Berlin  - Whether it makes coffee or drills holes in walls, whether it's a luxury item or a basic model, just about every modern household product is expected to have some style to it.

But pretty packaging is not the same as good design and the challenge facing most designers is to bring form and function together.

"Bad design means that ergonomics and functions were not given high enough priority," says Peter Knopp, an industrial designer from Scheyern in southern Germany.

Samples of bad design include mobile phones with tiny buttons or those beautiful kettles whose owners run the risk of burning themselves, if they pick them up clumsily.

At the San Diego California Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, opponents of recently-passed Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California, gathered on Sunday for a peaceful demonstration.

The church did not have services at the time. Some San Diego police officers were deployed, and a church security guard also kept an eye on the premises to ensure that employees of the church were not harassed.

The global financial crisis has taken its toll on the Tourism Industry. At a meeting with the members of the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), the Government suggested that hotels should slash their tariffs by 10 to 15 percent.

FHRAI Delegation comprised of 5 members namely Vivek Nair, Vice-chairman, Leela Group; Rajindra Kumar, Hotel Taj Ambassador, Delhi; Salim Sherwani, Sherwani Hospitalities Ltd; Dr. Sunil Gulati, Uttarakhand Hospitality and Major Harish Sud, Secretary general, FHRAI.

Hamburg - From morning sickness to ultrasound examinations, the symptoms and medical treatment that pregnant women experience are well known.

But what about pets? What should owners do when their dogs and cats get pregnant? Firstly, they should recognize that, as in humans, pregnancy is not an illness, said Thomas Steidl, a veterinarian from Tuebingen, Germany. But at the same time, owners should not take

their pet's condition too lightly.

Buenos Aires - Half-an-hour's train ride from Buenos Aires lies the suburb of Jose Leon Suarez, with its dirt streets and homes made of wooden planks and scraps of metal.

The path passes by a river containing more rubbish than water. Here and there, the garbage piles up and the stench of burning plastic pollutes the air.

This path leads to the Vicente Catalano Centre for mothers and families.

Gottfried Stein, a correspondent for Germany's ARD radio based in South America, and his wife, Renate, opened the facility in 2007. They obtained funds from the Stuttgart-based International Network of Centres for Mothers and Families, in whose executive committee Renate sits.