Rumah kecil berharga RM465,777

SEORANG wanita berdiri di balkoni sebuah rumah kecil di bandar Framligham yang mahu dijual pada harga RM465,777.

FRAMLINGHAM, Britain - Sebuah rumah kecil dua tingkat yang mempunyai sebuah bilik tidur di Britain bakal dijual pada harga £95,000 (RM465,777) walaupun lebarnya cuma 2.1 meter dan luas 28.6 meter persegi, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Kediaman itu yang terletak di sini, dinamakan Rumah Petak dan merupakan antara rumah paling kecil di Britain.

Rumah tersebut pada asalnya merupakan sebahagian daripada struktur bangunan wap.

Sebuah agensi hartanah tempatan yang menjual rumah itu memberitahu, harganya melambung tinggi kerana lokasinya di pusat bandar di sini.

Walaupun ia kecil, kediaman itu tetap selesa kerana dilengkapi sebuah dapur, bilik mandi dan tandas serta ruang tamu kecil. - Agensi

Pemilik upah lelaki rosakkan Lamborghini miliknya

BEBERAPA orang yang diupah merosakkan kereta Lamborghini Gallardo di Qingdao, wilayah Shandong, China.

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BEIJING - Seorang ahli perniagaan China mengupah sekumpulan lelaki dari Shandong untuk merosakkan kereta Lamborghini Gallardo miliknya yang berharga AS$804,301 (RM2.45 juta) dengan menggunakan tukul di Qingdao kelmarin.

Tindakan itu dibuat selepas beliau sangat kecewa dengan perkhidmatan servis pengedar kereta terbabit yang gagal menyelesaikan pelbagai kerosakan yang dialami Lamborghini miliknya.

Ahli perniagaan itu turut mendapati terdapat kerosakan yang dilakukan seseorang ke atas kereta miliknya di bahagian depan dan kerangka kereta sport itu semasa ia sedang dibaiki.

Orang ramai yang lalu lalang terkejut apabila melihat sekumpulan lelaki merosakkan kereta mewah itu yang sering rosak sejak dihantar kepada tuannya pada Oktober tahun lalu.

Selepas bertengkar dengan pengedar dan beberapa orang wakil kanan pengedar kereta Lamborghini, ahli perniagaan tersebut mengambil keputusan bahawa satu-satunya cara untuk melindungi haknya ialah dengan merosakkan kereta itu pada Hari Hak-Hak Pengguna Sedunia. - Agensi

Udang karang raksasa ditangkap

UDANG karang raksasa yang berjaya ditangkap oleh Marcus Hyde mempunyai berat empat kilogram.

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TELUK BRACKLESHAM - Seeorang nelayan, Marcus Hyde menghantar seekor udang karang raksasa kepada pihak pengurusan Akuarium Blue Reef di Portsmouth, Britain selepas dia berjaya menangkap haiwan itu, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Udang karang itu yang sepanjang satu meter dan berat hampir empat kilogram (kg) ditangkap Marcus semasa dia memancing di sini.

Nelayan itu membuat keputusan untuk menghantar udang karang tersebut yang berusia lebih 50 tahun kerana dia menganggap haiwan berkenaan sebagai terlalu istimewa.

Udang itu juga dianggap terlalu tua untuk dijadikan hidangan yang menyelerakan.

Setakat ini udang karang yang paling besar pernah ditangkap ialah pada 1934 dengan berat 19kg. - Agensi

RM Auctions’ Amelia Island sale makes a record-breaking $24.3 million

The iconic 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Coupe, which we included in our list of most important upcoming auctions of 2011, turned out to be the top seller at RM Auctions' 2011 Amelia Island sale. The rare car, chassis number 0224 AT, offered from the private collection of Larry Nicklin, exceeded its pre-sale estimate ($2,750,000-$3,500,000) and went for a whopping $4,290,000. Another classic from the Nicklin Collection offered for sale was a highly original 1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, which fetched $660,000. It was earlier expected to go for between $375,000 and $550,000.

The 2011 Amelia Island sale set new records for the auction house, doing $24.3 million in total sales; the highest tally achieved in the event’s 13-year history. The top 10 sales honors from the event included…

1. 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Coupé - $4,290,000

2. 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Spider - $990,000

3. 1933 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Victoria - $979,000

4. 1930 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe - $962,500

5. 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta - $935,000

6. 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS - $770,000

7. 1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe - $660,000

8. 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster - $627,000

9. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe - $627,000

10. 1957 Ferrari 250 GT “Low Roof” Berlinetta - $605,000

Other than the sale event, rare classics reached Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2011, including a 1960 Plymouth XNR Concept Car and the historic 1965 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet.

