New York, The Biggest Trade Centre

New York, The Biggest Trade Centre

"Beverly Hills Housewife" Will Make Auction Record

"Beverly Hills Housewife" Will Make Auction Record

Christie's expects the paint of David Hockney will make an auction sale record in New York in May when it offers "Beverly Hills Housewife," estimated to be worth $7-10 million. The measurement of the picture is 12 feet long & six feet high. The painting is on public display at Christie's headquarters in London until March 26.


Hockney died at the age of 87. His renowned painting "The Splash" sold by $5.4 million at Sotheby's in London.

In addition to Beverly Hills Housewife, the New York post-war and contemporary art evening sale will also feature works from Freeman's collection by Roy Lichtenstein, Alexander Calder and Andy Warhol.

School Children Should Play More Than Work

School Children Should Play More Than Work

Researchers reported on Monday that a growing trend of curbing free time at school may lead to unruly classrooms and rob youngsters of needed exercise and an important chance to socialize.

A look at more than 10,000 children aged 8 and 9 found better classroom behavior among those who had at least a 15-minute break during the school day compared to those who did not, Dr. Romina Barros and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York reported.

The behavior assessments were general in nature and not made at any particular time of the school day, their report said. "The available research suggests that recess may play an important role in the learning, social development, and health of children in elementary school," the research team said in a study published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

But today many children get less free time and fewer physical outlets at school "because many school districts responded to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics," they added. The researchers also found that children not getting recess were more likely to be black, from poor families and attending public schools in large cities.

"This raises concern in light of evidence that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not free to roam their neighborhoods or even their own yards unless they are accompanied by adults," the team said. "For many of these children, recess periods may be the only opportunity for them to practice their social skills with other children."

Barros told Reuters that previously published research indicates that poor children often are deprived of recess because "those schools are located in very violent neighborhoods, and there is the concern that children may get exposed to fights or gun shooting while in recess." In addition, she said, such schools are often overcrowded, with space designated for recess or physical activity turned into classrooms.

The study also said the growing problem of childhood obesity needs to be addressed by more activity, especially at school where children spend so much of their day. One earlier study found that free time has shrunk for U.S. children in and out of school since the 1970s, the report said. At the same time most elementary schools in Asia provide a 10-minute break after every 40 to 50 minutes of instruction, it added.

Divorce + Kidny = Much Money

Divorce + Kidny = Much Money

Women can't usually be trusted or ever pleased. No matter what you do. Dr. Richard Batista learned this the hard way. After generously donating his kidney to his wife in 2001, in order to 'help her health and re-ignite the fire in their marriage', he was left heart-broken when she asked for a divorce in 2005.

Apparently she had fallen in love with someone else and though he donated a kidney she had donated her heart elsewhere. That's the pickle but wait! There's more to this. Now, Dr. Richard Batista, New York's most popular one-kidney doctor, wants $1.5 million as a payment for acquiring his kidney.

He has threatened to take his wife to court. This spokeswoman for some Organ Donation Organization is stumped as she has never heard of something like this before. Judges are stumped and so are potential jurors.

Everyone claims to have never heard of such a thing. Hmmm…sounds familiar though. Replace kidney with heart, repeat procedure.

Indian doctor couple among winners

Indian doctor couple among winners

An Indian couple providing medical care and education to tribal people, a Philippine governor crippled by polio and an unconventional Japanese publisher are among winners of this year's Magsaysay awards, its foundation announced on Thursday.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation named Prakash and Mandakini Amte for the community leadership award. The couple, both medical doctors, run a hospital and school for the Madia Gond tribals in a remote part of central India.

The awards, seen as Asia's equivalent of the Nobel prize, also honoured Ahmad Syafii Maarif, the head of Indonesia's powerful Muhammadiyah group, Thai prosthetic limb manufacturer Therdchai Jivacate and Sri Lankan social worker Ananda Galappatti.

Grace Padaca, governor of the Philippine province of Isabela, received the award for government service. Crippled by childhood polio, she defeated a powerful political dynasty in the 2004 elections and was re-elected last year.

Akio Ishii received the award for journalism, literature and creative communication arts, the foundation said. Ishii is the head of publishing house Akashi Shoten, which has about 2,800 books in print that place discrimination, human rights and other difficult subjects in Japan's public domain, the foundation said.

The award for public service was given to the Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions, of the Philippines.

The awards, named for a popular Philippine president killed in a plane crash, were set up in 1957 by the trustees of the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

More than 250 people and 17 groups, including the U.S. Peace Corps and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have been recognized by the foundation since the first awards in 1958.

