The 10 Dopiest Business and Economy Leaders of 2008

1) Bernard Madoff. If the federal government's accusations prove correct, Madoff also belongs on a list of America's most active and energetic senior citizens. The 70-year-old money manager was arrested by the FBI for allegedly running the largest Ponzi scheme this side of Social Security, losing an estimated $50 billion in client money. Investigators say Madoff told them that his business was just "one big lie." Terrible news for numerous wealthy individuals, banks, and charitable foundations. A perfect way to cap off a perfectly terrible year on Wall Street.

2) The bailout trio. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner decided to let Lehman Brothers fail in September, triggering a global collapse of financial confidence, as well as wrecking the money and commercial paper markets. The move also led to massive hedge fund redemptions, which forced them to liquidate stocks. And don't forget the ever evolving $700 billion Paulson plan to bail out the banks. Buying assets one day, injecting capital the next. And the crisis rolls on ....

3) Alan Greenspan. Now when people call Greenspan "the Maestro," it's with more than a hint of sarcasm. Many economists and financial analysts give the former Federal Reserve chairman a large share of the blame for the current financial crisis by keeping interest rates too low for too long during the first part of this decade. They also say the Ayn Rand disciple shirked his responsibility to ensure the safety and soundness of the financial system by resisting calls for tighter regulation of risky bank lending.

4) Angelo Mozilo. The nattily dressed former CEO of Countrywide Financial has become the tanned face of the subprime mortgage meltdown. Mozilo built Countrywide into the nation's largest mortgage lender and enriched himself to the tune of more than $400 million in the process. But as it turns out, lots of those borrowers should have stayed renters. Not that it mattered to Countrywide, since it could sell those soon-to-be-toxic mortgages to Wall Street and beyond.

5) Robert Rubin. It has been a bad run for the heroes of the 1990s boom. Now it's Rubin's turn for criticism, thanks to the unfolding financial disaster that is Citigroup. It looks as if all the company got from Rubin for some $115 million was a strategy for taking on heaps more risk in the collapsing debt markets. The former treasury secretary probably doesn't have to worry about deciding whether to give up his fat private-sector compensation package if eventually nominated by Barack Obama to be the next Fed chair. Doesn't look as if that call will be coming.

6) Richard Fuld. Not only did CEO Fuld watch Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old investment bank, go down the tubes, but he reportedly got punched in the face in the company gym and was viciously mocked on Saturday Night Live. Under Fuld, Lehman became the single biggest Wall Street underwriter of mortgage debt right into the teeth of the mortgage debt collapse. But in the end, there was no lifeline from Uncle Sam. That was the knockout blow and worse than a punch in the kisser.

7) Barney Frank. This is a quote, from 2003, that the Massachusetts Democrat would like to have back: "These two entities—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.'' Turns out that the two government-sponsored entities were walking farther and farther out onto thin financial ice. And as late as last year, Frank wanted Fannie and Freddie to take on even more subprime risk. Washington and Wall Street have to share the blame for the financial crisis.

8) John McCain. At times during the presidential campaign, it seemed as if McCain was going out of his way to prove to voters that he really meant it when he said he didn't understand economics too well. He constantly misspoke about the details of his healthcare plan, let Barack Obama steal the tax-cut issue, and talked more passionately about earmarks than about dealing with the imploding housing market.

9) Barack Obama. If there is one piece of policy advice that economists agree on, it is this: You don't raise taxes during an economic downturn. Doing so would be right out of the Great Depression playbook. Yet even as the economy obviously weakened in the latter half of the year, Obama stuck to his campaign pledge to reverse the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts on income and capital gains for wealthier Americans. Indeed, Obama's transition website still holds out that possibility. And while there are signs that he might instead let the tax cuts expire at the end of 2010, that is not for sure yet.

10) Big Three CEOs and unions. It takes a special kind of incompetence to completely drain away the goodwill of a car-crazy nation like America. Yet polls show that most Americans don't want to bail out the automakers. As with the credit crisis, there is plenty of blame to go around, from poorly designed cars to fat union benefits and complicated work rules. Bottom line: Thousands of workers seem destined for the unemployment line.

Winter weather blasts nation from end to end

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Successive waves of wintry weather gripped much of the country Saturday, frustrating holiday travelers from coast to coast and keeping the lights off for thousands of people who lost power after ice storms just days ago.

Iowa public safety officials urged motorists not to travel as heavy snow began to fall in the morning. The state expected winds up to 35 miles per hour and wind chills of minus 25 just two days after being slammed with sleet, ice and snow.

Washington state braced for hurricane-force winds as a storm blew in from the Pacific. The temperature dipped to minus 18 Saturday in Spokane, which expected up to 6 inches of snow on top of the 25 that fell over the past three days, said Johnny Burg, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

In the Northeast, the aftermath of snow that fell Friday continued to snarl air traffic. And residents who still lacked power after an ice storm last week grew frustrated as officials warned that the storm battering the Midwest would blow in Sunday, the official first day of winter.

But the wintry conditions weren't unwelcome everywhere. Megan Zarbano, manager of Kratz Hardware in Valley City, N.D., noted that the snow was helping to clear inventory from years of mild winters.

"We haven't had a blizzard-type storm in almost 10 years," she said. "A good storm really shakes people up; they freak out and realize they're not prepared for winter."

North Dakota's snowfall total for December nearly matches the 19.3 inches that fell all last winter, said meteorologist Joshua Scheck at the National Weather Service office in Bismarck.

"And it's not even the first day of winter yet," he said Saturday.

The cold was the major concern in Illinois, where the Weather Service canceled a storm watch in the north but warned that freezing temperatures could cause flooding from ice jams on rivers near the Quad Cities and Rockford.

Meteorologists also said the weekend's temperatures, expected to hit minus 5 by late Sunday with wind gusts of 30 mph, could again damage power lines serving those plunged into darkness by ice earlier in the week.

More than 77,000 customers in northern Indiana still had no power Saturday after Thursday night's ice storm, and Indiana Michigan Power said the power failures could last beyond Wednesday. The Weather Service warned that winds as high as 40 mph would "create havoc with trees and power lines" already covered or weakened by ice.

In New Hampshire, more than 20,000 homes and businesses awaited restoration of power after an ice storm last week but feared the worst as the next storm approached.

"The utilities have made significant progress in restoring power in what is an unprecedented outage," New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said Saturday. "However, I continue to hear frustration from the local communities regarding communication with the utilities, and I share their frustration."

Sunday's storm could bring more power failures to southern New Hampshire, which was expected to get 10 to 16 inches of snow, forecasters said.

Boston's Logan International Airport reported about 60 canceled flights and about 215 delays Saturday as effects lingered from a storm the day before. In the New York City area, some arrivals were three hours late to Newark airport, and arrival delays at Kennedy Airport averaged 90 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of Washington as high winds, snow and freezing rain began coating the state Saturday. Western Washington, including the Seattle area, could see wind gusts as high as 90 mph, meteorologist Burg said.

