Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson to hit Seminole Hard Rock on Valentine's Day

On-again, off-again, never-together-but-messing-with-us duo Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are hosting a big Valentine's Day party on Feb. 14 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's appropriately named Passions nightclub.

Mary Murphy from So You Think You Can Dance was sighted at the Martini Tuesdays at the Mondrian, hanging out with all the boys. Says one, ``She was very fun, drinking champagne and taking photos with everyone.''

Filmmaker Susan Seidelman, best known for Desperately Seeking Susan, will speak at the Miami Filmmaker Project Seminar Series at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Art Center/South Florida Gallery. Admission is free.

Television personality Maria Celeste was spotted at Club 50 at the Viceroy Miami at a brunch for Fendi's Spring/Summer line. According to our fashionista, ``She fell in love with several of the items coming down the runway and asked to borrow one for her upcoming People En Español's 50 Most Powerful Women shoot, where she will be reportedly on the cover.''

Iggy Pop was at Gardner's Market in Pinecrest on Sunday with longtime girlfriend Nina Alu. Said our spy, ``He looked good for Iggy. And was very nice, sampling the smoothies I was promoting. He was just like another guy at the farmers market, hanging out eating the food and talking to people.''

Brooke Hogan was recently seen shopping at the newly opened Inca boutique at The Gansevoort, where, according to our spy, she turned heads and even stopped traffic as she undressed down to her underwear in the middle of the store to try on bathing suits. Hogan left with more than $2,000 worth of bikinis and cover-ups, including a matching mother/daughter bikini set.

American Idol runner-up David Archuleta was spotted using the coal burning pizza oven to keep his hands warm before going outside to perform for fans at Palm Beach's Vic and Angelos last week.

Shakira took a break from hip-shaking and celebrated her birthday with lunch at RA Sushi in South Miami with family Monday. The party of five sat in a large booth and dined on RA favorites including the Viva Las Vegas roll, the Crazy Monkey roll and the chicken yakisoba. Our source says that Shakira was very friendly and seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the quality time with her family. She was also naturally beautiful, wearing little makeup, and was casually dressed.

Grammy Award-winning merengue singer Elvis Crespo was at Mango's Tropical Cafe Monday night. According to our source, he drank Johnnie Walker Black and offered drinks to everyone who was around him.

Jackie Mason left his table at Ghirardelli on Wednesday and had lunch at the Chabad House in Miami Beach. Mason spoke for a few minutes, autographed books, and took photos with fans. He also sponsored the food for the event -- eggplant parmesan, salmon, salads, blintzes, quiches, breads and dips, coffee and cake. Mason volunteered to attend the lunch after meeting Chabad rabbinical students on Lincoln Road.

Source:http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment

Shakira Hits The Studio with Calle 13

Colombian pop queen Shakira recently hit the studio with alt-raperos Calle 13 for a very fruitful recording session in the Bahamas. How do we know? One of the producers in the studio session, James Wisner, was kind enough to post a photo of the whole group on his MySpace profile. Thanks, James!

We've already told you that Shakira is exploring different directions for her new album, her first since Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and 2 dropped four years ago. Pharrell Williams and a longtime Shakira collaborator, Gustavo Cerati, both worked on new tracks with the singer in recent months. It all leads to one question: what in the world will Shakira's new album sound like? Will she be rapping with Residente and Visitante? About scatological humor? We can't wait to find out.

Source http://en.terra.com/entertainment

‘Shakira’s hot, but Madonna’s amazing!’

Well, that’s Sandip Soparrkar for you. Candid and cordial. Having grabbed attention for his connection (dance, of course) with Hollywood hotties such as Shakira, Beyonce Knowles, Madonna Britney Spears and even football legend Maradona, Sandip seems quite content with life. “Things are happening and I am happy about how they are moving. Dance takes care of half of your life,” says Sandip.

A single father, who adopted a two-year-old boy, Sandip feels the society is selfish and to some extent racial when it comes to adopting a baby. “It took me four years to be able to adopt a baby. First of all, I am single and a man. That was the major hurdle. A single woman has to undergo three steps, whereas the law of land has laid 42 steps for a man to be able to adopt a child. And that too, a single man can only adopt a male child. Added to this, once I passed this acid test, people used to advise me to adopt a fair child. Why? Because I am fair,” Sandip shares.

