China quake-hit pandas to return home

Sixty giant pandas who were transferred to zoos around China after last year's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province destroyed their home are set to return in 2012, state media reported.
The 8.0-magnitude quake in May last year left more than 87,000 people dead and missing in Sichuan, and seriously damaged the Wolong nature reserve, which had 63 pandas in captivity, the official Xinhua news agency said late Saturday.
One panda was killed in the tremor, one is still missing, and another died of an illness, the report quoted Luo Zengbin, deputy head of the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Department, as saying.
The quake also killed 12 people who worked with the pandas, seriously injured 57 others, and damaged nearly 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) of the animals' habitat in southwestern China, the report said.
The surviving animals were moved to zoos in other parts of the country while the Wolong base underwent a 380-million-yuan (56 million dollars) reconstruction programme, expected to be completed by 2011.
They should return to their home base in 2012, the report said.
There are about 1,590 pandas living in the wild around China, mostly in Sichuan, northern Shaanxi and northwestern Gansu provinces. A total of 180 have been bred in captivity, according to earlier reports.
But their notoriously low libidos have frustrated efforts to boost their numbers.
In a recent report issued by the World Wildlife Fund, the conservation group warned that the giant panda could soon die out as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life.

One in six Mediterranean mammals face extinction

One in six Mediterranean mammals is threatened with extinction at the regional level, mainly due to the destruction of their habitat from urbanization, agriculture and climate change, nature body IUCN said Tuesday in a new study.Of the 320 mammal species assessed by the Geneva-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 49 were threatened, including 20 that can be found nowhere else in the world, it said in a statement.Three percent are "critically endangered", including the Mediterranean monk seal and the Iberian lynx, another five percent are "endangered" and eight percent are "vulnerable"."The number one threat is habitat destruction, which affects 90 percent of the threatened species," said IUCN expert Annabelle Cuttelod, co-author of the report, in a statement released in Spain."We need international action to protect key areas and preserve natural habitats to ensure we don?t lose the rich biodiversity in this area," she added.High concentrations of threatened species are found in the mountains of Turkey, northwestern Africa and the Levant, the ancient land now comprising Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.Large herbivores such as deer and rabbits, and carnivores, are particularly threatened.Eight species from these groups, including the common hippopotamus and the Mesopotamian fallow deer, have already gone extinct in the Mediterranean region."To ensure the survival of large herbivore and carnivore mammals in the Mediterranean, we have to restore habitats and food chains," the report's co-author Helen Temple said."We need to encourage people to accept large predators, improve protected areas management and better enforce laws regarding hunting practices," she added.The study, carried out by over 250 mammal experts, did not include whales and dolphins.Over one-quarter of Mediterranean mammal species, 27 percent, have declining populations, 31 percent are stable and only three percent are increasing, the study found. The trend for the remaining 39 percent is unknown.It is the first time that all Mediterranean animals have been assessed for the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Madonna wows VMAS with king of pop tribute

Madonna stunned the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (13Sep09) by opening the show with a tribute to Michael Jackson.The pop superstar, dressed in black, took to the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York to rapturous applause and a standing ovation and listed all the things she shared with the King of Pop - including the fact they were both born in August 1958 and have eight brothers and sister. Her opening speech struck a sombre note when she said, "When Michael Jackson was six, he became a superstar and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick. I never had a mother but he never had a childhood. "When you never get to have something you become obsessed by it; I spent years searching for mother figures... but how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life?" Madonna went on to tell the audience, which included Jackson's brother Jermaine and father Joe, "There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known... Michael Jackson was a hero." She recalled trying to befriend Jackson back in 1991, after deciding the two pop superstars should be pals. She explained, "He showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, 'Michael, I feel like I'm talking to limousine, do you think you could take off those glasses, so I could see your eyes. "He paused for a moment and then he tossed the glasses out of the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, 'Can you see me now, is that better?' In that moment I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. "The rest of the dinner I was hell bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words... Later, we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids and somewhere, in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance, and I was happy to oblige him." Madonna confessed she and Jackson fell out of touch but she felt "his pain" when "the witch hunt began" and he was accused of child molestation, adding, "I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world has turned against you." Holding back tears, Madonna revealed she felt she and the world had "abandoned" the King of Pop after she heard he had died in June (09). She added, "We had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him." The pop star concluded by calling Jackson a "king" and adding, "He was also a human being and alas we are all human beings, and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. "I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, aged nine and four, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house." Her heart-felt tribute proceeded a dance tribute to the King of Pop as footage from the Thriller, Smooth Criminal and BAD videos played on a big screen behind the stage. Dancers hired for Jackson's doomed This Is It concerts in London performed step-by-step moves mirroring those on the screen. The tribute concluded with a short rendition of Scream - his duet with sister Janet, who appeared onstage from behind a smashed mirror. The two Jacksons appeared to dance and perform together.

Barrymore takes car race challenge

Drew Barrymore has accepted a challenge to test her green driving skills on late-night TV in America.The celebrity eco-warrior will go head-to-head with another Hollywood racer when comedian Jay Leno launches his Green Car Challenge during the first week of his new U.S. variety show The Jay Leno Show. Leno tells news show Access Hollywood that the stars are lining up to get behind the wheel of a high-powered electric car, but Barrymore will be the first to try-out the track on 19 September. Leno says, "The fun thing about it, there’s a lot of people... perhaps athletes and people like this who are not good talkers but would be fun in this sort of environment - to see if Shaquille O’Neal is faster than Cameron Diaz." And there's one star the host can't wait to see behind the wheel: "Tom Cruise called and said, 'Can I get in early and practice?' I said, 'No, nobody gets to practice

Gaga dismisses 'feud' with Pussycat Dolls

Lady Gaga has dismissed rumours of a feud with tour mates the Pussycat Dolls, insisting the girl group didn't feel upstaged by the stellar reviews the opening act received.The Just Dance singer got her start in the music industry writing songs for the burlesque-inspired band before carving out her own solo career. And now she has come full circle - she opened for the Pussycat Dolls on a worldwide tour earlier this year (09). But some critics have suggested she was the main draw - as she consistently outshone the headliners. GaGa suggests the reports are aimed at driving a wedge between all the girls, and she insists she'll always remain great friends with her Dolls. She says, "It's something that never really came to my attention until interviews... We had such a wonderful time on the road and I'm just grateful to travel and reach lots of my fans at once. Because of them (Pussycat Dolls), I can now come back and play the area by myself, so I'm very grateful."

