Farmers protest against Nano car in West Bengal

Hundreds of angry farmers marched in West Bengal on Monday to protest against a factory making what is billed as the world's cheapest car, one of several protests against farmland seizures, officials said.

Thousands of other protesters, mainly members of the Trinamool Congress, the main opposition party in the communist-ruled state, remained outside the Singur factory for a second day to protest against the project.

Tata Motors is building the factory in West Bengal to roll out the Nano -- the $2,380, snub-nosed "people's car" -- but months of protests against acquisition of farmland have threatened the project.

Tata Motors head Ratan Tata has threatened to move the plant if violent protests continue and its scheduled launch in October could also be delayed.

"We will continue our stir till we get back our land," 70-year-old Laxman Das, a farmer who lost two acres (0.8 hectares) of land to the factory, told local television.

More than 2,500 police guarded the car plant.

The protests reflect a larger stand-off between industry in India and farmers unwilling to part with land in a country where two thirds of the billion-plus population depend on agriculture.

The Trinamool Congress has set up 21 camps to shelter protesters for days and refused to budge from its demands that 400 acres (160 hectares) of land be returned to farmers.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Monday invited Mamata Banerjee, chief of the Trinamool Congress, for another round of talks to settle the issue.

The government said it was impossible to return land to the farmers but it was willing to consider a proper rehabilitation package and even identify farmland for them.

On Monday, about 80 percent of the 4,000-odd employees turned up for work at the Singur factory, a Tata Motors spokesman said.

"I am confident everything will resolve and the car will roll out in October," said Sandipan Chakravortty, managing director of Tata Ryerson Ltd, a joint venture company owned by Tata Steel and Ryerson Inc of the United States.

Tata Ryerson is investing 1 billion rupees ($23 million) for a process steel unit in Singur.

For Tata Motors, India's top vehicle maker, the trouble started after the state's communist government took over farmland for the factory.

The state offered compensation in return, but some villagers refused to obey and are declining compensation.

Blame your hubby for your being fat!

Tried everything but can’t seem to get rid of your post-marriage love handles? Well, don’t question your determination for the failed plan, for the real culprit behind all weight worries is your hubby.

Yes, you heard it right. According to health experts, a husband is more of a hindrance than help in a wife’’s battle with the bulge.

"For some women, marriage definitely can be fattening," the Courier Mail quoted Dr Brian Steadman, a leading British authority on nutrition, as saying.

"It’’s hard enough for them to stick to good eating habits when they’’re single, but they can find it impossible after they’’re married.

"For a start, they’ve got to prepare food for two people, and it gets worse when children come along. Suddenly, she is constantly thinking about food - buying it, cooking it, fixing snacks and meals at different times of the day.

“And if the husband doesn’t need to diet, then with all the best intentions in the world, the poor woman is going to find it very tough preparing big wholesome meals for the family and low-calorie snacks for herself,” he added.

Dr Richard B. Stuart, an American authority on slimming and nutrition, and former psychological director of Weight Watchers International, the author of Act Thin, Stay Thin, agrees.

"If a woman can’’t stay on a diet, it could easily be her husband’’s fault," he said.

"In fact, a husband might subconsciously be encouraging his wife to remain fat, and make it harder for her to lose weight,” he added.

Dr B. Stuart has given some reasons as to why this could be so: if he feels in any way insecure in his relationship, then he reasons that a plump wife is less likely to leave him or make other men jealous, if he has a low sex drive then having a fat wife is a very good excuse for lack of interest or potency.

If he’’s the kind who isn’’t prepared to put a lot of effort into the marriage, then it will be much easier for him to keep her "fat" than "happy", Dr B. Stuart said.

If his wife is a failure as a dieter, it "allows" him to have his workaholic schedule or an affair and there are many other ways that a husband, perhaps unwittingly, can hinder his wife’’s ambitions to keep her weight down, the health expert added

Good sex everyday, keeps doctors away

You would have never thought that a kiss could help keeping dental worries at bay or a gratifying sexual act at night make you feel fit and fresh the next morning. But that’s what studies across the web claim.

Healthy sex leads to a healthy life. You may have tried copious measures to get that extra glowing skin and shiny hair. You must have also worked out rigorously to achieve that perfect ten figure you’ve desired. But the key to your mind and heart is fulfilling sex. Even for those who lose their temper or are always in a depressed state of mind, ’sex’ can be the solution.

A happy sexual life with your partner not only gets you in shape with better skin texture and silken tresses, it also burns extra calories, keeps you fit, combats asthma, relieves headache, reduces depression and tranquilises your mind. From make-up experts, hair stylists, sexologists and fitness connoisseurs – there’s a common consensus that a vigourous sexual life leads to a healthy life – both physically and emotionally. We get them share more on this...

There have been several notions stating that ’sex’ produces certain hormones that bring happiness, which lead to a fit body and a healthy mind. Shedding some light on this, Dr. Sanjay Chugh, specialist on sexual issues, states, "Sex contributes to general good health. Any sexual intimacy that is enjoyable and pleasurable promotes well being by providing several physical and psychological benefits. It is believed that sex boosts chemicals in the body that protects us against diseases. Research also suggests that sex and masturbation can help ease joint and muscle pain, combat depression, promote heart health and lengthen one’s life span."

Dr. Samir Parikh, clinical physiatrist adds, "The basic fact is that a good sex life also means in a larger picture, a good relationship with one’s partner and this makes the partner happier, less stressed and by virtue of that physically healthier."

Not just this, sex also accelerates blood circulation and one’s basic metabolic rate, which further enhances the well-being of our mind and soul and helps us calm down.

On these emotional benefits, Dr Chugh adds, "A satisfying sexual relationship strengthens the bond between couples, making them feel secure and loved. The feeling of emotional connectedness adds to ones sense of belonging, which in totality helps them achieve a positive physical, psychological and spiritual state that is necessary for one’s general health."

Elaborating further, on a scientific angle, Dr Avdesh Sharma, a consultant psychiatrist, and an expert on relationship issues shares, "Sex is a way of bonding at the physical, mental and emotional level and leads to health (including psychological) benefits. If it is used as a mechanical process, it may have limited benefits. There are physiological benefits of positive changes in parameters like pulse, heart rate, reduction in blood pressure (after an increase in B.P. specially if vigourous sex is tried), dilation of blood vessels and capillaries of the skin, leading to a ’glow’, burning of a few calories (depending on the duration of the act and vigour), exercising of some of the muscles, thus improving lung capacity (during heavy breathing)."

However, we also need to understand that sexual acts work more in terms of improving resistance, but are not a safe guard or a treatment to illnesses. Any sexual act can neither be used as a treatment nor would it change your stresses of life, which one would need to resolve irrespective.

"The extra edge of sex may be due to the feeling of being wanted, an expression of emotions and certain hormonal and physiological changes that happen as an expression of love for another individual. Unfortunately, the benefits of sexuality are usually quoted out of context and people may look at this as a panacea for everything. But sexuality without emotions have limited value," concludes Dr Avdesh Sharma.

Problems of ageing

BRAIN
We start losing the brain cells in our 20s but it’s a slow process. About 40 per cent of the people above 65 years have some memory impairment – one per cent of them develop dementia every year. One’s personality stabilises by 30 and any sudden change after that may indicate a degenerative illness.

EYES
Difficulty in focusing on something that’s close starts in the 40s and by the 70s, it is harder to distinguish between the fine details.

EARS
Age-related hearing loss occurs in 25 per cent of the people between 65 to 75 years and in 70 to 80 per cent of those over the age of 75.

SENSES
The ability to taste and smell deteriorates with age and this can start as early as 60. Around 30 per cent of 70 to 80-year-olds experience problems with their senses.

SKIN
Ageing begins at 20 but signs are not visible for another 20 years.

HEART
The risk of a heart attack increases with age – especially over 45 for men and over 55 for women.

HEIGHT
By the time we reach the age of 80, we lose as much as two inches in height due to the curving forward of the spine or because of the compression of the discs between the vertebrae.

PROSTATE
Almost doubles in weight between the ages of 20 and 90. Men over 50 are at a much greater risk of developing prostate cancer.

LIVER
We lose around one-third of our body weight between the ages of 30 and 90.

SEXUAL PEAK
Women are best in bed at 35, while men are thought to peak at 18, when testosterone is highest. However, it must be noted that peak hormones doesn’t mean peak sexual performance. After all, the average age of men buying medicines for this is 41.

MUSCLES
Muscle loss begins around 30. Without regular exercise, muscle mass in women declines by 22 per cent between 30 and 70 years, and 23 per cent in men.

JOINTS
Normal movement puts pressure on our joints and, with the added stress created by sports activities, they usually start to wear out between the age of 40 and 50. This can then lead to osteoarthritis – severe joint pain – in the over 65s.

BONES
These begin to lose density at 50, exposing us to a higher risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

SPINE
At about 60, the number of cells in the spinal cord begin to drop, which leads to a decrease in sensation.

Turmeric can help fight cancer

Synthetic molecules derived from curcumin, main ingredient of Indian spice turmeric, can help kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading, say researchers at Ohio State University.

Curcumin has long been known for its multiple disease-fighting features, including anti-tumour properties. "Newer evidence describes how curcumin interacts with certain proteins to generate anti-cancer activity inside the body. We’re focusing on the pathways that are most involved in cancer and trying to optimise for those properties," said James Fuchs, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy at Ohio State University and principal investigator.

While presenting his study results, Fuchs described a selection of the 40 compounds developed to date, emphasising the synthetic molecules that appear to have the most potential to serve as the basis for anti-cancer
drug development. Fuchs and colleagues are continuing to refine compounds that are best structured to interact with a few overactive proteins that are associated with cell activity in breast and prostate cancers.

Blocking these molecular targets can initiate cell death or stop cell migration in the cancers. With the help of structure-based, computer-aided design, a relatively new technology in the drug discovery field, scientists can make manipulations to computer-designed molecules and observe simulated interactions between molecules and proteins to predict which structural changes will make the most sense to pursue.

"Most of the interaction between our compound and the overactive protein comes from what are called hot spots on the protein’s surface," said Chenglong Li, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy at Ohio State.

"For each spot, we can design small chemical fragments and link them together to make a molecule. This is what computer-aided design and modelling can do," said Li, an expert in computational chemistry. The computer-based predictions have suggested that the most effective compound developed to date can interact with proteins believed to be active in about 50 percent of all breast and prostate cancers.

"To be able to develop a drug that in the future could have potential to treat 50 percent of these cancers would be a major contribution," said Jiayuh Lin, an investigator in Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and an associate professor of pediatrics.

Are you sniffing out right partners?

Women are said to have an inbuilt ability to pick up the scent of a partner who differs genetically. Falling for this type of man helps ensure that the couple’s children will have broad immunity against disease.

But researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that birth control pills disrupt a woman’s power to recognise the aroma of a compatible mate. The study has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Disturbing a woman’s instinctive attraction to genetically different men could result in difficulties when trying to conceive, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies. Passing on a lack of diverse genes to a child could also weaken their immune system.

Called the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), different MHC molecules fight different diseases, so it is important to have a mix of MHC types. Previous studies have shown that, even though humans have a relatively poor sense of smell compared with other creatures, women tend to identify partners with suitable MHC molecules - preferring males with the correct mix of immune genes critical for the survival of future offspring and to curb inbreeding, which is harmful.

To reach the conclusions, the research team analysed how the contraceptive pill affects odour preferences. In the study, one hundred women were asked to indicate their preferences on six male body odour samples, drawn from 97 volunteer samples, before and after they began to take the contraceptive pill.

They did not find that women who were not on the pill were more attracted to men with a different MHC, showing that the preference for genetically dissimilar odour varies from study to study. But they did find that the pill made women more likely to be attracted to a man with a similar immune makeup.

"The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the contraceptive pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odours," Telegraph quoted Dr Craig Roberts, who carried out the work in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, as saying.

"Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odour perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners," he added.

Gold ETFs and gold mutual funds good investment options

In order to cushion the losses resulting from stock market slowdown and rising inflation levels, Rajesh Gupta, a 43-year-old salaried professional, was advised to invest a part of his money in gold. His financial planner backed this advice with the fact that gold has traditionally worked as a hedge against inflation and the declining dollar and has given the investor steady returns.

But Rajesh didn’t want to deal with issues associated with storing gold in its physical form or ensuring the purity of the gold. His financial planner then told him to invest either in Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or gold mutual funds. But the question remained, which one? To help you make the choice, SundayET gives you a lowdown on how to buy gold ETFs and gold mutual funds.

DIFFERENT ASSET CLASSES

According to Lakshmi Iyer, product head-vice-president, Kotak Mutual Funds, “The basic difference between gold ETFs and gold mutual funds are that they belong to two different asset classes.” Gold ETFs give the investor the opportunity to invest in units of gold, which are then traded on the exchange as a single stock. The units issued under the scheme represent the value of gold held in the scheme. Gold ETFs hence fall into the category of commodities.

Gold mutual funds, however, fall into the equity category as they invest in equity and equity-related securities of gold mining companies. Since gold mining companies are not listed on Indian stock exchanges, the gold mutual funds invest in world gold funds that invest in gold mining companies across the world.

RETURNS AVAILABLE

The predominant criterion for all investment remains the returns that can be expected from these funds. An investor should expect a return of around 15% per annum over a two to three-year time horizon. Says Pankaj Sharma, executive V-P and head, business development and risk management, DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers: “The world gold fund has given absolute returns of 31.9% in the period since its inception in August 2007 to July 2008.” He adds that the gold fund they invest into has given an annualised return of 29.5% over the last three years. However, most financial advisors advise that investment in gold must be made for the purpose of diversification and at any point in time, about 10-15% of your assets must be invested in gold.

NATURE OF FUNDS

There is also a strict difference with the regard to the aims of this fund and how they are managed.
Gold ETFs are known to follow a passive investment strategy. “The fund simply buys and holds gold on behalf of the investor without actively managing it. The aim is to give returns as close as possible, post-expenses, to that given for gold as a commodity,” says Iyer. However, when choosing between ETFs, investors need to be aware of the tracking error, which is the difference given by the gold ETF and those given by physical gold.

In fact, when investing in a mutual fund, the investor can rely on the expertise of a fund manager who indulges in active portfolio management and is able to make crucial decisions regarding selecting stocks of gold companies. “The fund manager has an understanding of the quality of gold reserves to mined and will be able to decide which companies will do better than others,” says Ruchir Parekh, fund manager, AIG World Gold Fund.

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT
The reason most gold mutual funds give for choosing a mutual fund is that stock prices of gold mining companies have risen much more than the price of gold itself. According to Parekh: “The GDM index, an index of gold miners, has moved up close to 6.5 times since 2000 as compared to a gold price increase of over three times in the same period.” “There is a multiplier effect on the profitability of gold mining companies with the rise in gold prices, on account on operating leverage,” adds Sharma.

COST BENEFITS

ETFs give investors the opportunity of buying as less as 1 unit on the exchange. Since investors can enter the trade through brokers, there is no entry or exit load and brokerage expenses are not very high. This is favourable in comparison to mutual funds, which have a defined load structure, entry and exit loads and other expenses. However, things like minimum unit size vary for investors who invest in ETF via asset management companies.