"The storm has arrived," Burg said.

Up to 10 inches of snow was expected all along Interstate 5 in Oregon, the state's main north-south route, including Portland. The state braced for wind gusts up to 60 mph.

Freezing rain clattered to the ground Saturday in the agricultural Willamette Valley, meteorologist Jonathan Wolfe said.

"It'll be nasty well into Sunday evening," he said.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Cour in Seattle, Michael Tarm in Chicago, James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., David Tirrell-Wysocki in Concord, N.H., and David B. Caruso in New York.

Afghanistan could get up to 30,000 new US troops

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The top U.S. military officer said Saturday that the Pentagon could double the number of American forces in Afghanistan by next summer to 60,000 - the largest estimate of potential reinforcements ever publicly suggested.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that between 20,000 and 30,000 additional U.S. troops could be sent to Afghanistan to bolster the 31,000 already there.

This year has been the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Suicide attacks and roadside bombs have become more dangerous, and Taliban fighters have infiltrated wide swaths of countryside and now roam in provinces on Kabul's doorstep.

U.S. commanders have long requested an additional 20,000 troops to aid Canadian and British forces in two provinces just outside Kabul and in the south. But the high end of Mullen's range is the largest number any top U.S. military official has said could be sent to Afghanistan.

Mullen said that increase would include combat forces but also aviation, medical and civilian affairs support troops.

"So some 20,000 to 30,000 is the window of overall increase from where we are right now," he told a news conference at a U.S. base in Kabul. "We certainly have enough forces to be successful in combat, but we haven't had enough forces to hold the territory that we clear."

Overall, there are more than 60,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. Mullen said any increased U.S. deployment would be directly tied to force levels in Iraq, where U.S. commanders are drawing down troops.

"The Taliban and extremists are more sophisticated and effective," Mullen said. "They haven't won any battles but they certainly have increased the level of violence, and we're very focused on that. That's why the additional forces are so important, to be able to provide security for the Afghan people so these other areas can be developed."

U.S. officials already have plans to send four ground brigades and an aviation brigade to Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has approved the deployment of the aviation brigade, defense officials told The Associated Press. And 10th Mountain Division forces will deploy next month to two provinces that neighbor Kabul - Wardak and Logar, which have seen an influx of militants over the last year.

Mullen said that after the additional U.S. troops are added over the next eight months, only improvements in Afghanistan's governance and economic situation will affect the strength of the insurgency.

But the chairman conceded that the U.S. may have misjudged the central government's ability "to have the kind of impact that we wanted."

Afghanistan, Mullen said, has never been run by a strong central government, and the U.S. may look to communities and tribes in the country's provinces to take on a greater role in future strategy.

He called U.S. goals in Afghanistan "moderate," and said the long-term U.S. vision is for a country that can govern itself while respecting international law, while providing both material and economic security for its people.

TERROR IN INDIA ,Obama's First Test

The series of terror attacks in Mumbai comes at a sensitive time for the US. President Bush is no longer in a position to lead, and President-elect Barack Obama has not yet been given the reins. Still, the attacks represent Obama's first foreign policy test.

The mood was a festive one on Wednesday in Washington D.C. Just like every year before Thanksgiving, US President George W. Bush "pardoned" a turkey -- this year's version was named Pumpkin. President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, for their part, joined TV legend Barbara Walters for a chat. The atmosphere was relaxed -- they talked, for example, about how the Obama daughters would be in charge of making their own beds when they moved into the White House in January.

PHOTO GALLERY: MASSACRE IN MUMBAI

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Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (18 Photos)

But then the images from the terror attacks in Mumbai began flickering across the television screen. And suddenly, the pre-holiday calm in Washington and Chicago, where Obama's transition team is headquartered, came to an abrupt end.

Bush and Obama quickly issued statements. "President Bush offers his condolences to the Indian people and the families of the innocent civilians killed and injured in the attacks in Mumbai," the White House statement said. "The US government continues to monitor the situation…and stands by ready to assist and support the Indian government." Terror experts from the State Department and the Defense Department quickly began analyzing the situation.

The Obama statement was in a similar vein. "These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism," Obama spokesman Brooke Anderson said. "The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks."

SPIEGEL ONLINE; Google Earth

Where the attacks took place.

A Previously Unknown Terror Group

Obama also quickly got on the phone with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who briefed him on the situation. But the exact circumstances of the series of attacks, which killed over 100 people and injured some 250, were unclear on Wednesday evening in Washington. A previously unknown group calling itself Deccan Mujahideen sent out e-mails to media organizations claiming responsibility for the attack. But there are a number of groups in India that could be behind the Deccan Mujahideen, including groups from neighboring Pakistan.

This much is certain: If it is indeed confirmed that Americans and Britons were targeted and that the attacks were inspired by al-Qaida's radical ideology, then the difficult transition phase in Washington has become even more complicated. "If the terror threat spreads from Pakistan and Afghanistan to the important American ally India, that's an enormous problem for the United States," ex-presidential advisor David Gergan said on CNN Wednesday night.

ATTACKS IN INDIA

October 29, 2005

At least 60 people were killed and more than 250 people injured in a series of bombs in the Indian capital New Delhi just three days before the popular Hindu festival of lights Diwali.

September 8, 2006

Two devastasting bomb attacks on a Muslim festival killed at least 37 people in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. More than 100 people were injured, some seriously.

July 11, 2006

Seven bombs exploded on packed regional trains and railway stations in the western city of Mumbai (Bombay). A total of 187 people lost their lives and more than 700 were injured in the repeated blasts.

February 19, 2007

A terrorist attack on a train killed 69 people. The so-called "Peace Train" was travelling from New Delhi to the Pakistani city Lahore. An estimated 60 passengers were injured by the two bombs.

August 25, 2007

Two bombs exploded in a street restaurant and at a laser show in a city park, killing 42 people and injuring 50 in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

May 13, 2008

At least 63 people were killed and 118 injured during a terror attack in the north-western city Jaipur. Eight bombs were detonated within minutes in the city center of the popular tourist destination.

July 26, 2008

Sixteen bombs exploded, one after another, in the western Indian city Ahmedabad killing at least 56 people and injuring 150.

October 30, 2008

More than 80 people were killed in Assam in north-eastern India's most brutal bombing attack to date. Security services suspected seperatists and Muslim extremist groups were behind the plot.

November 26, 2008

Terrorists killed at least 100 people and took hostages during a series of attacks in Mumbai. An estimated 250 people were hurt. The Islamist organisation Deccan Mudschaheddin claimed responsibility for the attack, news agencies reported.

The crisis could be Obama's first big foreign policy test. The world is going to dissect his response. The president-elect has already been in the spotlight for days because of the worsening financial crisis. Given the extent of the economic catastrophe, the January 20th inauguration date seems too far in the future for an ever-growing number of Americans. For three straight days, Obama has held press conferences in order to introduce economics experts who will advise him and stimulus programs that should help the country out of the crisis. His message was clear: "Help is on the way."