World's first cloned wolf dies

Oneof the world's first two cloned wolves has died from an apparent infection, a professor who produced the clones almost four years ago said Tuesday।Snuwolf (Seoul National University wolf) was found dead on August 26 at Seoul Zoo, Professor Shin Nam-Shik of the university told journalists.Snuwolf apparently died of an infection and had no other health problems, Shin said. "But we can't say anything for certain until we complete the analysis of autopsy results."He denied the death might be linked to a faulty cloning technique. "Sudden deaths among dogs and wild animals always happen. This death must not be blown out of proportion," Shin stressed.Shin is a member of the team from the university led by Professor Lee Byung-Chun which created the world's first cloned dogs in early 2005.The team also cloned two female wolves, Snuwolf and Snuwolffy, which were born in October 2005. Shin said Snuwolffy is alive and healthy at the zoo.Their feat was clouded as it was achieved under the stewardship of now-disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk. But a probe by an independent panel confirmed the canine cloning was genuine. one

Tick saliva could hold cancer cure: Brazilian scientists

It may be one of nature's repulsive little blood-sucking parasites, but the humble tick could yield a future cure for cancers of the skin, liver and pancreas, Brazilian researchers have discovered.
They have identified a protein in the saliva of a common South American tick, Amblyomma cajennense, that apparently reduces and can even eradicate cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
"This is a radical innovation," said Ana Marisa Chudzinski-Tavassi, the molecular biologist at the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo who is leading the research.
"The component of the saliva of this tick could be the cure for cancer," she told AFP.
She said she stumbled on the properties of the protein, called Factor X active, while testing the anti-coagulant properties of the tick's saliva -- the way it stops blood thickening and clotting so the tick can keep gorging itself on its host.
The protein shares some characteristics with a common anti-coagulant called TFPI (Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor), specifically a Kunitz-type inhibitor which also has been shown to interfere with cell growth.
A theory that the protein might have an effect on cancerous cells led to laboratory tests on cell cultures which exceeded all expectations.
"To our surprise it didn't kill normal cells, which were also tested," Chudzinski-Tavassi said. "But it did kill the tumorous cells that were being analyzed."
In her modest lab in the institute, housed in a rundown building, a line of immobile bloated ticks could be seen lined up with straws under their heads.
The small amounts of saliva captured that way was reproduced many times over in yeast vats so that tests could be carried out on lab rats with cancer.
The results have been more than promising.
"If I treat every day for 14 days an animal's tumor, a small tumor, this tumor doesn't develop -- it even regresses. The tumor mass shrinks. If I treat for 42 days, you totally eliminate the tumor," the scientist said.
Producing a medicine from the find, though, will require years of clinical tests and a significant financial investment neither of which Brazil is geared to provide.
Chudzinski-Tavassi has applied for a patent on the tick protein, and is presenting her team's discovery in medical journals and conferences around the world.
But she says moving beyond her lab "proof of concept" will be frustratingly difficult.
"To discover this is one thing. To turn it into a medicine is a whole other thing entirely," she said.

Beckham: Three sons are enough for me

Victoria Beckham has hinted she has no plans to add to her boyish brood - insisting three sons are enough to contend with.The former Spice Girl and her soccer superstar husband David have three boys; Brooklyn, 10, Romeo, six, and Cruz, four. And despite regularly admitting that she would love a girl to complete her family, the singer-turned-fashion designer insists she already has her hands full. She says, "I get up early in the morning, get the kids ready for school, take them to school. "Then while they're at school I manage to get my work in. I have to be done by 3pm so I can pick up the kids. "Everybody keeps asking me that (if she wants more children). But three boys? That's a lot."

New York painter barks for art

In her Brooklyn studio the artist stretches, gazes passionately -- then plunges her teeth through the canvas.So begins another masterpiece by Tillamook Cheddar, or Tillie, a Jack Russell terrier some see as rivaling the big beasts of the two-legged contemporary art world.Switching from teeth to claws, Tillie scratches intensely at the paper, covered with vellum lathered in scarlet paint, and protected by Mylar film.Occasionally she pauses to examine her work. Her body trembles with excitement, eyes shine, tongue lolls. Then with a growl and a bark she's off again, tearing, scratching, licking.Sometimes frenzied, sometimes in a trance, she appears oblivious to an entourage of six humans, including a sculptor and painter, and two dogs.After about 20 minutes, owner Bowman Hastie, who describes himself as the artist's assistant, snatches the work to safety.The Mylar and vellum sheets are removed, revealing an unequal storm of red lines raging across the canvas.The visiting artists, who've never seen Tillie in action, are awestruck."She seemed possessed. It was scary," gasps Juan Doe, a painter and comic book illustrator. "The piece," he says, surveying the still wet paper, "is awesome.""It looks like two human lungs," an astonished Ward Yoshimoto, who sculpts and works as a commercial photographer, exclaims.The 10-year-old pooch, named after Hastie's favorite childhood cheese, has built a career that New York's army of struggling artists could only dream of matching.She has collaborated with major established artists like Americans Tom Sachs and Jon Kessler.Her paintings, which sell for more than 1,000 dollars, just had a solo show in Florida and are now part of an animal art exhibition in Ottawa. In October, Yoshimoto and Doe are including her alongside human painters when a gallery they run shows at a Paris art fair.But is Tillie an artist? Or does she just enjoy savaging paint-covered paper?Not everyone thinks the canny canine should swap her kennel for an atelier. New York's Village Voice newspaper pithily labeled Tillie "a sham".Fans point out that Tillie's work strongly resembles the output of human conceptualists selling canvases for a million dollars, or far more, at major auctions.Her works have been likened to those of abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and the surrealist school of automatic drawing in which experimental artists tried to express their subconscious.Hastie, 40, is not an artist and says he stumbled across Tillie's mania for scratch-painting when she was a puppy and began tearing at a yellow legal pad. As Tillie rose to become top dog in the growing world of animal art -- which includes painter elephants, chimpanzees and turtles -- Hastie realized something special was happening. Renowned Belgian artist Wim Delvoye told him Tillie compared favorably to America's Cy Twombly, a favorite at Sotheby's and Christies auctions. "It's like Twombly," Hastie recalls Delvoye saying when he saw his first Tillie, "only it's better than Twombly!" What's clear is that the white-bodied terrier enjoys art, while most other dogs, including her own six puppies, do not. Doe, 36, said Tillie's intense concentration closely resembled "the dreamlike state" artists aspire to when diving into imaginative worlds. "I'm almost jealous. I have to work so hard to prepare everything in life to get where I can concentrate like that," Doe said. "She is so intense." Yoshimoto, 49, said Tillie was more focused than half the students he saw while studying art at Brooklyn College. Her paintings, he said, are consistently interesting. "I'd say you'd put them up anywhere and no one would ever say a thing, not in any museum in the world." Hastie, an editor and writer, said Tillie's ability often made human art aficionados uncomfortable, perhaps because her work does so closely resemble the more rambling efforts of expensive artists. "Some suspect that this is a ploy on my part to subvert the art world," he said. "People don't buy a painting based on what it looks like. They want to have something by a genius and no one wants to say a dog is a genius." Tillie's own views remain a mystery. She took time to calm down after the ecstasy of the painting process. Her body still shook as Hastie fed her a morsel of chicken. Then, while the humans debated her level of genius, she settled onto a sofa, burying her nose into a ragged soft toy. There she lay, immobile, staring into space. Perhaps thinking of great things to come. Perhaps not.

Kruger begged for role with Tarantino

Diane Kruger begged Quentin Tarantino to let her appear in his new movie.The German actress was desperate to star in the legendary director's latest offering, 'Inglourious Basterds', but knew she wasn't the first choice so took extreme measures to secure the role.She said: "I fought for the part. I knocked down doors. I wasn't meant to be in this movie at all - Quentin in fact had someone else in mind, and for whatever reason that didn't work out, and then I finally got to audition and that was it."I literally had to fly myself from New York to Berlin to beg for this part."Diane also revealed Quentin wasn't keen on hiring her as he wanted an authentic German actress - even though she was born in the country.She said: "He didn't believe I was German. My name is German but I also feel like I am commonly known as German. I was born in Germany and so forth, but he just felt like my English was too good and he really wanted authentic people, he didn't want an actress who just sort of had German roots, you know what I mean?"

