London, July 27 : Forget polishing resume to find a suitable job, for your looks are more than enough to do the trick, suggests a new study, which has found that a majority of jobseekers are not hired because of their "bad dress sense" and "poor appearance".

Experts have called for style makeovers to get the long-term unemployed into work.

The Scottish Centre for Employment Research believes that image problems are a very real barrier to interview success.

Their conclusions are based on a survey of 500 high-street retailers in which they found that the vast majority had not hired staff because of the way they looked.

London, July 27 : The humble ice cream vans may soon become a thing of the past, courtesy the credit crunch.

Their jingling tunes, a sound that epitomises summer, are in danger of being silenced by the rising price of fuel and key ingredients.

Van owners have been struggling to cope as the price of powdered milk, used to make ice cream, rocketed by nearly 70percent last year.

Despite a brief respite earlier this year, the cost is now rising sharply again. Wheat flour is also going up adding to the cost of cones.

Overheads such as diesel and council permits also add to the pressures that could spell the end of a British institution.

London, July 27 : British and Japanese researchers have developed a robot that may give bartenders a run for their money.

The robot called Mr. Asahi can pull pints, pour shots and open bottles at high speed without asking for orders to be repeated.

It has been named after Japanese beer company Asahi, which is looking after it on its US tour these days.

"I think everyone loves the novelty of a robot that can pour beer. We''ve had a few bartenders who have said ''with this guy on the scene, my job''s in danger'', but given that he cost £100,000 to make, it may be a while before that happens," the Scotsman quoted Martin Leppard, the technical manager for the company, as saying.

London, July 26 : US presidential hopeful Barack Obama''s 67-year-old step mother, Kezia Obama, believes that he will change the way the world thinks once he takes charge at the White House in Washington.

As he arrived in London on Saturday, Kezia Obama, Barack Senior''s first wife, said proudly: "The things Barry Junior says are the things the world needs to focus on.”

"I believe he''s the right person at the right time. He''s the one to make the changes we need. If he does win he will be a president for the whole world," The Mirror quoted her, as saying.

London, July 26 : U. S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday met former British Prime Minister and The Quartet''s Middle East envoy Tony Blair during the final day of his foreign tour.

Blair had a breakfast meeting with Obama at the latter''s London hotel, and The News quoted Blair''s spokesman as saying that their talks focused on the Middle East peace process.

Obama -- who has been travelling abroad in a high-profile effort to show US voters how he can handle foreign policy issues -- was in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank earlier in the week.

London, July 26 : Meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and former premier Nawaz Sharif in London is unlikely to take place here.

According to The Nation, Sharif is getting ready for a brief visit to some other European country from where he will set off for Pakistan.

Prime Minister Gilani is reaching London on Sunday night.

“Neither has the Prime Minister expressed any desire for a meeting, nor has any such event been scheduled,” said a spokesman of the PML-N.