THE TRADING EDGE

The advantages of holding ETFs are seen during trading, given that ETF units can be traded like shares. It gives the investor the ability to buy and sell quickly at market price, making them highly liquid assets. Moreover, intra-day trading is also possible with an ETF, which is not possible with open-ended mutual funds. Moreover, portfolio disclosures occur only once a month in a mutual fund but everyday in an ETF.

Working mums are happier!

If you think that working mums become gloomy as a consequence of toiling both at office and home, you need to get your facts checked.
An academic research has revealed that working mums are happier than stay-at-home mums irrespective of the hours they have to spend in the office. The study was led by Alison Booth and Jan Van Ours and was carried out by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

It was found that even those mothers who work more than 45 hours a week benefit from much higher levels of “life satisfaction” than full-time mums. This finding counters the long held assumption that mothers would be more pleased if they stayed home with their children.

It was concluded three years ago by a research conducted by the Centre for Policy Studies that almost half of the mothers were working only because they needed money. The popularity of David Cameron’s promise to offer tax breaks to married couples to help mothers stay at home was also doubted by the researchers.

However, the report guaranteed Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness, high levels of life satisfaction was found among women working part time, those who work 30-34 hours a week and 41-45 hours a week also reported high levels of wellbeing.

“Women without children do not care about their working hours, while women with children are significantly happier if they have a job, regardless of how many hours it entails,” Times Online quoted the authors of the report, as saying.

The data compiled in eight years of the British Household Panel Survey, which questions 5,500 households on an annual basis, had been utilized for the report.

It was also found that children had no role in increasing life satisfaction for men. However, among women, it increases only when children start going to school.

The Conservatives will be charting out plans to make single parents, who have children at school, work and to make joining a training programme a condition of receiving benefit.

August is the break-up month of the year!

Planning a vacation with your partner in the month of August? Well, in that case, better watch out, or you could come home with your love life in ruins.

According to a new research, August is the month when you are most likely to be dumped by your partner. Researchers have found we make crunch decisions on our romantic life while lying on the beach or by the pool.

During the rest of the year, say the researchers, people are so stressed by work and caring for the children they don’t have time to stop and think. But during their summer holidays, many couples spending time together realise they have nothing in common and are trapped in a duff relationship.

“We frequently receive feedback from customers asking for a ‘you’re dumped’ card,” The Daily Star quoted Andrew Gibson of The Card and Gift Company which carried out the research, as saying. “The number getting in touch has shot up, suggesting August is the time when they consider ending their relationship,” Gibson added.

Want to spice up your sex life? Try hot curry

Want to make your bedroom life more adventurous? Well, in that case, turn to Thai green curry, which has been found to give a person’s libido that much needed boost.

The conclusion is based on a new research, which found that the ’magical’ meal is full of aphrodisiacs. The curry includes cardamom, ginseng, garlic, ginger, basil, lemon grass and asparagus - all considered to get you feeling sexy.

The top-10 list of takeaway meals based on the number of aphrodisiac ingredients per meal was compiled by takeaway company Just-Eat. Hot and spicy pizza topped with tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, olives, meatballs and chillis grabbed the second position, according to research for takeaway website Just-Eat.co.uk.

Chicken Korma comes in at number three, thanks to its blend of coconut, garlic, chilli, ginger and almonds - all said to improve sex drive in females. Seafood Laksa is fourth because of its coconut milk, ginger, garlic, basil and onions. "Thai green curry has long been known in the East to boost sex drive," The Sun quoted Just-Eat’s Ash Ali, as saying. "The British public instead only tend to know more expensive aphrodisiacs such as oysters and caviar," Ali added.

Other foods sure to steam up more than just the kitchen are meatballs and pasta, king prawns with ginger, sushi and even chicken tikka masala, say the experts.

The top ten are:

Thai green curry, Hot and spicy pizza, Chicken korma, Seafood Laksa, Mole poblano, Sushi, Chicken tikka masala, Spicy balinese curry, Spicy Meatballs and pasta, King prawns with ginger and spring onions.

Work hard, sleep harder

Cut down screen time
You may be logging in to your email account or maybe watching a movie every night before you go to sleep, or even playing a game on your mobile, and SMSing your friends while at it. You may only be killing time and waiting for your eyes to get droopy. However, that’s exactly what you shouldn’t be doing. When you sit in front of a computer monitor or maybe a TV, it stimulates the brain and makes it even more difficult for you to sleep. Simply put, darkness makes the body realise that it’s bedtime and exposure to light interferes with the body clock by creating a fake sense of alertness.

Exercise enhances sleep
Exercising has many benefits – good sleep being one of them, provided you exercise in the morning or at the most during the afternoon. Research has shown that those who follow a regular fitness schedule during the day sleep much better during the night. However, those who exercise just before bedtime enjoy no such benefits.

Eat right
Remember the age old trick of having warm milk before going to bed? It was certainly not without a reason. Some foods are more beneficial for a good night’s sleep as compared to others. Eating fruits like bananas and pears and foods like whole wheat bread help one sleep better. So does having a glass of warm milk, or hot chocolate. Going by that logic, if you find yourself struggling to keep your eyes open during the day, make sure you cut down on similar foods in your day time meal.

The power nap
The benefits of a power nap have been recognised all across the world, with more and more companies even moving a step ahead and providing ‘power nap’ breaks for its employees. Depending on how feasible it is for you, get a power nap when you are feeling exhausted. It energises you and provides the same benefits as a sound sleep in the night.

Avoid the strong Alarm
You are enjoying your beauty sleep and suddenly your buzzer (that sounds more like the emergency fire alarm) goes off. As a result, you wake up, extremely startled, and ready to spend the rest of your day in a zombie like state, and with a severe headache. However, the catch-22 situation is that anything mild will not wake you up. In cases like these, use the dual alarm system. Set up a soft alarm (that can be heard) near your bed and the fire alarm-like buzzer away from you and set to go off exactly two minutes after the softer alarm. This way, you won’t be jolted from sleep and yet have the stronger backup to pull you out of bed.

Visualise
Few things in life are as frustrating as lying on the bed and waiting for sleep to take over. And it gets worse every passing second and as you get desperate for sleep that simply refuses to come by. The problem in this case is your overactive mind that’s still focusing on the fact that you are not getting sleep. Visualise a beautiful beach, breathe in and out and use meditation techniques to get your mind off the issue.

Musharraf resigns as Pakistan President

Pervez Musharraf has stepped down as president of Pakistan to avoid impeachment charges. He made this announcement during a televised address to the nation on Monday. “After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign,” Musharraf said.

"I leave my future in the hands of people," he added. “Please forgive me, I am human,” he said.

“I don’t want Army to be dragged into this controversy,” he added.

(Watch: All charges against me are baseless, says Musharraf)

In his address to the nation Musharraf said, "I have confidence in self and on God that no chargesheet can stand against me. No charge can be proved against me, because I have never done for myself. I have done all for Pakistan." ( Watch)

Musharraf said he was proud of his achievements. He defended his economic record. “We have taken the nation forward,” he said.

Musharraf said his priority has been to evolve democracy in Pakistan

He also criticised his detractors during the speech. “I have kept Pakistan’s interests over and above everything, I am proud to have fought for the country,” he said. The Pakistan president added all allegations against him were baseless.

Musharraf said he had always been open to reconciliation with political parties.

Meanwhile, the country’s ruling coalition had prepared impeachment charges accusing Musharraf of violations of the constitution and misconduct.

Musharraf, 65, came to power in a 1999 coup and has anchored Pakistan’s alliance with the United States, especially since Pakistan signed up for the US-led campaign against terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Following are some of the political, economic and diplomatic implications of his resignation.

INTERNAL POLITICS
* Opposition to Musharraf has bonded rival parties in the coalition government. His departure could see them drift apart.

* The Pakistan People’s Party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto leads the coalition, with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) its main partner. The two main civilian parties are old rivals and despite recent cooperation, will compete in the next election.

SECURITY
* The coalition government has vowed full commitment to the campaign against violent militancy. Despite questions over its policy of trying to negotiate with militants, recent operations in the northwest should have reassured Washington and other allies the government will match Musharraf’s security efforts.

* The military plays a dominant role in security policy, and its cooperation with the new government has been smooth.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
* The United States, apparently resigned to Musharraf’s exit, says Pakistan’s leadership is a Pakistani matter. Ties between the new government and Washington are good and should remain so as long as the latter is satisfied the government is doing enough to stop militancy, in particular attacks into Afghanistan.

* The new government is committed to the peace process with India launched under Musharraf in 2004.

ECONOMY
* The government has vowed to turn its attention to economic problems after Musharraf leaves. Inflation is at its highest in years, and trade and fiscal deficits are widening. High oil prices have depleted foreign reserves while the rupee has lost about a quarter of its value this year. An end to the uncertainty over Musharraf should ease investor worry. Stocks rose 3.6 percent on Friday as investors cheered his possible departure as a milestone toward easing tension.

THE NEXT PRESIDENT
* Who becomes next president could depend on the powers the position retains. Musharraf has authority to dismiss parliament and make top military and judicial appointments. Coalition partners vow to strip the presidency of those powers and make it a largely ceremonial post.

However, analysts say Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, might want the job, in which case he will want to keep the powers. Zardari has also suggested the next president might be a woman.

Newspapers have speculated an ethnic Pashtun leader, Asfandayr Wali Khan, whose liberal party is part of the coalition, might get the job.

The president is elected by the four provincial assemblies and the national parliamen

Americans appear to be drinking less alcohol

The overall consumption of alcohol is declining among Americans, new research suggests. However, there does not appear to be any significant decline in alcohol-related disorders.

The findings were derived from the drinking habits of 8600 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a multigenerational study of risk factors for heart disease and other chronic diseases that began in 1948.

In addition to an overall decline in drinking, Dr. Yuqing Zhang of Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while intake of hard liquor has remained largely unchanged.

The results also show that younger people (born later in the 20th century) drink more moderately than older people and that alcohol consumption tends to decline as people age. The number of people describing themselves as non-drinkers also increased markedly with age, according to the researchers.

In the latest issue of The American Journal of Medicine, Zhang and colleagues say the findings "may be considered encouraging in many ways." The average alcohol consumption has decreased among individuals born more recently; the percentage of the population exhibiting "moderate" drinking" has increased steadily; and the percentage of "heavy drinkers" has decreased over time."

"While these data suggest the development of more favorable patterns of alcohol consumption over the latter part of the 20th century, they also show that, at the same time, the cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders has not shown a decrease, and continuing efforts at preventing them are warranted," they emphasize.

SOURCE: The American Journal of Medicine, August 2008.

North pole may be ice-free by 2013

The meltdown in the Arctic is speeding up and as a result the north pole could be ice-free by 2013 instead of in 60 years’ time as earlier predicted, scientists have warned.

Their apprehensions are based on computer studies of satellite images that reveal that ice at north pole melted at an unprecedented rate last week - the disappearance is said to have exceeded the record loss of more than a million square kilometres in 2007 as global warming tightened its grip.

"It does not really matter whether 2007 or 2008 is the worst year on record for Arctic sea ice.

"The crucial point is that ice is clearly not building up enough over winter to restore cover and that when you combine current estimates of ice thickness with the extent of the ice cap, you get a very clear indication that the Arctic is going to be ice-free in summer in five years.

"And when that happens, there will be consequences," British newspaper The Observer quoted Prof Wieslaw Maslowski of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey as saying.

Using the US navy supercomputers, his team produced a forecast which indicated that by 2013 there will be no ice in the Arctic - other than a few outcrops on islands near Greenland and Canada between mid-July and mid-September.

Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University added: "The most detailed computer models suggest the Arctic’s summer ice is going to last for only a few more years - and given what we have seen happen last week, I think they are probably correct.

'On pill? Forget your Mr Right'

Give a second thought before you pop the next contraceptive pill, for a study has revealed that it may disrupt a women’s natural ability to choose Mr Right.

A team at Liverpool University in Britain has carried out the study and found that the contraceptive pill changes a woman’s choice in men by altering the way she actually reacts to a male body odour.

According to experts, a man’s aroma gives a clue to his type of genes and ability to fight disease, and women subconsciously react to the smell to pinpoint a partner with dissimilar genes to themselves. But taking the pill could disrupt this ability to sniff out the ideal partner, the Daily Telegraph reported.

And some possible consequences — women could be more attracted to partners with whom it would be harder to conceive if they want children, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies.

Passing on a lack of diverse genes to a child could also weaken the women’s immune system. Known as Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), different MHC molecules fight different diseases, so it is important to have a mix of MHC types, according to the researchers.

The British team analysed how the birth prevention pill affects odour preferences on 100 women. They did not find that women who were not on the pill were more attracted to men with a different MHC, showing that the extent to which preferences for genetically dissimilar odours varies from study to study.

Thank God, it's a boy!

Numerous scientific studies being conducted worldwide today link a mother’s diet to the sex of the child. These studies talk about high calorie diets that ‘boost’ chances of a baby boy; mete out advice for wannabe mums: cereals for a boy, diet for a girl! Are we still obsessed with having a male child?

‘Putrarthe kriyathe varja’ is an ancient Sanskrit phrase that means: ‘we marry with the soul aim to have a son to keep the clan progressing’. These words are just as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

They reflect the age-old desire, rather, obsession, for the male child not only in India but in the West too. Yes, astonishing as it may sound, an increasing number of studies are being conducted worldwide that advise mothers-to-be on diets and practices to be followed for a baby boy.

The male-child syndrome
Take a look at this. According to a study conducted at Britain’s Oxford and Exeter Universities, a high calorie diet at the time of conception increases the chances of having a baby boy.

Another study ‘warns’ that the chances of giving birth to a baby girl are higher for mothers who are on a diet around the time of conception. Yet another one links mom’s aggressive temperament or for that matter the day of intercourse with the likelihood of conceiving a male child!

Coming to India, the fixation with a male child takes on a whole new meaning. From grandmothers, to mothers, nannies, and even religious gurus – just about anyone has some hot ‘tip’ to give to wannabe mums.

These tips include, though not limited to, asking mother-to-be to eat bananas (rich in potassium) every morning to have a baby boy; gorging on salty snacks (rich in sodium) and cereals; and even asking fathers-to-be to have a cup of coffee before intercourse!

Diets aside, ‘tips’ are also generously dished out on important positions and days. Seventy-five year old Nirmala Devi takes the guarantee of a baby boy if the woman lies on her left during intercourse; according to a priest at a temple: “Conceiving on full moon night gives a baby boy.”

Couples also rely on practices like numerology and astrology to determine the sex of the baby. “We constantly get queries from people asking prediction about their child’s sex and also measures to conceive a baby boy, “informs numerologist Rajesh Khattar. So intense is the desperation shown by these couples that Khattar ends up with suggestions such as: finding a suitable mating day or a particular age of the mother in which chances of giving birth to a baby boy are higher.

Do these measures provide any guarantees? Do they actually work? “There’s no guarantee; however the solutions are based on the experience of a few people. They might and might not work for everybody. Personally, I discourage such queries but couples are in no mood to listen to ‘no’,” says Khattar.

