Mark Webber won Monaco Grand Prix 2012

Australian Mark Webber contributed to Formula One history on Sunday when he steered his Red Bull to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. Webber's win meant six different drivers have won the opening six races of this season — the first time this has happened in the history of the world championship.

Webber's second win in the principality — and the eighth of his career — also marked Red Bull's third successive win at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Webber, 35, started from pole position and controlled the race almost throughout as the local micro-climate delivered its usual capricious weather, moving from sunshine and blue skies to rain for the closing laps. But driving with great control and judgement, he finished six-tenths of a second clear of Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, with two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso third for Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth for Red Bull ahead of Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Felipe Massa, came home sixth in the second Ferrari. A mere 1.3 seconds separated the top four, as the race finished in dramatic fashion.

Webber's first race win this season lifted him to joint second in the drivers' standings alongside teammate Vettel — both three points behind leader Alonso on 76. Hamilton is fourth on 63 and Rosberg fifth with 59.

Briton Paul di Resta came home seventh ahead of his Force India team-mate German Nico Hulkenberg, Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus and 10th placed Brazilian Bruno Senna of Williams.

Webber made a clean and controlled start to turn the 10th pole position of his career into a comfortable early lead ahead of Rosberg with Hamilton also running clear of the field in third. It was a different story, however, for the men behind the leading trio as Frenchman Romain Grosjean, starting fourth, was touched by the charging Mercedes of sixth-placed Michael Schumacher and spun before the first corner. This allowed the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa to move into fourth and fifth places ahead of the mayhem where Pastor Maldonado crashed out in his Williams after making contact with Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa's Hispania.

Maldonado holds off Alonso to win Spanish GP win

Pastor Maldonado gave Williams a first Formula One race win in almost eight years on Sunday when he fought off local hero Fernando Alonso in a thrilling Spanish Grand Prix.

The Venezuelan lost the start bur rebounded to beat Ferrari’s Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus for his first career victory the day after getting his maiden pole after original fastest qualifier Lewis Hamilton was moved to the end of the grid.

Maldonado is the fifth different winner from a fifth team in as many 2012 races, following Jenson Button (McLaren) in Australia, Alonso in Malaysia, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in China and world champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) in Bahrain.

“First podium, first victory, you can imagine how I feel,” said Maldonado. “It is a wonderful day for me and the team.

“We have been pushing so hard to improve since last year and here we are. Yesterday after a great qualifying and today we did it again.” Williams had not topped a podium since Juan Pablo Montoya’s success at the Brazilian GP in October 2004. Success came on the weekend of team owner Frank Williams’ 70th birthday celebrations, with his family present in Barcelona.

“All the boys are delighted, and I’m quietly delighted, boy did we need that win as you can well imagine,” Williams told the BBC. “The car has got possibilities and our rate of development has to exceed that of the other teams.” Hamilton worked his way from last place in the grid — imposed because McLaren didn’t give him enough fuel to bring him to the pits at the end of qualifying — to eighth. Team—mate Jenson Button was ninth while Vettel came sixth.

Vettel and Alonso have 61 points each atop the championship, Hamilton 53, Raikkonen 49, Red Bull’s Mark Webber 48 and Button 45 in a close season.

“There is still a lot for us to understand,” said Vettel, who had to serve a drive—through penalty for speeding under yellow flags and like team—mate Mark Webber required a new front wing. “It is a long and turbulent year, a lot can happen.” Alonso said that “second place at home feels fantastic” and that ” we are back in front in the championship with plenty of possibilities.” But record champion Michael Schumcher who drove his Mercedes into the rear of Bruno Senna’s Williams at turn one which forced both to retire. Schumacher shouted “idiot” over team radio, saying that Senna made a strange manoeuvre.

Alonso squeezed past Maldonado for first place into the first right—hand turn after the start and quickly built up a small lead on home ground.

But the Spaniard was held up briefly by a lapped Marussia and possibly pitted one lap too late for the second time compared to Maldonado, who came in two laps earlier, roared into the lead and was some seven seconds ahead at the 33rd—lap halfway mark.