Now, Obama may also be forced into taking responsibility for foreign policy earlier than expected. Indeed, the attacks could be seen as a personal warning directed against him. During the campaign, his vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden attracted attention for announcing that, in the first six months of his presidency, Obama would be tested on the international stage.

AP

The list of challenges keeps getting longer for US President-elect Barack Obama.

Forcing Obama's Hand?

Al-Qaida may have a special interest in providing such a test. Obama's middle name "Hussein" and his popularity in Arab countries could pose a serious threat to the organization. Contrary to Bush, Obama is difficult to portray as an American infidel. Al-Qaida lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri in his remarks on the American election was forced to provide more creative criticism, calling Obama a "house negro." Terrorists may in fact be trying to force Obama into reacting harshly, so that he appears to the world as war-minded as Bush.

But the events have not caught the team unprepared. The US security forces have repeatedly outlined the possibility of a terrorist attack during the transitional phase. American Secretary for Homeland Security Michael Chertoff has long warned of the dangers of handing over power in times of war -- and gave a reminder that former presidents like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had to react to terror attacks early on.

For that reason, ever since the election, Obama has received the same secret service briefings as the president. The FBI has also started unusually early with their security checks on potential white house employees -- in contrast to Bush's first time in office. Back then, many of his closest security advisors had not completed their checks by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

And the Democratic president-elect has also moved with caution when selecting his cabinet. He asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- a Republican with close links to the Bush family -- to stay in office for at least another year. That provoked grumbling among the left wing of the Democrats. But Obama found it more important to avoid an abrupt change in the global security policy given the two US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ongoing terror threat. The Wednesday attacks have validated his approach.

Still, despite the early chorus of praise, Obama remains a novice in foreign affairs -- and he will need advice from old hands. "There are a lot of things that keep me up at night," Obama said in the interview with Barbara Walters: the financial crisis, the US auto industry's decline and the energy crisis. Now he knows all too well that foreign crises too can rob a president of his sleep.

India unveils $4bn stimulus plan

India has announced $4bn (£2.72bn) in extra spending to boost its economy as the global financial crisis unfolds

Growth is slowing in India as the economic slowdown spreads

The government said it was also planning a substantial spending increase in next year's budget.

The move came as the Reserve Bank of India cut its key interest rate by one percentage point, from 7.5% to 6.5%, on Saturday to encourage spending.

It is the third time since October the central bank has cut rates, which are now at their lowest since June 2006.

As well as the global financial situation, business confidence in India has also fallen in the wake of the Mumbai attacks that left at least 170 dead.

Growth stimulus

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office said in a statement: "The government has decided to seek authorisation for additional planned expenditure of up to 200bn rupees ($4bn) in the current year."

The prime minister's office said the government was keeping a close watch on the economic situation and would take any additional needed to "maintain the pace of economic activity".

Under the plan, various categories of value-added tax will be cut by up to 4 percentage points to encourage consumer spending.

The package also includes measures to boost infrastructure spending, help businesses, and aid labour-intensive export sectors such as textiles and handicrafts.

Mr Singh, who recently took control of the finance ministry, last week forecast that India's economy would grow by 7.5% in the year to March 2009.

However, economists say growth could be as low as 6.8% this financial year, and 5.5% the following year.

Business leaders had hoped the government would do more.

Amit Mitra, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the package was pointing in the right direction, but "could have done even more" to help boost growth.

India's rising budget deficit means it can do far less than a country like China - which last month announced a $586bn stimulus package - to spend its way out of economic problems.

Until now, India has focused on using monetary policy to counter the effects of the global slowdown.

Since mid-September, the Reserve Bank of India has injected $60.2bn into the financial system to boost liquidity.

Cheap car firm to sponsor Ferrari

Tata, the Indian company which produces the world's cheapest car, will sponsor Ferrari from next season.

The Nano was made to be "smaller, lighter, cheaper"

"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on a Ferrari," Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo said. "It's a historic event."

Tata and Ferrari's parent company Fiat already have a joint venture to produce cars in India.

Tata is most famous for producing the Nano which, at £1,325, is believed to be the cheapest car in the world.

The sponsorship deal comes at a time when Formula One has announced a series of cutbacks to ease financial pressures, which were highlighted by Honda pulling out from the sport earlier in December.

From next season, savings equating to at least 30% of total budgets will be made on engines, training and staff numbers. Further cuts will then be made for the 2010 season, including an end to refuelling in races.

Cancer: The facts

One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.

The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.

Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.

Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.

However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.

BBC News Online has produced, in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, a guide to some of the most common forms of cancer and the treatments used to tackle them.

To learn more about different types of cancer, and to read the experiences of patients, click on the links to the right.

Madonna and Guy 'happy' with deal

Madonna and Guy Ritchie are both "happy" with their divorce agreement, they have said in a joint statement issued by Ritchie's publicist.

The couple were granted a divorce at the High Court in November

But an earlier statement released to the press suggesting the singer paid Ritchie £50m was "misleading and inaccurate", they added.

The Associated Press news agency had quoted Madonna's US spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg on Monday.

The new statement said settlement details would "remain private".

Ms Rosenberg had told AP on Monday that Ritchie had been given £50-£60m ($76m-$92m) and that the figure included the value of the couple's Ashcombe House estate, on the Wiltshire/Dorset border.

Custody of the couple's children had yet to be worked out, she added.

A misleading and inaccurate statement, specifically in relation to the sums of money involved, was wrongly issued to AP this week Joint statement issued on Wednesday

She told AP: "I'd assume it's one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce."

But in the new statement released by Ritchie's representatives on Wednesday, the couple said: "We have tried to maintain a dignified silence regarding the details of our divorce for the last few months whilst accepting the obvious media interest.

"A misleading and inaccurate statement, specifically in relation to the sums of money involved, was wrongly issued to AP this week.

"The financial details of the settlement will remain private, save to say that both of us are happy with our agreement."

Their primary concern was "the care and wellbeing of our children", it added.

A London representative of Madonna confirmed to BBC news that it was a joint statement.

'Unreasonable behaviour'

The couple were granted a divorce at the High Court in London at the end of November.

Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour is due to end in Brazil on Sunday

Ritchie had told the Daily Mirror that a discussion over the terms of their divorce was "never, ever about money".

"It dragged on much too long and that had nothing to do with me. But it was never, ever about money," he was said to have told the newspaper.

The decree nisi was granted just a month after the couple, who were married at Skibo Castle in Scotland in December 2000, declared their marriage was over.

The pop star had petitioned for divorce on the grounds of Ritchie's unreasonable behaviour.

At that time, it was reported that they had agreed to share custody of their two sons - three-year-old adopted David Banda and Rocco, eight.

It was also reported that Madonna's daughter from a previous relationship, 12-year-old Lourdes, would stay with the singer.

Madonna is currently in Brazil on her Sticky and Sweet tour, which is due to come to an end in Sao Paolo on Sunday.