“I couldn’t believe when a Korean couple asked if mating on the day of ovulation could get them a male baby?” says Dr. Ranjana Gupta, gynaecologist at Fortis La Femme.

s it an obsession?
That brings us back to where we started: are we still obsessed with the male child? The answer to that is not hard to find. A glimpse at the census figures shows a dwindling sex ratio in the country. The number of girls for every 1,000 boys in India has fallen to 927 in 2001 from 962 in 1981. In some states the men have to look elsewhere for brides.

Elaborates Dr. Ranjana, “To some extent still there exists an obsession for the male child. Though the picture is gradually changing and we do come across couples who are not bothered about the sex of the baby and also some who actually want a baby girl. At the same time we cannot ignore the large number of couples who come in with a desire to have a male child and ask for hit and trial methods like the position or day or diet to have one. ”

For what joy?
In India, the reasons behind the deep-rooted desire to have a male child are two-fold: one, to further the clan, and two, societal pressure.

Rohit and Nandini, both bankers are going to have their first baby and they want a boy. Ask them why and ‘family expectations’ are cited as the reason: “It’s my grandmothers’ wish to see her great grandson before she dies,” explains Rohit.

Another couple, Sadhna and Rajesh, who are planning their family, have a healthy baby on their wish list. For Rashi and Vikas who already have a girl, “having a baby boy as their second child will not just be a mark of completion to our family but will also keep everybody happy at home.”

“Those who are having a second child after a baby girl are more eager to have a boy and want to try out different methods. But we always tell them to pray for a healthy baby,” says Dr. Rinku Sengupta, gynaecologist.

For some, a baby boy signifies happiness and a ‘complete family’, for others it is important to fulfill family expectations. No matter how ‘open-minded’ or ‘content’ families may appear to be, the desire for a male child drives couple to follow ‘tips’ mindlessly.

According to Dr. Rinku : “There is no medical proof of such studies, so we always discourage our patients to try such methods. Still, we meet couples who are quite adamant to try things like conceiving on a particular day during the ovulation cycle or in a particular position, justifying it with the fact that if there’s no benefit there’s no harm either.”

Where are we going wrong?
Whether such practices cause harm will always remain a matter of debate, a constant tussle between the mind and the heart, the believers and non-believers.

The question is: is the desire for a male child so deep-rooted that it’s still most venerated by all? The question becomes all the more consequential for countries such as India, where skewed sex ratios tell a darker story – female infanticide.

There cannot be a worse plight for a nation where the Prime Minister himself has to come forward with an urge to save the girl child and Dr. Manmohan Singh recently did that calling it “national shame” for a country that’s riding high on economic prosperity.

So when Meenakshi, a young mother, out the many that we had already spoken to, stated her wish to have a baby girl, even after having one already, it felt that all was not lost. Hope exists. Of course, the battle will only be won when more and more Meenakshis are born.

How to boost your energy?

Energy, like the Biblical grain of mustard seed, will move mountains,” so said Hosea Ballou, the famous theological writer.The most severe limiting factors when you are working towards a better life is your level of energy. But, it is easy to reduce the number of times you feel too tired to accomplish your goals. All you need to do is...

Ways to reduce fatigue

Try to schedule playful breaks into your workday – listen to a favourite song, plan a fun weekend or evening, browse through your favourite catalogue, fantasise about your next vacation, play with a puzzle or toy, call your best friend, do something that you enjoy or love to do... The list is endless. The point is, what you do should revitalise you.

Eating a light lunch dominated by protein ensures afternoon vigour and helps boost your energy level. Drink plenty of water – at least eight glasses a day. Fill your diet with plenty of grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. They are a good source of nutrients and energy.

Laugh a lot. A hearty laugh stimulates the release of chemicals in the brain that increase well-being.

Exercise briskly at least three times a week, for twenty minutes each session. Find a healthy pickme-up that provides needed sugar to your system midafternoon when most people’s blood sugar drops.

Make sure you do enough deep breathing during the day to keep sufficient oxygen in your blood. Three or four times during the day, take eight deep breaths and hold each one for a long time. Continue the deep breathing if you notice a difference in your energy level. If you get tired in the late afternoon, take a refreshing nap. It will relax your mind and body.

Try to get the right amount of sleep – you know you’re on track when you can beat the need for an alarm clock to wake you up.

Finally, a pill to cure common cold

Got a cold? Now, you can get rid of it by simply popping a pill. Scientists have long grappled for ways to cure common cold. Now, an international team has developed a drug which it claims can be effective against bugs that cause half of colds in adults and almost all colds in children.

According to researchers in UK, the cold-busting pill known as BTA798 could be used to clear up sniffles in healthy people and prevent any kind of life-threatening infections in asthma and cystic fibrosis sufferers.

In fact, the drug works by latching on to cold-causing HRV, preventing them from breaking into the body’s cells and causing infection. In a double-pronged attack, it also stops any infection from spreading, the Daily Mail reported.

In laboratory tests, the drug killed large quantities of cold virus within a couple of hours. And, trials on British volunteers have started to determine whether it could prevent people from catching a cold. If successful, the drug could hit the markets in five years’ time.

Want to live a long life? Run

People who want to live a long and healthy life might want to take up running. A study published on Monday shows middle-aged members of a runner’s club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run.Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, researchers at Stanford University in California found.

"At 19 years, 15 percent of runners had died compared with 34 percent of controls," Dr. Eliza Chakravarty and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Any type of vigorous exercise will likely do the trick, said Stanford’s Dr. James Fries, who worked on the study.

"Both common sense and background science support the idea that there is nothing magical about running per se," Fries said in a telephone interview. "It is the regular physical vigorous activity that is important."

The team surveyed 284 members of a nationwide running club and 156 similar, healthy people as controls. They all came from the university’s faculty and staff and had similar social and economic backgrounds, and all were 50 or older.

Starting in 1984, each volunteer filled out an annual survey on exercise frequency, weight and disability for eight activities -- rising, dressing and grooming, hygiene, eating, walking, reach, hand grip and routine physical activities.

Most of the volunteers did some exercise, but runners exercised as much as 200 minutes a week, compared to 20 minutes for the non-runners.

At the beginning, the runners were leaner and less likely to smoke compared with the controls. And they exercised more over the whole study period in general.

"Over time, all groups decreased running activity, but the runners groups continued to accumulate more minutes per week of vigorous activity of all kinds," the researchers wrote.

"Members of the running groups had significantly lower mean disability levels at all time points," they added.

The team also set out to answer whether taking up running late in life would benefit, and whether people who stopped exercising began to pay a price as they aged.

Most of the runners have stopped running as they reached their 70s, Fries said. But it was difficult to find people who totally stopped exercising. "Almost all of them did something else. They continued their vigorous exercise," he said.

People who took up exercise when they were older also improved their health, he said.

The study also showed that people cannot use the risk of injury as an excuse not to run -- the runners had fewer injuries of all kinds, including to their knees.

Fit and fat: Study shows it's possible

It may be possible to be both fat and healthy, researchers reported on Monday, for at least half of overweight adults, and close to a third of obese men and women, have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and other measures of heart health.And being lean does not necessarily protect people, either. Close to a quarter of normal-weight U.S. adults in one study had risk factors for heart disease or diabetes.

"We really don’t know as much about obesity as we think we do," Judith Wylie-Rosett of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who oversaw the study, said in a telephone interview.

"A considerable proportion of overweight and obese U.S. adults are metabolically healthy, whereas a considerable proportion of normal-weight adults express a clustering of cardiometabolic abnormalities," Wylie-Rosett and Rachel Wildman and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Wylie-Rosett’s team looked at data on 5,440 men and women who were examined and filled out questionnaires for the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys between 1999 and 2004. Most did not exercise very much.

They found just over 51 percent of those who were overweight, and 31.7 percent of those who were obese, had healthy levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and other measures linked to heart disease.

These measures have been shown in many other studies to predict heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and other heart disease, although this particular study did not look at whether people suffered any of these problems.

OBESE YET HEALTHY

More than 23 percent of those who were at a healthy weight, as measured by body mass index, had two or more unhealthy readings, the researchers found.

"Our study shows you can still be healthy even if you are obese," Wylie-Rosett said.

Her team did not look at people’s diets, but she believes the location of body fat is as important as how much there is. Many studies have shown that having visceral fat, in and among the internal organs, may be more dangerous than having fat thighs or buttocks.

But when Wylie-Rosett’s team measured waist circumference, a common way to estimate visceral fat, more than 36 percent of the obese people with what should have been dangerously large waists had healthy blood test results.

A second study suggested that the liver may be the key.

Dr. Norbert Stefan and colleagues at the University of Tubingen in Germany closely examined 314 people, using magnetic resonance imaging to look at precisely how much body fat they had and where it was.

They also found that obese men and women could have healthy hearts and arteries and suggested that having fat on the liver may be what makes the difference.

"Altogether, 10 percent of the study population and 25 percent of the obese subjects had a high insulin sensitivity phenotype or ’metabolically benign obesity,’" they wrote in their Archives report.

"Our data suggest that ectopic fat accumulation in the liver may be more important than visceral fat in the determination of such a beneficial phenotype in obesity," they wrote.

"That’s an area that we are very intrigued with as well," Wylie-Rosett said," adding: "If you start stuffing people with calories, it is very much like making pate from goose liver."

Geese are often force-fed to make their livers fatty and thus more suitable for pate-making.

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

Now, a 'wine' drug for fatal diseases

A drug that fights aging and halts the onset of diabetes, cancer and heart disease, may hit market shelves in another five years, claim researchers.According to scientists, the magical drug can be used to prevent Alzheimer’s and can also reinvigorate patients giving them more stamina. The drug is made up of chemicals that mimic resveratrol, a compound which is found in the skin of red grapes.

Earlier studies have shown that resveratrol cuts the impact of a high-fat diet, doubles stamina and extends lifespan in mice.
However, to get the same benefits, a human would have to drink around 1,000 bottles of wine.

Now, Sirtris, a pharmaceutical firm has developed a pill based on two chemicals that act in the same way. In one study on mice, which was published last year, the drug was found to undo diabetes’ symptoms.

The first clinical trials on humans are now under way and the developers believe it could also help prevent diseases including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. “The excitement here is that we’re not talking about red wine any more. We’re talking about real drugs. We will make a drug to treat one disease but it will, as an added bonus, protect you against most of the other diseases of the Western world. One of the drawbacks of resveratrol is that the doses need to be large,” The Daily Mail quoted David Sinclair, co-founder of Sirtris, as saying.

“Now this paper says you can reduce it into a little pill taken once a day. The chance of success in humans is estimated at 80 to 90 per cent,” he added. David’s researchers have tested around 500,000 molecules to find those that would have the same effect as resveratrol on genes known

Soaring inflation likely to hit India's power projects

To achieve the power generation targets fixed in the 11th Plan period, the government may have to revise the investment in power projects in view of 25 per cent rise in prices of key input materials including cement, steel, aluminum, copper and zinc over last two years, an ASSOCHAM Eco Pulse (AEP) Study has revealed.

With WPI based inflation rate hovering close to 12 per cent and expected to be in double digits for quite some time, the proposed power projects in India could take a hit from increased cost of inputs and a recent down-turn in the core infrastructure industrial productivity, according to AEP Study on “Impact of Inflation on the Power Projects”.

“The Planning Commission has estimated the fund requirement of Rs. 4,10,897 crore for the likely capacity addition of 68,869 MW during the 11th plan. However, considering the recent trends in inflation, this amount is now seen as substantially low. Therefore, there should be an upward revision for the funds to be invested in the power sector to ensure that 11th Five Year plan targets are met”, said Mr. Sajjan Jindal, President, ASSOCHAM.

The key input requirement includes Cement, Steel, Aluminium, Copper and Zinc. The weighted cost of these key input materials for the power sector in the 11th plan has seen an increase of 25 per cent over the last two years.

Steel and Cement being the most vital inputs for the planned capacity addition with a total requirement of 45.88 million tonnes, constituting almost 95 per cent of the total key input requirements, the rise in their prices may largely impact the costs of the power projects under construction. Between the period June 2006 to June 2008, the WPI for Cement and Iron & Steel has increased by 30.63 per cent and 11.73 per cent respectively.

Impacting the project cost significantly, the WPI for Aluminium, Copper and Zinc has also risen tremendously over the last two years. The prices for Aluminium and Zinc have increased by 17.75 per cent and 45.82 per cent respectively while the WPI for Copper has almost doubled. It has gone up by 99.08 per cent over last two years.

TOTAL REQUIREMENT & INFLATION IN VARIOUS INPUTS FOR
CAPACITY ADDITION PLANNED DURING 11TH PLAN (2007-2012)
Input 11th Plan
requirement
(in million tonnes) Proportion to
total input requirement % change in
WPI
(June 2006-08)
Cement 30.63 63.23 30.63
Steel 15.25 31.48 11.73
Aluminium 1.6 3.30 17.76
Copper 0.81 1.67 99.08
Zinc 0.15 0.31 45.82
Total 48.44 100

The project cost of the power plants might also see a big upsurge because of rapidly rising fuel costs in the recent times. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for Fuel, power, light and lubricant with 14.23 per cent weight in WPI, consisting of key inputs for power generation like coal, gas and oil, grew much faster than the over-all WPI. The over-all WPI growth for the first six months of 2008 stood at 9.41 per cent while the WPI for Fuel, power, light and lubricant registered a staggering sharp rise of 12.53 per cent.

The declining growth rate of the six core infrastructure industries with a combined weight of 26.7 per cent in the index of industrial production (IIP) could also pose problems for the power projects. The core infrastructure industries providing major inputs for the power plants like cement, finished steel, coal, electricity have witnessed major slow-down in the growth rate for the first five months of 2008.

The growth rate of index for six core infrastructure industries has gone down considerably; the five monthly average growth rate for the six core infrastructure industries for 2008 is recorded at below 6 per cent level (5.92) while for the corresponding period in 2007 it was above 8 per cent (8.02).

This significant downturn in the industrial activity may also hamper the pace of power projects in India. On one hand it would dampen the supply of these key inputs for power projects and on another it may put further inflationary pressure on the prices of these inputs. The penultimate effect will be further escalation in cost of the power projects.

Bye cotton! Scientists make new material for garments

Here comes a big challenge to cotton as a fabric! Scientists have discovered a new material which can replace cotton in garments. Scientists have developed a new carbon nanotube-based material that is much stronger than traditional cotton fibres, and can be used in making garments.

According to a paper published in Physical Review Letters, a new material called porous colossal carbon tubes (CCTs) shows all the characteristics that could make it suitable for clothing and a possible replacement of cotton.

Compared to traditional carbon nanotubes (CNTs), these colossal carbon tubes have a much bigger size, in diametre and length. The walls of the colossal tubes are composed of macroscopic rectangular columnar pores and exhibit an ultra low density comparable to that of carbon nanofoams.

The scientists said that the created CCTs have a unique architecture with rectangular macropores across the tube walls and layered crystal structures in the solid walls.

The structure provides several interesting characteristics, such as ultralight weight, extremely high strength, excellent ductility, and high conductivity.

The researchers claim that the material has excellent electrical features, but the mechanics make these colossal carbon tubes especially interesting.

The researchers claim that material is 15 times stronger than the strongest carbon fiber currently known (T1000). The material also revealed 30 times the tenacity of Kevlar and 224 times of individual cotton fibers.

Under stress, the material can deform and can deal with a 3% strain before fracture occurs.

