’s most marketable star. Ponting, who might have lost his gloss, should sign up for every luxury watch, vitamin pill and car oil endorsement he can get his hands on.

The 33-year-old Tasmanian, who took the title from Ian Thorpe last winter at the top of a list which includes no fewer than seven retired sports stars in its top 10. That’s seemingly an honor reserved for whoever sits in the Australian cricket team captain’s chair.

Noting that Ricky Ponting was still setting fields to suit retired legends Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, former South African batting great Barry Richards advised the Australian captain to dramatically change his thinking on placements for the current lot. However, the clock must surely be ticking on Punter, who earned about 3 million dollars in 2008.

Information All The Way

Warm-ups like jumping and skipping can significantly improve bone and muscle strength in teenagers, says a new study.

The study found that the 10-minute school-based intervention, provided twice a week for about eight months, significantly improved bone and muscle strength in healthy teenagers compared to regular warm-ups.

Physiotherapist Ben Weeks said the warm-up which included tuck jumps, star jumps, side lunges and skipping with gradually increasing complexity and repetitions, was specifically designed to apply a bone-stimulating mechanical load on the skeleton.

Eighty per cent of bone mass is accrued in the first 20 years and especially around puberty due to the circulating hormones.

The study of 99 adolescents with a mean age of almost 14 years found boys in the intervention group improved whole body bone mass while the girl's bone mass specifically improved at the hip and spine. Peak height velocity is a different ages in boys and girls. Most boys in the group were right at the stage while most girls in the study were past puberty.

Countdown Begins

The auction of new players for the Indian Premier League's second edition will be held February 6 without a ceiling on number of "uncapped" cricket players a franchise can acquire, the cash-rich Twenty20 League's governing body said on Wednesday.

Uncapped players will be the ones who have not played senior international cricket nor have a central contract with the National Association.

Each franchise will have a sum of $2 million to spend on player fees in 2009 for cricket players acquired either in auction, through signing uncapped new players or re-signing any 2008 temporary replacements.

The decisions were made at a meeting of the franchises to apprise them about the player trading regulations for the 2009 edition. The Indian Premier League trading window opens on December 22.

Apart from finalizing the date of auction, it was decided that the number of foreign players in the playing eleven remains four. The Indian Premier League also decided not to allow temporary replacements for teams during the season.

Obama Outlines Revival Strategy

U.S. President elect Barack Obama said he wanted to revive the economy and create jobs by upgrading roads, schools, and energy efficiency in a public-works program whose scale has been unseen since construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, how the money might be divided or the effect on the financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits.

The ideas were outlined in the weekly radio address the day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. They are part of a vision for a massive economy recovery plan Mr. Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office January 20. In the address, Mr. Obama also said he wanted to install energy-saving light bulbs and replace old heating systems in federal buildings to cut costs and create jobs.