Pricless Information about food And Drink, Games And Recreation And More

Music mogul Simon Cowell has earned himself the ire of his fellow judges by dumping an X Factor hopeful in favour of a ‘reject’.Cowell’s decision to remove 21-year-old Rikki Loney, who had been among the six lucky contestants that made it to the judges’ houses stage of the contest, resulted in a showdown with Cheryl Cole, 25, and Dannii Minogue, 36.

The decision has exposed Cowell to another series of X Factor “fix” allegations.

Cowell is said to have changed his mind and yanked dumbstruck Loney out of the line-up to replace him with Liam Payne, 15, from Wolverhampton.

Loney has lashed out at Cowell, 48, revealing his feelings about the decision.

“I am gutted. Simon decided to dump me in favour of someone else at the last minute,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

Loney revealed that he was waiting in the wings at the O2 Arena in London to hear his fate from the judges, when he and the rest of the boys aged 14-24 were told by producers that the decision had been delayed.

“He couldn’t even look me in the eye when he told me it was over. Cheryl and Dannii weren’t happy with this and that’s why they were arguing,” he stated.

“No-one had a clue what was going on. Then all of a sudden I was separated from the other boys backstage. I could hear Dannii and Cheryl raise their voices but I didn’t know why.

“Now I realise they were arguing about me. The panel asked me to stay behind after the others had gone and Cheryl told me: ‘I am so sorry.’

“I could see Louis and Dannii looking upset as well. But Simon couldn’t look at me. I knew then it had been his decision to axe me. I was gutted,” he added.

Andrew Symonds will take another step along the way to regaining his place in the Australian team when he captains Queensland for the first time on Tuesday.

Symonds, who was dumped from the Australian team`s tour of India for disciplinary reasons, will lead the Queensland Bulls against an Indian Twenty20 team.

The all-rounder had been sent home from a recent one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin after choosing to go fishing rather than attend a team meeting.

Elderly Americans who live in low-income ZIP codes are more likely to die after surgery than those who live in higher-income ZIP codes, according to new research.

The study analyzed death rates among more than one million older adults who had one of six common high-risk heart or cancer surgeries between 1999 and 2003.

The risk of death was between 17 percent and 39 percent higher for patients in low-income ZIP codes, mainly because the quality of care is lower at hospitals in lower socioeconomic areas, the study authors said.

In fact, all patients (regardless of income) who had surgery at hospitals in the poorest areas were more likely to die, while all patients who had surgery at hospitals in the richest areas were less likely to die.

“It may be that hospitals that treat patients of lower socioeconomic status have lower quality of care due to fewer resources, such as technologically advanced equipment or specialists,” lead author Dr. Nancy Birkmeyer, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Michigan, said in a Center for the Advancement of Health news release.

The study was published in the September issue of the journal Medical Care.

“While some prior studies have demonstrated socioeconomic disparities in the outcomes of individual procedures, ours is the first to show that the relationship is consistent across a wide range of surgical procedures,” Birkmeyer said.

While the study can improve understanding of patterns of care, it doesn’t offer concrete answers for elderly patients who need surgery, said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and public health at Yale University.

“The study can only really raise questions about inequalities in outcomes, because the authors have limitations in their ability to know the socioeconomic status of any particular patient and the condition of the patient when they had the surgery,” Krumholz said in the news release. “Nevertheless, it is time for us to look closely at whether people are getting the same care and outcomes regardless of their financial circumstances.”

Pop star Britney Spears’ ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib has confirmed he owns a sex tape featuring himself and the singer.Ghalib, whom Britney dated during her breakdown, says he will sell the tape for the right price, reports thesun.co.uk.

‘There is such a tape, but I won’t discuss prices for hypothetical enquiries. Unless there is a locked-in deal, I will go no further,” he told Heat magazine.

He added: “I am not interested in selling out any other details about Britney.”

Fancy car or expensive rickshaw? British car brand Mini has given the ubiquitous Asian mode of transport a luxurious twist, fusing a bicycle with the back of one of its cars.The Mini Rickshaw was created by connecting the front of a traditional rickshaw with the rear of a Mini Clubman to fete the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It comes equipped with plush seats, safety belts and embellished with gold-plated dragons.