Medical students get iPod tutors

University students are being given iPods loaded with useful tutorials.

The University of Derby has given 35 devices - costing £99 each - to radiography students, to provide them with "different ways to learn".

They contain pre-loaded video lessons about how to position patients for X-rays.

It is hoped the portable video demonstrations will be more useful than traditional text books.

Senior lecturer Ruth Chester said: "They (iPods) are not gadgets, they are things of the future that are here to stay.

"Students want different ways of learning."

The iPods have been supplied to first-year students, who will be expected to return them after two years.

Students can upload their own music to the devices, however the university will check they are still using the pre-loaded tutorials.

Radiographer Sue Errett was involved in creating the lessons and said they would be useful for students on placements.

However iPods would be banned from the X-Ray room.

"I don't feel it would be professional to use it directly in front of a patient," she said.

Ms Errett was particularly worried older patients would be unfamiliar with iPods and think the students were simply listening to music.

Nasa set to launch 'CO2 hunter'

Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco

The US space agency is set to launch a satellite that can map in detail where carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere.

Nasa's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will pinpoint the key locations on the Earth's surface where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed.

CO2 from human activities is thought to be driving climate changes, but important facts about its movement through the atmosphere remain elusive.

The agency believes the technology on OCO can end some of the mysteries.

If you look at the rest of the carbon dioxide that's introduced into the atmosphere by our activities, it's uncertain by 100% David Crisp

"This is Nasa's first spacecraft specifically dedicated to mapping carbon dioxide," principal investigator David Crisp told BBC News.

"The objective of the OCO mission is to make measurements that are so precise that they can be used to look for surface 'sources' and 'sinks' of CO2."

Dr Crisp has been presenting details of the mission here at the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) Fall Meeting.

As he did so, OCO's launch on a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was booked for 23 February.

CO2 in the atmosphere has seen a steady rise in recent years

Nasa already has a CO2 detection instrument on its Aqua satellite but this looks at the greenhouse gas some five to 10km above the surface.

OCO, on the other hand, will detail the concentration of carbon dioxide close to the ground where its warming effect is most keenly felt.

The observatory will be engaged in what amounts to carbon accountancy. Its fortnightly global maps of CO2 concentration will help the mission team work out where the gas is entering the atmosphere and where it is being absorbed by land plants and the oceans.

OCO weighs just under half a tonne

Scientists have calculated that nature cycles about 330 billion tonnes of carbon every year.

Human activities put about 7.5 billion tonnes into the atmosphere - a tiny sum in comparison but enough, say researchers, to imbalance the system and raise the global mean surface temperature of Earth.

"We know where most of the fossil fuel emissions are coming from; we also know where things like cement manufacturing are producing large CO2 emissions," explained Dr Crisp, who works at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"But there are other things such as biomass (forest) burning and clearing; and we don't have a good quantification of the CO2 released by those processes.

"If you take out the fossil fuels - for which we understand the CO2 source to within 10% - and look at the rest of the carbon dioxide that's introduced into the atmosphere by our activities, it's uncertain by 100%.

"The idea is that OCO will help us to constrain that a whole lot better."

Location, location

The sinks for CO2 - the places where it is absorbed - also have many mysteries associated with them.

The Earth is thought to be absorbing about 50% of the carbon dioxide we put out - the majority of it going into the oceans. But science's description of the other major absorbers is poor, commented UK Earth-observation scientist Shaun Quegan.

"There's a bunch of atmospheric collection flasks dotted around the planet and when we apply the models to their data, the models all show there is a carbon sink in northern mid-latitudes," he said.

"But whether that's in North America, in Siberia, or wherever and what's causing it is a big debate."

Since science does not have a good handle on where the CO2 is being absorbed, researchers can have only limited understanding of how CO2 sinks are likely to evolve as the climate changes.

"Let's say we found that the boreal forests in Canada and Siberia were the primary sinks of CO2 because of their incredibly rapid growth during summer months when the Sun is up," speculated Dr Crisp.

"Well those environments are changing dramatically right now.

"Will they still be the primary absorbers of CO2 as time goes on? We don't really know how big an impact they're having right now.

"This is why OCO is so essential."

Reflected glory

The observatory carries a single instrument - a spectrometer that breaks the sunlight reflected off the Earth's surface into its constituent colours, and then analyses the spectrum to determine how much carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen is present.

The data can be used to work out atmospheric concentrations.

OCO will map carbon dioxide over 1,600-sq-km (620 sq miles) regions of the Earth's surface to an accuracy of just fractions of 1%.

However, to locate the sources and sinks, scientists will need to combine the information with models that estimate how CO2 is being moved and mixed through the air.

NASA'S A-TRAIN SATELLITE CONSTELLATION 1. OCO will head the 'train' of satellites when it gets into orbit. It will measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the lower atmosphere 2. Aqua will lag OCO by 15 minutes. It is collecting information about the Earth's water cycle - water in the oceans, the air and on the land 3. Cloudsat will allow for the most detailed study of clouds to date. It should better characterise their role in regulating the climate 4. Calipso views clouds just moments after Cloudsat has looked at them. Its primary interest is the way aerosols interact with clouds 5. Parasol is a French satellite that can distinguish natural from human-produced aerosols. It makes polarised light measurements 6. Glory will join the train in June. One task will be to measure the 'energy budget' of Earth, to determine accurately global temperature 7. Aura also has a big European investment. It looks at atmospheric chemistry, and is producing remarkable global pollution maps

Once in orbit, OCO will join a fleet of other satellites - known as the A-Train - which carry a range of instrumentation to give a rounded picture of Earth's atmospheric and water systems.

The spacecraft cross the equator in the early afternoon on a path that takes them over broadly the same observation point in quick succession.

OCO will be followed into orbit next year by a Japanese carbon mission known as the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT).

Europe is considering two carbon observatories - A-SCOPE (Advanced Space Carbon and Climate Observation of Planet Earth) and a mission called BIOMASS - which could fly in 2016.

Professor Quegan, from the UK's University of Sheffield, is working on the BIOMASS proposal.

"The spacecraft would measure global forest biomass at scales of about one hectare," he said.

"It's a crucial natural resource and ecosystem service - for materials, for energy, for biodiversity - there's a good correlation between how much biomass you've got and how much biodiversity you've got - and for climate and water protection."

"So from a carbon cycle science aspect, forests have some critical parameters that need to be pinned down."

In the carbon cycle, natural fluxes are the biggest, accounting for about 330 gigatonnes per year, and are in near equilibrium The roughly 7.5 gigatonnes coming from all human sources may be sufficient to tip this system out of balance, warming the Earth

RACISM AGAINST BLACKS IS A GROWING TREND IN EUROPE

From Russia to Germany to Denmark and Austria, and from France to Britain, people of color are facing increasing trends in racism that make life far more difficult and hazardous than for the average citizen in any of these countries.

