Stuttgart - Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug has called for plans to introduce the hybrid system KERS in Formula One to be scrapped as a cost-saving measure.

Haug, whose company is part of the McLaren-Mercedes team, told the German weekly Motorsport aktuell published Tuesday that "the time for games is over" as motorsport seeks ways to rein in costs.

From next season teams will be allowed to use KERS - Kinetic Energy Retention Systems - to harness the energy created by a car's brakes and reuse it as a source of power.

New Delhi, Dec. 9 : The second part of the winter session of Parliament will begin from December 10. The session perhaps would be the last one before general elections, which are slated for April-May next year.

The Congress led UPA is on a high after its stupendous performance in the recent state assembly polls.

The Congress is set to form government in three states out of five which went to polls.

However, the main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) would be looking to counter the Government on issues such as terror and inflation.

London, December 9 (ANI): Men might like to brag about their `construction skills', but it is women who are better when it comes do-it-yourself tasks, according to a furniture store boss.

Petra Hesser, boss at the furniture store `Ikea', whose 70 percent of the clientele was formed by women, revealed that the fairer sex was undisputed winner when it came to putting together flatly packed furniture.

"Men never look at the directions and have the most problems with construction because they always think they can do that," the Telegraph quoted the head of the Swedish giant''s German operation saying.

London, Dec. 9 : British Muslims have been blasted for not doing enough to challenge extremists and the promoters of terrorism, a senior Islamic scholar has said.

Dilwar Hussain of the Islamic Foundation has said Muslims have done too little to produce leaders who can educate young people in Britain and guide them away from extremists.

Hussain says moderate Muslims need to do more to combat the rise of terrorism, the Daily Star reported.

Washington, Dec 9 : Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch CEOs have given up bonuses amid a climate of bank failures, thousands of layoffs and an economic recession

Morgan Stanley CEO John J. Mack is giving up a bonus for the second straight year, CBS News reported.

Mack said in a memo on Monday to employees that he and the firm’s two presidents, James Gorman and Walid Chammah, informed their board’s compensation committee of their decision to forgo 2008 bonuses, and the committee accepted.

He also said the company is planning to make further changes to year-end compensation for other employees.

Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 9 : The North Western Malaysian state of Kedah has been approached to declare a holiday on the occasion of the Tamil festival of Thaipusam.

The chief Parti Keadilan Rakyat Lunas unit in Kedah, S. Neelamegan, described Thaipusam as an important festival for the Indian community, adding that it was the responsibility of the state government, now led by PAS, to consider the request made via a memorandum.