Weighing about 450 kg (992 lb), the rickshaw has no engine and is powered by muscle strength only.

The vehicle, with its “Beijing 2008″ licence plate, has been drawing the attention of many Chinese who often step into the Mini showroom to ask about its specs.

“People walking by were quite interested in this rickshaw. Many of them kept asking us that whether this rickshaw can be seen around Beijing streets or be sold in the future,” Liu Chen, Mini marketing manager, told Reuters.

“But in fact, it’s promotional and we don’t have any plan to put it into the market.”

Mini is owned by BMW, the world’s biggest premium carmaker, and China is one of the brand’s significant markets.

Gao Jingjing, a Mini sales assistant, said the rickshaw highlighted Eastern and Western manufacturing skills. However, unlike regular rickshaws, few people would be able to afford it — if sold, the vehicle would probably retail for almost $900,000.

Rickshaws were widely used in Beijing before Communist rule, with their numbers peaking around 370,000 in 1939.

Now, these traditional vehicles are a tourist attraction, with more than 1,000 in service in the city.

A Chinese herbal remedy called horny goat weed is a promising alternative to Viagra for impotent men, Italian researchers said on Monday.

The herb has long held a reputation as a natural aphrodisiac. The lab experiments, which did not look at whether the plant actually increases desire, could lead to new drugs to help men get erections, said Mario Dell’Agli, a researcher at the University of Milan, who led the study.

“This could be the natural Viagra,” he said in a telephone interview. “The novelty is that we have synthesised a new molecule that one day may be able to replace Viagra.”

Erectile dysfunction is a common condition worldwide, and drugs like Pfizer Inc’s But the medicines, which inhibit an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5 that restricts blood flow around the body, including to the penis, can have side effects ranging from headaches, upset stomach and visual problems including blindness.

The Italian team looked for alternatives by studying a number of plants reputed to boost sexual performance.

After homing in on horny goat weed, the researchers modified a compound in the plant called icariin and found it blocked the erection-inhibiting enzyme as well as Viagra did.

Because the compound targets the enzyme more precisely, it may have fewer side effects than Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, Dell‘Agli said.

Further tests in animals and humans are needed but the extract from the herb represents a potential new erectile dysfunction treatment with fewer side effects, Dell’Agli said.

“The compound icariin is present in the horny goat weed in large amounts and its activity against (the enzyme) is lower compared to Viagra,” he said. “But the new molecule we synthesized from icariin is as good as Viagra against (the enzyme).”

Ecuadoreans voted Sunday on a new constitution that would significantly broaden leftist President Rafael Correa’s powers and let him run for two more consecutive terms.

Correa says approval of the Andean nation’s 20th constitution will spur “rapid, profound change,” benefiting the hardworking, humble majority and helping him eradicate a political class that made Ecuador one of Latin America’s most corrupt countries.

While conceding that it’s far from radical compared to similar projects in Venezuela and Bolivia, critics say the new constitution would give Correa far too much control over the economy, as well as the judicial and legislative branches.

Opinion surveys indicated the 45-year-old Correa would comfortably win the vote, a plebiscite on his nearly two years in power.

As polls opened Sunday, the U.S.- and European-trained economist said in a brief televised speech that the vote is “not in favor of or against the government,” but to decide “the model of society in which we will live.”

In an upper-middle-class district of Quito, Roberto Ona said he voted “yes” on the new constitution because it contains educational and social security guarantees.

“There are good and bad things in this government,” the 21-year-old college student said. “The president is a bit domineering, but we’re not voting for the president but for a new constitution.”

Indeed, the proposed constitution would enshrine social security benefits for stay-at-home mothers and workers in the informal sector, as well as free education for all through university level. Such measures would supplement already-popular Correa programs that provide low-interest micro-loans for small businesses, building-material giveaways for homes and free seeds for growing crops.

Approval of the ballot question would almost certainly lead to presidential, congressional and local elections early next year, and an overhaul of the judiciary in which Correa is expected to play a decisive role.

The Central Bank and other key institutions would also cede or lose autonomy to Correa, a self-avowed Christian socialist who took office in 2007 as Ecuador’s sixth president in a decade.

Vicente Pazmino, a 53-year-old businessman, said he was voting “null” — neither yes nor no — because Correa “wants to be master of this country, and the clauses of this constitution will let him do what he wants.”