Russia

In Russia, dark-skinned people, especially blacks and people of African origin face a growing trend in race-based violence.

According to some recent AP news reports Africans in Russian cities are often afraid to go out in public for fear of being attacked or killed.

The situation began to go bad for non-Caucasians in post-Soviet Russia in the mid 1990s.

Late last year several African students were attacked on the streets of St Petersburg by people described as "a group of youths." On the same night, in the same street on two separate occasions, two students were attacked. One was killed and the other escaped with serious injuries.

Survival for non-white people in Russia means that they must learn how to behave themselves in order not to become casualties of the raging wave of racism in the nation's cities. For Africans in Russian cities this has come to mean knowing where they can go and when it is safe to go there.

Gabriel Anicet Kochotfa, who came to Russia 25 years ago as a student from Benin in West Africa, is an academic and professor at the Gubkin Oil and Gas Institute. Staying alive in Russia for him means never using public transit and always making sure he is home by 9 p.m. Kochotfa's wife is a Russian, but they must often appear separately in public in order to avoid the verbal abuses that are thrown at them whenever the bi-racial couple goes out together.

"Sometimes I even go to the shop with my wife and we go separately, so nobody knows that we are together... I'm a very lucky person. I have never been aggressed, because I know where to go, when to go and how to behave myself," Kochotfa is quoted by the AP.

In 2005, more than 15 people were killed in racially motivated attacks. A year before that there were 44 such slayings, according to the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights.

Germany

The situation in Germany is not very different. In April 2006, a 37-year-old Ethiopian engineer was beaten into a coma in Potsdam. News reports described his injuries from the beating as "unusual in their severity."

Such attacks are increasingly common in Germany. In recent weeks police have made arrests in connection with such brutal attacks on Africans and other dark-skinned people in Berlin, Wisner and other cities. Africans know certain areas in the eastern part of Berlin, such as Marzahn and Hellersdorf, as "no-go" areas where they are certain to be attacked or killed.

Police statistics show a 19 percent increase in racist violence by people described as members of the far right. Last year, there were 958 such acts recorded, up from 776 in 2004.

The bad situation is compounded by the fact that Germans, in general, seem unwilling to accept the depth of racism in their society. As a result, those who should are not very eager to speak very frankly about it. The situation is so bad that many Africans who spoke to the press about racism in Germany refused to give their full names for fear of reprisals.

These fears were highlighted last month when Uwe-Karsten Heye, a former government minister, lamented the fact -- in a radio interview -- that people with dark skin "might not make it out alive" if they dared set foot in certain towns, especially in the Bradenburg region around Berlin. About the same time an African-German organization offered to publish a list of "no-go" areas for the benefit of World Cup visitors. Public response, both to Heye's statement and the African group's offer, was highly critical and disfavorable, to say the least.

The tendency to downplay racism directed at blacks and other people of color while highlighting threats represented by neo-Nazism and right-wing violence is not only a German phenomenon. All across Europe, the emphasis seems always to be on the right-wing as a fringe non-representative element, and on that basis officials make their explanations of incidents of racism in society. People of color all over Europe are saying, as strongly as they can, that such responses are not adequate.

United Kingdom and The Netherlands

In Britain where a black teen was killed last July with an ax embedded in his skull by white men "shouting racist taunts," the focus of media and government is -- as in other European centers -- not on endemic racism in society, but on right wing extremism.

The tendency to downplay racism against blacks in society is belied by the way officialdom reacts when immigrant minorities are caught on the wrong side of the law.

Take the case of Hirsi Ali, the prominent Somali-born former Dutch lawmaker who was stripped of her citizenship for admittedly lying in her immigration application. Her conviction and loss of citizenship led to a copycat case in Germany last month when a Nigerian was stripped of his German citizenship -- held since 2000 -- for allegedly lying about his employment record during immigration application.

Africans and other dark-skinned minorities in Europe know too well how deeply rooted the racism in society is. They are also aware of how difficult it is to penetrate the consciousness of the average European with this fact.

"All we hear is right wing, right wing, right wing," says Eritrean-German Jonas Endrias, vice president of the International League of Human Rights. "The Germans won't admit there is racism in society."

World Cup Soccer

Germany is hosting the World Cup Soccer Games beginning this month and there are fears that racist may use that opportunity to attack non-white visitors, or even players, during the games.

Over the last few years, as African soccer stars increasingly play for European clubs, making racial taunts at them has become a favorite thing for fans in Europe.

In February this year, Samuel Eto'o, the Barcelona striker from Cameroon threatened to walk off the field at the 77th minute after enduring racial taunts from Spanish soccer fans for much of the game. He was persuaded to play on by teammates as Barcelona went on to beat opponent, Zaragoza, 2-0 in their Madrid game.

African-German groups and other anti-racism campaigners see the World Cup games as an opportunity to bring world attention to an issue most Europe seem eager to downplay.

Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, defended her country's preparedness for the World Cup at the same time as she downplayed concerns about racism in Germany. Merkel, in a statement, described the racist attacks as not typical. "The overwhelming majority of people in our country are open to foreigners," she said.

That may be so. But so long as those 'foreigners' are unable to live peacefully and safely in Germany as native Germans do, there is a big problem.

Top 10 Richest Football Players and Owners in England

By now you might have heard that Liverpool might be bought by a Dubai sheikh who happens to be one of the richest men in the world. Indeed, the money is flowing into the English Premiership, a league with overseas investors with a net worth of about £13 billion. But what about the players? Are they getting their fair share? You bet they are. FourFourTwo magazine recently released a top ten list of footballers in England with the greatest net worth and none of the players on the list are going hungry.

It is no surprise that the wealthiest English footballer is one who plies his trade in Spain. David Beckham dwarfs the competition with a figure of £87million, more than twice that of second-placed Michael Owen who is said to be worth £32m. Imagine how much each of those guys is making per minute played this season!

You might be surprised to see Robbie Fowler’s name so high on the list of millionaires. The Liverpool striker has apparently parlayed his playing money into a small fortune in the UK property market. Would you rent a flat from him?

Here is the complete list:

1. David Beckham, Real Madrid, £87m
2. Michael Owen, Newcastle Utd, £32m
3. Robbie Fowler, Liverpool, £28m
4. Sol Campbell, Portsmouth, £27m
5. Rio Ferdinand, Man Utd, £22m
6. Ryan Giggs, Man Utd, £22m
7. Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea, £22m
8. Thierry Henry, Arsenal, £21m
9. Wayne Rooney, Man Utd, £20m
10. Michael Ballack, Chelsea, £18m

As for the owners, you know who is currently number one, but if the Dubai sheikh has his way, that won’t last for too much longer. Presumably the egg shaped dude from West Ham will be on this list next year. By the way, interesting to see the owners of the two Scottish powers on this list. Remember that next time you hear them bemoaning the money they make playing in the SPL.

