Today World News

Change in the URL of the Blogspot from .com to .in

2012-01-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

It seems Google has made changes in the URLs of the Blogspots. Google has actually regionalized the URL of BlogSpot Blogs and The Recent Event of change in URL caused this Blog lost of Twitter ,Facebook and Google+ share numbers .The change also resulted in vanishing of my Followers and PR.

All .com URL’s now directing users to a .In blogspot blogs if the blog updates are made from India. This change has affected lot’s of blogs. Major thing is the Loss of Page Ranks, which is important in the point of SEO industry. I even noted that few Blog URLs have changes from blogspot.com to .org.

If you have any information regarding this change, kindly share with us.

Attires that speak louder than words

2012-01-30T04:32:00.000-08:00

Women's attires invariably get noticed and are usually a topic of debate. And when it comes to celebrities dressing up for various events and function, thousands of people are watching you. When Priyanka Gandhi - who is known for sporting branded clothing and stylish western outfits for parties and casual events - wore a handloom sari for her Amethi campaign, it fuelled the debate about what she was trying to convey through her clothes. "Having dressed up several politicians for various events, I think she has dressed suitably for the event. I think they have lots of dos and don'ts to follow as well. Coming from a political background, I am sure one can't do away with showing some skin, particularly when it comes to matters like campaigning in a rural locality. The selection to wear a handloom sari, a norm which was set by her grandmother Indira Gandhi, is not wrong," says fashion expert Archana Kocchar.

Duchess of Cambridge Celebrated her 30th birthday

2012-01-09T23:23:00.000-08:00

The Duchess of Cambridge turned 30 on 9th Jan, but there is no big party planned for the milestone -- instead she is said to be planning a "low-key" birthday.

On Sunday, the Duke and Duchess attended the star-studded UK premiere of Stephen Spielberg's "War Horse." Despite the rain, Kate wowed the crowds in London's Leicester Square in a black lace Alice Temperley gown -- accessorized with an umbrella, courtesy of her husband.

But Monday's festivities look set to be much quieter -- a St James's Palace spokesperson told CNN it would be an ordinary day for the Duke and Duchess, with any celebrations likely to be "private and low-key".

Her 30th birthday comes in the wake of a landmark year for Kate: The past 12 months have seen her take on her first royal engagements and marry into the monarchy in a ceremony watched by millions of people around the world.

Just weeks after the wedding, Kate and Prince William were greeted like rock stars when they took part in their first overseas tour together, visiting Canada and the United States. This year there are likely to be similar levels of excitement when the couple travels to Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, as part of the celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

And there is already fevered speculation as to whether the Duke and Duchess will welcome their own new addition to the royal family in the months to come.

Ginza Tanaka unveils Solid Gold Christmas Tree Worth $2 Million

2011-11-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

For those of you who love Christmas but can’t stand falling needles and cheap plastic, Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka has created the ultimate Christmas tree – made of pure gold and worth a whopping $2 million.

After making a 24-karat gold horse for Japan’s newborn prince, and creating another tree worth $850,000, Ginza Tanaka decided to step it up even more and came up with a solid gold Christmas tree for this holiday season. Measuring 2.4 meters high and weighing around 12 kg, the luxurious tree is decorated with golden plates and around 60 heart-shaped ornaments, and covered with ribbon. It’s the most expensive thing Ginza Tanaka has ever made.

While $2 million is an impressive price for a Christmas tree, this is far from the most expensive tree ever. Just last year a seven-star hotel in Abu Dhabi exhibited a 13-meter-high evergreen Christmas tree decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments, small white lights and expensive jewelry like necklaces and earrings hanging from its branches. It was worth $11 million.

Boxing Legend 'Smokin' Joe' Frazier Dead at 67

2011-11-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, who was known for his personal and professional battles with Muhammad Ali, has died at the age of 67 after a brief fight with cancer.

The youngest of 12 children, Frazier was born in 1944 into a working-class family on a farm in the racially-segregated southeastern U.S. town of Beaufort, South Carolina. Frazier dreamed of becoming a prize fighter from an early age, watching boxing matches on his family's black-and-white television.

After fighting as an amateur for several years, Frazier won a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Olympic Games. But "Smokin' Joe" Frazier really made his name in the 1970s during his epic rivalry with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Frazier became the first man to beat Ali, winning the heavyweight title in 1971 in a dramatic, 15-round unanimous decision at New York's Madison Square Garden. Dubbed the "fight of the century," an estimated 300 million people worldwide viewed the match, which left both men hospitalized.

After Ali responded with a 12-round victory in 1974, the two men met in the Philippines for the famed "Thrilla in Manila," considered as one of the most famous sporting events in history. After battering each other for 14 rounds, Frazier was forcibly held back by his trainer after nearly being blinded by Ali's punches. Ali later said the match was the "closest thing to dying" that he had ever experienced.

The no-nonsense Frazier was often overshadowed by Ali's more aggressive and charismatic personality. Frazier resented being verbally attacked by Ali, who referred to him as a "gorilla" and accused Frazier of being too accommodating to the white-dominated society.

The two men remained bitter enemies for decades. But in later years, Frazier came to forgive Ali, saying he felt no bitterness against him for his attacks outside the ring. Ali also later apologized, saying the insults were only meant to promote the fights.

Ali said in a statement late Monday that "the world has lost a great champion," and that he will always remember Joe with "respect and admiration."

Frazier's aggressiveness, close-range style and devastating left hook compensated for his relative small size. He weighed just 93 kilograms - considered small for a heavyweight boxer. Frazier retired in 1976 with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.

The boxing icon's family said late Monday that he died in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia - one month after being diagnosed with an advanced form of liver cancer.

Newfound Raptor Dinosaur had 'Switchblade' Killing Claws

2011-09-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Battle damage linked to the fearsome curving talon of a newly discovered dinosaur relative of Velociraptor is shedding light on how it was used as a weapon, scientists find.

This research also adds to the mysterious complexity seen in the lost continent where this fossil was found, researchers added.

The newfound 75-million-year-old dinosaur is a feathered raptor named Talos sampsoni — "Talos" in homage to a winged bronze giant in Greek mythology that could run at lightning speed and that succumbed to a wound to his ankle, "sampsoni" in honor of Scott Sampson of the PBS series "Dinosaur Train," and a research curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History.

Fossilized remains are all that's left of the once mighty dinosaurs that dominated our planet. Here, the most recent finds from these ancient beasts.

The raptor dinosaurs, made famous by the book and film "Jurassic Park," all possessed unusually large, sickle-like claws on the second toes of each foot, which they held off the ground like folded switchblades.

A famous discovery made in Mongolia 30 years ago seemingly of a Velociraptor locked in mortal combat with prey — fossils dubbed the "fighting dinosaurs" — suggested these talons were used as weapons. Now the injured claw of Talos sheds even more light on how they lived with these weapons.

Wooly Rhino Fossil Found in Tibet

2011-09-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

High on the Tibetan Plateau, paleontologists have discovered the skull of a previously unknown species of ancient rhino, a woolly furred animal that came equipped with a built-in snow shovel on its face.

This curiosity, a flat, paddle-like horn that would have allowed it to brush away snow and find vegetation beneath, suggests the woolly rhinoceros was well-adapted for a cold, icy life in the Himalayas about 1 million years before the Ice Age. Those adaptations may have left the rhino perfectly poised to spread across Asia when global temperatures plummeted, ushering in the Ice Age.

"We think that the Tibetan Plateau may be a cradle for the origins of some of the Ice Age giants," said study author Xiaoming Wang, a curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Such large, furry mammals ruled the world during Earth's cold snap from 2.6 million to about 12,000 years ago. "It just happens to have the right environment to basically let animals acclimate themselves and be ready for the Ice Age cold."

Wang and his colleagues uncovered the complete rhino skull and lower jaw, along with a neck vertebra, in southwestern Tibet. The 3-foot-long (1 meter) skull is 3.7 million years old. It would have belonged to an animal that weighed 1.2 to 1.4 tons (1,090 to 1,270 kilograms), Wang said. That's close to the size of modern rhinoceroses and about 10 percent smaller than the woolly rhinos found a million years later during the Ice Age. The new rhino has been dubbed Coelodonta thibetan.

No impressions of hair were found, but based on rhino hairs preserved in permafrost in Siberia, the researchers believe this rhino would have been covered with long hairs much like the fur of a modern yak. But the most notable feature of the rhino skull was its large front horn, which was flattened to form a paddle.

"The horn is leaning forward; it's tilting forward from the nose," Wang said. "That is in line with the adaptation of snow-sweeping, so the animal does not have to strain its neck as much as it tries to sweep the snow."

The rhino had another feature that would have made it a master of winter weather. The teeth have high crowns, making them more durable and able to handle tough, high-altitude vegetation.

Famous Vacationer appeal in Hawaii

2011-08-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

In today’s world Hawaii is considered as one of the best beach holiday destinations. Apart from gifting the best of the sun, sea and sand in the US, Hawaii also has a rich and bright colorful history and culture to take in and bounty of tourist attraction. Because of all its attraction Hawaii is now economically dependent on tourism as well as on the US military.

There are more than 19 distinct volcanic islands which are located exactly in the heart of the Pacific which is the geological "hot spot". Among these islands 6 are open to tourism and they are: Hawaii or the "Big Island"; Oahu or the "Gathering Place"; Maui or the "Valley Isle"; Kauai or the "Garden Isle"; Molokai or the "Friendly Isle"; and Lanai. If you have an idea to visit Hawaii, you can easily look for Hawaii beach vacation rentals in these islands.

If you have a plan to travel to Hawaii, please do consider having a Hawaii vacation in Waikiki particularly if you are looking to have a memorable vacation.

Kauai is the best island that has the most breathtaking natural wonders. The island is covered with lush green trees and it is famous for its beaches and rivers that offer a wide choice of activities for tourists. There are many options in the river and beaches like snorkeling, swimming, sunning or surfing. Apart from these there are options like hiking and biking on its many trails. Some of the other outdoor leisure activities that you can do on the island comprise having river tubing adventures, back-country ATV trips and a lot more.

To experience the best of the nature then, Hawaii is the place to be considered. Choose from one of the island destinations or one of the Hawaii vacation specials and Hawaii vacation offers and book a Hawaii vacation rental or that would fit your travel needs and budget and you would surely have a holiday that you would never forget.

Julian Pavone is World's Youngest Professional Drummer

2011-07-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

Guinness World Records has recognized a U.S. boy as the youngest professional drummer. Julian Pavone was certified as of March 21, 2010, when he was 5 years 10 months and 3 days old, Guinness announced Tuesday.

The rules for London-based Guinness say a drummer must play on at least one commercial record and be paid for the work. The drummer also must have given at least 20 concerts of 45 minutes or longer within five years. Julian is 7 and lives outside Detroit.

His drummer-father, Bernie Pavone, said Julian's percussion background dates back before birth.

“I used to play music on my wife's stomach all the time when she was pregnant with Julian,” Guinness quoted the father as saying.

Julian has appeared on about 150 television and news shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Martha Stewart,” “The Maury Show,” “FOX News Dayside” and “Inside Edition.”

The previous record holder was Tiger Onitsuka of Japan, who was recognized at age 9 years, 9 months.

Hamid Karzai advisor, lawmaker shot dead in Kabul

2011-07-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Jan Mohammad Khan, an advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a former provincial governor, was shot dead along with a visiting lawmaker during a raid on his home by gunmen, Xinhua reported.

The attack occurred around 8:00 pm on Sunday. MP Hashim Watanwal who was visiting Khan's home in Kabul's kartai Char area was also killed, an official said requesting anonymity. One of the attackers died in the firefight between his guards and the militants. A police officer was injured.

Witnesses said there were two or three attackers. Afghan and Nato-led troops cordoned off the area. Zabiullah Mujahid, purported Taliban spokesman, said in an email statement to the media that his group carried out the attack. He said Khan was killed as he was helping the coalition forces in carrying out raids against the group.

Khan, a member of Popolzai Pashtun tribe, was governor of southern Uruzgan province from January 2002 to March 2006. Khan's killing comes less than a week after Karzai's half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated by Taliban militants at his home in Kandhar on Tuesday.

Ukrainian Artist Constructs Wooden Miniature Bikes By Woodcarving

2011-06-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

The Lvov-based artist dreamed of owning a motorcycle ever since he was just a kid, and rode his first one in the seventh grade. At the same time he was always fascinated in hand-made miniatures, and developed a passion for woodcarving. So even though he couldn’t afford to buy himself a real motorcycle, he found that he could create his own perfect wooden replicas.

The idea of making his first 1:12 scale wooden motorcycle first came to Vyacheslav a year and a half ago, and it promptly turned into a hobby. He was motivated by some other motorcycle miniatures he had seen online, and wanted to see if he could make his own, from wood. In the beginning, he had some doubts he could really pull it off, but after figuring out what kind of wood to use for each component, things started going smoothly. He finished his first bike and noticed that every new one he created looked enhanced than the last.

Vyacheslav Voronovich believes the choice of the right wood spirit is crucial for his art, because every type of wood has its own exclusive characteristics. Pine is easier to work with than oak or beech, but it doesn’t even come close to them in terms of aesthetics. The most hard task is to create the tiny components (handlebars, rear-view mirrors, gear shifters, turn signals, brake discs, etc.), because they often tend to break when they’re nearly completed, and he has to start all over again. But seeing as he only works with a common cutter with disposable blades, he does a pretty splendid job.

The artist’s collection already numbers three choppers he made based on his own taste, and two sports bike replicas of the Honda CBR1000 RR and the Suzuki GSX-R600. He is at present working on a wooden replica of the Honda VT1300 CS cruiser, for which he’s using a new wood-bending expertise to make the handlebars and the frame.