To gain approval, the constitution must win 50 percent of the vote plus one. Voting is obligatory in Ecuador.

Correa’s critics in a badly splintered and debilitated opposition contend he’s creating a socialist autocracy on the Venezuelan model.

But while Correa took a page out of Hugo Chavez’s playbook by pushing for a new constitution that would help him consolidate power, he has kept the Venezuelan president at arm’s length.

Venezuela has promised to build a half-billion-dollar oil refinery in Ecuador, South America’s fifth-largest oil producer.

But unlike Bolivia “there isn’t a single Cuban doctor here,” said Ecuadorean political analyst Adrian Bonilla. “Nor do you have Venezuelan advisers.” Nor has Correa moved to nationalize telecommunications and electrical utility companies or vowed to establish closer relations with Russia, as both Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales have.

The new constitution’s 444 articles include such environmental prescriptions as “respect for nature, its maintenance and the regeneration of its vital cycles” and a ban on biopiracy. And it says property should have “a social, environmental and productive function.”

Such clauses strike fear in large landholders, who fear state confiscation though Correa has not threatened such action.

Other clauses upset social conservatives, such as one that recognizes the family “in its diverse types.” And while the charter holds that life “begins with conception,” it also guarantees “the right to freely make responsible and informed decisions about one’s health and reproductive life.”

The Roman Catholic hierarchy of this overwhelmingly Catholic nation complains that those provisions could lead to legal abortion and same-sex unions.

Chinese astronauts onboard the spacecraft Shenzhou-VII started preparing Sunday morning for the return trip to the earth after accomplishing China’s first spacewalk Saturday afternoon.The three astronauts were taking on in-cabin space suits at 11:10 a.m. and control data for the return trip would be sent to the spacecraft.

During the spacewalk mission Zhai Zhigang, 42, commander of the three-man mission, slipped out of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft orbiting 343 km above Earth and said, ‘I feel good’. He waved to cameras broadcasting the event live in China as he left the craft’s orbital module head-first at 4:39 p.m.

Donning his 120-kg China-made protective suit Feitian, Zhai retrieved a 3-kg solid lubricant experiment from the rear of Shenzhou VII and handed it to fellow astronaut Liu Boming as he was tethered to spacecraft by two safety lines and a cord through which they were fed oxygen and communications links.

Liu, wearing Russia’s Orlan model spacesuit, assisted Zhai in exiting the orbiter while the third and final astronaut on the mission, Jing Haiping, remained in the re-entry module.

The crew had spent more than 11 hours Friday unpacking and assembling the suits and then underwent 100 minutes of training to get used to the get-ups.

The Shenzhou-VII spacecraft took off from northwest China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 9:10 p.m. Thursday, and is scheduled to land on the Inner Mongolia steppe at about 5:40 p.m. Sunday

Former Miss India Gul Panag, mostly seen in de-glamorised acting roles, recently caught public attention by posing in a black lingerie for the cover page of Maxim, a magazine for men. Gul said she did it to show off the ‘glamorous and real side’ of her personality.’It was not for a change in my image. I am very happy to have the image that I have. I am associated with a certain type of work and I don’t want to change that ever. But what is important is that people should understand that what they see on screen and what I am are two different persons,’ Gul told IANS.

Gul has received critical acclaim for playing offbeat roles in films like ‘Dor’ and ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’, in which she was seen mostly in Indian attire.

‘In reality, I am not that kind of person as shown in most of my films. I am not a village girl clad in ’saris’ and ’salwar-kameez’ in real life. I am a regular modern girl who is glamorous in real life and that’s what I wanted to show. In fact, nobody has ever seen me in ’saris’ and ’salwar-kameez’ in real life,’ said Gul who debuted with Parth Arora’s ‘Dhoop’ in 2003.

‘I can look good in a bikini or any other sexy outfit or equally convincing in a nightie. That’s the job of an actor,’ she added.

Commenting upon her roles, she said: ‘I believe that I’m extremely versatile as I can do power packed performances as well as look good as and when required. I don’t want the people to be confused that the role that I have been playing in my films is what I am in real life. It’s just the man who is playing the villain in films is not bad in real life.’

What made you say yes to Maxim?

‘Why not? It’s the highest selling men’s magazine in the world,’ she said.