1. Roman Abramovich, Chelsea, £10.8bn
2. Joe Lewis, Tottenham, £2.1bn
3. Dermot Desmond, Celtic, £1.25bn
4. Malcolm Glazer, Man Utd, £1.05bn
5. Trevor Hemmings, Charlton and Preston NE, £900m
6. Sir Alan Sugar, Tottenham, £790m
7. Randy Lerner, Aston Villa, £789m
8. David Murray, Rangers, £650m
9. Simon Keswick & family, Cheltenham Town, £644m
10. David Sullivan, Birmingham City, £595m

Innovation in the midst of the downturn

In the run up to the holiday season I’d like to pause my usually curmudgeonly posts to strike a note of optimism. This week I was in Paris at LeWeb. Despite the crappy wifi, food shortage and heating problems over which the organizers had no control, the mood was generally upbeat. Heck even SAP Ventures people turned up. That was a surprise.

Here in Europe, innovation is alive and well with many startups prepared to put themselves under the spotlight. Even the VCs were prepared to admit that Europe has some of the smartest minds on the planet. Who else brought you http:// for instance than our very own Sir Tim Berners-Lee? Or Kazaa and then Skype other than Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom? Let’s not forget my good friends (sic) in Walldorf, SAP or the Large Hadron Collider built by CERN. Enough chest thumping. But seriously…

Earlier today I see that Lloyds TSB, a British bank has created an internal innovation market:

Gardner [head of innovation] says the bank has had to put in controls to counter hyper inflation of the Bank bean, but conversely is encouraging insider trading since it makes people want to be on the inside so they can speculate successfully. As Gardner observes, to get on the inside you have to work on the team making the idea happen.

“The idea, we hope, is that with this coupling of ideation and innovation we’ll make it possible to accelerate our pipeline of interesting things,” he says. “Instead of being scale-limited with headcount constraints in the central innovation team, anyone can be an innovator.”

I don’t know whether they have gone for a packaged approach or DIY but that is of lesser importance than the fact that a bank no less is prepared to innovate to innovate. Elsewhere and in similar vein:

India’s ICICI Bank is set to launch an interactive online service that aims to emulate the branch banking experience, complete with virtual staff.

For me, the really good news is that Chris Shipley is bringing back Innovate!Europe to Zaragoza Spain after a one year hiatus. Innovate!Europe will have a different format from the past with workshops leading up to the main event in May 2009 as a way of selecting and coaching competitors for the main event:

The new Innovate!Europe will begin with a series of complimentary Going Global workshops where entrepreneurs will compete while they sharpen their market position and strengthen their presentation skills with the help of Guidewire Group’s renowned team of analysts who’ve heard and honed thousands of company pitches.

It’s good to see Chris and her team re-inventing the format so that startups get more than a show at which to do the dog and pony thing but also get sustained, real help. Too many startups fail because the pitch doesn’t pass the 30 second elevator pitch when they could so easily do better. As an aside, this was the show where I first met an as yet unmonetized Mike Arrington for the first time. Aaah - how times have changed.

And now back to normal programming.

SAP: “We made a mistake”

Bill Wohl, Vice President, Field Communications SAP, spoke with me today to clarify the price issues I raised yesterday. According to Wohl, there were specific legal issues in Germany and Austria. These required the company to tear up the existing contract and issue afresh so that it could impose the price increase. Wohl said this created an emotional response from the German and Austrian customers: “They saw it as a breach of trust and that’s something we had to fix.”

SAP now says it is giving those customers choice whether it takes up the new enterprise support offering or sticks with existing - at least for the next year or so. However, Wohl warns that most existing contracts allow for a cost increase that may see some support costs rising to 21% rather than the 19.3% if they take enterprise support. “It’s clear we made a mistake in the way in which we communicated the manner in which we needed to legally take this step and we’re now trying to fix it. We are giving them choice but they need to evaluate the best option for themselves.”

However, Wohl is clear this is an exception that will not apply to other territories. Even so, it will create a complex environment for multi-national companies that have different contracts signed in different countries. These will be faced with multi-step cost increases. It also means a multi-national that has signed its contract in Germany will be able to take global advantage of the new arrangements.

As I said to Wohl, SAP is running the risk of building up resentment for the future. That opens the door for consideration of alternate offerings. Wohl says the company is not noticing any change in the commitment existing customers are making to SAP solutions. He also pointed out that different markets display different conditions and cultures. That may be true but resentment is a common issue and potentially dangerous to future business. Wohl conceded that some spending may be deferred, although he attributed that more to economic conditions than any competitive issues.

Wohl was keen to stress that SAP is not seeing the levels of unrest I am seeing among the customer base. That doesn’t surprise me. Customers often do not feel they have the power to tough it out with their software suppliers, relying instead on their user groups to do the fighting for them. It is however telling that SAP recently agreed with SUGEN that they will jointly develop KPIs against which enterprise support and the price rise will be evaluated.

Broadband Britain - slowly getting faster?

Back in June, we toured "Broadband Britain" - and discovered that speed was an issue of real interest and concern to internet users around the country.

Since then, the debate about building a next generation broadband network has only got hotter, with reports from government and Ofcom stressing the need for speed.

Now we've repeated the study of speed test data we commissioned in June from thinkbroadband.com. Then, it showed that the average speed across the UK was 3.2Mbps, but that there was a big gap between rural and urban areas. What's surprising - in a year when it seemed that suppliers were competing to offer us faster broadband - is how little has changed. The average speed, calculated by analysing 188,000 speed tests conducted by users across Britain between June and November, is now 3.6 Mbps.

"We have plateaued" was the assessment of thinkbroadband's Sebastian Lahtinen. Sure, the gap between the cities and the rural areas has closed a little - but at a time when "up to 8Mbps" has become the norm in broadband packages, it is still pretty rare for that kind of speed to be achieved. Indeed, even in the fastest region in our survey, London, only around 15% were achieving speeds of 8Mbps and above, and the average connection speed had barely changed over the last six months.

If we are to build a network that can deliver much higher speeds, it's probably up to two companies to do it: BT and Virgin Media. Today, Virgin launches its 50Mbps service to cable customers, which will be the fastest residential broadband available to more than a handful of households. BT has started putting 100Mbps broadband into a huge new housing development at Ebbsfleet in Kent - but that accounts for just a couple of dozen homes. Next year, it's promising a pilot of fibre-to-the-cabinet, with 35,000 homes offered up to 40Mbps.

But there are questions - both technical and financial - about each company's approach. Virgin isn't laying miles of new fibre - it's relying on a software fix to its network to deliver higher speeds, and not everyone is convinced that's a future-proof strategy. BT is starting down the fibre route - but is still pretty anxious about the scale of its investment, and jousting with the regulators about the return it gets from offering rivals access to its network. As the recession bites, any large-scale investment in fibre is going to get ever harder to justify to shareholders.