Lopez scared of dark

The 'Get Right' singer makes her husband Marc Anthony wait until she's asleep before he is allowed to turn off the lights.The 40-year-old star - who is renowned for her diva behaviour - explained: "I like the quiet, but I don't like the dark."We have everything on dimmers so I kind of trick myself into the darkness. Marc always turns off the lights after he comes to bed. I'm usually sleeping - or he waits till I fall asleep and then turns them off."Jennifer and Marc have been married for five years and the star is the first to admit their relationship, like any, "takes work".To help keep the spark alive, Jennifer reads books about successful marriages and relationships.She said: "I'm constantly trying to figure love out. It's the never-ending question - what is the key to love? I'm old enough to know now that relationships take work. That's it's not an easy thing."As well as working hard to keep her marriage happy, Jennifer also admits her and Marc's 18-month-old twins, Max and Emme, present their own wonderful challenges.She told In Style magazine: "There's nothing as huge as giving birth to another human being and having to be responsible for another life. There's you before kids, and there's you after kids - and they're not the same you."Parenthood totally changes your perspective on everything. You don't come first anymore. There's somebody else you care more about than yourself."

Madonna turns 51 on concert stop in Poland

Polish fans joined together in song to wish Madonna a happy birthday at a concert in Warsaw Saturday evening — just hours before she turned 51.
In a break between two songs, a fan held up a sign wishing her a happy birthday and audience members sang, "may you live a hundred years," a traditional Polish birthday song.
"I feel your love!" Madonna told the crowd of tens of thousands gathered on a large green field for the latest stop in her Sticky & Sweet tour.
Many of the fans near the stage also held up paper hearts. One said: "Adopt Me."
Her stop in Warsaw fell not only a day before her birthday, but also on the August 15, the Roman Catholic holiday celebrating the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary — timing that angered some Catholics.
Several people who objected to Madonna held up banners outside the concert venue, and a Catholic group tried to spearhead protests in past weeks hoping to force the Material Girl to change the date of the concert. It failed, however, to win support from the official church or the public. Though Poland, homeland of the late John Paul II, is mainly Catholic, young urban Poles have overwhelmingly embraced pop culture and mores.
During the concert, Madonna also paid tribute to Michael Jackson, who died in June.
A Jackson impersonator did the King of Pop's signature moonwalk dance move while wearing a sequined jacket, white T-shirt, white glove and white socks, while a large photograph of him as a boy appeared on stage.
"Let's give it up for one of the greatest artists the world has ever known," Madonna shouted, and then segued into a performance of her old hit "Holiday."

Size of Aussie birds shrinking from global warming

Australian birds have shrunk over the past century because of global warming, scientists have found.Using museum specimens, researchers measured the size of eight bird species and discovered they were getting smaller in an apparent response to climate change.Australian National University (ANU) biologist Janet Gardner said modern birds were up to four percent smaller than their forebears, a discrepancy she said was statistically significant."Birds, like other animals, tend to be smaller in warmer climates, because smaller bodies lose heat more quickly than larger bodies," she said."As a result, individuals of the same species tend to be larger near the poles and smaller near the equator." She said the study showed that modern birds in Sydney had shrunk to the same size as those previously found in sub-tropical Brisbane, some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) north and seven degrees of latitude closer to the equator.Gardner said the study, published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, found that the birds appeared to be adapting to global warming by becoming smaller to minimise heat stress.The bird species examined by the researchers from the ANU and government science body CSIRO included the grey-crowned babbler, the yellow-rumped thornbill and the variegated fairy-wren.

Gaga dismisses hermaphrodite story

Lady Gaga is laughing off "ridiculous" rumours she has both male and female reproductive organs.Recent Internet footage of the Poker Face singer onstage has sparked fresh debate as to whether or not the hitmaker is a hermaphrodite - because a bulge can clearly be seen. And now gossip website HollyScoop.com reports Gaga actually addressed the rumours of her sexuality with a blog entry at Christmas (08). The website claims the singer wrote, "It's not something that I'm ashamed of, just isn't something that i go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but i consider myself a female." However, the star's manager tells ABC News, "This is ridiculous."

Miley pines for ex-lover

Miley Cyrus "can't get enough" of ex-bo Miley Cyrus "can't get enough" of ex-boyfriend Justin Gaston. The 'Hannah Montana' actress has left a series of heartfelt messages for her former partner - who she split from in June after around a year of dating - on social networking website Twitter, sparking speculation they may reunite.She wrote on Wednesday : "I am in between happy and sad today. I'm happy because I love you. I'm sad because I can't get enough of you."Earlier this week, the pair both confessed they were struggling to cope with the split by posting their innermost feelings on the internet.Underwear model Justin, 21, wrote: "Just recorded a demo.. Now I'm sitting on the couch wondering why we as humans try to pretend everything's okay when it isn't.. Just be real (sic)."Miley replied: "Everything IS ok. Honestly. I can't change you're mind and your heart no longer belongs to me. Maybe YOU'RE the one pretending you're fine (sic)."The 16-year-old star appeared to be dwelling on Justin's words, as she later wrote: "Why do I continue to torture myself?"Drifting away to a better place while listening to 'Comfortable'. This song makes me cry everytime... (sic)."
yfriend Justin Gaston. The 'Hannah Montana' actress has left a series of heartfelt messages for her former partner - who she split from in June after around a year of dating - on social networking website Twitter, sparking speculation they may reunite.She wrote on Wednesday : "I am in between happy and sad today. I'm happy because I love you. I'm sad because I can't get enough of you."Earlier this week, the pair both confessed they were struggling to cope with the split by posting their innermost feelings on the internet.Underwear model Justin, 21, wrote: "Just recorded a demo.. Now I'm sitting on the couch wondering why we as humans try to pretend everything's okay when it isn't.. Just be real (sic)."Miley replied: "Everything IS ok. Honestly. I can't change you're mind and your heart no longer belongs to me. Maybe YOU'RE the one pretending you're fine (sic)."The 16-year-old star appeared to be dwelling on Justin's words, as she later wrote: "Why do I continue to torture myself?"Drifting away to a better place while listening to 'Comfortable'. This song makes me cry everytime... (sic)."