The gap closed again but Maldonado stayed ahead after the third round of stops he entered three laps ahead of Alonso.

Maldonado was told to look after his rear tyres as the two were separated by little more than a second into the closing stages, but was able to defend the lead and crossed the line in 1 hour 39 minutes 9.145 seconds for the 66 laps on the 4.655km course.

“It was a fantastic start ... and we had the momentum to lead for the first part. But Williams anticipated the first stop better and as the race went on we lost grip and maybe some aero,” said Alonso.

Maldonado said that “Fernando did a better start than me but I was following the pace” before he regained the lead en route to victory.

The winner now also hopes to do well at the next race, the glamour event of the season on May 27 in Monaco.

“Monaco is a great opportunity for us to be strong again. We have to keep pushing with the car. Consistency is the most important thing this season,” Maldonado said.

The Avengers Crosses 200mn in 3 days in USA: by Ray Subers

Source :www.boxofficemojo.com 

 

It's been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a box office success, though few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $200.3 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million).

While it fell short of setting a new opening day record (that still belongs to Potter), The Avengers was responsible for new high marks in most other major categories. It was the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million, and it set new records for Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sundayper-theater average ever for a nationwide release with $46,057.

Through its first three days, ($50.1 million) grosses. It also had the highest The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million). It's still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 ($318.4 million and $312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend.

The incredible opening weekend gross for The Avengers is mostly the result of a lengthy, extremely effective marketing effort which began all the way back in 2008 when Nick Fury made his first appearance after the credits in the original Iron Man. By the time Thor and Captain America opened last year, it became clear that these movies existed in equal parts to make money and to serve as advertisements for The Avengers.

Still, there was the problem of reaching people who hadn't turned out for Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk. That was solved by Disney's massive campaign that made the movie seem accessible even for people who have never picked up a comic book in their life. The marketing conveyed that there was a major threat, and the only way to combat it was by bringing together the world's greatest superheroes. The "head count" ad was a centerpiece of this campaign: it introduced each of the Avengers with a quip from the most-popular Avenger, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and provided a few brief glimpses of the character in action. By the end of that commercial, even the most oblivious viewers probably had a good sense for who everyone was.

The movie went on to receive strong reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), which made anticipation reach even higher levels. It also helped that April's releases were anemic, so The AvengersThor had to face Fast Five last year).

The big question now is how high The Avengers can go—it will obviously hit $400 million, and with exceptional word-of-mouth (rare "A+" CinemaScore) the movie could even be in line for a $500 million total.

The audience was split evenly between those above and below 25 years-of-age, and it was 60 percent male. 3D screenings accounted for 52 percent of the opening weekend gross, which is an improvement from Captain America's 40 percent but below Thor's 60 percent. That 3D share breaks down to 40 percent traditional 3D, 8 percent IMAX, and 4 percent premium large format.

The Avengers accounted for 82.7 percent of the est. $242 million the Top 12 earned this weekend. That's the second-highest was able to play on more screens than it would have if another major movie was in the market (like when weekend market share ever, and the weekend itself ranks fifth all-time in revenue (first for a Summer kick-off).

The titles that made up that other 17.3 percent expectedly took a big hit this weekend. Think Like a Man

The Hunger Games stayed in the Top 3 for the seventh-straight weekend, though it dropped 47 percent to an estimated $5.7 million. So far, the movie has made $380.7 million, which ranks 14th on the fell 55 percent to an estimated $8 million, which brings its total to $73 million. It is easily the highest-grossing April 2012 release, and should wind up with at least $85 million. all-time domestic chart. In the next day or two, it will pass Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2's $381 million.

The Lucky One dipped 49 percent to an estimated $5.5 million, and has thus far earned $47.9 million. The Pirates! Band of Misfits added $5.4 million, which is off 52 percent from its opening. That's a terrible drop for an animated movie, and it probably has to do with losing family audiences and some 3D screens to The Avengers. The Pirates! has only made $18.6 million through its first 10 days.

