Wild world: Millions of unseen species fill Earth

Our world is a much wilder place than it looks. A new study estimates that Earth has almost 8.8 million species, but we've only discovered about a quarter of them. And some of the yet-to-be-seen ones could be in our own backyards, scientists say.

So far, only 1.9 million species have been found. Recent discoveries have been small and weird: a psychedelic frogfish, a lizard the size of a dime and even a blind hairy mini-lobster at the bottom of the ocean.

"We are really fairly ignorant of the complexity and colorfulness of this amazing planet," said the study's co-author, Boris Worm, a biology professor at Canada's Dalhousie University. "We need to expose more people to those wonders. It really makes you feel differently about this place we inhabit."

While some scientists and others may question why we need to know the number of species, others say it's important.

There are potential benefits from these undiscovered species, which need to be found before they disappear from the planet, said famed Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson, who was not part of this study. Some of modern medicine comes from unusual plants and animals.

"We won't know the benefits to humanity (from these species), which potentially are enormous," the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wilson said. "If we're going to advance medical science, we need to know what's in the environment."

Biologists have long known that there's more to Earth than it seems, estimating the number of species to be somewhere between 3 million and 100 million. Figuring out how much is difficult.

Worm and Camilo Mora of the University of Hawaii used complex mathematical models and the pace of discoveries of not only species, but of higher classifications such as family to come up with their estimate.

Their study, published Tuesday in the online journal PLoS Biology, a publication of the Public Library of Science, estimated the number of species at nearly 8.8 million.

Of those species, 6.5 million would be on land and 2.2 million in the ocean, which is a priority for the scientists doing the work since they are part of the Census of Marine Life, an international group of scientists trying to record all the life in the ocean.

The research estimates that animals rule with 7.8 million species, followed by fungi with 611,000 and plants with just shy of 300,000 species.

While some new species like the strange mini-lobster are in exotic places such as undersea vents, "many of these species that remain to be discovered can be found literally in our own backyards," Mora said.

Outside scientists, such as Wilson and preeminent conservation biologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University, praised the study, although some said even the 8.8 million number may be too low.

The study said it could be off by about 1.3 million species, with the number somewhere between 7.5 million and 10.1 million. But evolutionary biologist Blair Hedges of Penn State University said he thinks the study is not good enough to be even that exact and could be wrong by millions.

Hedges knows firsthand about small species.
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Aamir Khan is the new MUNNABHAI

According to latest grapevine Amir Khan and Sharman joshi will replace by the famous actor Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi as munna bhai and circuit respectively. Dutt has been dropped from the third part as he is too old for the film now; producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra finally breaks the suspense.

Talking to a daily, the official representative of Chopra rubbished the rumours saying, “We are not even ready with the script of the next ‘Munna Bhai’ flick and this is a baseless humour. Vidhu Vinod Chopra doesn’t begin the casting for his films until he completes his script. Besides, Aamir Khan is not free for another two years.”
We are all known that Amir Khan is the most famous actor in the bollywood Industry. He had got many Hindi movie and he get many rewarded. Aamir and Sharman have amazing comic timing and also great chemistry onscreen. You can see that even in their first film together, Rang De Basanti is the most popular movie.
When he shared the idea with Aamir, he loved it. He told Rajkumar that he would be game for it if the script was interesting."

Another source says, "Though Sanjay played Munna Bhai to perfection, having Aamir on board will take the franchise to the next level. He is not only a fine actor, but also a much bigger brand name, and a marketing genius."
A source closely working with the franchise informs, "A few months ago, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani had a closed door meeting with Sanju, where they told him that they would not be going ahead with him in the Munna Bhai sequel.
This definitely upset Sanju." It may be noted that Chopra and Hirani were conspicuous by their absence at Sanjay and Maanyata's party, recently.When contacted, Hirani denied these claims.

Imran's tribute to 3 Khans

Audiences have another nice surprise in store for them since the title track is now finally out and it’s sure to be another chart-buster from Yash Raj films, whose movies are usually well-known for having exceptional music, soothing tunes and hummable tracks.

The Mere Brother Ki Dulhan title track has been shot widely across India including Mumbai, Dehradun and Delhi and features Imran Khan, who is on the lookout for his brother’s perfect bride. The lyrics are catchy, the music is fast-paced, and Imran Khan’s dancing is his best so far, as he pays a tribute to Bollywood’s three superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.

The song uses the three modes of transportation – air, road and train in a very interesting and captivating style, in his hunt for his brother’s dulhan. It’s indeed delightful to watch Imran charming his way on screen with steps from Aamir’s famous ‘masti ki paathshala’ steps, to Salman’s Dabangg belt move and his towel step, and of course Shah Rukh’s “Chaiyya chaiyya” atop the train.

The song is definitely going to leave its mark on people’s minds and hearts for quite a long time now.
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Indian cricketers criticise Daryl Harper for bad decisions

Umpire Daryl Harper came in for some scathing criticism from the Indian cricket team, which blasted the Australian for his poor decisions during the first cricket Test against the West Indies.

