Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue – the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.

32 year old Dede Kosawa, also known as 'Tree Man', is one of the world's most extraordinary people. He lives in a remote village in Indonesia with his two children, trying to care for them. Dede, a former fisherman, has an incredible skin condition: he has root like structures growing out of his body - branches that can grow up to 5cm a year and which protrude from his hands and feet, and welts covering his whole body.

He is known locally as ‘Tree Man’ and his condition has baffled local doctors for 20 years. In an attempt to earn a living to support his family, he is part of a circus troupe, displaying his 'Tree Man' limbs along with others afflicted with skin deformities in ‘freak’ shows.

Dr Anthony Gaspari, a world expert in skin conditions from the University of Maryland travels to Indonesia to attempt to diagnose 'Tree Man' Dede’s mysterious condition. He takes skin samples for biopsies back in the USA. What will he discover?

We go on an intimate journey with the extraordinary 'Tree Man' Dede, as he tries to eek out a living in a circus troupe to support his family, and as he is given medical help by Dr Gaspari. The identification and possible cure of his condition, could change his whole life.

Half way across the world, in Romania, farmer Ion Toader is discovered to have a similar extraordinary ‘Tree Man’ condition, with growths all over his hands. He has not been able to drive a tractor for five years. A Romanian surgeon offers to give him an operation to remove his growths.

Will it be successful, and how will it change Ion’s life?

Astronomers have discovered a new "waterworld" 40 light years away, raising the chances of the existence of Earth-like planets. Since this planet is so close to Earth, Hubble should be able to detect the atmosphere and determine what it's made of.


Evidence suggests it has an atmosphere, and astronomers believe it to be more like Earth than any planet found outside the Solar System so far.

Although the planet is thought to be too hot to sustain Earth-type life, it is believed to consist of 75% water.

Planet GJ1214b is six times bigger than Earth and was discovered orbiting a small faint star 1.3 million miles away.

Although its red dwarf parent star is 3,000 times less bright than the Sun, it hugs the star so closely that its surface temperature is an oven-hot 200C.

Graduate student astronomer Zachory Berta, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the US, who spotted the first hints of the planet, said: "Despite its hot temperature, this appears to be a waterworld.

"It is much smaller, cooler and more Earth-like than any other known exoplanet."

He said some of the planet's water should be in the form of exotic materials such as Ice Seven - a crystalline form of water that exists at pressures greater than 20,000 times the Earth's sea-level atmosphere.

Scientists want to turn the Hubble Space Telescope towards the planet to allow astronomers to discover its composition.

Dr David Charbonneau, also from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre, said: "Since this planet is so close to Earth, Hubble should be able to detect the atmosphere and determine what it's made of.

"That will make it the first super-Earth with a confirmed atmosphere - even though that atmosphere probably won't be hospitable to life as we know it."

The discovery is reported in the journal Nature.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' most active volcano oozed lava and shot up plumes of ash Tuesday, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes and face the possibility of a bleak Christmas in a shelter.

State volcanologists raised the alert level on the cone-shaped, 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) Mayon volcano overnight to two steps below a major eruption after ash explosions.

Dark orange lava fragments glowed in the dark as they trickled down the mountain slope overnight. Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the activity could get worse in coming days.

"It's already erupting," Solidum told The Associated Press.

More than 20,000 people were evacuated to safety by nightfall Tuesday, said Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay province, where Mayon is located about 210 miles (340 kilometers) southeast of Manila.

The first of 20 vehicles, including army trucks, were sent to villages to take residents to schools and other temporary housing, provincial emergency management official Jukes Nunez said.

"It's 10 days before Christmas. Most likely people will be in evacuation centers, and if Mayon's activity won't ease down we will not allow them to return to their homes," Nunez said. "It's difficult and sad, especially for children."

Residents in Albay are used to moving away from Mayon. Nearly 50,000 people live in a five-mile (eight-kilometer) radius around the mountain, and some villages were evacuated last month when the volcano spewed ash.

Mayon last erupted in 2006, and about 30,000 people were moved. Another eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.

