Digital Camera

Digital cameras are principally characterized by their image resolution or mega-pixel capacities; from low-resolution (less than 1 mega-pixel) to high-resolution (greater than 1 mega-pixel) to advanced high-resolution (4 mega-pixels or more). The camera''s resolution is the most critical feature in producing high-quality photographs. For U.S. passport and visa photographs, a digital camera with a resolution of 1 mega-pixel will be more than adequate for capturing the image and producing the final photo that conforms to the dimensions specified on this web site.

These cameras generally have automatic features for controlling many of the photographic qualities emphasized on the preceding web pages. Care should be taken not to rely totally on these controls since each subject — facial characteristics, clothing, facial movement, etc. — can vary and may not be accommodated for by the automatic settings.

Cameras with a direct electronic camera-to-computer interface are preferable to those requiring the use of an external memory card. Data transfers will occur much faster and allow for verification of a good image being stored in the computer. If a retake is required because the subject blinked or moved, it would be more convenient than taking several shots to be sure of a good one and then downloading them via the memory card.

Asian stock markets mixed as economic fears weigh

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets were narrowly mixed Friday, with Japan's benchmark up more than 1 percent, as persistent worries about the deteriorating world economy and financial system sidelined many investors.

Trade was listless throughout the region after a bruising, volatile month that saw Asia's export-driven economies sink deeper into recession amid collapsing global demand and their currencies wither.

Sentiment was buoyed somewhat after the British government said Thursday it would prop up ailing banks by allowing them access to government insurance against future losses on toxic assets. Combined with additional bailout measures in the U.S., the action helped lift Asian banking shares.

But most investors seem to be holding back as the flood negative of news about the global economy showed no signs of letting up.

The recession's toll on global economies widened Thursday as Royal Bank of Scotland and General Motors Corp. reported billions more in losses. In the U.S., reeling financial giant Citigroup, which has already taken billions in government aid, was nearing a deal to give the government an ever bigger owernship stake, as much as 40 percent.

And in Asia Friday, figures showed that Japan's industrial production plunged a record 10 percent in January from February as manufacturers continued to slash output. Household spending and retail sales also fell. India's economic growth sputtered to a worse-than expected 5.3 percent in the last quarter_ the slowest in about six years.

Until there was evidence sweeping government measures to jump-start the global economy were starting to work, equities markets were likely to remain lackluster, traders said.

"Confidence remains really beaten up," said Miles Remington, head of Asian sales trading at BNP Paribas Securities in Hong Kong. "Internationally the picture is very negative. A lot of people are very happy to be sitting on the sidelines."

The Nikkei 225 stock average rose 110.49 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,568.42 — finishing the month down nearly 4 percent and extending this year's losses to almost 15 percent.

In Hong Kong, Hang Seng edged down 14.05, or 0.1 percent, to 12,880.89 in a back-and-forth session. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8 percent to 1,063.03.

Elsewhere, India's slumping growth figures sent the country's main index tumbling by 2 percent. China's Shanghai benchmark dropped 1.8 percent as investors continued to pocket gains from the market's recent rally. Singapore also sank.

In the U.S., major stock indexes gave up early leads to close lower, with health care stocks bearing the brunt of the selling. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 88.81, or 1.2 percent, to 7,182.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.07, or 1.6 percent.

U.S. stock index futures were up modestly.

In currencies, the dollar shed some if its recent gains, falling to 97.80 yen from 98.27 yen. The euro trade higher at $1.2715.

Oil prices weakened in Asian trade after an overnight rally. Light, sweet crude for April delivery down 51 cents at $44.71 a barrel. On Thursday, the contract jumped $2.72, or 6.4 percent, to settle at $45.22 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Source www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3kgMAkbLwyfxBdjzw8Pc4KZ7DhQD96JQ1R80

Helan Mountain Guangzong Temple (the South Temple) Ecological Tourism District

Located in the southern foot of Helan Mountain, 90 kilometers from Yinchuan and 30 kilometers from Bayanhot, the district integrates Tibetan buddhism culture with natural sceneries of Helan Mountain. Helan Mountain is in the middle southern periphery of the Mongolian plateau, the biggest one going from the south to north across the northwestern part of China. With 520,000 mu of natural secondary forest, the district is a State grade natural protection area, national forest park and an important ecological barrier in the north-western part of China. With a total area of 50 square kilometers, Helan Guangzong Temple was built in 1756 to 1760 and named by the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty, the Guangzong Temple, which is famous among Mongolian and Tibetan religious circles for the mortal body tope of the sixth Dalailama enshrined and worshiped therein. With complete set of basic facilities and service functions, the tourist district possesses natural and calm environment which makes people completely relaxed and reluctant to part with.