Life seems to have taken another good turn after his son Arjun entered his life. “It’s been wonderful to see Arjun grow. He’s one and a half year old and I love him. He is not a dancer. And I don’t want to make him one. I want to give him a good life.” According to Sandip, adopting a child and giving a better life to a child makes more sense than donating money. He seems to be enjoying fatherhood, as he says, “I am going to buy something for my son from Ahmedabad.”

During the economic slowdown, Sandip feels, “dance helps reduce stress levels. And believe me, the number of people who come to dance has increased when I conduct a workshop in these two months.”

Having trained ‘Bootylicious’ Beyonce, hip-shaker Shakira, Sandip has choreographed Britney Spears’ song Womanizer. In his kitty right now is the Hollywood flick Nine starring Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman. So who is the hottest of all these celebrities? “Shakira. No doubt about it. But I really admire Madonna for her appeal and being able to maintain a toned up figure, which is quite difficult a task. When I met her, I was amazed to see how young she looked. At 50 she looked like a 30-year old.

Excerpt from the article in http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Shakira to Shake for Obama's Inauguration

We hope it's true!

Latina magazine reports that Shakira will be performing at the Obama inauguration in January!

The Obama camp won't confirm or deny the report, but we're inclined to believe it!

Latina did break the big news that Mariah Carey married Nick Cannon earlier this year!

Plus, when philanthropist Shaki endorsed the Prez-Elect back in October, the big B responded, "It's an honor for me to receive support from someone with so much talent, from an artist who has been so generous."

There's mutual love there!

We can't wait to see the Colombiana heat up that wintery DC night!

Source:http://perezhilton.com/2008-12-04-shakira

Shakira takes appeal for Latin America's poor kids to New York

Remember how we reported earlier this year from Mexico on ALAS, a new charity initiative by Colombian superstar Shakira to aid Latin America's millions of poor, malnourished and undereducated children?

Well, she's at it again, this time in New York and accompanied by Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz.

But her companions weren't just other Spanish-speaking pop stars but rather the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Panama and Paraguay.

The singers asked the presidents to adopt an agreement on combating child poverty during the upcoming Iberoamerican Summit in late October. ''If we win your personal commitment today, we will have opened the future of Latin America,'' said Sanz, a Spaniard.

''I promised Shakira that in the next summit, which is in El Salvador, we will work on the topic,'' Salvadoran President Tony Saca told a crowd of 1,000 at Columbia University in New York, where the presidents are attending the United Nations General Assembly.

The five leaders spoke of child poverty in their countries and expressed interest in the project -- as well as admiration for the artists' work through ALAS.

Source:http://www.miamiherald.com/

First dress rehearsal took place in Limassol

In the Spyros Kyprianou Arena, the first dress rehearsal of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place. Giorgos Ioannides, who represented Cyprus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest last year, is the star of the opening sequence that switches between kids on stage and kids dancing all around Limassol.
Following the opening act with eighty dancers, the presenters of the show appear on stage. Sophia Paraskeva and Alex Michael appear rising from the floor, looking as if appearing through a fountain of water. The participants enter the hall walking down the stairs through the audience, carrying a large sun shaped flag of their country.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest cooperates with UNICEF and that you will notice throughout the show. UNICEF ambassadors like David Beckham, Shakira, Robbie Williams and Whoopi Goldberg are the first ones to make you aware that not all children in the world live in wealth and peace. When the hosts explained how to vote, it is time to open the televoting and kick off the show with the first participants from Romania.

After the first three countries - Romania, Armenia and Belarus - performed, you can see last year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest Sipke Jan Bousema elaborating on the UNICEF project. Following the performances of Russia and Greece, you can see Sipke Jan in another postcard together with the Junior Eurovision Song Contest participants.