MJ's death reopens old memories for Elvis fans

In the days after Michael Jackson's death, Joann Smith couldn't turn off her TV. She felt she was reliving the pain of her own idol's death almost 32 years ago — Elvis Presley.
"I said 'I can't believe it's happening again,'" Smith recalled. "It hurt, it really did. Even though I wasn't a Michael Jackson fan, I could feel the pain because it happened to somebody I had loved, and I know what his family and his fans were going through."
Smith, who is president of the Elvis Fever fan club in Jacksonville, Fla., and millions of others will remember the fallen icon Aug. 16, the day he was found dead in his home at age 42 in 1977, the victim of heart failure worsened by prescription drug abuse.
They are quick to offer advice to Jackson fans: Focus on the pop idol's music and generosity, not his shortcomings or the rumors about his death.
"Don't believe everything you hear and read," Smith warned. "Respect him for what you hear of his music and don't listen to the gossip."
Sandi Pichon of Slidell, La., who says she knew Presley personally and has written two books about him, "Raised on Elvis! Elvis! Elvis!" and "Elvis on Tour '75," says the pain will ease but never lift.
"Much like Elvis, once he touched your life you're never the same," Pichon said of Jackson. "The comfort they are going to find is listening to his music and relying on his memories and keeping the positive things alive."
Pichon will travel to Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis for Elvis Week, a nine-day run of festivals and events that began Saturday.
If Presley is any guide, there will be a proliferation of Jackson fan clubs. Elvis Presley Enterprises, a corporate entity created by Presley's trust to run Graceland, recognizes more than 500 active fan clubs around the world.
"It's really nice to get together and reminisce — 'Did you see Elvis in concert?' 'What was it like?' 'I played this record until it was no more and I had to replace it,'" said Geri Vegher, president of Oklahoma Fans for Elvis. "It makes a difference to get together and talk things out and relive your memories. I'd tell Michael Jackson fans to be prepared to do that and to do it with gladness."
Fans say it also helps having Graceland, a bustling museum and tourist site with more than 600,000 people a year passing through its music-note encrusted gates. The 13.8-acre home and grounds include the singer's grave.
"I think it makes a difference," Vegher said. "I stand honor guard every year (at Graceland), and when people go up the hill to the grave site they're laughing, they're talking, they're reliving their memories. But when they come back down on the other side, they're sober, they're crying, they're very emotional."
The connections between Presley's Graceland and Jackson's Neverland ranch are strong. Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, was once married to Jackson, and some of the same questions about the future of Neverland were raised about Graceland.
The Presley estate opened the property as a for-profit museum in 1982 to help pay for upkeep. Graceland has since become one of Memphis' top attractions.
"Elvis kind of set the bar for a lot of things, not just the music but even concert production and how security is done. I think beyond his death he's still setting the bar in terms of how to manage the estate and market him," said Jamie Coyne, founder and vice president of Elvis Extravaganza Fan Club in Columbus, Ohio, which bills itself as the largest Elvis fan club in the world with 164,000 members.
"If you take Elvis' grave away from Graceland and put it in a cemetery, you take away the moneymaking ability and the focal point for fans," Coyne said.
But others believe Presley and Jackson shared a magnetism and connection to their fans that transcends any physical place or structure.
"He could give you a grin that would melt your heart or make you believe you were the most special person in the world," Pichon said of Presley. "His love for his fans was reflected through his performance, and I think the same thing is true of Michael Jackson. People felt they were part of his life whether they knew him or not."


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Hudgens wants Efron to give party

Vanessa Hudgens wants Zac Efron to throw her a surprise birthday party. The 'High School Musical' star has been "dropping hints" about what she expects from her co-star and boyfriend Zac when she turns 21 in December.The young beauty said: "I'm hoping someone will throw me a big party. I'm just like, 'Someone throw me a party' because I haven't had a birthday party since I was like nine years old so I think it's about time."It's a great excuse. I was like, 'At 16 I'll have a party' and it never happened. Then I was like, '18, get a party!' Never happened. And so it better happen this year. I'm getting a party this year. I know it!"When it comes to birthday presents, Vanessa isn't fussy - as long as it's not an engagement ring.Even though the star has been dating Zac for around three years, she recently revealed she isn't ready to settle down.She said: "I think marriage and starting a family is great, but I'm so focused on my career right now that it doesn't really cross my mind."

Tiny deer among 350 new species found in Himalayas

The world's smallest deer, a flying frog and catfish that stick to rocks — as well as more than 350 other species — have been discovered over the past decade in the Himalayas, making it one of the world's most biologically rich regions, an environmental group said Monday.
But researchers warn that the effects of climate change, as well as development, threaten the diverse habitat that supports these species.
"This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts of climate change are reversed," said Tariq Aziz, the leader of the World Wildlife Fund's Living Himalayas Initiative, a regional conservation program that covers India, Nepal and Bhutan.
The WWF is calling on the countries to develop a conservation plan for the region — which also includes parts of Myanmar and Tibet — and for governments to give local communities more authority to manage the forests, grasslands and wetlands.
The group found that almost three-quarters of the discoveries between 1998 and 2008 were plants, including 21 new orchid species. But it also listed 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds, two mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates. Most of the discoveries have already been reported in peer-reviewed, scientific journals.
Among the most exciting was the miniature muntjac, the world's smallest deer species — standing just 60-80 centimeters (25-30 inches) tall and weighing about 24 pounds (11 kilograms). Scientists at first believed the animal found in northern Myanmar was a juvenile of another species, but DNA tests confirmed it was distinct.
Scientists also found Rhacophorus suffry, a bright green frog in northeast India that uses its long, webbed feet to glide in the air. They also discovered two chocolate-brown catfish from Nepal that have evolved unique adhesive undersides to stick to rocks in fast-moving streams.
"It is astonishing to observe that a large number of new species of flora and fauna are discovered even today in the Himalayas," Nepal's forest and soil conservation minister, Deepak Bohara, said at the release of the report in Katmandu.
Further study of the eastern Himalayas would find far more new species, said Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia, a wildlife and environment magazine published in India.
"There will be close to 3,000-5,000 species that will be discovered if a systematic study is done over the next five years," he said.
Still, observers say there no reason to believe that the area is immune to the effects of climate change and development.
"While climate change has its impact, which is common to all other such hotspots, human-induced projects such as construction of 100-plus dams in such a fragile and relatively small area is going to worsen the situation further," said Anwarudin Choudhury of The Rhino Foundation in India.

Japan pop star Sakai turned over to prosecutors

Japanese pop star Noriko Sakai was turned over to prosecutors Monday, two days after her arrest on drug charges shattered the singer-actor's wholesome image.
The case of the 38-year-old was sent to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office "on suspicion of possessing stimulant drugs," a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said.
Prosecutors will decide later whether or not she is to face court.
A minivan carrying Sakai, who has a 10-year-old son, was seen shuttling between a Tokyo police station, where she has been detained since her arrest on Saturday, and the prosecutors' office.
Sakai -- who has enjoyed popularity in China, Taiwan and South Korea and is known for her girl-next-door image -- was seen in television footage looking fixedly downwards in the vehicle's rear seat.
Sakai's husband, pro-surfer Yuichi Takaso, 41, was arrested a week earlier with a bag of methamphetamines in Tokyo's Shibuya entertainment district.
Sakai rushed to the scene to defend him before police discovered the illegal substance in his underwear.
She left the scene saying that she had to tend her school-age son, promising to see police later, but then could not be contacted by telephone or email for the rest of the week.
Police issued an arrest warrant on Friday for her after they reportedly found a small amount of methamphetamines at her house, where she was living separately from her husband.
Sakai made her music debut in 1986 and has until recently appeared in TV commercials for carmaker Toyota.
She has also appeared in a promotional video for Japan's Supreme Court to raise public awareness of a new jury system that was introduced last week.
In 1993, she took part in a celebrity campaign to fight youth drug use.

Miley Cyrus looking for Roadie

Miley Cyrus is offering fans the chance to be her 'roadie' for the day to help raise money for her charity. Miley Cyrus is offering fans the chance to be her 'roadie' for the day.The singer-and-actress has teamed up with internet auction site eBay to offer the unique prize in aid of raising funds for her Pappy Cyrus Family Foundation charity, which helps children in need.The 'roadie' - which is a slang word for a member of the road crew who join musicians on tour to assist with the concert set-up - and three of their friends will join Miley on her 14-date US tour and will get to hang out with her backstage.The 16-year-old beauty is also auctioning off some of her "favourite" outfits, including the dress she wore to the premiere of her movie 'Bolt' last year.The 'roadie' will not be the only youngster Miley is taking under her wing.It was recently revealed she had been giving Tom Cruise's son acting lessons. The 'Hannah Montana' star is helping 14-year-old Connor Cruise to make it in Hollywood by letting him watch her work.The teenager - who is the adopted son of Tom and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman - has been "job shadowing" Miley on the set of her hit Disney series. Miley said: "I guess he wants to be an actor too, he is really cute."