American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Package Looks to Science to Grow Economy and Jobs

(Washington, DC) –Today, the House Appropriations Committee released an executive summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009, which included substantial funding for agencies under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Science and Technology and funding for enacted legislation that originated in the Committee.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 will strengthen American competitiveness, create high-quality jobs, and improve access to clean, affordable energy,” said Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN). “Research and development have an incredible return on investment for our nation. The U.S. spends less than 3% of the GDP on research and development, but almost half of the growth in GDP over the past 50 years is a result of developing and adopting new technologies. Innovation—especially new energy technologies—is the path to solving climate change, meeting our growing needs for energy, reinvigorating our economy, and ensuring our competitiveness over the long-term. Funding for science, technology and new kinds of infrastructure will help address the underlying problem—our economic competitiveness. If we do not take action, we could create jobs now, only to lose them in the future to foreign competition.”

The Appropriations bill funds the America COMPETES Act at or above the authorized levels. COMPETES creates and strengthens science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs, sets basic research in the physical sciences on a path to double funding in seven years, supports young researchers by expanding early career grant programs, and addresses our need for innovation. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill includes: $3 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF); $1.9 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) basic research into the physical sciences and improvements to DOE laboratories and scientific facilities; and $400 million to establish the Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency. It includes $300 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for competitive construction grants for research science buildings at colleges, universities, and other research organizations and $100 million to coordinate research efforts of laboratories and national research facilities by setting standards for manufacturing.

The Appropriations bill will promote energy independence and clean energy. It includes $11 billion to create a Reliable, Efficient Electricity Grid, a portion of which is will promote research and development, pilot projects, and federal matching funds for the Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity grid making it more efficient, secure, and reliable. The legislation includes $2.4 billion for clean fossil energy for carbon capture and sequestration technology demonstration projects. It includes $2 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities to foster energy independence, reduce carbon emissions, and cut utility bills. Funds are awarded on a competitive basis to universities, companies, and national laboratories.

The legislation includes $600 million in funding for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including $400 million to put more scientists to work doing climate change research, including Earth science research recommended by the National Academies, satellite sensors that measure solar radiation critical to understanding climate change, and a thermal infrared sensor to the Landsat Continuing Mapper necessary for water management, particularly in the western states; $150 million for research, development, and demonstration to improve aviation safety and Next Generation air traffic control (NextGen); and $50 million to repair NASA centers damaged by hurricanes and floods last year.

The legislation includes $600 million for satellite development and acquisitions, including climate sensors and climate modeling at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

£1.4m Programme to tackle child obesity launched

The £1.4million scheme will target around 2,000 children aged between 7-13 years old and their families over the next three years. It’s the first time that this type of scheme for children will have run on a national level in any country. By international standards Welsh children are comparatively more overweight or obese than in other nations. Around one in five 13 year olds are overweight or obese and many obese children grow up to be obese adults.

Families will take part in a free 10 week course with others in a similar position, combining practical learning about healthy eating – including shopping on a budget – and stimulating active enjoyment of physical activity. Rather than focusing on weight loss, the programme uses an interactive learning approach to teach parents, carers and children weight management skills. Families will also be offered follow-up contact including reunion events and telephone support.

The programme – Mind, Exercise, Nutrition... Do It! or MEND for short – was devised by experts in child health at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the University College London Institute of Child Health. Launching the programme, Dr Tony Jewell, the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, said:

Being overweight can be tough for children both physically and emotionally. Caring for an overweight or obese child can be difficult too, especially if they lack confidence or feel depressed because of their size.

We have evidence that shows the programme raises individuals’ self esteem and supports them in making healthier choices.

It’s vital that we tackle the obesity issue. Welsh children’s rates of obesity are already too high and are increasing. Overweight or obese children are also more likely to be overweight or obese adults. More than half – 57 per cent – of all adults in Wales are already overweight or obese.

The programme has already been run on a limited basis in four areas of Wales. Paul Sacher, founder and research director, MEND, said:

Many parents of bigger children don’t realise that their child is above the healthy weight range for their height and age, or put it down to ‘puppy fat’ that will disappear as their child grows older.