Such was the exasperation that a senior member of the side said that whole team wishes that Harper does not officiate in the third Test.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did little to hide his disgust at the standard of umpiring in the Test, which they won by 63 runs to take a 1-0 lead.

"If correct decisions were made, the game would have ended much earlier and we would have been in the hotel by now," Dhoni said at the post match press conference.

The Australian would stand for one last time when India take on West Indies in the third Test at Dominica from July 6.

"We don't want him -- you can quote it as the reaction of the entire Indian team," said a very senior member of the side.

Though Dhoni did not name anyone of the two umpires officiating in the match --- Ian Gould (England) and Harper -- several Indian players openly termed the latter as the centre of their ire.

"It's Daryl Harper six not out," said another senior cricketer as soon as he saw a bunch of Indian pressmen approaching him.

Indians were upset that Harper made at least three critical errors against India and three in favour of West Indies during the match.

"Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Dhoni himself for done in; (Darren) Bravo twice and once (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul benefitted," chimed in another Indian cricketer, bristling with aggression.

Raina was given out caught in the leg-trap off Devendra Bishoo and television replays suggested no edge from either bat or gloves of the batsman.

Harbhajan Singh was ruled out leg before wicket when the ball clearly was seen going way above the height of the stumps.

Dhoni was cleanly caught at point region off Bishoo but the bowler had cut the return crease in his bowling run-up and the delivery should have been called a no-ball.

All three decisions in question were given by Harper in India's second innings.
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Katrina angry with Sonakshi

Katrina Kaif is far from amused. Rather, she's one rattled star, as of now. The mediavine has been abuzz with the news that Kaif has been smarting over Sonakshi Sinha's insinuations that she did not have the grace to respond to Sonakshi's SMSes or reply to her calls. Talk about Sonakshi trying to "make peace" with Katrina have been making the rounds and Kaif, who'd maintained a dignified silence over the matter, decided to speak up for herself.

States a close source, "Katrina has always maintained a certain dignity as regards her relations with industry folks, be it personal or professional. She does not share any equation with Sonakshi at all and is surprised at all those stories doing the rounds. Now she's quite irritated as the stories just don't seem to stop."

A superbly irked Katrina states in a media quote that she "did not receive any SMS from Sonakshi," does not know where "these stories are coming from" and asserts that she would prefer not to comment on Sonakshi as she "does not share any equation" with her.
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5 interview tips you dare not forget

Ready aim hired

Right after a job interview, you could either be supremely confident or faintly worried. Either way, we feel pretty relieved when it is all over. Perceptions about interviews usually depend on the interviewer's likeability and first impressions. It is, therefore, important to remember some statutory courtesies in order to have a positive interaction and favourable result.

After an interview shoot a thank you email or letter
Many interviewees think that once the face-to-face interview is over, the interview process is complete. However, this is not the case. The job interview is just the beginning. Once the personal interview is done, the company mulls, evaluates and decides the best candidate who would best suit the job profile and company.

Therefore, it is a good idea to remain in touch with the interviewer and the company in general. One of the best ways to do so is to drop them a ?Thank You? note. If you have been in touch with company or interviewer via e-mail, then one should email such a note within 24 hours after the interview. Interviewers have short memories. So, this is your final chance to stand apart from all of the others who want the same position.

Follow up after the interview when there is no response
How long should you wait before you call the company or interviewer? Usually, if there is no response within sometime, you will start worrying about whether it is appropriate to call back and check hiring status.

When to call
Post-interview it is best to give a gap of two to three days before you make the first follow up call. One of the most important things to keep in mind during the call is that one should be succinct and brief. Another important aspect is to chalk out a time when to call. The best time to call the interviewer is after lunch or an hour before closing time. This will ensure that you have a comfortable time frame to speak to the interviewer.

Whom to call
Interviewees are sometimes confused about who to follow up with after the interview?the human resource team or the interviewer directly. This situation is more confusing if there was more than one interviewer. In such circumstances, it is best to first check with the human resource team on the hiring status.

What to say
Begin the conversation by thanking the person for the opportunity to interview with the company. Recap some of the conversational highlights and clarify any information you need to check on. Use the last paragraph as the chance to state, ?The job is a good fit for me because of XYZ, and my past experience in XYZ.?
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Osama bin Laden dead, Obama says justice is done

Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, President Barack Obama said on Sunday.

"Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children," Obama said in a surprise late night White House address.

The world's most wanted man had been killed in a Pakistani compound in an operation on Sunday, which had been carried after cooperation from Islamabad, the US leader said.

Obama said in the historic address from the White House that he had directed the US armed forces to launch an attack against a compound in Pakistan on Sunday acting on a lead that first emerged last August.

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties."
A jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden's death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade.

"Justice has been done," the president said.

The development comes just months before the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon, orchestrated by bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, that killed more than 3,000 people.

The attacks set off a chain of events that led the United States into wars in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, and America's entire intelligence apparatus was overhauled to counter the threat of more terror attacks at home.

Al-Qaida organization was also blamed for the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa that killed 231 people and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors in Yemen, as well as countless other plots, some successful and some foiled.
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