London, Dec 10 : A new research has suggested that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica may be impairing the Southern Ocean's ability to mop up carbon dioxide (CO2) from Earth's atmosphere.

Earth's oceans are the largest sink of carbon dioxide, with the Southern Ocean accounting for more than 40 percent of the annual uptake of the greenhouse gas, Andrew Lenton, a marine biochemist at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, told Nature News.

In theory, seas should soak up more carbon dioxide as levels of the gas in the atmosphere rise.

Melbourne, Dec. 10 : Thanks to the bonanza offered by the Lalit Modi-led Indian Premier League (IPL), which was launched in April and May this year, seven cricketers are in the top 50 sport earners list.

Australian cricketers Ricky Ponting (3.05 million dollars) and Brett Lee (2.5 million dollars) lead the way.

But with fringe Australian players like David Hussey and Cameron White just missing out, list compiler John Stensholt predicts Aussie cricketers will be the big movers in the near future.

"Expect to see a few more cricketers in the list next year. IPL is changing the way cricketers think about earning money," The Age quoted Stensholt, as saying.

The two keenly anticipated movies of this year SRK’s ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ and Aamir’s ‘Ghajini’ now have different challenges to meet.

There are also hopes that both the films will put an end to the lacklustre season in the Hindi film industry (Bollywood).

But the most important thing is that, they’ll lure back film fans who have kept away from cinemas since the Mumbai  attacks.

During the last two weeks, the majority of Mumbai’s 75-plus multiplexes witnessed below 30% occupancy.

It has been suggested by Apple's recent acquisition of a semiconductor company that mobile chips are being developed by the corporation that will power not just iPhones, but netbooks and tablets as well.

Back in April, CEO Steve Jobs acknowledged that in order to work on chips for iPhones and iPods, Apple acquired PA Semi.

London, Dec 10 : American outlaw Butch Cassidy had Geordie roots, it has emerged.

His mum was born in Newcastle and lived there for decades before moving to the United States.

Cassidy''s story was portrayed in the 1969 movie `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', which starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Butch's Geordie link was discovered by fan Mike Bell, who saw the movie as a teenager - in Newcastle, reports the Sun.

Mike, now 52, said: "I've been from Utah to Argentina looking for information on Butch. All the time the house where his mum lived was around the corner."

Butch, christened Robert Leroy Parker, was born in Utah in 1866.

London, Dec 10 : Troubled popstar Amy Winehouse's mother is relieved that her daughter's junkie husband Blake Fielder-Civil is back in jail.

Blake, who had recently been set free after completing 27-month jail sentence for GBH, is back in jail after he failed a drugs test and escaped.

After failing the drugs test Blake fled to the London clinic where the `Back To Black' hitmaker is being treated for a ''reaction to prescription drugs'', and begged Amy''s dad Mitch to have time with his wife.