However, being overweight or obese as a child is a serious condition. Overweight children suffer physically and emotionally and it can lead to serious health problems in later life.

MEND programmes help boost children’s self-esteem while changing the way everyone in the family thinks about what they eat and being active. Children and parents also meet others who are in a very similar position so they form their own supportive network.

For families that are not able to be included in the MEND programme, a range of resource materials to inform families on how to eat more healthily and introduce more physical activity into their lives is being rolled out through the Assembly Government’s Health Challenge Wales programme. The programme encourages people to take small steps to eat a healthier diet and take more physical activity.

Combating the threat

In recent years, we’ve built a whole new set of technological and investigative capabilities and partnerships—so we’re as comfortable chasing outlaws in cyberspace as we are down back alleys and across continents. That includes:

• A Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters “to address cyber crime in a coordinated and cohesive manner”;


• Specially trained cyber squads at FBI headquarters and in each of our 56 field offices, staffed with “agents and analysts who protect against investigate computer intrusions, theft of intellectual property and personal information, child pornography and exploitation, and online fraud”;


• New Cyber Action Teams that “travel around the world on a moment’s notice to assist in computer intrusion cases” and that “gather vital intelligence that helps us identify the cyber crimes that are most dangerous to our national security and to our economy;”


• Our 93 Computer Crimes Task Forces nationwide that “combine state-of-the-art technology and the resources of our federal, state, and local counterparts”;


• A growing partnership with other federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and others—which share similar concerns and resolve in combating cyber crime.

Heave for victory

Battles fought for sports carnival glory during Kapyong week

COMPETITION was hot during 3RAR�s recent Kapyong week sports carnival, which featured three sporting events � an athletics carnival, a swimming carnival and a battalion cross-country run.

With A Fd Bty invited to compete, unit pride was at stake, which only added to the competitiveness of 3RAR�s companies, who were also eyeing the events precious points to add to their scores for champion company at the end of the year.

But XO 3RAR Maj Kahlil Fegan said it wasn�t all about winning, and enjoying the day was equally important.

�The main objective of the sporting activities is to develop a bit of group and team cohesion in a sporting and physical environment,� he said.

�The competitions also do wonders for the morale of the soldiers as they can be quite enjoyable and highly contested.�

Kapyong week and preparation for the Kapyong parade is the only time in the battalion�s training cycle when all its soldiers are in the battalion � making up two full company groups (250-300 on parade).

It was a busy couple of days, according to Maj Gavin Keating, sports officer 3RAR, �but really the guys who did all the work were the officers who ran each of the events�.

Capt Tim Wakeling, A Bty 4 Fd Regt, ran the cross-country with more than 120 participating. Lt James Donohoe, B Coy, ran the athletics, and Lt Gavin Rudrum, mortar pl, ran the swimming carnival.

Maj Keating said the sports carnival was a great opportunity for the soldiers to get together in their company groups and compete against other companies.

He described the carnival as a critical step in building esprit de corps within the battalion। �That�s what being a soldier is all about: not everyone needs to be a star athlete, it�s not about athleticism, it�s about toughness on the battlefield,� he said।What we look for are people who are determined, who don�t give up � not necessarily people who can run the fastest. What we are looking for is battlefield toughness and things like the tug-of-war bring that out.�

Maj Keating said the airborne battle group was a very close-knit team and 3RAR considered A Fd Bty one of its own.

He said he understood A Fd Bty liked to maintain its own distinction, but that 3RAR enjoyed the best working relationship with any field battery in the Army.

RED MULBERRY - Morus rubra, Linn

ORIGINALLY THIS WAS OUR only mulberry in Missouri. However, early settlers introduced the white or Russian mulberry and cultivated them both for their berries and as fodder for an attempted silkworm industry. Birds have helped spread the white mulberry so much that in many places it is more common than red mulberry. Early explorers found Choctaw squaws wearing capes woven from pounded red mulberry bark. The fruits were also an important food source for Indians.

Man, in the past and present, has used the mulberries for fresh fruit, jams, wine, and even ink. The Chinese made the first paper from trees, using the fibers of the inner bark of mulberry.The leaf may or may not be lobed. It is heart-shaped, 2 to 4 inches wide and coarsely toothed on the edges. White mulberry leaves are similar but smaller and shinier.The bark on older trunks somewhat resembles that of elm. With age it becomes gray-brown and slightly furrowed.

