Toddler smokes 40 cigarettes a day!

Rizal, who lives in a fishing village Musi Banyuasin in Indonesia, smokes at least 40 cigarettes in a day. He got addicted to smoking after his father gave him a cigarette when he was just 18 months, a report in thesun.co.uk, said.

Rizal, who weighs more than 25 kilograms, finds it almost impossible to run with other kids.

"He's totally addicted. If he doesn't get cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall. He tells me he feels dizzy and sick," his mother Daina, said.

Toddler smokes 40 cigarettes a day!

facebook acts, simplifies privacy controls.

Faced with a backlash that wouldn't go away, Facebook announced changes Wednesday that will make it easier for users to change privacy settings and block outside parties from seeing personal information.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that feedback from users over recent privacy changes, which made some user information public by default, was crucial in the decision to tighten controls.

"We think that they're the right thing to do," he said. "We listened to the feedback, and we agree with it."

Facebook will begin rolling out the new privacy controls Wednesday, he said, and they should be in place for most users within the next few weeks.

facebook acts, simplifies privacy controls.

Third grader wins Doodle 4 Google.

Makenzie Melton now has a $15,000 college scholarship, a netbook computer and a $25,000 technology grant for a new computer lab at her school.

Melton’s doodle, titled “Rainforest Habitat," will appear on the Google homepage Thursday.

The doodle, which expresses Melton’s “concern that the rainforest is in danger,” was chosen over more than 33,000 submissions by students - ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade, according to a post on the Official Google Blog.

Third grader wins Doodle 4 Google.

FarmVille and Mafia Wars coming to Yahoo.

(Mashable) -- Fresh off a deal that will keep 'FarmVille," "Mafia Wars" and other popular Zynga titles on Facebook for at least the next five years, the company has inked a partnership with Yahoo to bring its social games to the Internet giant's massive userbase.

Yahoo users will be able to access Zynga's games from the Yahoo Homepage, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Games, among other properties.

The deal makes a lot of sense for both companies. Games remain one of Yahoo's major strengths, with its Yahoo Games property seeing more than 19 million unique visitors each month according to comScore data.
With Zynga's titles already racking up insane amounts of usage on Facebook, we expect their addition to Yahoo will only help increase those metrics and the amount of time users are spending on the portal.

FarmVille and Mafia Wars coming to Yahoo.

Forbes ranks top 'Idol' earners.

According to a Forbes ranking of the top earning “Idol” contestants, the music market is pretty well saturated with almost 100 "Idol" alumni and the odds are against this season’s winner raking in the dough.

Last year’s winner, Kris Allen, sold only 300,000 copies of his album, and if ratings and vote tallies are any indication, fans may have moved beyond voting for their favorites with their wallets.


Neither Bowersox nor DeWyze is expected to do as well as No. 1 on the Forbes list, Carrie Underwood.
The publication, which ranked "Idol" stars according to earnings made from June 2009 to May 2010, says the country singer raked in $13 million, making her the most financially successful artist launched from the show.
Coming in a close second was season one champ Kelly Clarkson, whose millions of records sold plus a successful tour helped her garner $11.7 million over the past year. Third place finisher on the list is Chris Daughtry, who earned $10.2 million.

Forbes ranks top 'Idol' earners.

Madagascar water fowl declared extinct .

The Alaotra grebe, also called the rusty grebe, had been highly vulnerable as it was found only in Lake Alaotra, eastern Madagascar, according to the Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the Red List of endangered species.

The grebe was wiped out by habitat destruction, by the introduction of a carnivorous fish called the snakehead murrel and by nylon gill-nets which accidentally caught and drowned many birds.

"No hope now remains for this species. It is another example of how human actions can have unforeseen consequences," said Leon Bennun, director of science at BirdLife International.

Madagascar water fowl declared extinct .

Britain discloses its nuclear arsenal.

Britain has a total nuclear arsenal of fewer than 225 weapons, with 160 currently operational, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday.

"We believe that the time is now right to be more open about the weapons we hold," Hague said in a statement to Parliament.

"We judge that this will assist in building a climate of trust between nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states and contribute, therefore, to future efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons worldwide."

