How to Look Hot

The first and foremost requirement to look hot is to be of pleasing personality. You need to have social etiquette and an ability to befriend people. Keep up-to-date with current affairs and the latest news, these will work in your benefit as conversation starters. Talk to people when they address you, look into their eyes while talking to them and do not chime into a conversation unless asked or expected to. Do not starve yourself, be healthy and sleep enough!

How to Look Hot – Step 2
Personal Hygiene is very very essential. A person should not feel awkward standing next to you. Lets face it, people like to be really close to people who are hot, right? So make sure that you shower daily and that your clothes are clean. Brush your teeth and use a good deodorant. Avoid having hair where they are not required (if you know what I mean). Yes, I know it will not be visible, but it will make a big difference in the way you carry yourself.

How to Look Hot – Step 3
Do not try to follow a fashion trend, if you are not comfortable with it. The biggest mistake that many “wannabe hotties” make is that they blindly follow fashion trends. Honey, you are not a wannabe, so you will not make that mistake. Make sure that you are aware of the latest fashion trends but follow only the ones that suit you. For example, if the new trend is tank top and hot shorts, and if you are a little chubby (not fat, chubby!!) then you can skip the trend and stick to the confidence and comfort of your regular attire.

How to Look Hot – Step 4
Confidence is the key. The most important characteristic that is common in all of the people in the list above is confidence. Inspite of their quirks and flaws, the reason why they have reached a level of being adored and admired is because they are confident in their skin. Once you are confident, no amout of cheerleader bullying and jock talk can take you down! So, be confident and you will radiate a glow that will attract everyone (I am not being philosophical, true story!).

How to Look Hot – Step 5
Be proud of your friends. Always remember, one is what their company makes them, nonetheless, it is not fair to let go of your friends in order to be hot. Ample chick flicks and teen movies would agree with me on this one. Your friends have been with you in your “non hot” days, so don’t dump them ever. They will give you the added confidence and encouragement that you need. Who knows, you’ll could take down that annoying bully gang of hot shots, together?

How to Look Hot – Step 6
The last and most important step is to “not compromise”. Each individual has his/her share and set of principles. It is these principles that define the school of thought and way of life. In fact, it is these principles that make each one attractive and lovable in his/her own way. So, do not compromise on your principles, come what may. These principles will be what you are respected for, so don’t let go of them. Any opportunity that requires you to “drop the principles”, is not worth it!

These steps are very important in being hot and loved for it. It is essential to be a good person from within, to be truly hot! I am sure your questions like “how to look hot?”, ” how to look hot at school?”, ” how to look hot for a boy?” and “how to look hot for guys?” have found their respective answers in this article. Always remember, being hot gives you power and with great power comes great responsibility!

Bank lenders in talks with indebted Dubai World ahead of critical creditors’ meeting

Dubai World’s six biggest lending banks have begun talks with the ailing state-owned group before a crunch creditors’ meeting that is scheduled for December 21.

Four British-listed banks — HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered — and two local lenders — Emirates National Bank of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank — met NM Rothschild and Deloitte, Dubai World’s advisers, in the Group and SGulf State yesterday.

The banks tried to ascertain whether Dubai World would make interest payments due on the bonds of Nakheel, its property subsidiary, next Monday. Last night Dubai World’s intentions remained unclear.

The company said last week that it had asked creditors to restructure almost half its $59 billion (£36 billion) total liabilities, adding that it planned a six-month suspension of all debt repayments. The announcement sparked panic in stock markets around the world as nervous investors worried about a second wave of financial collapses.
The leading banks, which are forming a steering committee to represent all 90 of Dubai World’s bank lenders, also asked for detailed financial information to help them to revalue the company in the event of a default. A source close to the banks said that they will have created the steering committee and formally appointed KPMG as its adviser by Thursday. The accountancy firm has been advising the banks informally for several weeks.

The banks are expected to start formulating their negotiating stance this weekend, ahead of the formal meeting of all Dubai World’s creditors this month in the Gulf State.

Informed sources said that the banks were likely to be far less aggressive than a rival group of bondholders advised by Ashurst, the London-based law firm, because the bank lenders have significant operations in the Gulf and are reluctant to damage relations with Dubai or Abu Dhabi, its oil-rich backer.

