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The recent Forbes report awarded the tag of world’s most powerful woman of the year 2008 to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is the third straight year when Merkel topped the Forbes magazine list of top 100 women based on their career, economic impact and media coverage.

Sheila Bair, who chairs the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp that insures bank deposits, debuts at No. 2 due to her increased prominence amid a stumbling US economy. The other ladies in top 10 included the chief executives of PepsiCo, WellPoint, Anglo American, Kraft Foods, Temasek Holdings, Areva, Xerox and Condoleezza Rice.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is ranked No. 21 while Democratic US senator and former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton dropped three spots to No. 28 but gained the most media attention of any woman on the list this year.

“Certainly she had been the Democratic nominee that probably would have catapulted her higher. She’s still an incredibly powerful force, she’s way more powerful than any other female senator.” said Forbes’ associate editor Chana Schoenberger.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the only other government official in the top 10, although she dropped three spots from last year to No. 7 as the Bush administration prepares to leave office in January after the US election in November.

According to Forbes report, 45 per cent of the women are based outside the United States.

There are 54 business executives and 23 politicians on the list, with media personalities and heads of non-profit organizations rounding out the top 100.

Gail Kelly, head of Australian bank Westpac, lands at No. 11 as Westpac is making a $15.6 billion takeover of St George Bank in Australia’s biggest-ever bank deal.

French Minister for Economy, Finance and Employment Christine Lagarde is at No. 14

While talking about the enlisted women in the interview, Chana Schoenberger said, “It’s inspiring to look at what some of these women have done and to listen to some of their life stories.”

One third of the women are new to the list, including Argentina’s first popularly elected president Cristina Fernandez and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. While the women who drop off the list this year included Zoe Cruz, former president of Morgan Stanley, Patricia Russo, former head of Alcatel Lucent and Meg Whitman, who stepped down as eBay’s chief executive.

“A lot of the women who dropped off the list this year were for job-related reasons,” Schoenberger said.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives, ranked at No. 35 while talk show host Oprah Winfrey nabbed No. 36. Yahoo President Susan Decker is No. 50 and Queen Rania of Jordan is No. 96.

For complete details visit www.Forbes.com/women.

Tags: Angela Merkel, Anglo American, Areva, Condoleezza Rice, Forbes, Forbes Report, Hillary Clinton, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Powerful Women, Sheila Bair, Sonia Gandhi, Temasek Holdings, WellPoint, Woman, Women, World, Xerox

Giving an end to the duel war, the former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has declared her rival Barack Obama as her candidate for US Presidency. She appealed for unity in her much-anticipated speech to the Democratic convention.

“Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president,” she said to 15,000 delegates at the Democratic National Convention supporting her opponent in the hard-fought and bitter contest.

“This is a fight for the future. And it is a fight we must win together,” she said as a raucous crowd in the 18,000 capacity arena chanted “Hillary” and held up white signs bearing a stylized version of her signature.

In an appeal to join America’s first black Presidential nominee, Clinton said, “Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.”

“No way, no how, no McCain,” she said, referring to Republican White House candidate John McCain.

The New York Senator’s speech was the first of a one-two punch from the Clintons — former President Bill Clinton will address the convention on Wednesday — after fighting a barely disguised feud with the Obama campaign.

The first woman Presidential nominee in US history praised on Senator Joseph Biden as Senator Obama’s running mate. She said Senator Obama was a strong leader and a good man who understood economic stresses at home and challenges abroad.

Hillary Clinton’s 18 million Primary voters are vital to Obama, as his White House race with McCain has tightened to a dead heat, and the rivals are slugging out a desperate battle for swing states like Ohio.

Tags: Barack Obama, Democratic, Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton, McCain, Obama, President, Presidential Elections, US Elections, US Presidential Elections

US-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama picked up Sen Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate on Saturday. Biden, an influential Congressman supporting landmark Indo-US nuclear deal, has not only served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee across the last 30 years but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.

Obama, the first black candidate to lead a major US political party’s presidential ticket disclosed his choice after a long political suspense as other contenders gradually fell away, media reports said.

Biden, 65, who had suggested that helping India to meet its growing energy needs will be in the interest of the US is currently serving out his sixth term. He also ran for the 1988 and this year’s Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out. He was first elected to the Senate in 1972 at the age of 29.

But he has tolerated severe criticism from his Republican rival John McCain, a veteran Arizona senator, combat pilot and former Vietnam prisoner of war, over what Republicans contends is his lack of national security experience and his calls for a 16-month withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq. His choice of running mate clearly is intended to counter some of that criticism.

Biden will make his first big speech as the vice presidential candidate on Wednesday, the third night of the Democratic convention.

Tags: Barack Obama, biden, joe biden, N-deal, Politics, US, US democracy, US presidency, vice president

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared his resignation from his post on Monday. Meanwhile Senate Chairman Mohd Mian Soomro will take over as Acting President.