Bayi terselamat selepas tiga hari di bawah runtuhan

SEORANG anggota tentera mendukung bayi berusia empat bulan yang ditemui setelah berada di bawah runtuhan selama tiga hari.

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SENDAI, Jepun - Seorang bayi perempuan berusia empat bulan berjaya diselamatkan selepas tiga hari berada di bawah runtuhan akibat tsunami dan gempa bumi sekuat 9 skala Richter yang mengegar Jepun pada Jumaat lalu.

Pada awalnya, sekumpulan askar dari Pasukan Pertahanan Jepun yang sedang mencari mangsa terselamat di kampung Ishinomaki terdengar tangisan seorang bayi. Selepas mengalihkan kepingan kayu, batu dan lumpur tebal, mereka akhirnya menjumpai bayi tersebut.

Bayi itu ditemui dalam keadaan sejuk, basah dan menangis. Dia dipercayai tidak mengalami sebarang kecederaan. Persoalan kenapa dia tidak lemas, masih menjadi misteri.

Bayi tersebut dikatakan terlepas daripada pangkuan ibu bapanya apabila ombak besar memusnahkan kediaman mereka. Keluarga malang itu percaya bahawa mereka akan kehilangan bayi itu buat selama-lamanya. Dia kemudian dipertemukan semula dengan bapanya yang dilihat sangat gembira.

Sebelum dia dijumpai, pasukan penyelamat sudah menemui sekurang-kurangnya 2,000 mayat di sepanjang pantai di wilayah Miyagi yang paling teruk terjejas.

"Penemuan bayi ini memberi semangat baru kepada pasukan penyelamat. Kami akan mendengar, melihat dan menggali dengan lebih berhati-hati selepas ini," kata salah seorang pegawai tentera terbabit. - Agensi

Ugly grub ball

Gimme shell-ter ... banana snail

A FAN of wackily-shaped fruit and veg has built up a million-strong following on the web - by sculpting the grub into a ZOO.

Hoppy to be here ... frog made of lime peel

Vanessa Dualib, 29, scours supermarkets for misshapen produce she turns into bizarre animal characters.

Her creations - which she photographs before they go rotten - include a snail made from a banana, a sweet potato hippo and a whale constructed from an aubergine.

She dubbed an artist figure made of peapods Peacasso.

Slightly potty ... hippo-potato-mus sculpture, left, and sweet potato walrus

Vanessa said yesterday after posting her 64th character online: "I was inspired by the three things I love most - photography, food and humour."

She added at her home in Sao Paolo, Brazil: "You have to work fast - the banana snail started to go brown very quickly."

Ssseriously fishy ... mango fish, left, and tapioca root snake

Tokyo nuke cloud crisis

Alive ... rescue team carries woman survivor through debris

JAPAN is teetering on the brink of nuclear catastrophe amid fears a radioactive cloud could envelop Tokyo's 13million residents.

The Foreign Office warned Brits to avoid the capital as it was feared a SECOND nuclear reactor was heading for meltdown after Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

And there were heightened concerns following a hydrogen blast 170 miles north at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

The explosion – inside No3 reactor – was similar to an earlier one at a different unit of the facility.

Traumatised ... girl in blanket stands amid wreckage

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano says people within a 12-mile radius were ordered inside following the blast, which was felt 30 miles away.

International authorities had declared a state of emergency at the Onagawa nuclear plant after radioactivity levels in the area exceeded safe limits.

Local officials later told the International Atomic Energy Agency that radioactivity at Onagawa was back to normal.

The heightened readings were blamed on emissions from crippled Fukushima, where workers were desperately pumping sea water into the reactors in a bid to prevent a major meltdown.

The ageing nuclear power station has six reactors.

Freak of nature ... large ferry perches on building

No1 reactor blew up on Saturday, and officials admitted it was "highly likely" a partial meltdown had already occurred. It is believed radioactive steam was released, with about 160 people exposed, but that most of the radioactive material was contained.

Nuclear locations ... facilities on Japan's east coast

It later emerged that the cooling system pump in No2 reactor had completely shut down, sparking fears a second explosion was imminent.

Experts were frantically trying to cool No3 reactor to prevent deadly uranium fuel pellets melting. Authorities admitted for the first time that radiation around Fukushima is nearing the level where humans vomit uncontrollably, hair can be stripped from the body - and cancer rates soar.

An explosion in No3 reactor would be far worse than the No1 blast, since it contains lethal plutonium as well as uranium.