The bondholder group advised by Ashurst, which is led by QVT, the American hedge fund, is less concerned about repeat business and has asked legal advisers to assess whether it has a potential claim over Dubai World’s trophy overseas assets, such as P&O, the ferry company. Ashurst declined to comment but it is understood that by yesterday the QVT-led group accounted for about 40 per cent of the holders of Nahkeel’s bonds by value.

Insiders close to the talks said that yesterday’s meeting had been exploratory but would establish the likely direction of future negotiations. The most immediate concern, however, is a $4 billion Islamic bond held by Nakheel, which is due for repayment on December 14. With the Nakheel bond only days away from default, further talks are scheduled this week between Dubai World and its banks and bondholders.

Earlier, a senior Dubai government finance official conceded that Dubai World was prepared to sell some of its key overseas assets as part of the restructuring. The holding company had previously sought to confine the restructuring to its real estate groups, Nakheel and Limitless World, but the comments by Abdulrahman al-Saleh, director-general of Dubai’s Department of Finance, has fuelled speculation that trophy assets such as the QE2 cruise liner and the group’s stake in Canada’s Cirque du Soleil could be sold in an effort to balance the books.

Mr al-Saleh emphasised that the Government itself would not sell any assets to bail out Dubai World.

Bargain-hunters look to cash in

Overseas property investors are “rubber-necking” in Dubai’s downtrodden housing market, trawling websites for evidence of the collapse hitting property prices and the chance to bag a bargain (Rebecca O’Connor writes).

Rightmove Overseas, the international division of the British property website, recorded a 176 per cent rise in the number of searches for bricks and mortar in the emirate in the seven days after Dubai World’s request for a standstill on debt repayments, compared with the previous week. The surge in interest took the monthly increase in searches in Dubai to 45 per cent between October and November, becoming the fourth-most popular country for people interested in property prices.

Housing prices have risen dramatically in Dubai in the past — doubling in the four years to the end of 2008. However, they sank by 47 per cent in the year to September, according to Knight Frank, the estate agency, and are forecast to fall by a further 30 per cent. There are hopes that they could bottom out next year.

WikiLeaks: Internet backlash follows US pressure against whistleblowing site

WikiLeaks: American pressure to dissuade companies in the US from supporting the WikiLeaks website has led to an online backlash. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

American pressure to dissuade companies in the US from supporting the WikiLeaks website has led to an online backlash in which individuals are redirecting parts of their own sites to its Swedish internet host.

Since early on Friday morning, it has been impossible to reach WikiLeaks by typing wikileaks.org into a web browser because everyDNS, which would redirect queries for the string "wikileaks.org" to that machine address, removed its support for Wikileaks, claiming that it had broken its terms of service by being the target of a huge hacker attack. (See What is DNS?)

Without a DNS record, it is only possible to reach WikiLeaks by typing in the string of numbers which, for most web users, is too unmemorable to make it feasible.

That, campaigners say, points to the principal weakness in the internet's pyramidial DNS setup, where a limited number of site registrars can control whether a site is findable by name or not.

Website hosts are being encouraged to add a "/wikileaks" directory into their sites, redirecting to which redirects to http://88.80.13.160/, run by the Swedish hosting company Bahnhof.

At present, that location redirects users to a Wikleaks page at http://213.251.145.96/, which is run by a French company, but if pressure from the French government pushes Wikileaks off that host, it will still have the Swedish location.

At the same time, scores of sites "mirroring" WikiLeaks have sprung up – by lunchtime today, the list was 74-strong and contained sites that have the same content as WikiLeaks and – crucially – link to the downloads of its leaks of 250,000 US diplomatic cables.

The backlash has also gained its own tag on the microblogging service Twitter, where people who have linked to the main site are using the hashtag #imwikileaks.

The technical details of how to make a site's subdirectory point directly to the WikiLeaks site are described by Paul Carvill, a British developer, and Jamie McClelland.

"I've done this as a simple gesture of my support for WikiLeaks and my opposition to arbitrary censorship of the web by governments and corporations," Carvill says on his page, while McLelland says that adding his support "seems like a good way for us all to really pitch in and share the risk that the folks at WikiLeaks are taking all by themselves".