In any case, most of us are probably reasonably happy with the kind of speeds that are on offer right now. Unless you are in a household which contains a hardcore gamer and a couple of heavy video downloaders, you will struggle to justify laying out the money for 40 or 50Mbps broadband. But that could change quickly. This has been the year in which internet video - the BBC iPlayer and other services - has exploded, with some grumbling from the ISPs about the strain on their infrastructure. Sooner or later, the iPlayer will go HD, and just imagine the pressure that will put on bandwidth. History has shown that when you build it, people come, and businesses will find ways of delivering them new web services. But right now, Britain seems in no hurry to build faster broadband.

Facebook - back to the kids?

Facebook - it's so over. That's been the tenor of most of the commentary since Thursday's figures showing a slight dip in Facebook's UK users. The general feeling is that the kids, with their minute attention spans, have already tired of the social networking site and moved on to something more hip and happening. I think the opposite is true - that Facebook's new wave of older users have decided it is just not worth the bother and are now leaving it to the kids.

Facebook was already well established on every student campus in Spring 2007, when it grabbed the attention of the London media. Suddenly every national newspaper and broadcaster was desperate to write about it - and I was one of the worst offenders. Stories I did for the Radio 4 Today programme and for this website asked whether people like me were too old for social networking. They got a bigger response than just about anything I have ever written, with over a thousand people getting in touch to assure me that socialising online was not just for students. I soon found myself connecting with hundreds of people on Facebook - many of whom I did not know from Adam - and rather enjoyed this new virtual social life.

I suspect the same thing was happening in newsrooms - and other workplaces - across Britain, as an older generation decided that if the kids were finding it impossible to run their lives without Facebook, it must be worth trying. That all helped propel Mark Zuckerberg's company to the top of the social networking league in the UK, with 8.9 million users by the end of 2007. But by then I was already finding that many of my wrinklier Facebook friends had tired of the ceaseless vampire-biting, hugging, poking and other daft aspects of the increasingly cluttered and annoying site. Their status updates started to say "...falling out of love with Facebook" and then they disappeared altogether.

But I see no signs that on the campuses where it all started Facebook fatigue has set in. A few weeks ago I did a story with a student who was having trouble deleting his MySpace account - but when I suggested that he delete his Facebook profile too, he was not keen. For him, and hundreds of thousands like him, a student social life was still dependent on Facebook.

I'm still using Facebook - though less compulsively than before - but I suspect that most of the over-25 age group will now find they can live without it. That still leaves a large core audience, but one that Facebook may find slightly harder to sell to the advertisers on whom its future depends. And that means that $15bn valuation that Microsoft put on the business when it bought a small stake last year looks more fanciful than ever.

Manchester United vs Gamba Osaka Preview, Live Score: 18 December 2008

Manchester United has arrived Japan on Monday to take on AFC champion Gamba Osaka on 18 December 2008 in Yokohama in the semi final of FIFA Club World Cup 2008. So, this is a match between European and Asian champions and there is no doubt, Manchester United is definitely favorite against the Japanese club. Gamba Osaka was the champion of AFC Champions League 2008 and thus qualified for the tournament. Manchester United, in the same way, got the ticket of this tournament thanks to their Champions League title of last season.

Match: Gamba Osaka vs Manchester United; Semi Final, FIFA Club World Cup 2008

Date: 18 December 2008, Thursday

Venue: Yokohama

Live TV: Fox Soccer Channel

Many people may think that this is a distracting tournament for the English champions as the tournament may take Manchester United’s focus away from premier league where they are currently at the third place with 32 points from 16 matches. However, the title of FIFA Club World Cup 2008 could lure the Manchester United players, considering the fact that no other English team could ever win this title. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is also desperate to win the Club World Cup title.

NDTV reported:

“This is a very difficult tournament, different from what we were used to last time, but hopefully we can handle it,” he said before United’s departure.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to get the team together in a serious competition because no British team has ever won it and it’s a big challenge to us.”

“You only get there by invitation if you win the Champions League and that’s how prestigious it is for us. It’s a fantastic tournament to be involved in.”

Japanese club Gamba Osaka defeated Adelaide United 1-0 in the quarter final on Sunday and set up a semi final encounter with Manchester United. However, they lost their recent J League match away at Albirex Niigata 3-2. Interestingly, Manchester United could not win their recent premier league encounter too as they drew with Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United goalkeeper Van der Sar has recently been handed a contract extension and veteran goalkeeper is now hoping to win the FIFA Club World Cup 2008 title with Manchester United.

manutd reported:

Van der Sar and his United colleagues have now switched their sights to world domination, and the Dutchman is keen to bring the Club World Cup trophy back to Manchester before Christmas.
“I won it with Ajax but that was just one game and now you play a semi-final as well, so it’s going to be different,” he said. “We’re there a little longer than normal, so we’ll do our best and hopefully bring another trophy home.”

Japanese club Gamba Osaka will try their best to win the match. In fact, they have nothing to lose against Manchester United. No doubt, they will play for a win, but even a loss despite an inspirational performance would not disappoint their fans. Manchester United, on the other hand, can not think of anything except a win. In fact, Manchester United is most favorite team in the tournament.

Online Live Score and Updates

The match will be telecast live on Fox Soccer Channel. However, if you can not manage your time to stick to your television set, then visit the following live score and update websites to get the live score and updates of the match:

Live Score

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Goal.com

Footie Scorez

Manchester United has already had their sights on the tournament title. So, anything less than a victory would not satisfy them. Rather, they might look for a big margin victory. For Gamba Osaka, they will try to show their best against the European champions and they will have home advantage too. If Gamba Osaka can play at their best, then football fans can experience a hard-fought match.

Research towards building better golf balls

The United States Golf Association (USGA) have many rules and regulations regarding the golf ball including defining the number of dimples on the surface of the ball. Whether a ball would reach the expected distance or not depends on three things: air flow, skill of the golfer and dimples on the golf. Golfers try to look for the perfect ball that would land at the right spot but the fact is there is none. One can neither control the weather nor the golfer’s skill. So there is one feature that has been left out to manipulate and that is the pimples. Now, engineers of the Arizona State University and the University of Maryland have come together to find out how the ball works. New York Times reports:

But now a team of mechanical engineers has constructed a computer model of a golf ball’s surface. The model simulates a golf ball moving through air, and allows the engineers to solve equations that describe air flow at more than a billion points across the ball’s surface. Running a typical simulation requires a supercomputer — the equivalent of more than 500 networked desktop computers running in parallel for more than 300 hours. The result is a vast amount of data about the local speed and pressure of the air around each dimple and around the ball.

The results found out through the procedure would help manufacturers to build better quality golf balls and even solving problems in airplanes, gas turbines and hosts of other devices.