Salceda said Tuesday that he has placed the central province under a "state of imminent disaster," which will make it easier for him to draw and use emergency funds.

Although the alarm has been sounded, life continued normally in many laid-back farming villages near the restive volcano. Throngs of farmers flocked to the town hall in Guinobatan, which lies near the danger zone, for a Christmas party, then headed home bearing gifts.

Village leader Romeo Opiana said the 249 residents in his farming community of Maninila, near the volcano, readied packs of clothes but no one had left. An army truck was parked nearby, ready to haul people if the threat grows.

"We're ready, but we're not really alarmed," said Opiana, 66. He could not remember how many times he had seen Mayon's eruptions since childhood.

Provincial governor Salceda said he had decided to cancel a trip to Copenhagen, where he was to attend the U.N. climate conference to discuss his province's experience with typhoons and other natural disasters.

He said he would appeal for foreign aid to deal with the expected influx of displaced villagers to emergency shelters.

"Whatever the volcano does, our target is zero casualty," Salceda told The Associated Press.

Magma had been rising at the volcano over the past two weeks and began to flow out of its crater Monday night, Solidum said. He said the volcano had so far only gently coughed out red-hot lava, which had flowed half a mile (half a kilometer) down from the crater.

Some classes were suspended indefinitely near the danger zone. Officials will find a way to squeeze in classes in school buildings to be used as shelters, Salceda said.

Mayon's most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried a town in mud.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. About 22 out of 37 volcanos in the archipelago are active.

The Golden Globe Award nominations announced Tuesday morning were dominated by the story of a man living his life in perpetual limbo.

"Up in the Air" -- the critically lauded drama that stars George Clooney as a professional downsizer who never misses an airline connection but fails to connect with his family -- led the field with six nominations, including nods for best motion picture -- drama; best director (Jason Reitman), best screenplay; best actor (Clooney) and best supporting players (Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick). Up against "Up in the Air" in that best picture category: "Avatar," James Cameron’s sci-fi epic that reportedly wowed members of the Foreign Press Association during screenings last week; "The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow’s intense and in-the-moment Iraq War picture; a war epic of a very different sort, Quentin Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds"; and "Precious," the adaptation of Sapphire’s novel "Push," about a pregnant teenager suffering from unspeakable abuse.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- the group of international journalists behind the Globes, which revealed its field of contenders during an early morning news conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. -- routinely breaks its best-picture field into two categories, honoring five musicals or comedies in addition to the dramas.

The nominees on that funnier, more melodic end of the spectrum are: "Nine," the splashy adaptation of the Fellini-inspired Broadway show; "It’s Complicated," the rom-com for the 50-plus set starring Meryl Streep; "Julie & Julia," another Streep comedy, the one in which she cooks and clucks happily as Julia Child; "(500) Days of Summer," the boy-meets-then-loses-girl indie romance; and "The Hangover," the biggest box office hit (at least so far) among the top film contenders and proof that movies in which Mike Tyson air-drums to Phil Collins songs can, indeed, win some awards-season attention.

If "The Hangover" stood out as one of the Globes’ surprises in the film categories, it was hardly the only one. Among the other "Really?" moments:

-- Tobey Maguire’s nod for best actor in a drama for "Brothers," a film in limited release that never built much buzz in the all-important trophy-prediction blogosphere;

-- a nod for Julia Roberts as best actress in a musical-comedy for the almost-forgotten "Duplicity";

-- and not one, but two, nominations for Sandra Bullock, first for her turn as a no-nonsense businesswoman in "The Proposal" (musical/comedy), and second for her portrayal of a no-nonsense Tennessee woman who takes in a homeless high schooler in "The Blind Side" (drama).

Two other actors -- Matt Damon and Streep -- also walked away with dual nominations, the former for his dramatic work in "Invictus" and his comedic turn as clueless corporate spy in "The Informant!" and the latter for her roles in "It’s Complicated" and "Julie & Julia." (For those keeping score at home, that marks 25 lifetime Golden Globe nods for Streep. But at this point, really, who’s counting?)