Europe weather ruins Christmas for airlines, retailers

LONDON: Snow and freezing temperatures grounded flights across northern Europe on Tuesday, while retailers fretted they would struggle to make up sales lost due to bad weather with just four shopping days to Christmas.

Eurocontrol, the umbrella group for air-traffic control across 38 countries, said more services would likely operate on Tuesday after more than 22,000 flights across Europe were cancelled on Monday.

But cancellations remained widespread.

British Airways said it expected to make a "significant number of cancellations" to its shorthaul services from London's Heathrow airport.

"Severe weather continues to cause significant disruption to our operation and will do so in the run up to Christmas," the airline warned.

Analysts believe the freezing conditions will hit BA's profit by around 10 million pounds ($15.55 million) a day.

Shares in BA were 1 percent up at 268 pence by 1022 GMT, in line with the FTSE100 bluechip index, up 0.78 percent.

BAA, the company owned by Spain's Ferrovial which operates Heathrow, said its south runway would remain closed again on Tuesday, meaning the world's busiest international airport would operate at significantly reduced capacity.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded at Heathrow for days as flights have been delayed and cancelled.

The British government has relaxed regulations on night flights at Heathrow, allowing for arrivals until 0100 GMT each day until Christmas.

London's Gatwick Airport re-opened at 0600 GMT after closing overnight.

Flights to and from Frankfurt airport, continental Europe's biggest, also resumed after the airport had been shut for several hours in the morning, operator Fraport said.

"It is our goal to return to normal flight operations as quickly as possible," said a Fraport spokesman.

In Belgium, handling agents at its main airport managed to get hold of de-icing fluid after saying on Monday they might run out, allowing the departure of some planes on Tuesday.

Britain's Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for most of the country for the remainder of the week.

Eurostar said it was running a restricted service due to the bad weather. Big queues of Eurostar passengers were building up at King's Cross St Pancras station in central London.

"We are asking all customers booked to travel before Christmas to refund or exchange their tickets free of charge, if their travel is not essential," the cross-channel operator said.

With most festive shopping done in the two weeks before Christmas, European retailers are worried they are running out of time to make up lost ground.

"The snow across the country (UK) is having a dramatic impact, with sales running as much as down 50 percent in heavily affected areas," said Andrew Wade, analyst at Numis Securities.

With no let-up in the extreme weather in sight pre-Christmas profit warnings from retailers have already started.

Alexon, the womenswear retailer with 990 outlets in the UK and Europe, warned its sales had slumped 20 percent over the last three weeks, sending its shares down a fifth.

Death toll in Iraq suicide bombings rises to 17

BAGHDAD: Two suicide car bombers targeting a government compound in the Iraqi town of Ramadi killed at least 17 people and wounded 47 on Monday, a police official said.

"The death toll has risen to 17, most of them police officers, and 47 people have been wounded," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said most of the wounded were in serious condition. He said rescue operations were continuing.

Ramadi is 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad.

More signs lung cancer screening could save lives

NEW YORK: More research is suggesting that heavy smokers may benefit from screening for lung cancer, to detect tumors in their earliest stages.

A new study finds that regular smokers who received three-dimensional X-rays to look for the presence of early tumors had a significantly lower risk of dying over a 10-year period.

The results are in keeping with those of a much larger study published last month, which showed that these 3-D X-rays, or CT scans, reduced the death rate among 53,000 current and former heavy smokers by 20 percent compared with screening using regular chest X-rays. That previous finding was "very good news in the field," said Dr. Bruce Johnson of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, who treats lung cancer patients and reviewed the results for the news agency.

This latest study, published in the journal Lung Cancer, looked at death rates in a different, smaller population of heavy smokers, and estimated that those who received up to two CT scans would have between a 36 and 64 percent lower risk of dying, compared to those who went unscreened.

The data are "consistent" with earlier studies but there are still many issues to resolve regarding lung cancer screening, Johnson said.

For one, scientists haven't yet worked out how often to screen people, and when to start. It is not clear when or how guidelines for lung cancer screening could be drawn up, and until they are, insurers including government programs such as Medicare are unlikely to pay the average $300 cost of a scan.