Ending his nine-year reign since 1999, Musharraf said, “For the sake of the nation and people, I’m resigning. I don’t want anything from anybody. I’m not vindictive. Let the people be the judges. Let them do justice. I’m going with the belief that I have done everything for the nation with honesty.”

While addressing to nation Musharraf said, “I’m worried Pakistan is going down abyss rapidly, poor people are being affected.” Quoting recent opinion polls, Musharraf said that 80% of the population wanted him to stay.

“But I’m resigning so that there should be no more uncertainty in Pakistan,” he added.

Musharraf resigned in wake of a humiliating impeachment move, but his tenure was in a state of decline ever since he imposed emergency to pre-empt a judicial ruling on his October 2007 re-election, revoked the measure and quit as army chief under intense international and domestic pressure, entering uncharted waters as a civilian president.

“I may win or lose impeachment, but the people, the nation will definitely lose. I love Pakistan. I’m ready to give my life for the nation. I will never do anything that puts nation in the peril.” He said.

Musharraf recalled the days of his time in power. He talked about the GDP which was at 7% as late as December 2007 and that Pakistan was rated high by international rating agencies. But over the past eight months, the economy has begun a downslide, with foreign exchange reserves, stock exchange, currency rates falling. Prices of all essential commodities have also increased, he added.

Worried and emotional Musharraf said, “When I took over Pakistan’s reign in 1999, the country was in tatters. It was set to be declared a terrorist state. I have worked hard for last eight years and turned challenges into opportunities. I am proud I have kept Pakistan intact.”

During his farewell, Musharraf inspected the guard of honor presented by a tri-services contingent on the forecourt of the Presidency. A military band played martial tunes during the brief ceremony.

Musharraf then shook hands with members of his staff at the Presidency before leaving the imposing building in the heart of Islamabad for the last time. He then drove to his camp office in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Finally before leaving, Musharraf said, “I thank the defence forces for their loyalty and also the people of Pakistan for the love they bestowed on me. I’m a common man, part of the middle class. I know their difficulties. I hope the government looks into it.”

He prayed for his nation. He called upon ‘Allah’ to keep his Pakistan safe and solve the problems of its people. He ended his words saying, “Pakistan Khuda Hafiz.”

There are rumors that Musharraf might go in exile. Reports also suggested that a Saudi plane is on a standby at the Rawalpindi airport, fuelling speculation that Musharraf might fly to Saudi Arabia after his address to seek asylum in the Islamic Kingdom.

Tags: Musharraf, Pakistan, Parvej Musharraf, President, Resignation

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Tags: Advertising, Affiliate Program, Domain Name, Hosting Service, Internet, Paypal, Register Domain, Registration, Reliable Hosting, Triple.com, Website

Partial solar eclipse will be seen in the north-eastern region on Friday, starting from 3:50pm as confirmed by Rathnasree, director of Nehru Planetarium. The eclipse will begin in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China.

The north-eastern parts of India will see quite a large fraction of the disc of the Sun, eclipsed by the Moon while other parts will have a partial effect only. The maximum obscuration of the sun will occur at Sibsagar in Assam.

End of the eclipse will be visible in most of the part except a few places in East like Nagaland and Mizoram where the eclipse ends after sunset

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has made arrangements to telecast live images of the rare celestial event. Detailed predictions, maps, figures and information about this important event is available at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2008/TSE2008.html.

In the southern parts of India, eclipse will not be clearly visible but the northern parts can see between 40-70 % of the diameter of the sun, at maximum of the eclipse.

The eastern parts of the country will have the advantage that being closest to sunset, some of the eclipse would still remain so that, a possibility of safely imaging the eclipse against their local geography is feasible, the director said.

NASA coverage will feature views from telescopes and a live educational show during the eclipse. It is warned that people should not view the eclipse with naked eyes and viewing the same using a telescope or a pair of binocular binoculars without a proper filter could be dangerous for eyes.

Tags: Eclipse, Solar, Solar Eclipse

Pakistan has demanded N-deal with US similar to that of Indo-US deal. Ahead of the IAEA meeting on Friday, Pak PM Yousaf Raza Gilani, while his visit to US, has said that he also expects an India-like civil nuclear deal from the US.

At a gathering under the aegis of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Middle East Institute, Gilani added, “there should be no preferential, there should be no discrimination. If they want to give such nuclear status to India, we expect the same for Pakistan.”

The IAEA Board of Governors will meet in Vienna on Friday in a crucial session to consider for approval a key step for operation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

If the 35-member Board approves the India-specific safeguards agreement by consensus leading to the signing of an unprecedented document, it would pave the way for India’s integration into the world of nuclear commerce.

According to a newspaper, the prime minister said that the government wanted to have cordial relations with all its neighbors, including India and Afghanistan, considering it a guarantee to regional peace.

“With India, we want to resolve all issues including the core issue of Kashmir,” he said when asked about the relationship with its eastern neighbors. He added that Pakistan had good trade ties with India.

Gilani also show his concern over terrorism and extremism, Pak-US relations including the economy and the scope of democracy in the country.