Georgia is next after the short break after which a postcard of the sandy beach introduces Oliver, the Belgian candidate. Bulgaria, Serbia, Malta and the Netherlands. Beckham, Shakira and Robbie promote UNICEF once more and make it possible again for broadcasters to air a commercial break. Sophia Paraskeva and Alex Michael then show up again before the show continues with the last four candidates from Ukraine, Lithuania, Macedonia and Cyprus. With a recap off all songs, the viewers are asked to vote for their favourite participants and to suppurt UNICEF.

Evridiki and Dimitris Korgialas (stand-ins for the moment) take the stage to sing this year's Junior Eurovision theme song Fun In The Sun and dancers form the word FUN on stage. Another recap of the songs is aired for them who couldn't make up their mind yet. Dima Bilan, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest gets introduced.

Following a report on the Lemesos Parade which took place in Limassol last Monday, the candidates all together hand in hand sing the UNICEF song Hand In Hand. Another review on what the candidates did in Cyprus this week, an interview with and performance of Dima Bilan (a stand-in for the moment) later, a video with last years Belarusian winner Alexey and the usual chat with Svante Stockselius, the points can finally be revealed.

Source: http://www.belgovision.com/en/index_f.php?id=4846

Shakira to lobby on child welfare

Shakira to lobby on child welfare

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Latin pop star Shakira, showing she can move more than her hips, will lobby Latin American presidents this week to start a regional project to pump money into children's health and education.

The singer will address a summit in El Salvador of Ibero-American leaders, including the presidents of Brazil and her native Colombia, over the need to feed and educate poor children, especially amid a global economic slowdown.

"There are difficult times coming in Latin America. Thousands and thousands of children will die if governments do not organize ways to distribute food during this crisis," Shakira told Reuters.

"I grew up in the developing world and I have witnessed the lack of opportunities that children have to live with," she added, speaking by telephone from Miami.

"In a country like mine, when a child is born poor, people die poor. But I'm fascinated by the fact that through education you can transform lives, you can end this cycle of poverty."

Some 35 million children live in poverty in Latin America with little or no access to proper food and education, Shakira said. Investing in a year of primary education can increase a person's adult income by up to 20 percent, she added.

Shakira's hip-swivelling dances and catchy ballads have earned her a huge global following and a string of Grammy awards. She began getting into social issues just a few years into her pop career, starting a Colombian children's charity called the Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet) Foundation in 1997, named after her breakthrough hit album released a year before.

While celebrities like Bono and Angelina Jolie have focused on Africa, Shakira uses her fame to make headlines on Latin America, where stubbornly high poverty levels can get overlooked because of healthier overall economic indicators.

Shakira helped launch the Fundacion ALAS (Latin America in Solidarity Action), which is behind the new initiative, and has lobbied British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the U.S. Congress on the need to educate children in poor countries.

"My heart is committed to this cause and it has been there for a long time, since I was 18," said Shakira, now 31, who has sold some 50 million albums around the world.

"I like to think that I can use my public profile to bring attention to more important issues than my own."

Her new project will seek funding from organizations like the World Bank and would monitor governments' efforts closely, although the golden-tressed singer regretted she would not have time to get involved in inspection efforts on the ground.

SOURCE:http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSTRE49S90Z20081030

Shakira: No Time for a Baby

Saying she's pregnant enough with her songs, Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira said she has no current plans to have a baby, despite her work on behalf of Latin American children, the New York Daily News reports.

"I'm quite pregnant with my album," the 31-year-old Colombian pop star told the Daily News, although she said she does want to be a mother eventually.

Shakira appeared at a regional summit in El Salvador on Thursday, where she asked about 20 Latin American presidents to allot more resources for poor children and to make early-childhood development a priority. The United Nations goodwill ambassador is appearing at the summit on behalf of the Latin America in Solidarity Action Foundation.

Source:http://www.diversityinc.com/public/4693.cfm

Scammers Fake Shakira Show To Sell Tickets

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Two bounced checks led officers to discover a scam where a music festival headlined by Shakira was faked to sell tickets, police said.

Beaverton police responded Friday to a call at Lazerquick at 2770 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. at about 11:45 a.m. for a report of a theft where a woman had written two bad checks that totaled more than $5,000, Detective Pam Yazzolino said.