The breakdown in another key category, best director, looks almost identical to the best motion picture category. Drama line-up: Reitman for "Up in the Air," Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker," Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds," Cameron for "Avatar," plus one veteran whose film didn’t make the best picture cut, Clint Eastwood for his rugby uplifter "Invictus." (Which director in the best drama category was left without his own nomination? That would be Lee Daniels for "Precious.")

The Golden Globes have become newsworthy primarily because they serve as the ceremonial kickoff to the annual cinematic guessing game known as Oscar season. But let’s not forget that the Foreign Press also recognizes achievement in television, an area that was marked by far fewer surprises this year.

In the best drama category, "Mad Men," which has won the honor for the past two years, was again recognized, along with HBO’s "Big Love," "Dexter," "House" and "True Blood." The best comedy category also delivered three of the usual, albeit hilarious suspects -- "The Office," "30 Rock," "Entourage" -- but added a pair of newcomers to the mix: ABC’s "Modern Family" and -- get ready to burst into a round of "Don’t Stop Believin’," kids -- Fox’s popular "Glee."

As is always the case when nominations are announced, some notable names were left off the list. Peter Jackson’s once-buzzy "The Lovely Bones" scored only a single nod, for Stanley Tucci’s supporting performance. Same deal for the acclaimed "An Education," which was given recognition solely for its breakout star, Carey Mulligan. She received a nomination -- along with Bullock, Emily Blunt ("The Young Victoria"), Helen Mirren ("The Last Station") and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious") -- in the best actress in a drama category.

The best actor in a drama contenders included Maguire, Clooney, Colin Firth ("A Single Man"), Morgan Freeman ("Invictus") and the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, whose work as a grizzled country singer in "Crazy Heart" was already being touted as the performance to beat even before the Globes announcement.

So what does this all mean? Do the people basking in the glow of Foreign Press adulation this morning have a lock on an Oscar nod come Feb. 2? Not necessarily. Although the Globes often serve as foreshadowing for the Academy Awards, it’s worth noting that only once in the last five years -- last year, when "Slumdog Millionaire" fever swept the continents -- has a Globes’ best picture winner synched up with the Oscar’s top prize winner.

In other words, tune in to NBC when Ricky Gervais hosts the Globes on Jan. 17. But also keep an open mind.

Fears that Dubai might default on billions of dollars in debt eased Monday when its fellow United Arab Emirate, Abu Dhabi, pledged $10 billion in financing. (Abu Dhabi gives Dubai $10 billion bailout)

The announcement allays concerns raised last month when Dubai sought a six-month delay in debt payments for Dubai World, the government's flagship holding company. Global markets, which fell sharply when the Dubai debt problems were first raised, were mostly higher in Monday trading.

Exxon Mobil said Monday that it has agreed to buy XTO Energy, a natural gas producer, for $31 billion in stock and the assumption of $10 billion in debt, the largest energy merger in years.

Under the terms of the deal, Exxon will pay XTO shareholders .7098 common shares for each of their XTO shares, or about $51.69 based on Friday’s closing prices. The deal, which is taking advantage of low natural gas prices, represents a 25 percent premium for XTO’s shares.

The deal would give Exxon the equivalent of about 45 trillion cubic feet of natural gas throughout the United States, in a bet that demand will continue to rise. XTO, founded in 1986, is the nation’s largest domestic producer of natural gas.

“XTO is a leading U.S. unconventional natural gas producer, with an outstanding resource base, strong technical expertise and highly skilled employees,” Rex Tillerson, Exxon’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Exxon’s deal has prompted speculation among analysts over which natural gas producers may be up for sale next, with companies like Devon Energy now considered potential takeover targets.

Exxon said that after the deal’s close, expected in the second quarter next year, it would keep XTO as an upstream business unit to develop natural gas resources from unconventional sources like shale rock. The business will remain in XTO’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Tex.

Exxon was advised by JPMorgan Chase, while XTO was advised by Barclays Capital and Jefferies.