The British disclosure follows similar recent announcements by France and the United States, the other nuclear-armed Western allies. Britain had previously disclosed that it had 160 operational warheads, which since 1998 have been based aboard a squadron of four ballistic missile submarines.

Britain discloses its nuclear arsenal.

Google's Pac-Man doodle cost the economy $ 120 mn (estimated).

Wow this is interesting news. Google's interactive Pac-Man logo game led to almost five million wasted hours and cost the economy about $ 120 million, an analyst estimated.

Google apparently had about 505 million users Friday when the Pac-Man doodle went live. The game took up 4,819,352 hours of employee time and cost the economy a whopping $ 120,483,800, said Tony Wright, founder of Rescue Time.

Google's Pac-Man doodle cost the economy $ 120 mn (estimated).

SNEAK PEEK: Aishwarya and Akshay in 'Action Replayy'

Thanks to ibnlive.in.com

"It's a very special film for me for many reasons. This is my tribute to the 70s that was the greatest retro era. I was kicked with the idea because I'm entering the time in cinema where my father-in-law (Rajesh Khanna) was a superstar," Akshay said.

SNEAK PEEK: Aishwarya and Akshay in 'Action Replayy'

Old mobile phones 'could be worth cash'.

A small poll of 853 people found 68% said they had kept one or more old phones that they did not use.

Government-backed Consumer Focus said that these phones could be sold, recycled or sent to charity.

But it warned users to wipe any personal data from the mobile before handing it over, by going to the "settings" menu on the phone.

"We discard millions of phones every year with one in 10 admitting they simply put their old handsets in the bin. These are sophisticated bits of kit that can still be used or recycled," said Hannah Bullivant of Consumer Focus.

Old mobile phones 'could be worth cash'.

Now apple is bigger than Microsoft as tech company.

Good news for the apple fans and the mac users. Apple has pushed past arch-rival Microsoft to become the world's biggest technology company.

Changes in the share price values of the two in Wednesday's choppy trading left the total value of Apple at $222bn (£154bn).

Microsoft is now valued by investors at $219bn.

The worth, known as market capitalisation, is calculated by multiplying the number of shares in a company by the current share price.

Now apple is bigger than Microsoft as tech company.

Skip breakfast 'before workout' to be fit.

Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day but a new study says that skipping it before exercise can make you fitter and stronger.

Many athletes believe that they should have a high- carbohydrate meal to provide energy for a morning’s training. But the latest study appears to show the opposite is true.

Researchers in New Zealand have found that by not eating, the body is put under stress quicker — and the longer it can endure the stress the more beneficial the exercise, the 'Daily Express' reported.

For the study, the researchers conducted two tests in which two groups of cyclists were sent on 75-minute early morning bike rides for four weeks. One group had a high-carbohydrate breakfast, while the other did without. The riders who set out on an empty stomach performed the better, the findings revealed.

Skip breakfast 'before workout' to be fit.

Electric car 'travels 1,000 km on single charge' .

An electric car in Japan has reportedly set a new world record by running for over 27 hours and covering more than 1,000 kilometres on a single charge.

The red and white Mira EV, fitted with special lithium ion battery created by Japanese company Sanyo, travelled at a speed of 40 kilometre per hour, as it drove non-stop around a car racing course in Shimotsuma for 27.5 hours covering 1,003 km without being recharged, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

A total of 17 different people took turns at the wheel of the electric car as it circled repeatedly around the race course during the experiment.

The test run was organised by the Japan Electric Vehicle Club which plans to request the Guinness World Records to officially recognise it as the world's longest electric car journey, the British newspaper quoted Japanese media reports.

Electric car 'travels 1,000 km on single charge' .

Salim-Sulaiman will be performing @ FIFA 2010

Salim-Sulaiman will be composing and performing at the much anticipated Football World Cup in South Africa next month, a feat that no Indian has achieved before. The duo are collaborating with international names like R Loyiso Vincent Bala and Kenyan Eric Waninaner for the FIFA Anthem for 2010.

Salim-Sulaiman will be performing @ FIFA 2010

Jinxed mobile number suspended after 3 users die in 10 years.

