Hamburg - Indifferent Bayern Munich have Bundesliga history on their side when they host Energie Cottbus while the omens are not good for TSG Hoffenheim.

Munich have won all five previous home games against the bottom side Cottbus and hope to complete the half dozen on Saturday after throwing away a 2-0 lead for the third time this season in a 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, travel to Cologne for a meeting of promoted sides. Cologne were the only team to beat Hoffenheim twice last season in the second division.

Leaders Bayer Leverkusen are also not assured of winning at Arminia Bielefeld, having beaten them only once in their last seven league dates and last won there in 1999.

London, Nov 20 : Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is keen on expanding his acting experience, has landed a role in top US drama series CSI: Miami.

The rapper and label-mogul will be playing a prosecutor in two episodes of the massive CBS show.

CBS has confirmed that Combs would play a prosecutor who argues with Lt Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso, reports BBC.

Another rap star, Nelly, already plays a role in CSI: New York.

Combs episodes are expected to appear on US TV in the middle of 2009. (ANI)

Sydney - Australians were daring to hope Thursday that the 13-year-old Aboriginal boy Brandon Walters could win an Oscar for his critically acclaimed performance in local film director Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia.

Papers in the United States have tipped an Academy Award nomination for Brandon's portrayal of the orphaned Nullah in Luhrmann's World War II melodrama.

Spotted by talent scouts in a public swimming pool in Broome, Western Australia, Brandon beat out 1,000 other hopefuls for a role that is likely to drag him into the limelight at home and abroad.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for the establishment of the UNESCO Regional Centre for Training and Education in Biotechnology at Faridabad, Haryana with the revised budget of Rs. 99.55 crores.

The proposed centre would act as the focal point for cooperation amongst the Members countries of the Asian Region in Biotechnology.

Washington, Nov 20 : A detailed analysis of black carbon, in computer climate models, has suggested that those models may be overestimating global warming predictions.

Savanna fires occur almost every year in northern Australia, leaving behind black carbon, which is the residue of burned organic matter that remains in soil for thousands of years.

A new study, by researchers at Cornell University, quantified the amount of black carbon in Australian soils and found that there was far more than expected, according to Johannes Lehmann, a Cornell professor of biogeochemistry.

As a result of global warming, soils are expected to release more carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, which, in turn, creates more warming.

London - Chelsea and Liverpool will each be looking to maintain momentum this weekend as they continue their tit-for-tat battle at the top of the English Premier League.

Eight points clear of Manchester United in third and ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, Chelsea host struggling Newcastle United while Liverpool entertain Fulham at Anfield.

Chelsea have won seven out of seven away from home, but they have struggled slightly at Stamford Bridge, finding it harder to break teams down who come simply to defend.

They will be without the suspended Didier Drogba against Newcastle on Saturday, but that should not hamper them too much as Nicolas Anelka, who has scored eight goals in his past five games, will again lead the line.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for signing of headquarters agreement between India and South Asian University and also gave its approval for issuing a notification under United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947.

The agreement will provide an overall framework for the smooth and unobstructed functioning and operation of the University and for regulating the relations between the University and India.

The decision for establishment of the South Asian university would be a path-breaking achievement for India manifesting its commitment to SAARC. The project will showcase education and technical prowess within the region.

Washington, Nov 20 : A new study has highlighted how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind in the field of biomedical research.

Many marine organisms such as sea anemones and corals produce fluorescent proteins, which come in a variety of dazzling hues.

Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized biomedical research by enabling the imaging of processes within living cells and tissues.

The impact of this technology is considered so high that the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was most recently awarded to scientists that discovered and further developed the first green fluorescent protein that was applied as cellular marker.

Washington, Nov 20 : Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon has pulled her daughter out of a dream school because of the hounding paparazzi.

The stunner is upset by the way snappers have tortured her daughter Ava to get her snap, because of which the actress was forced to take her baby girl out of the "wonderful school".

"She was so harassed that we had to take her out,” Contactmusic quoted the actress, as saying.

London, November 20: British Secret Intelligence Service MI6 has shed its image as an overwhelmingly white male agency of wannabe James Bonds by setting out to recruit officers from ethnic minorities.

The agency has launched a recruitment campaign in this regard.

