picture of the day

Alligator, Florida

Alligator, Florida

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Mumbai Worli Sea Link

Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta to get married on February 19

mahesh bhupati with lara datta

      Indian Tennis Star Mahesh Bhupathi and Bollywood Star and former Miss Universe, Lara Dutta is getting married on the 19th of February 2011. Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi born June 7, 1974 in Chennai, is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. Mahesh was married to Shwetha Jaishankar and now they are divorced. Mahesh and Lara had got engaged during September 2010. The wedding function would be held at a luxury resort in Goa on February 19, will be an exclusive, by-invitation-only affair with some 300 guests, mostly family and friends.

The top films at the North American box office

LOS ANGELES, April 15 - Following are the top 10 movies at North American box offices for the three days starting April 13, led by "The Hunger Games" at No. 1, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters.

1 (1) The Hunger Games .....................$ 21.5 million

2 (*) The Three Stooges ....................$ 17.1 million

3 (*) The Cabin in the Woods................$ 14.9 million

4 (3) Titanic 3-D ..........................$ 11.6 million

5 (2) American Reunion......................$ 10.7 million

6 (5) Mirror Mirror .......................$ 7.0 million

7 (4) Wrath of the Titans...................$ 6.9 million

8 (6) 21 Jump Street.......... .............$ 6.8 million

9 (*) Lockout.... ..........................$ 6.3 million

10 (7) Dr. Seuss' The Lorax..................$ 3.0 million

NOTE: Last weekend's rankings in parenthesis.

(*) = new release

CUMULATIVE TOTALS:

The Hunger Games ..........................$ 337.1 million

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax ......................$ 204.5 million

21 Jump Street ........................... $ 120.6 million

Wrath of the Titans........................$ 71.3 million

Mirror Mirror .............................$ 49.5 million

Titanic 3-D................................$ 44.4 million

American Reunion...........................$ 39.9 million

The Three Stooges..........................$ 17.1 million

The Cabin in the Woods.....................$ 14.9 million

Lockout....................................$ 6.3 million

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp released "The Hunger Games" and "The Cabin in the Woods." News Corp's 20th Century Fox studio distributed "The Three Stooges."

Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc, distributed "Lockout."

Time Warner Inc unit Warner Bros. distributed "Wrath of the Titans," and Sony Corp's film division released "21 Jump Street."

Satellite,Space pictures pick up lots more penguins in world

LONDON

London

- Scientists counting emperor penguins from space have found twice as many of the birds in Antarctica as expected.

The discovery is reassuring for a species seen as under threat from global warming and will provide researchers with a benchmark for monitoring the giants of the penguin world in years to come.

Using high-resolution satellite images to study each of 44 colonies around the coastline of Antarctica, experts said on Friday they put the total emperor penguin population at 595,000, or roughly double previous estimates of 270,000 to 350,000.

"It's good news," team leader Peter Fretwell of the British Antarctic Survey said in an interview. "It gives us a bit more confidence not only that there are lots of emperor penguins out there but that we can actually keep track of them as well."

Seven of the colonies studied had never been seen before.

SYDNEY

Sydney

- Counting emperor penguins in their icy Antarctic habitat was not easy until researchers used new technology to map the birds from space, and they received a pleasant penguin surprise for their efforts.

Using satellite mapping with resolution high enough to distinguish ice shadows from penguin poo, an international team has carried out what they say is an unprecedented penguin census from the heavens over the past three years.

The good news was that the team found the Antarctic emperor penguin population numbered about 595,000, nearly double previous estimates.

But the bad news was that some colonies have disappeared altogether due to changing weather patterns and the long-term future of the birds is far from assured.

"Yes, this is the first comprehensive census of a species taken from space, absolutely," said Barbara Wienecke, a sea bird ecologist with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) who spoke with Reuters by phone from the Aurora Australis research vessel.

Previous counts have been inaccurate due to rough terrain that made some colonies inaccessible and frigid temperatures that can plummet to - 50 degrees Celsius (- 58 Fahrenheit).

Brent falls below $120 on China data, Euro zone worries

SINGAPORE - Brent crude fell below $120 on Monday as growing worries about the global economy from Europe to China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, reinforced concerns about slowing demand for petroleum.

But the slide in crude prices was stemmed by lingering concerns that western sanctions could further disrupt Iranian oil exports.

Front-month Brent crude slipped $1.28 to $119.93 a barrel by 3:31 a.m. Eastern Time, after settling at $121.21 a barrel on Friday. U.S. oil slipped 79 cents to $102.05 a barrel after settling at $102.83.

"The weaker-than-expected Chinese data appears to be the key driver of the market right now," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments.

Data showed that China's economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly three years in the first quarter, raising fears that the downward drift will extend into the second quarter and dampen oil demand.

China's implied oil demand rose moderately in March over a year earlier, but stood at a five-month low on a daily basis, as refineries scaled back runs to the lowest level since October on maintenance and poor refining margins.

A stronger dollar and a jump in the cost of insuring Spanish debt against default to a record high on Friday also renewed worries about the eurozone debt crisis.

A U.S. survey showed consumer sentiment had slipped in early April as higher gasoline prices hit household budgets.

Libyan oil exports to total 1.29 million bpd in May

Libyan crude oil exports are expected to amount to 40 million barrels in May, or 1.29 million barrels per day (bpd), a senior official at Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC)said on Monday.

NOC plans to sell 30 million barrels, while firms that receive oil for investing in Libyan production are expected to take 10 million barrels.

The May exports are on par with April's, also expected to be 40 million barrels, or 1.33 million bpd when divided over a smaller number of days in the month. NOC is selling a greater share in April at 34 million barrels, however, while firms with an equity interest are taking 6 million barrels.