The scientists believe that the similarity to cotton fibres in terms of size are close enough to use conventional textile technologies to create CCT fabrics that are much stronger than any current fabrics.

The scientists also envision self-healing composite structures, medical devices to deliver/release multiple drugs simultaneously, and micro-electromechanical systems as possible application areas for the material.

Reliance to invest $23 m for work on Cauvery asset

Reliance Industries plans to invest about $22.75 million for work on its discovered deepwater Cauvery asset. The company, in its appraisal programme submitted to the block management panel, has proposed to drill more wells — one each in the ‘firm’ category and the ‘to mature’ segment.

Official sources told Business Line that the management committee of the block CY-DWN-2001/2 (CY-D5) has met already and the final approvals were awaited.

The appraisal programme enables the committee to review the discovery and assess its commerciality. It is prepared and submitted by the contractor within a stipulated time frame, outlining a work programme and a budget to carry out the work in the block.

The programme is submitted to the block management committee.

The management committee comprises nominees of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and the Government apart from the contractors’ representative. The proposal envisages RIL drilling a well under the ‘firm category’, involving a cost of about $14.45 million. The firm category is a commitment by the contractor to drill a well for appraisal of the discovery.

Subsequently, based on the results of the ‘firm’ category, the contractor carries out activities under the ‘to mature’ segment by drilling one or two more wells. The company plans to invest $8.3 million to undertake activities in the second category, sources added.

RIL had drilled three wells in the block and struck hydrocarbon in one. Based on the appraisal programme, there are plans to drill more wells in the area once the deepwater rigs are available, sources said. Currently, the company has deployed six rigs in the K–G basin.

In October 2007, RIL had re-entered the asset to carve out the third well, but without much luck. The company has struck hydrocarbon in the first well drilled in the block and had to abandon the second well due to a technical snag.

The find in the first well showed there were two zones. In the first zone, according to the initial tests, RIL has found 550 barrels a day of oil and one million cubic ft a day of gas, while in the second zone it found 31 million cubic ft a day of gas and 1,200 barrels a day of condensate.

The block is 14,325 sq km in size. CY-D5 is a NELP-III block. RIL holds 100 per cent interest in the block.

Fertiliser shares find buyers on new urea investment policy

With the long-awaited new urea investment policy finally coming into place, fertiliser companies have more than one reason to smile, and which is clearly reflected in their share prices. The policy is expected to encourage fresh investments into the sector, leading to capacity expansion. It would also boost the flagging urea production, reducing the country’s dependence on imports.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a new fertilizer policy which is long term, realistic and farmer friendly," said Shruti Bhargava, analyst at Networth Stock Broking.

The new policy aims at attracting investments in the urea sector by resumption and expansion of existing units to meet the set target of 40 mn of urea by 2012. This includes reviving eight units of Fertilizer Corporation of India and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation.

At present, India produces 21 mn tonne of urea as against the rising demand of 27-28 mn tonne, which it has been filling through imports.

Under the new norms, the international price-parity formula for domestic urea manufacturers would be adopted for calculation of subsidy and cost of production. Existing units producing additional urea will get an import parity price of 85 per cent in the price band of $250-425 a tonne while that for expanding units it would be 90 per cent.

Analysts expect Tata Chemicals and Chambal Fertilisers to gain the most from the policy as the two have already initiated debottlenecking plans.

"Tata Chemicals’ new additional 0.2 mtpa capacity is coming onstream by October 2008 and Chambal Fertilizers’ new additional 0.14 mtpa capacity will come onstream by April 2009. Post expansion, Tata Chemicals’ capacity would be 1.06 mtpa, up from the current 0.86 mtpa and Chambal Fertilizers’ capacity would be 1.87 mtpa, up from 1.73 mtpa," said Bhargava of Networth.

Shares of fertilizer companies have been in the limelight since Friday after the new policy was announced. On Monday, RCF soared 3.78 per cent to Rs 71.40, Coromandel Fertilizers climbed 2 per cent to Rs 175, Chambal Fertilizers gained 1.47 per cent to Rs 82.75, Tata Chemicals was trading flat at Rs 348 after touching a high of Rs 361.

According to the policy, fertilizer producers will be given subsidy at Rs 8,000 crore per month from September 2008 onwards till February 2009. Till July 2008, the government has paid about Rs 28,000 crore towards fertilizer subsidy. The fertilizer ministry expects the amount to be mostly paid in cash and not more than 10 per cent will be issued as fertilizer bonds. Also, they also expect the subsidy to be borne fully by the government as it is an open-ended one.

The new policy states that the Department of Fertilizers will maintain a buffer stock of 3.5 lakh tonne of diammonium phosphate and 1 lakh tonne of mono ammonium phosphates as contingency. An outlay of Rs 429.85 crore was approved for launching a scheme for promoting the balanced use of fertilizers.

The government has also included two fertilizers-Triple Super Phosphate and Ammonium Sulphate-which will get 25 per cent subsidy on delivered cost under the concession scheme and fixed their maximum retail prices at Rs 7,450 a tonne and Rs 10,350 a tonne, respectively.

Triple Super Phosphate, being a cheaper substitute for diammonium phosphate, will provide access to alternative supply of phosphatic fertilizers, expanding the basket of phosphatic fertilizers.

"With this move, the government expects to save Rs 1,163 crore on its subsidy bill of Rs 95,000 crore, which is positive for all complex fertilizer manufacturing companies like Tata Chemicals, Coromandel Fertilizers, RCF and Zuari Industries," Bhargava added.

The incentive on import savings will be in ratio of 65:35 for the importer, which means if the importer is contracting at a price lower than the industry average, he will be eligible for 65 per cent of the difference between the higher industry average and the lower contracting price. The remaining 35 per cent would go to the government. This will encourage the industry to seek long-term import of fertilizers at lower prices.

Analysts expect the new policy to add 60-70 per cent to margins for large and efficient gas-based urea makers, even as low investments are needed to revamp or expand existing units. Realisations may also go up for cash-starved fertilizer firms.

Seducing the senses

You can touch my hair and kiss me everywhere... Does it sound too clichéd or rather boring way to seduce your partner? Are you tired of reading the same old techniques of seduction?

Well, what about going back to the basics? And nothing can be more basic than the five senses - sense of sight, sense of smell, sense of taste, sense of hearing, sense of touch. These can really keep things sizzling hot during sex. Vatsayan would have definitely vouched for that! We get modern day experts to share more on it...

To keep the flames burning in your sex-life, you must fine-tune your seduction skills. With fingers busy, mouths, lips, tongues, noses, and eyes enticed, sensuousness will linger in every move to make you the most desirable man or woman of seduction.

Rita Gangwani, an etiquette expert, shares, “Sometimes we take the senses so much for granted that we don’t really pay attention to them. Working to develop the five senses and focusing on them while making love, drawing attention to his/her sensuousness will not only enhance your own pleasure, but will give pleasure to your lover as well.”

Dr. Sanjay Chugh, expert on sexual issues, says, “The seduction tips that one can employ also depends on ‘overall’ quality of the couple’s relationship. If there is a healthy emotional and psychological bond between the two, the chances of a good sex life is high. And in case, if one incorporates a few out-of-the-box techniques, then it’s definitely some icing on the cake!”

Psychiatrist Dr. Samir Parikh supports, “Couples need to keep trying to make things work for them but the key is not just trying new things, its more to be attuned to each others likes, fantasies and pleasures so that a mutually satisfying relationship could result. They can try various permutations and combinations of these seduction ways on their personalities.”

On how these five senses work towards stimulating the libido of male/female partner, Dr. Parikh explains, “Most of these factors (senses) have an association in our mind, so they act as a conditioned stimulus, and can help creating the atmosphere. But the key would be the mutuality and the quality of the non-sexual life would have its direct impact on the sexual life.”

Rita adds, “One must be aware to the fact that human body is bristling with sensory receptors - God’s gift to humankind - it’s up to us to responsibly enjoy it. One must give body the permission to celebrate what’s inside; celebrate it with oneself, and with the partner. We must take time to really learn the subtle but very powerful art of seducing the opposite sex using all five senses.”

These are simple yet extremely seductive ways.

India Car Sales Fall for First Time Since 2005 on Loan Rates

India’s passenger car sales declined for the first time in more than two and a half years as higher interest rates and accelerating inflation damped demand at Tata Motors Ltd. and Honda Motor Co.

Sales in July fell 1.7 percent to 87,724 from 89,250 a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement today. That was the first monthly decline since November, 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A surge in gasoline prices has helped push inflation to the fastest pace in 13 years, forcing the central bank to raise interest rates to the highest in seven years, squeezing consumers. The slowing growth may risk a government target of tripling car sales to 3 million vehicles annually by 2015.

``Higher interest rates are hurting demand,’’ said Vaishali Jajoo, a Mumbai-based analyst at Angel Broking Ltd. ``Sales will slow down further in the next six months and we may end the year with just single-digit growth.’’

India’s central bank on July 29 raised its benchmark rate for the third time in two months to slow inflation. Consumers now pay more than 12 percent interest on auto loans compared with about 7 percent in 2003. More than half of the vehicles sold in India are bought on credit.

A decline in the stock market, with the benchmark headed for its first annual drop in seven years, is also hurting demand. The 14-member BSE Auto Index has slid 29 percent this year.

Maruti, Hyundai

Seven of the 13 carmakers in India posted declines during the month, according to the statement. Sales at Tata Motors, India’s third-largest carmaker, dropped 8.9 percent to 12,012 while Honda, the fourth-largest fell 7 percent to 4,006.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., maker of half the cars in the country, posted a 1.5 percent gain in sales at 45,757, the statement said. Hyundai Motor Co.’s India unit, the country’s second-largest carmaker, boosted sales 0.5 percent to 15,061.

Car sales in India, Asia’s fourth-largest auto market, grew 12 percent in the year ended March 31 to a record 1.2 million vehicles, slower than the 22 percent pace a year earlier, according to the Society, a group of all carmakers in the country.

``High fuel costs, interest rates and rising raw material input costs are challenges,’’ Dilip Chenoy, the director general of the group, told reporters in New Delhi today.

Chaturvedi Panel for sharp increase in petrol prices

Petrol and diesel prices will rise every month while subsidised domestic cooking gas to households will be gradually phased out if recommendations of the high-powered B K Chaturvedi Committee are implemented.

The panel headed by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to raise petrol prices by Rs 2.50 a litre per month till March 2009 and diesel prices by Rs 0.75 per litre till 2010 to eliminate subsidies on the two fuels.

The Committee suggested restricting LPG cylinders sold at subsidised rates to six per connection in a year and phasing it out over a three-year period.

The three-member panel, that was asked by the Prime Minister to go into the financial position of oil firms, also suggested levying a ’Metro Extra’ tax of Rs 2 per litre on diesel, in four instalments in large cities, as the fuel was being used in expensive cars.

The eleven cities where the ’Metro Extra’ tax would be levied are National Capital Territory of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Pune, Surat and Agra.

It also suggested temporary reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 a litre from Rs 13.75.

While suggesting a Special Oil Tax on crude produced from fields awarded prior to the advent of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 1999, the panel disfavoured any Super Profit or Windfall Profit Tax on private refiners like Reliance Industries.

"It is appropriate in our view that the Indian refining industry, which has world-sized companies, be placed on par with the international refining business," the report said.

Mind set: Ultimate meditation

Peace can sometimes be so far away and inner bliss, even farther away. To attain peace, spend some real quality time by going within and you will find the sense of peace that lies within. Visit the place where inner bliss dwells and waits patiently for your return.

Let yourself unwind and compose yourself for a few precious moments of peace. Remember that your mind is much more far-reaching than your physical brain. Your mind, as consciousness, is non-physical, while your brain is just the physical translator of your consciousness. Your mind, therefore, always has the ability to tell your brain: “Shsh! It’s meditation time!”

Focus your mind away from the clutter of day-to-day living and turn your attention inwards to the peaceful core of your inner being. Then think of the deepest possible state of consciousness. And what could that state be? It is the state of consciousness known as infinite being. The word infinite reflects the idea of ultimate, while the word being refers to a state of awareness, rather than a doing activity. Infinite being is infinite consciousness without a focus upon any specific activity. Infinite being doesn’t have to do anything, it already is everything.

It is important to appreciate that the state of infinite being is not ‘out there’ somewhere external to us. Infinite being encompasses all consciousness, including all manifestation. We are that consciousness, as is everything else in existence. In meditation practices, affirmations are often used to focus the mind. By simply repeating the words “I am”, you affirm your true nature as consciousness. In the case of infinite being meditation, we affirm our innermost identity as the ultimate, infinite consciousness.

The affirmation ‘I am infinite being’ is the most powerful affirmation possible within the English language. The phrase ‘I am infinite being’ is an affirmation of your oneness with the ultimate potential, the source of all life, the consciousness from which all life sprang. You are one with that universal consciousness. Everything in manifestation is one with that universal consciousness. Now is the time to consciously affirm your ultimate potential. It may take courage to begin with, but the results are more than worth the effort.

If you find issues arising, such as a feeling of unworthiness in your alignment with the all that is, with infinite being, just let those thoughts go, then gently bring your mind back into focus upon the affirmation. You do not have to justify the words, or settle any internal argument about them, just because of some prior conditioning as to how someone said you ‘should’ think in this life. Think independently, think infinitely, and you will connect with the consciousness of your ultimate potential

Have the inner discipline to stay with the affirmation and let any issues fade away unchallenged. Your inner self knows the meaning of the words and resonates in joy with their exact and literal truth. Every time you make this affirmation, you become more connected with infinite being. Any lesser thoughts are then healed within the light of greater truth. Find a quiet space to sit down for a few minutes, close your eyes, and start looking for the quiet space within. To keep your brain occupied with the task at hand, focus your attention on the even flow of your breath as it passes in and out of your nostrils.

As you breathe each in-breath, mentally repeat the affirmation ‘I am infinite being’. On the out-breath, simply allow your attention to follow the flow of air from your nostrils. To induce an immediate calming effect, allow each out-breath to take longer than each in-breath .

Life energy, also known as etheric energy, is conditioned primarily within the human spinal column. From there, it is distributed to the rest of the body via the subtle nervous system. Most key functions in the human body owe their operation primarily to the supply of etheric life energy, rather than to the supply of electrical energy. Etheric energy, like consciousness, is nonphysical and yet it is behind all life.

To help enhance the natural flow of life energy within your spine while performing this meditation, it is preferable to sit upright in an erect chair. As you progress with this meditation, the natural flow of life energy within your spine will become enhanced, bringing an enlivened awareness to your consciousness.

When distracting thoughts arise — which they will — treat them with patience and understanding. Put each distracting thought aside so that you can continue with the infinite being meditation. If a thought seems important or urgent, then it will be sure to return later, after your meditation session has finished.

There are a number of ways to enhance your meditation experience. One is to reserve a small space, such as the corner of a quiet room, where only meditation is conducted. That space then becomes more conducive to a meditation environment. A small table or surface can be covered with items that you connect with spiritual practice. Candles and incense are especially useful as they provide some initial focus for the senses.

It also helps to always use the same chair, one that is constructed of a nonmetallic material. Metal chairs attract etheric life energy away from you, which is great for the chair, but not so good for the meditation session. A small clock completes your setting, and clean, light clothing, reserved especially for meditation, further enhances the atmosphere. A shower or bath before meditation is very valuable, as water is a powerful cleanser. If, for example, you have just come home from a hectic day at work, then your energy body will be filled with the distractions of the day, stored in etheric energy form.

The water not only cleanses you of physical impurities, but also the etheric energy impurities that do not belong in your energy body. The reason that water is such an effective energy cleanser lies in its chemical composition. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. The greater role of oxygen is to carry lifegiving, etheric energy.

The best investment of your time each day is to spend 20 minutes in meditation. Make the time for this to happen. Make it the day’s first priority. The easiest habit to adopt is one which makes up the first activity of the day. Making it a routine will also reinforce the effects of the meditation.

(Writer has authored ‘The Shift: The Revolution in Human Consciousness’)

Google resolves Gmail access problems

Google Inc said on Monday it has resolved an issue with its contacts system that caused many users of its Gmail service to have trouble accessing their online e-mail.

The problems began at about 2100 GMT, or 1400 PST, and an announcement on the company’s Gmail "Help Center" site said the the issue is now resolved.

Google said an outage in the contacts system used by Gmail prevented the e-mail system from loading properly. The company also said that there may be minor delays in deliveries even though all mail is safe.

Users across the United States, Canada and India reported problems with Gmail and a Google employee also reported that the company’s own corporate e-mail account was down.

Singles as healthy as those married

Single persons are becoming almost as healthy as their married counterparts, according to a new study. ui Liu of Michigan State University and lead researcher of the study said sociologists since the 1970s have emphasised that marriage benefits health, more so for men than for women.

"Married people are still healthier than unmarried people," Liu said, "but the gap between the married and never-married is closing, especially for men".

Researchers analysed National Health Interview Survey data from a 30-year period from 1972 to 2002 and found that while the self-reported health of married people is still better than that of the never-married, the gap has closed considerably.

The trend is due almost exclusively to a marked improvement in the self-reported health of never-married men. Liu said that may be partly because never-married men have greater access to social resources and support that historically were found in a spouse.

Further, the research shows that the health status of the never-married has improved for all race and gender groups examined: men, women, blacks and whites. The health of married women also improved, while the health of married men remained stable.

"Politicians and scholars continue to debate the value of marriage for Americans," the researchers wrote, "with some going so far as to establish social programs and policies to encourage marriage among those social groups less inclined to marry, particularly the poor and minorities".

But the research findings "highlight the complexity of this issue" and suggest that "encouraging marriage in order to promote health may be misguided".

In contrast, the self-reported health for the widowed, divorced and separated worsened from 1972 to 2003 relative to their married peers. This held true for both men and women, although the widening gaps between the married and the previously married groups are more pronounced for women than for men.

The findings of Liu and fellow researcher Debra Umberson of the University of Texas will appear in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour .

Bindra wins India's first solo gold

Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men’s 10m air rifle.Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.

That allowed China’s Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.

"It’s just great," Bindra told Reuters just before climbing on to the podium.

Zhu had suffered a late lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier on Monday when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, dropping to second place behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.

Zhu was close to tears and told Reuters: "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated. But I tried my best."

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax.

"I haven’t prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn’t have got better," he told Indian television.

Bindra won the 2006 world championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.

Govt looking to list BSNL at 300-400 rupees/shr

India is hoping to list state-run telecoms firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) at 300-400 rupees ($7.2-9.5) a share, but will take a final decision only after discussions with trade unions who oppose the move, Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja said on Thursday.

BSNL is India’s top ranked telecoms firm by subscriber numbers but in mobile services lags Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Communications Ltd and Vodafone-controlled Vodafone Essar.

As of end-June, BSNL had nearly 73 million wireless and fixed-line subscribers, slightly ahead of mobile services leader Bharti Airtel which had nearly 72 million users.

Do parents make the best buddies for kids?

Be it a chat about their daughter’s new date or sharing a glass of beer with their teenage son, parents of generation X have come a long way from being just parents to being friends with their kids. But is that the ideal style of parenting?

While the ‘generation gap’ between parents and children seems to be diminishing over the last few years, the extent to which the bond of friendship between children and their parents should exist is a question that often comes to mind. Friendship can be a wonderful source of strength and an excellent way to satisfy the emotional needs of children, but where should one draw the line?

According to Manuj Arora, a student, "Friendship between parents and children helps to minimize the communication gap. Whenever the child has a problem, parents should be there to guide them and solve the problem. A child is more honest with his/her parents if they are more like friends than just parents", he adds.

In fact, experts are seeing increasing instances of parents, especially mothers, who want to be friends with their children. According to clinical psychologist Stephan Poulter, author of The Mother Factor ‘this style of mothering had been on the rise for about 15 years’.

The question is: Is it necessarily the right style of parenting?

Abhimanyu Kukreja, a college student believes that it is good for parents to be friends with their children but only to an extent. He says, "There are some things that one cannot share with parents."

Experts too feel that ‘kids need their parents, not another friend’ as it is important to keep the boundaries. A serious consequence of the parent-child ’friendship’ is the diminishing respect that children have for their parents.

Rose Rock, the mother of US comedian Chris Rock, who has laid down the 10 commandments of parenting in a new book, Mama Rock’s Rules: Ten Lessons for Raising a Houseful of Successful Children , states that you should not let your children think they can disrespect you or treat you like a buddy. She also talks about the need for parents to play the role of a protector and a guide rather than letting children lay down their own rules. She lays stress on the need for parents to take back to traditional roles.

Anudita Prasad, who is a mother of two sons says, "Friendship between parents and children should be such that the child does not hide anything from his parents and feels free to share his beliefs and opinions. But this doesn’t mean that the child does not respect his parents". "Parents should also spend enough time with their children, interact with them and know more about their peers and whereabouts", she adds.

Bharat Mishra who has a son and a daughter says, "Parents should know where to draw the line. There are certain things like discipline, studies and mannerisms that one cannot compromise with. If it is not so, children will cross their limits and will not respect their parents. Parents can be friends but should also let the child know his limits."

Most of the time parents justify their approach towards their kids saying that they are afraid that their children may hesitate to discuss their problems and challenges if they don’t share an intimate relationship with them. However, it is also important for children to have their own circle of friends, have their own confidants and learn to be social by interacting with their peers.

Poulter believes that because of unresolved issues with their parents, some parents today don’t want to be harsh and just want their children to like them.

V N Pandey, a father of two children says, "When a child is young, parents need to be strict. But during a child’s teenage years, parents should be more like a friend in order to build trust and understanding with the child. At the same time, parents should also retain their authority and superior position to draw the line where it is necessary."

Dr Samir Parikh, a psychiatrist says, "I think we have a misnomer attached to friendship between parents and children. We think friendship will result in parents becoming more lenient. If it is just about being together and having fun just like friends, it is absolutely okay. Anything that will have a positive impact on the child and the relationship should be encouraged. Parents should be like a friendly guide for their children."

When children begin to shoulder responsibilities, what they need most is guidance and support. Parents can be good friends and guide their children but the bond shouldn’t weaken the parents’ authority as this might lead the child to take wrong decisions at times. Perhaps an important way to strike the right bond with children is through communication.

While there are many contradicting opinions on this issue, what matters most is striking a balance between parenting and friendship when raising kids.

Did you thank God today?

Ego manifests itself in different forms. We usually refer to ego as pride. We can have pride of knowledge, power and wealth. We attribute all that we are and all that we have done to our own individual efforts. We think we are superior to others in many ways.

Most religions say that God is the Creator. It is from Him that the entire universe came into being. We are but small specks in the entire scheme of Creation. If we examine our thoughts, how many times do we thank Him for our life? Few people go through their day-to-day lives remembering Him and His gifts.

True, we say mechanical prayers either at places of worship. We remember him when we want Him to save us from a calamity or from serious illness. But most of the time we hardly give Him a thought. Some even deny His existence. Scientists removed God from their view of the universe because He could not be verified by scientific instrumentation.

There are some enlightened scientists who have begun to question how such a perfectly designed universe and such a complex, well-planned organism as a human being could come about through chance. Those who delve into the intricacies of nature and are in awe of it have the humility to recognise there is some higher power responsible for this universe.

Pride of knowledge comes because of traps laid by the mind. When our soul enters the body, it works in this world through the mind. The brain is a complex organ that receives sense impressions from the world. Our culture makes us interpret these impressions in a certain way.

Besides receiving and interpreting impressions, the brain is a vehicle by which we can communicate with the world through language, to make our thoughts known to others. There are many involuntary actions controlled by the brain breathing, heartbeat and the release of hormones that regulate body functions.

Many think that the brain is the seat of thought. But there is a difference between the mind and the brain. The brain is like a computer which performs many functions. But it is the mind that controls the brain. The mind is a product of the causal plane of creation, a mixture of spirit and matter.

With the mind in control, many of our decisions and actions are based on meeting the mind’s desire and wishes. Because the object of the mind is to keep us enslaved to the world, it controls us. The soul, having forgotten itself, goes along with the mind.

We go to school and gain knowledge of this physical universe. We are bombarded by sense impressions at every moment. Our brain has the capacity to take in billions of bits of information, store and retrieve them, much like a computer.

Words can be combined in billions of ways to create new stories, books, ideas, new inventions. The notes of the musical scale can be combined in billions of ways to create a wide variety of music. The mind can keep us occupied and involved in this world for aeons and aeons.

The mind has forgotten that the colours of the palette it uses to paint have been created by God Himself. That the notes of the scale that it uses to compose songs are of God’s own making. The brain it uses to communicate with the world is also a creation of God.

Divorced middle-aged men 'get worst sleep'

Are you a divorced middle-aged man? Well, this can affect your sleep, suggests a new study. Researchers in Britain have found that separated men in their middle-age are becoming more and more short-tempered, emotional and are underperforming at work due to a lack of sleep. The study has revealed that divorced male lawyers in their 50s, who live in London, are Britain’s worst sleepers - in fact, they only get an average of four hours sleep each night which seriously affects their day-to-day lives.

An average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep everyday, according to experts. Interestingly, the researchers have found that single females in their 20s are United Kingdom’s best sleepers with around ten hours sleep a night, The Daily Telegraph reported.

For their study, the researchers surveyed 2,000 adults across the country to reveal what disturbs their sleep at night. "The survey results show just how big a problem lack of sleep can be for some people and the havoc it can wreak on our personal lives," Steve Simpson from Silentnight was quoted as saying.

The majority of those polled nationwide said a lack of sleep had an adverse effect on their everyday life. A massive 93 per cent of people said that they are bad-tempered without a good night’s sleep and 31 per cent of people suffer from a lack of sex drive after having lost some sleep.

Just under half of people in East Anglia (43 per cent), 40 per cent of those in the south-west of England and 40 per cent of those in Scotland said that not being able to get comfortable affected their sleeping patterns.

What's cooking?

Relationships, especially marriages, are supposed to last a lifetime. And while most people are shocked to find out that their partner is very much in love... with someone else, there are tell-tale signs in most cases of infedility. It’s just that you don’t see them or rather, ignore them. Well, sweeping it under the carpet isn’t going to help anyone. In fact it will only make things worse. Here are signs that could mean that there’s a meal for two cooking, behind your back!

Lack of communication: Leaving post-its on the fridge or sending e-mails to inquire if the laundry has arrived is not the ideal way to communicate. You don’t need to be a relationship expert to see that not only have the sweet nothings stopped coming your way, but even the fights don’t happen anymore. Indifference is worse than irritating behaviour.

Changing phone habits: We’re living in times, where the cell phone can reveal a person’s deepest, darkest secrets. Does your spouse feel the need to move away when a certain someone calls? Does he have a special ringtone for this particular caller? Are there two many beeps indicating incoming messages at an hour when you can’t really be discussing office work? A quick run through your spouse’s inbox or sent messages could clear many things.

Sudden changes in likes and dislikes: If your well-rounded spouse is suddenly hitting the gym or seems overtly obsessed with his/her looks, it may indicate something’s amiss. This isn’t limited to external changes, but also changes in some likes and dislikes. Why else would your ghazal-loving husband suddenly become a Britney Spears fan? Or why would your wife who loves English poetry start sprouting shayari?

Picking up fights: Having fights is a sign of a healthy relationship. But fighting over trivial things like spending an extra minute in the loo is uncalled for. If everything, from the way you dress to the way you sit, walk, talk and even breathe seems to be a reason for a fight, then there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

Accuses you of cheating: A person’s ego often comes in the way of accepting his/her mistake and the best way out is to accuse the other person of some wrong doing. So if your spouse suddenly starts objecting to you chatting with a colleague of the opposite sex too often, don’t think he/she is trying to be cute and possessive. This may be later used as a reason to justify his/her infidelity.

Works overtime: Today an important meeting, tomorrow a business party and then some visiting clients, the excuses just don’t seem to end. It would be a good idea to check what exactly the overtime work is all about and what’s it going to cost you... very dearly if you aren’t careful.

Breaks dates too often: Do you remember that time when you were left standing outside the restaurant hungry, but never got to go in because your husband didn’t turn up? Or the time when you were stranded in a downpour because your wife couldn’t find a cab from her office which was two blocks away and unfortunately her cell battery had died just then? We don’t mean to say that every time your spouse breaks a date you suspect his/her actions, but anything that happens too often indicates something. Breaking a date is an indication that there are things, other than you, far more important to your partner.

Prefers to go out without you: There’s always some reason why you can’t go to a party. ‘It’s just office people’ or ‘It’s a boy’s night out’ or ‘We’ll be discussing work, honey’ are lines guaranteed to keep you safely tucked away at home while your better half may be boogeying the night away with a PYT. There’s got to be some reason why your homely hubby has turned into an ‘I-party-every-night’ types.

Bedroom behaviour changes: When there are two many sudden headaches just when things start getting romantic, or the need to tuck in a pillow between the two of you can’t be healthy for any relationship. If your partner prefers to watch saas-bahu sagas to canoodling with you, then it’s time to make your feelings clear. Don’t let your partner blame you for the sex life going sour. Try spicing up things, but know when your advances are not being returned. When candlelight dinners, sweet nothings and even sexy lingerie doesn’t work, there’s got to be a major problem there somewhere.

Used another name in bed

It can’t get more obvious than this! A cardinal sin! We don’t even need to explain this to you. Let him/her give you a plausible explanation for this goof-up.
And if it isn’t convincing enough, it’s time you seriously seek o

Fond of 'punjabi' food? God bless your heart!

If your tongue craves for rich ’butter-chicken’ and mouth starts to water at the mere sight of those oil-rich ‘punjabi’ delicacies...you are at risk of getting heart problems. Cardiovascular disease has become a major health concern in India.

Presently, its increasing prevalence among the youth is becoming a serious concern even for the experts dealing with heart-related problems for decades.

In Punjab, the mortality rate due to heart diseases is comparatively high than recorded in other parts of the country. It has made cardiologists worried and they are searching for a solution to this problem.

With 100 million people affected by heart-related diseases, India is set to be the heart disease capital of the world by 2010. And this fact has made country’s leading cardiologists worried, as was indicated at the Diagnostic Cardiology Summit at the Hero Dayanand Medical College here.

At Diagnostic Cardiology Summit, organized by the Hero DMC Heart Institute here recently, the cardiologists and experts from the country’s leading hospitals deliberated and discussed various diagnostic advancements and future trends.

Dr.Gurpreet Singh, Hero DMC heart institute, said: “Punjabi diet is very rich compared to (the diet) the population living in southern part of the country. It is for this reason that we are witnessing people at young age getting heart attacks.”

“We have seen people from Punjab who had migrated to the west had higher prevalence of heart diseases 10-15 years back. Now that same culture has come to our country and today we find the prevalence of this disease has increased manifolds in our country,” Singh added.

Presently, latest healthcare facilities are being used to deal with cardiovascular diseases in Punjab.

Nuclear Cardiology Test is the latest procedure introduced at Hero DMC Heart Institute.

It helps to diagnose or treat diseases and other abnormalities within the body. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures are non-invasive and relatively painless medical tests.

During the Summit, the head of nuclear medicine, deliberated on "Nuclear medicine imaging – current clinical utility" and highlighted the use of nuclear medicine in the management of various diseases.

Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Hero DMC heart institute, said: “The nuclear medicine is a new form of medicine. With this particular investigation we will be able to diagnose patients non-invasively without giving them any pricks.”

The deaths due to cardiovascular disease in India are expected to rise from 1.17 million recorded in 1990 to 2.03 million by circa 2010.

Mortality rate is high in Punjab accounting for about 49 percent of all deaths.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, President, Punjab Medical Council, said: “Earlier, the heart related illness were noticed less among rural population. But as urbanization of rural areas is taking place, the urban-rural difference is decreasing and more and more rural people are getting this disease.”

India’s leading heart specialist, Dr. Naresh Trehan, on this occasion said: “One can do three things, for preventing heart diseases. Eat less fried food, less butter and ghee. Second, exercise daily for around 45 minutes. And third, reduce stress in life. Because of the nature of the work, we have become over stressed. So things like yoga, meditation and entertainment help a person to relax.”

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh is currently conducting a study on the reasons leading to heart problems in patients up to 35 years of age.

Want to lose weight? Eat eggs for breakfast

Eating at least two eggs for breakfast helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic, revealed a new study by an Indian-origin researcher. Nikhil V Dhurandhar, PhD, lead researcher and associate professor in the laboratory of infection and obesity at Pennington Biomedical Research Center said that eating two eggs in the morning, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps in losing 65 per cent weight in overweight people, than those who eat bagel breakfast of equal calories.

This study supports a previous research that showed that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories in the following meal. "People have a hard time adhering to diets and our research shows that choosing eggs for breakfast can dramatically improve the success of a weight loss plan. Apparently, the increased satiety and energy due to eggs helps people better comply with a reduced-calorie diet,” said Dhurandhar.
When the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast were compared with those who consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet, it was also found that men and women who had eggs exhibited a 61 per cent greater reduction in BMI. They also reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who consumed a bagel breakfast

However, it was found that blood lipids were not impacted during the two month study. Also, blood levels of cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg breakfasts. This supports more than 30 years of research that conclude that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease.

This study adds to the growing body of research which supports the importance of high-quality protein in the diet. It was found recently that not getting enough high-quality protein may contribute to obesity, muscle wasting (loss) and increased risk of chronic disease.

Jackie Newgent, registered dietitian and chef, stresses the importance of obtaining adequate high-quality protein when advising consumers about weight loss. "Eggs are a good source of all-natural, high-quality protein, so they can help keep you satisfied longer, making it easier to resist tempting snacks. Nearly half of an egg’s protein, and many of the other nutrients are found in the yolk, so make sure to eat the whole egg for maximum benefits," said Newgent.

What to do when germs attack

There’s never a good time to catch a cold or come down with the flu, but you don’t have to take it lying down. So what should you do? Take high doses of vitamin C? Suck on some zinc lozenges? Or do you stick to Mom’s old-fashioned remedies: bowls of chicken soup, hot tea, and menthol rubs to fight off those bugs the best you can?
Some dietary supplements may help shorten the duration and/or reduce the severity of symptoms if taken at the onset of a cold or the flu. Many of these need to be taken within 24 hours of onset in order to be effective.
Zinc. Zinc has been shown to shorten the length of a cold and lessen the symptoms, as long as it’s taken within 24 hours of the cold’s onset. Too much zinc can be toxic.
Vitamin C. This popular vitamin may help to reduce the length of a cold, but not as much as you think.
Probiotics. Dietary supplements containing the beneficial bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have been shown to reduce the duration of the common cold by almost 2 days.

Finally, the Old Standby: There’s nothing wrong with going back to basics and doing what your mom probably advised when you were getting sick: Get plenty of rest and have a bowl of chicken soup.

She may have been right: According to new research, chicken soup may have some medicinal qualities after all. Some ingredients in traditional chicken soup seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to alleviate the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections. So if you’ve come down with a cold and there’s nothing more to be done, go ahead and slurp up a bowl. And tell your mom thanks for the advice.

The world's most expensive holiday package

Got a million dollars to splurge on a holiday? You stand to figure in the Guinness Book of World Records. A hotel in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is hoping to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by offering what is being dubbed as the world’s most expensive holiday package.

Priced at $1 million, the package by the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi offers pure opulence for two guests to stay seven nights in a 680 sq m palace suite on an all-inclusive basis, the state-run news agency reported.

"As well as luxurious living with The Palace, the package covers first class return trip from any international destination serviced by Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi, chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi, and daily spa treatment in the Anantara Spa," the report quoted Janet Abrahams, director of sales and marketing at Emirates Palace Hotel, as saying.

"The package seeks to give celebrities, luminaries and well-known businessmen the lifetime chance to stay in the unique iconic Emirates Palace, experience seven days of wonder and at the same time the opportunity to effectively promote their business message," she said.

Built at a cost of over $3 billion, the hotel is reputed to be the most expensive hotel ever built and has 302 rooms and 92 suites. The hotel is owned by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and is currently managed by the Kempinski group. According to Abrahams, the package also offers to take guests on journeys to explore neighbouring countries.

"The offer is tailor-made to the guest requirements, but as an example we can include day trips by private jet to Iran to create your own Persian carpet from the most exclusive and well-renowned hand-maker, to Dead Sea in Jordan to experience the famous sea and afternoon Anantara spa treatment in the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, to Bahrain for a deep sea pearl diving experience," she said.

"Your pearl will then be hand designed with unique jewellery settings and at every step of your excursions, your Emirates Palace butler will be there to guide and assist you." Guests can also enjoy a ’Royal Golf Experience’ at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and make their own individual perfume with experts from YAS Perfumes.

Other features of the package include a deep-sea fishing trip, ’Emirates Palace Sunset and Desert Island Tour’, gifts including Emirates Palace Gold Champagne, the rarest pearls in the world from Robert Wang and a selection from Holland and Holland Sporting Guns.

Abrahams said that guests who book for the package would be able to say that they were part of an industry first and collaborate with the Emirates Palace Hotel in registering with the Guinness Book of World Records. The hotel’s general manager Hans Olbertz said the premier property is seeking to establish Abu Dhabi as a world-class tourism destination for vacationing and promoting the Emirates Palace as a signature landmark of Abu Dhabi to the world.

He disclosed that part of the costs of the package would be donated to social and charitable organizations in the UAE.

Forex futures trading to begin soon

It is expected that Indian banks and residents will be allowed to trade in foreign currency futures by the month-end, going by the new guidelines announced by the Indian central bank here on Wednesday.

The guidelines finalized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that only dollar-rupee contracts can be traded and the size of each contract would be $1,000.

The contracts shall be quoted and settled in Indian rupees and the maturity of the contracts shall not exceed 12 months, the guidelines said. Banks can participate in the futures market with the permission of RBI and none "other than an Indian resident" shall participate in the currency futures market.
The gross open position of a trading member should not exceed 15 per cent of open interest or $25 million and gross open position of any bank should not exceed 15 per cent of open interest or $100 million.

UK's new rules promote genuine applicants

The UK government has announced its plans for a new student visa system under the Points Based System (PBS). Known as Tier 4, the new system aims to be more transparent and to simplify existing immigration rules for genuine students and education providers.

Under the new rules, universities and colleges will be required to take greater responsibility for their international students, which includes obtaining a special license for recruiting international students and reporting those who fail to attend classes.

"The new system is not meant to discourage students going to study in the UK but to weed out bogus colleges and students," said Dan Chugg, director, press and communications, British High Commission. All colleges and universities will have to maintain attendance sheets and ensure that all students’ paperwork is in order, including keeping copies of their passports and alerting the UK Border Agency (UKBA) if students fail to enrol.

Education providers who fail to follow the new rules will face a ban on recruiting international students in the future and bogus colleges will be shut down.

Representatives of British universities in India have welcomed the new rules. Richa Jain, India manager, Nottingham Trent University, said: "The new system is probably going to help increase the number of students going to the UK. And if it doesn’t, it would mean that bogus students have stopped applying. Besides, some students used to drag their degrees in order to extend their stay in the UK but, now, they would have to complete it on time."

Similarly, Kalpana Das, country co-ordinator (India), Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), added: "Often students accept offers from several universities, use one for their visa application but on arriving in the UK, end up going to a different university. As a result, the university is left with vacant seats and the government is left unaware of the student’s location. However, under the new rules, the student’s passport will specifically mention which university the student is going to and they cannot change universities."

Chugg stated that the new rules would apply to all students above the age of four outside the European economic region. "Students would also need to provide their fingerprints for biometric visas and IDs," he added. According to Liam Byrne, UK’s border and immigration minister, all those who come to Britain must abide by the rules. "By locking people to one identity with ID cards we will know exactly who is coming here to study."

Further, visas will only be granted to students who show a proven track record in education and are applying for a course that meets a minimum level of qualification. Students on courses for longer than 12 months will have to show they have sufficient funds to pay their first year of fees, plus 9,600 pounds to cover their first year in the UK. Students wishing to bring their dependants with them will need to show they have a further 535 pounds per-month for each person they bring.

Teach him money matters

Children should be taught the value of money. Here’s how you can motivate your child to save money Money is important. It gives people the power to make decisions and grab opportunities. Educating children on its importance should start early in life. Children should be motivated to become regular savers and investors.

Child psychologist Dr Nandgopal says that as soon as a child starts counting numbers, he should be introduced to money. “Parents should play an active role in providing them with information. For instance, teach what he can buy with a one rupee coin and to recognise the money, the symbols in the coin, etc. There are two ways that children learn — by observation and repetition.” Talking to children about your values on money — on how to save it, how to make it grow, and how to spend it — will have a lifelong impact on them.

“Children should be made to understand the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. This will enable them to make good spending decisions right from childhood,” says psychologist Dr Raghurami Reddy.

Setting goals is primary for learning the value of money. “If a parent has the habit of buying everything that his kid asks for, this will only spoil the kid. What I do at home is I set a goal for my daughter — give her a task and award her pocket money in denominations that she can count. And, she in turn puts it into her piggy bank.

Once the money grows, she is entitled to buy toys, chocolates, etc. I think this has made her responsible. These days, banks are providing savings accounts for kids and so parents could try that option,” says a parent, Suchitra Kumar.

Keeping good records of money is another skill that ought to be taught. “I have encouraged my children to maintain a book on their savings and spending. Kids should also be taught the concept of borrowings and interest to be paid on that amount,” says a parent, Deepthi Nair.

Social dad: As good as mom or even dad!

Social dad is the cool new name for the cool new stepfather.And he’s probably just as good a dad as the biological one – even better, perhaps. A study by Lawrence M Berger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US says that a man who is ‘married to or cohabiting with the child’s mother, but is not the biological father’ – a social father – is trusted more and may be better with the child in terms of parenting.

And examples abound. The new kid on the block, Imran Khan, has one, for instance – actor Raj Zutshi. In a recent interview, Imran said that his real father, Anil Pal, lives and works in the US.

“Dad is a software engineer who has been living in the US for 25 years now. My parents got divorced when I was one-and-a-half years old. Practically speaking, I have no memories of when my parents were married to each other,” he said. So who was his father figure, then? “It was my stepfather, Raj Zutshi,” he said. Zutshi and Nuzhat got divorced a couple of years ago. DT asks other social dads and their spouses if they make good fathers...

My man, my kid’s dad
Actress Maninee De Mishra, who married actor Mihir Mishra, says that the strong bond between Mihir and her daughter is the result of the effort that they both made in the initial stages of the relationship. She says, “I wanted to facilitate an understanding between Mihir and Dianoor. Mihir’s decision to be with Dia and me was voluntary, but for Dia, it wasn’t. In such a relationship, it’s important to ensure that the child doesn’t suffer. Fortunately, I can take no credit for the crackling chemistry the two share. I had never seen Mihir cry, but the first time Dia called him papa, his eyes welled up and he told me how overwhelmed he was. Right from the beginning, the mother should clarify her stance and say that she and her kids are a package deal. Once, I got home to find Dia and Mihir in fits of laughter at a cartoon film they were watching. That moment proved how close they are as a father-daughter duo.”

Actress Pooja Bedi also says that ex-boyfriend Hanif Hilal was a great dad to her kids. “I don’t let my relationships come home unless I’m ultra-serious about them,” she says. “If I get to know that the man isn’t comfortable with my kids, he is rejected from my life too. Though Hanif and I aren’t together anymore, it’s been a wonderful experience with him. He helped my kids with homework and took them to their classes. He was always there. In fact, if my daughter Alia was sick, he was the one who rushed her to the doctor. Though he was involved with an older woman, he undertook a father’s responsibilities and executed them well. He loved my kids unconditionally.”

And the dads say, of course we’re good
The social dads say that there are a host of factors that make them good parents. Says Mihir, “Social fathers try harder to seek the child’s approval, and often end up forging a great bond. Moreover, the father is mentally prepared to adapt to the situation and the child’s needs and expectations. One can’t force a relationship, but one can always work to make it a success. You can either strike a chord with the child, or fail – there’s no third option. For me, the adapting was simpler since Dia also took the initiative. Now, we are best friends and the worst enemies!”

Image guru Dilip Cherian is also a social father to his wife Devi’s children. “Indian society is going through a change in areas of marriage,” he explains. “Social fathers are probably more ready and competent to bring up their wife’s kids, and they also try harder to meet their expectations. For some biological fathers, fatherhood may be a social compulsion, but for social fathers, it’s a mature choice. Marrying a lady with kids means knowing exactly what you’re getting into. Biological fathers may also be too young to handle the responsibility and may lack the time and experience of life that a man entering a later stage of fatherhood may have. In such relationships, credit also goes to the children who may have gone through the phase of missing a father figure in their lives and are more than ready to adjust to the new person coming into the family.”

Devi seconds her husband’s views. “Social fathers are much, much better because both the father and the kids make an effort to accept each other. There is this sense of comradeship – children feel that their mother may be hurt if they don’t accept the man as their father figure and the man would never want his wife to feel that since the kids are not his, he isn’t interested. And so both, the father and the children, go out of their way to try and get along. In due course, the child will start doing things that his/her father does. It may be as simple as starting to eat sushi because their father likes it, but these things make the father say, ‘They are looking up to me and I must not fail them’.”

What about the stepmoms?
However, Pooja gives the issue a slightly different twist. “It’s great to give stepfathers the oh-so-cool tag of ‘social’ fathers! But what about the tag of ‘evil’ that stepmothers have? Poor stepmoms – they’ve been considered evil since the time the fairytales, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, came about. I guess the social fathers bit should’ve happened for women first. Moms put a lot of effort into child rearing and that should be respected. This kind of undoes what mothers have been doing all this while. Get the title for women first! Fairytales have done enough harm,” she says.

‘Satyam: No Place to Run; No Place to Hide’...says Upaid

The House of Lords has refused Satyam leave to appeal the case between it and Upaid. The only issue now left open in the UK is how much Satyam will have to pay Upaid in legal fees."The road now leads to substantive resolution. It must be obvious, even to Satyam’s management, that justice is at hand," said Upaid Chairman & CEO Simon Joyce. He praised the UK’s "swift and definitive" judicial ruling that assures Satyam will face a jury in Texas, as Upaid had intended from the outset.

"Satyam appears to have been in a state of denial. They lost in the UK high Court and again on appeal and have now lost in the House of Lords. Next they will lose in Texas", Joyce said.

"Satyam management is still trying to wriggle out of Federal Court jurisdiction in the Eastern District of Texas," Joyce added. "Even if they were to do so, which we’re confident they will not, they’ll face all but identical proceedings in the Texas State Court made up from the same essential jury pool."

Joyce, noting that Upaid has been waiting a year for Satyam’s answer to the charges contained in Upaid’s complaint, said that Satyam has so far "used denial, dodge and delay. Their shareholders will be hoping they now recover their sense of reason. It may be more likely that Satyam will become desperate as they see the avenues of escape closing one by one."

Upaid spokesperson Joanne Hunter pointed to Satyam’s "minuscule" (less than 1%) stake in Upaid. "Given their record to date they will now probably try to use this to undermine Upaid from within. But it won’t work. We have the commitment and wherewithal to see this through to the finish."

Trial is set for early June in the Federal court. "This time next year we expect that Satyam will have to post an extremely large bond if they hope to appeal," Hunter said. "That will immediately hit their bottom line."

Hunter pointed out that Satyam’s own filings in the UK admit that "extremely large sums of money are at stake". Though the exact amount of damages is not yet knowable, Upaid is required to file their damage calculation model with the Federal court within weeks.

"Satyam would help themselves if they started to repair our intellectual property rights that have been put in jeopardy by their wrongful acts," she said. "The damages grow with every day."

For copies of the letters from the claimant and the House of Lords, please contact Catriona Biggart or Becca Daniel at Skywrite Communications. Telephone: +44 (0) 207 608 4650 or email: upaid@skywritecomms.com.

About Upaid

Upaid is the mobile and online payments specialist. Applications range from the recharge of prepaid accounts via SMS, to electronic bill payment and presentment, to billing for mobile content. The Upaid platform supports a complete eco-system for mobile commerce, giving users the choice of an operator-driven or independent billing system.

Upaid holds a portfolio of over 1,000 granted patents in the arena of e- and m-commerce. We work with Brazil’s leading mobile operators and banks to enable recharge transactions, serving a user base of over 50 million consumers, processing 2 million transactions per month. Upaid holds the franchise for VISA Mobile Service in the CEMEA region. Upaid has offices in the US, UK, and Brazil. Upaid is a registered trademark of Upaid Systems, Ltd.

For more information, please visit www.upaid.net.

Marriage can boost your lifespan

Forget long walks and cutting on calories, the secret to a long, healthy life is marriage. According to new figures, men who lose their life partner often die soon afterwards. The figures reveal that widowers over 85 have the highest rate of death per 1000 (191.6), while married men in the same age group have a death rate of only 140.3 per 1000.

"It seems longevity and marriage are directly linked and marriage is good for your health," the Daily Telegraph quoted Australian Minister Justine Elliot, whose office analyzed the figures, as saying.

The figures suggested that married people have lower death rates and live longer because they are more likely to look after each other’s health and serve as role models to children.

Friends at the workplace

Friends at the workplace definitely play a major role in one’s career. A friend on the job can keep you informed on the inner workings of your company, provide feedback on your performance or act as a sounding board. Having a pal at work can make the job more enjoyable and can even enhance the productivity by stirring your creativity. Also friends often can get you new jobs; companies even have programmes to reward employees for referring their friends for employment.

Although finding someone on the job can spark a friendship, whether to invest in the relationship or not is a major issue. As Purna, an advertisement executive says, “You make friends at work and may reveal what you really think about managers, colleagues and the job, thinking that they will not divulge any information to anyone else. But if they are not committed to the friendship, they may let personal information you’ve discussed go beyond the circle of friendship.”

“Workplace friendships are great, but will burn out quickly, too,” says S. Kumar, a bank employee. “If you leave a department or change positions, the circumstances that brought you together will vary and so the friendship.” Lakshmi S, accounts executive differs from this and says that sometimes the casual friendship deepen when one person moves out because then the other one no longer feels inhibited by the environment. “In workplace, it is the same-level friendships that are the easiest to maintain. Problems may arise if one friend has to supervise or evaluate the other. And if you try to befriend the boss, your colleagues may see it in another light. Similarly, if your boss befriends you, he may be accused of showing favouritism,” points out S. Krishnan, an HR executive.

The friendship one develops at work is different from other friendships, says a noted psychologist. “A job provides financial security. If one has to choose between keeping job and friendship, most people would choose to keep their job. While the right group of friends can be a great influence in your career, the wrong group can cost you your job,” he adds.

Then, how to handle friendships at workplace? Be discreet about the confidences you share, and think carefully about the type of information you want to divulge. If the friendship puts you or your friend in a complicated position, then talk about it. Avoid circumstances that might create a conflict situation. Again, too much socialising hampers productivity and revealing personal or professional information can cost you your job.

Is your hubby working overtime?

Women whose hubbies put in long hours at the office are more likely to quit their jobs, according to a group of researchers. However, men’s careers are not impacted when their wives put in long hours, it was found. Researchers at Cornell University say that working overtime has a disproportionate impact on women in dual-earner households, exacerbating gender inequality and supporting the "separate sphere" phenomenon in which men are the breadwinners while women take care of the household.

The study has been presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. "Women whose husbands work long hours are more likely to quit their jobs, yet men’s careers are not impacted when their wives put in long hours," said Youngjoo Cha, author of the study and a doctoral candidate in sociology at Cornell University. "This suggests a potential return to the "separate spheres" arrangement — breadwinning men and homemaking women — as long hours become increasingly common,” Cha added.

To determine the impact of longer work hours on dual-earner households, Cha analyzed data from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, a longitudinal household survey conducted by the US Census Bureau that covers calendar years - 1995 to 2000.

The sample was limited to dual-earner married couples in professional and non-professional employment. Cha found that women whose husbands worked more than 60 hours per week were 44 per cent more likely to quit their own jobs. However, there was no impact on husbands’ odds of quitting when wives worked long hours.

Results were even more pronounced when Cha isolated professional workers. Professional women were 52 per cent more likely to quit their jobs when their husbands worked more than 60 hours per week. As in the case of all workers, overworking wives did not affect the employment status of professional men.

Among professionals, husbands were more than twice as likely as wives to work more than 50 hours per week (30 per cent of husbands compared to 12 per cent of wives). According to Cha, this suggests that in professional occupations, women are less likely to expect spousal support than men.

In India, even God is helpless, says SC

In India, even God cannot help. He will be a silent spectator as He will also feel helpless" — this observation came from the Supreme Court on Tuesday as it expressed its frustration over the reluctance of the Centre and state governments to take tough measures against bureaucrats and others unauthorisedly overstaying in government accommodation.

The remark indicated what the apex court must be feeling after failing to goad the governments to amend laws to treat squatting in government premises as criminal trespass of public property, an offence which may attract arrests.

The bench of Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi was reacting to the government’s decision, conveyed by additional solicitor general Amarendra Saran, not to amend Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code to make overstaying in official bungalows an offence.

Following the refusal of the Centre and states to make the squatters pay, the dejected court dropped its advocacy for a stronger law. "In our view, the stand of the Centre and the states is condemnable in view of the galloping trend of unauthorised occupation of official accommodation, which neither the Centre nor the states are in a position to contain," it said.

Amicus curiae Ranjit Kumar, however, exhorted the court not to drop the ante, saying there should be some accountability fixed on delinquent bureaucrats as government accommodation were national assets which could not be squandered away.

Following the refusal of the Centre and states to make the squatters pay, the SC court dropped its advocacy for a stronger law. The bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi pointed out that a law, however tough, could never be implemented if the government was not keen on it.

"The whole government machinery is corrupt. We may lay down the law, but who will implement it? It has to be done by the clerks. The secretaries and joint secretaries have no guts to go against the clerks. The law is there, the statute is there, but the governments have become non-functional," it said. The court slammed the government for being obstinate towards implementation of laws. Because of this, those in the corridors of power were able to continue occupying government accommodation unauthorisedly without fear, it said.

The SC, frustrated by the determination of politicians and bureaucrats to stay put in subsidised accommodation beyond their eligibility, had proposed amendment last year, saying that only "third degree method" would work with the heedless and well-connected lot.

If it had thought that its tough posture would work with regimes indulgent of powerful squatters, it was to be disappointed. Most of the states did not respond to suggestion. Those who did, toed Centre’s line. There were two exceptions though — Orissa and UP — which have tough laws in place making squatting in government bungalows a non-bailable offence.

Govt approves Daiichi-Ranbaxy deal

India has approved Daiichi Sankyo’s stake purchase in the country’s top drug maker by sales, Ranbaxy Laboratories, the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.Japan’s Daiichi has agreed to buy a 34.8 percent stake in Ranbaxy and aims to take up to 20 percent more from the open market in deals worth up to $4.6 billion.

The Japanese drug maker will also make an open offer to buy up to 20 percent of shares in another Indian firm, Zenotech Laboratories, which is 47-percent owned by Ranbaxy.

Reliance Power to raise $2.5 bln loan - sources

Reliance Power Ltd is planning to raise as much as $2.5 billion through India’s largest rupee-denominated loan this year to fund a power project, two bankers familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.Reliance Power, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has hired SBI Capital Markets, a unit of State Bank of India, to raise the funds for its 3,960 megawatt coal-fired plant at Sasan in central Madhya Pradesh state, the sources said.

"The loan is open and we are hopeful of closing it in early October," one banker involved in the deal said. He declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The loan priced at 11.75 percent will be for a tenure of 15 years, they said.

Sterlite Industries has said it plans to raise $1.6 billion in a syndicated rupee loan to build a power plant in the eastern state of Orissa.

Reliance Power, which raised $3 billion in India’s largest ever IPO in January, would contribute about 54.6 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) from the issue as equity for the project, it said in its IPO offer document.

India’s power sector needs 10 trillion rupees of investment in the five years to 2012. Asia’s third-largest economy suffers from peak power shortages of about 12 percent and an overall energy deficit of about 10 percent.

Reliance Power is also talking to Standard Chartered Bank, Daiwa Securities SMBC and India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd for a foreign-currency loan of up to $1.5 billion, sources said.

Demand for syndicated loans in India has remained strong, in sharp contrast to global volumes, as an equity market down by more than a quarter this year has eroded enthusiasm for share sales.

Indian firms raised loans worth $21.4 billion in the first half of 2008, up 70 percent over the year-ago period, according to Thomson Reuters data.

State Bank of India, India’s top lender, was the most active, participating in almost half of the nation’s deals in the first six months of the year, the data showed.

Global offshore loan volume in the first half slumped 23 percent to $9 billion from the same period in 2007, data from Reuters Loan Pricing Corp showed, largely due to risk aversion in the wake of credit problems in the United States.

Traces of HIV drug in mother's milk

A drug used in the developing world to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child persists in breast milk, exposing their newborns to risk of developing drug-resistant strains of the virus. Researchers found that the drug nevirapine stays in the blood and breast milk of the infected mothers for at least two weeks.

During that time, the virus has ample opportunity to transform itself into drug-resistant strains of HIV that causes AIDS, which can be very difficult to treat.

"In the short term, nevirapine is better than nothing," said David Katzenstein, professor of infectious diseases and principal investigator of the study.

"But in the long term, I’m concerned about conferring resistance. If you’re talking about resistance on a broad scale, it could jeopardise future treatment for mothers and infants."

Last year, 420,000 babies were born HIV-positive, the large majority of them to HIV-infected mothers in sub-Saharan Africa, according to figures from the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The centre-piece of public health programmes in the developing world to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV are both zidovudine (AZT) and nevirapine, which have been used as preventive tools in nearly 900,000 women and infants worldwide.

The drugs are relatively inexpensive and easy to administer, and nevirapine is typically given as a single pill as the mother goes into labour and as a liquid to the baby just after birth.

Use of the drug reduces the chance of HIV transmission by half, to about 13 per cent. However, not all HIV-infected women have access to one or both of these drugs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the latest study, the Stanford scientists set out to better understand this problem.

They looked at a group of 32 HIV-positive pregnant women in Zimbabwe, where Katzenstein and his colleagues have had ongoing research and clinical programs in HIV/AIDS for more than a decade.

The only drug they received was the single dose of nevirapine when they went into labour, largely for the sake of their babies.

The researchers found that the drug persisted in the body for weeks, with more than half of the women having detectable levels in their blood within two weeks after delivery. Two-thirds had measurable levels in their breast milk at two weeks, the researchers found.

Seble Kassaye, co-author of the study, presented the results Tuesday at the International AIDS Conference here.

An Auspicious August for Nifty?

TRUCE BE TOLD:

History is replete with many a truce, where two warring forces take a small break in the middle of a war, before resuming their hostilities. The most remarkable of these was the ’Christmas Truce’ between German and British troops during the Christmas of 1914, amidst the madness of World War I. For, not only did soldiers, who had been firing at each other relentlessly for weeks, come out of their trenches and share pleasantries and gifts, but they also had a party — sharing cigars and whisky. Ironically, the same soldiers got back to business the very next day and started gunning each other to death — because a truce was, after all, just a truce!

THE SETTLEMENT TRUCE:

In a similar vein, Nifty bulls and bears seemed to have called a truce last Thursday — the settlement day of the July series of derivatives contracts. For, not only did a series that gyrated all through its existence like a drunken reveller, end absolutely flat, but it also ended with one of the lowest rollovers in recent times. To top it all, the settlement day saw a boring session, with the typical expiry fireworks missing. Not that there was no reason for a massive bull assault. The previous day had seen massive buying in the 4300 call and an in-the-money put like the 4400 put had seen healthy build-up, ending the day even below its intrinsic value (the difference between the strike price and the price of the underlying).

Generally, a put option trading below its intrinsic value, particularly if it’s building up open interest while doing that, is seen as a very bullish sign. It suggests that stronger hands are writing these puts, knowing very well that their cash buying will push the underlying above the strike price, rendering them worthless. And so, even if they sell these puts dirt cheap, it’s a profitable trade. Even rollovers, at about 53.75%, were much lower than the last six month’s average of 61.72% on the day before settlement (S-1) day. So, there was enough ammunition (read short positions) for a sharp rise, which would have butchered many of these shorts.