The merchandise which had been purchased with those checks by Olga Antroprova, 24, was fliers and posters promoting a fake concert headlined by the singer Shakira, which was said to be in Bellevue, Wash. from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, Yazzolino said.

The show was being promoted as the First Annual International Dance Festival.

To sell the phony tickets the scammers had set up a Web site where they could be purchased for $230 each, Yazzolino said.

She said it isn't known how many of the fake tickets were sold or how many victims there have been.

On Monday, detectives arrested Nguyen Nguyen, 35, on three outstanding warrants and are investigating his involvement with the fake concert ticket scam, Yazzolino said.

Antroprova voluntarily came forward and is cooperating with detectives, Yazzolino said.

Beaverton police are continuing the investigation into the scam. Anyone with information or who may have been a victim should call Detective Mike Hanada at 503.526.2267.

Source:http://www.kptv.com/news/17844085/detail.html#

Shakira Helps Fight Child Poverty

"Those who are born in poverty die in poverty," commented Columbian singer Shakira, about the Latin American children.
Shakira added, “A child who lacks sufficient nutrition and education is never able to lead a dignified life, and that must change.”

That is the challenge with which the young inimitable singer, planned to confront the presidents of several Latin American nations: Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Panama, and Paraguay.

The event was held on September 24, where Shakira tried to encourage the presidents to begin a mutual effort to fight child poverty. The aim is to ratify an agreement during the October summit meeting of Ibero-American representatives.
Her words came as representative of ALAS (Latin America for Solidarity). An organization founded in 2006 by some of the most influential artists, intellectuals, and business leaders of Latin America.

Shakira donated US$40 million to ALAS for reconstruction in areas of Peru and Nicaragua that were devastated by natural disasters.
Shakira’s Early Involvement

The singer, born in Columbia in 1977 and of Catalan origin, had early on—since 1997— become involved in her native land with the “Fundacion Pies Descazos” (“Barefoot Children's Foundation”).
Her social responsibilities are primarily providing nutrition and education for street children, and those who have other basic needs.
Shakira was named ambassador for UNICEF in 2003. The lyrics of her songs often include corruption, crime, torture, and criminal abortion. The German TV program ZDF voted her "2007 Charity Person of the Year," for the program "A Heart for Children."

This year, her song "La Despedida," from the soundtrack of the movie "Love in the Times of Cholera," was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Original Song category.

Source:http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/arts-entertainmen

Shakira Takes Children's Charity Global

Colombian pop star Shakira's children's charity is to go global by Christmas (08).

The Pies Descalzos (Barefoot) charity has provided shelter, care, clothing and food for poor children in the singer's native Colombia and now she wants to take her message of help to the world.

Launching the global initiative during an Earth Institute initiative with South American leaders at America's Columbia University on Wednesday (24Sep08), the Hips Don't Lie singer said, "Under less than $2 a day, we can provide a kid with top quality education and the nutrition that they need to be able to function and be able to learn, because a kid with an empty stomach cannot learn."

"This model that has been so successful in my country, now I want to bring it to other countries in my small way."

She insists her summit meeting with the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador and Panama went very well, and they've pledged to help Shakira: "They seem very committed and that's
what we need.

We need all the leaders of Latin America to have a definite commitment toward our children (because) the children of Latin America are waiting for opportunities.

"Where I come from every child who is born poor will die poor and we have to change this, and this is the moment to do it. We are at the threshold of a new wave of awareness and sensibility toward our children's issues. But early childhood development should be at the top of our priorities and at the top of every president's agenda." (c) WENN

Source: http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212175147.shtml

Shakira meets Betancourt in Paris

Colombian pop star met with former hostage Ingrid Betancourt and her son Lorenzo in Paris Tuesday, celebrity website Celebrity Gossip reports.

Shakira is currently recording her new album in London and Betancourt is in Paris recovering after being held in the Colombian jungle by the FARC for six years.

Both women will be involved coming Sunday in a worldwide protest against the FARC. Betancourt, together with Colombian pop star Juanes, will head the march held in Paris. Shakira will hold a concert on the Colombian border with Peru and Brazil.

news source : http://colombiareports.com/

Shakira leads demo for hostages' release

BOGOTA: Pop star Shakira led nationwide demonstrations in her native Colombia yesterday demanding the liberation of hundreds of hostages held by rebels in the jungle for years.