Extinction Of 'Arabian unicorn' Saved

2011-06-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

The return of wild Oryx to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula is being hailed as a conservation achievement story.

The latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species states that the wild population of the two-horned antelope species now stands at around 1,000, nearly 40 years after the last wild animal was hunted and killed.

"To have brought the Arabian Oryx back from the edge of extinction is a major feat, one which we hope will be recurring many times over for other threatened species," said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Director General of the Environment Agency -- Abu Dhabi.

The species is now listed as "vulnerable" and is the first time an animal listed as "extinct in the wild" has enhanced its status by three categories.

The turn-around has been the result of conservation efforts that began in 1982 in Oman. Captive bred oryx were effectively released back into the desert habitats of the country and then in regions of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel and Jordan.

Known locally as Al Maha, the Arabian Oryx is thought to be exclusively adapted to living in harsh, dry environments with its ability to smell water from miles away.

It is thought that it was also the source of the unicorn legend, as when viewed in profile the two horns appear as one.

Eight new species of amphibians are classified as decisively endangered, just one place from "extinct in the wild." The IUCN says that amphibians are one of the most threatened species groups with an estimated 41% at risk of extinction.

The main threats come from habitat loss, pollution, diseases and invasive species.

The IUCN estimates that human impact has meant extinctions are happening at anything between 100 and 1,000 times the natural rate.

China Unveils High-Speed Beijing-Shanghai Rail

2011-06-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

It took Chinese engineers only 39 months to build the country's grandest yet infrastructure project — a $33 billion, 1,318 km high-speed railway line that links the capital with its financial centre.

Starting Thursday morning, trains running at 300 kmph will barrel out of Beijing's ultramodern and sprawling South Railway Station, making the journey to Shanghai — cities as far apart as New Delhi and Mumbai — in only 4 hours and 45 minutes, less than half the duration of the current 10-hour journey.

On Monday, Chinese railway officials unveiled a test-run of the most ambitious segment of their already impressive and fast-expanding high-speed rail network, which stretches across more than 8,000 km and will double by 2020.

The landmark project will open to the public on Thursday, a day before the Communist Party of China marks its 90th anniversary.

“This is the pride of China and the Chinese people,” said He Huawu, chief engineer of the Ministry of Railways. “It took just 39 months to build such a high-standard and world-renowned high-speed rail line, which is a gift for the 90th anniversary of the Party.”

Mr. He said the trains were completely safe, and would travel well below maximum speeds, at around 250-300 kmph. Chinese airlines are already cutting air-fares between Beijing and Shanghai, anticipating heavy patronage for the rail line.

The cheapest ticket costs 410 Yuan (Rs. 2870), around half as much as the fare for the two-hour flight, and minus the hassles of air travel.

The financial viability of the line — and the high-speed rail network in general — has also been a source of much debate. China plans to spend 2.8 trillion yuan ($ 430.7 billion) on its railway network in the next five years.

Wang Mengshu, a leading expert on China's high-speed rail network at Beijing Jiaotong University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told in an interview that in the long-term, the project would bring benefits to economic development, and the government did not expect the high-speed lines to break even. “All passenger transportation loses money, and this is a form of social welfare.”

“There is a very high demand from all destinations to Beijing, and between provincial capitals,” he said.

“In India, where there is greater pressure on roads and space than in China, a similar system, where trains are built on elevated bridges, makes perfect sense.”

Michel Lepire Wins Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting 2011 Award

2011-06-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

The 11th Annual Master Sand Sculpting Competition in Hampton Beach, NH completed its competition on Saturday. The first place winner was Marc Lepire from Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada with a sculpture titled "Phase Shifter." Lepire wins a cash prize of $3,000 and a trip to the World Solo Championships in Fort Myers Beach, FL.

Karen Fralich from Bulington, Ontario, Canada took second place with the sculpture, "There Was an Old Woman Who Sends Her Kids to Summer Camp." Third place went to Justin Gordon from Groveland, Massachusetts, for his sculpture "And they Ride Among us." Fourth place was the sculpture "Morphobia" made by Guy-Olivier Deveau of Quebec City, Canada. And fifth place went to Carl Jara of Lyndhurst, Ohio with the sculpture "Lamb."

The "People's Choice" Award was given to Michel Lepire from Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada for the intricately designed sculpture, "Prestine Nature."

The "Sculptor's Choice" reward was given to Marc Lepire for his piece, "Phase Shifter."

The sculptures this year ranged from a gratifying set of hands holding baby's feet to a depiction of the Old Woman in the Shoe to a nod to Boston Bruins' with a sculpture of M.V.P. Tim Thomas.

The sculptors carved over three days, from June 23-25, to full their own private sculpture using 10 tons of sand. Voting took place and awards were given out on Saturday, June 25 and the Awards Presentation took place at 8 p.m. on the Sea Shell Stage. The band the Continentals provided musical entertainment.

The sculptures will stay on display through June 29th, and will be lit for night viewing.

Yoda Crowned World's Ugliest Dog 2011

2011-06-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

A 1.8-pound scruffy mutt named Yoda who has been mistaken for a rat won the World's Ugliest Dog title for 2011 t at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma.

Yoda won a trophy 15 times her size and $1,000. The beady-eyed pooch also gets a picture shoot and an overnight stay in the Loft Suite at the Sheraton Sonoma County, according to fair officials.

Her owner, Terry Devine Schumacher, said her daughter found Yoga in a grassland 14 years ago when the pup was 2.

"I told her to put it down because I thought it was a rat," Schumacher said.

Fair officials permitted the spectators to vote this year via text. Other favorites in the 23rd annual contest were Icky, Cuda, Handsome Hector and Ratdog.

$2 Million Worth Of Antique Dolls Collected By Doll Addict

2011-06-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Kathy Libraty, an antique doll collector from Brooklyn, New York, has spent the last 25 years searching for antique dolls, and now has an inspiring collection of over 1,000 objects that’s worth around $2 million.

Believe it or not, Kathy’s attraction with dolls didn’t start when she was a little girl. In fact she remembers she was more of a tomboy and had no real interest in dolls or any girly stuff. Born in France, she and her parents immigrated to the US when she was only 4. After graduating from Brooklyn College with a BA in Art, her zeal for photography took her to Europe and the Middle East, where she took a real concern in history and old art. When she and her husband, Frank, bought an old Victorian house, Kathy decided to pursue her love for antiques and started attending country auctions. She was intrigued that people sometimes remunerated large amounts of money for wigless doll heads, broken limbs and crooked-eye dolls, but not enough to start spending money on them, herself.

It wasn’t until one day, 25 years ago, that Kathy Libraty actually became addicted to collecting antique dolls. She and Frank were driving around the neighborhood when they saw a man emptying boxes of antiques into a dumpster. She saw a doll’s leg sticking out and told Frank to stop the car. They went up to the man and asked him if he was going to chuck all those things away, and he just replied “Yeah, it’s all grimy old junk”, so they offered to take it off his hands. When they got home and looked through the “junk” they found a rare 24″ George Borgfeldt doll, numerous composition mama dolls, and a broken bisque Cuno and Otto Dressel Shoulder head doll. She often wondered what other treasures that man had thrown away in the dumpster that day, but the wonders she managed to get her hands on stimulated her to go out into the world and discover her own priceless treasures.

New Lytro Light-Field Camera Allows You Focus After You Shoot

2011-06-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

An American company says it has developed a camera that can focus pictures - after they have been taken.

Californian firm Lytro says its camera uses a light field sensor to capture more visual information from a scene than a traditional camera.

By capturing all existing light data emitted from a scene, including the direction of light rays, photos can be manipulated with computer software to change the focus from foreground to background, or to change the image from 2D to 3D.

Bringing the image into focus later also avoids "shutter lag" - the small delay between pushing a shutter button and a picture being taken - caused by mechanical focusing.

Capturing more light information should also permit for clearer photos in dark rooms and other low-light situations, they said.

"To make an analogy with a music-recording studio, taking a conventional photograph is like recording all the musicians playing together, rather than recording every instrument on a separate audio track," company founder Ren Ng wrote in his PhD dissertation on the technology.

Prototypes of the camera are being tested but it is not yet accessible to consumers.

Rocket Ruin’s A Family's Life In Libya's Misrata

2011-06-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

Twelve-year-old Faraj Abu Shaiba is burned and in distress but somehow he manages a weak smile from his hospital bed.

Monday evening, a rocket fired by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi slammed into his home in Misrata's Ruwaisat neighborhood.

Faraj's 14-year-old brother, Ibrahim, was killed instantaneously washing his hands at the sink before evening prayers.

"I found this place was on fire," said Ibrahim's uncle, Abdallah, who rushed to the house when he heard the blast. "I threw water on him, and then took him to the ambulance. But he was already dead."

Three rockets hit Misrata Monday evening in quick sequence all packed with metal balls.

"We were sitting at home, the whole family," said Ibrahim's father, Ali. "We didn't know what happened."

The father received burns to his arms and legs. Ibrahim's mother, Fatima, was also wounded in the attack.

"She has got second degree burns to both legs. Both limbs and the face," said Dr. Mohammed Froka. "She has first degree burns on the face. But her situation when she was brought here was a little bit critical."

The day before the attack, the mother gave birth to a son. The family has named him Ibrahim, after the brother who died in the attack.

The older Ibrahim was buried Monday night, just hours after he was killed -- the latest grave in this city's rapidly growing cemeteries.

Atomic Reactor Turns Into Popular Amusement Park

2011-06-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Wunderland Kalkar is an exclusive amusement park built on the site of a never-used power plant, complete with a fast breeder reactor, in Kalkar, Germany.

Construction of the Kalkar nuclear plant began in 1972, but was constantly delayed due to technical difficulties and protests from those anxious about the security of nuclear power. When it was completed, over 10 year later, authorities decided to pull the plug on the project, and the $4 billion complex was dismantled in less than a decade. The fast breeder reactor remained in place, and in 1995 Dutch entrepreneur Hennie van der Most bought what was left of the Kalkar plant for a mere €2.5 million and managed to turn it into a lucrative amusement park visited by over 600,000 people, every year.

Wunderland Kalkar has around 40 rides, for children and adults alike, and a 400-bed hotel. Among the most motivating features of the park are the swing ride set up inside the cooling facility, and the climbing wall on its outer walls. Also, chairoplanes, quad bikes, go-karts and a whole bunch of other fun gadgets make trips to Wunderland Kalkar a blast for the entire family.

Floating Japanese Photographer Captures Herself ‘Levitating’

2011-06-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Japanese photographer Natsumi Hayashi has created a new brand of photography, with pictures that seem to challenge gravity. Though it may look like she's floating naturally in the air, it took hard work to pull off these pics.

At a young age, Natsumi Hayashi had a revelation: Keeping both feet on the ground is hyped.

“I got a thought from an English idiom that says ‘to have one’s feet firmly planted on the ground’ applies to a practical type of person,” Hayashi said in an interview. “In Japan, we have the exact same idiom. But I am not a practical person at all. Therefore, I try not to have my feet on the ground in my self-portrait photos to show my true self.”

Her self-portraits are so fanciful and unforgettable that they’re sparking an Internet sensation and garnering attention all over the globe. What makes them so unusual? Well, for starters, in each photograph Hayashi appears to be levitating.

She achieves this state of mid-air wizardry by jumping up and down.

Iconic Dress Of Marilyn Monroe Sold For $5.6 Million

2011-06-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Marilyn Monroe's white "subway" dress sold for more than $5.6 million in a Beverly Hills, California sale in which bidders paid another $2.7 million for three other Monroe movie outfits.

It was the first in a series of auctions to sell the huge Hollywood history collection that singer, dancer and actress Debbie Reynolds accumulated over the past 50 years.

Collector Keya Morgan said bids were "totally crazy, particularly in this recession."

Bidding for the iconic ivory pleated dress Monroe wore in "The Seven Year Itch" was "completely magical," Morgan said.

With the auction company getting a $1 million commission, the buyer will pay $5.6 million. It had been predictable to sell for $2 million, the auction house, Profiles in History, said.

Other items sold at the auction included a blue cotton dress and a pair of ruby slippers made for Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Although both items were only test costumes never worn in camera, they fetched a combined value of nearly $1.75 million.

A bowler hat worn by Charlie Chaplin in numerous films sold for $135,300.

Racing silks and riding pants worn by a young Elizabeth Taylor in "National Velvet fetched $73,800.

Triplets Of Rare Snow Leopard debut In Swiss Zoo

2011-06-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Rare snow leopard triplets have made their first public appearance at Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland. The zoo showed off the eight-week-old cubs beside their mother, Mayhan and father, Pator.

Mayhan, the cubs' mother, was paired with father Pator in 2009 as part of a Europe-wide zoo breeding program. The pregnancy was confirmed in January this year.

The zoo said the cubs, which are still being suckled by their mother, are probable to remain in Basel for their first three years but will later travel as ambassadors for their endangered species.

Snow leopards are an endangered species and only 4,000-6,000 are supposed to still live in the wild.

They are mainly found in the mountains of Central Asia and the Himalayas.

Man Married To A Mannequin Out Of His True Love

2011-06-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Ned Nefner, 38, is gladly married to his 6-foot-tall mannequin wife, Teagan. The two met back in the ‘80s when Ned spent some time in a Children’s Home. Teagan was just a head when they began their relationship. Over time, he built her a body and ultimately the two were married in 1986.

There are a couple of Facebook pages for Nefer, including the "Syracuse Mannequin Man" and "The guy pushing the manequin." Everyone seems to want to help him, giving him food and noting where they've seen him. And many people talk about Ned's love of Teagan.

A social welfare auditor told the paper, "This is definitely one of the very oddest things I've ever come across, but he seems very happy. I wouldn't sort him as dangerous at all. He seemed quite happy in his own little world."