Top Ten Russian Female Players of 2008

n female Tennis, Russian players are doing very well. Maria Sharapova is the number 2 player now. She was the number one until French Open. Here, I have written about top ten Russian Female Tennis players of 2008. I have made this list according to WTA ranking. You may agree or disagree with my list but I have
compiled the list purely on the basis of current ranking. So, here are they:

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is Russia’s top ranked female tennis player who is currently ranked 2^nd in the WTA ranking. The three Grand Slam titles winner has already reached the zenith of fame thanks to her excellent talent and skill. Turned professional in 2001 at the age of 14, the Russian tennis star began her grand slam campaign from 2003. Her first Grand Slam success came in Wimbledon 2004 as she defeated Serena Williams 6–1, 6–4 in the final to clinch her first grand slam title. Though Sharapova did not get any other Grand Slam success in 2005, she reached at the top of the ranking for the first time in August 2005. Two years after Sharapova had won her first grand slam title. She got the second success in grand slam in US Open 2006 and in Austrian Open 2008, she won her third grand slam title. Thus, Maria Sharapova now needs to win the title of French Open in order to achieve the career grand slam. Overall Sharapova has 19 singles titles so far in her career.

Sharapova is also a familiar face out of the court thanks to her immense beauty. Tennis skill mingled with her beauty has earned her a handful of offers for television commercial. Thus, the 21-year old Russian has already become a global sports celebrity. In fact, she is the world’s highest paid female athlete. So, success came in both ways for the Russian star, but even her die heard fans would also admit that Maria Sharapova lacks consistency. However, whatever she achieved at this age, it is phenomenal and she has a long career ahead of her.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Kuznetsova is ranked 4^th according to WTA ranking. However, among the Russian female singles tennis players, Svetlana Kuznetsova stands second after Maria Sharapova. The 23-year old Russian turned professional in 2000 and started to participate in the grand slam singles tournaments since 2002 at the age of 17. She won her only grand slam title in US Open 2004 defeating fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the final. Besides that, Kuznetsova appeared in the final of French Open 2006 and US Open 2007. She also has a Grand Slam women’s doubles title to her credit. Kuznetsova partnered with Alicia Molik won the Austrian Open 2005 women’s doubles title. Her best ever ranking in singles is 2 which she achieved in September 2007. Overall, Kuznetsova has 24 singles titles in her career till date.

Elena Dementieva

The 26 year old Russian stands fifth in the WTA ranking now. Elena Dementieva could not win any grand slam singles title in her career yet, but thanks to the consistency, she has been in and around the top ten for the last few years. At the age of 17, she started playing professional tennis and gave her first shot at a grand slam tournament in US Open 1999, but failed to get into the final competition being ruled out from qualifying round. However, Elena Dementieva has been a familiar face in grand slam tournaments since Austrian Open 1999. So far, she appeared in two grand slam singles finals; the first being in French Open 2004 and the last one in US Open 2004. She has 13 WTA singles titles to her credit so far in her career. Dementieva has 13 WTA titles to her credit so far in her career. The Russain tennis star accomplished her highest ranking in October 2004 when she reached at the fourth place in WTA ranking. Elena Dementieva also won a silver medal in 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Anna Chakvetadze

Anna Chakvetadze is the fourth highest ranked female tennis players from Russia. In WTA ranking, she stands eighth, but she does not have any grand slam success to her credit till date. The 21-year old Russian reached the semi final of US Open 2007 which is her best ever Grand Slam success since she started playing in grand slam tournament in 2004, a year after becoming professional. In 2003, she reached the final of Wimbledon Junior Championship. Chakvetadze experienced her best ever ranking in September 2007.

Anna Chakvetadze won seven WTA titles so far in her short career. She is still 21 and has a lot more years left ahead of her. So, if she can continue improving her skill and flourishing her potential then I think, Anna Chakvetadze has a successful career ahead of her.

Dinara Safina

Dinara Safina has been one of the familiar faces of major tennis tournaments now-a-days. She is currently ranking 9^th in WTA ranking and one of the five Russian female tennis players in the top ten ranking. At 22, she has not won any grand slam titles, but has six WTA singles titles to her credit.

Following the feet of elder brother Marat Safin, the former world no. 1 of men’s tennis, she turned professional in 2001, she started taking part in grand slam tournament since 2002. She reached the final of French Open 2008, which is the best ever grand slam success of Dinara Safina. She accomplished her highest ranking 9 in May 2007.

Vera Zvonareva

I liked the official website of Vera Zvonareva. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful websites about any player. In this September, Vera Zvonareva is going to become 24 years old. So, you can easily imagine that she has passed her best years already. Her height is 1.72 m and this is attractive height for a European girl. Her current ranking is 14. She is beautiful and she even became one of the top 10 ranked female players in August 2004. In her career, she has earned $3,935,193 of prize money so far. That is not bad amount considering the fact she was never impressive in any Grand Slam Tournament. By the way, I could only enter into the home page of her official website but I could not enter inside. So, check if there is any problem.

Nadia Petrova

Nadia Petrova has been playing professional tennis since 1999. So, next year, it will be one decade of pro-tennis for her. She is now 26 years old. In the last 9 years, Nadia Petrova has seen ups and downs in her ranking and career. Right now, she is the number 18^th ranked female tennis player in the world. That should surprise you to know that she was ranked 3 in 2006 when she defeated the mighty Justine Henin. In this year’s Wimbledon, she is still going on and she is the 4^th round now. Nadia Petrova is quite tall (5 feet 10 inches). Her career prize money earning is $6,262,810. She has 7 WTA singles titles and 12 doubles titles. This shows that she has impressive record.

Maria Kirilenko

At the age of 5, did you have any idea what you would want to become in life? Perhaps, Maria Kirilenko had some idea and she became a fan of tennis at a very early age. She is now 21 years old and she was born in Moscow. I liked her official website and it contains a decent number of her pictures. She even encourages her fans to send beautiful pictures of hers. Since, the official website in a blog platform, anyone can write comments in the entries. Maria Kirilenko is now 19^th ranked player and this is her best ranking. She is improving a lot recently. Her beautiful face has attracted Addidas and became a professional player in 2001. She has become matured now and hopefully, she will do better in the coming months.

Alisa Kleybanova

Alisa Kleybanova is a young player and she is just 19 years old. In fact, she is going to celebrate her 19^th birthday on this 15^th July. She became a professional tennis player in 2003 at the age of just 14 and she is improving all the time. I could not find any official website of Alisa Kleybanova and I would strongly recommend her to have one. That way, we can more information about her. Right now, Alisa Kleybanova’s ranking is 42. She is playing in Wimbledon 2008 now and she has advanced to the fourth round. Alisa Kleybanova is a beautiful girl and she is almost 6 feet tall. I think that she has the shadow of Maria Sharapova in her. She is a star of tomorrow.

Elena Vesnina

Elena Vesnina is 21 years old and she was born in Ukraine. She has been in pro-tennis since 2002. She has not been able to win any WTA singles title but she has won 3 doubles titles so far. She is famous for being patient and a baseline player. Her best perforimacne in any Grand Slam Tournament was in Australian Open Tennis 2006 where she went to the 4^th round. She has a lovely official website and it contains a number of beautiful pictures. Her current WTA ranking is 46. In her career, Elena Vesnina has earned $858,915 of prize money so far.