Colombian ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt staged a concert in Paris as part of the rallies. "No more hostages!" Betancourt chanted as she addressed a crowd of several thousand people who came to watch more than 30 artists perform in a square across the river Seine from the Eiffel Tower. Colombian star Juanes, Spain's Miguel Bose, and French artists Renan Luce and Michel Delpech were also present.

Stolen Picasso recovered

SAO PAULO: Brazilian police recovered a Picasso engraving stolen during a brazen daytime heist from a Sao Paulo museum last month. One of the suspected robbers was arrested on Friday.

news sorce : http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/

Live Nation Follows Shakira '360 Deal' With Nickelback Signing

Colombian pop star Shakira to a reported $70-$100 million "360 deal," concert promotion giant Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) announced on Tuesday that it signed a new multi-faceted contract with Canadian rock band Nickelback. Under the deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, Live Nation acquired a vast array of rights for the band, including three touring and album cycles, tour sponsorship, merchandise, VIP/travel packages, secondary ticketing, clothing, licensing, non-tour sponsorship and endorsements, DVD and broadcast rights, fan club, website and literary rights.

Previously signed to EMI in Canada and Warner Music/Atlantic/Roadrunner Records in the rest of the world, Nickelback has sold more than 26 million albums worldwide. The band's last tour of North America and Australia, in 2006-2007, sold more than 1.5 million tickets and grossed in excess of $67 million. "This deal with Nickelback will enable us to fully capitalize on our vertically integrated platform to connect the band with their fans, monetizing our unparalleled reach to drive revenues and increase overall margins," said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino. "This partnership is structured to increase our revenue and cash flow potential significantly, while reducing our risk profile. This investment is cross collateralized, spread over multiple years and comprises multiple business opportunities."

news source : http://www.dmwmedia.com/

To Sing Like Shakira, Press '1' Now

ScienceDaily (July 2, 2008) — Vibrato -- the pulsating change of pitch in a singer’s voice -- is an important aspect of a singer’s expression, used extensively by both classical opera singers and pop stars likeShakira. Usually, the quality of a vibrato can only be judged subjectively by voice experts. Until now, that is. A research group from Tel Aviv University has successfully managed to train a computer to rate vibrato quality, and has created an application based on biofeedback to help singers improve their technique. Your computer can now be a singing coach. The invention was recently showcased at an international competition in Istanbul, where it won first prize at the International Cultural and Academic Meeting of Engineering Students. Researcher Noam Amir, a senior lecturer from the Department of Communication Disorders at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, says the tool might not help record producers find the next great pop music sensation. But it could teach singers how to mimicShakira’s signature vibrato.

Good Singing Is Not Subjective

Vibrato is a musical effect than can be used when a musician sings or plays an instrument. It adds expression to a song and is created by a steady pulsating change of pitch, characterized by the amount of variation and the speed at which the pitch is varied. TAU’s application can teach singers how to mimic the vibrato qualities most attractive to the human ear. But mastering vibrato is no guarantee for an American Idol appearance. “Vibrato is just one aspect of a singer’s impact,” says Amir, an expert in the ways that emotions impact speech. “Singers need to arouse an emotional response, and that is a complicated task.”

Music, By the Numbers

Three years ago, Amir and his colleagues decided that they would look for an objective, numerical assessment of vibrato quality. New vocal students usually don’t have good control of their vibrato, explains Amir. “Their vibrato is erratic and hard to judge subjectively, and it’s hard to find to a precise measure for this. We wanted to find a way to emulate a human expert in a computer program.” Amir’s team input into their computer many recordings by students singing vibrato and had their vibrato judged by human teachers. Using hundreds of vocal students and expert judges, the team was able to use mathematical measurements to correlate vibrato styles to their quality as judged by the teachers.