The Five-Year Engagement also took a tumble—the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt romantic comedy fell 52 percent to an estimated $5.1 million, and has to-date earned a paltry $19.2 million. Even worse, though, were The Raven and Safe. Those movies dropped 66 percent and 69 percent to $2.51 million and $2.47 million, respectively. Safe has now grossed $12.9 million, while The Raven's total sits at $12 million.

While The Avengers was the only new nationwide release this weekend, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel provided great counterprogramming and played well in limited release. The movie ranked 15th for the weekend with an estimated $750,000 from just 27 locations, which translates to a strong $27,778 per-theater average. This kind of pleasant, well-reviewed adult comedy is right in distributor Fox Searchlight's wheelhouse, and it should be able to successfully expand over the next few weeks.

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's iconic work ‘The Scream,' considered one of the most recognisable in the art realm, sold for more than $119 million, creating a new record for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at any auction. 

The painting, depicting the image of a man holding his head and his mouth wide open, sold for $11,99,22,500, which includes the premium paid to Sotheby's at the auction held here on Wednesday. 

Bidding via phone

 

The auction house didn't release the name or any details of the buyer. The bidder was participating in the auction through phone. 

“A seminal image of the pulsating anguish of modernity, ‘The Scream' is among the most recognisable images in the history of art,” Sotheby's said. 

Till now, Pablo Picasso's ‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust' was the most expensive painting ever sold. It was bought for $106.5 million at a Christie's auction in 2010. 

At over $119 million, Munch's 1895 painting has become the highest-priced artwork to ever sell at an auction. The painting was estimated to sell for at least $80 million. 

Bidding at the Sotheby's auction started at $40 million with bidders from the U.S. and China competing for the sunset-coloured portrait, which is in its original frame. 

One of 4 versions

 

The painting is one of the four versions that Munch created, and the only one still in private hands. The other three are housed in the National Gallery of Oslo, and the Munch Museum in the Norwegian capital. 

The painting is being sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father is believed to have been Munch's friend and neighbour. 

Sotheby's said the pastel-on-board version of the painting is the most colourful and vibrant of the four, and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, in which he talks of the inspiration for the painting.

In describing his inspiration for the image, Munch had written: “I was walking along a path with two friends — the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood red — I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence — there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city — my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.”

Like Leonardo da Vinci's ‘The Mona Lisa,' ‘The Scream' is among the best-known images in modern art.

The image is of a bald man in a blue shirt with sunken cheeks, standing on a road believed to be a suicide spot on Oslo's horseshoe-shaped bay. 

He is holding his head, his eyes and mouth wide open, against a streaked blue and bright red background — an image which has been reproduced on paraphernalia like mugs, T-shirts and posters.

Given its immeasurable value, versions of the painting were twice stolen, first in 1994 when two thieves took one version from the National Gallery of Norway. It was stolen again in 2004, when gunmen stole the 1910 version from the Oslo-based Munch Museum. 

The paintings were later recovered. 

Sotheby's spokesman David Norman said few pieces of art have crossed the $100-million mark at a public auction. 

“‘The Scream' has really entered the collective conscience, whatever nationality, whatever country, whatever attitude or age, it really sort of speaks to that sort of existential terror that everyone experiences,” Mr. Norman said. 

Towards new museum

 

Sotheby's said proceeds from the sale are expected to go toward building a new museum, art centre and hotel in Norway, where Olsen's father and Munch were neighbours. 

The Impressionist and Modern Evening sale at Sotheby's also included a series of modern masterpieces from the collection of noted businessman and philanthropist Theodore Forstmann, including a brilliant wartime portrait by Picasso inspired by his muse, Dora Maar, and one of Chaim Soutine's most magnificent portraits, “Le Chasseur de Chez Maxim's.”

A state-of-the-art ground station for earth observation satellites which will function in sub-zero temperatures and withstand high wind speeds will be established at Bharati Station, the third research facility being set up by India on the icy continent of Antarctica.