Lengthy to-do list for Jackson hearing

The handlers of Michael Jackson's probate and guardianship cases have a full slate at a hearing meant to tackle a number of estate and family issues.At least one major hurdle was cleared last week with a custody agreement between Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and Deborah Rowe, the biological mother of the singer's two oldest children.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has deferred hearing arguments or making rulings on several motions brought by attorneys for Katherine Jackson and the two men who have temporary control of the pop icon's financial matters: attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.Jackson's estate has been described in court documents as having an estimated value of more than $500 million, but its actual current worth is about $100 million, and could increase in value to $200 million or more with some financial restructuring, according to a person briefed on the matter. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.Branca and McClain could leave Monday's hearing with a firmer rein on the estate. Similarly, Katherine Jackson could emerge with guardianship of her three grandchildren, since her agreement with Rowe, which grants the singer's ex-wife visitation rights, means no one is expected to challenge the current arrangement.The to-do list for Monday's hearing has grown in recent weeks, with Beckloff deferring decisions on several issues, most of which have to do with Jackson's finances.Among the issues Beckloff is slated to consider:• An allowance for Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren. The special administrators of Jackson's estate have asked for monthly stipends for the group, noting that Jackson supported all of them when he was alive. Beckloff delayed considering the payments until Monday, but attorneys on both sides agree they are necessary.• Decide when Katherine Jackson will become the permanent guardian of her grandchildren, 12-year-old Prince Michael, 10-year-old Paris Michael and 7-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket. No one else has petitioned for custody of the children, and Jackson was her son's first choice named in his 2002 will.• Whether Katherine Jackson can challenge the men currently administering the son's estate, without actually contesting her son's will. Her attorneys have asked Beckloff to decide whether if they petition to remove Branca and McClain as administrators, they will trigger a no-contest clause in Jackson's trust. Without the protection of Beckloff's ruling, Mrs. Jackson could lose her 40 percent share of Jackson's estate if she mounts a challenge to Branca and McClain's authority.• Mrs. Jackson's attorneys have expressed concerns about possible conflicts of interests that Branca and McClain may have, and have been seeking greater access to Jackson's records in the form of subpoenas and depositions. They sought that authority last week ahead of Monday's hearing, but were told they would have to wait until that day for a ruling.• Decide whether Branca and McClain continue administering Jackson's estate. Court filings indicate the pair have already received $5.5 million from a former Jackson financial adviser, later identified as Tohme Tohme. They have also take possession of many of the King of Pop's property, and have said in court filings that they hope to finish several multimillion deals soon.• Beckloff could be presented with some of those deals. The judge has already approved one that will bring Jackson's 1988 autobiography, "Moonwalk" back to store shelves. The singer left behind several unfinished projects and a trove of unreleased music.

Berry uncertain about future

Halle Berry doesn't believe she will be with her partner forever.The twice-divorced actress - who has a 15-month-old daughter, Nahla, with model Gabriel Aubry - says her previous bad relationship experiences made her vow never to walk down the aisle again.She said: "I'm much clearer about what a relationship is, which is why I will never marry again. Gabriel and I have a great partnership and a lovely daughter. But I once was stupid enough to say, in a previous relationship, 'I'm going to be with this person for ever,' and realised, as I grew, that I don't know if for ever is possible. "Gabriel and I don't look at our relationship in terms of for ever, we look at it as right here today. And today means being the best people we can be, the best parents we can be. It's wonderful, but neither one of us feels the need to attach ourselves to each other for life - because it may not be that."Despite admitting her future with the 33-year-old hunk is uncertain, Halle, 42, would like to have more children with Gabriel and says giving birth to Nahla changed her life.She explained to Britain's You magazine: "I'm certainly open to having another, so I hope so. Motherhood will always be my priority now, especially because I had a child for the first time at 41. 'My priority had been myself for a long, long time, but now it will always be Nahla. You think you know what love is - until you have a child and discover that unconditional mother love."

Jennifer Love Hewitt's wonder wish

Jennifer Love Hewitt's dream role would be as Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman and she believes she has the perfect physique for the part.Jennifer Love Hewitt wants to play Wonder Woman.The 'Ghost Whisperer' actress insists she would be the perfect choice for playing the Amazonian super hero - made famous in the 70s TV series starring Lynda Carter - because she has tiny wrists.She said: "I want to play Wonder Woman really badly. I want them to make the movie of 'Wonder Woman', and I want to play Wonder Woman so bad. That'd be really fun."I'm curvaceous. Gold bracelets! Look at these wrists — tell me gold bracelets would not look good! And I love little tiaras, and Wonder Woman got to wear one of those. I'm very athletic."Jennifer faces tough competition to land her dream role.Singer-and-actress Beyonce Knowles, 'High School Musical' star Vanessa Hudgens and actress Jessica Biel are among those who have recently said they would love the chance to take on the title role in the much-speculated movie.However, one star not interested in the film is Megan Fox.The 'Transformers' beauty blasted Wonder Woman as a "lame" superhero and insisted she has no interest in the film.

Ancient Buddhist treasures dug up in Gobi Desert

Digging for buried treasure in the Gobi Desert sounds like the opening scene of an Indiana Jones film. For Austrian-born Michael Eisenriegler, it was a real-life adventure.The 40-year-old amateur archaeologist was in the Gobi over the weekend, helping to unearth Buddhist relics that had been buried for more than seven decades in a remote part of Mongolia.Less than an hour of digging revealed two crates filled with priceless treasure, including rare manuscripts, Buddhist statues and clothing.The relics were once part of a much larger cache of artwork housed at Khamaryn monastery, located 450 kilometres (280 miles) southeast of the capital, Ulan Bator.The monastery was looted and destroyed by order of the communist government in 1937, but not before one monk named Tuduv hid many of the sacred objects.Around 1,500 boxes of treasure had originally been stored at the monastery. Tuduv managed to bury 64 of them. The rest were destroyed.Tuduv maintained the secret of the hidden crates for decades until finally revealing the story to his grandson Zundoi Altangerel.When freedom of religion was allowed with the end of communism in 1990, Altangerel dug up a third of the boxes and placed his findings in a new museum.Eisenriegler, an online media producer, visited the museum in 2008, met Altangerel, and learned that many more boxes still lay hidden in the Gobi.The museum was apparently not safe enough to house all the artefacts so Altangerel left about 20 boxes hidden in the wilderness. His grandfather had made him memorise the exact location of the crates.Eisenriegler convinced the historian to dig up some of the boxes. That happened on Saturday with a joint team of Mongolian and Austrian experts on hand to inspect the items as they came out of the ground."My ancestors protected these boxes for many years. Now it is my duty to protect them," said Altangerel after the dig. "In the future we plan to dig up the remaining crates." The event was filmed and streamed live on the Internet. Web users who logged on to the site, www.gobi-treasure.com, were encouraged to donate money, which will be given to Altangerel to improve his museum.Viewers watched as the excavators spent 45 minutes digging into the earth, lifted the boxes out of the ground and displayed their contents.The boxes housed a trove of artefacts including bronze statues, holy texts known as sutras and other riches. Altangerel carefully lifted the items out of the boxes and described their meaning.Many were musical instruments, possibly used in Buddhist ceremonies at the monastery. He displayed a small drum that he described as a child's toy.The crates also contained manuscripts. Historians are interested in studying the texts, hoping they will provide clues to daily life at Khamaryn Khiid. "We were deeply impressed with this event.... These treasures were some of the most amazing things that I have seen, especially the statues," Eisenriegler said after the dig.The texts should also go a long way in helping historians better understand the founder of the monastery, Danzan Ravjaa, who lived from 1803 to 1856.The legendary monk wrote hundreds of poems, performed Mongolia's first opera and established schools and a museum. Wild legends about his miraculous feats still circulate among the Gobi nomads. "We did this as a way to promote Danzan Ravjaa in the West," said Eisenriegler. "He is worth being studied and known in the West. We also want Mongolians to get to know their history and Danzan Ravjaa is a big part of that." Danzan Ravjaa was best known for writing Mongolia's first opera, Saran Khokhoo, or "Moon Cuckoo." He staged the event at various monasteries across the Gobi Desert, raising money for building projects at his monastery. When Danzan Ravjaa died his mummified body was placed inside the White Temple of Khamaryn Khiid, and boxes of treasure were set around the body.The relics remained there until the 1930s when the Mongolian army closed the monastery and arrested most of the monks, charging them with "counter-revolutionary activities." After hiding the boxes, the lama Tuduv escaped the carnage and became a herder. Over the decades he kept an eye on the boxes while preparing his grandson for the responsibility of taking care of the treasures.The monastery reopened in 1991 and is now served by about 20 monks. It has become a popular pilgrimage destination for Mongolians seeking spiritual solace.