Cabinet minister Yukio Edano said further blasts could not be ruled out. But he insisted the other reactors would survive as No1 did, saying: "There would be no significant impact on human health."

The explosion means Fukushima is already one of the worst nuclear accidents in history - but so far there has been no major radiation leak.

A complete reactor meltdown could release uranium and other dangerous contaminants, causing major and widespread health problems. More than 170,000 residents were evacuated from a 13-mile exclusion zone. Medics in protective gear scanned evacuees for contamination and gave iodine to protect against radiation exposure.

Danger ... the risk posed to nuclear reactors by natural disaster

The shutdown of nuclear plants has left Japan facing months of electricity shortages.

PM Naoto Kan announced rolling power cuts from today, with hospitals, water and gas supplies all being affected. One of the world's leading nuclear experts urged the Government to learn from Japan as the UK prepares to build eight new nuclear plants. Dr John Large said: "You must engineer for the worst accident and build in counter-measures."

Bizarre sight ... car hurled on top of hut in Sendai

He said the Fukushima crisis happened because the reactors automatically shut down in the quake and needed their generators to start up again. But the tsunami that followed knocked out the generators, and Dr Large said the problem should have been predicted.

Sad duty ... emergency team carries away one of the many victims

The tsunami also knocked out a cooling pump at Tokai 2 nuclear plant near Tokyo, but extra pumps kicked in to prevent any danger, officials said.

Seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko warned in 2007 that Japan's nuclear plants were vulnerable to quakes. He accused ministers of underestimating the danger, saying: "Reactors had fatal flaws in their design."

We’ve got a new Toy to play with

The dark side ... Toyot's awesome FT-86

ONE model doesn't change a car firm - but it can make a big statement of intent.

And the car making the statement that Toyota are back into sports models is the FT-86 coupe, which will be on sale next year.

This is the world's biggest car firm returning a much-needed touch of glamour to their line-up.

It is five years since Toyota axed the Celica and the MR2 roadster and decided there was no place for sporting models in their portfolio.

They poured their considerable resources into worthy mainstream models and their determination to dominate the eco world of hybrids with the Prius.

Their obsession has paid off with more than two million sales and they are about to extend the model into a family of cars, along with adding a Yaris supermini version to the Auris hatchback.

The Yaris hybrid, apart from being green with a 1.3litre petrol engine and electric motor, is also the new more aggressive face of the Yaris supermini that is due to go on sale later this year. But for Toyota owners brought up on racy models such as the Supra, Celica and MR2, it's been a barren few years.

A touch of glamour ... FT-86 coupe will go on sale next year

Fortunately, company boss Akio Toyoda is a petrolhead as well as an environmentalist and he has promised to put some sex appeal back into the brand. And having seen the FT-86 in the metal last week, I can tell you he is a man of his word.

This is one hot coupe. It looks like a miniature version of the Lexus LFA supercar. But while the LFA costs in excess of £300,000, the FT-86 - it will get a new name before it hits showrooms - could set you back as little as £25,000. The FT is oozing with aggression and attitude but a "green" 2litre turbo engine will give it both performance and useful fuel economy.

The future's orangs ... Lexus' LFA supercar

Just to confirm that Toyota still have their sensible side, they have brought out a compact people carrier - the Verso-S - which we've just tested.

We've also tested a special edition Prius, released to celebrate the model's tenth anniversary.

Toyota will be hoping the new models will help divert attention from their nightmare of 16million recalled cars in the past 15 months and put the focus back on cars with reliability and a bit of sex appeal.

Treasure hunters going for gold

A golden opportunity ... windfall sparks hunt for loot across Britain

TREASURE hunters will get a multi-million-pound windfall from the bequest of an amateur archaeologist.

The money may be used to finance expeditions to recover fabulous riches including King John's crown jewels, Spanish Armada gold bullion and Britain's own Atlantis - Doggerland.

Honor Frost, who died last year aged 92, left her entire art collection to be used to fund archaeological expeditions, it emerged this week.

The works include long-unseen masterpieces by artists Lucien Freud, Stanley Spencer and sculptor Henry Moore. They are expected to fetch up to £18million when they go under the hammer at Sotheby's in June. Honor, an only child, was orphaned young and brought up by a rich London solicitor.

She developed a passion for marine archaeology after reading about underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau and later working with a member of his team.

The millions raised from the auction will go to a specially formed charity that will sponsor expeditions. For the first time it will allow sustained, professional digs for treasures that, until now, have proved too difficult to find.

Our map charts some of the fabulous finds that could now be within reach.

