All of Tottenham’s four goals came in the second half as Burnley’s goal keeper Brian Jenson failed to stop the shots from a fired up Tottenham side. The ? 15 million signing of Jermain Defoe was being celebrated well before the kick off. With Martin Paterson scoring the only goal for Burnley in the first 15 minutes of the game Tottenham fans were quieted in an instant.

Burnley’s previous performances have been spectacular with the team managing to eliminate top teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham. The Spurs managed to make a spectacular come back in the second half ruining Burnley’s dream to add another super team to their defeated list.

David Bentley was replaced by Jamie O’Hara after being ineffective during the game. Within two minutes of getting on Jamie supplied Michael Dawson the ball from a corner, who posted it through for the team’s first goal. Hardly five minutes had passed that the midfielder scored Tottenham’s second goal through the legs of Brain Jensen. Roman Pavlyuchenko maintained his record of scoring in every round by securing the third goal for Tottenham.

Three minutes later Burnley defender Micheal duff managed to score an own goal by heading the ball shot through by O’Hara into his own goal post. This unfortunate event completed the misery for Burnley who could hardly believe what was going on.

The final score was not something that Burnley would have expected after ending the first half one up on the winning team. The former Manchester United forward Chris Eagles had made one attempt shot wide of the post before supplying the ball for Paterson to score the only goal for Burnley.

Another cross was headed by Robbie Blake right past Tottenham’s goal keeper in just nine minutes after the goal. Despite making a few good attempts in the first half Burnley failed to capitalize on their position. The Spurs came back as a totally different team in the second half managing to secure the win and becoming the favorites to meet Manchester United or Derby at Wembley.

The Russian energy Giant Gazprom has cut three of four of its export pipelines. These are the pipelines through which Europe receives its gas supplies and hence such an act has had a significant impact on a number of nations.

Gazprom places the blame on Ukraine for giving rise to the current situation. The deputy chief of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedex said “Ukraine is in obvious breach of obligations as a transit country.”

Following the reduction of gas supply at least nine countries reported to be experiencing a shortage in their gas supply through the Ukraine channel. The countries that have been impacted include Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. These nations however did not blame either side for the problem but expressed their concerns for the issue.

Ukraine has been receiving natural gas from Russia for many years but this latest twist in their dealings is becoming grimmer by the day. Ukraine’s natural gas supply was cut off last week when the country failed to meet the dead line for past payment. Ukraine on the other hand has denied that it owes the money that Russia is demanding. At the moment Ukraine is being able to meet its needs due to supplies decked up in the storage facilities.

A meeting between the two countries has been scheduled for Thursday where they will discuss the issue at hand. Gazprom has stated that it will be filing suit against Ukraine accusing the country of siphoning gas from the export pipelines.

The Romanian and Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy have reported that their countries have experienced a 75% reduction in gas supply as a direct result of the dispute. Turkey is one of the nations that has been severely impacted by the dispute as the supply of gas that reached it through Ukraine has been completely cut off. A number of countries have over 50% percent of their gas supply cut off due to the Russian blockade whereas some nations like Greece and Turkey are not receiving any gas at all.

The irony is that Jose Andres is actually quite optimistic about launching his restaurant. Of course Andres is no fool, he knows that the economy is plundering and people don’t have the kind of money that they used to have to spend on fancy food but he also believes he has the recipe for success.

Jose Andres is adamant on making “The Bazaar” one of the most successful recession era restaurants by giving customers a menu that is extremely diverse in nature along with having truly unique items that they will not be able to find anywhere else.

The Bazaar is set to the theme of a Middle Eastern souk that is bustling with activity. It offers people the chance to drink and dine in various hang out spots such as a cocktail bar, traditional tapas spot, a modern tapas space along with a complete patisserie full of deluxe candy jars.

The restaurant gives customers the chance to move about from one section to another in order to experience the ambiance of the environment along with the flavor of the food. The Bazaar also gives customers the opportunity to stroll into the design boutique in order to buy some souvenirs such as replicas of the Titanic or paparazzi celebrity photos.

There is no doubt about the fact that the majority of people are on a tight budget these days. Andres says you can get delicious food in a few small plates for under ten dollars.