Artist Larry Moss Recreates Famous Icons Using Balloons

2011-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

If Japan is famous for Origami paper folding art show originality and creativity, but now Americans are pompous to variations in this art with balloons, to create files named Airigami very soul, according to news. One of the authors of the balloon was "twisted" Larry Moss is from Rochester (New York, USA).

The Rochester-based artist creates Airigami, which translates as the fine art of folding air, and his delicate masterpieces are by far the most detailed balloon sculptures I have ever seen. Moss uses latex balloons to create all kinds of installations, from giant sculptures to wearable fashion objects, and even intricate replicas of some of the world’s most famous icons and Spinosaurus (Dinosaur Entirely of Balloons.

Among his most impressive works are recreations of Boticelli’s Birth of Venus and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Singer Lily Allen Weds Sam Cooper In England

2011-06-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

Radiant Lily Allen beamed with joy as she tied the knot then revealed she’s expecting a baby.

Ecstatic Smile singer Lily is pregnant – six months after she suffered a miscarriage. The cheering news was announced by her husband Sam Cooper to guests at their wedding breakfast.

“It was so very, very touching – and completely the icing on the cake for them,” one guest revealed. “The day was always going to be wonderful, but when Sam said Lily was pregnant there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. There were tears of joy for Lily and Sam.”

The singer was told the pregnancy was healthy at her 12-week-scan. Lily lost her much longed-for baby boy six months into a pregnancy in November last year.

Unfortunately, it was her second miscarriage after she lost a baby at four months in 2008 when she was dating The Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons.

Now a traumatic chapter of her life appears to have finished – to the delight of friends and family. As relatives and pals toasted the welcome news in bright sunshine, she beamed with delight. Celeb pals congratulated the couple on Twitter.

Singer Boy George tweeted: “Ah, congrats to Lily Allen & Sam! Long may you love & prosper!”

Lily proudly showed signs of a bump at St James the Great church in the Cotswold village of Cranham, near Stroud, Gloucs. The 26-year-old wore a eye-catching vintage-inspired ivory lace dress by Delphine Manivet.

The designer said: “You can see of course the little stomach – it looked very cute with the dress.”

Junrey Balawing Titled As World's Shortest Man

2011-06-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

A teenager from a poor family in the rural Philippines has been confirmed the world's shortest man as he turned 18.

Guinness World Records offered Junrey Balawing, who is 59.93cm (23.6 inches) tall, with a certificate at his birthday party.

Mr Balawing stopped growing when he was two, his father said. He is more than 7cm shorter than the earlier record holder, Khagendra Thapa Magar from Nepal, who had held the record since last October.

Relatives say he has difficulty standing and walking, but the community was caring of him.

"Officially he is the world's shortest man," declared Guinness World Records official Craig Glenday in front of cheering relatives and friends at his birthday party in the rural town of Sindangan on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.

Well-wishers, including politicians, presented him with cash gifts which his family said would add to their meager savings. "Thank you to all of you for supporting my son, the world's shortest man," Mr Balawing's father said.

Mr Balawing blew out a candle on his birthday cake and said "I'm exhausted". His father said he had been a weak child and doctors had not been able to say why he stopped growing. His three siblings are all of normal size.

The World's Most Pierced Woman Gets Married In Scotland

2011-06-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Elaine Davidson is a Brazilian-born nurse, living in Edinborough, Scotland, who has made a name for herself by decorating her body with over 6,000 piercings.

Looking at her, you’d possibly think most normal men would run for the hills the minute they laid eyes on Elaine Davidson, the world’s most pierced woman, but she actually got a civilized looking civil servant named Douglas Watson, who doesn’t have any visible piercings, to wed her. The 42-year-old former nurse was dressed in a classic white wedding dress that covered all of her body, excluding the face which was painted green and covered with 192 piercings. In case you’re wondering, no, she didn’t scare off the minister.

Most of Elaine Davidson’s piercings are in her genitalia, over 500, located both on the outside and on the inside. The total weight of her “jewelry” adds up to three kilograms. Doctors say this type of extreme modding involves serious risks, such as infection and transmission of diseases like hepatitis or AIDS. Despite her bizarre appearence, Elaine wants the public to know she doesn’t do drugs, drink alcohol or smoke cigarretes. Her only vice is Coca-Cola.

Brazilian-born Davidson first broke the record for most piercings in 2000, when Guinness examined her body and found 462 piercings, counting 192 on her face. She’s come a long way since then and the last count exposed she now sports 6,925 piercings, weighing around three kilograms. Believe it or not, she never takes off any of her piercings.

Aelita Becomes The Youngest Professional Painter In The World

2011-06-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

A four-year-old Melbourne girl is drawing fans in New York with her first solo art exhibition. Aelita Andre is said to be the youngest proficient painter in the world, and has been compared to the likes of artistic giants Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

Her work is previously commanding top dollar, with a Hong Kong collector last year shelling out $24,000 for one of her pieces. Now her colorful paintings are on show at the Agora Gallery in Manhattan.

Gallery director Angela di Bello says Aelita, who produced her first significant body of work before turning two, is a talented artist.

"What's interesting about her work is that I also I find that it is conceptual expressionism, but that she's also surrealist in the way she includes objects in her works and how she includes those objects," she told.

It seems inspiration runs in the family, with Aelita's parents - Nikka Kalashnikova and Michael Andre - both artists in their own right. And her father cannot wait to see what his daughter does next.

"So here she is totally and absolutely innocent, just with an innocent eye almost coming to a canvas," he told.

"I'm looking at it from an opposite and thinking, 'let's see what she does'. I'm just so interested to see what somebody in that position produces."Andre's solo exhibition, aptly named The Prodigy Of Colour, runs until June 25.

Miss USA 2011 Contestants Meet In Las Vegas

2011-06-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Despite the apparent glamour, the beauties that have come to Nevada from all around the United States to compete for the title of Miss USA 2011 face a wonderful few days.

Based at the Planet Hollywood hotel, the girls are tied into a heavy program of 16-18 hours of interviews with judges each day.

Then there are back-to-back photo shoots at diverse Sin City hotels, not to mention the filming of segments to form part of the NBC live broadcast on June 19th.

They're an eclectic group, too - last year's winner Rima Fakih was the first Muslim to ever win the competition, and she's back this year to motivate the new crop.

Las Vegas's own queen, Miss Nevada, Sarah Chapman, 27, is even a director at a local pre-school, and as the oldest contestant, feels she brings a different slant to events.

This year's theme is described as a 'high fashion concept salute to America.'

The 23rd Miss Asia USA pageant will attract contestants from 58 Asian countries. The finale will be held on August 19-20, at Redondo Performing Arts Center, California.

Puyehue Volcano Erupts In Chile With Sparks And Lightning

2011-06-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

The Chilean volcano which erupted on Monday has sent a towering trail of ash across South America, forcing thousands from their homes, grounding airline flights in southern Argentina and coating ski resorts with a gritty layer of dust instead of snow.

Booming explosions echoed across the Andes as toxic gases belched up from a three-mile-long fissure in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex - a point between two craters just west of the Chilean-Argentine border that began erupting Saturday.

Winds blew a six-mile high cloud of dust all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and even into southern Buenos Aires province, hundreds of miles to the northeast. Authorities in Chile went house to house, trying to convince stragglers near the volcano to evacuate because of an increasing danger of toxic gas and flash floods.

Winds fanned the ash toward neighboring Argentina, darkening the sky in the ski resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche, in the centre of the country, and its airport has also been closed.

The explosion in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain, about 575 miles south of the capital, Santiago, also provoked authorities to close a busy border crossing into Argentina.

It was not instantly clear which of the chain's four volcanoes had erupted because of ash cover and weather conditions. The chain last saw a major eruption in 1960.

Local media said the smell of sulphur hung in the air and there was steady seismic activity. As a precaution, the government said it was evacuating 3,500 people from the surrounding area.

Chile's chain of about 2,000 volcanoes is the world's second largest after Indonesia. Some 50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500 are probably active.

Wildwood Ferris Wheel Accident Kills 11-Year-Old Girl

2011-06-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

An 11-year-old girl on a school field trip died after falling about 100 feet from a moving Ferris wheel at New Jersey’s Wildwood Boardwalk.

The girl fell on a day when the park was greatly attended by schoolchildren. She fell from the upper half of the ride while it was in motion, Wildwood Police Captain Robert Regalbuto told The Press of Atlantic City.

Will Morey, president of the Morey Organization, who has owned amusement parks at the Jersey shore since 1969, said it appears Jones was alone in a passenger gondola, which is secured with a double latch.

Morey’s said the reason was being investigated. Both Morey’s and police said the problem did not appear to be mechanical.

The Ferris wheel was last inspected by the state Department of Community Affairs' division of codes and standards on March 17 and passed assessment, said DCA spokeswoman Hollie Gilroy.

Capt. Lynn Frame of the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office said the incident is under investigation, but it appears to be an misfortune. New Jersey carnival amusement inspectors have arrived and are investigating the incident, along with Wildwood police.

Kogan Launches World's First Chromium OS Laptop

2011-06-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

Kogan has launched what it claims is the world's first laptop that's based on Google's Chromium open source operating system, one which makes the item different from the real Chromebooks launched a few weeks ago by Samsung and Acer.

The laptop doesn't come with embedded 3G or a dedicated search button as its rivals. It even has a Windows button which shows that the laptop was not initially designed to support Chrome OS natively. Sadly though, Kogan didn't go the ARM way which would have helped it save a few dollars.

Unlike current Chromebooks, the Kogan model comes with an Intel Celeron M ULV SU2300 processor clocked at 1.3GHz; this should permit it to comfortably outrun the competition although the 1GB RAM might be just a little too tight for comfort.

It also has a 30GB SATA SSD hard drive, a 11.6-inch WXGA LED Display, a 1.3-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, three USB, LAN, VGA, HDMI and microphone ports plus a 4-cell 4600mAh battery that can send an autonomy of up to 3.5 hours. Kogan's Chromium lapptop is expected to be available from the 7th of June in the UK.

New York Hosts World’s First Fancy Rat Convention

2011-06-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

The ‘much-hated’ rats are valuable pets for many in New York as they can be trained like dogs and are clean like cats.

According to them, the social creatures are also expressive, able to bond and very playful.“Rats are very misunderstood, noting that to know one is to love one. The rat is as much a part of us as your dog is a part of you and your family. We love them, and we feel love back,” The New York Daily News quoted Raquel Citron, organizer of the N.Y.C. Rat Meetup Group, as saying.

Dozens of rat lovers gathered in Manhattan to attend the world’s first Fancy Rat Convention, where pet fashion designer Ada Nieves showed off her rodent clothing collection, featuring rat tuxedos, wedding dressed, bridesmaids gowns and other elite designs. Her creations come complete with crystals or feathers and sell for about $80 each. ‘The rats look very pretty and seem to like wearing them. Rats are much admired these days and the owners love to dress them up,’ the pet fashionista said.

According to rat owners present at the Fancy Rat Convention, in spite of the negative stereotype people have about rats, these creatures have astonishing personalities which make them much more suitable pets than cats, dogs or ferrets. They are very sociable, clever, loving, and can be trained to do all kinds of tricks, from dancing to fetching stuff.

The pet-rat trend took off when celebrities began adopting rats and showing them in public and now people spend up to $115 for the latest breeds, and a lot more on cages, toys, designer clothes and other accessories. The models for the Fancy Rat Convention fashion show were offered by the Big Apple Rattery, which specializes in Manx and Dwarf rats, in case you’re interested.

Chinese Woman Performs Operation On Herself

2011-05-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Wu Yuanbi, a 53-year-old woman, from Chongqing, China, has recently performed operation on herself, with a common kitchen knife.

Wu, who works as a migrant worker, has been suffering from a persistent condition known as Budd-Chiari syndrome, for the last 13 years. This causes her stomach to slowly fill up with large quantities of fluid, rendering her unable to work and making it difficult to perform even the most simple tasks. Back in 2002, Wu and her family used all their life savings to pay for a medical procedure in which doctors removed 25 liters of fluid from her stomach. Unfortunately, a relapse of the condition followed, and the woman found herself in need of a second surgery. However, she and her family were too poor to pay the 50,000 yuan ($7,686) fee, so Wu Yuanbi was forced to do something really shocking.

One day, after her husband, Cao Yunhui, left for work, the woman slit her stomach open with a kitchen knife, frantic to relieve the pressure that had built up inside. She had to bear unbearable pain for several hours, until her husband came home and found her lying in a pool of yellow fluid and intestines. She was at once rushed to the hospital with a 10 cm-long cut across her stomach, and saved by the medical staff. Wu later said “If I had passed away, I would have at least spared my family the trouble of looking after me.”

After all the media coverage, Wu Yuanbi is at present being treated free of charge, at a hospital in Chongqing, but who knows what will happen the next time fluid builds up in her stomach. Chinese authorities say many rural families go penniless after this kind of expensive surgical procedures, simply because they don’t want to spend money on cheap insurance. But, according to Wu’s husband, this wasn’t an choice for them because government insurance simply didn’t cover the procedure his wife needed.

Outbreak Of E-coli Bacteria Kills 14

2011-05-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

Europeans traded blame over the source of a strange bacterial outbreak that has killed 14 people and sickened hundreds across the continent and forced Russia to ban imports of some fresh vegetables from Spain and Germany out of fear they could be infected.

Russia has barred the import of vegetables from Germany and Spain because of an outbreak of E-coli bacteria in parts of Europe. The move comes as scientists try to recognize the source of the outbreak in Germany, where 14 people have died.

Hundreds of people in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain are also thought to have been infected. Suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain imported into Germany, and then re-exported.

Spain denies its cucumbers are infected.

3-Foot Fossils Of Prehistoric Ocean Predator Discovered

2011-05-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

Fossils of a meter-long (3.3-foot) prehistoric ocean predator have been found in southeastern Morocco.