The restart date of Libya's largest refinery, Ras Lanuf, is still uncertain, awaiting higher production by NOC subsidiary Agoco from the Sarir and Messla fields, which currently account for 200,000 bpd out of Agoco's total output level of 324,000 bpd.

Total Libyan crude oil production is averaging 1.484 million bpd, according to the official.

Libyan oil exports to total 1.29 million bpd in May

Libyan crude oil exports are expected to amount to 40 million barrels in May, or 1.29 million barrels per day (bpd), a senior official at Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC)said on Monday.

NOC plans to sell 30 million barrels, while firms that receive oil for investing in Libyan production are expected to take 10 million barrels.

The May exports are on par with April's, also expected to be 40 million barrels, or 1.33 million bpd when divided over a smaller number of days in the month. NOC is selling a greater share in April at 34 million barrels, however, while firms with an equity interest are taking 6 million barrels.

The restart date of Libya's largest refinery, Ras Lanuf, is still uncertain, awaiting higher production by NOC subsidiary Agoco from the Sarir and Messla fields, which currently account for 200,000 bpd out of Agoco's total output level of 324,000 bpd.

Total Libyan crude oil production is averaging 1.484 million bpd, according to the official.

Maersk shipping magnate Mc-Kinney Moller dies

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Monday partner and shipowner Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller died on April 16.

The company's shares rose over 6 percent as analysts said Mc-Kinney Moller's death could lead to a stock split or demergers.

shipping magnate

Mc-Kinney Moller, born on July 13 in 1913, died at the age of 98, having made his last public appearance at the group's annual general meeting last Thursday.

As the traditional main attraction at the AGM, Moller spoke briefly to shareholders and signed autographs but looked frail as he joked there were too few female photographers present.

An analyst said the group, founded in 1904, could now face change. "It could be a stock split or a demerger of for instance Danske Bank or Dansk Super market," Alm. Brand analyst Jesper Christensen said.

Moller-Maersk owns a 20 percent stake in Danske Bank as well as an interest in Dansk Supermarked Group, its website shows.

Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, son and grandson of the founders of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group, Arnold Peter Moller and his father, Peter Maersk Moller, took over the leadership of the group when his father died in 1965.

He handed over the daily management of the group to Jess Soderberg in 1993, and the chairmanship to Michael Pram Rasmussen in 2003. Soderberg was replaced by Carlsberg Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen in 2007, while Rasmussen remains chairman.

Moller, however, remained active in the decision making and activities of the group, frequently going to the Copenhagen headquarters and travelling around the world to represent Denmark's largest privately owned enterprise himself.

A 2.5 billion crowns Moller donation resulted in a new Copenhagen opera house in January 2005.

The Maersk group owns the container shipping company Maersk Line, and is also involved in oil and gas exploration, mainly in the North Sea, but also in many other parts of the world, as well as supermarket chains, industrial firms, shipyards and a container terminal operator.

The group employs about 117,000 people in 130 countries.

Moller, born in Copenhagen in 1913 to an Irish-American mother, was known for only rarely giving interviews. Moller married childhood girlfriend Emma in 1940 and together they raised three daughters.

Shares in A.P. Moller-Maersk initially traded up over 6 percent following the announcement, but were up 3.0 percent at 42.520 Danish crowns per share at 0958 GMT, against a 1.3 percent rise in the Copenhagen stock exchange's benchmark index

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DE Shaw, PAG back Haitong's $1.8 billion offer: IFR

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Pan-Asia private equity firm PAG and asset manager DE Shaw & Co Ltd are among 11 cornerstone investors that pledged to buy almost one-third of the up to $1.8 billion Hong Kong offer by Haitong Securities Co Ltd's <600837.SS>, IFR reported on Monday.

The outcome of Haitong's deal will be closely monitored by investors, bankers and a growing list of companies hoping to raise funds in Asia's top IPO destination.

The share sale would the biggest public offering in Asia Pacific so far in 2012 and the largest in Hong Kong since the $1.9 billion New China Life Insurance Co Ltd <601336.SS> <1336.HK> dual listing in the city and Shanghai in December.

PAG, headed by former TPG Capital dealmaker Weijian Shan, agreed to buy $300 million worth of shares in the deal, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the plans.

Haitong is offering 1.229 billion new shares at an indicative range of HK$10.48-HK$11.18, IFR added. At the top end of the range, the deal would be worth HK$13.74 billion ($1.77 billion).

Other cornerstone investors include New York-based DE Shaw, Japan's SBI Holdings <8473.T> and Dah Sing Bank <2356.HK>, committing a combined $580 million.

Cornerstones back many Asian listings, committing to buy large, guaranteed stakes and agreeing to a lock-up period during which they will not sell their shares. Anchor investors have fewer restrictions on when they can sell the stock.

Haitong had scrapped a deal in December to raise up to $1.7 billion citing turmoil in global markets.

At the time the company had $222 million in pledges from two cornerstone investors, private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC and Japan's Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co, a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc <8309.T>.

The current offer is set to be launched on Tuesday and priced on Friday, sources said last week.

UBS joins Goldman in role for Formula One IPO: sources

SINGAPORE: Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has hired UBS and Goldman Sachs as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for Formula One's roughly $2 billion initial public offering in Singapore expected in July, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday. Goldman's role in the deal was expected, given the bank's early work on the process, while for UBS, the top status on the IPO is a major boost for its Southeast Asia operation. Several top investment banks are competing for a role in the offering, both for prestige in being part of such a high profile transaction, and for the tens of millions of dollars in fees the deal will produce. Like any major stock offering in its early stages, the final list of banks involved has yet to be determined. CVC, Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment.