Dusseldorf, Germany - Who doesn't know the daily aggravations brought on by work, relationships and the pursuit of one's own needs, and who hasn't sometimes wished for more peace and quiet?

Meditation is one possible means of achieving them. Lutz Hertel, a psychologist at a German wellness association in Dusseldorf, is convinced of one of its effects: "We see a lot more value in meditation than in massages or wellness packs. When meditating, you're active, which is the opposite of most other wellness applications." And the effects are longer lasting.

Sydney - Connoisseurs, business rivals, xenophobes and marketing gurus lined up to stick the boot in Starbucks when the Seattle-based coffee chain declared in July that it was closing 61 of its 85 Australian outlets with the loss of almost 700 jobs.

The coffee snobs said that the locals didn't take to the sweet and watery offerings from Starbucks. They stayed with the European-style espressos brought to Australia generations ago by Italian migrants.

"Their coffee is more like a milkshake," scoffed coffee luminary Ron Basset. "We probably have three times the coffee in ours that they do."

Bonn - "Clean your plate" might be a well-intentioned command, but it is harmful to many children.

It's much more important that children learn flexible control of their eating habits and maintain a healthy sense of when they are hungry and when they are full, according to Germany's consumer information service in Bonn.

For these reasons parents should tell their children, "Take only as much as you would like to eat." This rule is especially important when food is plentiful and the prevailing lifestyle is short on activity.

We all know that hair play an extremely important part in shaping our personality and physical appearance.

Wiesbaden, Germany - Cosmetic institutes and dermatologists have long been able to meet customers' demands for special beauty treatments.

They've been known to offer botox shots during the lunch hour and an assortment of laser treatments and peelings using cumbersome appliances.

Now, manufacturers are offering devices that could take over private bathrooms everywhere. Beauty tools such as the ultrasound skin buffer and the electric pimple killer are expected to find a place in bathrooms alongside creams and sprays.

Munich - Try using vegetable leaves and the hulls of fruits instead of plates and bowls to give your next party an organic touch.

The firm leaves of a savoy cabbage can replace a small bowl, said an article in a German women's magazine published in Munich. The leaves separate easily from the stalk and are an ideal substitute for antipasto plates.