Want a Marriage Destination

Want a Marriage Destination

New York City has issued an open challenge to Las Vegas, seeking to become a premier destination for people to get married in what officials hope will boost tourism during uncertain economic times.

The new Manhattan Marriage Bureau opened to the public this week following a $12.3 million renovation, and the 24,000-square-foot (2,230-square meter) space has won enthusiastic reviews from newlyweds.

"We're taking Las Vegas on," said First Deputy City Clerk Michael McSweeney. "The city hopes to advance New York not just as a tourist destination, but as a marriage destination."

But will it be enough to unseat Las Vegas -- known for quick weddings presided over by Elvis impersonators -- as the U.S. wedding destination capital?

In 2007, New York City issued about 66,000 marriage licenses, including more than 21,000 licenses in the borough of Manhattan, city records show. Clark County,

Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, issued 108,963 licenses in 2007, a spokeswoman at the city's tourism office said.

Applying for a marriage license in Las Vegas, where there is no required waiting period, is still less cumbersome than in New York, where couples must wait 24 hours after filing a marriage application before holding their wedding ceremony.

NYC & Company, the city's tourism agency, said the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park hotel has already created a wedding reception package tied to the new location, and the agency said it plans to market New York as a wedding destination abroad.

It has been something of a pet project for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a mayoral spokesman said. Jamie Drake, who decorated the mayor's Upper East Side townhouse, was hired to oversee the design.

The former location, where couples have obtained marriage licenses and held civil ceremonies for almost a century, was long derided as cramped and unromantic.

Women, some dressed in elaborate bridal gowns, were obliged to pass through metal detectors and freshen up in an ordinary public restroom. There was no place to buy flowers.

Still, thousands of New Yorkers were married there over the years, including famous couples like Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft in 1964 and, in 2005, the actor Matt Damon and Luciana Bozan.

The new space, which is the length of a city block, features the building's original marble with brightly colored furniture and ornate chandeliers.

"We thought it would be like an office. But we came and it's actually really nice," said Michelle Tablada, 35, who works in the medical field. "We had perfect timing."

Unlike the previous location, where couples waited in multiple lines, couples now fill out forms at computer terminals and proceed to a clerk, where a system offers help in 170 languages. They wait on plush green sofas.

Couples are invited to bring music on iPods or CDs to personalize the ceremony.
A gift shop sells flower arrangements, costume weddings bands for $9 and New York City memorabilia, like Empire State Building salt and pepper shakers.

The metal detectors are gone and the women's restroom is outfitted with full-length mirrors and a vanity table.

"It's more classy, more elegant," said Kim Ashley, who waited with her girlfriend, Bessie Haile, to get a domestic partnership certificate, though they are barred from a ceremony as a same-sex couple. "It's better for the occasion."

Urinating Passenger

Urinating Passenger

Rodrigo Deambrosio, faces up to 20 years in prison for urinating on a row of seats and threatening to bring down his Argentina- bound flight in a fireball.

Deambrosio, a waiter from New York, became unruly two hours after the flight left New York's Kennedy airport, cursing at the crew and refusing to return to his seat.

He told the crew that he had consumed alcohol, prescription sleeping tablets and cocaine before boarding.

Well that would explain the unruly behavior.

140 Year Old Lobster Regain Freedom

140 Year Old Lobster Regain Freedom

A lobster thought to be about 140 years old will be returned to the ocean after briefly becoming the mascot for a New York City restaurant, an animal rights group said on Friday.

The 20-pound (9-kg) lobster was caught off the coast of Canada about two weeks ago and bought for $100 by City Crab and Seafood to become its mascot, said manager Keith Valenti.

"We bought a big lobster, started taking pictures with kids and it worked out real well," said Valenti, adding it was a "no brainer" to return the old crustacean to the ocean.

He said a lobster's age can be worked out from how much it weighs, with each pound counting for 7 to 10 years.

Valenti said it was not uncommon for lobsters to live for more than 100 years but it was rare for them to be caught because they were generally too big for the baskets.

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it found out that the old lobster was in the restaurant's tank when a diner called them. "We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace," said PETA's Ingrid Newkirk.

Man Left Nails to Cause Flats

Man Left Nails to Cause Flats

Police in upstate New York say they arrested a man after catching him tossing roofing nails onto a driveway.

For the past two years, Michael Delisio allegedly has been planting the projectiles in the driveways of people he doesn't like in order to cause flat tires.

He faces charges of harassment, criminal tampering and mischief.