Pacific needs help to combat climate change

Developed countries need to act urgently to help vulnerable Pacific island nations cope with climate change, international aid group Oxfam said Monday.By the year 2050, about 75 million people could be forced to leave their homes due to climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, the Oxfam report said."Climate change has the potential to affect almost every issue linked to poverty and development in the Pacific," said Oxfam New Zealand executive director Barry Coates."Without immediate action 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost," he said.Coral atolls are particularly vulnerable, including countries such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, which consist solely of atolls that often rise only two to three metres (six to nine feet) above sea level.Climate change is expected to worsen storm surges, cyclones and high tides."Scientists have also projected an increase in diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, together with significant soil and coastal erosion as a result of climate change," Oxfam said.Unless wealthy, developed countries like Australia and New Zealand take urgent action to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, some island nations in the Pacific could become uninhabitable, Oxfam said.Oxfam estimated that around 150 billion US dollars would be needed every year to fund adaptation and emissions reductions in developing countries on top of existing aid.Wealthy, polluting countries must reduce their emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020, and at least 95 percent by 2050 to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change, Oxfam said.The report also said Australia and New Zealand had to be prepared to take refugees from Pacific islands.Australia, New Zealand and other developed countries are expected to face renewed calls for more help over climate change from island countries when the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum meets in Cairns, Australia next week.

Romo bans Simpson

Jessica Simpson has been banned from her ex-boyfriend's house.American football star Tony Romo, who dumped Jessica earlier this month, allegedly told the security team at the Dallas gated community where he lives not to let the singer-and-actress in.According to Us Weekly magazine, a sign at the entrance of his home reads: "Red alert! Tony Romo has made some changes to his list of people allowed in. Jessica is no longer on the list and not approved for access."However, it seems Jessica has no interest in pursuing her former boyfriend.The 29-year-old blonde beauty reportedly paid $19,000 to have 37 boxes containing her belongings transported from the athlete's home to Los Angeles just days after Tony ended their romance on July 9 - the night before her birthday.Jessica has been enjoying her single status by going to the cinema and having dinner with her friends and her mother Tina Simpson.The star has also been spending time with her nephew Bronx, the eight-month-old son of her sister Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and her husband Pete Wentz.Jessica told Pete on her Twitter blog last weekend: "Auntie Jess bought BX his first swim trunks - Burberry style!! A day of babysitting and I'm in love!"He actually danced to Kanye today. Boy has some rhythm!"

Hubble image shows debris from Jupiter collision

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is offering a glimpse of atmospheric debris from an object that plunged into Jupiter in a rare collision with the planet.
Scientists used the telescope Thursday to capture what they call the "sharpest visible-light picture" so far of the expanding gash. An amateur stargazer in Australia spotted the impression last Sunday.
Amy Simon-Miller of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., says the magnitude of the impact is believed to be rare. Simon-Miller estimates the diameter of the object that hit the planet was the size of several football fields.
The debris possibly came from a comet or asteroid that hit Jupiter.
NASA also says the new images prove repairs done on the Hubble in May were successful.

Rihanna’s secret date

Rihanna wet on a secret date with British R n B star Mr Hudson to the film premiere of 'Inglorious Basterds'.Rihanna wet on a secret date with British R n B star Mr Hudson.The 'Umbrella' singer took the 'Supernova' hitmaker to the London premiere of new Quentin Tarantino film 'Inglorious Basterds' on Thursday (23.07.09).She was careful not to be seen with the up-and-coming star, however, until the screening had started.A source told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "Rihanna didn't want to make a big deal out of her going on a date with Mr Hudson, so she never told anyone she was bringing him."They have been meeting up secretly and on the red carpet they refused to be pictured together. Once they were inside the cinema though, they were stuck together like glue and then they both slipped out of the back door at the end to go for a meal."Barbadian singer Rihanna, 21, has been single since splitting with singer Chris Brown after he assaulted her attacked her in an assault earlier this year. It is thought she was introduced to Mr Hudson by his mentor, rap superstar Kanye West.The pair were later spotted together again at the screening's afterparty

Angelina Jolie offers hope to Iraqi refugees

Hollywood megastar and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie on Thursday visited a refugee camp in Baghdad for Iraqis displaced by the war, the UN refugee agency said.Jolie toured the Chikouk camp in northern Baghdad's Kadhimiyah neighbourhood as part of a one-day visit to Iraq, UNHCR spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told AFP.Jolie called for more aid for Iraq's internally-displaced people and said she hoped that the Iraqi government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will provide the refugees with new accommodation."This is a moment where things seem to be improving on the ground, but Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives," Jolie said during the visit."The picture in this camp is a rough one but there are also some people that were able to return home to other safer areas."There are some changes. There are returns of displaced people, not a big number but there is progress." She told the camp's residents that she wanted "to come back and find you in a better place and in a different situation." Chikouk is home to around 12,000 internally-displaced people, most of whom are Shiite Muslims from the predominantly Sunni town of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, who fled fearing for their lives during the sectarian violence that engulfed the country in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.Residents of the camp sleep in poorly-constructed shelters on bumpy ground with surrounding streets piled high with litter.The camp only recently received access to clean water but has no electricity supply, functioning sewerage system nor regular rubbish disposal. Many residents suffer health problems.Jolie was on her third visit to Iraq since she became a volunteer for the United Nations goodwill programme in 2001.The UNHCR is the only organisation providing any services to the camp, although local authorities co-ordinate with the refugee agency to help deliver water and non-food items.The agency estimates that 1.6 million Iraqis were internally displaced by sectarian fighting that flared in 2006.