However, that didn’t materialise and the Nifty ended almost flat on settlement day. It was quite like the 15th round of a heavyweight-boxing bout, where both the boxers have run out of gas and are just waiting for the bell. The fact that it was just a truce became amply clear by the bull assault that followed on Friday. That a large number of bears bailed out during the truce, is clearly reflected in July rollovers, which at 65.05%, were substantially lower than the last six months average of 70.13%.

THE FRIDAY PARTY:

Although Friday’s 80-point Nifty rally may not seem like much at first glance, in many ways, it’s the first real confident move by bulls in a very long time. While Nifty August futures added close to a whopping 20 lakh shares in open interest, the premium on them shot up to 19.3 points from just 2.15 points on Thursday — a clear reflection that most of the fresh build-up on Friday comprised long positions. If we add the fact that a majority of short positions have not got rolled over into August, we can conclude that the market is now net long in the Nifty.

The picture is even rosier for bulls when it comes to single stock futures, which added a whopping 8.8 crore shares in open interest on Friday — the highest single-day addition of open interest in recent memory. With it, stock futures have now cumulatively added close to a whopping 15 crore shares in open interest in the last three trading sessions. And given that the last three sessions have ended with handsome gains, a majority of these have got to be long positions.

The icing on the cake was that it came on a day when global cues were bad and the Nifty had opened with a massive gap down. The only cause for concern is that a majority of this buildup occurred in the momentum counters, though there’s hardly any momentum left in them.

FRESH TRADE:

Last week, we had suggested avoiding the July series, expecting high volatility, and had recommended going long in August futures on Wednesday. Both these calls were vindicated as volatility rose to never-before seen levels — the India VIX (volatility index of Nifty option contracts) closed at an all-time high last Tuesday. As for the long Nifty futures, anyone who would have gone long early on Wednesday is now sitting pretty with gains of 150-200 Nifty points. And since Friday saw the re-conquer of the 50-day moving average (DMA), one should ideally sit tight and just ride this tide, with a strict stop-loss at a close below the 50 DMA, which is currently at 4347.55. The next possible target for this journey should be the last top made at around 4540 on July 24, ’08.

What about a fresh entry? For those of you who have missed this bus, it makes sense to abstain from entering now, as most casualties take place when people try to board a moving bus. So, wait for the Nifty to take out this last top at 4540 and then wait for a pullback to go long. For, with a hit (preferably a close) above 4540, the Nifty would have made a higher top for the first time since May. With a higher bottom already in place, this will put the Nifty back on a bull market pattern of higher tops and higher bottoms. As for the bears among you, extend your holiday because life for you begins only below 4159 (the panic bottom created by RBI’s rate hike last Tuesday). That may also coincide with the 20 DMA, which currently is at 4317.6, and will mean that this bear market rally is over.

Lower cholesterol early for a long life

The best approach to reducing incidence of coronary heart disease, which kills millions every year, is by lowering cholesterol early on, according to University of California researchers. Pioneering lipid researcher Daniel Steinberg, professor emeritus of medicine, University of California and colleagues Christopher Glass and Joseph Witztum, dismissed current approaches to lowering cholesterol as "too little, too late".

With a large body of evidence proving that low cholesterol levels equate with low rates of heart disease, "our long-term goal should be to alter our lifestyle accordingly, beginning in infancy or early childhood" and "instituting a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet in infancy is perfectly safe, without adverse effects..."

According to Steinberg, progress has been made in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adults with cholesterol lowering drugs like statins.

However, while studies show a 30 percent decrease in death and disability from CHD in patients treated with statins, 70 percent of patients have cardiac events while on statin therapy.

Promising new therapies are under development, but with an alarming rate of CHD in the US today, action to curtail the epidemic is needed urgently.

In fact, the researchers propose that lowering low-density lipoproteins ("bad cholesterol") even in children and young adults is a safe and potentially life-saving standard, through diet and exercise changes if possible. Drug treatment may also be necessary in those at very high risk.

"Our review of the literature convinces us that more aggressive and earlier intervention will probably prevent considerably more than 30 percent of CHD," said Steinberg.

"Studies show that fatty streak lesions in the arteries that are a precursor to atherosclerosis and heart disease begin in childhood, and advanced lesions are not uncommon by age 30.

"Why not nip things in the bud? Such early signs of heart disease should be taken as seriously as early signs of cancer or diabetes," he said.

The UC San Diego team noted that studies of Japanese men in the 1950s showed that consuming a low-fat diet from infancy resulted in lifelong low cholesterol levels, and their death rate from heart disease was only 10 percent of the rate of cardiac-related death in the US

These findings were published in Tuesday’s issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Exercise in a pill? Researchers find two

Researchers who genetically engineered "marathon mice" that could run for hours have found two pills that can mimic the effects -- and they have already developed a test for the drugs in case athletes try to cheat with them.The drugs reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting endurance, said Ronald Evans, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California.

One of the pills may some day help people enhance their exercise or training, while the other might be more suited for couch potatoes who need to kick-start themselves, Evans and colleagues reported on Thursday in the journal Cell.

"If you like exercise, you like the idea of getting more bang for your buck," Evans said in a statement. "If you don’t like exercise, you love the idea of getting the benefits from a pill."

In 2004, Evans and his colleagues genetically engineered mice by tweaking a gene called PPAR-delta, a master regulator of different genes. Gene-engineered mice could run twice as far as normal mice and stayed lean even when fed a high-fat diet.

The next step was to find a drug that might mimic these effects.

Evans tested a compound called GW1516, one of a family of compounds that researchers are looking at as obesity and diabetes drugs. But even though it affected the genes of the mice, it did not affect their metabolism.

"There was no change at all in running performance. Nothing -- not even a percent," Evans said in a statement.

MIMICKING LIFE

Then the researchers thought about what happens in real life.

"If you’re out of shape -- and most of us are -- and you want to change, you have to do some exercise. The way we reprogram muscle in adults is by training."

So they trained the mice while some were on the drug and others were not.

All the mice became more athletic but those given GW1516 ran 68 percent longer than those that had only done the exercise training. "The dramatic effect of the drug was stunning," Evans said.

But that does not help people who might have muscle-wasting diseases, fatigue, or who are too overweight to exercise.

They went back to see if there was a different way to affect PPAR-delta. One compound that is well understood already is AMP-activate protein kinase or AMPK, "a master regulator of cellular and organismal metabolism", they wrote.

"We think AMPK activity is the secret to allowing PPAR-delta drugs to work," Evans said.

A drug called AICAR mimics AMP, Evans said, "so muscle thinks it’s burning fat."

Mice given AICAR ran 44 percent longer than untreated animals, the researchers found.

"This is a drug that is like pharmacological exercise," Evans says. "After four weeks of receiving the drug, the mice were behaving as if they’d been exercised."

Treated mice could outrun mice given traditional exercise training, Evans said.

"Almost no one gets the recommended 40 minutes to an hour per day of exercise," Evans said. "For this group of people, if there was a way to mimic exercise, it would make the quality of exercise that they do much more efficient."

The pills are only available experimentally now and Evans is not working with any drug company. But GW1516 has a relatively simple chemical structure and can be synthesized easily, Evans said.

His team created a mass spectrometry test to detect the two drugs and their metabolic by-products in the blood or urine. They are working with the World Anti-Doping Agency to develop the test, perhaps in time to retroactively test 2008 Olympic athletes

Marital woes? Here's help

Tried everything but still unsuccessful in making your marriage work? Well, don’t sweat it. Here’s help... A computerised program called eHarmony Marriage, seeks to help couples communicate better, rekindle romance and resolve conflicts more compassionately. According to The Christian Science Monitor, the US site is an offshoot of the Internet matchmaking service, eHarmony.com .

Les Parrott, creator of the program with his wife, Leslie, a marriage and family therapist says that the ‘online counseling service’ is perfect for people not quite ready for face-to-face counseling, who want to do something practical to improve their relationship, reports Courier Mail .

The counseling session begins with a 40-minute online questionnaire covering everything from finances to housework, trust, family relationships and spirituality. Each partner answers separately. A report is generated outlining their strengths and weaknesses as a couple. For instance - You communicate really well until you get to the in-laws.

From that summary, the computer produces an action plan that includes interactive video exercises, articles and resources. Couples pay 150 dollars for the program, which takes six to eight weeks to complete. Women tend to be the first to seek counseling, Parrott says. Men tend to be more oblivious to the problems.

Rel Comm plunges after earnings disappoint

Shares in Reliance Communications, India’s No. 2 mobile operator, fell as much as 18 percent on Friday morning after its quarterly results disappointed and some brokerages downgraded the stock.Reliance Communications, whose tie-up talks with South Africa’s MTN to create a global top-10 telecoms firm failed last month, reported a 23.8 percent rise in June quarter net profit to 15.12 billion rupees ($357 million), almost in line with a Reuters poll forecast of 15.16 billion.

But analysts said it was boosted by a change in accounting methods, and quarterly revenue of 53.22 billion rupees missed a Reuters poll forecast of 57.61 billion rupees.

Credit Suisse analysts said a change in accounting of foreign exchange-related losses helped net profit by 14.6 billion rupees, adjusting for which it would have been only 499 million rupees.

Citigroup and Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, while Credit Suisse maintained its "underperform" rating and cut its target price. Citigroup cut its target price to 530 rupees, Morgan Stanley to 509 rupees and Credit Suisse to 425 rupees.

Reliance Communications said tariff cuts and lower revenues from its public phones had put pressure on margins in its wireless business, which generates about ¾ of total revenue.

At 0540 GMT, shares in Reliance Communications were down 12.4 percent at 438 rupees, having fallen as much as 18 percent, in a Mumbai market that was down 1.5 percent.

Bharti Airtel, India’s No. 1 mobile operator, last week reported a forecast-beating 34 percent rise in profit. Its shares were down 2.2 percent at 782 rupees at 0540 GMT

GSM ROLLOUT

The majority of Reliance Communications’ 51 million customers are on the CDMA platform. It is expanding its GSM services to all the 23 of India’s service areas from eight currently, with plans to spend $6 billion in the year to March 2009.

"We believe that the company’s profit growth in the next two quarters will be relatively lower than the industry’s as RCOM gears up for its nationwide GSM launch," Morgan Stanley said in a report.

Still, Morgan Stanley, which has an "equal-weight" rating on the stock, did not advise selling the stock, as it expected annual operating profit growth of 30 percent in 3 years and a planned listing of the telecom’s tower unit would unlock value for investors.

Chairman Anil Ambani told analysts on Thursday that Reliance Communications had approval to take its tower unit public, but was waiting for the capital markets to stabilise.

Citigroup said there was no trigger for the stock in the near term, with a re-rating based on the shift toward GSM some time away.

Reliance Communications has said it would start rolling out the new GSM networks by the end of 2008, and expects the project to be completed in the middle of next year.

Real men cry, want true love: Survey

They’re stereotyped as immature, insensitive and sex-obsessed, but deep down inside, a majority of men pine for true love, aren’t scared of commitment, and say real men can cry, a new survey has shown.

The ‘Great Male Survey’ by a website shatters the myth some women have of the knuckle dragging opposite sex, said James Bassil, the website’s editor-in-chief. The poll of 70,000 men with an average age of 28 debunked many of the standard stereotypes to show that the modern man is driven by a sense of values, loyalty and family.

The survey found that 77 per cent of respondents look for girlfriends with ‘wife potential’ while 75 per cent believe they have a soul mate and 69 per cent would never cheat on their partner. “These survey results will be surprising to many women, most of whom have a completely different perspective of what the average man thinks and feels,” a New York daily quoted Bassil, as saying. “The idea that young guys only want to be single and jump from girlfriend to girlfriend is not true at all,” he added.

The online survey, conducted over a five-week period, found that six out of 10 men were fed up with inaccurate commercial descriptions of them. Bassil said the images of men on television and in advertisements had not changed or been challenged for decades whereas the image of women in the media was always changing as their roles in the home and the workplace altered.

“In TV sitcoms and in adverts, young men are portrayed as immature boys who are always trying to get around their wives or girlfriends finding out about their bad behavior. This is just not the case,” he said. The survey found that 56 per cent of men believed that being a good father or husband made them “manly”. It also found that 75 per cent admitted to crying over a woman while 57 per cent of men cook at home and enjoy doing it.

Are you a real man?

So, you thought real men just look good and swagger around? No, the survey reveals...
77 per cent of men look for girls who are potential wives
75 per cent believe in soul mates
75 per cent admitted to crying over a woman
69 per cent said they would never cheat on their partner
57 per cent enjoy cooking at home
56 per cent of men believed that being a good father or husband made them ‘manly’

Can't conceive? Stop arguing with hubby!

Struggling to conceive? Don’t just opt for IVF. Instead drink less, avoid stressful working hours and simply stop arguing with your husband to boost your chances of having a baby, according to a fertlity expert.

"It is not so much that they (the women) are suffering from an inability to conceive, but an impatience to do so, set against a bleak backdrop in which almost everything else about their lifestyle has a negative impact.

"A lot of people drink as a way to relax, but studies have shown that alcohol directly impacts fertility. In women, it’s thought to affect reproductive hormones, leading to an abnormal menstrual cycle," British fertility expert Zita West told the ’Daily Mail’. West and her colleagues have based their findings on an analysis of several patients who visited their clinic for
fertility treatment.

In fact, according to her, stress also acts as a barrier to reproduction - it can not only kill sex life of a couple but also affects a woman’s fertility. "Women today work incredibly hard -they get up, they have breakfast on the run, they check their Blackberrys last thing at night and they fall into bed at the end of the day exhausted.

"The human body, remarkable as it is, is extremely complex and sensitive to factors such as stress and anxiety, especially when it comes to reproduction. And if you are having sex just once a week or once a month, conception is not necessarily going to be straightforward.

"Next thing, the couple are arguing, and bitter feelings and resentment provide another barrier to sex, which in turn affects conception. And all this may happen in a far shorter time frame than the average seven months it takes to conceive," West said.

Guide to the Big O!

Is your sex life more of a snooze than sizzle? Well, don’t fret it, for a group of experts have come up with an ultimate ’’orgasm guide’’, that is, wholesomely dedicated to pleasure of the naughty variety . Tracey Cox, sex author and presenter; Sarah Hedley, editor of Scarlett magazine; Dr Petra Boynton, sex and relationship expert and Katherine Hoyle, owner of ‘Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium’ share their expert knowledge for achieving the ’’Big O’’

"The biggest misconception is that women can have orgasms through intercourse. But 70 per cent of women don’t, and that’s totally normal. Guys don’t just lie back hoping to have an orgasm - they pick a thrusting style to suit them. Women need to do the same and take control," The Sun quoted Tracey, as saying.

"The trick to achieving orgasm is to put pressure on your clitoris by rotating your pelvis during sex. Good positions for this are with the woman on top or with the man behind - and if you tighten your pelvic muscles, your orgasm will be more intense.

"These positions are also great for hitting the G spot, which is around the urethra tissue - the part you can feel through the vaginal wall. It’s not miles in like we all previously thought. Another good orgasm tip is to give up on trying to climax simultaneously," Tracey added.

She said: "Much better to take it in turns so you’re not distracted by what the other person is doing - that’s why a 69er is always better in fantasy! And stop thinking of sex having a start, middle and end. You could orgasm from an oral sex session or a quickie against the bathroom wall.