Tags: India, India US, Indo US, Indo USA, N-deal, Nuclear deal, Nuke Deal, Pak, Pakistan

The US president George W Bush said that the Indo-US deal is important for both the countries and heaped praise on Indian PM “for his leadership at home” while talking to the PM, Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

Amid the unrest in Indian political parties due to the Indo-US deal, the confident Prime Minister met Bush in Hotel Windsor on Mount Poromoi on the sidelines of the G-8 summit; hours before the Left parties would be withdrawing support on the nuclear deal.

Both the leaders expressed mutual admiration for each other and spoke of the need for closer relationship between the two countries during the 50 minute meeting.

“Our relationship with the United States has never been in such good shape as it is today…. And it is the intention of my government… whether it is a question of climate change… global economy, India and US must stand tall, stand shoulder to shoulder, and that’s what is going to happen,” Said Singh while reporting to media.

“We talked about the India-US nuclear deal and how important it is for our respective countries,” Bush said before the press in a relaxed mood and displayed personal warmth.

“I respect the Prime Minister a lot. I also respect India a lot, and I think it’s very important that the United States continues to work with our friends to develop not only a new strategic relationship, but a relationship that addresses some of the world’s problems,” said the President.

Tags: Bush, G-8, India, Indo US, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, Nuclear deal, Nuke Deal, US

UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) reports from all over the globe are giving rise to a big debate across the world. Time to time there comes lots of news claiming a view of UFO or aliens by people. Do UFOs and Aliens really come on or around Earth?

From past a few months, there came lots of news of reporting UFOs and it seems that aliens have no work other than coming for a stroll on Earth!

Most of the reports were proved false as it was found that people declare any shining and flying objects in sky as UFO.

Lots of UFO reports were flooded from British countries this summer. If plotted on a map of Britain, the sightings can be seen to stretch from Liverpool to Dover and from Llanelli to Derby.

Experts don’t have any exact explanation behind this news but it was seen that the number of suspected flying saucers has hit unusual highs this summer.

Usually a ‘glowing’ disc spotted above the M5 motorway was seen by people as mysterious flying objects.

Different experts have different views over the subject. An expert, Malcolm Robinson said “Something very bizarre is happening in the skies over the UK.”

The founder member of Strange Phenomena Investigations, added, “There has been an unusual number of sightings recently.”

Some other experts suggested that it could be linked to global warming and craft from outer space are appearing because they are concerned about what man is doing to this planet.

People claim that they have seen UFO. However, there is no proof of their faith. Royal Navy aircraft engineer Michael Madden believes that he watched the UFO for three minutes before it ‘zoomed off’ near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.

Earlier, in Basingstoke, witnesses claimed to have seen a fleet of 12 orange objects in the night sky for half an hour and in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan a police helicopter crew gave chase to another UFO after it appeared to veer at speed towards their aircraft.

As soon as people reports about the UFOs or aliens, experts reach the spot to find the truth but many times it was found illusion. Even people sometimes saw moon and thinks it as a UFO. One such incident happened when a UFO spotter was left red-faced after his report of a mysterious flying saucer in South Wales turned out to be nothing more other-worldly than the moon.

Not only in British countries but UFOs were reported from other countries also. Still the debate is going on. Till now there is no solid evidence of any UFO on or around Earth but experts do believe that UFO comes to Earth and there is another world of Aliens.

Tags: Aliens, People, UFO, UFO and Aliens, World

In the forthcoming G8 summit of eight wealthiest nations, India, being one of the participants, is going to raise the major global issues of climate change, energy security and food security.

India on Sunday said it will convey to the international community at the G8 summit its belief that climate change, energy security and food security are interlinked, and require an integrated approach.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is going to attend the summit said on the eve of his departure for Japan, “At the forthcoming summit, I would present India’s perspectives on a wide range of global issues. They included the state of the world economy, development, and trade, transfer of technology, energy security and food security.”

He further told that he will, in particular, highlight the impact of the sharp rise in fuel prices on the global economy and the need for joint action by both producing and consuming nations.

He said he will have bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan, and some of the other leaders present, including those of Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA and the Secretary General of the United Nations.

He was also looking forward to participating in an informal meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) leaders on the sidelines of the G8 summit beginning tomorrow.

Singh said prior to the meeting with the G8 leaders; he will attend a meeting of the O5 group of outreach countries being hosted by the President of Mexico on July 8.

“Today, India’s views are heard with respect, and there is recognition of the fact that solutions to global issues require India’s involvement,” the Prime Minister said.

He said that he will also participate in the meeting of the leaders of major economies at which the issue of climate change will be discussed. He further stressed that there can be no solution to the issue of climate change without taking into account the developmental imperatives and aspirations of developing economies.

“For us, the foremost priority is the removal of poverty, for which we need sustained rapid economic growth.”

Tags: Energy Security, Food Security, G8, G8 Summit, Group 8, India, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, PM, Technology