The celebrity chef who made it big with his cooking show “Made in Spain” says regarding the economic crisis “Of course, I am worried. You can only not be worried if you are a multimillionaire not invested in anything and with cash in the bank.”

Last Friday however The Bazaar was bustling with a crowd much like the actual Mideast Souk is during the holiday season. But naturally Andres was extremely pleased by the crowds that came in to experience the Bazaar amidst the economic crisis.

Statistics revealed by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology show that around 31 million Americans develop the disease of sinusitis each year. This results in over 18 million visits to the physician and raises the over all health costs to $5.8 billion. Generally it is the people that suffer from allergies that develop sinusitis over time. Such people are most vulnerable during the winter season.

Dr. Anju Peters, Chairman of the academy’s rhino-sinusitis committee stated in a news release that “Early on, the symptoms of colds and sinusitis are similar, but if symptoms are worsening after three to five days, or if they are present for more than 10 days, then sinusitis is the likely culprit.”

The hollow areas situated behind the forehead and cheeks are known as sinus cavities. When these areas become blocked due to inflammation that results from a cold or allergy then sinusitis develops. The blockage of the sinus cavities hampers the routine draining of mucus which can lead to infection. Sinusitis has a number of symptoms which include greenish gray nasal discharge, bad tasting nasal drip, fever and facial pain.

If sinusitis is not treated with the proper treatment then it can last for years. Generally doctors prescribe the use of antibiotics in order to eradicate the infection along with decongestants that give the patient relief from stuffiness.

One of the things that can help prevent sinusitis from the start is longer breast feeding. Even if Children are breast fed up to four months they will develop much better lungs which will prevent sinusitis from developing in the future. Bottle feeding however weakens the development of the lungs thereby making children vulnerable to develop sinusitis, asthma and other allergies.
The doctors gave their reasoning for the increase in lung strength for babies that are breast fed saying “The physical exercise caused by suckling at the breast – about six times daily on average for more than 4 months — may result in increased lung capacity and increased airflow in breast-fed children compared with bottle-fed children.”

In the case of grown ups who are suffering from a persistent cold it is highly advised to seek proper treatment without which sinusitis is likely to remain for quite some time.

With troops moving in on foot the risk of civilian casualties increases. As it is the confrontation has cost over 430 Palestinian lives along with the death of four Israelis up till now.

Gaza is a densely populated region and a ground operation aimed at hunting down Hamas targets is bound to give rise to civilian casualties. At the same time however the Israeli military will also be exposed to new threats. Hamas has been in the region for almost two years within which it has managed to accumulate a considerable amount of ammunition. The world has been witnessing the kind of fire power that Hamas is equipped with in the recent rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli territory. Hamas has been making use of sophisticated long range missiles amidst the Israeli air strikes.

Hospitals in Palestine reported three civilian deaths overnight whereas the Hamas run television channel Al Aksa reported that five Israeli soldiers had been killed. The Israeli military did not confirm the claims made by Al Aksa and dismissed the effort as being a tactic to lower the military’s morale.

International pressure has mounted in the past couple of days urging both the sides to accept an immediate cease fire but such efforts have been shunned completely. Many European cities witnessed protests appealing to Israel to stop the bloody campaign against the Palestinians.

The White House has been rather conservative in restricting Israel from wreaking the havoc that it has been amongst the civilian population of Gaza. The most it could do was issue a statement urging Israel to “be mindful of the potential consequences to civilians.”

The Israeli military is however determined to continue its campaign until it gains control over the missile launching sites Hamas has been using to target southern Israel. Military officials have stated that their aim is not to reoccupy Gaza yet it is engaged in a grueling operation that has resulted in heavy loss of civilian lives.

The earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. It occurred early in the morning at 4:43 am local time. The particular region where the natural disaster took place is situated at a distance of eighty five miles from Manokwari Papua. The U.S Geological Agency further reported that the initial earthquake was followed up by a powerful after shock of 7.5 magnitude.

Rescue workers dug through the rubble discovering the bodies of three Indonesians. One of the victims was a ten year old girl who managed to lose her life in the incident. The Hospital director Hengky Tewu said regarding the body of the girl “Her head was crushed. We have our ambulances picking up two more.” By that time another nineteen patients had been brought to the hospital and were receiving treatment for broken bones, crushed fingers and various other injuries.