The fruit looks like a blackberry. It turns from green to red to blue-black when fully ripe. Birds flock to these trees when the fruit is ripe. If a squirrel hunter can find a heavily fruited tree in the spring he is almost assured of squirrels.

It is a small tree seldom exceeding 30 feet in height and 8 inches in diameter. Usually it grows in narrow valleys and on lower north and east slopes. White mulberry, on the other hand, may sometimes grow to a height of 50 feet and 16 inches in diameter. It is becoming common in bottomlands and is usually the mulberry seen around towns.

The twigs of red mulberry are moderately stout and zigzagged on new growth. The buds are larger than on white mulberry and have a two-toned appearance with green and brown bud scales.Since the tree is so small it has little commercial use. It is very durable, tough and makes good fence posts. Game species of wildlife and songbirds find it extremely valuable. Turkeys, grouse, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, foxes, and even skunks eat the berries as do scores of songbirds.

Vitamin E Enhances Elders' Immune Systems

Long-term nursing home residents who took 200 International Units (IU) of vitamin E daily for one year were 20 percent less likely to catch colds or other upper respiratory infections than peers who took a four-IU capsule of this essential nutrient. The federally recommended upper limit for vitamin E is 1,500 IUs a day

Because of seniors' highly vulnerable immune systems, upper respiratory infections pose a greater health threat to them than to most other age groups.

Researchers studied the weekly health reports of 617 men and women, all over age 65, who participated in the vitamin E study. The scientists, based at the ARS Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Mass., reported their results in a 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.Foods rich in vitamin E include sunflower seeds, almonds, wheat germ and leafy green vegetables.

'CLASS DIAMONDS' graduate with honours

Twenty people from South Ayrshire with learning disabilities, the youngest aged in their 20's and the oldest in their 60's, have all successfully graduated from a 'Class Diamonds' course which was held in the Citadel in Ayr.The 'Class Diamonds' initiative was originally launched in September 2002, to encourage people approaching or in retirement, to remain active in their homes and in their communities. The course aims to encourage exercise and activity, raise health and safety awareness, and courses have been successfully run throughout South Ayrshire.

A course for people with physical disabilities was run in 2005, and it became apparent that people with learning disabilities would benefit from a course specially designed for them.By working together members of the South Ayrshire Community Safety Partnership, the South Ayrshire Sports Development Team and NHS Ayrshire & Arran adapted the course to meet the needs of the participants.

To mark the achievement of those who took part in the course the Convener of South Ayrshire Council's Community Safety Committee, Councillor Hugh Hunter and the Chair of the South Ayrshire Community Safety Partnership, Councillor Douglas Campbell presented each class member with a certificate. The invited guests and members of the class then enjoyed refreshments and a special celebration 'Class Diamonds' cake.

Councillor Hugh Hunter said: "I would like to congratulate everyone who attended and successfully completed the course."After speaking to members of the course, I very quickly became aware just how much fun everyone involved in this 'Class Diamonds' course has had."The range of activities and topics covered in the 'Class Diamonds' course is always interesting and varied, and this course has been no exception."People with learning disabilities should have the same opportunity to participate in courses as everyone else. With hard work from those involved in organising the course, it was able to be adapted, but the essence of it remained the same."

Marine Parks

Marine parks are established over tidal lands and waters to protect and conserve the values of the natural marine environment while allowing for its sustainable use.Multiple-use management allows for many different activities in marine parks. Zoning plans set out the kinds of activities that can occur within each area.Marine parks protect a range of habitats including mangrove wetlands, seagrass beds, mudflats, sandbanks, beaches, rocky outcrops and fringingreefs. Marine park boundaries can be established over tidal lands and waters up to the highest astronomical tide. They include the subsoil below and airspace above the boundaries. The plants and animals within the boundary are also part of the marine park.

Exchanging Shares

A "family of funds" is a group of mutual funds that share administrative and distribution systems. Each fund in a family may have different investment objectives and follow different strategies.Some funds offer exchange privileges within a family of funds, allowing shareholders to transfer their holdings from one fund to another as their investment goals or tolerance for risk change. While some funds impose fees for exchanges, most funds typically do not. To learn more about a fund's exchange policies, call the fund's toll-free number, visit its website, or read the "shareholder information" section of the prospectus.Bear in mind that exchanges have tax consequences. Even if the fund doesn't charge you for the transfer, you'll be liable for any capital gain on the sale of your old shares — or, depending on the circumstances, eligible to take a capital loss.

