Beijing - A Beijing court sentenced a rights activist to two years in prison on Thursday after convicting her of "obstructing public business," her husband said.

Dong Jiqin said he was not allowed into the courtroom to present his defence of his wife, Ni Yulan, who planned to appeal against the sentence.

"They didn't let me in," Dong told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

He said Xicheng district court officials only allowed the couple's adult daughter into the courtroom but apparently did not consider any of the evidence prepared in Ni's defence.

"They didn't let our daughter defend her [Ni] or accept her evidence," Dong said.

Reykjavik - One of Iceland's most prominent financiers became the target - literally - of peoples' anger over the collapse of Iceland's banks Glitnir and Landsbanki when he was hit in the face with a snowball, the DV newspaper reported Thursday. The paper said that prominent businessman and financier Jonsgeir Johannesson, 40, was emerging from a joint supervisory board meeting of the two failed banks when three young men hurled snowballs at him. One of the snowballs struck him in the face.

London - The world number one pair of Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic lifted top honours for the 2008 season as the each received world champion honours from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Nadal, winner of a fourth straight Roland Garros title as well as Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal, swept the field on the men's side. The ITF makes the selections based upon ATP and WTA results combined with Grand Slams, Olympics, Davis Cup and Fed Cup play.

Washington, Dec 18 : Scientists, environmental groups and policymakers are advocating the use of an ancient soil replenishment technique used by former inhabitants of the Amazon Basin, in the fight against global warming.

Former inhabitants of the Amazon Basin enriched their fields with charred organic materials known as biochar, and transformed one of the earth's most infertile soils into one of the most productive.

These early conservationists disappeared 500 years ago, but centuries later, their soil is still rich in organic matter and nutrients.

Los Angeles - A second pregnancy could mark the end of the tennis career of Lindsay Davenport after the 32-year-old withdrew from the Australian Open over her good news.

The announcement could have been a surprise for the mother-to-be after the three-time Grand Slam champion decided only a week ago to prepare for an entry next month into the Australian Open.

Davenport gave birth to son Jagger in 2007, saying at the time that she had retired. But she then reversed her decision, returning to tennis three months later and lifting two WTA titles in the autumn and another pair at the start of 2008.

Washington, Dec 18 : A new analysis by researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has found that global climate change could dramatically affect water supplies.

The research was conducted by Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, King Bhumipol, Professor Dennis McLaughlin, Professor Dara Entekhabi, from MIT, and Bridget Scanlon, a senior researcher at the University of Texas.

The analysis has found that the changes in groundwater may actually be much greater than the precipitation changes themselves.