WASHINGTON, Nov. 30  -- First Lady Laura Bush said Sunday that the official White House Christmas tree was safely ensconced in the Blue Room.

The Fraser fir shipped in from North Carolina will be decorated with ornaments from around the United States for what will be the Bush family's final Christmas in the presidential residence.

The theme of the tree's decoration scheme will be announced later this week, the first lady told the audience, which included a delegation from the National Christmas Tree Growers Association.

India's Leander Paes and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black have entered into the final of the mixed doubles event of the first grand slam of the year, Australian Open at the Melbourne Park on Friday.

The top seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair survived from scare of Lisa Raymond of United States and Wesley Moodie of South Africa as Paes-Cara ousted their opponents 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 10-7 in the semifinal.

Event:Playboy Playmate Dasha Astafieva Signs Copies of the January 2009 55th Anniversary Issue of Playboy Magazine at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas on December 13, 2008
Venue & Location:Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Hotel and Casino / Las Vegas, NV, USA
Event Date:12/13/2008
Photographer:PRN / PR Photos

Event:"I Am Legend" London Premiere - Arrivals
Venue & Location:Odeon, Leicester Square / London, England
Event Date:12/19/2007
Photographer:© Solarpix / PR Photos

Washington  - Before getting down to serious business at the G20 summit in Washington, leaders of the world's 20 leading economies were celebrating Friday evening with a gourmet meal at the White House.

There's a financial emergency knocking at their doors and their national stock markets have shed more than one-third in value over the past tumultous year. But the G20 leaders are also marking a historic occasion: It's the first time ever that they've come together at the summit level, however hastily organized it was.

Event:2008 CFDA Fashion Awards - Arrivals
Venue & Location:New York Public Library / New York City, NY, USA
Event Date:6/2/2008
Photographer:© Wild1 / PR Photos

London, Sept 25 : Julia Roberts and the unit of her latest flick ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ may soon have to unpack their monsoon gear as they set out for Cherrapunji in north-east India after winding up a film shoot at a Pataudi ashram.

Cherrapunji is one of the wettest places in the world and witnesses a record annual rainfall of over 900 inches.

Washington, Sept 19: According to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, survivors of breast cancer who took a weekly dose of risedronate, sold as Actonel, lost considerably less bone than those who did not take the drug.

The team consisting of Susan Greenspan, M.D., director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center and Bone Health program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and his colleagues, examined as a part of the study 87 women; the mean age being 50.

Event:"Race to Witch Mountain" Los Angeles Premiere - Arrivals
Venue & Location:El Capitan Theater / Hollywood, CA, USA
Event Date:3/11/2009
Exclusive / Restrictions:Non-Exclusive Rights Managed Image
Photographer:Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Washington, October 20 : Pairing a new approach to prepare ancient DNA with a new scientific technique developed specifically to genotype a cow, an international team of scientists has created a very accurate and widespread “family tree” for cows and other ruminants, going back as far as 29 million years.

This genetic information could allow scientists to understand the evolution of cattle, ruminants and other animals.

Washington, Dec 6: Oscar winner Angelina Jolie has topped the list of ‘highest paid actresses’ in Hollywood.

The ‘Tomb Raider’ star topped the Hollywood Reporter’s list of highest paid actresses, followed by Julia Roberts on the second spot.

In 2008, Jolie’s movies earned nearly 1 billion dollars worldwide, and the actress herself commands more than 15 million dollars a movie.

Last year’s topper Resse Witherspoon slipped down to third spot, followed by Charlie’s Angel’s star Cameron Diaz on the fourth.

Event: 23rd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Press Room
Venue & Location: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel / New York City, NY, USA
Event Date: 3/10/2008
Photographer: © Tom Walck / PR Photos

Sydney- It would take a month to find out why a Qantas flight dropped altitude dramatically, injuring at least 36 passengers before it made an emergency landing, investigators said Wednesday.

The Airbus A330 from Singapore to Perth, with 303 passengers and 10 crew, put out a mayday call Tuesday before making an emergency landing at Learmonth military base, 1,260 kilometres north of Perth.

Pretoria - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Saturday he would take part in a runoff presidential election against incumbent President Robert Mugabe.

The MDC leader topped the poll in the March 29 elections, taking 47.9 per cent of the votes to Mugabe's 43.2 per cent in official results. A runoff is called for when no candidate takes more than 50 per cent. It must be by May 24.

The MDC had initially objected to a runoff, insisting that its count of votes showed Tsvangirai won outright. (dpa)

London, Sept 25 : British band Spandau Ballet are all set to release their first single in 20 years.

The band, which released their last studio album in 1989, had initially agreed on a string of gigs after their reunion in March this year, however they have now hit the studio.

The group, which has international hits like Gold and True to their credit, have recorded a new single, Once More, and will release an album with Mercury Records in November.

New Delhi, Feb 23 : Hundreds of students, environmentalists and residents have joined hands in a campaign to save the River Yamuna from further pollution.

Holding placards and banners, they gathered at the Jamia Milia Islamia University''s Ansari Auditorium and raised slogans in favour of ''Yamuna River-Cleaning''.

The River Yamuna that holds not only mythological but also historical significance to the country, is today in a pathetic state and its water is unfit for bathing, leave alone consumption.

According to Central Pollution Control Board, around 70 per cent of the pollution in the Yamuna is human excrement.

Singapore  - Singapore is forecast to have the highest number of personal computers (PCs) per 1,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region by 2012, an information-technology research firm said Friday.

Gartner Inc projected the city-state would have 4.5 million installed desktop and laptop PCs, or 948 for every 1,000 individuals.

Australia was forecast to trail Singapore with 888 PCs per 1,000 people, and Hong Kong was next with 793.

The country with the highest PC penetration in the Asia-Pacific this year is Australia, expected to have 776 PCs per 1,000 people by the end of the year. Singapore was likely to emerge second in the region with 707 PCs per 1,000 people, Gartner said.

Event:"Divas With Heart" Concert At Radio City Music Hall in New York - May 4, 2008
Venue & Location:Rasio City Music Hall / New York City, NY, USA
Event Date:5/4/2008
Exclusive / Restrictions:Non-Exclusive Rights Managed Image
Photographer:Janet Mayer / PR Photos

Stockholm - To the "great surprise" of new Sweden coach Erik Hamren, Barcelona forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has expressed doubts about his future career in the national team.

Hamren on Monday evening announced Ibrahimovic's decision when he presented his first squad for an upcoming friendly against Italy.

The squad for the November 18 tie was announced in connection with the annual Swedish football gala, hosted this year in the southern city of Malmo.

Washington, July 17: Two studies based on data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that the Red Planet once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life.

One study shows that vast regions of the ancient highlands of Mars, which cover about half the planet, contain clay minerals, which can form only in the presence of water.

Volcanic lavas buried the clay-rich regions during subsequent, drier periods of the planet’s history, but impact craters later exposed them at thousands of locations across Mars.