Asked about her future plans, she said: ‘It’s not that I’ll be doing more glamorous or power packed roles. It’s about the offers. Glamour cannot be substance to a role. However, in most of my forthcoming films, I have glamorous roles.

‘In ‘Hello’ I am glamorous. I have two more films - ‘Straight’ and ‘Hello Darling’ - in which too I have glamorous roles.’

The actress said she is playing a modern, urban young woman in ‘Hello’.

‘My character is neither black nor white. It has a huge amount of grey in her. In the story, she is stuck in a conflict in choosing between love and practicality.’

Based on novelist Chetan Bhagat’s ‘One Night At The Call Centre’ also stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sohail Khan, Isha Koppikar, Sharman Joshi, Amrita Arora and Arbaaz Khan.

Gul said she liked the story and her role in particular. ‘I never sign a film unless and until I am convinced with the story. In this case, I knew the story beforehand because I had read the book earlier. It is an extremely interesting story and I hope people will like me in the role.’

Gul said she enjoyed most working for ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’.

‘It is closest to my heart and I enjoyed working in it the most.’

Among the newcomers, Gul finds Imran Khan as most dynamic and wants to work with him.

‘I think Imran is extremely talented and the most promising among the newcomers. I came to meet Imran for a short while during an audition where we interacted and I found him a highly sensible and dynamic actor. If given a choice among the newcomers, I would definitely choose him,’ she said.

The fall television season kicked off this past week, but viewers looking for their favorite actors returning to airwaves may not find them on TV as new Web-based shows increasingly draw stars online.

The Internet, and the experimental low-budget dramas and comedy shows it spawned, has emerged as a refuge for Hollywood players such as “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane and comedienne Illeana Douglas who are seeking creative autonomy.

But because of advertisers’ reluctance to spend on unproven Web-based shows, making money from them remains a challenge even for productions with top talent, experts said.

Still, profits hardly seem to matter to Douglas, 43, who has appeared on “Ugly Betty” and has dozens of movie and TV credits to her name. She describes making and starring in her Web-based comedy show “Easy to Assemble,” which premiered this week on the Web, as one of her favorite projects.

“Honestly I would rather be on the Web than be on television because I don’t have any illusions that if this got picked up and went to network television I would lose the creative control,” Douglas said.

“For me, having been in show business for so long, I would rather have creative control and less money,” she said.

Douglas received $50,000 from furniture chain Ikea to produce the 10-episode “Easy to Assemble,” with appearances by actors Jeff Goldblum, Justine Bateman and Ed Begley Jr.

The show follows Douglas as she quits show business to work at an Ikea store, but finds her old life catches up with her.

CELEBRITY TALENT

Douglas and the cast of her Internet comedy are not the only Hollywood stars making waves on the Web.

Seth McFarlane, whose Fox show “The Family Guy” is a mainstay hit, has signed a deal with Google to produce cartoons on the Internet.

Actress Rosario Dawson, the 29-year-old star of movies “Sin City” and “Clerks II,” stars in an NBC-Universal show for the Web called “Gemini Division,” a science fiction series in which Dawson plays a New York cop.

The entry of top talent into the Internet field comes as lesser-known producers and actors have struggled to find an online business model that works, experts said.

“People who thought, ‘this is finally it. We’re going to take the power out of the big studios and the big networks and we’re going to give it to the little guy and the creative artist,’ sorry it’s just not a reality,” said James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research.

Advertising rates for TV shows replayed on the Internet on sites such as Hulu and Fancast outstrip advertising for independent Web-based shows by factors of 10 or more, he said.

Internet company Blip.tv carries more than 33,000 shows on its site, but most of those are not making money, said Dina Kaplan, the company’s chief operating officer.

Still Kaplan, like others, are big believers in the future of Web-based shows because there have been several creative successes launched online by independent producers.

The raucously violent Web-based animation “Happy Tree Friends,” created by Mondo Media, has drawn 249 million views on the video sharing site YouTube.com.

Creating the cartoon, which has migrated to TV in the United States and overseas, required more than $8 million in investment since the show was launched in 2001, said John Evershed, co-founder and CEO of Mondo Media.

“We’re investing big dollars into creating content … I think in general people continue to think too small,” he said.