It’s head of recruitment, who is known as "John", said that the agency’s "rather comfortable cold war existence" had exposed it to different threats, and that is why there was a need to be "more flexible, more adaptable".

He said that that purpose could be served by having people from more diverse backgrounds.

Washington, Nov 20: A new study has revealed that the health threat to city dwellers posed by Southern California wildfires may have been underestimated by officials.

According to detailed particulate analysis of the smoke produced by previous California wild fires, the composition posed more serious potential threats to health than is generally realized.

For the study Constantinos Sioutas and colleagues from USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and RIVM (the National Institute of Health and the Environment of the Netherlands) analyzed the particular matter gathered during the fall
2007 blazes.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for modification of the Trade Marks Amendment Bill, 2007 with certain consequential changes on the basis of recommendations contained in the report of the department related parliamentary standing committee on commerce and to introduce the said bill in Parliament.

The amended said bill will provided better protection to the Indian trade marks in designated member countries and afford reciprocal protection to trade marks from member countries abroad.

It will thus encourage transfer of technology through trade mark licensing and franchising and generally promote overall business confidence in Indian IPR system globally.

London, November 20 : A 50-year-old British man beheaded himself using a chainsaw because he did not want to give up his repossessed home.

Winchester Coroner''s Court was told that David Phyall tied the chainsaw to a leg of a snooker table in his sitting room using string, taped up the on button, and plugged it into a timer.

He then laid face up under the snooker table putting the chainsaw against his neck, the court heard.

Phyall had had a small amount to drink, but he had not taken any drugs.

He used a piece of the tool''s cardboard box to cushion the blades from his neck, and set the timer to start up the chainsaw for 15 minutes.

Melbourne, Nov 20: Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and John Malkovich bagged top honours at this year''s GQ Men of Year Awards in Los Angeles.

The ‘Titanic’ star received the Leading Man trophy, while Malkovich was named Mad Genius of the Year, reports the Daily Telegraph.

U. S. President-elect Barack Obama was honoured with Game Changer of the Year award and actor Jon Hamm received the Breakout award.

Olympic champion Michael Phelps walked away with Golden Boy of the Year award.

Brisbane, Nov 20 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has said that it was to good to see Andrew Symonds back into the team, but added that he would like to see the “same old Symo” and would not want him to change his personality.

Washington, Nov 20 : A new research has suggested that the first eyes in the animal kingdom evolved for the purpose of seeking light.

Larvae of marine invertebrates – worms, sponges, jellyfish - have the simplest eyes that exist. They consist of no more than two cells: a photoreceptor cell and a pigment cell.

These minimal eyes, called eyespots, resemble the ‘proto-eyes’ suggested by Charles Darwin as the first eyes to appear in animal evolution. They cannot form images but allow the animal to sense the direction of light.

This ability is crucial for phototaxis – the swimming towards light exhibited by many zooplankton larvae.

Jakarta - Indonesian stocks dropped 2.15 per cent Thursday, sparked by falls across Asia after US stocks sank to a five-year low.

The Jakarta Composite Index ended at 1,154.97, down 25.39 points.

Dealers said the decline was in line with falls in markets across Asia as well as the drop on Wall Street.

The Indonesian rupiah, meanwhile, tumbled to its weakest level since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. The rupiah traded at 12,350 against the greenback at mid-day, dealers said. (dpa)

Dubai, 20th Nov. 2008 -- The Director General of the Emirates Institute for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, has highlighted the vital need of establishing an integrated National Science Authority, during his participation as a keynote speaker during the Global Space Technology Forum, held on
16- 18 November in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The need for this Authority is to advise collaboration between various sectors and encourage securing funds to support scientific research associations serving the UAE's strategic objectives and the global advanced science community as well.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks fell 4.04 per cent Thursday, joining a regional downward spiral in share prices after heavy overnight losses on Wall Street.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index closed at 12,298, down 517 points. Turnover was 44.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.75 billion US dollars).

At one point, the index fell more than 6 per cent and threatened to close below 12,000; however, it bounced back slightly in later trading to stay above that barrier.

Paris - Senior Rwandan politician Rose Kabuye said Thursday that she was not involved in the 1994 assassination of former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana.

"I'm not afraid because I am innocent," she told France 24 television. "When I can explain what really happened, everything will be fine again."