The computer was then able to rate the vibrato quality of new voices on its own, producing ratings similar to those given by the expert vocal teachers. In effect, a machine had “learned” how to judge the quality of an individual singer’s vibrato. The researchers then added a biofeedback loop and a monitor so that singers could see and augment their vibrato in real time.

news source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/

Shakira set to make a big impact in final

The Chingford-based 16-year-old, will become the first Waltham Forest Amateur Boxing Club (ABC) fighter for a number of years to step into an ABA finals ring, when she faces Chloe Fairhead at the Army base in Aldershot. The Sheerness puncher has much more experience than Ley, but Forest secretary Ian Cuddy is confident that his fighter will come up trumps in this junior final. advertisement He said: "Shakira is a very determined character and has been training very hard for this fight. "So while her opponent has had more fights we believe she is fully prepared. "It is a massive bout for both her and the club, because in my six years here this is the first person we've had in an ABA final.

"Having already been invited to train with the London representative training squad, we know that she has the ability to win this final. "I'm sure Shakira is fully aware that if she wins she has a chance to go on and earn her England vest." Ley's male club-mates have been busy in action themselves, with Forest securing a 50 per cent win rate from their six bouts on their home show last weekend at Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow. The star of the show had to be Tyler Nejet, who took the home fighter of the night award after beating Golden Gloves winner Billy Cooper of the Nemesis Boxing Club. The Forest fighter using good foot work and combination punches just edged a tight, but thrilling contest. Also securing wins on the night were Sam Gilley, who saw off the highly rated Michael McDonagh (Tottenham & Enfield ABC) and Glenn Leigh, who beat a very game Andrew Harper (Trojan ABC).

Other home fighters in action on the same show were Michael Keenan, Bradley Anderson and Chris Farbridge, who were all unlucky in their bouts.

Reflecting on those results, Cuddy said: "It was nice to have so many winners on our own show and I thought Tyler in particular boxed brilliantly. "The lads that lost also put up some very good performances and Michael was very unlucky to see the decision go against him in his fight." Also in action on Friday night was Danny Hart, who making his first appearance in a year, put on a sensational performance to beat home fighter Tommy Smith on Cray Valley's charity show.Smith, a tricky southpaw, who had won nine fights from 12 bouts including four by knockout was simply blown away by a determined Hart and the home corner threw in the towel in round two. Cuddy said: "This is the best I've seen Danny box and having been out of action for a year, it was simply an awesome performance against a very good opponent." If you want to join Waltham Forest Amateur Boxing Club, or find out more about the Sunday morning female only classes call E4 Health Studio on 020 8523 5133.

news source : http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/

Shakira at the Latin Billboard Awards

Latin songstress and booty shaker Shakira at the 2006 Latin Billboard Awards, which, if I’m not mistaken, means “No Whiteys Allowed”. Here’s Shakira on the red carpet, receiving awards, and on stage performing with that refugee black dude who doesn’t really have much of a career beyond singing back-up for pretty musicians who are much, much more popular than he is. *cough* Lauryn Hill *cough*

news source : http://www.beyondhollywood.com/

Shakira and Ricky hold charity concert

London (ANI): A host of Latin celebrities including the likes of Shakira and Ricky Martin are doing their share of charity by performing at two fund raising concerts to highlight the plight of some 32m Latin American children living in poverty. The concerts will be held in the two Buenos Aires and Mexico City and will be attended by many thousands of viewers.

The proceeds of the two events, being held simultaneously in Argentina and Mexico, will be going to the Latin America in Solidarity Action (Alas) charity. Earlier Shakira revealed that she had managed to get 200m dollars in donations from Mexican and US tycoons Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett and said that the eradication of poverty was "doable."

While Slim is the telecommunications magnate, Howard Buffet is the eldest son of the US investment guru, Warren Buffett. "Imagine what Latin America could achieve if we invest in developing the potential of these children," BBC quoted Shakira, as saying earlier this week. She added: "The funny thing is that Latin America produces three times what it needs to feed its population. So, it is doable, we can really eradicate poverty." It was in 2006 that Alas was launched for dealing with poverty that kills an estimated 350,000 children each year in Latin America.

news source : http://entertainment.oneindia.in/

Robin Hood Raises $56.5 Million as Shakira, Crow Sing

The Robin Hood Foundation's annual gala last night in New York raised $56.5 million, a drop of more than $15 million from the 2007 event as subprime mortgage losses and job reductions reverberated at Wall Street's biggest charity event. About 3,700 executives from Wall Street banks, hedge funds and private-equity companies were moved away from the problems of Bear Stearns Cos. and the credit crunch with serenades by Shakira, John Legend and Sheryl Crow. With 2007's gala raising $72 million, last night's take represents about a 21.5 percent decline.