Rabbits are certainly known for their propensity for multiplying, but one species of jackrabbit is having trouble keeping up. There are an estimated 150 white-sided jackrabbits left in the United States, and federal wildlife officials announced Wednesday they will study the elusive rabbit to determine if it needs to be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
It's not lack of libido that's holding back the white-sided jackrabbit.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the biggest threat is change to the rabbits' habitat brought on by drought, grazing, the suppression of wildfire and the encroachment of shrubs into the Chihuahuan grasslands of New Mexico's bootheel — the only place in the United States where the jackrabbit has been documented. Wildfire helps keep shrubs in check and revitalizes grasslands, which the rabbits depend on.
The rabbit also lives in Mexico, and those populations have also declined, said Nicole Rosmarino, a biologist with the Western environmental group WildEarth Guardians.
Rosmarino said the existing pressures on the white-sided jackrabbit likely will worsen. Forecasters predict extended and more-frequent periods of drought in the Southwest because of climate change.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it's uncertain how climate change will affect the jackrabbit and its habitat, but it plans to look more closely at the potential impact during its 12-month review.
After the review, the agency will decide whether the rabbit warrants protection as an endangered or threatened species. In New Mexico, the rabbit has been listed as a state endangered species since 1975.
"The rabbit has cleared the first hurdle toward federal protection, so that's good news," Rosmarino said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to review the rabbit is the result of a petition and lawsuit filed by environmentalists.
The rabbit's name comes from a conspicuous white area along its body, most noticeable when the rabbit runs. The jackrabbits, usually seen in pairs, mate for life. While they can produce several litters a year, the litters are usually small — between one and three young.
The rabbit's large ears and long limbs are disproportionate to its body, creating more surface area to help the animal dissipate the heat that's part of living in the desert.
Besides the white-sided jackrabbit, WildEarth Guardians is seeking protections for other species, including the Sonoran desert tortoise. The Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to issue a finding on that species, but WildEarth Guardians says the tortoises' numbers have also been cut in half in recent decades.
As Rosmarino points out, Wednesday's decision by the agency puts the rabbit ahead of the tortoise, in both species' race to avoid extinction.

'Tarzan' actress Brenda Joyce dies at 92

Brenda Joyce, the only actress to play Jane with two different movie Tarzan actors, has died. She was 92.
A family friend, David Ragan, says she suffered from dementia for a decade and died July 4 of pneumonia at a nursing home in Santa Monica.
Joyce, whose real name was Betty Leabo, appeared in some two dozen movies but she is best known for succeeding Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane in the "Tarzan" pictures.
She appeared in five "Tarzan" movies in the 1940s, opposite Johnny Weissmuller and later Lex Barker.
Joyce made her last movie in 1949. Ragan says she worked for the immigration department for a decade, helping new immigrants find housing and work.
She is survived by a son, two daughters and three grandchildren.

Harmful myths

Every country/civilisation has its own myths related to both solar and lunar eclipse. In Nepal also there are certain do’s and don’ts handed over from generation to generation. For instance, people are neither supposed to go out nor eat anything during the eclipse. Commenting on this Jayant Acharya, Nepal Chair, International Year of Astronomy 2009 said, “Sunrays kill bacteria, and since there are no rays during the eclipse, the chance of bacteria being active is high. So, I believe that is why people are told not to eat.”However, Dr Chanda Karki, gynaecologist at B&B Hospital pointed out, “The younger generation does not follow this, but we still have not witnessed any harmful effects.”The restrictions are even more heightened for a pregnant woman. She is not only supposed to stay indoors but she should also not touch her stomach or use any sharp objects.While Acharya said that though he has also heard about these things, he has no idea about the reason. On the other hand Dr Karki said, “In my career of more than 20 years or even during my student years, I have never come across mention of any medical danger of solar eclipse to a pregnant wom-an. There might be some astrological reasons but there is absolutely no connection in terms of allopathy.”She confirmed that the only health hazard of solar eclipse is to the eyes when viewed directly.

NASA images show Jupiter apparently hit by object

Astronomers say Jupiter has apparently been struck by an object, possibly a comet.
Images taken by NASA early Monday show a scar in the atmosphere near the south pole of the gas giant.
The images, taken by the space agency's infrared telescope in Hawaii, come on the 15th anniversary of another comet strike.
In 1994, Jupiter was bombarded by pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena captured the new images after receiving a tip from an amateur astronomer the night before.

Ross 'not fighting' with Jackson family

Diana Ross has hit back at rumours she's embroiled in a feud with JACKSON family matriarch KATHERINE - branding reports the pair are at odds over custody over the King of Pop's children "ridiculous".The singer's longtime friend Ross was named in Jackson's will as an alternative guardian for Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II - if his mother Katherine was unable to care for them. The decision was unpopular among family members who have challenged the will, which was drawn up in 2002. Jackson's sister LaToya told reporters, "We believe there is another will which will emerge. He updated his will almost every five years, so we expect one to come from 2007. Michael always told us that he wanted his eldest sister, Rebbie Jackson, to look after the children. Rebbie had a nice family, which Michael loved. He told many family members that she was his choice." Despite the controversy, Ross insists there is no bitterness between her and the Jackson family. A spokesperson for the star says, "Ms. Ross has deep love for the Jackson family."

Solar eclipse pits superstition against science

Indian astrologers are predicting violence and turmoil across the world as a result of this week's total solar eclipse, which the superstitious and religious view as a sign of potential doom.
But astronomers, scientists and secularists are trying to play down claims of evil portent in connection with Wednesday's natural spectacle, when the moon will come between the Earth and the sun, completely obscuring the sun.
In Hindu mythology, the two demons Rahu and Ketu are said to "swallow" the sun during eclipses, snuffing out its life-giving light and causing food to become inedible and water undrinkable.
Pregnant women are advised to stay indoors to prevent their babies developing birth defects, while prayers, fasting and ritual bathing, particularly in holy rivers, are encouraged.
Shivani Sachdev Gour, a gynaecologist at the Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, said a number of expectant mothers scheduled for caesarian deliveries on July 22 had asked to change the date.
"This is a belief deeply rooted in Indian society. Couples are willing to do anything to ensure that the baby is not born on that day," Gour said.
Astrologers have predicted a rise in communal and regional violence in the days following the eclipse, particularly in India, China and other Southeast Asian nations where it can be seen on Wednesday morning.
Mumbai astrologer Raj Kumar Sharma predicted "some sort of attack by (Kashmiri separatists) Jaish-e-Mohammad or Al-Qaeda on Indian soil" and a devastating natural disaster in Southeast Asia.
An Indian political leader could be killed, he said, and tension between the West and Iran is likely to increase, escalating into possible US military action after September 9, when fiery Saturn moves from Leo into Virgo.
"The last 200 years, whenever Saturn has gone into Virgo there has been either a world war or a mini world war," he told AFP.
It is not just in India that some are uneasy about what will transpire because of the eclipse.
In ancient China they were often associated with disasters, the death of an emperor or other dark events, and similar superstitions persist.
"The probability for unrest or war to take place in years when a solar eclipse happens is 95 percent," announced an article that attracted a lot of hits on the popular Chinese web portal Baidu.com.
Sanal Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist Association, dismissed such doomsday predictions.
"Primarily, what we see with all these soothsayers and astrologers is that they're looking for opportunities to enhance their business with predictions of danger and calamity," he told AFP.
"They have been very powerful in India but over the last decade they have been in systematic decline."
Astronomers and scientists are also working to educate the public about the eclipse.
Travel firm Cox and Kings has chartered a Boeing 737-700 aircraft to give people the chance to see the eclipse from 41,000 feet (12,500 metres).
Experts will be on board to explain it to passengers, some of whom have paid 79,000 rupees (1,600 dollars) for a "sun-side" seat on the three-hour flight from New Delhi.
The eclipse's shadow is expected to pass over the aircraft at 15 times the speed of sound (Mach 15), said Ajay Talwar, president of the SPACE Group of companies that promotes science and astronomy.
"It's coming in the middle of the monsoon season. On the ground, there's a 40 percent chance of seeing it in India. On the aircraft you have almost a 90 percent chance of seeing the eclipse," he added.
Siva Prasad Tata, who runs the Astro Jyoti website, straddles the two worlds.
"There's no need to get too alarmed about the eclipse, they are a natural phenomenon," the astrologer told AFP.
But he added: "During the period of the eclipse, the opposite attracting forces are very, very powerful. From a spiritual point of view, this is a wonderful time to do any type of worship.
"It will bring about good results, much more than on an ordinary day."

