‘Skyfall’ back on top of N. America box office

Gorgeous and Green, the annual fundraiser for Global Green, takes place at the Bently Reserve on December 11, 2012.

Faconnable recently opened its doors for supporters of Children of Shelters. Their annual fundraiser “Jingle & Mingle” takes place December 6, 2012.

Located at 2724 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, this beautiful 1894 Queen Anne mansion has gone on the market with an asking price of $30 million.

San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department recently hosted Party for the Parks at the Anglers Lodge in Golden Gate Park.

Lucas Cross-Back End Table, Black

The classic X-base design adds an airiness to this end table that’s especially welcome in smaller rooms. Launched in 1914 …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

A Facebook competition organised by Hooroo, Qantas ‘ online accommodation Web site, has discovered resource-rich nation Australia has more to offer than just metals and minerals. Aussies from all over the country participated in the survey which called for the country’s best kept tourist spots, and they came down with 40.  The 40 must-go to tourist destinations include, listed per state:   Western Australia Bremer Bay Little Beach, Albany Pentecost River, Home Valley Station, Kimberley Lighthouse Keeper’s House remains, Albany Jurien Bay Sea Lions, Jurien Bay   South Australia Waterfall Gully Tumby Bay Woodside Andamooka Mintaro Maze, Mintaro Whispering Wall, near Williamstown Barossa Valley Northern Flinders Ranges The Great Wall of China , Central Flinders Ranges BlueSeas Beach House, Kangaroo Island   Queensland Mickey Creek Gorge, Carnarvon Gorge National Park Moreton Island Starlight’s look out, 40 minutes from Longreach Undara Volcanic National Park, Cairns On the Inlet, Port Douglas Champagne Bay, Thomas Island, The Whitsundays Ross River   Tasmania Secret Falls, Hobart  Bay of Fires Donaldson River, Corinna   Victoria Aireys Inlet – Great Ocean Road The bottle of milk, Lorne Shizuka Ryokan Japanese country spa and wellness retreat Hepburn Springs   New South Wales Beaufort House, Adelong Wattamolla Beach, Sydney Royal National Park Milk Beach, Vaucluse Mungo Brush, Myall Lakes National Park Tumbarumba Rodeo, Tumbarumba The Rock Pool, Tuncurry Lake Liddell, Muswellbrook Caves Beach, Central Coast Protesters Falls, The Channon Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks Menindee Lakes, Menindee Kosciuszko huts, Snowy Mountains   Northern Territory Gunlom Falls, top pool, Kakadu National Park Mickey Creek Gorge in Carnavon Gorge National Park supposedly has “towering walls of rock covered in moss with some sections becoming so narrow you can touch the walls of both sides with your hands and feet.” In Sydney, there is Wattamolla Beach, a beach and freshwater lagoon combination, that can be reached less than an hour from Sydney’s CBD. Gunlom Falls in the Northern Territory, meanwhile, has been likened to an infinity pool. Hooroo solicited the help of three lifestyle experts, namely Dr Chris Brown from Bondi Vet and host of a travel segment on the  Living Room  TV show on Channel 10, as well as columnist Paula Joy and Lija Wilson from Hooroo, to narrow down the suggestions given by its participants. They are now holding a new search to pick the top five from among the 40 shortlisted tourist spots. To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail:

[unable to retrieve full-text content] MTV, the CW and PBS will join existing content partners like HBO, ESPN and Netflix. read more

India ’s Sensex is expected to remain range bound on Tuesday as investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of the meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve ‘s Open Market Committee. Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to announce the extension of the $85 billion purchase of securities each month when Operation Twist, its maturity extension programme, ends on Dec 31. On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.29 percent, or 27.46 points, to 9506.29.

Russia n conglomerate Sistema ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ) has warned India that a lack of progress in a dispute over telecoms licenses is putting bilateral relations at risk ahead of a visit by President Vladimir Putin later this month. The dispute is already an issue in Moscow’s dealings with India , a key ally since the Cold War and a major client for Russia ‘s weapons systems. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin raised the case when he visited India in October. The delayed delivery of an aircraft carrier to India is another point of tension between the traditional allies.

JEFF WISE Late last month, editor in chief of Vice magazine Rocco Castoro joined by a photographer, Robert King, managed to secure a plum exclusive: an invite to travel along with the fugitive tech millionaire John McAfee. With reports that he was a “person of interest” in the death of a neighbour, McAfee went on the lam. Last Monday, after several days of surreptitious travel, Castoro and King posted their first ‘private’ dispatch. The gloating was short-lived, however. Within minutes, a reader noticed that the photo posted with the story still contained GPS location data embedded by the iPhone 4S that took it, and said on Twitter: “Check the metadata in the photo. Oops …” Vice quickly replaced the image, but it was too late.

JEFF WISE Late last month, editor in chief of Vice magazine Rocco Castoro joined by a photographer, Robert King, managed to secure a plum exclusive: an invite to travel along with the fugitive tech millionaire John McAfee. With reports that he was a “person of interest” in the death of a neighbour, McAfee went on the lam. Last Monday, after several days of surreptitious travel, Castoro and King posted their first ‘private’ dispatch. The gloating was short-lived, however. Within minutes, a reader noticed that the photo posted with the story still contained GPS location data embedded by the iPhone 4S that took it, and said on Twitter: “Check the metadata in the photo. Oops …” Vice quickly replaced the image, but it was too late. A Wired.com article came up, including a Google Earth view of the exact spot the picture had been taken — poolside at the Hotel & Marina Nana Juana in Izabal, Guatemala.

Great Wall Motor Co ( 601633.SS ) is in talks to open a plant in India , a move that would make it the first Chinese carmaker to operate in the country without a partner. “They are meeting industry. They are meeting government. They are meeting suppliers,” Vishnu Mathur, director general of the Society of India n Automobile Manufacturers – a lobby group, told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Great Wall ( 2333.HK ), which sells its sport-utility vehicles and pick-up trucks in other emerging markets such as Russia and South Africa , is not yet present in India’s booming SUV market, one of a few bright spots in the local automotive industry. China’s eighth-largest car maker, which sent a delegation to India last week, is targeting 2016 to start manufacturing in India, Mathur said, adding Great Wall executives met SIAM representatives last week.

Bharti Infratel Ltd, the telecommunications tower arm of top Indian mobile carrier Bharti Airtel ( BRTI.NS ), said it will allot shares worth $120 million to cornerstone investors as part of its up to $832 million initial public offering. Investors including units of Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) have agreed to buy 28.3 million shares of Bharti Infratel at 230 rupees apiece, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The share sale opens for public subscription on Tuesday and will close on Friday. Bharti Infratel has set a price band of between 210 rupees and 240 rupees a share for the issue of 188.9 million shares, or 10 percent of its equity, in what will be the country’s biggest IPO in two years.