The Papua police chief Maj. Gen Bagas Ekodanto said speaking to the news that he had heard reports of a rice warehouse collapsing as well as a huge popular hotel being completely destroyed. The police chief had not received any confirmation of deaths that may have occurred in these buildings.

Rescue workers, Police and ordinary citizens were conducting searches through the affected areas looking for possible victims. The Mutiara Hotel situated at the heart of the city of Manokwari collapsed because of the earthquake, a nurse giving medical treatment to around twenty patients that had sustained injuries in the earthquake.

The earthquake also managed to cut off the electricity supple in the coastal city. More than 167000 people ran out of their homes fearing that another tsunami was on its way. The Indonesian Meteorology and Seismology Agency was quick to issue a tsunami alert which got the frantic people running on the streets. Within an hour however the agency revoked its statement when it became clear that the epicenter of the natural disaster was on land.

“The terrorist attack was unprecedented and the attackers need to be eliminated.  Islamabad has still a lot to do in combating such terrorism”, top diplomatic sources in Washington said.

Elaborating the US objectives, Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for the affairs of South and Central Asian nations said that his country’s “immediate focus is to get rid of the terrorists and stop them from doing anything more.”

“Let’s find the people responsible, lets eliminate the groups who were responsible and lets make sure we do everything we can to prevent India from suffering this kind of attack again.  That’s an immediate focus that requires everybody’s co-operation, and when we are through that co-operation, we can also start co-operation on broader things,” said Boucher in an interview. 

While the Pakistani regime is leaving no stone unturned to blur the focus away from the possible crack down on the Pakistan-based groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)who many believe was the mastermind behind the Mumbai attack, the demand of America caught them on the wrong foot. 

“Pakistan has taken some promising steps, but there is a lot to be done to tackle the menace”, said Boucher again.  “Pakistan and India should co-operate and draw a plan to look over such incidents in the future to make certain that such terror assaults against India are curbed”, he went on to say while urging Pakistan to understand clearly the significance of co-operation under the circumstances.

Is however seems that the expectations of Boucher could be a distant dream in view of the recent Pakistani attitude of not seeing reasons.  This is amply evident from their recent action in arresting an Indian who is a British Embassy employee on the alleged charges of conspiring in the Lahore serial bombing incidents.  The ploy backfired when one of the Pakistan based militant groups assumed the responsibility for such incidence of bombing. 

Even when the pressure on Pakistan from all quarters is high demanding elimination of terrorism, the Pakistani Military is showing signs of massive preparations along the border and the shadow of another unfortunate war looms large on the sub continent.

His bid comes on the wake of the US economy sinking into recession, massive growth of unemployment, and crumbling infrastructure in the country.

The amount which is around 6% of the $14 trillion US economy, may be the antidote to US economy further sinking into recession, believes the president-elect’s economic advisors.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a prominent advisor of the president-elect said the need of the hour is to reverse the trend of rising unemployment in the country. That being the background, it is not surprising that the president-elect aims to create around 2.5 million employment opportunities over the next couple of years.

“The plan basically aims at achieving exactly that objective. It exceeds initial estimates by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  It even surpasses the estimates made by leading economists and the International Monetary Fund” he said.

Obama’s plan does not confine itself to prevention of unemployment alone.  While the proposal is now in circulation in the congress, his advisers are working with the lawmakers crafting a package that aims at overall improvement of the crumbling infrastructure like roads and bridges in the country.

“The plan may also include state aid for unemployed and health care as well as incentives such as tax credits for promoting renewable energy production”, lawmakers say.

With the ever rising unemployment problem in the country, the estimates prepared by economists assessing the requirement to meet the challenge have also been rising. Kenneth Rogoff, Professor Harvard University and advisor to Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz estimated the requirements at a staggering $1 trillion.

The Global scenario is not much different from what Obama aims at. While the UBS AG estimates the global stimulus of 1.5% of GDP over the next year, the IMF has asked for at least 2% of GDP set out for the purpose.  The European Union Leaders are drawing up similar stimulus packages that would together worth for around 1.5% of the 27 nation economy. They would sum up at around 200 billion euros or $289 billion. Among the Asian countries China leads the way with a plan of around 4 trillion yuan or $585 billion stimulus.