Furthermore, an April study showed that 21 percent of a patient's initial lung CT scans show suspicious lesions that turn out not to be cancer, but lead to needless invasive follow-up procedures and radiation exposure, as well as stress and anxiety for patients and their families.

The high so-called "false positive" rate is an issue, said Dr. James Hanley of McGill University, who also reviewed the findings for the British news agency, but many mammograms also find lesions that turn out to be benign. And for lung cancer, doctors know there is a high false-positive rate and have a set protocol to follow in order to determine which lesions are dangerous, added Johnson.

Lung cancer kills 1.2 million people a year globally and it will kill 157,000 people in the United States alone this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Tobacco use accounts for some 85 percent of lung cancer cases in the U.S., and one estimate puts a smoker's lifetime absolute risk of developing lung cancer between 12 percent and 17 percent. Five-year survival rates for lung cancer are low.

In recent years, CT scans, in particular, have been promoted by some hospitals and advocacy groups for lung cancer screening, even though studies had not yet shown definitively whether such screening saves lives.

In 2006, Dr. Claudia Henschke, currently based at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Arizona State University, caused a stir when she published a study concluding that 80 percent of lung-cancer deaths could be prevented through widespread use of spiral CT.

Her ideas were controversial to start with, especially when other researchers found her work had been paid for by a tobacco company.

In the current study, funded in part by manufacturers of CT scanners (along with government and other sources), Henschke and her colleagues compared outcomes for nearly 8,000 smokers and former smokers who volunteered to undergo CT scans to outcomes in two sets of people with smoking histories who were not scanned.

The three groups of people had some important differences, such as in average age and how long and heavily they had smoked, so the researchers had to use mathematical tools to try to eliminate the influence of those differences, said Hanley. For instance, to compare death rates, the researchers tracked how many people died among those who were screened, then pulled out all the people with similar underlying characteristics in the other two groups and looked at their death rates, Hanley explained.

A total of 64 people died in the screened population, the authors report -- but applying the death rate among people with the same underlying characteristics in one of the unscreened populations, they estimated that the number of deaths would have been 100. This translates into a 36 percent lower risk of dying among the screened population.

Applying the same methods to the other unscreened population, the authors estimated that screening was associated with a 64 percent lower risk of dying.

Overall, research is suggesting that CT scans of people at risk of lung cancer might make a dent in cancer mortality, and it's possible that more frequent screening might make an even bigger dent, Hanley noted. "If screening is going to work, you've got to keep at it."

Victoria's Secret Spring 2010 - Do You Love Their Bodies

One of the great things about it being closer to a new season? It's a (great) excuse for Victoria's Secret to come out with a new collection. In this case, their Spring 2010 I Love My Body Bras. Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Candice Sawnepoel and Lindsay Ellingson show off four of the seven new bras above

Alessandra Amrbosio relaxes with The Perfect Coverage bra and matching panties above; Chanel Iman gives you an up-close and personal look at the new Demi-bra below

Check out the TV commercial and the Behind-The-Scenes video of the campaign photo shoot:

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Green Beer, or Rachel Alexander?

If you picked green beer as your choice, it's my guess you've already had too much of it. Here's to hoping you can find another colleen like model Rachel Alexander who'll respond just a enthusiastically should you ask if she's wearing anything green for St. Patrick's Day.. and whatever it is, she'll allow you the pleasure of giving said lingerie the same treatment as Ms. Alexander's accorded her sweater dress. Ms. Alexander's bra and panties by Andres Sarda.

Chaos as pro-, anti-Mubarak protesters clash

CAIRO: Supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clashed violently with opposition protesters on Wednesday after storming their rally in central Cairo, with at least 26 people hurt, witnesses said.

Partisans from both sides threw stones and set on each other with sticks and fists in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of anti-regime demonstrations, a day after the embattled president rejected demands to step down and vowed to stay on to the end of his term.

Fighting took place around army tanks deployed in the square, with stones bouncing off the armour, resultantly, at least 10 people were injured in the first fighting.

Soldiers took cover from the projectiles, and the windows of at least one army truck were broken. Some troops stood on tanks and appealed for calm but did not otherwise intervene.

The clashes occurred just hours after the army urged people to go home and allow a return to normality.