The specimens comprise the largest yet of its kind and suggests the spiny, somewhat shrimplike beasts dominated pre-dinosaur seas for millions of years longer than thought.

Previous anomalocaridid fossils had shown the animals grew to perhaps 2 feet (0.6 meter) long, which previously would have made them the largest animals of the Cambrian period (542 to 501 million years ago)—an evolutionarily explosive time, when invertebrate life evolved into many new varieties, such as sea lilies and worms.

The new anomalocaridid fossils also gave scientists another surprise: They're surprisingly young. Dating back to "only" 488 to 472 million years ago, in the Ordovician period, the specimens hint that anomalocaridid species survived for 30 million years longer than earlier evidence had suggested.

Anomalocaridids are widespread in fossils from the Cambrian, "then they depart from the rock record at about 510 million years ago," said Briggs, who received funding from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration.

Eventually, though, anomalocaridids did go wiped out—leaving no modern descendants, Briggs said. "It most probably was ultimately replaced by fishes or other kinds of predators in later oceans," he said.

Riza Santos Crowned Miss World Canada 2011

2011-05-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

A former housemate of ABS-CBN's "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2" was crowned as Miss World Canada 2011 in a pageant held in Richmond, British Columbia.

Filipino-Canadian Riza Santos, a 24-year-old engineering student, will represent Canada in this year's Miss World pageant to be held in London in November. Santos bested 22 others in the prestigious international beauty competition.

In 2006, Santos competed as Miss Canada in the Miss Earth pageant which was held here in the Philippines. She bagged the Miss Photogenic and Miss Fontana Awards.

A year later, she joined "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2" and was proclaimed as the second placer of the show.

According to the Miss World Canada website, Santos wants to become a commissioned officer, having finished her Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) and Soldier Qualification (SQ) with the Canadian Forces Army Reserve.

George Atkinson Becomes Youngest British To Scale Everest

2011-05-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

A schoolboy has become the youngest British mountaineer to climb Mount Everest - at the age of just 16. George Atkinson, who turns 17 on Sunday, reached the 8,848m peak at 2am morning - making him the youngest ever Briton to stand on top of the world.

It comes less than a week after Irish man John Delaney buckled and died 50 meters before the top, not knowing his wife had just given birth to a baby girl back home. The earlier record was held by 17-year-old Johnny Collinson of the USA.

George’s mother Penny posted on his blog this morning: “George has done it. He reached the peak at about 8.15am Nepali time. He also became the youngest climber ever to have scaled the tallest peaks of each continent.

Everest has claimed the lives of more than 216 mountaineers, most lately that of John Delaney, 42, from Kilcock, Co Kildare. Rob Gauntlett, the 19-year-old climber who held the record for youngest Brit to scale Everest, reached the summit in 2006. But he disastrously died three years later in a climbing accident in Chamonix, France.

By climbing Everest, George also became the youngest climber to complete the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent. He beat American Johnny Collinson who completed the challenge when he was 17 years and 296 days old.

The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is American Jordan Romero. He reached the top on May 22 last year aged 13 years and 10 months old. George completed his record-breaking climb to raise money for children's hospice charity Chase.

Dell Officially Launches World's Thinnest Laptop

2011-05-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Dell has launched new XPS 15z, claimed to be the world's thinnest laptop. The 15-inch notebook comes with normal mobile Intel Sandy Bridge processors.

In terms of specs, XPS 15z uses Intel i5 2410M (2.3 GHz) or i7 2620M (2.7 GHz) dual core processors. Memory is 4GB to 8GB. The screen size is 15.6 inch with a 1080p resolution. Standard battery life is listed as up to 8:22 hours.

Dell XPS 15z has Intel's My Wi-Fi technology, which permits the notebook to act as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices.

Dell XPS 15z seems to be a direct response to the 15-inch MacBook Pro, with approximately similar thickness and weight. Both laptops also have aluminum finish with chiclet-style backlit keyboards and an optical drive.

Kate And Queen Meets Obama For U.S.-U.K. Relationship

2011-05-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

In lavish style, President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday confirmed a bond between the United States and the United Kingdom that has strengthened through the forfeit of war and a history of common values. As the queen put it, the relationship is "tried, tested and, yes, special."

For his part, the president, dressed in white-tie tuxedo for a showy dinner at Buckingham Palace, said in a toast that the relationship "never rests."

"We can have confidence in the partnership that our two countries share, based on the rock-solid foundation built during Queen Elizabeth's lifetime of strange service to the nation and to the world," the president said at a dinner in which White House staffers mixed with U.S. movie stars and British royalty.

Obama engrossed himself in grandeur Tuesday as the queen welcomed him to Buckingham Palace for the first day of a state visit that kept the president mainly out of sight for most of the British public. The Obama’s will spend the night in Buckingham Palace, in the same suite where newlyweds Prince William and Kate Middleton spent their wedding night just last month. The Obama’s missed the royal wedding, but met the young couple briefly Tuesday.

There was an intricate arrival ceremony on the steps of the palace's West Terrace, complete with a 41-gun salute; a tour of the Queen's private gallery, where the monarch highlighted objects she thought would hold personal significance to the president.

Obama lingered over a personal diary kept by King George III before and after the U.S. Revolution.

As the latest alluring addition to The Firm, Prince William’s new bride wowed President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle as she welcomed them to Buckingham Palace.

Wills and Kate were making their official debut after their wedding. And they were given centre stage for the arrival of the Obama’s. Keen to show Kate, 29, and William, 28, as the young future of the Royal Family, Palace aides made sure the meeting was one of the high points of the landmark state visit.

And even in the company of Obama, it was Kate who was the real star. The new Duchess of Cambridge looked astonishing in a flesh-colored bandeau dress and an unusual shell necklace, thought to be a memento of her 10-day honeymoon in the Seychelles.

Iran Discovers World's Smallest Ring

2011-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Iran has unveiled world's smallest ring at a show held at the Historical and Natural History Treasure Museum of the country's Zanjan Province.

“The bronze ring is seven millimeters thick and dates back to about 2,200 years ago and the Parthian era,” Zanjan's Historical and Natural History Treasure Museum director Morteza Samimifard told ISNA.

“The ring was purchased from a collector a year ago and will be returned to the Zanjan Province funds after being displayed at the museum for a week,” he added.

Samimifard also said that there was an inscription on the ring that experts were trying to read. It seems, however, that the exclusive ring belonged to an aristocrat, he noted.

The artifact has not been priced yet and there is no information about the place it was found, Samimifard said.

First Pillow Fight World Cup Hosted In New York

2011-05-23T02:23:00.000-07:00

Most people think of pillow fighting as a fun childhood game or some scantly clad women putting on a show, but for the women participating in the Pillow Fight World Cup it’s an authentic sporting competition.

Eight women armed with feathery pillows and dressed like athletes could be seen stepping into the ring during this first edition of the Pillow Fight World Cup, which took place on May 17, at The Warsaw Polish National Home, in Brooklyn, NY. Competitors were all girls and came from countries like Austria, Japan, Sweden and of course, the USA. “It’s less atrocious than boxing, but you still need technique,” said Maylin Kretzschmar, 26, one of the three Austrians engaged in the tournament. “It’s a fun sport. I don’t want to hit someone in the face, but you can still get rid of your violence.” The Austrians were the most experienced competitors seeing they have a pillow fighting association back home, and train constantly.

The man behind the Pillow Fight World Cup is Andrew Thompson, creator of Punk Rock Pillow Fight, a sporadic event where pillow-fighting men and women wack each other pointless with pillows. He was approached by the Austrians about a serious all-girl World Cup tournament, and he was happy to arrange it. Everyone involved sees this event as an instance to raise the profile of a so-called sport most people almost certainly haven’t played since childhood.

The rules of pillow fighting are pretty easy: matches are fought in two rounds, each lasting two minutes. Judges award points for hits to the head and body, and penalize fighters for turning their backs on their opponent or dropping to a knee. The most serious injury suffered by these brave pillow-wielding warriors is the irregular cuts on the knuckles.

Diamond Tiara With Emerald Fetches World Record $12.7M

2011-05-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

The diamond and emerald tiara, which German prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck's specially made for his second wife Katharina around 1900, sold for $12.7 million at Sotheby’s Magnificent and Noble Jewels Sale.

It was top lot at a sale that netted 78.9 million Swiss francs, third highest for a jewelry sale, with 90 percent of 479 lots on offer finding new owners, the auction house said.

"It is needless to say a world record price at auction for a tiara," said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's Europe and Middle East jewelry department, as he brought down the hammer to applause.

The tiara also set a record at sale for a piece of emerald jewelry, the auction house said in a statement. The winning proposal was taken over the telephone by Lisa Hubbard, chairwoman of Sotheby's jewelry department in North America - a hint as to the location of the new owner.

The tiara was among jewels of royal attribution that accounted for 19.6 million Swiss francs of the sale's proceeds, far exceeding expectations, according to Bennett.

Another headline seller was a 10.99-ct. fancy strong pink diamond that hasn’t appeared on the market for more than 30 years. It sold for $10.8 million, the third highest price for a pink diamond at sale.

The diamond features a classic emerald cut, usually associated with white diamonds, Sotheby’s said. This gem, mounted as a ring, has natural color and VS1 clarity. It’s further assessed to be type IIa, meaning it is almost or completely devoid of impurities with extraordinary optical transparency. Fewer than 2 percent of all diamonds in the world are given this grade of clarity and most of those diamonds are white.

Kate Middleton Engagement Ring Gains Buzz All Over

2011-05-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

The world had a love affair with Princess Diana, as a woman who stepped into a royal role at a very youthful age, carrying herself with style and grace. Princess Diana fascinated all with her smile, compassion and endearing ways, and today, all eyes are on Kate to see if she will follow in her footsteps.

The ring exudes Kate's classic style, while honoring Princess Diana's timeless grace. Sapphires have long symbolized truth, sincerity and faithfulness, making it the ideal stone to represent the beautiful marriage to come."

The engagement of Kate Middleton to Prince William has of course created a buzz regarding Kate Middleton’s engagement ring. A new interest in the ring, which at first belonged to Prince William’s mother, Lady Diana, has brought about many ring replicas both in the costume jewelry market and also in the authentic diamond and sapphire engagement ring market.

The oval blue sapphire ring clustered with 14 brilliant diamonds that first caught the public’s eye in 1981 is still one of the most sought-after ring designs; respected by those inspired by the late princess’s exquisite taste in jewelry. With Prince William offering the ring to Kate, he said, “It was my way of making sure mother didn’t miss out on today and the enthusiasm and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Guinness World Record Crowned Valentim As “World's Oldest Person”

2011-05-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

A Brazilian great-great-grandmother who is set to turn 115 in July is the world's new oldest living person, Guinness World Records certified Wednesday.

Guinness World Records said in a declaration posted on its website that Maria Gomes Valentim is 114 years and 313 days, 48 days older than American Besse Cooper, who was previously considered the world's oldest living person.

She was born on July 9, 1896, in Carangola, a city about 380 km northeast of Rio de Janeiro. She married in 1913 and was widowed in 1946. She and her husband, Joao, had one son, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Valentim credits her long life to a healthy diet, Guinness says. Every morning, she eats a bread roll with coffee, fruit and "the occasional milk with linseed."

She is still able to eat completely on her own and indulges in the occasional glass of wine.

Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glendlay said Valentim is the first Brazilian to become the world's oldest person.

'To receive an assert from a woman born during the reign of Queen Victoria - before the Ford Motor Company was formed, or before even George and Ira Gershwin were born - is amazing in itself, but for that woman to be Brazilian makes it extra special,' he said.

World's Oldest Panda Dies In Chinese Zoo At 34

2011-05-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

The world’s oldest panda, Ming Ming, has passed away. Chinese state media broke the news to the rest of the world with a headline in the Global Times that read, “China’s Oldest Panda Kicks Bucket.” The panda died due to old age and kidney failure.

According to experts, wild pandas are expected to live until about 15 years of age. Those kept in captivity are only expected to live until 22; Ming Ming was 34.

The famous panda was rescued from the forest of Sichuan Province, China, and brought into custody in 1977 as an abandoned cub. She traveled between various zoos in China and Europe all over her life.

Ming Ming was the subject of much international debate in 1991 when she was sent to the London Zoo to mate with German panda Bao Bao. After fighting with Bao Bao and failing to generate any cubs, Ming Ming returned to China amid much diplomatic turmoil.

Forbes reports that giant pandas are one of the most endangered class in the world. Only an estimated 1,600 remain in the wild. China maintains over 300 in captivity, mostly in breeding programs that attempt to increase the population. As Ming Ming’s international match-making dissatisfaction shows, breeding giant pandas in custody is no easy task.

Couple Say They Are Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene

2011-05-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

An Australian couple who claim they are reincarnations of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene have newly set up camp in Queensland’s Bible Belt, joined by 30 – 40 followers.

Australian cult watchers are worried about a new organization known as Divine Truth, led by Alan John Miller and Mary Suzanne Luck, who claim they are Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The two rely on donations made by their followers in order to maintain themselves, and authorities fear they could be taking advantage of the vulnerable.

Mr. Miller, 47, was born in Luxton, South Australia, and is the father of two children from a past marriage, which ended when he began remembering facts from his past life. He seems to believe this is his 22nd life and that he has the amount of divine love in his heart accumulated in 22 life cycles. Now he and his soul mate, 32-year-old Mary Magdalene, real name Mary Suzanne Luck, are reunited and have formed their very own little cult, in Wilkesdale. Miller first bought 16 hectares of land in the area, and his followers soon followed his example now to be close to their charismatic spiritual leader.