Unselfish mother

Actress Sandra Bullock says she is tired of people asking her why she hasn’t had a baby yet. Contactmusic.com reports that Bullock, who married motorbike enthusiast Jesse James in 2005 and is stepmother to his three children — Chandler 15, Jesse Jr 12 and five-year-old Sunny — is frustrated with people who keep asking her why she hasn’t had children of her own. She said, “It always seems that people want to talk about my uterus. I’m not talking about theirs... Why are they talking about my innards?” The 44-year-old says she avoided falling pregnant earlier in her life because she didn’t want to be a selfish mother.“I didn’t want to have a child without a partner and I loved children too much to have them right then, because I knew that the minute I have children my life would change. And then I met Jesse and I went, ‘Wow! There’s that feeling of wanting to procreate because I love someone and I see him to be a good father’,” she said.

'Potter' conjures up $159.7 million in 5 days

Harry Potter continues to work box-office alchemy, turning his latest movie adventure into an overnight blockbuster.
The sixth installment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," took in $79.5 million domestically over opening weekend and $159.7 million since debuting last Wednesday, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros. on Sunday.
The movie also took in $237 million overseas since Wednesday in 54 countries, bringing its worldwide total to $396.7 million.
With some of the best reviews of any "Harry Potter" movie, "Half-Blood Prince" was off to the fastest overall start in franchise history.
The sixth movie about the young wizard came in $20 million ahead of the last movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which grossed $139.7 million domestically in its first five days two years ago.
The new film had the second-highest start ever for a movie premiering on Wednesday, trailing the $200 million five-day opening for last month's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
"Half-Blood Prince" already has surpassed the $157.3 million "Order of the Phoenix" pulled in during its entire first week. By the end of its seventh day Tuesday, "Half-Blood Prince" will be in the $180 million range on its way to becoming the franchise's first $300 million domestic smash since the original movie, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.
The audience was a bit older for the new movie, with more elder teens turning out to see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) as they deal with adult concerns such as heartache, jealousy and romantic triangles.
Fans have grown up with the franchise, from young readers whose parents had to debate whether the early movies might be too intense for their children to see.
"When the first movie came out, they fought to go. The mother was like, well, should I take them, should I not take them?" Fellman said. "Now they're driving themselves to this and going to the midnight show."
Sacha Baron Cohen's mock documentary "Bruno" plummeted after its No. 1 debut the previous weekend. The Universal Pictures comedy fell to fourth-place with $8.4 million, down a whopping 73 percent from its $30.6 million opening.
Crowd-pleasing movies typically dip 50 percent or less in their second weekends. But "Bruno" has had mixed reviews and failed to earn the audience buzz that made a $128 million hit out of Baron Cohen's 2006 comedy "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."
After 10 days in release, "Bruno" has climbed to $49.6 million and will finish far below $100 million domestically.
While "Harry Potter" had a healthy start, the overall box office plunged compared to the same weekend last year, when the Batman juggernaut "The Dark Knight" had its record opening weekend of $158.4 million.
The top-12 movies this weekend combined for less than that, taking in $153.9 million, down 39 percent from a year ago.
"We got kind of slaughtered even with the 'Potter' movie, but we knew that was going to happen," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "When one movie last year makes more than what the top-12 movies did this year, you're going to have a down weekend."
Fox Searchlight's romantic comedy "500 Days of Summer," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, got off to a big start in limited release with $837,588 in 27 theaters. That amounted to an average of $31,022 a cinema, compared to $18,376 in 4,325 theaters for "Half-Blood Prince."
A hit with critics, "500 Days of Summer" expands gradually into wide release over the next few weekends

Barton at risk of suicide, say pals

Mischa Barton is said to have recently collapsed at her Los Angeles home because she had allegedly snorted cocaine three days in a row.The 23-year-old actress remained in an involuntary psychiatric hold after reportedly suffering a meltdown.Pals of the former O.C star informed police amid fears she would kill herself after three days of hard partying. “She’s in very bad shape. She’s running out of money and can’t find love, so now she is looking for a good time to escape her misery. She is on a downward spiral. She is a mess. She is a suicidal, uninsurable mess,” the Daily Express quoted a friend as telling the New York Post.Los Angeles police and Barton’s representative have suggested that the actress required assistance for “a medical issue.”They haven’t revealed any further details

Surfing rage gathers momentum in France

America has Big Sur on the Pacific, but when the French want to surf, they take their boards to the rugged Atlantic coast to compete in the Lacanau Pro.Surfing in France is riding a crest of a wave with around 100,000 regular practitioners, including 35,000 who have been through various training schools around the coasts. An example of the crop of French youngsters making the grade is 18-year-old Alizee Arnaud, who won the junior Buondi title at the Cordoama event in Portugal this summer."The conditions were hard for me, with only left-handers while I am easier with right-handers," she said of the waves. "But the victory will help me get to the target I set myself of going to the Billabong junior in Australia." The surge in surfing in France has led to a boom in sales of equipment. France's trade association estimates the market, including surf, windsurf, bodyboard, wakeboard, kiteboard and skimboard, is worth almost 500 million euros a year and is developing at the rate of four percent annually.Youngsters are being drawn to the sport which boasts attractive year-round conditions especially on the shores of Brittany and Normandy in the north, and on the Atlantic southwest coast.Michel Boye, the founder of Ocean Surf Report, is delighted with the huge interest among girls in surfing."France is becoming a surf nation," says the man who set up Ocean Surf Report to provide 'live' data on surfing conditions around the country.For the most part, the watchers, who Boye terms "surf reporters," are people working in surf gear shops or teachers at sail and surf schools. These individuals have unique knowledge about local conditions.As in skiing, the sport is heavily dependent on the conditions at the location where a competition is taking place and the increasingly fanatical tribe of French surfers is desperate for knowledge about the best beaches.Veteran surfer Stephane Arquetil from Bordeaux, 40, said: "Normally I leave home around 6am to go surfing before work and it's vital to know the best place to go." The information network founded 18 years ago now relies on 40 coast watchers who communicate wave conditions, including photographs, to a central website located at this coastal resort which will be the scene of the Lacanau Pro, a major event in the European surf calendar, on August 13-23.Ocean Surf Report employs three full-time staff who provide the daily real-time information service on the web and by telephone, a service which is in demand to the tune of 20,000 internet hits per day. "We are often asked for advice because in winter many of the beaches are unsupervised," says Boye.