Amid the chaos, Mubarak partisans charged in on camel and horseback.

At least six riders were dragged from their beasts, beaten with sticks and taken away with blood streaming down their faces.

One of them was dragged away unconscious, with large blood stains on the ground at the site of the clash.

Elsewhere, an angry crowd of anti-Mubarak protesters beat at least 10 pro-regime demonstrators with sticks, a second correspondent added.

The worst of the fighting was just outside the world famous Egyptian Museum, which was targeted by vandals last week.

Three opposition groups said in a statement that "members of security forces dressed in plain clothes and a number of thugs have stormed Tahrir Square."

The renewed violence comes despite calls by close ally the United States and other nations for Egyptian authorities to allow anti-government protests to proceed peacefully, with both sides exercising restraint.

Miss Thailand Universe 2004 Aimee Morakot

Morakot Aimee Kittisara is a 23-year-old student, actress, model and host who won the Miss Thailand Universe pageant in 2004. Morakot Kittisara was born and raised in England to Thai parents. She graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree [LL.B] from Brunel University in England. She's currently studying at Raffles Design Institute, the very first international design school in Thailand. she was voted number 29 sexiest woman in the world 2006 by FHM Thai edition readers in their 100 Sexiest Women contest. The truth is I skipped her when I was doing the countdown. That's why she doesn't appear on that page with my other favorites from the top 100. The photo they had for her looked like one from the pageant and sexy it was not. But now Aimee is all grown up, or shall I say, out from under the pressures of being Miss Thailand Universe. She is now doing rather racy photo shoots for the likes of FHM Thai edition. And she is looking pretty hot for the first time that I have noticed.

Celebrity Pictures Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad, often referred to as "L.C.", is an American reality television star and fashion design student. She is best known for her role in the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and The Hills, the latter of which earned her a Teen Choice Award in 2006 and 2007. Lauren Conrad was born in Laguna Beach, California on February 1, 1986 to James (Jim) and Katherine (nee Lawrence) Conrad. Her father is an architect (designer of the Conrad family home). Lauren Conrad has a sister three years younger named Breanna Christine Conrad (featured in Laguna Beach season three), born August 23, 1989 and a brother six years younger named Brandon James Conrad, born October 29, 1992.

GEO Amazing and Interesting

LONDON: The craftsmen have engineered some unique and creative beds, which also are an addition to the beauty of a house. Some of the most unusual beds designed for people who love to sleep.

Zipper Bed: Letto Zip bed makes daily bed-making process faster and easier.
Spaceship Bed: This bed will bring the drama of space dogfights to your bedroom.
Floating Bed: Cool bed designed by Ego Paris for use in swimming pools.
Yin Yang Bed: Creative bunk bed created by Italian designer Alessio Pappa.
Suspended Bed: Innovative bed with suspended mattress designed by Max Longin.

Satin Panties - excite your sex life

Your sex life is not what it used to be. Instead of having sex everyday like in the beginning you both have sex 6 times a year. It's work, bills, and the shopping list for Sam's Club.

Welcome to the life of more Americans than you think.
This is for all the wives out there in this situation. I am going to give you a huge tip. Go online and buy yourself some sexy satin panties. You will feel sexier and look even more sexier in the eyes of your husband.
Not that he doesn't think you are attractive now. Most couples that are not having sex still love each other very deeply. These couples still think their spouse is attractive. But the fire has gone out. You see each other everyday. Even the hottest celebrities have this problem. Who could get tired with Demi Moore or Jenifer Aniston?
Put on a pair of white or black satin panties and see your husband's reaction. I promise it will be like he is married to a whole new woman. He will notice. Your cotton panties are good. Your cotton panties are comfortable. But your cotton panties do not stand out. They do not grab your husbands attention like satin panties will. The soft touch of satin alone will turn him on if you brush up against him.
There is just something just so sexy about satin. Of all the types of panties there is none more sex appealing. Elle Macpherson Intimates makes some great panties for you to try. There is also Victoria's Secret. Shop around a see whats out there. You know what your husband likes. Buy it, wear it in front of him, and you will have his attention. Tease him a little bit.
Yesterday he was asking you what's for diner. Now he's drooling all over you. You would be shocked about the power of panties. Its remarkable when you think about it. Your looks have not changed. Your body has not changed. But if you change panties you have no idea how different they can make you look. Panties give woman a different persona you might can say. They emit different feelings. Cotton panties tell your husband nothing. Satin or silk or lace panties tell your husband "come and get me."