In 2009, Divine Truth members joined forces and bought a $400,000, 250 ha property where they could conduct meetings and build a center for international visitors. Concerned friends and families contacted the Cult Awareness and Information Center to advise followers are selling their houses to move to Wilkesdale. Land clearing has created a cross-like shape which locals say wasn’t done deliberately, and that’s bound to convince plenty of believers this is a divine sign. Meanwhile, police say they’ve been called to examine screams on the property, only to find Divine Truth members practicing an exercise that actually helps them deal with “past soul damage”

Alan John Miller admits”There’s almost certainly a million people who say they’re Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.” He means all 2,000 years of it…

Airbus A380 Struck By Lightning While Landing In London

2011-05-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

The moment a lightning bolt struck a commercial passenger plane mid-flight has been caught on tape. None of the 500 passangers on board the Emirates Airlines Airbus A380 were injured as the plane flew through a storm as it approached London's Heathrow Airport.

Videographer Chris Dawson, 37, pointed his digital camera at the plane from his terrace in south-west London about 7.30pm local time. "I saw a storm coming and I thought there could be lightning," he told Abu Dhabi's English language newspaper The National.

"I wasn't expecting it to hit a plane but I just got fortunate." The plane landed without incident.

A United Emirates spokesperson told the newspaper lightning strikes are not rare and that every plane in its fleet is designed and certified to withstand a lightning strike.

Just yesterday a Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Auckland to Melbourne was forced back mid-flight after a suspected lightning strike — but it too landed without damage or injury to passengers.

The average lightning bolt produces a current of 20,000 amps and can attain temperatures of 30,000C

But an airplane's metal hull forms a Faraday confine that protects it from lightning, carrying the electric charge through the hull and expelling it at an output point without harming the aircraft or the passengers inside.

Artist Marta Minujin Creates 25 Meter High Tower of Babel

2011-05-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Popular Argentine artist Marta Minujin has created a 25-meter-high spiraling Tower of Babel made from 30,000 books written in different languages.

This modern version of the Tower of Babel was designed in festivity of Buenos Aires’ designation as World Book Capital 2011, by UNESCO, and local authorities say it represents the thoughts of pluralism and diversity which also characterize the Argentine capital city. This isn’t Minujin’s first experience with book installations; in 1983, when democracy was restored in Argentina, she built a model of the Parthenon from books banned by the former military dictatorship.

The tower consists of a spiraling metal frame and around 30,000 books written in most of the world’s languages and dialects. You can find all kinds of books, from dictionaries and encyclopedias to software manuals and classic novels, arranged on six levels. The bottom level features a collection of books from around the world, the first and second levels are for American books, the third and fourth are reserved for Europe, the fifth for Africa and the sixth for Asia. 16,000 of the books were donated by 52 embassies in Buenos Aires, while the rest were given by Argentine readers.

Chinese Two Headed Baby Born With One Body

2011-05-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

A conjoined twins sharing one single body was born at Suining City Central Hospital in Sinchuan province, southwestern China, according to Ms Wang, a hospital staff

The babies were born by caesarean. The twins weighted 4 kilograms and measured 51 centimetres.

They have two spines, two esophaguses and share other crucial organs. Doctors said that it would be nearly not possible to separate them.

“It is hard to say how they will stay alive in the future but we will try the best to keep them alive at the moment,” said Pu Youhua, a doctor at Suining Hospital.

Ms. Wang said the parents, who are refugee farmers living outside of the southwestern city, did not know about the abnormality until two days before the mother was due to give birth.

Two ultra sound scans in September and February failed to disclose the two heads because the technicians were viewing the single embryo in profile.

The pair has now been moved to a hospital in nearby Chongqing for additional examination.

Lu Zhi-hao From China Named As World's Fattest Boy

2011-05-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

A four year old boy from China, weighing 62 kilograms, has been named the world's heaviest boy.

Lu Zhi-hao, who is 110cms tall from Shunde, Guangdong, is being taken by his worried parents to Hong Kong to try and undertake his obesity.

Dubbed by Chinese media as China's "no. 1 fat kid" Lu Zhi-hao, known as Xiao Hoa, has been taken to numerous hospitals in Guangdong to find out why he's so fat, but doctors can only say that it is down to awful eating habits.

If something is not done to decrease his weight, doctors predict Lu Zhi-hao's obesity will become life-threatening by the time he turns 20.

A Hong Kong weight-loss centre has offered to help Lu Zhi-hao lose weight for free. The centre, which has not given out its name, uses non-intrusive Japanese skill to help the body break down fat.

Xiao Hao's parents are now applying for a consent to travel to Hong Kong and hope to be here with their obese child in a couple of weeks.

"We hope there must be specialists in Hong Kong who can help us," says Lu Zhi-hao's father, Lu Ye-ming.

The mother and father of the child are both of normal weight, and obesity has not been a part of the family's health history. Lu Zhi-hao gradually ate his way to fatness.

He is now on a diet, which means reducing down from his regular three bowls of rice per meal to just one bowl.

The WHO says more than 20 percent of the populations in some Chinese cities are now obese.

Princess Diana’s Dress Sold For $276,000 In Auction

2011-05-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

A pair of dresses worn by Princess Diana sold at a pop culture sale in Beverly Hills for a total of US$276,000 (NZ$349,000), a spokesman for the auction house has said.

The two dresses, which have been held in climate-controlled storage since her death in August 1997, were auctioned to a famous museum for US$144,000 and US$132,000, respectively, said Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions.

"We did have bidders from all over the world participating, and it's great to have them go to a museum where they are going to be on display and valued by the public," Julien said.

Julien said he could not name the museum without consent from officials there.

The dress that sold for US$144,000 was described by the public sale house as a black crepe evening gown that Diana wore during a state visit in 1992.

The princess wore the second dress, which is silk chiffon and strapless, to the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 as well as in a portrait sitting that year and to a 1989 presentation of "Miss Saigon" at Theatre Royal in London.

The two dresses had been auctioned by Diana for contributions three months before her death, Julien said.

The owners, WeTV and Wedding Central, decided the time was right to auction them again to match with the April 29 wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton.

He said a portion of the income would be donated to one of Diana's charities.

Diana, who married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, died after a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Last Veteran Of World War I, Claude Choules Dies At 110

2011-05-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Claude Choules, the only lasting male veteran of World War I and one of the last people to have served in both world wars, died May 5 at a nursing home near Perth in western Australia. He was 110, and no cause of death was reported.

Mr. Choules was the last known existing combatant of the war. Green, who turned 110 in February, served as a waitress in the Women’s Royal Air Force.

He was wedded to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died many years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press. He lied about his age so he could join the British Royal Navy in 1916, two years after the Great War began. Enlistees were hypothetical to be at least 18 years old.

In 1926, he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy after working as a coach at a naval depot, according to the Worcester News. “I was nobody,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in 2009 of his years in England. “But I was somebody here.”

During World War II, he was a torpedo officer and was assigned to blow up the Australian navy’s ships in Fremantle Harbour, in western Australia, if Japanese forces invaded. Mr. Choules retired at age 55 after working with the Naval Dockyard Police.

He wrote a memoir, “The Last of the Last,” which was published two years ago.

He was married to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died several years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press.

Despite the fame his military service brought him, Mr. Choules later in life became a pacifist who was uncomfortable with anything that glorified war. He disagreed with the celebration of Anzac Day, Australia’s most important war memorial holiday, and refused to march in parades held each year to mark the holiday.

“I had a pretty poor start,” he told a reporter in 2009. “But I had a good finish.”

World's Biggest Bird In Threat Of Extinction

2011-05-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

The Saharan race ostrich, largest representative of its species, has been extirpated across 95 per cent of its range. Within Niger, the bird is wiped out in the wild.

There are still roughly 100 pure-bred Saharan race ostriches in small privately-held imprisoned flocks scattered across the country. A land-locked country in Western Africa, the Republic of Niger is remarkably poor, but with some modest support those caring for ostriches can considerably improve the chances of these birds breeding fruitfully and rearing young.

Given how productive ostrich can be, there is every reason to believe that with the right material and technical support, Niger can breed desert ostrich and return them to the wild in relatively short order.

The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) is now focusing on improving the diet and promoting natural incubation until such time as Niger has the ability to manage artificial incubation and chick-rearing operations. SCF, in partnership with the AZA Ratite TAG, has developed its Adopt-an-Ostrich Programme to maintain the acquisition, care and feeding of pure-bred Saharan ostrich in Niger; to help maintain the ostrich facilities; and to improve capacity for ostrich management.

‘With your help, we can get Saharan ostrich back on the road to recovery in Niger,' said an SCF spokesman. ‘This is a great opportunity for all of us to make a connection between our interest in the Sahara and the conservation of the largest bird on the planet.'

Cockpit Voice Recorder Found From Air France Mystery Crash

2011-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

The cockpit voice recorder from an Air France plane that crashed inexplicably nearly two years ago, killing all 228 people on board, has been found, the head of the company announced.

The declaration came "only hours" after the recovery of the flight data recorder's memory unit, Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said, citing the official French air accident investigation agency, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA).

He called it "another important step forward in the inquiry" into the cause of the crash, which remains unidentified nearly two years after it happened.

Air France flight 447 crashed in violent weather en route to Paris from Brazil on June 1, 2009. It took nearly two years and a huge undersea search to locate the bulk of the wreckage deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

Only about 50 bodies were ever found, but investigators announced last month that the fuselage still contained human remnants.

The discovery of the two data recorders may lastly explain why the Airbus A330 dropped out of the sky and bellyflopped into the ocean, falling so rapidly that air masks did not have time to deploy.

The cockpit voice recorder was brought to the face by the Remora 6000, the same remote-controlled submarine that brought the flight data recorder memory unit up from the Atlantic on Sunday.

Deadly Fungus Wiping Out Amphibians

2011-05-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

A deadly and infectious fungal disease first struck Mexican salamanders in the 1970s, found a new study. From there, it spread through Guatemala and Costa Rica over the next two decades.

As the first study among salamanders to document the history of an epidemic of the sickness, the research helps verify the fungus (known as Bd, for Batrachyochytrium dendrobatidis) as a major cause of widespread amphibian collapse in current decades. Some 40 percent of frogs, toads and other amphibian species are presently in decline.

The findings could also lead to enhanced ways of slowing or preventing the spread of Bd and similar outbreaks in the years to come.

"This really shows how devastating this disease can be," said lead author Tina Cheng, a graduating master’s student in ecology at San Francisco State University. "Up until now, it was not known that this pathogen had any bang on salamanders, and many are highly threatened right now."

Animals that become tainted with the fungus develop chytridiomycosis. They shed their skin and become lethargic. Sickened salamanders lose their tails. Frogs lose weight and become so insensitive that they fail to turn themselves over when put on their backs. Death comes in a matter of weeks.

Since the discovery of Bd, researchers have associated the fungus to the collapse of frog and toad populations in California, Australia, Panama and Peru. Some species have already gone extinct because of it.

Kate Middleton’s Wears Second McQueen Gown For Reception

2011-05-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Their wedding service was no doubt straight from a fairytale and Prince William and Kate Middleton’s reception brought out all the stops.

Following their historical wedding , the newlywed Royals enjoyed mingling with their guests at the Buckingham Palace while feasting away at menu items such as Cornish Crab Salad on Lemon Blini, Pressed Duck Terrine with Fruit Chutney and Scottish Smoked Salmon Rose on Beetroot Blini, just to name a few of the swanky dishes.

Their towering cake was an astonishing sight as the official baker, Fiona Cairns, created an absolute masterpiece designed specifically for the Prince and his new Princess.

And as she did previously in the day, Kate stunned her guests in a jaw-dropping dress custom designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen.

This beautiful strapless, white gown with diamante decoration at the waist and a cropped angora sweater was design by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the same designer as her wedding dress.

World’s Smallest Camera Developed By Awaiba

2011-04-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

These days, it seems like every one want to make things thinner and want to make things smaller. And it actually doesn’t get much smaller than the Naneye camera. The world's tiniest camera at just 1mm wide, 1mm long, and 1.5mm tall, it's smaller than a typical match head, and it lives on a single silicon chip.

Portuguese image sensor developer Awaiba created the small camera, named the NanEye 2B, for use in the medical industry. NanEye 2B draws only 1.8 volts of electric current, and can take "clear and sharp" 250 by 250-pixel pictures. As you may have guessed, this Lilliputian digital camera won't be striking stores anytime shortly; instead, it will be put to use delving into human bodies in the name of science.

Awaiba sees the NanEye 2B being used for a range of medical purposes, including dental imaging and medical endoscopy, and it could even be used to give surgical robots a boost.

Prince William and Kate Middleton Become Husband And Wife

2011-04-29T05:08:00.000-07:00

Large crowds gathered outside Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony began. A veiled Kate Middleton holding onto her father, smiled as she walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to wed Prince William, the successor to the British throne.

Prince William told Middleton, "You look beautiful" when she reached the altar of the church. They smiled at each other and William leaned over and winked at his father-in-law, Michael Middleton.

The wedding watched by 2,000 guests in the abbey and over 2 billion people worldwide delighted the people of Britain. Crowds of at least 600,000 lined the streets to gaze at the wedding, which is a national holiday. They joyfully waved a sea of Union Jacks and wore masks of the royal couple.

The new Duchess of Cambridge wore a veil with her arms and shoulders enclosed in lace as she made her vows that turned the commoner bride into royalty.

Pippa Middleton, Kate's sister, greeted her at the door of the Abbey. She tended to Middleton's wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton, a undergraduate of late British designer Alexander McQueen.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, the grandmother and father of groom Prince William, reached Westminster Abbey just moments before Middleton. Queen Elizabeth, wearing a bright yellow suit and hat, waved to the crowds as she and Prince Philip arrived to the site of the wedding.

Shamcey Supsup Crowned Miss Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2011

2011-04-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Shamcey Supsup was crowned Bb. Pilipinas-Universe at the Binibining Pilipinas 2011 pageant which took place at the Araneta Coliseum. Shamcey, who was Binibini No. 26, bested 39 other contestants who competed in this year's pageant.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines College of Architecture. She also topped the Architecture board exam in July 2010. Shamcey will stand for the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011. Aside from winning Bb. Pilipinas-Universe, Shamcey also got three special awards: Best in Talent, Miss PAL, and Miss Cream Silk.

Last year's 1st runner-up, Dianne Necio (No. 33), returned this year and won the Bb. Pilipinas-International title; while Isabella Manjon (No. 25) was adjudged Bb. Pilipinas-Tourism (a replacement to the Bb. Pilipinas-World title, which has its own franchise). Janine Tugonon (No. 27) finished 1st runner-up and Mary Jean Lastimosa (No. 34) was 2nd runner-up.

World's smallest Caravan Unveiled

2011-04-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

The small caravan, measures 2m by 75cm and retails at a price of £5,500. It is so compact it can be towed inside a supermarket at a top speed of 5mph.

The QTvan is the world’s most environmentally-friendly caravan. Using a conventional caravan for a ‘staycation’ within Britain remains a comparatively green way of taking a holiday.

"But if the electricity used to charge the mobility scooter is got from a green provider, the QTvan is entirely carbon neutral."

Developed by Environmental Transport Agency (ETA), the caravan was intended to highlight the 220,000 people who use a mobility scooter without breakdown cover.

World’s Most Premature Baby Weighed 1 Pound

2011-04-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

A German woman gave birth to a one-pound baby after only 21 weeks and five days of pregnancy, making it the world's most premature baby to stay alive.

When Frieda was born on Nov 7 she measured 11 inches (28cm) and weighed only one pound (460g). Five and a half months later, she is finally fit to depart from the clinic in Fulda, western Germany, in the next few days, now weighing 7.7 pounds (3.5kg) for 50cm (nearly 20 inches). Her twin brother Kilian died a few days after being born.

Prof Repp told that her survival was 'a miracle' because usually babies born before 22 weeks have no chance because their lungs, heart and brain are not sufficiently developed. 'Frieda was kept in an entirely sterile environment, with her breathing assisted and fed through her navel,' he told.

World's First Human Brain Map Unveiled By US Scientists

2011-04-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

The world's first anatomically and genetically detailed map of the human brain has been finished by U.S. scientists, who said their success might lead to new treatments for a number of brain diseases.

The team at the Allen Institute for Brain Science used leading-edge technology and took more than four years to complete the project.

The mappings of the biochemistry of two typical adult human brains revealed a 94 percent resemblance between human brains, and also showed that at least 82 percent of all human genes are expressed in the brain.

The findings offer the foundation for the Allen Human Brain Atlas, an online public resource accessible to researchers. The atlas identifies 1,000 anatomical sites in the human brain, along with more than 100 million data points that specify the particular gene expression and underlying biochemistry of each site.

Researchers will be able to use the atlas in a number of ways, including examining how disease and wound influence specific areas of the brain. They'll also be able to pinpoint where a drug acts in the brain, which could help progress outcomes for a number of therapies.

"Until now, a ultimate map of the human brain, at this level of detail, simply hasn't existed," Allan Jones, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, said in an institute news release.

The atlas "provides never-before-seen views into our most composite and most important organ. Understanding how our genes are used in our brains will help scientists and the medical community better understand and determine new treatments for the full spectrum of brain diseases and disorders, from mental illness and drug addiction, to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, multiple sclerosis, autism and more," Jones said.

Girl's Body Found In A Suitcase In Chambal River

2011-04-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Body of a 25-year-old young girl was found floating in a box along the banks of Chambal River in Kota. Suspecting it to be an assassination, the local police have started efforts to identify the body.

A fortnight back another anonymous body of a young woman was found in a box at Kishangarh in Ajmer district. The Ajmer police are yet to recognize the body that was parceled to Kishangarh from Rohini in outer Delhi on April 2.

On Wednesday around 11.30 am, some passers-by spotted a body in a steel box floating on the outer side of Chambal River near Khemari police station area of the Kota city. They informed the police control-room and soon a squad of policemen and FSL experts reached the place to pick up murder clues.

"The body is bloated and injured. The woman's age seems to be between 20 years and 24 years. We are yet to recognize the victim who also has severe head injuries," said Superintendent of Police, Kota, Prafful Kumar.' The police officer added, "Considering the harsh head injuries and opinions of FSL experts that the body was three days old, it appears the woman was murdered." The Khemari police station has registered the murder case against anonymous people.

Guinness World Records Crowned New Oldest Living Man

2011-04-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Guinness World Records announced a 114-year-old Japanese man has been declared the world's oldest living man subsequent the death of the previous record holder.

Guinness said Jiroemon Kimura of Kyodo celebrated his 114th birthday Tuesday and inherited the designation of the world's oldest man from Walter Breuning of the United States, who died April 14.

The record-keeping association said Kimura, the last known man living to have been born prior to 1897, is now the third oldest person in Japan and the sixth oldest person in the world. He is the only man on the list of the world's 10 oldest people.

Kimura said part of his secret to long life is eating meals in petite portions.

"With the sad passing of Walter, the world is left with the one enduring man who was alive in the 19th century," said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness. "It's unbelievable to think that Kimura's life spans three centuries -- when he was born, Dracula had yet to be published, Queen Victoria was a few weeks from her Diamond Jubilee and the Wright Brothers were six years from their first successful test flight. How the world has stimulated on during his lifetime!"

World's Oldest Man Breuning Dies At 114

2011-04-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

The world's oldest man has unfortunately died aged 114 near his home in Montana, USA.

Walter Breuning - the oldest man since 2009 - passed away with an anonymous illness. He was awarded the title by the Guinness Book of World Records after Brit Harry Allingham died in July 2009.

Bruening had lived and worked in the Great Falls area of Montana since 1918.

US Senator Max Baucus who honored Breuning on the floor of the US Senate on his 114th birthday, said: "I was honored to know Walter.

"He was a real Montanan: thrifty, healthy, hard-working, and he had true Montana grit. "Walter's reminiscence will remind us to always live each day to the fullest."

Breuning was the sixth man to have reached the age of 114. About 70 women have been recorded as reaching the target.

The World's Lightest Basketball Shoe Designed By Adidas

2011-04-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Adidas has created the lightest shoe in all of basketball. It’s the Adidas adiZero Crazy Light, and it weighs a mere 9.8 ounces. With the Crazy Light, Adidas now has the market cornered on lightest-footwear in three sports: basketball, football, and soccer, soccer being the best sport of the three, of course.

The secret to the weight loss, says Adidas, is an ultra-thin exoskeleton that eliminates the layers and the bond typically used in basketball shoes.

“The design process did not start with a pencil,” explains Robbie Fuller, the lead developer. “Scissors, glue, sewing machines, then test, fail, startover.”

Adidas and Nike are waging a fight on several sporting fronts to make trainers and boots as light as possible, and those who wear them, faster. Just don’t anticipate to suddenly start making those three-point shots if you’re not any good to start with.

World’s Hottest Chili Crowned From Australia

2011-04-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

A chilli grower from the NSW Central Coast has created what is believed to be the world's hottest chilli. Called the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, it is more than 200 times hotter than a jalapeno chilli.

Grower Marcel de Wit says the smoke is so potent, defensive clothing and a face mask must be worn when cooking. "The seed initially came from America, and was sent to the seed company on the Central Coast," he said.

To verify the world’s hottest chili pepper, the peppers are graded on the Scoville scale which rates spice power by tracking the presence of a chemical compound in chilies. The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T recorded an impressive 1.45 million heat units on the scale which is a little above the British Naga Viper (1.38 million). For those not familiar with the Scoville scale, the standard jalapeno pepper clocks in at around 5,000 heat units

Kate Middleton's Face Spotted On Jelly Bean

2011-04-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Usually it is the face of a divinity that turns up in food products, but days before the Royal wedding a man has claimed he has spotted the face of Kate Middleton in a Jelly bean.

The bride-to-be's long hair, strong facial features and her smile can be picked out in the yellow sweet which is enclosed in red blotches.

Wesley Hosie, 25, spotted the completely formed face as he ate his way through a jar of the beans.

The trainee accountant and girlfriend Jessica White, 24, noticed the strange image at their home in Taunton, Somerset. The pair kept the 'lucky' bean and now plan to sell it on eBay for £500.

Final preparations are in progress for the Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day on April 29.

'Given that the Royal Wedding is only a few weeks' away, we wish to make a few pounds out of it by selling it on the internet to a collector.'

Richard Cullen, joint Managing Director for the Jelly Bean Factory in Dublin, who is yet to see the bean, said: 'This sounds truly unbelievable, I would have to see the bean myself to believe it!

'All of our beans are handmade and this looks like one of our red spotted Mango beans, the natural speckles are exclusive to each and every jelly bean due to the handmade process.'

New Scary Looking Dinosaur Species Found

2011-04-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's fitting that a place called Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, would yield the discovery of a scary-looking creature. But it's not a ghost - it's a dinosaur.

This dog-sized, violent -looking critter is called Daemonosaurus chauliodus, which means something along the lines of “buck-toothed evil lizard,” says Hans-Dieter Sues, lead author of the published research describing this dinosaur, and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

The illustration above compares the head and neck with a quarter. You can see that it has a short snout and huge front teeth.

Scientists found the skull and neck of this formerly unrecognized dinosaur, and described it in a study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

This dinosaur provides a link between what paleontologists believe "early" and "later" dinosaurs. There's a gap in the fossil record between the oldest known dinosaurs, which walked or ran on their back legs about 230 million years ago in Argentina and Brazil, and other voracious dinosaurs that lived much later. Daemonosaurus chauliodus helps fill in a blank in dinosaur history.

This newly discovered species lived about 205 million years ago, and possibly preyed on other dinosaurs and other small animals, Sues said. At that time, what is now the American Southwest was located close to the equator, so it was tepid and monsoon-like with heavy seasonal precipitation. This dinosaur was probably energetic during the day, although its large eyes suggest it could have seen at night as well.

It may have fallen prey to an extinction event that occurred about 200 million years ago. As the continents were unraveling, there was a large zone of volcanic activity. Huge quantities of lava were released, doing "horrible things to the atmosphere." Most dinosaurs made it through, but conceivably not this one.

"It just shows that even here in the United States, there are still many new dinosaurs to be found," Sues said. "People always think we have to go to some distant places, but, right here in northern New Mexico, we can still find new dinosaurs."

Spider Web Cocooned Trees After Flood

2011-04-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

The record flooding in Pakistan in the latter half of 2010 disrupted the lives of 20 million people, but it also affected the country’s arachnid population.

With more than a fifth of the country flooded, millions of spiders climbed into trees to escape the rising floodwaters. The water took so long to recede, the trees became covered in a cocoon of spider webs. The result is a creepy, alien panorama, with any vegetation covered in a thick mass of webbing.

However, the strange phenomenon may be a blessing in disguise. Britain’s department for international development reports that areas where the spiders have scaled the trees have seen far fewer malaria-spreading mosquitoes than might be predictable, given the occurrence of stagnant, standing water.

The agency is providing aid to the communities affected by the disaster, with safe drinking water, health care, food and shelter. To decrease the population’s long-term dependence on that aid, the government agency is now offering wheat seeds and tools to farmers, and jobs and skills training for those in rural areas. However, reconstruction in the worst-hit areas is probable to take many years.

Brazil Claims World’s Tallest Lego Tower

2011-04-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Nearly 6,000 Lego lovers, consisting mostly of children, united in Brazil to construct what is now considered the World’s tallest lego structure. The 31.19m (102ft) structure took five days to build and was completed on Saturday in the city of Sao Paolo.

The Lego tower was built in the outside of the Shopping Center Norte in Sao Paulo, and utilized more than 500,000 individual Lego pieces.

"We are proud to support an event which highlighted among children the significance of teamwork. In a playful and fun, participants came together to break the record of the LEGO Tower and put Brazil in the history of this global project," said Esteves Robério of M. Cassab, the official distributor of LEGO Brazil.

The earlier record for tallest Lego tower was earned by Chile in 2010 with a tower reaching the height of 30.94 meters (101.5ft).

The Brazilian footballer Cafu (Marcos Evangelista de Moraes) positioned the last Lego piece on top of the tower, making Sao Paolo the 44th city and 32nd country with a completed Lego tower.

LEGO Denmark sent numerous experts to Brazil to help coordinate the tower construction. One of the designers Per Kjærgaard has helped construct towers in 20 different countries and another designer, Karsten Niebuhr, has helped build 10 different towers.

The LEGO tower will be on show until April 14th.

12 Children Dead In Brazil School Shooting

2011-04-07T22:07:00.001-07:00

A Brazilian gunman killed 12 children at a Rio de Janeiro school and then himself, police said ay, appalling the South American nation that has never seen such an incident before.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff wept when commenting on the occurrence during a speech to business leaders and requested a moment of silence for the victims.

"This type of crime is not characteristic of (our) country and therefore we are all united in repudiating this act of brutality," Rousseff said.

The assault by the 24-year-old Welington de Oliveira was the first serial killing of its kind in Brazil. Attacks similar to the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, were unheard of in the South American nation.

"We have to show unity and support for the families of the children (killed by) that psychopath, that animal," said Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral in a press conference at the school in the Rio neighborhood of Realengo.

Police said Oliveira entered the school carrying two guns and a suicide note. Oliveira told officials he was there to convey a speech and then opened fire on students.

He was a former student at the school. Police said they supposed he was psychologically unstable, citing the content of the suicide note, which asked that "(someone) stand in front of my tomb and ask God to forgive me for what I did."

Oliveira did not have a police record.