A jinxed Bulgarian mobile phone number -- +359 888 888 888 -- has been suspended after three users died in the last 10 years, the last owner being gunned down outside an Indian eatery in Sofia, a media report said.

The first owner, Vladimir Grashnov, the former Chief Executive Officer of Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobitel -- which issued the number -- died of cancer in 2001, aged 48.

There were rumours that his cancer was caused by a trade rival using radioactive poisoning, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Jinxed mobile number suspended after 3 users die in 10 years.

Obama is millionare but not that much rich.

US President Barack Obama's personal net worth is just $ 5 million: the lowest for any American President in five decades.

The last time a US President had a lower net worth than Obama was Harry Truman (1945-53) with less than $ one million, says a list compiled by The Atlantic magazine.

"Obama is the grandson of a goat herder. He is a former constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney. Book royalties constitute most of Obama's net worth," the US magazine said.

Obama, who took over as President in 2008, has fortunes to the tune of $ 5 million. In comparison, George W Bush, who was the President from 2001-08, had a net worth of $ 20 million while his predecessor Bill Clinton's fortune is estimated to be worth $ 38 million.

Obama is millionare but not that much rich.

Kites makes moolahs with media hype.-Hyped Talk Exclusive

Though the storytelling of the kites not extra ordinary nor a new story but kites is flying high and high due to world media which is hyping it as much as possible. Kites had gone through many delays and postponements of release date.

Kites even gather some talk in early stages of production due differences between Anurag Basu and Rakesh Roshan. The Kites was most awaited because the handsome hunk hrithik roshan was back to sliver screen after Jodhaakbar which also was a huge hit.

The other reason for the kites flying high is Mexican beauty Barbara Mori who plays a female lead role in pakka Bollywood movie.

According to initial reports, the film has grossed over Rs 200 crore. Hrithik also thanked the people for making a successful film through his tweets. I hope Roshans are very happy with this international project.

Kites makes moolahs with media hype.-Hyped Talk Exclusive

facebook facing the heat, pledges for easier privacy.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pledges easier privacy. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that Facebook "missed the mark" over recent privacy concerns.

In a column in the Washington Post newspaper, he said the social network would soon make changes to users' privacy options.

The move may placate some of the growing band of members who had pledged to quit the social network on 31 May.

"Sometimes we move too fast - and after listening to recent concerns, we're responding," wrote Mr Zuckerberg.

facebook facing the heat, pledges for easier privacy.

Thrilling Train Trips Around the World.

Text by Amy Swanson, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca.

Suggested by bing.com/travel

If you want to sit back and enjoy the landscape rolling past you, or enjoy romance, adventure and history, nothing beats a great train journey. Here are our favorite train lines around the world.

Take in the splendor of the towering Canadian Rockies with the Rocky Mountaineer train, which operates four routes between Vancouver in British Columbia and Calgary or Jasper in Alberta. The Rocky Mountaineer’s trips are generally two-day treks and run only during daytime, so you don’t have to miss a moment’s worth of scenery to nighttime darkness. Along the way, you’ll see canyons, waterfalls, temperate rain forests and ice fields, all part of routes that are more than a century old.

With a name like The Glacier Express, you know icy alpine beauty is in store. This 170-mile train line takes you on a 7½-hour trip between Zermatt, just a few miles from the Matterhorn, and the posh resort area of St. Moritz, through Switzerland’s Oberland region. Panoramic windows allow you a spectacular view of the glacial peaks, as well as the valleys, forests and mountain streams at lower elevations. Along the way you’ll encounter 291 bridges, 91 tunnels, and arching viaducts that deposit you right into the face of a mountain.

Thrilling Train Trips Around the World.

'Kites' catches the eye of US media.

Kites, starring Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actor Barbara Mori, has caught the fancy of the American media, making it perhaps the most reviewed Bollywood film on opening day by so many US critics.

The New York Times considered it "all completely loony, but the stunts are impressive, the photography crisp and the leads so adorably besotted that audiences might as well check their cynicism at the door."

"A lovers on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism. Directed by Anurag Basu with a finger in every genre jar, Kites caroms from car chase to shootout, from rain dancing to bank robbing with unflagging energy," it said.

'Kites' catches the eye of US media.