Be Your Sensual Best In Lingerie

The female body form is mysterious, sexy, alluring, & enticing. One kind of the female silhouette that has had an fascinating & stunning presence in every woman’s life, through the ages, & is known not for its miraculous seduction prowess, but also for its ability to evoke & rapture – is the lingerie.

Lingerie plays a vital role in a woman’s life. Lingerie is not close to the woman’s heart (no pun intended) but it is also the closest to her & enhances her sexuality like no other piece of clothing. But, the most important thing about a lingerie item is the fit. There’s no denying that perfectly well-fitted lingerie can accentuate the female form, sensuality & outfit with aplomb. So, let’s steal a glance in to the astoundingly intimate world of stunning, lacy, sheer, satin, stylish, stylish, lavish & classy world of lingerie. Whether you are a and size woman, or a bride-to-be, or require to bring the passion back in to your relationship nothing works to ignite the fire & spread the heat like beautifully created lingerie!

World oil prices extend gains in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: World oil prices extended gains in Asian trade Thursday, with the unfolding political crisis in Egypt keeping the market jittery over fears about a wider fallout in the Middle East.

The standoff escalated into violence Wednesday after supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clashed with protesters demanding the veteran leader's ouster in running battles that left hundreds injured

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, climbed 47 cents to $91.24 in Asian morning trade.

Brent North Sea crude for March was up 22 cents to $102.56.

"The unfolding of the situation in Egypt has injected a burst of volatility and uncertainty into oil markets," Barclays Capital analysts said in a client note.

While Egypt is not a major crude producer, the country is home to the Suez Canal, which carries about 2.4 million barrels daily, roughly equal to Iraq's output.

Since the outbreak of unrest in Egypt more than a week ago, oil prices have risen on fears of disruption to the artificial waterway that links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

"The situation introduces risks and uncertainties that are likely to be highly significant in terms of the broader political evolution of the region," analysts at Barclays Capital said.

Phil Flynn at PFGBest described the situation as "an uneasy calm."

"Oil shipments through the Suez Canal have not been impacted but tanker rates may still rise," he said.

Oil prices were climbing despite data showing weak demand in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer.

The US government's latest weekly stockpiles report showed supplies were still growing.

US crude oil reserves increased sharply for the third week in a row, the US Department of Energy said. Crude oil stocks rose 2.6 million barrels to 343.2 million in the week ending January 28, in line with expectations.

At the almost-full depot at Cushing, Oklahoma, reserves rose by 600,000 barrels to 38.3 million.

Space telescope spots odd new solar system

WASHINGTON: Astronomers have spotted a strange new solar system with small "puffy" planets packed in close orbit to their sun.

And an orbiting space telescope has pointed scientists to more than 1,200 other possible exoplanets -- planets outside our own solar system -- the space agency NASA said on Wednesday.

The solar system discovery, published in the journal Nature, is mystifying astronomers for the time being and illustrates just how much variety is possible in the universe.

The team at NASA and a range of universities has named the system Kepler-11, after the orbiting Kepler space telescope that spotted it.

"One of the most striking features about the Kepler-11 system is how close the orbits of the planets are to one another," they wrote in their report.

The star resembles Earth's own sun. But five of the planets orbiting it are packed into a space equivalent to the distance between Mercury and Venus in our own solar system.

And they are bigger and puffier than the rocky inner planets of our solar system, Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury, the scientists said. However, they are some of the smallest exoplanets ever seen.

"They are much more closely packed ... than any other planetary systems known, including our own," said Jack Lissauer, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California.

"It is clear that such planets need not resemble the Earth in any way," Jonathan Fortney of the University of California, Santa Cruz, added in a telephone briefing. "The low-mass planets in the Kepler-11 system appear to be more like small Neptunes than giant Earths."

Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus are the giant gassy planets that orbit beyond Mars.

LOOKING FOR LIFE

Astronomers have now found more than 500 exoplanets. Most are giant, because they are so far away that only the biggest are detectable.