Investment Incentives

There are many reasons why Poland is so attractive to investors. Among the most significant are the size of the Polish market, the low labour costs, the perspectives for economic growth and the availability of personnel.

Our country is open for investors. Poland’s legal system is favourable to the establishment of businesses by aliens and the government offers many instruments for support. PAIiIZ can help by enabling foreign investors to make use of the rich choice of offers provided for their assistance.

Poland offers foreign investors many incentives for investments which are tailored to their needs. There are possibilities to link various forms of aid - e.g. in Special Economic Zones - and tax incentives that are issued by the Gmina (local authorities) councils.The EU structural funds also support investments in Poland. These are not only direct, but also indirect investments, which help to build and modernise the existing infrastructure.

These are the main reasons why it is worthwhile investing in Poland:

* The investment incentives in the various special economic zones and Gminas,
* The availability of funding through EU structural funds,
* The availability of a broad range of locations on Brownfield and Greenfield sites, at attractive prices to investors,
* Special Economic Zones,
* Industrial and Technology Parks,
* Sectors of great opportunities.

Venomous Lionfish invades coastal waters

Native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region, lionfish are often kept in both public and private aquariums. Since 2000, however, lionfish have been observed, primarily by SCUBA divers in coral, rocky and artificial reefs along the southeast coast of the U.S., from Florida to North Carolina and also throughout the Bahamas, Bermuda and Cuba. In more recent years lionfish have also been caught by bottom fishing anglers. Scientists expect lionfish to continue to disperse throughout the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys. There is also increasing concern among fishery scientists that lionfish, having no natural enemies, may adversely impact natural fish populations. In addition, this fish has venomous spines and may pose a danger to divers and anglers alike. NOAA would like to encourage fishermen to be extremely cautious and avoid contact with the venomous spines of the lionfish and to help us spread the word to other anglers.

Wages To Fall 0.5 Per Sent In 2009: ILO

Economic turmoil will erode the wages of millions of workers in 2009, fanning the flames of global recession, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday.Inflation-adjusted pay in rich nations will fall 0.5 per cent in the coming year -- the first wage decrease since before 2001 -- after having increased 0.8 per cent this year, according to new estimates from the United Nations agency.

Developing country wages should prove more resilient, led by continued gains in China and India, the ILO said. On a global basis, it estimated real wages will rise 1.1 per cent in 2009, compared to 1.7 per cent in 2008."For the world's 1.5 billion wage earners, difficult times lie ahead," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in the Global Wage Report, whose comparable data only stretches back to 2001.

Somavia, a Chilean, called for strong collective bargaining to counter any decrease in wages linked to the world's financial and economic crises that the ILO has previously said will wipe out 20 million jobs by the end of 2009.In previous periods of contraction, every 1 percentage point drop in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita brought about a 1.55 percentage point decline in average wages, making it even harder for people to spend and invest, according to ILO data.

"If this pattern were to be followed in the rapidly spreading global downturn, it would deepen the recession and delay the recovery," Somavia said.But even when economic growth rates were buoyant, the ILO report said wages have failed to keep pace.For each 1 percentage point of GDP growth from 1995 to 2007, average wages only increased 0.75 percentage points, with pay rates largely failing to increase in line with productivity growth levels, it found.

Inequalities between top and bottom wages have also risen, most notably in the United States, Germany, Poland, Argentina, China and Thailand, the ILO said.France, Spain, Brazil and Indonesia were found to have reduced those gaps somewhat in recent years.Women's wages represent an average of 70 to 90 per cent of men's wages in most major economies, though some Asian nations have larger disparities, the report said.People at the bottom of the wage ladder will be squeezed hardest by decreasing rates of pay in the coming period of economic contraction, according to ILO expert Manuela Tomei.

"If they fall too much, this will make the crisis even worse," she told a news briefing in Geneva.

Greater efforts to empower workers...

Juney Whank Falls

Juney Whank Falls is divided into an upper and lower section. Both can be viewed from the footbridge which crosses Juney Whank Branch at the falls. Together they drop 90 feet from top to bottom. The trail to the waterfall is 0.8 miles roundtrip and is considered moderate in difficulty.

The stream and falls are said to be named after a Mr. Junaluska "Juney" Whank, who may be buried in the area.