``I'm pleased and surprised that the total raised was as high as it was because I thought it would have been lower,'' John Whitehead, the former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs & Co. and a philanthropist, said in a phone interview today. ``It still shows a fabulous generosity in the Wall Street community at a time when business is much worse than it was a year ago.'' The dip in donations came amid global economic weakening as financial companies around the world cut more than 83,000 jobs since last July. Banks and brokerages, which employ many of Robin Hood's donors, have taken $383 billion in write downs and credit losses. The festivities at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center attracted Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis and Pequot Capital Management Inc. Chairman Arthur Samberg.

David Saltzman, Robin Hood's executive director, said in an interview at the Javits Center that the estimated total could be higher after all donations are counted as early as today. He said the evening's tally, at a time that banks are laying off staff, still showed an ``extraordinary'' display of generosity.

Tough Times

``Despite what's going on in the economy, people who are in a position to help others step up, and during tough times they step up even more,'' Saltzman said. High finance mixed with the world of entertainment as Conan O'Brien of NBC's ``Late Night'' program hosted the event. Celebrities in attendance included the rapper Jay-Z, Rush Communications Chairman Russell Simmons and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. Musician David Byrne, who attended the gala with his girlfriend Cindy Sherman, said the gala bustling with entertainment and finance-industry stars was ``quite a scene.'' ``The bids are probably going to be outside of my tax bracket,'' Byrne said in an interview about the event's auction while waiting outside the Javits Center.

Hip-Twitching

After a dinner of filet of beef, grilled chicken and bow-tie pasta, the attendees listened to live music performed by Shakira, the hip-twitching Colombian pop singer, and rock star Crow, who made a surprise appearance and took the stage for a rendition of ``Lean on Me.'' The Robin Hood gala has become one of New York's largest philanthropic events with its huge annual tally and donor list. It's also a symbolic gesture in which Wall Street's richest extend a hand for a night to the city's poorest. One of out every five New Yorkers lives in poverty and about 300,000 people receive food from a soup kitchen or food pantry weekly, the foundation points out on its Web site. The $1.9 trillion hedge-fund industry is off to its worst start in almost two decades as some firms have been forced to liquidate or sell their holdings this year. Saltzman said individual donations ranged from $1 to ``millions of dollars.'' In 2007, John Paulson, founder of the New York-based Paulson & Co., led all hedge-fund managers with an estimated $3.7 billion in pay, according to Institutional Investor's Alpha Magazine.

news source : http://www.bloomberg.com/

Shakira and Ricky hold charity concert

London (ANI): A host of Latin celebrities including the likes of Shakira and Ricky Martin are doing their share of charity by performing at two fund raising concerts to highlight the plight of some 32m Latin American children living in poverty. The concerts will be held in the two Buenos Aires and Mexico City and will be attended by many thousands of viewers.

The proceeds of the two events, being held simultaneously in Argentina and Mexico, will be going to the Latin America in Solidarity Action (Alas) charity. Earlier Shakira revealed that she had managed to get 200m dollars in donations from Mexican and US tycoons Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett and said that the eradication of poverty was "doable."

While Slim is the telecommunications magnate, Howard Buffet is the eldest son of the US investment guru, Warren Buffett. "Imagine what Latin America could achieve if we invest in developing the potential of these children," BBC quoted Shakira, as saying earlier this week. She added: "The funny thing is that Latin America produces three times what it needs to feed its population. So, it is doable, we can really eradicate poverty." It was in 2006 that Alas was launched for dealing with poverty that kills an estimated 350,000 children each year in Latin America.

news source : http://entertainment.oneindia.in/