Kepler, launched in March 2009, is measuring the light from 150,000 stars in the constellations Cygnus and Lyrae. The hope is to find planets about the size and composition of Earth, inside the so-called habitable zone, where it is warm enough for liquid water to exist but not too hot for life.

"We have found over twelve hundred candidate planets -- that's more than all the people have found so far in history," William Borucki of Ames Research Center told a separate news briefing.

"Now, these are candidates, but most of them, I'm convinced, will be confirmed as planets in the coming months and years."

No telescope is powerful enough to directly visualize a planet orbiting another star. Instead, scientists use indirect means to find them.

Kepler measures the light coming from a star. A planet passing in front of the star as it orbits will dim this light just slightly. The researchers can then compute the planet's size and how quickly it is orbiting from this information.

In the latest discovery, the flickering light suggests a system of at least six planets, spinning rapidly around the star. One is orbiting farther out than the other five but they all appear to be made mostly of gas and orbiting in a very flat, circular plane.

Jan trade deficit at $1.11b

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's trade deficit narrowed to $1.11 billion in January, from $1.63 billion a year earlier, the Federal Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

The trade deficit was $1.62 billion in December 2010.

Exports totalled $2.32 billion in January, against $1.68 billion a year ago, according to the bureau's data.

Imports totalled $3.44 billion, up from $3.32 billion in January last year.

The country's trade deficit for the first seven months of the 2010/11 fiscal year (July-June) was $9.31 billion, compared with a $8.53 billion deficit in the same period a year earlier.

Kate Middleton deemed top fashion buzzword

LOS ANGELES: Prince William's bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, has de-throned Lady Gaga as the top fashion buzzword for the fashion season that starts in New York on Feb 10, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Middleton, 29, who will marry the British prince on April 29 in London, soared as a fashion icon in November after the blue dress by designer Daniella Issa Helayel that she wore for the official engagement announcement sold out of stores within 24 hours.

Speculation is now rife in the fashion world over who will design Middleton's wedding dress, and what it will look like.

A survey by the Texas-based Global Language Monitor of fashion buzz words and phrases in print, on the Internet, and in social media, ranked Middleton the No.1. word for the upcoming season.

Singer Lady Gaga, known as much for her striking outfits as her hit records, was pushed into second place in the annual survey.

"Sheer" -- the trend for translucent fabrics -- came in third place, followed by "shirt dresses," and "sustainable style," reflecting a growing trend of clothing made of recycled fabrics.

New York fashion week starts on Feb 10, kicking off an international calendar of shows that includes London, Milan and Paris.

Obama finally quits smoking

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has finally kicked his craving for the odd cigarette -- and his wife Michelle is "very proud" the former puffer-in-chief can look his kids in the eye and say he doesn't smoke.

Obama's struggle to beat his addiction has been a subject of inordinate fascination for the US press, throughout his barnstorming 2008 campaign and in the first two years of his presidency.

But First Lady Michelle Obama told reporters Tuesday that the president had not had a drag for about a year and said she was "very proud" he had succeeded in what had been a "personal challenge for him," USA Today reported.

Michelle Obama said she had not repeatedly bugged Obama about quitting -- all while doing one of the world's most stressful jobs.

"When somebody's doing the right thing, you don't mess with them," she said according to USA Today, adding that Obama had finally stopped lighting up because he wanted to tell his daughters Malia and Sasha he did not smoke.

The first lady was talking to reporters to mark the anniversary of her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity.

Obama had been urged by his doctor in February last year to stop smoking for good after his first health check-up as president, when he was otherwise found to be in "excellent health" and "fit for duty."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that several of Obama's closest aides had joined the president in his effort to wean himself off tobacco, and added he was sure the first lady's influence had helped.

BB murder case; Non-bailable warrant of Musharraf issued

RAWALPINDI: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi has issued non-bailable arrest warrant of former President Gen Pervaz Musharraf (retd) in Benazir Bhutto assassination case, Geo News reported on Saturday.

ATC-III judge Rana Nisar issued the order while hearing in Adiala Jail.

FIA presented an interim charge of the case in which statements of former DG National Crisis Cell and IB Chief were recorded and Musharraf was declared nominated accused.