Access Trail: Juney Whank Falls Trail
Trailhead: Follow the signs through downtown Bryson City to Deep Creek Campground. Continue past the campground to the trailhead at the end of Deep Creek Road. Backtrack on foot 0.1 mile along the road to the trail

Hemorrhagic Fevers

Also called: VHFs
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of illnesses caused by four families of viruses. These include the Ebola and Marburg viruses and Lassa fever virus. VHFs have common features: they affect many organs, they damage the blood vessels and they affect the body's ability to regulate itself. Some VHFs cause mild disease, but some, like Ebola or Marburg, cause severe disease and death.

VHFs are found around the world. Specific diseases are usually limited to areas where the animals that carry them live. For example, Lassa fever is limited to rural areas of West Africa where rats and mice carry the virus.

The risk for travelers is low, but you should avoid visiting areas where there are disease outbreaks. Because there are no effective treatments for some of these viral infections, there is concern about their use in bioterrorism.

Redcurrant

The Red currant (Ribes rubrum) is a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae, native to parts of western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Northern Italy and Northern Spain).Redcurrant fruit is slightly more sour than its relative the blackcurrant, and is cultivated mainly for jams and cooked dishes, rather than for eating raw. For example, in Scandinavia it is often used in fruit soups and summer puddings, and in Germany it is also used in combination with custard or meringue as a filling for tarts. However, unlike the cranberry, it certainly can be enjoyed in its fresh state and without the addition of
sugar.

Although blackcurrant is more traditionally associated with medicinal uses, English and German language herbalist sources consider redcurrant berries to have fever-reducing, sweat-inducing, menstrual-flow inducing, mildly laxative, astringent, appetite increasing, blood cleansing, diuretic and digestive properties. Some of these proposed effects are probable, due to the verified high levels of vitamin C, fruit acids, and fiber the berries contain. Tea made from dried redcurrant leaves is said to ease the symptoms of gout and rheumatism, be useful in compresses for poorly healing wounds, and as a gargling solution for mouth infections.

According to the "Orbis Naturführer" (Orbis Verlag, Munich, 2000), while Ribes rubrum and R.nigrum are native to northern and eastern Europe, large berried cultivars of the redcurrant were first produced in Belgium and northern France in the 1600s. In modern times, numerous cultivars have been selected; some of these have escaped gardens and can be found in the wild across Europe and extending into Asia.

The white currant is also a cultivar of Ribes rubrum, being merely a less sour and colourless variant of the redcurrant, and not a separate species, though sometimes being named Ribes sativum or Ribes silvestre, and sold as a different fruit.

Russia To Move Missiles To Baltic

Russia is to deploy new missiles in a Baltic enclave near Nato member Poland, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says.

Short-range Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region would "neutralise" the planned US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, he said.

The US says its shield is a defence against missiles from "rogue" nations, but Moscow sees it as a direct threat.Mr Medvedev also said he wanted to extend Russia's presidential term to six years from the current four. He did not explain if he wanted to extend his own term, or change the rules for his successor.

There has long been speculation that Mr Medvedev is a stop-gap so that Prime Minister Putin - who served the maximum two consecutive terms - can return to the top job, correspondents say.

'Conceited' US policy

In his first state-of-the nation address, Mr Medvedev said Moscow would deploy the Iskander missile system in the Kaliningrad region - between Nato members Lithuania and Poland - to "neutralise - if necessary - the [US] anti-missile system".

"Naturally, we also consider using for the same purpose the resources of Russia's navy," he said.

Mr Medvedev also said Russia would jam the US anti-missile system electronically.Mr Medvedev's announcement is extremely provocative, but the Kremlin's clear message is that America is to blame, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says.Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus later said that Russia's decision to deploy missiles was "beyond comprehension".

In his speech to lawmakers, the Russian leader also said the August war in Georgia had resulted from a "conceited" US foreign policy.He said "the conflict in the Caucasus was used as a pretext for sending Nato warships to the Black Sea and also for the foisting on Europe of America's anti-missile systems".Mr Medvedev, who succeeded Vladimir Putin in May, vowed that Russia "won't retreat in the Caucasus".Mr Medvedev also blamed Washington for the global financial crisis, but said Russia would "overcome" the challenge.

Lymphoma

Also called: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymphatic system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is called Hodgkin's disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal. The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other part of the body. Most of the time, doctors can't determine why a person gets non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can cause many symptoms, such as
* Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin

* Unexplained weight loss

* Fever

* Soaking night sweats

* Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain

* Weakness and tiredness that don't go away

* Pain, swelling or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen

Your doctor will perform an exam and lab tests to determine if you have lymphoma.