Moosshiqx - The World's Smallest E Bike

2011-04-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

A native of Mysore, Santhosh’s love for motor cycle racing and designing motor cycles has paved the way for an innovation – the world’s smallest e-bike, Moosshiqx.

The e-bike is the world’s smallest at just 12 inches high and 18 inches long. Despite its size, the e-bike still manages to run at a speed of 16kmph. However, we’re not sure of how contented the ride would get since it does look a tad too small for comfortable seating. Also, the person should have the battery pack wrapped around him, instead of placing it on the bike. Now while that spells portability, we’re not sure about how comfortable this seating arrangement would be for lengthy rides.

With all the limits, Moosshiqx still seems to be a much liked and appreciated innovation. It just entered the Limca Book of Records and has made a dual appearance in the popular show on AXN - Ripley’s Believe it or Not - last year.

Lewis Lifts First Major Title Despite Adversity

2011-04-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

American golfer Stacy Lewis banished the ghosts of her nightmare final round at the 2008 U.S. Open when she took the Kraft Nabisco Championship by three shots on Sunday.

The 26-year-old, whose grandfather died on the eve of the contest at Mission Hills in California, claimed the first title of her professional career in the first of four major events in the 2011 women's season.

"Everybody in the family knew that he would have wanted me to finish out this week," she told the LPGA website.

"I mean, he lived through my golf. He loved watching it on TV. He recorded it every week so he could keep watching it over and over again.

Lewis, who won an unofficial rain-shortened LPGA Tour event as an amateur in her native Arkansas in 2007, had looked set to pursue that up three years ago when she led the U.S. Open heading into the last day, but a final-round 78 ended her hopes of glory.

Hong Kong Inaugurates World's Tallest Hotel

2011-04-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong formally became the world's tallest hotel and the fourth highest building in the world - when it opened its doors to the public.

Located at the very top of the International Commerce Centre (ICC), it perches on floors 102 to 118 and has 312 rooms all with city and harbor views.

Herve Humler, president of luxury hotel chain said the building was a landmark hotel which was the result of many years of hard work

'We have been able to build truly spectacular so we can welcome our visitors not just to the tallest hotel in the world, but also to one of the very best hotels in the world,' he said. 'We are taking luxury to new heights in every sense.'

The hotel's services include state-of-the-art technology including WiFi, iPod docking stations, Blu-ray DVD players and flat screen TVs.

There are three restaurants on the 102nd floor, including Tin Lung Heen, which is a Chinese restaurant serving advanced Cantonese cuisine; Tosca, an Italian restaurant which offers Southern Italian cuisine and the very stylish The Lounge & Bar with fire pits and open kitchens.

In addition, there is a chocolate-themed lounge named The Chocolate Library on 103rd floor and a elegant patisserie located on 9th floor. Managers say the jewel in the crown is Ozone, located on the hotel's 118th floor.

It offers modern Asian tapas and signature cocktails to a backdrop of unbelievable views as well as the chance to drink on the world's highest al fresco terrace.

The hotel has an ESPA on site which is situated on the 116th floor.

Johanna Solano Crowned Miss Costa Rica 2011

2011-04-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Johanna Solano is the new Miss Costa Rica 2011. She was crowned on March 25, 2011 at the National Auditorium in the Museum of Children. Johanna Solano is 20 year old and stands 5’9”. She will represent Costa Rica in Miss Universe 2011 pageant. The 1st runner-up was Mariana Loranca; the 2nd runner-up was Natalia Gómez.

Johanna Solano is a student of psychology. She is 20 year old and stands 1.75m. Solano bested ten finalists for the crown. Interestingly, she is also considered a favorite to take home the title as she was earlier crowned as Miss Latin America in the World 2009

Einstein, The World's Smallest Horse To Enter Record Soon

2011-04-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

Little Einstein the miniature pony may be just 20 inches tall, but that hasn't stopped him becoming a huge star.

The tiny horse, from New Hampshire in the US, has previously captured the hearts of millions, including celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, who invited him on her hit TV show.

Now his pursuit to find buddies and his life at home with owners Charlie Cantrell and Rachel Wagner in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, will be published in a new a book to rejoice his birthday.

'This has been a extraordinary year for us and for Einstein,' said Mr Cantrell, 44, who bought Einstein for their small farm along with his wife Rachel.

'Einstein is the smallest horse on record ever to endure and when the news got out to the media the level of interest was incredible. 'The average weight of a newborn tiny horse is 18lb. The average height at birth is 21 inches.

Einstein is all the amazing because he shows no dwarf characteristics and is simply a very small miniature horse. His mother Finesse stands a comparatively tall 32 inches and his dad Painted Feather measures 30 inches

Guinness approached us straight after the original press that surrounded Einstein,' said Mr Cantrell. 'He can't be formally recognised as the smallest stallion until he is four, but we are both relatively sure that he has stopped growing.'

'You see the adorable thing about Einstein is that he doesn't seem to be too conscious of his height at all. 'However, due to his odd size he can't mingle around with other horses because it would be dangerous and he might get trampled underfoot.

Scientist Create World’s First Artificial Leaf

2011-03-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can convert sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power in developing countries like India.

A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and a variety of catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to generate electricity in a separate fuel cell.

“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We consider we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with essential electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.

He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can imagine villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”

For their research, the scientists recognized a set of low-priced, common catalysts with nickel and cobalt that get the job done with far less expense. And, in the laboratory their playing-card-sized leaves have worked constantly for 45 straight hours without a drop in output.

Though in laboratory, an artificial leaf prototype could operate constantly for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity, the scientists say that they will next try to improve both efficiency and lifespan of their photosynthetic material.

The conclusions were presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Forrest And Rose Become The World's Oldest Newlyweds

2011-03-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

A 100-year-old man and a 93-year-old woman in the US are said to have turn out to be the world's oldest couple to tie the knot following a 28-year courtship.

Forrest Lunsway and Rose Pollard of California wed at the Dana Point Community Centre at a combined age of 193 - making them the world's oldest couple to marry on record.

The loved-up couple, who are both enthusiastic dancers, met on the dance floor of a community centre in 1983. They became dance partners and now 30 years after meeting they have tied the knot at last - on Forrest's 100th birthday.

Rose said she at first told him she'd never marry him but she finally succumbed when he had popped the question last year.

She said: "I told him up front I had no purpose of getting married. But then one day he asked me 'how come we never got married?' and I said 'because you never asked me'.

"So he got down on one knee and said 'Well I'm asking you now, just set the date'. I told him 'I'll marry you on your 100th birthday'. And I did."

Forrest added: "She never thought I'd ask her and I never thought she'd say yes, but here we are. We've got many happy years left as I propose to stick around until I'm at least 110. You've got to use it or lose it."

The wedding took place in front of the friends and family of the couple who have both been married previously.

They have now beaten the earlier record for oldest newlyweds held by Harry Corton and Edna Holford from Barnsley, England, who wed with a combined age of 183.

World Tallest Building Climbed By Real Spiderman

2011-03-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

Alain Robert, the French urban climber dubbed Spiderman for his feats, has scaled the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

It took him six hours to climb the 828-m (2,717-ft) tower in the United Arab Emirates city, with the tapered spire above the top floors.

A large crowd viewed from the ground as he moved up the facade, picked out by spotlights after darkness fell. Unlike his many previous climbs, he used a rope and harness to comply with safety regulations.

The 48-year-old human spider has previously climbed more than 70 skyscrapers. These include Chicago’s Willies Tower, Empire State Building, and the famous Petronas Towers in Malaysia. He also climbed Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world before Burj in 2004.

After the Burj, Robert plans to scale some more towers in France, Singapore in Turkey.

World's Most Venomous Snake Escapes From Zoo

2011-03-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

The highly strung citizens of New York have yet another reason to feel on edge: one of the world's most poisonous creatures has escaped from its protected enclosure at The Bronx Zoo.

The Egyptian cobra, which according to breathless TV news reports can execute a human in just 15 minutes (or a fully-grown bull elephant in a mere three hours) is thought to have escaped from its perspex cage.

Zoo officials say the adolescent male, measuring approximately 20 inches long, is unlikely to have ventured far from its home turf. And they have closed the zoo's reptile house "until further notice" while keepers try to find it.

The zoo said New Yorkers had nothing to be anxious about in the wake of the snake-out.

"Based on our knowledge of the natural history and actions of snakes, we know they seek closed-in spaces and are not comfortable in open areas. We are sure that the snake, about 20 inches long, is contained in a non-public, isolation area within the building," the zoo said in a statement.

Mr. Elastic Claims For Guinness World Record

2011-03-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Moses Lanham plans on stepping into the record books in a rather extraordinary fashion. 'Known as backwards feet man' and 'Mr. elastic', the Michigan based 49-year-old can turn his feet 120 degrees behind him, a feat he hopes will yield him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

He also plans on setting a record for the fastest man to walk 20 meters with his feet turned backwards.

Despite the intimidating task ahead, Mr. Lanham can however stay quietly confident - both records have never been attempted before. Mr. Lanham said: 'I know I can put my toes together in back, but for the record, I'll do a full 120 degrees.'

Despite the visually agonizing appearance, Mr. Lanham says his flexible feet cause him no pain; in fact he fairly enjoys the back-to-front feeling. 'A lot of times when I'm sitting down I'll put my feet in a twisted position because it's more comfortable for me,' he said.

Mr. Lanham discovered his strange quirk at 14 after a high school gym class accident. Sadly, Mr. Lanham's 17-year-old son Trey has only moderately inherited his father's funny feet.

Doctors who have examined Mr. Lanham say he was born with additional tissue and cartilage in his joints, making his hips, knees and ankles especially elastic.

There are no records of anyone else in the family, apart from Trey, having the order.

His strange talent has also gained him national notoriety after he appeared on 'Candid Camera', 'Ripley's Believe It or Not!', 'America's Funniest Home Videos', 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and the Discovery Channel's 'Medical Incredible'.

H1N1Outbreak In Venezuela

2011-03-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

An outbreak of the H1N1 virus, known normally as the swine flu, has hit the Venezuelan Andean state of Merida, the country's health minister said, the state-run AVN news agency reported.

More than 100 cases of H1N1 have been recorded in Venezuela. In Merida alone there are 56 cases which have tested positive for the virus, and special safety measures have been put in place in that state.

Classes in Merida have been canceled for five days, and a ban has been placed on events at night clubs and other closed-in venues, the agency reported.

The most latest global pandemic was the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, in which the estimates of deaths ranged as high as 12,500 in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Species Found In Thai Coal Mine

2011-03-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

A handful of fossilized jawbones found in a Thai coal mine belong to a new species of prehistoric tarsier, scientists say.

Tarsiers are primates that share a similar ancestor with monkeys and humans. The big-eyed, nocturnal animals are today found typically in Southeast Asia.

The new species named Tarsius sirindhornae lived about 13 million years ago. Based on the fossil jaws, the entire animal would have weighed up to 6 ounces (180 grams), making it the largest known tarsier, said study leader Yaowalak Chaimanee, a geologist with Thailand's Department of Mineral Resources.

Chaimanee and her team newly found 18 jawbone fossils from the new species in an old coal mine in Lampang Province. Each jaw holds one to four small teeth.

Tarsiers were and still are pretty rare, she said, "so you can visualize to have 18 jaws is marvelous."

Wiens From US Receives First Full Face Transplantation

2011-03-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

Doctors at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston announced Monday they effectively performed the first full face transplant in U.S. on a 25-year-old Texan.

It took 30 specialists 15 hours to complete last week’s transplant of a dead donor’s lips, nose, facial skin, the muscles and nerves on Dallas Wiens of Forth Worth, according to plastic surgeon Bohdan Pomahac, director of the BWH’s burn unit and leader of the transplant team. The surgeons, however, were not able to reinstate Wien’s eyesight.

The face of Wiens was burned in 2008 when it brushed against a high voltage power line while he was on a cherry picker cleaning a church. Except for a small part of his chin, he lost all his facial features after the burned tissues from his forehead down to the neck were detached. His left eye and teeth were also removed.

Speaking in a press conference, Pomahac said Wiens is recovering and it will take some time before he could return home. The surgeon added that Wiens will neither appear like his original self and the donor, who remained anonymous.

Wiens is waiting to kissing his three-year-old daughter, his main reason for the operation. Prior to the operation, Wiens said he could not feel anything when he kisses his daughter.

Pomahac added that Wiens’ forehead, right cheek and lips will have 90 percent feeling

The BWH also performed a partial face transplant in 2005 and will execute two more as part of a program funded by the Department of Defense aimed at helping soldiers disfigured in combat.

Britain’s Biggest Baby Girl Weighs 12lbs 8oz

2011-03-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

A woman has given birth to the biggest ever baby girl, coming in at a huge 12lbs 8oz. She is twice the size of the average newborn.

The youngster, who has three older brothers, was born after an astonishingly short labour of just six hours.

Mum and dad Gemma and Ian Woods were over the moon to lastly have a long-awaited daughter in their family but weren't quite expecting such a large baby.

Not only was it a comparatively short labour, but brave mum Gemma, 28, had a natural birth and opted only for gas and air pain relief.

'I just couldn't believe it when the midwife told me the weight - I thought I was hearing things,' she told the Sunday Mirror.

'When she was two weeks old we took a photograph of her next to my nephew Thomas, who was born three weeks before.

'He weighted 6lb 13oz - and she completely dwarfed him.'

The heaviest baby ever born was in January 1979 when Anna Bates gave birth in Ohio to a boy that weighed 23lb 12ozs but he died 11 hours shortly.

The heaviest surviving infant was in Aversa, Italy, in September 1955 which weighed 22lb 8oz.

World Famous Polar Bear Knut Found Dead In Berlin Zoo

2011-03-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

Knut lived in Berlin's zoo. He was 4 and raised by zookeepers since a cub after his mother rejected him. He was the darling of Berlin, an international superstar, a victory story of beating the odds. The cause of death is unknown.