Pict-ure finding the inscribed tablet ... in the Orkneys

ORKNEYS

THE Picts who occupied northern Britain for centuries spoke a very mysterious language.

Archaeologists would love to find an inscribed tablet, like the famous Rosetta Stone, with enough words to make the language decipherable. The relatively unexplored Orkneys would be a good place to start looking.

VALUE: £250,000.

Take a wall-k around ... in the hunt for Roman treasure

HADRIAN'S WALL

EUROPE'S most famous fortification has been trodden over by thousands of metal detector-equipped enthusiasts.

But specialists in Roman history believe there are legions of exciting finds awaiting a proper search.

VALUE: £100,000 to £600,000.

Sunken ... Doggerland

DOGGERLAND

THIS once-occupied land mass is Britain's very own Atlantis. Sited in the North Sea, it was obliterated by flooding at the end of the last Ice Age.

Oil company surveys have recently revealed its possible locations and archaeologists lick their lips at the thought of historic artefacts that lie there. It is hard to get at because of centuries of silting and the stormy seas.

VALUE: £5million to £12million.

Wash-ed away ... treasure 19th era

KING JOHN'S CROWN JEWELS

WHEN the King was in conflict with rebels in the east of England in 1216 - the year after his powers were curtailed by the signing of Magna Carta - his baggage train containing his crown jewels and other valuables was sucked into the Wash by the tide.

Possible sites are Sutton Bridge on the River Nene and Welland Estuary, Fosdyke.

VALUE: £50million to £85million.

Priceless find ... could be worth more than £1billion

THE HOLY GRAIL

LEGEND has it that Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, to Britain in about AD40.

The cup disappears from history but Joseph is supposed to have helped found Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset. It may be hidden near there.

VALUE: Priceless, but start bidding at £1billion.

Wh-air is the wreckage ... from the Battle of Britain

BATTLE OF BRITAIN WRECKAGE

MUCH of the 1940 contest for the skies was fought over Kent between British Spitfires and German Messerschmitts. Some undoubtedly came down in the sparsely inhabited wetlands of Romney Marsh and are yet to be found.

VALUE: £250,000 or more, depending on the state of preservation.

Cam' on ... where can the castle be?

CAMELOT

KING ARTHUR'S castle, home of the Round Table, was supposedly destroyed by Cornish King Mark in about 537.

Possible sites where artefacts from the castle could lie include South Cadbury in Somerset and Tintagel, Cornwall.

VALUE: £5million, but the Round Table itself would be worth at least double that.

Treasure hunters are thin-King where valuables can be found ... Conwy Castle

CONWY CASTLE

KING EDWARD I built a chain of castles in the late 1200s to cement his conquest of Wales.

Conwy, on the north coast, was one of the more important and its surroundings are relatively unexplored because of later intensive building.

VALUE: Unknown.

Defeated in the English Channel ... Spanish Armada

SPANISH ARMADA

AFTER the Armada was defeated in the English Channel in 1588 surviving ships tried to make their way home the long way by sailing around Britain.

Many were wrecked - including one that according to local lore had gold on board - off the cliffs of Spanish Head in the southwest of the Isle of Man.

VALUE: £5million if gold-laden, a knockdown £750,000 if not.

The treasure's Scot to be somewhere ... but it's still not been found

KING CHARLES' TREASURE

A BARGE containing Charles I's treasure sank off the port of Burntisland, Fife, in 1633 during his tour of Scotland.

The barge, ironically called Blessing Of Burntisland, also contained valuable royal correspondence and many of the monarch's personal possessions.

VALUE: £300million.

Telur direbus guna air kencing

RATUSAN telur direbus dengan menggunakan air kencing di wilayah Zhejiang, China dengan menggunakan resipi berusia ribuan tahun lalu.

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BEIJING - Sebuah kedai di wilayah Zhejiang, timur China menjual telur yang direbus dengan air kencing budak sekolah dan ia merupakan resipi tradisonal berusia ribuan tahun, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Chef makanan tradisonal, Lu Ming berkata, dia mahu mempromosikan semula makanan tradisional itu sehingga ke peringkat antarabangsa.

"Air kencing tersebut dikumpul daripada pelajar sekolah lelaki yang berumur 10 tahun, mereka kencing di dalam sebuah tong dan kami mengambil air itu pada setiap hari.

"Telur-telur itu akan direbus dalam air kencing tersebut dengan kulitnya," katanya.

Menurutnya, telur tersebut berasa sedap dan berkhasiat untuk menyembuhkan demam selain meningkatkan konsentrasi serta menghilang rasa mengantuk. - Agensi