The installation and commissioning of the ground station will be taken up in summer season at Antarctica, starting from December 2012 to March 2013.

The prestigious project for setting up the ground station as also a communication facility has been bagged by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for a contract value of Rs.50 crore in the face of stiff global competition, according to Y.S. Mayya, Chairman and Managing Director, ECIL.

High-speed satellite raw data would be beamed in real time from Bharati Station to NRSC at Shadnagar, near here, for processing the images once the project starts functioning.

Communication facility

As part of it, a data reception station and another data communication facility linking Bharati Station and NRSC would be established.

ECIL would install two large antennae of 7.5 diameters each-one for remote sensing and the other for communication. The antennae would be enclosed in a radome to protect them from heavy winds. While one antenna was already fabricated, the second one was expected to be ready shortly.

The antennae would be installed on a platform weighing 50 tonnes and developed with special steel structure.

The entire equipment would be taken to Cape Town, South Africa, by the end of September 2012 and transported from there to Bharati Station with logistic support from National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa.

In 2007, ECIL also established the communication link between Maitri, the second Indian research station in Antarctica and NCAOR. Among others, research on tectonics and geological structures would be undertaken at Bharati Station by Indian scientists.

Pigeons’ navigation skills linked to special ‘GPS neurons’

Scientists have long known that the birds navigate using the earth’s magnetic field. Now, a new study has found subtle mechanics in the brain of pigeons that allow them to find their way.

A team at Baylor College of Medicine in the U.S. identified a group of 53 cells in a pigeon’s brain that record detailed information on the Earth’s magnetic field, a kind of internal global positioning system (GPS).

However, the study, published in journal Science, leaves open the question of how these “GPS neurons” actually help the birds sense the magnetic field.

“People had reported in the past, establishing that birds do not seem to respond to the polarity of the magnetic field, yet here we have neurons that are in fact doing that,” study author Prof. David Dickman said.

“That’s one of the beautiful aspects of what we have identified, because it shows how single brain cells can record multiple properties or complex qualities in a simple way,” he told BBC News.

For their study, Prof. Dickman and his colleague Le-Qing Wu set up an experiment in which pigeons were held in a dark room and used a 3D coil system to cancel out the planet’s natural geomagnetic field and generate a tunable, artificial magnetic field inside the room.

While they adjusted the elevation angles and magnitude of their artificial magnetic field, they simultaneously recorded the activity of the 53 neurons in the pigeons’ brain which had already been identified as candidates for such sensors.

So, they measured the electrical signals from each one as the field was changed and found that every neuron had its own characteristic response to the magnetic field, each giving a sort of 3-D compass reading along the familiar north-south directions as well as pointing directly upward or downward.

In life, this could help the bird determine not only its heading just as a compass does, but would also reveal its approximate position, the researchers said.

Each cell also showed a sensitivity to field strength, with the maximum sensitivity corresponding to the strength of the Earth’s natural field, they added.

And like a compass, the neurons had opposite responses to different field “polarity”, the magnetic north and south of a field, that surprised the researchers most of all.

Several hypotheses hold that birds’ magnetic navigation arises in cells that contain tiny chunks of metal in their noses or beaks, or possibly in an inner ear organ.

However, the most widely held among them was thrown into question when researchers found that purported compass cells in pigeon beaks were in fact a type of white blood cell.

Another theory suggests that a magnetic sense may come about in receptors in birds’ eyes. When exposed to light, the theory says, molecules called cryptochromes undergo a fleeting change in their atomic makeup whose length depends on their alignment with a field.

The new research throws this latter possibility also into question, as it would work equally well with a north- or south-pointing field.

“We’re leaning toward a third receptor in the inner ear, and we’re doing experiments to try to determine whether it is in fact a receptor or not,” said Prof. Dickman.

It’s now believed that more than one mechanism may be at work in bird navigation — in their eyes, beaks or ears —- and Prof. Dickman said he is looking forward to getting to the bottom of it.