The Berlin Zoo's bear-curator, Heiner Klos, said that Knut was found floating in the water in his cage.

Knut started life in the Berlin Zoo, the first polar bear born there in thirty years. For indefinite reasons, the cub was deserted by his mother, and was raised by his trainer Thomas Dorflein.

As the only polar bear ever raised by humans, Knut was an direct sensation. Ticket sales at the Zoo doubled in Knut's first year, and his furry face could be found on everything from postcards to stuffed animals to bank debit cards.

Animal rights groups initially opposed the idea of humans raising a polar bear, saying he should have been left for dead.

But Knut's sweet face - and the clear affection between him and his trainer Dorflein - quickly won over skeptics.

Underwater Card Sport Breaks Records

2011-03-19T00:14:00.001-07:00

A group of German scuba divers are claiming a new world record after playing the same card game undersea for 36 hours.

The 16 divers who worked in shifts so they could modify oxygen tanks sat on the bottom of a pool in Geiselhoering, playing a traditional Bavarian card game called 'Sheep's head'.

Organiser Eric Schlegelmilch said: "We gave up counting who owed what after an hour. We didn't want anyone going tummy up."

Now the group decided to contact Guinness World Records officials with a video record of their stunt.

World's First Tidal Energy Project Gets Approval

2011-03-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

The world's first tidal power project is to be built in the Sound of Islay, after authorization was given by the Scottish Government.

The £40 million plan will be able to produce electricity for more than 5,000 homes - double the number on Islay.

The ten-turbine, 10MW facility, being developed by ScottishPower Renewables, will additionally develop rising tidal energy technology and is seen as a forerunner for much larger projects in the Pentland Firth.

Plans are under way to generate 1,600MW of marine energy in the firth, off Caithness, following the world's first commercial wave and tidal leasing round announced last year.

The approval of the Islay system was announced by finance secretary John Swinney, who determined the application as it is in energy minister Jim Mather's Argyll and Bute constituency.

Mr Swinney said it was the world's only project of its type with consent.

It is anticipated that more than £500,000 will be used up locally during the development phase. A commercial agreement has also been signed with Diageo, one of the biggest distillers on Islay, to use electricity from the project for eight distilleries and maltings.

The project is the first so called tidal array system to be approved by Marine Scotland, the directorate of Scottish Government liable for the management of Scotland's seas.

It will use turbines developed by Hammerfest Strøm, a company part-owned owned by Iberdrola, SPR's parent company.

A prototype device has been generating electricity in Norway for more than six years and the company is at present constructing the first device that will go into waters off Orkney for tests later this year.

Tibetan Mastiff Named World's Most Expensive Dog

2011-03-16T21:43:00.001-07:00

An 11-month-old red Tibetan mastiff named "Big Splash" has formally nabbed the record for world's most expensive pet. If dogs didn't already know they were better than us, they perhaps do now.

The pup was sold to a Chinese businessman for a whopping $1.5 million. His native name is Hong Dong, he clocks in at around 180-pounds - and he's still growing.

Big Splash's breeder, Lu Liang, says the price tag is totally warranted and that his dog is a "perfect specimen."

"We have spent a lot of money raising this dog, and we have the salaries of plenty of staff to pay," he explains.

Crazy enough, this breed has been raking in the dough for years. In 2009, a mastiff named Yangzte No. 2 apparently was sold short at $500,000 and last year, a mastiff was priced at approximately $1.47 mil.

Apparently, this breed has come to signify wealth and status in China, becoming a hot commodity among the nation's best.

Samuel Wilkinson's Bulb Wins Design Of The Year Award

2011-03-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

British designer Samuel Wilkinson and product design company Hulger received the prize for their light Plumen 001 at a ceremony held at the Design Museum.

2011 jury chair Stephen Bayley said: “The Plumen light bulb is a good example of the ordinary thing done extraordinarily well, bringing a small measure of joy to an everyday product.”

Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic added: “A valuable winner that is both beautiful and smart. It does away with the superfluous to attain maximum economy of means. It’s a bulb that doesn’t need a gloom and so goes a long way to make up for the loss of the Edison original.”

The light bulb beat six other finalists, with an open air library in Germany by Karo Architekten, to the overall prize. All shortlisted designs are on demonstration at the Design Museum until August 7.

Plumen bulbs are at present available in the UK and Europe. They will be accessible in the US and the rest of the world soon, according to their website. They sell in the UK for £19.95, or about $32.

Iran And China To Build World’s Tallest Dam

2011-03-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Iran has announced plans to start working on what will be the tallest concrete dam in the world in the forthcoming Iranian calendar year -beginning March 21.

“The construction of the 315-meter-tall Bakhtiari dam, which is the conceit of the nation, will begin next year by a joint Iranian-Chinese company,” IRNA quoted the managing director of the Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company (IWPCO) Mohammad-Reza Rezazadeh as saying.

The double arch Bakhtiari dam will have an ability of 4.8 billion cubic meters which is the largest in the country after the Karkheh dam.

Rezazadeh said a 1,500 megawatt reactor would be constructed at the site of the dam to produce electricity.

He said the project is in cooperation with China's Sino Hydro construction company and added that overall 70 percent of the project's work would be approved out by Iranian contractors.

The project requires upward of USD 2 billion in venture of which 85 percent will be provided by the Chinese partner.

Honeybee Colonies Under Threat From Chemicals

2011-03-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Bee colonies around the world are under threat, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said, charging that this was as an effect of factors such as chemicals used in farming and pollution.

New dangerous fungal pathogens are also being spread through global trade movements, hurting the bee population, according to a new UNEP report entitled ‘Bees under Bombardment’.

“The decline of bee populations has serious consequences for food security,” said UNEP. Biodiversity would come under additional pressure without the pollinators.

Declines in managed bee colonies have accelerated since 1998, particularly in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The United States, Asia and Africa are also affected.

“Bees are early caution indicators of wider impacts on animal and plant life,” said UNEP, calling for farmers to be offered incentives to reinstate pollinator-friendly habitats.

Junrey Balawing To Become World's Smallest Man

2011-03-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Tiny Junrey Balawing is set to make a little speck of history – when he becomes the world’s shortest man.

At 22in, the 17-year-old is not much larger than a baby but he can’t remain for his big day in June when he hits 18 and is probable to be named as a world beater. Junrey, who is five inches shorter than the present record holder, said: “If I were the smallest man, it would be very cool.”

He is the eldest of four children but has to stay at home all day so his mother Concepcion, 35, can look after him. She said: “Junrey can only saunter with help and he can’t stand for too long because he’s in too much pain.

“But he loves it when I tell him he’s the smallest man in the world. He smiles with arrogance.” Concepcion and Junrey’s blacksmith dad, Reynaldo, who live in a remote part of the Philippines, realized something was mistaken when he was two. But medicine’s were unable to help. At 12, he was told to get vitamins they could not pay for.

Nino Hernandez, 24, of Colombia, is at present the world’s smallest man at 27 inches. But he’s about to be undercut by another small miracle.

America’s Oldest Bird Becomes Mom At 60

2011-03-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

The oldest known wild bird in North America - a female albatross that's over 60 and has outlasted five tracking bands - is now a proud mother, U.S. officials announced.

"She looks immense," Bruce Peterjohn, head of the North American Bird Banding Program at the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a statement. "And she is now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history" of the program.

The Laysan albatross, nicknamed Wisdom by researchers, was spotted a few weeks ago with her baby chick at breeding grounds on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Islands.

She was first banded in 1956 and probable has raised at least 30 chicks, Peterjohn said. Albatross lay only one egg a year, and then it takes much of the second year to hatch and raise the chick.

"Since adult albatross mate for life, with both parents raising the young, it makes one speculate if Wisdom has had the same partner all these years or not," the USGS said in its statement.

The service also anticipated that Wisdom has probably flown about 50,000 miles a year as an adult - or at least 2 to 3 million miles since she was first banded. Albatross scheme from the Pacific Islands to feeding grounds off western North America.

"To put it another way, that’s 4 to 6 trips from the Earth to the Moon and back again with plenty of miles to standby," the service stated.

Life isn't peaceful for albatross, however. Of 21 species, 19 are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Threats include: lead paint poisoning; accidentally being hooked on fishing lines; egg-eating rats and feral cats; and plastic trash in the seas.

"The birds swallow large amounts of marine debris," the USGS said, "by some estimates 5 tons of plastic are mistakenly fed to albatross chicks each year by their parents. Although the plastic may not kill the chicks directly, it reduces their food intake, which leads to dehydration and most likely lessens their chance of endurance."

Albatross might not be the oldest birds around - parrots in custody can live several decades longer - but, given those obstacles in the wild, the fact that Wisdom is still an active mom is quite special.

"To know that she can still effectively raise young at age 60-plus," said Peterjohn, "that is beyond words."

Natalia From Moscow Crowned Miss Russia 2011

2011-03-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

Natalia Gantimurova from Moscow is now authoritatively the most beautiful woman in Russia. On March 5 in the concert hall Barvikha Luxury Village in Moscow she was named Miss Russia 2011. The lucky beauty will symbolize Russia in Miss Universe 2011 in Brazil. Meanwhile the first runner-up will represent Russia in Miss World 2011. Natalia is 19 year old and stands 1.81m.Natalia Gantimurova was crowned by outgoing queen Irina Antonenko and by the reigning Miss Universe Jimena Navarrete.

Reportedly, the crown adorning the new Miss Russia’s head is count as the most luxurious in the world. This white gold crown is decorated with 2,358 diamonds and 14 rare pearls, and expected to be worth more than $1 million!

Supreme Court To Deliver Its Verdict On Aruna’s Life

2011-03-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

As the Supreme Court is set to deliver its decision on whether Aruna Shanbaug should be allowed to live or die, the nurses who have been concerned in her care for over three decades speak out for the first time on camera.

They say as long as Aruna has people to care for her, she should be permitted to live. "I don't want her to be killed like this," said Sister Kushe.

Now 80 years old, Sister Pramila Kushe was at KEM hospital when Aruna was sexually battered by a sweeper 37 years ago and was the among the first to see her that dreadful morning.

"Aruna was in a sitting position with a chain around her collar. As soon as she saw matron Bellimal, tears started running down her face. She tried to say something but words would not come. She tried for a few minutes but only her mouth moved. And then gradually she lost consciousness," recalls Sister Kushe, now a retired Matron.

It's KEM hospital's nurses that have affectionately cared for Aruna for over three decades. They take pride in the fact that she in no way had any bed sores. In fact in the past when one dean moved her to a different hospital, the nurses struck work to bring her back.

Matron Durga Mehta was among those who cared for Aruna for 20 years. She says despite her vegetative state, Aruna can still converse and respond in her own way.

"I talk to her, Aruna how are you? She makes noise..aaahhhhhaa like that," Durga says.

"When food touches her lips she opens her mouth. She would masticate, and not just gulp. She even listens to music sometimes but could not find the direction of the song," said Sister Pramila Kushe.

Almost every nurse at KEM has been put on Aruna's caretaking responsibility one time or the other in her career. So they all feel personally concerned as they wait for the verdict. Under strict instructions not to converse to the media all they can do now is hope for the best, silently.

Dolphin Babies Dearth Puzzles Scientists

2011-03-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

This winter an distressingly high number of young bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico (map) have been washing up dead on U.S. shores, government scientists report.

The reason for the die-off is a mystery, and experts are urging caution in drawing any connections to last year's BP oil spill.

Since January 1, 80 dead dolphins have been found along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, according to the latest NOAA figures.

Forty-two of the dead were calves. Most of the juvenile dolphins are washing up in Mississippi and Alabama, because dolphins usually give birth and raise calves along the shallow shores of those states.

The normal gestation period for the dolphins is one year, and mothers typically give birth in March and April, so scientists think the affected calves are either being aborted, stillborn, or born prematurely.

Known causes of dolphin die-offs include oddly cold waters, ocean biotoxins, and diseases. NOAA's Mase said scientists are investigating all of these factors and are not ruling out a likely connection to the BP oil spill. "It's something that we are including in our investigation," Mase said.

IMMS scientists are at present performing necropsies on the dead dolphins to try to conclude causes of death. The process—including analyzing tissue samples for signs of diseases, viral infections, and toxins—could take some weeks or months, Solangi said.

Chinese Man Becomes The World's Most Typical Person

2011-03-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Lots of people call themselves the 'average person on the street', but this guy actually is. The most typical human face on earth has been discovered as a 28-year-old Han Chinese man, after researchers found there are nine million of them in the world.

The ‘Face of Seven Billion’ image was created as a composite of 190,000 Chinese photos, but experts consider the average person will come from India by 2030.

The picture was created by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, which had collected the photos over a ten-year period from technology research programmes.

It was developed for National Geographic’s ‘Population 7 Billion’ series on the human race, which also showed that males just about outnumber females in the world.

The series also exposed how the world’s most typical person is right-handed, makes less than $12,000 per year and has a mobile phone but no bank account.

Researchers compared life expectancies and heights – with the distinctive Dutch man measuring 5ft 11in but the average Peruvian male standing at under 5ft 5in.

Japan’s typical female lives to nearly 86-years-old, but the average female in Afghanistan dies aged 45.

The typical American uses 100 gallons of water at home per day - compared to 2.5 gallons in parts of Ethiopia, where some use eight hours per day collecting it.

A first language of Mandarin is spoken by 13 per cent, compared to five per cent English - and 19 per cent of people are Chinese, compared to four per cent American.

One-third of the world is Christians, with 21 per cent Muslim and 13 per cent Hindu, and more than half of people (51 per cent) live in urban environments.

In the working work, 40 per cent are engaged in the services sector, 38 per cent in agriculture and 22 per cent in industry – and more than four in five of us are literate.